Chapter 16: Insta-Killing is an art
Mara was scared our of her mind. She had just watched as the moving caravan they had been on getting ambushed. Her parents were not well-to-do at all so traveling for long distances was always a trial.
In this part of the world, traveling for people who couldn't afford to get proper security was a pipe dream. Just thinking of the number of bandits along the way caused many to relent their travel dreams, opting to send out packages.
Despite all that, some had no option but to travel. Mara's family was one such case. What's more, if they were to be discovered, they would be put in chains and thrown in dungeons all their life.
Truthfully, Mara was tired and angry. What was even more frustrating was the fact that they had done no wrong. Their only crime had been being weak, and for that, they suffered dearly. However, due to her inability, she could do nothing but keep running and protecting her sister. As the elder, she needed to look out for the younger.
After running for what seemed like hours, they finally found a house. They hadn't run very long, but the stress and the constant alertness had had a toll on them. The house was heaven-sent. Without even considering possible dangers, they ran to it.
However, just as they were about to knock, the door opened, and a man came out. He was tall and extremely fit, but he wore some odd clothes. He was clad in all black clothing, which was very fitting. The only time Mara had ever seen someone with such good looking clothes was the wealthy, but rich families never lived in such places.
He also had a look of confidence about him, the kind that comes from the assurance of safety and security. To be able to live in such a place despite the obvious affluence, this man was a fighter, Mara decided.
As Mara was busy sizing Carzola, he got to have a closer look at the 2 girls. They were quite beautiful, despite their simple clothes and appearance. The elder girl had a determined look, while the younger had a look of innocence and fear. Neither looked threatening in any way.
Seeing the man come out, they rushed to him, imploring to him. As Carzola listened to the 2 girls' tale of woe, he couldn't help wondering if the girls should have looked for a more receptive audience. He was so unmoved by their tale that he was almost rolling his eyes.
The gist of the story was, the younger sister had been approached by a prominent family to be a bride for their ailing patriarch who happened to be almost a hundred years old. The family could do nothing, but they also wouldn't stand for it, so they ran off in the middle of the night.
Firstly, running off from such a prominent family as the Froyos was considered disrespect of the highest order. People of lower status had no choice but to submit. By now, the family knew that there were bounties in place and many people hunting for them. The family had to do something or lose face.
Now it felt like they had left the frying pan and into the fire. The bounty hunters would bring them back at least, and there was a chance of negotiation, but these bandits were known to be ruthless and bloodthirsty monsters, incapable of reason. While they knew that most of this was exaggerations, they couldn't help but think of the worst, and that was not a very good image.
Carzola wondered what his choices were at this point. Should he just kill these 2, it would be quick and clean. They had had a tough life, maybe they deserved some rest from it all. He quickly discarded that notion. He was starting to leave a body count, but then, what else could he do?
Perhaps he could invite them in, have them see the spacecraft and its glory and let them go to tell the tale. While not many would believe, he knew that the moment his actions were revealed to any galactic civilization, there was a price to pay. So that too was a no!
"Show me where they are." He said in a gruff voice. There was only one way to deal with this annoyance. He felt that if he had the time, he would have just gone on a hunt, eradicating every bandit in the area. Alas, due to lady Shaleen's call, he had to cut off such plans. He would take it all out on these poor sods.
The 2 women were shocked. They didn't even know what they were asking of the man. They simply were telling their tale. To see him take such decisive action was shocking, but a flicker of hope appeared in the eyes of the 2 women.
Confident of their hero, they led him to the area the bandits had waylaid them. To their shock, they were still there. Carzola wasn't too particularly shocked though, he had seen the others waste time and relish in the fear of their captives. This was no different, and they reveled in the power.
The caravan had been moving across one of the king's road. Though it was called that, there was barely any protection offered by the king. Still, many chose to take a gamble when some situations became too dire.
On this day, many men had already claimed some females. Mara's mother was considered too old, but she would soon be getting taken. Since her husband wouldn't be having any of it, he would attack, leading to his death. Some men's bodies were littered across the meadow, and many more were quivering in their boots.
Seeing this spectacle, Carzola didn't wait any longer. He walked out of the forest towards the bandits.
"Hey bossman, look at this clown!" One bandit saw Carzola's approach and shouted. The others turned to look at the arrival, and so did many others.
Dressed in all black, he seemed more like a merchant in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, his countenance was all wrong. He felt more vicious. Pulling out his sword, the bandits quickly realized they were in danger.
The first to approach Carzola wielded a sword that looked more like a rapier, built for speed. However, none of that stood a chance in front of Carzola. Having been born and bred in a superior civilization, where there were advancements in body physique and capacity. He was quite simply invincible.
As he deflected the attack, he almost pitied his opponent. With the deflection, the opponent was exposed all over. With a swing of his sword, his opponent's head was lobbed off.
Following this attack, the bandits were instantly alarmed. Previously, they had though the new arrival would fall. They were very familiar with the assailant's attack. He was a skilled assassin known for his quick strikes, they didn't expect to see him fall so fast.
The Dashin brothers made their approach. Both held long swords and both were skilled in collaboration. Their attacks were meant to corner their opponent. With their combined attacks, they were able to constrict their opponents, restricting any chance of defense.
The elder was on the right, the younger to the left of Carzola. The elder struck at Carzola's throat while the younger at Carzola's torso. Raising his sword from the ground up, Carzola's movement deflected both swords in one single motion, he then followed up with a spin, slashing off the 2 heads.
Carzola was known as the blade demon in certain circles. His skills in swordplay made him a force to reckon with even if the opponents matched his level of physique and fitness. Let alone some tier 1 planet native.
Seeing their comrades fall, the others took off running. This was not an opponent they could take down easily. Unfortunately, they discovered this too late, they were within Carzola's blade range. Like a merciless fiend, he went to work. Every swing of his blade drew blood and cost his opponents' life.
When the last one had fallen, everyone was as quiet as a grave. They had seen killing, but not so beautiful. Every swing of his sword was well calculated. For inexperienced soldiers, it seemed as though he was a reaper, his every movement deadly.
Sheathing his blade, Carzola walked over to his 2 wards, nodded at them and disappeared into the jungle. He didn't even stick around or demand anything. The 2 girls, and the hostages, were stunned. He knew why he had done it. It wasn't guilt, but in hindsight, he knew that his actions with his caravan had been a bit overboard. It wasn't guilt, just a red ledger.
***
5 warriors, the best that the community could offer, ventured deep in the nest. There was only one place they knew they would find opposition of any kind, and so they went to it.
"What do we expect to find down there anyway?" Chege asked Oyoo.
"Nothing. Care." The girl couldn't talk so fluently, so Chege could understand the words she said, then try and piece together what she meant. This moment, she talked about care, which meant that maybe they were just going to ensure that all was okay, nothing to worry about.
However, Chege understood that there was something to worry about. It wasn't his senses that told him, just the reaction of the warriors when they continued to venture further deeper. They were getting antsier with each passing second.
All over, Chege observed the wonderful work of architecture. The nests may have been built underground, but it was more like an underground city. There was beautiful artwork over the hallways. There were even large plazas where people could congregate. He had to admit, he was impressed.
After walking for quite a while, they came upon a massive structure. This looked like the one Chege had looted the bow and arrow. Unlike the spear that he had wielded and other weapons and equipment, the bow and arrow were special. Chege felt it every time he wielded them, and he could tell, the Mayi also knew the difference.
The still didn't know that he had robbed his treasure from a temple and that it was reserved as a holy relic. It had been considered unusable, so it came as a surprise to see it being used. More than that, to be able to use the power contained in the relics was even more outrageous. That, coupled with the fact that he spoke the god-language, made many begin to suspect that he was from the home of the gods.
The doors of the large structure were quite imposing, but the natives opened it with no problem, but that was when they saw it.
Big and imposing, the creature was the size of a small car. It looked more like a giant insect with 6 legs. It was standing on 2 pairs with the other pair raised as fists. Its upper body was bent up, making it look like an insect-like centaur. The face, mandibles and all, snarled menacingly at the group of warriors.
Without warning, the creature shot forward, heading to the warriors. Its speed could rival that of a full-grown horse. In under a second, it was within kissing distance from Kassam, who was in the lead.
The moment its fist struck him, Kassam was sent sprawling until he collided on a wall. Blood started flowing from his mouth. He seemed to be in critical condition. This was Kassam, one of the greatest up and coming warriors. The one primed to become chief of the community. His pride and prestige were well earned, yet he had been so effortlessly defeated. The warriors recoiled, shuddering what it could do to them.
The beast didn't stop there. It moved on to the next warrior, who just so happened to be Chege. Seeing what had happened to Kassam, he wasn't fazed. Drawing his fist, he moved to evade its attack, simultaneously countering with his.
The moment his fist connected, Chege could feel the exterior exoskeleton of his opponent crack. Chege had put his all behind that attack, and he wanted to see if it could withstand his punch. However, the attack did more than just shatter his opponent's armor, it punched a hole through the giant insect's thorax, obliterating the thing.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone