NOVEL NEXT 83. Who Are These People.
Following the pings he had detected, Archer flew in their direction, descending lower and lower until he was flying just above the treetops.
After about 10 minutes of flying, he finally reached the location of the signals and began hovering in the air, scanning the area carefully in an attempt to locate their source.
Looking around he couldn't see anything, so he descended into the treetops and landed on a thin but sturdy-looking branch.
Still not seeing anything he got an idea.
Archer let go of the branch, his small body falling through the canopy, he managed to avoid obstacles on his way down.
Reaching out his arm, catching onto a branch with his claw, coming to a sudden stop.
Now that he was lower, he noticed a small camp ahead of him. Using his claws, he jumped from tree to tree like a nimble monkey.
Archer ended up in a tree just outside the camp, looking into the camp he noticed over 20 bandits roaming around.
Three of them were standing outside a shack, with another five going through a wagon in the center of the camp.
'They must have gotten a caravan recently, but I don't see any bodies,' he thought.
That was when a gorilla man went into the guarded shack and came out dragging a girl.
When Archer saw her, his blood froze, she had short blonde hair and blue eyes.
'Ella.' he thought.
Anger overtook him.
The man was dragging the girl towards another shack kicking and screaming. Archer leaped from the tree using Blink to quickly reach the two.
Archer closed in on his target, casting Blink to land on the man's back.
Using his tail, he impaled the man, effectively instantly killing him.
The girl scrambled backward as the body dropped to the floor, Archer stood motionless on top of the man's corpse.
As he watched the blood flow from the lifeless body, he felt a rush of excitement and began to laugh maniacally.
The other 19 bandits surrounded him, but he paid them no attention.
Turning his head towards the girl, he realized she was only a human.
For the moment, he ignored the girl and spoke loudly, using his mana to amplify his voice.
Archer recited something that the few surviving bandits would never forget.
"I am your favorite nightmare and your worst dream, all in one. I am everything you shouldn't want, and you are everything I need."
Casting Blink he reappeared behind a group of three, slashing two bandits in the back, and casting a water bolt at the last one.
Sera emerged from Archer's shirt and flew around, burning some of the bandits as Archer danced around, slashing the throats of some and impaling others with his tail.
Soon, all twenty bandits lay dead on the ground, with blood and guts scattered everywhere.
Archer went around collecting their hearts, managing to retrieve thirteen of them, he stored them away as he approached the guarded shack.
With a swift strike, Archer sliced open the door and pulled it off its hinges.
Peering inside, Archer spotted a dozen or so people huddled in a corner of the shack.
He stepped inside and spoke reassuringly.
"You'll be fine. I'll arrange for someone to take you back to the city"
Exiting the shack, Archer summoned a domain portal and called out.
"Can someone do me a favor and come out here?" Within a minute, three Dragon-kin men and a woman appeared.
All four kneeled down, and the one in front spoke.
''What can we do for you, your Majesty?''
Archer gazed at the Dragon-kin, pulling out eight dragon tokens from his pocket. He distributed two tokens to each person and explained what he required from them.
''I need you four to escort the humans from that shack and take them to the city.''
He pointed in the direction of Sunhaven, Archer finished up.
''When you see the city in the distance, use the tokens and return to the domain.''
The four Dragon-kin nodded before standing up and heading toward the rescued humans.
Archer approached the human who looked like Ella and stopped in front of her.
"Go to where your family is. My people will escort you back," he said.
Turning on his heels and headed towards the main bandit shack.
As he approached the largest shack, Archer cautiously entered the bandit's hideout.
His eyes widened at the sight before him, sitting in the center of the room, was a large chest overflowing with gold coins. He couldn't believe his luck.
Approaching the chest, he started examining it and realized there were thousands of gold coins inside.
He stored the chest in his Item Box, and that was when he noticed a barely noticeable seam running under his feet.
Archer quickly tore up the floor and saw a small staircase leading down.
Walking down the stairs he came across a locked wooden door, but he just kicked it down and found even more chests of gold.
Storing it all as he walked out of the shack and took off to search for more bandits.
As he flew, Archer scanned the treetops and the ground below, searching for any signs of movement or activity.
The jungle was vast and teeming with life, but the boy's sharp eyes didn't miss a beat.
Suddenly, he spotted a small clearing in the distance.
He flew closer, hovering above the treetops to avoid detection.
Sure enough, he saw a group of men and women gathered around a campfire, laughing and drinking.
They were armed with swords and bows, and their faces were twisted with greed and cruelty.
Archer gritted his teeth and prepared to attack.
Swooping down, his white wings flapping furiously as he landed in the center of the clearing.
The bandits were caught off guard, and they scrambled to grab their weapons.
He counted 11 bandits. Archer smiled as he cast Blink and reappeared in the center of the group.
Still smiling, he cast fire bolts into some of them, killing three in the first shot.
With lightning-fast reflexes, he rushed to the nearest bandit.
Archer was running toward them, a bandit suddenly lunged at him with a sword.
Without hesitation, he swiftly blocked the attack with his claws, which glinted in the sunlight.
But he wasn't just relying on his claws.
As another bandit approached him from behind, he whipped around and lashed out with his powerful tail.
The tail struck with a resounding thwack, knocking the bandits off their feet and sending them sprawling.
He spun and slashed, dodged, and weaved, taking on the bandits with a fierce determination.
Despite their numbers, the bandits were no match for the boy's speed and skill.
One by one, they fell before him, until the clearing was littered with bodies and the only sound was Archer's heavy breathing.
He stood there for a moment, catching his breath and surveying the aftermath of the battle.
Archer relaxed for a little while he went around collecting the 11 hearts and storing them away.
After hours of searching and finding three more bandit groups, he couldn't find any more bandits in the jungle.
He had defeated every group he had come across, but there were still some left.
Feeling frustrated, he decided to take a break from the search and focus on his other quest.
He had been tasked with finding and defeating a notorious bandit leader who had been terrorizing nearby villages.
It took him an hour to get there but by the time he did, Archer noticed something strange coming from Sunhaven City.
The city was shrouded in black clouds, and he hurried towards it to investigate what was happening.
As he was flying he noticed loads of people fleeing west, when he got closer to the city he saw an army of thousands just outside the city setting up a siege camp.
'Who are these people now.' Archer thought to himself.
The soldiers stood tall and proud, their colorful leather armor gleaming in the sunlight. The armor was expertly crafted to provide maximum protection while still allowing for ease of movement.
Each piece of armor was dyed in a different color, with some soldiers wearing vibrant reds and blues, while others donned earthy greens and browns.
The armor covered the soldiers from head to toe, with chest plates, and helmets protecting their head and chest.
There were many of them running around like ants setting up tents and siege engines, while in the distance the defenders were lining the wall.
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Archer's current Status.
[Name: Archer]
[Race: White Dragon]
[Age:13]
[Rank: Master]
[Exp: 750/12000]
[Level: 98]
[HP: 2900/2900]
[Mana: 10910/10910]
[Magic: Fire-Water-Earth-Wind-Lightning-Space-Darkness-Light.]
[Strength: 2000]
[Constitution: 2000]
[Stamina: 1800]
[Charisma: 2000]
[Intelligence: 1550]
[Status Points: 0]
Spells: Void Blaze(1)Cosmic Shield(4)Cosmic Sword(4)Cosmic Step(1)Cleanse(-)Eldritch Blast(4)Plasma Missiles(1)Thunder Wave(3)Call Lightning(3)Element Bolts(3)Dragon's Breath(1)Meteor Swarm(0)
Skills: Spell Creation(-)Mana Regeneration(-)Regeneration(6)Dragon Senses(-)Short Sword Mastery(4)Aura-Detector(4)Dragon's Domain(1)Draconic Form(-)Spell Combination(-)