With everyone experiencing Jasmine's blessings for the first time, they quickly reined in their awe and regained their composure, as we were mere moments away from the traps covering the road. Once we arrived atop the traps, Yuki stomped on the ground, using her earth magic as she completely rearranged the ground, breaking most of the traps in the process; following her actions, the remaining traps activated, though I took care of them as I blocked a storm of poisoned darts from the right. Fashu came to a halt, and immediately after, a faint boom was heard, causing me to glance up, only to see Talis diving through the sky at incredible speeds.
"Follow me!" Yuki yelled as she clanged her shields and charged into the forest, prompting Vanye and Lazuli to glance at each other before following her. 'Someone's eager, huh?' With a twitching expression, I watched the three enter the forest before lightly shaking my head as I stood on the left side of the wagon beside Jasmine. "Um, weren't they supposed to wait until they left the forest?" Asked Jasmine as she gave me a slightly confused look while I nodded with a faint sigh. "Haa, yeah, that was the plan, but I guess not anymore… Anyway, maybe fighting in the forest will be better; I saw some pretty hefty weapons, so it'll probably make it cumbersome to use with all that vegetation."
Shrugging my shoulders, I leaned against the wagon while using [Heroes Gaze] to see through the thick foliage as I watched Yuki, Vanye, and Lazuli fight against the seventy men while Talis constantly harassed the mages from the sky, giving them hell thanks to all the trees, something they probably thought would've been a hindrance for her.
However, while in the heat of battle, they missed a small group of roughly six people, and a mage broke off from the pack and delved deeper into the forest; at first, I thought they were fleeing, but they were simply taking a detour to avoid being spotted while they made their way toward us.
'Welp, at least I know they're coming in advance.' I was confident Talis noticed them, so if Yuki and I hadn't switched, she would've informed her, but since it was me, I knew, she knew, she didn't need to do so. "We're about to get a bit of company, Jasmine; hide on the other side of the wagon for now." Stepping away from the wagon, I gazed behind, ensuring someone wasn't sneaking up on the other side while unholstering Trina and Zartha from my back.
"D-Do you need my help, Alex?" Lightly chuckling, I offered Jasmine a smile while shaking my head. "I appreciate it, but I can handle them; besides, your blessing is plenty of help." Gently gesturing Jasmine to back up, she nodded and hid on the other side of the wagon while I hid behind one of the trees, waiting for them to arrive.
"There it is, the wagon!" "Huh, but it's alone? The Reports say there is usually a massive armored figure guarding it." "I think that person is the one who attacked us." "If so, where is the m-" Slamming the broad side of my sword atop that man's head, knocking him unconscious, I kicked at the remaining six, using [Wind Blade], though since I used my leg, it was much weaker and only managed to cut through their armor. However, that was enough as it knocked them off balance and took them by surprise, with the mage being the only one able to block my attack, and to ensure he couldn't interfere, I pointed Zartha at him and used [Spatial Lock], causing him to freeze in place while I swiftly handled the five.
Once all the men were knocked unconscious, I glanced at the mage, who was just freed from my spell, and gazed at the situation in confusion. "W-What-" Appearing behind him with [Blink], I hit the back of his head with the but of Trina's hilt, causing him to fall while I yawned. "They're much stronger than the other times we were attacked, but this still felt a bit easy." Holstering my weapons, I scratched my chin and gazed into the forest with a bit of confusion, as I wasn't the only one having an easy time; Yuki, Vanye, Talis, and Lazuli were making quick work of their opponents. 'Man, those blessings helped, huh?' Lightly smiling, I approached the carriage while calling Jasmine, causing her to peek her head from behind the carriage. "It's safe?" Nodding, she walked out and stood beside me while glancing at the pile of 7 bodies by the edge of the road.
Leaning against the wagon, I watched the show happening in the forest, and since Yuki took my spot, there was no one there to remind them to show mercy, so a lot of them ended up dead; it was a bit of an unfourtante sight, but they choose this so I wasn't upset, but I did feel a bity of pity for them. After a couple more minutes, the battle concluded with our win, prompting me to glance at Jasmine. "The battle is over, Jasmine; you can go and heal them if you want, just be careful; many of them are dead." "Got it, thanks, Alex." Nodding at me, Jasmine stepped over the seven bodies and entered the forest, following the same path Vanye, Lazuli, and Yuki took until she arrived at the battlefield and froze at the sight; though she was a strong woman, so pushd through the uncomfortableness and began to heal those that were still alive, a sight that made me smile.
'Saintess? More like a goddess in my opinion.' Unfortunately, my smile quickly vanished when one of the men Jasmine healed held her hostage; however, just as his dagger rested against her neck, he suddenly disappeared. "Huh, h-how did I get here?" Eyeing the man who threatened Jasmine's life, I unsheathed Trina and swung her, bisecting the man vertically down the middle. "Tsk, bastard." Spitting on the corpse, I tossed a [Fire Ball] onto it, burning it while returning to watch Jasmine, who continued to heal our enemies despite what just happened. After Jasmine finished, they stripped everyone and forced them to run off into the forest before returning to the wagon, only to do the same to the seven sprawled on the ground.
"Has everything been taken care of?" Asked Fashu as she eyed us, prompting Yuki to nod while giving a thumbs-up, though she was no longer looking. "C'mon." Snapping the reins, Fahsu steered the horses down the road towards the city, which was a little further ahead. "Hahaha, Jasmine, you're fucking amazing!" Yelled Yuki loudly as she scooped Jasmine into a tight embrace, leaving her both happy and frightened. "T-Thank y-you." "Set her down, Yuki, you'll crush her, you're already deforming the armor she's wearing!" Slapping Yuki's thigh, she laughed before releasing Jasmine, only to grab her shoulder. "From now on, you're an Apostle, Jasmine!" Said Yuki while I removed her hand from her shoulder. "Woah, not so quick, Yuki, Jasmine's blessings are fantastic, but you can't decide that yourself."
Rather than arguing back, Yuki smirked before glancing at Vanye, Lazuli, and Talis. "Do you guys want Jasmine to join our party?" "Yes." "I do not see why we even need to question this. Her blessings are mighty." "Yeah! I flew faster than I've done so in the past!" Looking at Lazuli, Vanye, and Talis, I glanced back at Yuki, who grinned before lifting Jasmine onto her shoulder. "Hehe, well, you heard it first, Alex… She's joining The Apostles." Said Yuki with a hearty laugh while she slapped my back, causing me to sigh softly as I did as she told. Grabbing Jasmine's hand, we observed each other's status panel, and I sent her a request to join the party, which she didn't hesitate to accept. "Well, welcome, Jasmine; no turning back now." Offering Jasmine a smile, she returned the favor while Yuki turned around, taking the lead as we continued down the road.
After nearly an hour, we finally arrived at our destination, and since it was late at night, the line to enter the city was short, so it only took a few minutes; steering the wagon into a building, we stood just outside, waiting for Fashu. "Good job. Here is your reward: 8 gold." Said Fashu sternly as she handed me exactly eight gold, causing me to nod with a faint smile. "Appreciate it; have a good night, Fashu." "Before you go, what is the name of your party?" Asked Fahsu with a curious gaze, causing me to raise my eyebrow in surprise. "Um, The Apostles." "Hmm, The Apostles… I'll request your party next time." With a nod, Fashu turned around and entered the building.
"Eh, did we just get a recurring client?" "Seems so." Seeing Lazuli nod, I placed the gold in my space pouch and wrapped my arm around Vanye's shoulder as I led everyone. "C'mon, let's go! For acquiring our first recurring client, we'll celebrate! How does an orgy sound!?" "Haha, yes! A week without making love is painful!" "I agree with Yuki." "N-No you freaking bastard!" "H-Have some shame, A-Alex! W-We're in public!" "Yeah! Just let me retrieve Vanimo from Cassandra; it should only take twenty minutes max!"