Waking up from her sleep, Hilda clutched her head as she felt the numbing pang of pain rushing through it.
She cast a pain numbing spell over it to ease it but for some reason, it seemed to make it worse. 'It would seem that I have it get it looked when I get to Rien.' She mused as she looked at her hand to realize a small ring on one of her fingers.
'I don't recall getting this ring.' She took it off and to her surprise, the pain that she felt was immediately washed away. 'It looks like I'll have it pawned when I get to Rien.' As for the events that transpired last night, she couldn't remember clearly.
All coming as a slurry blur to her. She seemed to recall a figure to which she spoke to however remembering their face posed a challenge. All that had transpired before was still intact however the face of the individual was cut out, as if he never existed.
'Anyway, let's make it to Rien.' She said as she got out of her tent to be greeted with strange gazes shot in her direction. At first she thought that she had done something wrong but examining herself, she found nothing wrong.
She made her way to Lysander and asked. "Why is everyone looking at me like that?" Lysander was baffled when he saw her. "Hilda, to think that you looked this stunning. It would seem that you were cloaking your beauty this entire time."
"What?" She posed again however her question went unanswered. 'If you were cloaked then that does that mean that the person you came along with was as well?' Lysander thought however his face didn't show it.
"Well we have to make our way to Rien, let's not wait any longer." He finished off as he went out of the tent. He exchanged words with the local leader of this community and shortly after, they made their way.
A person, with boorish features sat at the back as he observed what had transpired. Naturally it was Andrew.
'Why didn't you take her skills away from her? She could prove annoying later on.' He heard Hedon's comment in his head. "Because, for her to make it out alive out of this ordeal would make sense." He added as he sat patiently.
"Oh! Then you wouldn't mind if she suddenly disappeared, right?" Orsen ignored his question. "You're capable of your own free will. Do as you please." He added flatly as he observed the path that was laid out for them.
'To actually think that that rascal would do something like that, it shows how much the demons are expanding and evolving.' He mused as they continued with their journey.
So far, it was considered a miracle for them to have still be alive at this juncture however it would seem fate, unpredictable as it is had something else in mind.
"There is the valley, after we cross it, we will be able to make it to the kingdom with no effort." Lysander said as he used his observation skill to spot it from afar. A lot of people gave out sighs of relief as they heard this.
The leader of the hamlet had advised them that they would have to cross a valley to get to Rien. Orsen however scanning the path that they were supposed to take realized a huge problem with this. As he saw the valley, a passive smile appeared on his face.
The valley was deep and some parts of it were so deep down that they were completely shrouded in darkness. Also strangely enough, there was no form of vegetation growing in the valley, only around it. Looking at how wide it was, it would be able to accommodate two carriages to cross simultaneously.
"Everyone, light the torches! And maintain your guard!" Cormic advised as they drew nearer and nearer. The entrance of the valley was steep thus they had to tread carefully and with extreme caution. Such a place looked like the ideal place for bandits to have their hideout.
And with how hectic things have been on this journey, it was natural for them to be this high on guard. Lysander's carriage was the last in the caravan thus he had an ample view of the road ahead. Lysander along with several experts were on guard as they made their way through.
To his surprise, the first carriage came to a stop without warning and the rest immediately raised up their guard. At first, he was skeptical of the hamlet leader's words however he had no method of truly verifying them and going against him wasn't ideal.
They were already outnumbered thus a clash between the two sides was something he didn't want. 'Did that leader trick me?' He thought as he along with Cormic made their way to the carriage. From his perspective, it seemed that everyone bizarrely chose to stop.
"They could be under some kind of spell. Be wary!" He warned as he approached the first carriage. Orsen observed all of this transcend from the sides before losing interest. "May I ask as to what you idiots are thinking by stopping like this?!"
Cormic's voice boomed however there was response from them. Having a closer look at them, they quickly realized where the problem was. "Quick, withdraw from the valley!" Lysander instructed however another problem presented itself.
"How is it blocked?! Didn't we just cross it a moments breathe ago?" Baffled commentaries came from those present. On the path they had taken was a huge boulder that blocked their exit. Looking at it, it was too sturdy to push it.
*BAM*
Juskar launched a small fireball at it and to his surprise just as the rest, the fireball was immediately deflected by an array on the rock. 'Damn it! Should I cast a larger fireball, it may cause an avalanche of rocks which will greatly disadvantage us!'
Juskar realized as he saw this and so did some of those present. Just as they were contemplating on whether to destroy it, they all heard devilish cackles from all over.
"To actually thin that these pesky humans would actually come to us looking for trouble! How unfortunate!" The sounds of beasts came from all over however one of them was able to realize where the sounds were coming from.
"Above! Look up!" One said and looking up, numerous demons were all aligned as they looked down on the caravan. 'So that leader had tricked me!' Lysander concluded however he couldn't dwell on this fact from long as he had more pressing matters at hand.
*Swish-Swish-Swish*
Multiple bows came from above aimed at those below. Some were unfortunate enough to be met with these bows as they were coated with demon blood. Should one come into contact with this, the demonic aura would taint their mana discs causing them to fracture and result in their death.
The higher the demon, the faster the rate of corruption was. Luckily the demons above were mostly tier one thus provided one could remove the infected part out, then they would be fine. Orsen cast a protective barrier around him as he watched the chaos unfold.
"Quick! Seek shelter!" Juskar advised as he too cast a simple barrier around his figure. 'For them to make such a move without my senses picking them up would infer that they have at least a tier four demon with them.'
Lysander noted as he took cover in one of the carriages. "I want them to squeal like the pigs that they are!" A loud burly voice was heard and shortly after, beyond the beige translucent tarps of the carriages, ember lights could be seen.
"They are launching fire projectiles at us!" Lysander noted as he saw this. Right now, they were sitting ducks in this valley with their opponents having the high ground. They couldn't move with the carriages as the horses were also hit and perished whilst others mutated.
However even the mutated ones were quickly pelted by the torrential aerial assaults of fire which brought their lives to an end along with a lot people in the process. For one to perfectly remain unscathed, they would have to be proficient with water as it was the ideal armor.
Not could it only negate the fire damage but also the arrows as well but there were only few people left alive who could do this. Hilda who was casually waiting in her carriage heard the screams and cries dashed outside to assess the situation.
However right now, she could offer little help as the plans that she had required cooperation from those around her but the situation was perfect for chaos. Strangely enough, there was one person who was at peace in the midst of all this.
Orsen cast a cloaking spell as he casually made his way out of the valley. "Quick! We can only make our way out of the valley by going through it!" Lysander's voice boomed to which those who were still clinging onto their lives heard and made their way.
Orsen from afar could see the traps laid by the demons however the avoided them as he made his way around them. Looking back, he could see the rest of his 'comrades' rushing towards him.
*BOOM*
One of them happened to step onto a fiery spell mine bursting his figure into a tender crisp before ending his life.
"HAHAHAHA!!!" He could hear the snarky laughs coming from the demons above. 'How cheap human life is.' He made a comment as he continued as he could hear the cries of those behind him.
"We won't make it!" Cormic said as he saw the torrential attacks aimed at them. "Yes we will! Now let's keep on going!" Juskar said with iron determination as they continued to navigate their way through the traps.
Right now, they were a small party of ten consisting of Lysander, Cormic, Juskar, Hilda and some other individuals. As they were half way through, they quickly noticed the attacks of arrows and fire stopped coming.
Looking back, either things were set ablaze or those who were still alive were heavily injured with burns all over their body or they were corrupted, nearing death's door with every breathe they took.
There was nothing to save thus they could only keep on going and even though there were no traps after a while, they never let down their guard. Eventually they were able to claw their way out of that infernal hell hole and see the world above them.
A quick glance, they were surrounded by about fifty demons. The fifty tier ones seemed to have animalistic features while the four tier two barely resembled humans, looking like malformed kids while the two tier three present were somewhat human like while the tier four had somewhat striking features.
They were greatly outnumbered in this scenario and looking at their sorry state, it was clear to determine how this fight would turn out. "Is this how we die?!" Cormic quizzed as he saw this army surrounding them.
"Pitiful humans, to have the audacity of treading in my territory is brave or stupid!" The tier four demon spoke with a spine chilling smile plastered in his face.
"I'm going to have fun with those ladies! Hehhehe!" Voices came from the demons which made a shiver crawl all over the ladies present. To think that this would be their fates. "However, I am willing to spare half of you!"
"If one of you can beat me in a fight then I will let some of you go." The tier demon said with a cold smile on his face. "I accept." Lysander said calmly to which these around him were baffled by his choice. He was tier three expert who had suffered injuries facing against a tier four demon.
They wanted to refute his idea and stop him however they fell silent and chose to watch from the side.