The leader of the Reapers group clearly hadn't expected such arrogance and disrespect from some brat.
But what he definitely hadn't expected was that this very "brat" would be capable of casting a spell like that.
Just one attack… and several of his men were already out of action.
At first he thought the kid in front of him was either an overconfident idiot or someone who simply didn't understand the situation he had gotten himself into.
But now things looked different.
They had underestimated their opponent — and in the end, they were the idiots.
The leader wasn't the kind of person who forgave things like that.
So he immediately gave the order:
— Catch him and bring him to me!
The riders on wolves charged after me without hesitation.
But within seconds the situation began to change.
One after another, his men slammed into hidden obstacles. Wolves at full speed ran straight into concealed stakes, impaling themselves, while the riders were thrown from their saddles and crashed to the ground, tumbling through the air.
Because of their injuries, the animals could no longer keep moving.
Those who lost their wolves had no choice but to get up and continue the chase on foot.
Watching this unfold, the leader frowned.
«Damn… we were lured into a trap.»
And he was right.
The entire previous scene had just been a setup — a way to provoke them into chasing and pull them exactly into traps.
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.
.
By the time we left the town hall and stepped onto the square, the battle was already in full swing.
Archers along the walls fired continuously through narrow openings, aiming at the riders and their wolves.
Some of the Reapers had already lost their mounts in the forest, and without them their combat effectiveness had dropped significantly.
Ursus and Vost joined the archers, strengthening the barrage, while Lucia and Aria stayed in the rear, supporting the fighters. Using their abilities, they boosted morale and helped people keep their composure instead of panicking.
Garen had already run off somewhere ahead — judging by the shouting, he was giving orders and trying to keep the lines organized.
Oven and Suron had disappeared right at the beginning of the battle. Where they were now and what they were doing, I had no idea.
Though… if everything was going according to plan, then they were probably doing exactly what they were supposed to.
Zorru stood next to me and, judging by the look on his face, didn't quite know what to do with himself.
When I glanced at him, I caught him openly staring at me. But the moment our eyes met, he straightened up and looked away as if nothing had happened.
What is wrong with these tieflings?
After thinking for a moment, I decided to at least give him something to do so he wouldn't just stand there.
— Go help your people, — I nodded toward the walls.
It wasn't like they actually needed more people there — they already had enough. But at least he'd look busy. Better than just standing next to me and staring.
Zorru nodded and hurried off without asking questions.
I stayed behind alone, watching how the battle unfolded.
So far things were going in our favor — mostly thanks to the traps.
At one point my "Advanced Sense" activated.
A clear image immediately formed in my mind — a group of about a dozen Reapers was circling around the village from the rear.
We had fortified that side too, building walls and placing traps… but most of our forces were concentrated at the main entrance.
Which meant the rear of the village was practically unguarded.
I glanced once more toward the entrance, where our people were still holding the line.
Once I was sure everything was still under control there, I turned and hurried toward our uninvited guests.
They probably thought they were smarter than the rest.
But unfortunately for them, I already knew where they were.
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.
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While Rein headed toward the back of the village to intercept the flanking riders, Owen and Suron were busy with their own task.
Oven was holding a small sphere that occasionally released short sparks of lightning.
It was the Thunder-Fox core.
Oven had taken it earlier… and essentially just forgot to return it to Rein.
But now it turned out to be extremely useful.
— You sure this will work?
Suron eyed the sphere suspiciously as small arcs of electricity jumped from it.
Oven didn't even look at him and kept working.
— No.
— …
Suron froze for a second.
— What do you mean "no"?
— Exactly that, — Oven replied calmly while carving something into a metal plate with a knife. — But it's better than nothing.
Suron snorted and continued watching what his colleague was doing.
When Oven finished, he inspected the plate quickly and handed it over.
— Hold this for a minute.
Suron took the plate and examined the symbols Oven had scratched into its surface.
— What are these symbols?
— Simple runes, — Oven answered calmly. — They destabilize the core's energy.
Oven turned to grab a second identical plate.
Both were slightly curved, convex — designed so the core could be clamped between them.
He carefully took the sphere and placed it onto the plate Suron was holding.
The core immediately reacted — crackling softly, small sparks running across its surface while the light inside grew brighter.
— I already don't like this… — Suron muttered without taking his eyes off it.
Oven said nothing.
He quickly covered the core with the second plate, pressed them together, and wrapped the whole thing with rope to hold the structure in place.
A small gap remained between the two plates. Oven picked up a small nail from the table and carefully slid it inside.
— What's that?
— It's a detonator.
— The what?
Oven briefly explained that the nail would trigger a chain reaction inside the core. If it struck a hard surface, the nail would pierce the shell and the energy inside would immediately spiral out of control.
— So… it's a bomb?
Oven nodded.
Once the device was finished, the two of them left the house and headed toward the others.
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.
.
When I reached the place where those "geniuses" who decided to flank us should have been, I found a rather unpleasant sight.
They were simply jumping over the fence. One after another.
Both the wolves and the riders — without much trouble.
Yeah… we clearly hadn't paid as much attention to this side as we should have.
They hadn't noticed me yet and kept climbing inside. Some were already tossing bags and equipment over the fence, clearly preparing to secure the area.
I just stood there and waited for them to finish messing around and finally notice me.
The last Reaper clumsily climbed over the fence and immediately lost his balance, crashing onto the ground.
For a moment I wondered why they didn't just jump the fence with their wolves.
But apparently they were afraid there might be traps on the other side and didn't want to risk it.
They still hadn't noticed me.
So, tired of waiting, I simply whistled.
They all turned around sharply.
— Damn… I thought we'd stay unnoticed… who the hell are you?
It was dark around us. The only light came from the moon — unlike the front of the village where torches and magical spotlights were burning.
So I lit a small flame on the tip of my finger so they could at least see who they were talking to.
— Look, boys! The prey came to us by itself!
One of them said it with a grin, and the others burst out laughing.
Well… you could say that.
On the other hand, they were the ones who came somewhere they shouldn't have.
— What was your name… Ryan or…
— Rein.
— Ah, right. Well, if you surrender right now, I might even ask the commander not to torture you too much… Kha-ha-ha!
— Or if you want… you could entertain us first.
Another Reaper said that, nudging his companion with an elbow. Both immediately burst into laughter.
— Entertain you? — I tilted my head slightly. — I'll try not to disappoint.
— Huh? Are you insane?
Hm? What's he talking about?
— Doesn't it bother you that there are more of us? Or can't you count?
I looked them over.
Yeah… there really were more of them. Eleven against just me.
But there's a simple rule.
Numbers don't always mean quality.
Before the fight started, I decided to offer what I considered a fairly generous option.
— If you surrender willingly… — I said calmly, — I promise you won't be harmed. You'll live, eat properly… and work for us.
They fell silent for a moment, as if actually considering my words.
— Ha, and what's the benefit? That's basically slavery.
Well, yes. More or less.
But at least they'd work for food and live like ordinary people instead of wandering through forests slaughtering villages.
— And if we refuse?
— Well… — I shrugged. — Then the knights of the order will probably take you to the kingdom. Conditions there are much worse. First a trial… then execution. Or they might just sell you for experiments somewhere.
— You seriously think we'd agree to that?
Of course, expecting them to accept that easily would be stupid.
On one hand, they were free now and could do whatever they wanted without consequences.
On the other, I was offering them slavery — stripping them of almost all their "privileges."
And right now, I was standing between those two options.
The choice for them was obvious.
— Then we'll just deal with you and hand you over to the commander for his games. And he'll reward us far better than you.
— I didn't really expect you to agree.
There was no point continuing the conversation.
I flicked my hand, moving the little flame from my fingertip above us to illuminate the area.
I didn't need the light — thanks to "Advanced Sense," I could see perfectly well anyway.
This was more for them.
So they could feel… comfortable.
Then I snapped my fingers.
In the same instant a magical barrier rose around us, sealing the space and cutting off any escape.
The Reapers immediately tensed, lifting their heads and looking around.
— What the hell is this?
— Oh? That? — I said casually. — Just to make sure you don't try to run.
Now we were locked inside.
No one could enter. No one could leave until the fight was over.
Here I could fight freely without worrying about hurting any villagers.
We had evacuated the civilians to the basement of the town hall beforehand, just in case the battle reached the village itself.
Honestly, I was already getting bored practicing on rocks.
So the chance to test everything in a real fight was actually pretty welcome.
Realizing that talking was pointless now, the Reapers silently drew their sickles and prepared for battle.
One of them — the same loudmouth who had been talking the most earlier — gave a short command.
And in the next second they rushed at me without hesitation.