13 First Blood

In the dark of night, a group of people were sitting around a large campfire which illuminated their faces and the armor they were wearing. The atmosphere was completely silent except for the crackles of the fire and the occasional sounds from the surroundings. Every single person was putting on contemplative looks, while the person who was outfitted with the best armor was wearing a disturbing look on his face from what the four men had told him just moments before.

While he was currently a wanted fugitive that had amassed a rather sizeable bounty, much to the man's dismay, it was only a cover for his true identity, that being Joran Vedan, a soldier from the kingdom of Amidonia.

Joran was considering how to go about the turn of events. After hearing about a botched robbery from the four men in front of him, he was seriously thinking about just killing them until he learned who their targets were. This was what perplexed him so.

Joran, among others, were sent to the kingdom of Elfrieden to destabilize them and stir up trouble. This went from bribing the kingdom's ministers to act incompetent and send them updates about the intricate state of their kingdom, effectively betraying it, to becoming bandit groups and targeting traveling merchants, though it had become harder and harder thanks to merchant caravans receiving a proper military escort now.

When he and the others started their bandit escapades, they first had to deal with the native bandit groups who were not happy from them stepping on their turf. As they didn't want to just kill them and effectively help the nation they were supposed to sabotage, they split a deal and taught them proper fighting techniques to assist them with raiding and looting in exchange for being under them.

Though not all of them agreed, the ones that did noticed an increase in successful pillages while the ones that didn't, knowing that they would try and drive them out, were dispatched swiftly. This all took place in the past fifteen years, and while the demon race invading put a burden on their operations, they still decided to continue. Though this didn't come without its risks.

When the demon race invaded, the Empire wanted every nation to sign a Mankind Declaration in order to unify themselves under one banner against their foreign invaders. One of the stipulations was that you cannot invade or cause transgressions in another nation, but since Elfrieden didn't sign it, they were effectively in the clear.

The only problem with this is if Elfrieden won in the upcoming war and their actions were brought to light, while the declaration would still be upheld, it wouldn't be without its costs, and that would leave Amidonia in a much worse position than before. In fact, the Elfrieden military force had started clamping down on bandit forces, but the Amidonian forces were either able to get away, or in extreme cases, kill themselves to prevent an information leak.

This was also another reason as to why they were using the native bandit force rather than conducting all operations themselves. If one of the bandits got caught, no big deal, but if one of them got caught, they would be losing a valuable pawn for Amidonia.

Though this has worked previously, it backfired this time in a spectacular fashion. Bandits were not as disciplined as soldiers, especially from a place as militaristic as Amidonia. While he couldn't fault them for attacking what seemed to be rich and important travelers, the bandits under Joran's control couldn't keep their lust in check when they saw the three beautiful women. The main problem was that, unlike the others, he and his men actually kept track of events going on in the country, and recognized two of the three from the awards ceremony, and the last one seemed to be serving the king.

Finally, after what seemed to be much deliberation, though didn't even last half a minute, Joran said, "You three, with me. The rest of you, make camp here. We're probably staying here tonight."

The three he was referring to were other top heads in their group, but in reality, were also sent from Amidonia. While they were getting up to go and discuss matters between them, one of the bandits who ambushed the group spoke up.

"Boss! Are we goin' after 'em?"

Joran icily stared at the man with mild disgust in his eyes and he cowered back. If he just wanted revenge, that would be the end of it, but it was clear that the bandit, along with his comrades, wanted to turn the women into their own personal sex slaves.

*These miserable wretches aren't worth the air they breathe.*

Joran, and most of Amidonia's soldiers, were laser-focused as to their purpose of retaking their lost land. While he very briefly entertained the thought, he quickly pushed it out as he knew that there were far more important things to deal with.

Without saying another word, Joran, along with his three comrades, went to a nearby tree to discuss matters amongst themselves.

Joran initiated. "How do we deal with this?"

One of the men, Mark, replied, "There's hardly anything to deal with. Outside of them heading towards the God-Protected Forest, no one has been keeping tabs on them."

Joran was seething. "And so, we just let them go?! When will we get another chance like this?!"

His reaction was understandable. These women were top people in the kingdom. One of which was regarded as the best fighter in the kingdom, the other for her magical ingenuity, and the last was the most mysterious, but was clear that she was serving the king, perhaps a royal mage from the usage of her magic. A chance that the three would be traveling together alone would be few and far in between.

Another man, Wolfe, tried to calm him down. "Believe me, Joran, we aren't happy about this either. But we just don't know about their whereabouts."

Joran looked like he swallowed a bug at the logic while simultaneously looking ready to bash someone's skull in.

It was a pretty difficult face to pull off.

The final man, Hef, responded with something Joran was somewhat pleased to hear. "It's true we don't know about where they are, but we can assume. If what the new king said was true about forestry and the dark elf took it to heart, they may be going to the forest to tell her natives about it."

Though it was a bit of a stretch, it was better than nothing. They were, after all, headed in that direction from the bandit's account. Unfortunately, Joran's mood immediately plummeted when Hef continued.

"Be that as it may, it's suicidal to face them head on. That woman, Hinata, can properly use the lightning element. Both she and the dark elf can take all of us at once."

Joran's eyes looked menacing at that statement.

"So, we gather more people."

Wolfe could see how this was going. "Need I remind you that her element is lightning?! The second she sees us, we're done for!"

Joran hissed back, "That is precisely why we need to attack now! If she's as capable as we believe and fights in the upcoming war, forget twenty people, she can take out two thousand by herself!"

With all the metal armor used in battle, the only way to properly fend off against the lightning element was to have all your armor enchanted against magic, which very few people could afford and were limited mainly to their king and a select few elites, or have an entire battalion of mages constantly maintaining a magic barrier. The former was something the Empire actually had the resources for and had a unit called the Anti-Magic Armor Corps, while the latter was something practically unheard of, as if a country had the talent to gather enough first-class mages to form such a battalion, no sane person would ever pick a fight with them. Mages of that caliber were simply that rare.

Once he said that, the other three realized that Joran's view of a suicide mission was logically the best option. Though it still left one problem that Mark pointed out.

"We still don't know where they are. It would obviously be best to attack in the night, but we can't just stay up searching all night until we find them."

"No, but there is an inn nearby that they would most likely pass by if Hef is right about their journey. We make camp there 1500m away and use scouts to see if they pass by. There should be enough shrubbery to cover us and enough distance to run if we get spotted."

With Joran giving his plan, the others were worried about how close they would camp, but since this would be a huge victory if they were able to pull it off, they agreed on it. "For Amidonia!" They cheered silently.

Rousing the other bandits up, they explained their plan and all of them left in high spirits for two separate reasons.

*Whatever the case,* Joran thought, *if the men are motivated, it makes our job easier.*

Hinata let out a sigh when she both heard and detected the group moving towards them, while Testa squeezed her slightly harder in response. They were both lying down on their backs with their arms around each other and looking at the moonless night, the only light being provided was from the stars.

She didn't even have to look at Testa who she already knew had a giddy face, but since she has expanded her senses to keep track of the bandit group, she could also see just how pleasant of a smile she was wearing. It was the kind of smile one would have after knowing that you were going to be eating at a top-class restaurant.

"I know you're excited about this, but can't you at least act like you're concerned?"

Testa giggled. "Would you act concerned if you were about to eat? This is the perfect chance for Aisha to get her feet wet with killing another. I can't imagine you'd pass up this opportunity. Besides, this is much more of a luxury for me rather than something I actively pursue."

This is true for her. While she has always had a manageable craving for souls, ever since she started serving under Rimuru, that craving has gone down so much to the point where, although she is excited when the opportunity arises, for the most part, it rarely enters her mind.

Acknowledging her observation, with a deep breath, Hinata got up and walked towards Aisha before remembering that they had to act at least somewhat normal, and that meant normal perception, or at the very least, intuition. Presently, the men were still over 4700m away, so it would seem a little suspicious that they were able to detect their presence at this time, especially since there were still a fair number of trees and foliage nearby and even more in the distance.

Eventually, after almost half an hour, Aisha was woken up by gentle shaking from Hinata. She yawned and sleepily asked what it was before she saw the serious look in Hinata's eyes. Connecting the dots with the fact that the sun hadn't risen, she must have realized that she detected something. When they chose a spot to rest for the night, Hinata offered to stand guard with Testa for the night, and while Aisha did have some reservations about this, she ultimately accepted.

It seemed that their worries weren't for naught.

"I sensed something further in the trees. I'm not completely sure, but I think it might have been a group of people."

Aisha immediately got up after hearing this and looked to where Hinata was pointing. A dark elf's vision was better than a human's at night, but it was still difficult to see exactly what she was looking at, especially since the people in question were still 3km away.

"I still don't see them. Are you sure it wasn't just some animal?"

She shook her head. "I doubt it. I got the sense of being watched. Regardless, I don't think it's safe to stay here."

Before they continued their journey in the night, she first wanted to be absolutely sure what was out there. "Let me get a better vantage point. Hold on... there."

What Aisha was considering was climbing a nearby tree. This was a skill she had absolute confidence in as she had been doing so since a young age. Climbing until she could see better, she was able to affirm Hinata's suspicions of being watched. More accurately, she saw dark silhouettes headed towards their location, and while she wasn't sure about the number, it was large enough to the point that anyone traveling in such a large group at night would be going to a home, not an inn that had stopped accepting visitors for the night. Safe to say, it was suspicious.

Coming down from the tree, Hinata, Testa, and her talked about their plans as for what they would be doing. Both Testa and Hinata wanted to go check it out and Aisha also wanted to see why a group of people were so close to her forest. After gathering their weapons, they headed towards the mysterious group.

Once they got within a kilometer of each other, Aisha could now make a much better assessment of who they were. What surprised her was that, while it was faint, she could recognize four of them as the bandits who ambushed them yesterday.

"Hinata! Testarossa!" She hushed loudly.

"Yes?"

"Hmm"?

"I recognize a few of them as the bandits from before. Furthermore, there seems to be a lot more of them."

"Oh." Hinata feigned surprise. "Are you sure?"

"While it isn't perfect, I don't think what I saw was wrong."

"Hmm." She cocked her head. "Do you want to take them on?"

Aisha looked a little surprised. "With just the three of us? I don't think we'd lose, but..."

*Just one more push.*

"Aisha, quite frankly, this would be one of the best opportunities for you to understand what it feels like if you kill another. These are bandits, not trained soldiers, and furthermore, it's best if you know now rather than later."

Hinata sighed before continuing, "I can't guarantee it won't be uncomfortable, but I can also say that there will never be a good time for you to learn this. However, better with people like these who society won't mourn for than somewhere else. Besides, we'll be backing you up on this."

Aisha nodded, and they developed a plan of action, which involved using the benefit of surprise. They went all crept towards their destination before Hinata signaled that she would start off the attack.

Not even fifty meters away, Joran and his group were approaching a suitable place to set up camp. He was about to send a few scouts to see what their surroundings were before him, along with his three other comrades who were electrocuted and fell to the ground like puppets with their strings cut off. The rest of the group immediately went on high alert due to the attack, as well as a couple of sparks that started to light the area aflame.

"We're under attack! Fan out and find the lightning bitch!"

"But the flames-?!"

"Fuck the flames! Do you want to get-?!"

He was cut off by a blade of ice quite literally cutting off his head. Everyone was in shambles getting ready to attack while some were already firing arrows off randomly into the direction of where they saw the lightning come from.

Aisha was much less shocked this time around and sprinted towards the nearest group of people, using her magic to send a blade of wind from her broadsword into the group of people, sending them flying back. Testa was taking care of the archers for her, so the only people she had to worry about were the melee fighters.

Thanks to the new fire sprouting, she could see much better and, while she would have some words with Hinata afterwards about the fire, she had much more pressing issues to deal with. That being the group of four that they initially let go.

Though Aisha knew what the purpose of this skirmish was, her honor as a warrior still prevented her from brazenly attacking.

"Surrender yourselves now and I guarantee no more harm towards you."

The bandits could hardly believe their ears.

"Fuck you! After we're finished raping and killing you, we'll rape and kill every dark elf whore we see!"

*How the hell can you not see the situation for what it is in a time like this?*

The answer to this question was simple: In their state of heightened emotions, they had given up reason completely in favor of pure anger, malice, and sadistic joy now that their 'prize' was so close to them.

She was honestly far more surprised than she was angry, though there was still a fair amount of the latter emotion.

*I see. These people have long abandoned any of their humanity. They don't have the right to live.*

Steadying herself, she suppressed her emotions as she knew that cold-blooded logic would be the best way to deal with this situation.

She first sent out a wind blade to knock them off balance. However, two of them were prepared for this and properly braced themselves, only being knocked back a few inches. However, Aisha was prepared for this. Raising her broadsword, with a roar, she crashed it down on one of the bandits who was guarding only with his straight sword. He fell to one knee and screamed in pain as his wrist got bent far more than it should. Surprisingly, his sword didn't completely break, although it was effectively useless for the remainder of the battle.

Turning her attention to the other, she deflected his slash and accurately stabbed his neck, killing him.

"You fucking bitch!"

Though she was slightly taken aback by the amount of blood that came out of his neck, one of the bandits screams quickly brought her back and she parried his blow with an upward slash of her own and brought it down to cleave him from his shoulder and stopped right above his stomach by instinct.

This time, she was more disoriented but was able to shake it off very quickly, even though the scent of iron and smoke permeated the area. However, she quickly realized her mistake of not cleaving all the way through as his body made it difficult to take her sword out of him. With quick thinking, she released the grip of her sword to move out of the way of the other attacker.

*Shit. Not good.*

She was being forced to backpedal and her attacker knew that he had her on the ropes.

"Not so tough without your sword now are ya, ya fuckin' bitch?"

Aisha quickly thought of ways out of this. She felt confident in being able to take one of them on without her sword, but the other whose guard got broken was now back on his feet. He was still wincing in pain but soldiered through it. Suddenly, Aisha had an idea, but her eyes gave it away.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah." The bandit quickly moved in her line of sight. Kicking her option to the other man, he picked up the fallen bandit's sword and they both slowly cornered her, coming within two arm's lengths of her.

"You people are absolute scum."

"Why, thank you. And we're gonna have fun breaking you. Tell you what. You get on your knees and tell that lightning bitch to surrender, and you're both gonna suck our cocks. Then, we'll fuck you 'till we're satisfied. If you scream and beg enough, we won't kill you. Sound fair?"

*Like hell I would.*

"Go to hell."

The bandit sighed but kept his cocky smile. "What a shame. Well, a whore doesn't need arms and legs to fuck anyways."

Bracing herself for a tough fight, everyone stopped at a voice that definitely wasn't appropriate for the current situation.

"Ara, two armed men ganging up on a defenseless woman? We can't have that now, can we?"

The three of them looked to see a woman walking towards them with a gentle yet excited smile. Before she could continue, one of the bandits tried to close the gap, but Testa quickly chopped off his weapon arm and one of his calves with two well-placed ice blades.

He screamed, both in pain and with expletives, but Testa was focused on the other man with her eyes daring him to make a move.

*Shit, this one's bad. I don't remember her being able to use magic, but she will make quick work of me unless I can drag this out somehow.*

Another woman came into view, and the bandit recognized her as 'the lightning bitch,' and, if the fear from the first woman wasn't enough, the fear from the second woman broke him. He fell to his knees and pleaded, "Wait! I surrender! You! Didn't you say that I wouldn't be harmed! I surrender completely! Please spare me!"

He had performed what many would call a perfect dogeza but raised his head in horror at the next words he heard.

"Ara? But didn't you reject that option? Besides, where did all that spunk go about raping us?"

Though Aisha kind of figured out how Testa was when it came to killing, she still winced a bit when she heard how fun it was for her. She looked over to see Hinata holding her head in one of her hands.

*Is this how this woman normally is?*

Though Testa was putting her best effort to change, Rimuru informed her that she should focus on the aspects of her everyday life to change, such as simply being nicer to the people she met. He understood that her natural personality was quite sadistic, and correctly told her that while she should take care to reel it in her everyday life, she should find an outlet for it lest it bottles up and explodes in tragedy.

Aisha ran over to Hinata, and she put her arms around her. "You okay?"

She nodded but was still a little distraught. The wails of one of the bandits was not helping her at all. She was about to say something about this when it abruptly stopped, and she saw Testa with her fingers pointed at the man. Looking over at the man in question, she found his head decapitated from its shoulders.

The remaining bandit was now completely frozen in fear, and the only sound in the night were the crackles of the growing fire.

"No? No more? Tell you what?" She said with a sadistic grin. "I'm going to cut off all your fingers with my ice. If you scream and beg enough, I'll still kill you, but it will be swift. Sound fair?"

Though he wanted to voice his complaints, he found it stuck in a knot in his throat. Fortunately, Hinata threw him a... better solution. "Testa, please just put the man out of his misery."

Though she pouted at this, she finally noticed Aisha's face and realized that now wasn't the best time to let her desires run free. Offering an apologetic smile to her, she created one final ice blade to lop off the man's head and then went about dealing with the fire.

"Forgive me for saying, but how does someone like that take such joy in taking life? I don't mean to insult you or your charge, but how are you okay with guarding someone like that?"

For Hinata, this was exactly the kind of situation she wanted to avoid. They initially wanted to reveal their false information bit by bit as it allowed them more time to get their stories straight, but it seemed this time, she would need to incorporate the truth a little bit.

"I've spoken to Testarossa a couple of times and found out that the world she came from was much harsher than ours. In that world, if you couldn't take a life without hesitation, you were as good as dead. My other charge, Rimuru, is trying to help her with that nature, but it is, as you might expect, a slow process."

When she heard the story, she looked forlorn at the woman that was currently putting out the last of the fire. She had no idea that her past was something as sad as that, and so, she desired to get to know her better. Therefore, unintentionally, Testa would gain a new 'friend.'

Holding her shoulders, Hinata moved her off her and said, "What were your thoughts when you killed them?"

Aisha looked confused at this, and Hinata picked up on this. "I'll put it this way. The more you dehumanize someone, the easier it is to kill them and not bat an eye. If you see them as nothing more than animals, or if you deem them not worthy of life, you need to be careful of such a mentality. Believe me when I say that it can spread like a disease, and it won't be too long until anyone you disagree with will be seen like that."

Her face morphed into one of surprise and horror as she realized that was exactly what was coursing through her mind at the time. With such an easy face to read, Hinata was able to prepare the right words for her.

"I'm not saying that is what will happen, just what can happen. In the heat of battle, do whatever you can in order to bring out that side of you that can kill without hesitation. But afterwards, make sure to properly grieve for them, even if they are... that." She said, gesturing to the four that are dead.

She continued, "No matter how wicked they are, they are still people, just unbelievably misguided."

Aisha nodded her head, and they continued towards the only four still left alive. Aisha noticed the armor on them, and also noticed that they properly fit them.

"Are these the leaders?"

This time, Testa answered her question. "Most likely. That's why Hinata attacked first to keep them out of the battle, so we don't accidentally kill them."

"Oh. I'll carry on- ow!"

Hinata chuckled a bit. "Be careful, they still have a little bit of electricity running through their armor."

Aisha gave her a sidelong glance and was about to try again before she recognized that prisoners were normally bound. They were able to procure proper cuffing equipment and Testa secretly enchanted them to strengthen them and prevent them from using magic. They then bound their mouths and carried them back to their inn.

Joran woke up a little after the crack of dawn to find himself cuffed and bound, only being able to grunt to signal that he was awake. He turned his head to find his three comrades near him, also bound in the same way he was, but still asleep, before his attention was taken by a beautiful woman with short black hair.

"Hello. I'm, glad to see you're awake. I would hold a conversation with you but..."

He grunted and squirmed with fury upon recognizing her. She then leaned in closer and told him, "Unfortunately, circumstances are preventing me from killing you. Just know that I know your name, Joran Vedan, where you are from, Amidonia, as well as your mission. We are taking you to our king and if you cooperate, I'll petition to have you treated as a political prisoner rather than a regular one."

Though Joran was confused as all hell as to why she knew about him and his mission, knowing that she couldn't prove it, there was no force on this planet that could get him to talk, or so he believed. He would just have to show how loyal he was to his country despite any of the pain that would undoubtedly be inflicted on him.

"Will you really?" Asked a woman with white hair and a hopeful plea on her face.

"Of course, Lady Testarossa! We promise to deliver them without fail!"

"Thank you so much!" Testa's face was the picture of a million-dollar smile, and the man she was char- asking, was the leader of an adventuring group who was stopped at the inn. They were currently renting three horses for the four of them, and Testa was asking if they could help bring the bandit group to the castle-town.

The man, Dece, along with his partner, Febral, looked like Christmas came early when they saw her smile. Of course, Testa was just putting on a show, but she would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy leading them around the nose with her Oscar-worthy performance. The two women in the group, Juno and Julia, were looking at the men in their group with fatigued expressions. Renting horses wasn't exactly cheap, and they had just finished a job with them, meaning that they would have to extend their lease. The only reason they hadn't blasted the idiots in their group was because Testa promised them the reward for capturing them, and it was quite a hefty one.

And so, with a new group of people, they took a much more leisurely journey lasting a day and a half before parting ways, the three with the prisoners along with Ludwin and the soldiers collecting them, and the adventurers with a hefty payment.