Chương 27: [BL] 27. Logic [1]

"He is Wes, a newly awakened Spearman. This one is Arades, the best guard candidate of the four unwakened," Josha introduced her to the two who would be her party members. Both were acquaintances of Shera and Josha. Apperantly they also trained to be guards but fell short of receiving a class stone. They stood on the edge of the rift's exit. It had been an hour since the looting of the rift started, and they found two more class stones, another [Warrior] and a [Berserker].

Willow also had two class stones—the [Dragooner] and [Warrior]. So how would this work? Was she going to give one of her class stones to this Arades? The guy was anxious, and his back almost scratched against the rough cave wall behind.

"My lady, if I may, I realised this may be too much to ask but—""You're not getting the Dragooner's stone, lad," A [Guard] commented. Willow inwardly groaned. Everyone was now ready to depart and just awaited Willow's party decision. The rift had been showing signs of breaking, like the slight tremor that shook the ground and the cracking dark wall of the cave. This sure is scary, but she did not panic as they were already prepared to exit.

"My lady," the [Guard] bowed his head and laid a palm across his Sheran's tree crest.

"It might be selfish for us to ask this, but would you be willing to let him consume a class that we, the Sheran's guard, earn? And have him inside your hunting party?" Arades let out a fake cough and earned the [Guard]'s glare, but the young man met it with a glare of his own.

"I meant to ask her to let me take the Warrior or Berserker class stone we earned, not hers."

"Oh, you did?" the old guard broke into a smile.

"Good, lad." Willow thought about that and figured they might owe her if they took a class stone from her.

"Look, just choose one already," Willow said.

"I will take you to the party since you two are the best." Both Wes and Arades beamed and gave each other wide grins. They must have seen how Josha and Willow levelled up a ridiculous amount and wanted to join the party. I can see why nobles marry their kids to outworlders, Willow thought. Even Habel, who knew better than anyone here, was still level thirteen. Thirteen! Josha was already level ten from a short rift raid with Willow. [The Grand Hunt has been called!] [The vile Lich, in their pursuit of immortality, will stop at nothing! Their sacrificial ritual has brought them progress, a progress that each Lich believes could soon grant the Lich Queen true immortality and earn her hand in marriage as promised! The ritual requires many subjects, and why use other liches when there are creatures outside their own rift? An invasion is imminent for the sacrifice, but some cannot help but try to outdo the others. A Shamanic Lich led his party of fifty to capture some of the Imperial legionaries' split detachment; even better, they captured multiple humans and some tier two class holders, maybe soon even tier three. Failure to foil their plan, might embolden the other Liches, and could push their Lich Queen to commit to an early invasion. Destroy the Lich party!] [Target: the Shamanic Lich Party] [Hunt Target] [Shamanic Lich—Level 23-29] [Reward: Bow of Frost (Tier one)] [Ritual Lich X5—Level 18-23] [Reward: Winter Quiver (Tier one)] [Lich—Level 5-15 X35] [Reward: Cold Dagger] [Hunt Party 3/3] [Level limit: 1] [Everyone inside the hunt party will receive a 100% Experience boost during the grand hunt] [50% shared experience boost activated among hunt party members!] [Hunt Party 3/3] [Hunter—Level 1] [Spearman—Level 1] [Berserker—Level 1]"Habel, this might be too dangerous," Willow warned him. She pursed her lips, reading over the information. This sounded so difficult… But if they fail, then there would be an invasion of lich?

"Look, I will tell you—""My lady, first we need to secure a proper base. This place is breaking. I'll want to hear all about the Hunt after."

"Fine," Willow bit her lip. Habel shouted a command, and the horseman mounted, preparing to charge out.

"Are you okay there?" Josha asked from atop Enzo.

"You look worried," Shera said behind him.

"Is it that bad?"

"We'll be facing a Lich invasion if we fail," Willow said. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Willow's party flinched beside her while Shera and Josha gave her a grave look. Those two had that face when she told her about their next hunt. For them, they hated the Lich as much as they hated the Dark Knight from the Hollow Rifts. Both creatures killed their friend, and Willow could see their eyes blaze with anger and the need for revenge.

Especially now that they have the power, she thought glumly.

"We will secure the outside quickly, then. You're not good enough to shoot on target, so keep safe Willow," Josha said, spurring Enzo forward. Shera let out a yelp at the sudden movement, and she threw her head back.

"You two better protect her! You hear me! I will kill both of you myself if—" The portal took over Shera and Josha's figures before she could finish.

"Bloody hell, we're really doing this," Wes said, his body so stiff that he went into a crouch to breathe deep.

"We need to just stick to you, right? Uh, my lady?" the new [Berserker] asked. Arades' eyes flitted nervously toward the rest of the ground troops, just another three guards, and each of them assigned to protect Willow. She put a hand on her hip and stared at them. They flinched, mumbling a quick apology.

"Cut out that 'My Lady' stuff, would you? Josha and Shera call me by name, so you two do it too." -———— When the crisp air of the forest entered her throat again, Willow smiled from ear to ear, took a lungful, filled her cheeks, and exhaled. She was sick of the cave. Bloody hell, why did both rifts she entered have to be caves? They were so dry and… She stopped when she noticed the tense horsemen with their swords and spears drawn. Willow went to fighting stance, nocking her arrow.

Wes and Arades quickly shielded her, and the makeshift wagon the other guards pulled dropped, and they formed a shield wall in front of Willow. She aimed and tried to identify the lone figure standing with its legs rippling the star-filled pool. It was tall, a warrior ready for battle from head to toe. A white topknot whipped above it by the forest winds, fluttering against its dark visor that encased its head but let its red face open, showcasing its pure white eyes and pointed ears.

At first glance, it might have looked human, but that demon-like face and white hair with the teeth of a sabretooth killed any doubt it was but a rift-born. From its neck to its feet was dark lamellar armor that—on second glance, might be a carapace, reinforced by a golden pauldron designed like a biting tiger around its shoulders. A war sash hung at its hip, and a long red pouch was secured like a split skirt, revealing its equally dark cuirass.

[Ember Blade—Level 25] A large shield, half its size, emblazoned with a sigil of a bronze flame right in the middle, and it held a sabre whose handguard was also a bronze sabre. A tier-two monster. The horsemen were about to circle it, but Habel gave the command not to go behind it since there might be more still lurking.

Willow's huntress mantle billowed against her shoulder, and she tried her hardest to not be distracted by it as she held her aim, but eventually she lowered her bow since the chances were she was going to hit a horse instead.

"What is that thing?" Willow whispered to the guards around her and Wes, and Arades.

"Ember blade," Arades' voice came, full of disbelief.

"There shouldn't be any here since they were native to Red Sand…

"What do you mean, native?"

"Native is not accurate. They're rift born, lass," explained one of the [Guard], a middle-aged woman.

"They came with their black-purple portal a hundred years ago, like the Lich-portal you found, a tier three or four portal the size of a continent. Normally, the empire could handle such a portal, but the Ember One's portal position spawned in between multiple neighbouring kingdoms' territory, and the joint rift force between five kingdoms ended in disaster as betrayal ran deep and they fought among themselves. So even now, the Embers rule the Red Sand."

"And what are the chances they somehow stumbled here?"

"With a sea separating us?" She laughed.

"We have another portal to deal with; you better pray it's a green portal." The Ember Blade raised its blade and, in one motion, stabbed it down into the pool, sticking it upside down, and waited.

"A duel challenge—their tradition," the [Guard] explained further.

"The Ember folk's rune is called the Rune of Duel. They get stronger when they win a fair duel. If none of us accept its duel, then it will fight all of us."

"There are all kinds of runes, huh? Still, how is it fair if it's a tier two while none of us is?" Willow grumbled.

"Magic is rarely fair," the [Guard] said. Habel, along with Josha, rode toward her, and he called for every horseman to retreat. Willow had expected the commander to order a charge, but no, instead they gathered around her and dismounted, then handed their horses's reins to those who were newly awakened. Everyone sat around and formed a circle with Habel in the middle.

"The Ember Blade's sword is slick with blood. It just killed the surrounding monsters, so let's do a quick planning here. Before I decide what to do, my lady, will you tell us what your Grant Hunt entails?" Willow told them exactly as is. The Lich's Quest and the reward.

"Lich invasion? From a tier-three or even four portal?" Arades's shoulders dropped, and he covered his face.

"I know it's the Cycle, but still… That Rift could not have spawned five days ago."

"Three days," Josha said.

"At least just three or four days ago."

"You would know, don't you?" Wes added mirthlessly.

"What that supposed to mean?" Shera challenged with a glare.

"I mean. Are they not planning to invade because you went there and got yourself captured, so they figure we're so weak and perfect for their rituals?" Instead of denying that, Josha looked at both Wes and Arades, then at everyone.

"That might be the case."

"Josha, stop that," his brother said with a sigh.

"No need to—""No! We're in this mess because some children cannot be patient enough for—""If they did not do that," Habel cut in, defending Josha, and that earned him a startled reaction from both Shera and him.

"Bright Lady Willow wouldn't be here. Don't you get it? All of you?" He opened his arms wide, and a tired smile marred his face.

"The Bright Rune gives us a condition for victory. This Hunt will kill the lich invasion attempt and save a Legion unit. The effect will connect, and I believe this will lead to you, my lady, freeing the Imperial army to help the village in time. You will grow stronger, and the Hunt Party will grow. Hence, you should not waste your time here." Habel reached into his pocket and handed Willow a piece of paper. Just a piece of paper trapped inside a cubic glass.

The paper flew against one side, like it tried to escape.

"This paper was torn from my commander's. I think his unit is the one the Hunt Party spoke about."

"What are you doing?" Willow demanded when he unslung his bow and handed it to Willow along with his quiver.

"With your hunter class, the short sword I gave you should fit you more than the long one. Please keep practicing your bowmanship, my lady, and try not to lose your class—don't use any of your magic until you levelled up further." Habel turned, propped his spear up, spun it once, and took his shield with his left arm.

"I will take the duel." The declaration met with solemn understanding by almost everyone, except for Willow.

"Why don't we just fight it? It has a duel rune, right? So I assume its spell will be centered around duel?"

"It does, but its ability will not restrict on duelling. My lady, without your Wind mage class, we will not stand a chance against a tier two monster. I will extend the duel. To keep it at spear's length, so please, come back to me when you find my commander." She tried to see if Habel was lying to her, but she could not tell as the [Legionary] walked toward the Ember Blade, who picked up its sword and trudged across the pool to the earth, readying its shield.

"We will be back," Josha said. He offered Willow his hand after he mounted Enzo. She took it, and with her new bow she directed Josha where to go. I will be back, she promised.