Quite some time had passed since the battle began. The Reapers continued to take losses — their numbers had been cut roughly in half. The villagers were still holding, but it was obvious that constant shooting without rest was starting to wear them down.
After receiving Rein's order, Zorru headed toward the others without hesitation. Even though Rein had never formally accepted him as a subordinate, Zorru already considered himself one. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint the person he now saw as his lord.
When he reached the village entrance, he stopped and quickly looked around, trying to figure out where he might be needed.
At first glance everything seemed under control. The people were holding their positions. But if you looked more closely, it became clear that the Reapers were slowly creeping closer, exploiting the blind spots in the defenses. Before long, several riders reached a section of the wall where it was already possible to climb inside.
Zorru noticed it immediately.
His first instinct was to rush over and stop them while they were still trying to climb. Anger surged inside him — the memories of what they had done to his home were still painfully fresh.
But he quickly cooled down.
He was alone, while there were already around half a dozen enemies there — and who knew how many more would follow. Charging in alone would be stupid.
So he made the smarter decision — find Garen and report the breach.
That turned out to be easy. People were shouting everywhere, giving orders, calling to one another… but Garen's voice was the loudest.
He stood a little aside, directing people and holding the line together.
Zorru quickly ran up to him.
— Sir Garen!
Garen turned immediately.
— Sir Garen… — Zorru caught his breath. — A small group of Reapers broke through the blind spots. And it looks like they're still climbing over the fence.
Garen scratched his beard and thought for a moment.
«Damn… with that meat grinder at the front I completely overlooked the side…»
Noticing the two of them talking, Vost approached.
Aria also noticed and came over, leaving Lucia alone to continue supporting the fighters.
While Garen stood there thinking about what to do, Vost and Aria quickly questioned Zorru about the situation.
He explained everything in brief, and both of them turned toward Garen, waiting for his decision.
He stayed silent for a few seconds, weighing the options.
Then he looked over the battlefield and finally spoke.
— Then there's no point wasting time, — he said shortly. — We need to intercept them before they push deeper into the village and start setting fires.
The tieflings nodded but remained standing, knowing he hadn't finished.
Garen quickly laid out the plan: he, Zorru, and Vost would go. Ursus would stay here — Vost looked sturdier and would be more useful in close combat. Aria would return to Lucia and continue supporting the others.
But that still left only three of them.
According to Zorru, there were at least twice as many riders… and who knew how many more were still climbing over the fence.
At that moment Garen remembered two of his friends he hadn't seen since the battle began.
"Why the hell are those idiots missing when we actually need them…"
As if in response to his thoughts, a familiar voice called out.
— Hey! What are you arguing about?
Turning around, he saw Suron — with Owen trailing behind him, clearly out of breath.
— Where the hell have you two been?
— Ah… well… we were just… a bit busy.
Suron tried to explain, but Garen's eyes locked onto the object in his hands.
— What's that? — he asked, pointing at it.
Suron glanced at Oven for help.
Oven quickly explained what it was and how it worked, also mentioning why they hadn't been fighting.
— What?.. — Garen stared at him in disbelief. — You mean… you were building a bomb this whole time?
— Well…
— Yes, — Oven answered simply.
Garen stared at him for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.
— Let me guess… this was your idea?
Oven shrugged and smiled faintly.
Garen rubbed his face and sighed tiredly. Then he quickly explained the situation that had developed while they were gone and told them they would be joining the group.
He nodded toward the device in Suron's hands.
— That might come in handy too.
After sorting out their roles, Aria returned to Lucia while the remaining group wasted no time and headed toward the intruders.
.
.
.
A group of six Reapers charged toward me.
Five others stayed behind with the one who had given the order.
Three rushed straight at me. I immediately separated them from the rest by raising a magical barrier between us — more like a dense translucent wall than a traditional barrier, so the entire group wouldn't pile onto me at once.
They had the advantage in numbers, and I had no intention of fighting all of them at the same time. I only have two hands… and I've already lost one once.
After splitting them into two groups of three, the ones in front noticeably slowed down. Their enthusiasm faded — they exchanged glances and began moving more cautiously, keeping their eyes fixed on me.
Meanwhile I was calculating several things at once thanks to a sub-skill from the "Observer" branch — "Parallel Mind."
With it, I could focus on several tasks simultaneously. In this case — fighting while also creating a trap of quicksand beneath the five who had stayed behind.
I wasn't naive enough to think they wouldn't notice their legs slowly sinking into the ground.
So, just to be safe, I used a special skill called "Perception Manipulation."
This ability worked partly like an illusion — creating the sensation that they were standing on solid ground. And partly like a mental influence, forcing the brain to ignore the real sensation of their bodies slowly sinking.
I had obtained this skill the previous day during a sparring match with Garen. He had feinted toward my right shoulder, and when I tried to block the strike… the sword simply passed through the illusion while the real attack came from the side.
Even my "Predictor" hadn't caught the trick and calculated the trajectory of the fake strike.
Maybe it was because Garen's skill was Special-class while mine was only Advanced.
But in the end I still managed to acquire the ability — thanks to "Observer."
Once again I was reminded how ridiculously useful that skill was.
Besides the Reapers themselves, their wolves were still there too, though only four remained. For now they weren't participating in the fight.
I decided to deal with them later — after finishing with the main group.
The three riders facing me began circling, trying to surround me.
It was actually a smart tactic. Keeping track of three opponents at once is difficult, and sooner or later someone could slip behind me.
But unfortunately for them, I had "Advanced Sense," which allowed me to perceive everything in a full 360 degrees.
Their strategy simply didn't work against me.
They attacked one by one, never striking all at once — probably waiting for the right moment.
So I decided to play along.
After deflecting their attacks, I pretended to relax.
And it worked.
Sensing the opportunity, they attacked simultaneously from three sides.
I stepped aside — and two of them slammed straight into each other headfirst, collapsing to the ground.
The third tried to attack from behind, but I spun around and kicked him in the side, sending him flying into the barrier with a dull thud.
He almost managed to hit me.
One of the fallen Reapers tried to grab my arm… but immediately received a shock. I had already run electricity through my body just in case someone tried to grab me.
And as it turned out, that precaution paid off.
Two of them were already out of the fight.
I looked at the third… but he was lying motionless. Either unconscious or pretending.
I watched him for a few seconds, then decided not to risk it and simply bound him with a steel thread — the same trick I had copied from Ursus while he was setting traps.
Hm… that was easier than I expected.
I thought they'd put up at least some resistance, but I didn't even have to draw my katana.
They definitely didn't seem like B-rank fighters.
After finishing with the first trio, I turned toward the ones still behind the wall. Judging by their faces, they clearly hadn't expected that outcome.
The confidence they had shown earlier was completely gone.
I lowered the wall, allowing them to come through.
But…
They just stood there staring at me.
— What did you… just do?
— Mm? — I tilted my head slightly. — What exactly?
The Reaper, not getting an answer, grew visibly irritated.
— Don't play dumb! That lightning thing with your hand… what the hell was that?
— Oh, that? — I smirked and spread my hands. — Just basic lightning magic.
The Reaper paused for a moment.
The idea of an easy victory no longer seemed quite as convincing.
"How can someone control lightning like that… we can't beat him."
Even though fear crept into his mind, he tried not to show it.
— Listen… you said something earlier about surrendering?
The men beside him exchanged looks, clearly not expecting that from their companion.
— Don't be stupid, Quasar. We'll crush him.
— Exactly. He just got lucky those guys fought him first…
Oh, now he wants to surrender after I played around with his friends a bit?
They seemed much braver earlier.
— Well… you guys already missed your chance.
In reality, the offer still stood.
But I wasn't going to look soft or show mercy.
They had come to my home to kill people and loot.
So I continued playing my role until the end.
.
.
.
After hearing my answer, Quasar looked completely discouraged. Seeing the bodies lying on the ground, he clearly had no desire to share his comrades' fate.
But he didn't really have a choice.
Doubt gnawed at him.
His two companions, however, had none.
— What are we waiting for? Let's just finish him.
Before Quasar could stop him, the man had already rushed forward recklessly.
«Idiot!»
He seemed to be the only one who had even slightly grasped the opponent's strength.
But the attacker didn't manage to take even two steps before suddenly collapsing.
Out of nowhere a small stone slammed into his forehead with such speed it was almost impossible to see the moment of impact.
His body fell lifelessly to the ground.
The second Reaper, who only moments ago had been full of determination, froze as soon as he saw the blood pooling beneath the fallen man's head.
Quasar ran over and turned the body onto its back… then froze.
The man was already dead.
A small hole in his forehead slowly leaked blood.
The stone had pierced his skull clean through.
A moment later a calm voice sounded.
— Well? Still so confident in your victory?
Quasar lifted his eyes from the dead man's face to his opponent… but couldn't say a word.
«What kind of monster is this…»
From somewhere behind came the voices of the others — the ones standing about thirty meters away who hadn't yet joined the fight.
— What's going on over there?
— Finish him already. I want to go home and eat.
— Hurry it up!
Quasar turned around… and froze.
Five of his companions were standing waist-deep in the ground — and apparently hadn't even noticed.
He turned back toward his opponent.
— What did you do to them?!
— Just played with their perception a bit. Why?
Quasar could hardly believe what he was hearing. Manipulating perception wasn't some simple trick you talked about so casually.
While he stood there completely lost, almost on the verge of breaking down, he heard something he hadn't expected at all.
— Anyway… if you're not planning to fight anymore… I'm willing to take you prisoner.
.
.
.
Seeing how completely broken the Reaper in front of me looked, clutching the body of his dead companion, I decided to stop tormenting him and offered him the chance to surrender.
When he heard that, he burst into tears, pushed the corpse aside, and crawled toward me on his knees, lowering his head and begging for forgiveness.
The second Reaper, who had stood frozen for a moment, did exactly the same and knelt beside him.
Now I did feel a little sorry for them.
But I still knew who they were — and why they had come here today.
I lowered the barrier surrounding us.
When the Reaper saw that, he began crying even harder.
— Alright, alright… calm down. I'm not going to kill you…
I was about to continue when a loud explosion thundered from the other side of the village.
I immediately became worried something bad had happened.
So I decided to finish with these two as quickly as possible.
I turned back to them.
— You… really won't kill us? — Quasar asked with difficulty, his eyes red with tears.
— If you behave yourselves — no, — I replied calmly. — But I wouldn't test that.
They nodded rapidly.
I told them to stand up. They didn't resist and obeyed immediately.
I extended my hand, and in the same moment steel threads wrapped around them, binding their movements.
After finishing, I looked at them for a moment to make sure everything was secure.
There was no need to worry about the other five — they were already waist-deep in hardened earth and unlikely to escape. The rest lay unconscious and tied up. As for their wolves…
They were simply asleep.
— Sit still, — I said, already turning away.
After receiving another nervous nod, I dashed off toward the direction where the explosion had come from.