Conclusion! The Gold Coin's Final Stand!

The air around me erupted in a blast of pure strength. If you were to get in my way, then you would find yourself met with a swift defeat. An overwhelmingly swift and definite defeat. That was the lesson that Ezali must be learning as she soared through the air. Her body skipped past the cowardly Charleston before crashing into the wooden structure behind her.

Whenever a person is facing multiple opponents it is key to separate them by any means necessary. With Ezali now sent flying, there was only one opponent who could oppose men. That man was Sullivan.

He stared at me with surprise coloring his eyes, and a bead of sweat rolled from the top of his head. My forearm oozed fresh blood, and pain took root in the limb. It burned with Ezali's tenacity, but it was bearable. I could still clench my fist, so that meant that I could still fight.

My eyes shifted to my sides as I grasped the situation that I was facing.

"A lot of your men are down, so how about you turn tail and save me the trouble.", I say to Sullivan.

The man grits his teeth at my clear provocation, but it is obvious to me that he is assessing his situation. "I can see that you might have the strength to defeat the boss, but I can't simply back down now. "

"An unwise choice if you ask me. Surely this town isn't worth the damaged ribs, or the fractured jaw. Since you managed to place a few scratches on me, although you had to jump me with like ten others, I will be gracious. Leave now without that antler-headed bastard over there, and I won't kick your ass. "

My words seemed to click swiftly in the man's head, but his feet only planted themselves even further. It appeared to me that he desired to defy me. It was a shame. 

"Fine then. You can't say that I wasn't gracious towards you."

I would honor his request to face me. The ground crunched underneath my feet as I made my way towards my final opponent. To my surprise, it appeared that Sullivan would not simply allow me to approach uncontested.

As soon as I made it halfway towards him, the man rushed the remaining distance. His fists flew wildly, but I dodged most of them. The ones that did land didn't budge me from my position. Instead, I powered through them. Catching one of the fists of the taller man, I yanked him forward into a knee strike.

Sullivan was caught off guard by the impact of my knee, so it was no surprise to see the man slump to the ground. It has been a struggle, and with that conclusion, a much-needed sigh slipped from my mouth. To be honest, I could have done without the unneeded damage, but there is no point in dwelling on things that can't be changed now.

My focus now lay on the sole person standing; Charleston. Well, that might have been my intention, but it appears that he was no longer where he previously stood. Sometime during my battle, the man made the logical decision to run away. I would say that he was cowardly to do that, but I don't blame him.

If I were in his case, then I wouldn't fight me head-on either. Bernard and his gang learned that lesson the hard way. Although with the man now out of sight, it did make things much more complicated. While this fight wasn't completely pointless, it did feel that way considering that the man that I required answers from gave me the slip. I suppose the next best thing would suffice as well.

Marching over to Ezali, I examined the unconscious woman as she lay slumped against the fractured wood of a building. Although it may have looked the case, I still approached carefully. Albeit unlikely, I did consider that she could be luring me into a trap. Once I arrived at her position, I reached down and tapped the woman with my foot. Satisfied that she didn't move, I reached down and began dragging the woman by her collar.

My location was the house that the villagers were using as a safe house. I stopped outside of the building and upon my approach, the elderly woman stepped out of the building. There was a surprised expression coloring her features as she observed my current state.

"I have brought you a gift. The second in command of this little oppression operation in your village."

The elder slowly approached in silence before stopping a few feet away from me. Her hands pressed to her lap, the woman lowered her head in my direction. It was an action that surprised me.

"I had my doubts, but it appears that there are still things that could even surprise this ole' gal. That woman is a fearsome bandit, and yet she looks as helpless as a child in your arms. Your strength is undeniable. We humbly thank you for assisting our village."

"You shouldn't have doubted me anyway. Don't worry about apologizing. Just compensate me for my work, and we'll call it even.", I respond.

There was a sense of relief that washed over the wrinkled features of the woman, but she didn't seem to question anything else. She simply nodded at my request.

"It was thanks to your distraction that we managed to slip some out some messengers to Astana. We also sent out someone to assist Villard and the others in your group. Hopefully, they will arrive soon.", the woman says.

"Good. All we need to do now is capture the rest of this group and bind them until help from Astana arrives, and we'll be sitting even better."

"You can leave that to us. Your wounds need to be treated, and you look like you could use some much-needed rest. We don't have much, but there is a physician in our village. I can have him take a look for you."

There are concerns that I possess. Just where did Charleston escape to? Surely, he couldn't have gone too far, so it is possible that I could track him down with the assistance of the villagers. However, something was telling me that I should let that matter go.

Not even a few hours ago, Claire and I embarked on this quest together, but here I am flying solo. It would be unwise to attempt to pursue him any further. Thinking back, I believe that I should take a few hours to rest.

On our first day in this world, my injuries from the Lynx repaired themselves in a timely manner. I think taking a few hours of rest and regrouping with Claire would be my best bet.

That means that I will have to take this woman up on her suggestion. I have shattered the defense of these bandits with my fists. I am sure that with Claire's sword, things might go even smoother. 

Yes. I think that would be for the best.

"I'll take you up on that offer. Take me to this physician if you don't mind."