The plan was simple. The rowdy crowd they had hired would cause a distraction while he and his crew took the girl. Goru Alan had managed hundreds of such jobs. For fifteen years, he had done the Lord's dirty work. A bandit, a mercenary, a hitman... whatever the job required, he was the man for it. He was the captain of the House Guard, after all—the Lord's closest attendant. But damn, the crude armor he had to wear for this mission made him itch all over.
The girl must have been someone important. He was asked to bring his most trusted men for the job. The Lord had his plans, and there was no need to question his orders. Get the girl, and remember to leave some witnesses. 'Bandits took the girl.' That was all anyone needed to know. What a great man his Lord was, doing everything he could to stand at the top.
It was an easy job... or so he thought.
They charged with the advantage of numbers. Twenty-five hired bandits should have been plenty. The man in the cage was not a threat; he did not even seem interested in the situation. Goru and his crew went straight for the target, trying to surround her. However, her speed was not part of the plan. Even though her hands were still bound, she managed to knock one of his men out in the blink of an eye. The poor guy's face was a mess from an unexpected knee strike. Goru assumed she was trying to reach the horses to escape. She was a prisoner, after all, making it a smart decision.
If she managed to mount one, this job would become a lot harder. He needed to catch her before that happened. Thankfully, she was not as smart as Goru thought. She went for the sword secured on the horse instead. What a stupid brat. Not that he was complaining; she was making his job easier, after all. Chasing her on horseback, he reached out from behind to grab her by the hair while she was preoccupied with the sword.
That was the last time he would ever reach for anything with that hand.
***
Who were these men? Elise initially thought they were just common bandits, but they quickly surrounded her with a level of discipline unexpected from mere outlaws. Reacting impulsively, she attacked the weakest-looking one to break through their formation. She didn't even know how she had deduced he was the weakest. Perhaps it was his stance or the unsure look on his face. One knee to his face, and she was out of their grasp.
She ran straight for her sword, strapped to the back of one of the officers' horses. Of course, they had tied it securely. She struggled with the knot on its handguard for a moment, which was just long enough for a rider on horseback to catch up to her. She had run fast, but the distance was short.
By the time she finally managed to free the sword from its scabbard, her pursuer was already upon her. Elise attacked without thinking, and the hand reaching for her was instantly severed. She immediately jumped to strike at his upper body. Still running on pure instinct, she perceived him as a monster with a wide-open neck; one strong slash would be enough, but it might try to block the attack with the thick shell on its shoulder. She needed to dispose of this threat before the others swarmed her.
He didn't block, dodge, or do anything else. He was not a monster, but a human staring at his severed stump in shock. There was no thick shell; it was merely a piece of armor on his shoulder. Elise hesitated, trying to halt her attack mid-swing, but she had already instinctively drawn Energy to perform it. The momentum was too powerful to stop, but she managed to redirect it. The tip of her sword tore through his helmet, slashing across his cheek and mouth. The heavy hit caused the man to collapse from his horse, desperately clutching at his bleeding face and severed wrist in agony.
Reality struck her harder than she had expected. She had never killed a human before—only monsters during her brief stint as an Adventurer, and the flesh golems in the other Realm. The man who had tried to capture her now lay defenseless at her feet. She could kill him right then and there. But... should she? Could she even bring herself to do it?
She realized she was still standing next to the horses. Freezing mid-battle could have been a fatal mistake, but she was lucky. The others kept their distance, hesitating to approach after witnessing what had happened to their leader. There were six of them still standing, eight if she counted the ones on the ground. She had fought larger numbers of flesh golems simultaneously, and these men were nowhere near as threatening. However, they wouldn't stay at bay forever. She needed to decide her next move quickly.
While assessing the situation, she spotted the Traveler in the background. He still sat in the cage with his legs crossed, watching expressionlessly, as if he were waiting to see what decision Elise would make. What was the right answer here—to kill or not to kill? What would the Traveler do in this situation?
Perhaps a past memory could help her decide. She recalled the words he had spoken the first time she saw him in the tavern: killing when you have the power is easy, but choosing not to is the hard part. This was her master's mentality. Elise had never seen him kill anything other than the flesh golems and that Demon. Was he waiting for her to reach this conclusion on her own?
"Come on, don't just stand there, men," one of the 'bandits' said, gathering his courage. "She is just a little lady, and we outnumber her. Let's avenge our captain." These words bolstered their morale, and they slowly began to close the distance.
So, they knew who she was, and the man lying bleeding in front of her was their leader. Good to know. Elise took an aggressive stance and charged right at them. Just as she had thought, they were nowhere near as formidable as the monsters she was used to fighting. She intentionally refrained from drawing any Energy to avoid another accident like the first one; she knew she still lacked proper control. Her raw physical strength was more than enough. Even though they were clearly trained soldiers rather than mere bandits, the fight was over in seconds.
She avoided inflicting fatal injuries, focusing mostly on rendering them unable to fight. Quickly realizing they could not win, the remaining men attempted to retreat. Elise didn't need them, so she let them escape. She already had their leader, who would undoubtedly know more than his subordinates. She glanced back to check on him; the severe wound on his arm could kill him if not treated properly. They needed to do something about it if they wanted to interrogate him...
But he was no longer there.
Elise panicked at first, but after a quick scan of the area, she spotted him. He was desperately trying to reach his horse but making very little progress, as the riderless animal had already started to wander off. Sheathing her sword, she rushed after him. Approaching from his blind side, she landed a solid punch on the unscathed side of his helmet before he could even react. He collapsed face-first into the dirt, sliding slightly from the momentum. Her strike left a fist-sized dent in the heavy metal of his helm.
She couldn't even feel proud of the feat. Her hand stung with sharp pain. She tried to relax it with a quick shake, but it was pointless. Was this kind of pain normal in unarmed combat? She definitely needed more training; there was still a long way to go.
She took a quick look around to fully assess the aftermath. The surviving attackers were in full retreat, thoroughly driven off by the officers. A few bodies lay scattered on the ground, groaning in pain, all belonging to the ambushers. Miraculously, the officers had sustained only minor injuries. It was a massive relief.
She checked on the man she had just knocked out. Thankfully, he was still alive. Grabbing hold of a piece of his armor, she began dragging his bulky, unconscious body back toward the Traveler's cage, entirely ignoring the astonished stares of the Investigation Bureau officers.