Royal Princess of Blood

The monster was a four-legged beast, standing at two meters tall and three meters long. It had sharp talon-like claws, a dark furry body with muscle filled limbs. Slithering behind it was its scorpion-like tail, and it had a fierce feline face with a pair of fangs protruding out of its mouth.

One of the guys was left defending their group, the rest of the two fighters had already perished.

"Stay away!" He shouted as he extended his sword at it, trying to intimidate or drive it away. But of course, something like that wouldn't work.

The monster hissed.

The civilians hid behind their flipped carriage, frozen in fear and feeling intense concern for their lone friend facing the monster. Even the warrior looked afraid, he was slightly shaking. It would seem he was not a very powerful one or someone too experienced. But he stood on bravely to protect who he needed to protect.

And the monster leaped at him while baring its teeth, intending on biting off his head. But then a great sword got in between them, and the monster bit on the blade. Hartwin followed by stabbing his rapier into its frontal leg, unleashing a burst of magic once the blade was inside its flesh.

The monster cried and instantly backed away, while Velar pulled away his sword.

Hartwin poured mana into his blade before thrusting it in the air, sending a magical projectile towards the monster's face, hitting it on the forehead, leaving a small wound. The monster shook its head, stunned.

"Who are you people?" The middle-aged guard asked while beaded in sweat.

Hartwin smiled amiably. "Oh, just some people that wanna help."

"In that case, thanks!"

"Let's set that aside for now," Velar said. "It's about to attack. Hartwin, you deal the damage, while I tank it."

"Got it."

Velar charged against the beast with a loud shout, and the monster shifted its eyes towards him. He swung his sword, and it clashed against the monster's teeth. At the same time, the monster swung its claws at him, and Velar swiftly conjured a barrier, protecting himself.

Hartwin ran to the monster's side and slashed its skin several times with smooth swiftness. Blood spurted out with every cut. Thankfully, the monster's skin was not as hard as the one they faced earlier. The monster suddenly jumped back in retreat, while at the same time it moved and lashed its scorpion tail at Hartwin like a whip.

Crap!

He swiftly poured more mana into his blade, holding it on both edges, and blocked the tail. There was a loud clanging sound as he staggered backward. The middle-aged man then advanced and swung his sword at the monster to prevent it from doing a follow-up attack.

At the same time, Velar bashed his body against the side of the monster's face. Subsequently, he did a quick swing and hit its neck. The beast roared and waved its tail violently, sending wind and dust spreading all over the area, affecting everyone's sight.

Hartwin covered his eyes. He realized that they might have just made the monster a bit desperate. It began running around them before lunging towards Velar. The latter used his broad blade to block its claws. At the same time, Hartwin moved in to thrust his rapier into the monster's belly.

The middle-aged guard stepped in and slashed its hind leg. The monster stomped its leg violently, scattering dust and shaking the ground. It began to speedily wave its claws at Velar before switching to Hartwin, then back to Velar, moving with amazing agility.

Hartwin moved in and stabbed the monster's neck, then followed by a piercing Armament Magic. The beast squealed for a moment before lashing out. With a roar, it pounced at Velar from above. Velar swiftly held out his hand to cast a barrier, but the sheer weight of the monster pushed him down to the ground.

Hartwin quickly moved in and slid below the monster. Pouring as much mana into his blade as possible, he unleashed a wide blast of magic, shredding some of the monster's flesh. The monster backed away and yelped, about to step on Hartwin. The bard quickly evaded, and the monster hit the bare ground.

At the same time, the middle-aged man slashed the monster's body. The monster glanced at him and its tail moved in towards the man in an instant.

Hartwin's eyes widened when he saw it. "Watch out!"

The man was too late to move, and the tip of the scorpion tail pierced him from behind.

"Uncle!" a young woman screamed and stepped into the open, but her companions frantically pulled her back.

With its tail, the monster lifted the man's corpse and threw it away. Hartwin stared at the corpse, it didn't move. It was highly possible that he was dead. But there was no time to check, he must focus on the enemy before them. He failed to save one person, he shouldn't fail again. He glared at the monster.

This monster did not have much defensive abilities. It was just agile and big. However, it was not too strong like the ones in the badlands. Together with Velar, both of them could certainly beat it.

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And together, they advanced at the monster. It had sustained heavy damage, and its movements had slowed down. All they had to watch out for was its tail. This time, they switched roles. Hartwin faced the monster up front to garner its attention.

He fired magical piercing bolts at the enemy, and he would swiftly retreat and dodge when the monster moved in to attack him. Velar took the chance to move up the monster's rear. With a jump, he heavily swung down his greatsword.

The monster halted and started crying in pain as its tail was cut off. It glanced at its own scorpion tail on the ground, which was still squirming. At the same time, Hartwin moved in to land a blow on its front leg, shattering it by the knee. To keep the relentless attack, Velar swung at its body, making a large laceration that spilled a good amount of blood, and leaked out the guts.

The monster fell to the ground, and Hartwin quickly moved in and stabbed its eye. His rapier glowed brightly before a blast of magic exploded into the monster's head, blowing up its eyeballs, and also its brain.

With that fatal blow, the monster stopped moving completely.

Panting, Hartwin pulled out his sword and slowly stepped back. He looked at Velar and nodded.

It's done.

He turned towards the middle-aged man's body and ran towards it. Kneeling down beside it, he checked for a pulse. But there was nothing.

"Uncle Nasu!"

Hartwin quickly stepped back just as a young woman ran into him. She kneeled beside the dead man and wrapped her arms around him as tears welled up in her eyes.

"No, no, t-this can't be…"

Hartwin pointed a soft look at her. She seemed to be the same age as Estelia. She had dark hair and dark eyes. Her clothes were simple and shabby.

"I'm sorry we couldn't save him," Hartwin said with a gentle tone.

The girl slowly stared up at him, and a brief moment later, she shook her head. "No, you shouldn't apologize." She lowered her head. "He died fighting, out of his own will, to protect us. And… And he did his job well. He died protecting us."

She rubbed her tears.

Hartwin nodded and said nothing. Silence was the best thing to do right now. He glanced at the other civilians, who checked the other corpses and were also crying for the dead.

What are they even doing in the middle of nowhere?

Hartwin glanced at the pair of drakolisks lying on the ground. They were still alive, only having difficulties standing up because of the downed carriage. A short moment later, the girl stopped sobbing and slowly put down the man's, Nasu's, corpse.

"I must bury him, and the others."

Hartwin slowly nodded. "We'll help."

They found a good spot and started digging burial holes for the dead. Once they were large and deep enough, they started putting down the bodies. The ones that were close to the dead kneeled beside the grave hole, sobbing. However, the young woman remained standing with a stern face, as if she was holding back from crying again. But she ultimately failed, and her tears crawled down her cheeks.

"He must be a close family of yours," Hartwin said.

The girl nodded. "Yes."

Once everyone had their moments, Hartwin and Velar started covering the holes. The people the civilians once knew were gradually being covered and disappeared from sight forever. The young woman piled some stone on her uncle's grave.

When she was done, she lowered her head, her eyes closed. "He was the only family I had left… After the swarm of monsters attacked our village."

"Is that why you're out here?" Hartwin asked.

"There's nothing left back home. My uncle helped me escape…" She rubbed her eyes. "He was not even a warrior. He was but a stonemason."

"..."

"And yet he protected us the best he could."

"He is truly brave."

The girl smiled as she slowly glanced up at Hartwin. "I'm sorry for my late introductions. I am Mayumi."

"I'm Hartwin," he said with a friendly smile.

Mayumi stood up and bowed deeply. "Thank you so much for saving us."

"Don't mention it. So just, um, raise your head." He felt a bit awkward being bowed that deeply.

An old man then approached them. "A show of gratitude is important." He bowed his head and was followed by the rest of the civilians, women. "We owe you our lives."

Hartwin awkwardly chuckled. "... Then, you're welcome. So please, raise your heads."

They raised their heads.

"Where are you heading?" Velar asked them.

"To the capital city," Mayumi said. "With our village destroyed, we hope to find a new life there. But…" She glanced at the graves. "Our protectors had died… There's no one left to protect us on the way."

Hartwin stared at her sad expression. She glanced worriedly at her companions. With no one left to fight in their group, she must be concerned about the safety of everyone. Indeed, without a fighter while going down the road, they would certainly die if a monster ever appears.

Hartwin pitied her, she had just lost her last family, just as after her village was destroyed. She seemed like a good person, too. It pained his heart whenever a woman was this sad. He preferred for them to be smiling, at least that was a sign that they had it good.

"Mayumi, there's no need to worry about that." He gently grasped her hand. "We'll protect you."

Her eyes widened. "But… You have already done enough for us, just some strangers."

"It's fine." He smiled widely. "We're going to the capital city, anyway."

"... But there's many of us. We'll be a burden."

"It will be fine, don't worry. Isn't that right, Velar?"

"... Yeah."

"See?"

Mayumi's face slowly crumpled, and she lowered her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks once again. Hartwin could feel her grasp tightened.

"Thank you… Thank you so much…" the girl cried in the face of kindness.

"Now, now. Let's get to work, eh? Your carriage is flipped over."

Mayumi chuckled. "S-Sure!"

They flipped back the carriage, and Hartwin went on to check if it was still operational.

"Yup, a bit damaged, but the wheels are fine. This will do. What about those things?"

The old man patted the drakolisks. "They're mine, so I can control them."

"Oh, good. Then let's go?"

The civilians started climbing up the carriage. Hartwin noticed Mayumi stare at the grave of her uncle. It was sad that they had to bury him in the middle of nowhere. But they had no choice.

Hartwin extended a hand towards her. "Mayumi."

The young woman slowly looked up at him and forced a small smile. She grasped his hand, and he helped her up.

"Alright, we're good to go," Velar said as he sat down.

With a snap, the carriage started moving. Hartwin put down his bag and lute.

"What is that?" Mayumi pointed at the lute.

"This?" Hartwin lifted it. "It's a musical instrument. A lute."

"A musical instrument…?" It would seem she had not seen something like it before.

"Let me show you." He placed the lute on his lap. He pressed some chords and started plucking the strings, letting out a beautiful, soft tune.

"It sounds beautiful." Mayumi stared closely at the lute with wide, intrigued eyes.

Hartwin felt quite pleased to see that. "Try playing it."

"Me? But I don't know how to play."

"Just try it."

"... Very well."

She received the lute. She was confused about how to properly place it, so Hartwin had to assist her.

"Try pulling some strings."

With a nod, Mayumi pulled one string, then another, and another. She subtly gasped. "Amazing."

"Right? Hehe."

She kept on trying to play it.

Hartwin leaned back. "What about I teach you as we travel? Not like we have anything else to do."

"Is that alright?"

"Of course!"

Mayumi smiled. "Thank you."