Chapter 4: Raid

Sorry for the late update, for those who don't know, I moved from my old place if work.

beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi.

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Beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi.

So, here's the first chapter of two for this week!

Next one will be out before this weekend.

Further edits and content will be added later on.

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-Grünes Bergdorf-

(Early morning)

Ding~

Ding~

Ding~

It all happened abruptly.

In the early morning of Grünes Bergdorf, the church bell tolled at an unusual pace, followed by the shouts of guards and Knights of Ken.

"Everybody inside the church hall now!"

"Demon invasion! A group of a few dozen Orcs and imps spotted a few miles away!"

This created a wave of panic and terror among the villagers, as each man, woman, child and elderly scrambled over the main structure protected by a handful of the village guards. Some of them were already shaking as they had never faced orcs before in their lives, but had heard the stories of the terrible things that they can do, especially to the woman.

"How is it possible for them to show up here!? It never happened before!"

"Quick, hide the women first!"

It was nothing short of an absolute mess. There was no coordination from any of the guards of Knights. The former was too scared to do anything, with the exception of a few who struggled to handle the crowd all by themselves. The Knights had already joined the front line, their swords drawn—ready to face the enemy.

While this all happened, Archer was watching the entire scene with an impassive face. Looking neither bothered nor worried about the incoming threat. He decided this was the perfect opportunity to gouge out the enemy's strength and witness how capable the people of this world were as well.  

He passively thought about how the recently met Shirou Emiya would have reacted if he was here, instead of him. Probably aiding the town's forces to successfully organize a proper evacuation or join the Knights in defending the people. Ready to toss his life at any given moment for any random passerby. With little to no care of his own, he would have fought bravely against the orcs—probably summoning one or two Noble Phantasms as a trump card. He would do his very best to save everyone, his obsessive desire to always help someone…

'Such hypocrisy can not save anything.'

But Archer was not the old Shirou Emiya anymore. He could be calm and collected when he needs to be, not letting his emotions dictate his actions—with being cruel a necessity when working under Alaya. His approach to any given conflict was far more calculated and planned to the smallest details.

He no longer cared for the general populace–only focusing on his mission and nothing else.

"I killed many people to act on my ideals. I killed so many that I stopped caring about innocent people and I saved a thousand times more as I killed the few." He wondered once again how Rin will be able to keep her end of the promise with that fool, whose ideals were still strongly ingrained into his being.

At the corner of his eye, he caught the familiar figure of the captain Knight, Brynn Deliha, if he remembered correctly, rushing over the front gates with her own squad, determination and apprehension on her face.

"I still can't fathom how those girls will be able to stop a demon raid with those… things. They belong in a hentai if nothing else." He muttered to himself, shaking his head seeing their so-called outfits once again. He absolutely refused to call those three pieces of metal and a pair of vambraces, armor. They didn't belong anywhere near the battlefield unless they wanted to die a quick death, if they were lucky. Maybe there was a blessing or a spell native to this world that he couldn't sense? 

He would have to take a closer look next time. He could research the armor off of one of the fallen Knights.

"A-Archer-san! W-We must leave quickly!" The figure of the little redhead innkeeper came rushing inside his room. With a bag carrying all of her most precious belongings. A painting of her family, small trinkets, and miscellaneous objects that probably belonged to her parents. She brought nothing else, not even any of her own personal belongings visible.

"You're seriously bringing that with you?" He asked as he laid back on the wooden chair while looking out the window. With crossed legs and a relaxed posture, he wasn't planning to leave his seat anytime soon. "I would suggest leaving them, they can hinder you. Bring some food, water, and any sort of weapon with you, in case things turn south."

Alice shook her head, "I-I can't… these small trinkets are the only things my dad and mom left me… I can't give them up. I don't have anything else to remember them by." She rushed to his side and began pulling him over, with little to no success. "What are you doing!? We should join the others before it's too late!" 

"You know, there is no need to wait for me. You need to worry about yourself first." 

"No!" Alice vehemently denied, "I won't leave you here to die!" She said stubbornly, still trying to bring him with her, her face starting to turn red from the effort.

Archer sighed.

Why did every girl he met have to be stubborn of nature?

"You didn't tell me if you brought a weapon with you or not." 

Again, Alice shook her head in denial. "I-I don't have any of those. Swords and daggers are very expensive… and I don't know how to use them…" 

Getting up from his seat and taking an empty cloth bag, he put his hands inside and traced a small black dagger. It wasn't a Noble Phantasm, but a mystery created by a cowardly noble he killed before. It was a poor attempt to recreate Carnwennan, and a bastardized version came out instead.

Unlike King Arthur's weakest Noble Phantasm, which was an Anti-Thaumaturgic and could cut through most magic spells, especially those cast by enemy Masters. Which at first glance was similar to Rule Breaker, but still held many differences from Medea's weapon, the sword of negation and betrayal, that nullified every kind of magecraft in the world but does not have the ability to conceal. 

This blade didn't even have anything close to any of those abilities from those two Noble Phantasms.

It only had one ability…

"Take this." He made it look as if he had retrieved the weapon from the bag, keeping his abilities hidden. "It will keep you safe."

Alice looked at the black dagger in confusion. "B-but I can't use—"

"—It's an enchanted dagger." He just told her straight. Since spell casting and magecraft was a commonly accepted fact in this world. Not to mention, he had no idea how the magic system worked in this reality. Something he would observe with the upcoming battle.

"A magic dagger?" Sure, if that was an easier way for her to understand, then yes, it's a 'magic' dagger. Archer put the mystery in her hand "What does it do?"

"Aside from being a pretty sharp and durable blade, it holds the ability to conceal the user if they stop moving. In a way, it bends the light around one's body, so that visually, you're invisible to other people's sight. But if you make the slightest sound or movement, you can be discovered–so hold back your breath when using it." As previously mentioned, this was not even close to the capability of Carnwennan, it was still a useful weapon with a convenient passive ability. Since he doubted Alice could use her… mana or had any capabilities as a Magus then this was the perfect weapon for her. 

"What!?" She jumped in shock after hearing the weapon's description. Despite being a village girl, she knew how such items could cost a fortune to even the nobles. And she was given one like that! "I-I-I-I can't take this!!" 

Was he one of those esteemed mages!? She always knew there was something different about him!

"Yes, you can."

"No, I can't!"

"It's easy, just drop it in your bag for later use."

"You make it sound so easy."

"It kinda is. And I won't budge from here if you don't take it with you." Archer said, dropping back on the chair.

"Why are you being so stubborn…" Alice asked despondently, pouting cutely. She couldn't just abandon the person who helped her keep her family Inn afloat.

"Pot calling the kettle black." He shot back.

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"Fine!" She carefully took the dagger and held it with both of her hands as if it was the most fragile object in the world. Archer just raised an eyebrow at her action. She was most likely thinking how valuable such a weapon must be to him.

'Should I tell her that this mystery is not worth much in my eyes?'

"▅▅▅■■■■!!" The distant roars of the Orcs reverberated in the room, making Alice go completely pale white from fear. There were even some distant shouts from the Knights who had already begun the fight.

Just looking out the window, could Archer see with his reinforced eyes the small army of Orcs and the hundreds of imps coming closer. 'They were wrong about there being only a few dozens of Orcs… from here I can already see more than a hundred of them with what looks like trolls among their group as well. Just how did they escape the notice of the Kingdom or even the scouts?'

Something didn't add up here. 

'Guess it's time.' Archer grabbed his still intact hood and covered himself, not wanting to draw attention. "Alice, go to where everyone is hiding. Don't look back, just keep running and don't forget to keep the dagger close." It was time for him to see what the Knights and this world's demons were truly capable of.

"B-but, you're not comin—"

"—Now!" He shouted at the girl, leaving no room for discussion. It seemed to work as Alice ran away from the Inn towards the village center.

After she was gone, he opened the windows and used [Reinforcement] on his legs, to elevate and push his body to its utmost limit and beyond any humanly possible feats. A blue pattern surrounded his legs which formed into glowing circuits. 

Another change he noticed within himself. Shirou Emiya was born with poor quality circuits, it was due to this unfortunate condition that he couldn't properly manifest 

Since he was human once again, he could no longer display the same amount of speed as a Counter Guardian or Servant anymore. But his current speed was still enough for people to think that he had vanished into thin air.

Jumping around the house roofs, he quickly made his way towards the soon to happen conflict.

{Break}

Brynn didn't know what to do.

Ever since she was a small child, the Captain Knight wanted nothing more than to serve the Goddess Reborn herself. So she trained relentlessly, coming first place in Ken's Academy of Knighthood. During her first battle against the Dark Queen's army at the front lines of Ken, she slaughtered a band of trolls and goblins all by herself, and with the aid of her best friend Mel, they successfully slew a band of Orcs. 

Mel had gotten promoted to the rank of captain as her, but she transferred to Feoh and joined Princess Alicia's personal guards—leaving her in a difficult situation.

First of all, the army in Feoh was notorious for their treatment of the male soldiers due to the Princess' disdain for the opposite gender. Granted that in Eostia all Knights serving the Shields were women there were still high-ranking commanders and captains that were male… but Feoh had none. Despite Princess Alicia's incredible bias and hard-headed attitude, the kingdom still retained one of the strongest and most ruthless battalions in all seven kingdoms. 

Then there was her greatest inspiration, Princess Claudia. She was what every Knight strived to become; powerful, honorable, beautiful, and noble. She and her husband commanded the most powerful army in all of Eostia. And it was Brynn's initial plan to join her side first with Mel. But now… she wasn't so sure anymore.

"▅▅▅■■■■!!" She was cut out of her musing by the soul-wrenching roar of her approaching enemy. Those wretched Orcs who have defiled and killed many of her sisters.

"Everyone in position!" She can muse at a later time.

A barricade was put in place of hastly pit together wooden spikes all around the perimeter by the local guards. They didn't have the time to prepare a sturdier defence as never once had the village been attacked in the past, so the local guards weren't even properly trained to deal with such situations. If it weren't for Brynn's orders then no such defensive measures would have been put in place.

She shouted out her orders, her fellow Knights taking their position with their swords drawn. Blades are blessed by the church from their Goddess, Celestine. Aside from the armor, it was their most sacred relic. A tool that symbolised both status and ranking in the army while carrying the will of their Goddess to slay all that is evil. It was a holy weapon imbued with her desires and the Knights were tasked to carry on her will.

The ground rumbled as each individual could feel the sheer size of the army approaching. The birds and critters of the forests had long left the area, already sensing the incoming threat.

Brynn's hand began sweating as she held her sword tighter, hearing the sound of hundreds of stomps from the lumbering orcs and the crackle of the imps.

Will she even survive this fight?

Will she be captured and be used by the Orcs till she was nothing less than a filthy empty corpse?

"Charge!"

{Break}

The first contact came with the Knights clashing against the front-line trolls first. Unlike the hulking mass of the Orcs, trolls were more human-sized with goblin-like features. And it was because of their near human-like physique that she could see their disgusting arousal. Running forward with wooden mallets that could crack the human skull. But they wouldn't use it that way, after all, by looking at their lust-filled eyes, these monsters would unconsciously try to avoid hurting the Knights too much.

Which was hard to tell if it was better or worse.

Swish!

Her sword swiped forward, decapitating the first monster. She followed by thrusting her weapon forward, impaling the face of the second troll. Green blood spewed and coated her blade, staining her sword in a foul odour.

"Raaaaaa!" They roared in anger, with some even forgoing their weapons and attempting to jump on her, wanting to capture her. There were quickly cut down by her subordinates as they joined her side in fighting off the rest, 

"We got your back, captain!" Her subordinates came in and cut apart the remaining band of trolls. A few tried to escape, but Brynn wouldn't let them and pinned them down by cutting their feet and swiftly killing them afterward.

"Look out, imps!" The Knights moved just in time to dodge small green smoke bombs that would have incapacitated them if they were near the substances. 

Up in the air, a handful of imps flew over them. Smiling and laughing disgustingly, their intentions quite clear in those sickly green eyes.

"Archers!" She shouted as the village guards in the back prepared their bows and shot arrows at the imps. Though since they didn't have much training, most of the arrows ended up missing the targets with some not even going anywhere close to the imps.

"Damn it! They can't even fire properly when their lives are literally dependent on it!" Brynn exclaimed in frustration, not like the situation. Dodging another smoke bomb, she decided to take cover under the trees.

"Mary, have you called for reinforcement from Ken!?" 

"Yes, I even got word that the Mercenary Queen herself would join the group!" There was a twinge of reverence in her tone as she called Princess Maia by her title. The Seven Shields were seen as beings above normal human beings. As they fought alongside their Goddess and received powerful blessings that made them powerful fighters, they couldn't be any less absolute beings who could never suffer defeat in many of the Knights' eyes—including Brynn herself.

"Then we need to hold on till then!" 

Rumble

Rumble

Another tremor happened, and this time… it was closer. "Watch out!" The captain warned.

Crash!

A giant boulder was thrown from afar, crashing through the tree and completely crushing the town guards, leaving behind nothing more than a bloody stain and their mangled bodies under the rock.

"Oh no, it's the Orcs!" One of the Knights shouted in fear and shock as they were astounded by the attack. They all looked in the direction where the boulder was thrown from while still dodging the smoke bombs. From deep within the forest, the giant shadow of the Orc commander came to be seen. 

With brown skin and a towering height over the regular Orcs, this one looked absolutely fearsome. Its every step created a small tremor that brought an ever-increasing amount of dread to their hearts.

"Hehehe, Knights. My favorite!" A perverted smile came to its face as it locked eyes with Brynn especially, licking its lips in contentment, as its eyes admired her body. "She is mine." It said as an order to the following subordinates, all of them agreed and turned their attention to the other Knights.

"Raaaaa!" The normal Orcs charged forward first, with their hulking mass, they advanced at a rapid pace.

'There are too many of them!' The entire forest looked like it was being engulfed by a sea of brown, these beasts wantonly destroyed the trees in their way with their axes and clubs.

The girls tried to fight them but were getting overwhelmed quite rapidly. Though their swords pierced the skin of their enemy like a hot knife through butter, there were just too many for them to stop.

"Nooo!" One of Brynn's subordinates was the first one to fall, with one of the Orcs breaking her hold on the sword—as it quickly chucked it away from her reach. "Captain!" She cried for help but Brynn couldn't get to her as she was getting pushed back.

"You bastards!!!!!" She screamed in rage as she saw how the girl's armor was stripped away, leaving her all naked and defenseless. The orcs that fought her dragged her away deeper into the darkness of the woods. Her shrill scream which followed only made Brynn's blood boil with hatred.

"Hahahaha!" The Orc commander laughed at the sight, his mouth salivating as he began approaching the Knight captain who unconsciously began to back away from the approaching threat.

One by one, those she once battled with side by side got beaten. Their bruised bodies were dragged away as they kept screaming for help, holding onto anything close by to save them from what was about to happen to them.

"Captain, help!"

Brynn's hope began dying bit by bit. 

"Nononono!!! Keep that away from me!" 

With each of their cries, she fought less fiercely.

"Let me go! Please!" 

Reinforcement wouldn't get here on time, they were going to lose and get raped by these monsters. Her breathing became haggard, sweat pouring down her face and even vision was beginning to grow hazy.

"—!?" She looked downwards and noticed the small green smoke escaping the ball. She was poisoned by the imps!

Bam!

The Orc commander hit her with his mace, breaking her sword as she tried to defend herself. Not having the strength and reaction to dodge the poison coursing through her system.

"Eurgh!" She fell to the ground. 

'No… not here…' 

She hobbled back up, now having black spots appearing in her vision. She couldn't hold on for long. 

"... Someone… help… " In her delusional state, she began asking for help, even if deep inside her, she knew that there was no one to save her.

Using her broken sword as a crutch, she continued to escape, despite the leisurely walking Orc already behind her.

"Save… us… " Tears had already begun streaming down her face as she began crying in despair.

But it was already too late.

"Hmm, you will taste amazing." It grabbed her arm and wrenched the sword away. Picking her up to his face, its disgusting tongue licking her face. 

Brynn came to face the Orc that was about to rape her till she died a painful and slow death. 

In her last attempt, she screamed with all the force left in her.

"Anyone…. Please… SAVE US!!"

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"Humph, how troublesome you are, tilt your head to the right first." She suddenly heard that distinctive gruff voice, and for a split second, all of the muscles in her body responded. Even with the poison, which by this point, already cut off all of her motor skills.

Her head slightly tilted to her right and a red streak of light flew by close.

Schrk!

An arrow burrowed itself deep within the Orc commander's eye before taking the rest of the skull with it somewhere far in the distance.

"Guess this is going to be a long day."

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The next 4 (Soon to be 5) chapters are available on my p@treon at /NimtheWriter.