Chapter 339 - Roadblock

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~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: Carriage, Heading to Helda's Destination)~~~

~~~(Time: 10:17 AM)~~~

The air in the carriage isn't as tense now that everyone is awake. Hailey and Jasmine are silent and are both looking out the window with the view. Sally is sitting next to me and nervously watching Melimora and Helda as they stare right back at me. Threatening my friends and loved ones is something I take seriously. I don't care if she got any information about me from my reaction.

There are certain lines you don't cross, and Helda doesn't abide by those unwritten rules. That makes her all the more dangerous, in my opinion. Helda raises her head in concern and looks out the window that shows the road ahead. I match her action, and my eyes see the same thing she probably sensed. There is a group of human bandits blocking the road.

My stomach twists in disgust, knowing what they're after. There is only one reason human bandits would be on the road so close to the Elven Kingdoms border. "Slavers..." As the words slowly exit my mouth, there is an immediate reaction from Jasmine and Sally. Given their history as ex-slaves. These twisted freaks are looking for elven women since they're probably a good sell.

Helda stops the carriage with the wave of her hand, and we're about 65 feet away from the makeshift roadblock. "Things can never be simple... Running into slavers on this route isn't uncommon... Normally, there wouldn't be this many, though..." Helda starts whispering to Melimora, and she nods along with her. She turns towards the door, and it opens.

Helda exits the carriage, and Melimora follows her, and I would help them if I didn't think they couldn't handle it. They've been doing the for longer than all of having been alive combined. "Cera..." Sally grips my hand and moves a bit closer. I wrap my arm around her and try my best to comfort her. She's a strong girl, with only a couple of weaknesses.

Jasmine does the same with Hailey, and that's when I have an idea. "Do you two want to handle them?" Hailey looks at me with fury in her eyes, but it's not her decision. Sally faced her torturers back in The City of James and killed them brutally. While she's stronger for it, she knows that slavers took her mother. Judging by their expressions, they're thinking about it.

Sally stands up and heads straight for the door, not asking me to come or anything of the sort. She's determined to face this demon from her past as well. I stand up to follow her out, and I step out onto the road. Helda and Melimora are up ahead, talking with the bandits. Separated by 30 feet and being careful. I fall in line behind Sally, and I hear another set of footsteps behind me.

Jasmine is right on my tail, and Hailey is getting out of the carriage to follow too. "Talk about a large carriage! You got any more beautiful women in there!? We need some for a payday!" My anger slowly boils at the vile words. Helda and Melimore turn around to see us approaching, and we stand right behind them, and they both give a neutral reaction. 

~~~(POV: Saliandra Orvello)~~~

~~~(Location: Open Road, near Elven Kingdom's Border)~~~

~~~(Time: 10:24 AM)~~~

My eyes scan over the group of criminals, and I can only imagine what my mother was feeling in a situation that's far worse than this one. She didn't have a group to help her... To protect her... She suffered a far worse fate than I could bring myself to think about. "We're willing to pay for a peaceful passing, but if you force our hands, nothing will save you." Helda's words are solid.

She's standing strong, likely having dealt with a lot of this over the centuries. She's been smuggling people around and in the borders of the Elven Kingdom. "Hmm... Depends on how much you're offering... I can fetch a pretty penny for products like you, minus the male, of course." My skin crawls at his words. Calling us products, like we're not living thinking beings.

Before Helda can respond, Cera steps forward and stands in front of Melimora and her. "You're not leaving this road alive, and the ones that are going to kill you are people who've suffered at the hands of people like you." Helda is visibly angry, but Cera ignores her. The leader of the group grits his teeth, and a large scowl appears on his face.

There are around 30 of them, and most are wearing basic leather gear and carrying iron swords. The stronger ones are near the front, and they're wearing some decent armor and carrying some quality weapons. "You've just sealed the fate of everyone you care about, kid. I'll make sure to take my time and teach them how it's done." His words make my vision slowly turn red.

Cera steps back, and I feel his hand land on my shoulder. I look at him, and he nods his head, and my resolve to kill them has been steeled. I step forward and draw my weapon, and I prepare to use some of my strongest attacks that my Legacy grade class offers. They're going to suffer the pain of Winters Wrath. 

The bandits slowly get ready for a fight, and the leader smiles. "We're going to enjoy slaughtering your boyfriend and showing you what it's like to be with a real man." Before I can even think of a retort, a blur passes by me and closes the distance between our group and the bandits. Her blade slices through the man behind the leader, him barely dodging her attack.

~~~(POV: Jasmine)~~~

~~~(Location: Open Road, near Elven Kingdom's Border)~~~

~~~(Time: 10:29 AM)~~~

My rage-fueled attack causes the man I killed to fall to the ground dead, in two separate pieces. I can't contain it anymore. The fear that was there is now only replaced with a red hot vengeance and thirst for their blood. I turn, and I see Sally already cutting through the other side of the group. She swings her sword with a purpose, the same purpose I have.

To kill these men and inflict pain unto them as we do it. "Wait! Wait! I've changed my min-!" My sword's sharp edge cuts through the leader's neck as his head is lopped off and thrown to the ground. The rest of the bandits are trying to make a quick escape into the forest now that their plan and leader has crumbled to nothing. 

Sally and I run side by side into the forest, hunting down the survivors. Cutting into the backs and their abdominal cavities. Their organs slowly spill on the ground as the bodies pile up. "Don't stop until they're all dead!!" Sally screams out with a fury that I've never heard from her, and I can relate to her feelings. It's a hard thing, during their words after everything we've been through...

~~~(POV: Helda Vora)~~~

~~~(Location: Open Road, near Elven Kingdom's Border)~~~

~~~(Time: 10:31 AM)~~~

The screams of the bandits echo through the woods and back to the road. My eyes stare at the piles of bodies on the road that are chopped up and displaced. Organs and blood are pooling, and my eyes shift to Cera. He's staring out into the woods. If the weakest of their group are this strong, then I don't see any way to beat them in a straight-up fight.

While I know I can beat Sally or Jasmine one on one, I know for a fact that I wouldn't come out unscathed. "You just had to do that, didn't you?" Cera's sister, Hailey, starts a conversation as she walks over and stands next to her brother. He doesn't respond, and she lets out a deep sigh. "I suppose it's for the best. It's not like they didn't deserve it." I wonder how strong those two are...

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A/N: Below this line, I'll be keeping Cera's player information. That way, I won't have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.193]

[Exp: 3/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 30] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [Hardened Tree sap Armor (Very Rare)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir's Whistle (Divine)] [Sally's Dresses 5x] [Camping gear] [Food Rations 4x] [Dried meat 4x] [Fishing poles 2x] [Fish 8x] [Festival Garbs 2x]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heavens light Lvl.59 325/5900] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.59 225/5900] [Slash Lvl..77 4600/130000] [Parry Lvl.53 80/5300] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controled Fun]