Ambush

Back at the inn, Leylin was currently arranging everything for what was to come.

He had finished loading his crossbow with incendiary ammo, sharpening his blade, and refitting the enchanted plate armor that he had bought after the other one was destroyed by the Violent Hilly Bear.

Casting Transfiguration on himself, his weapons and gear now went back to looking rusty and old.

[Are you sure about this, Doctor?] -Aralis asked in deep concern, her female digitized voice shaping a vivid reflection of her thought process.

'Your simulations have just confirmed my original suspicions. What is there to doubt? I must make my move now.' -Leylin was vehemently determined, yet his outwardly serene character did not show this.

[I know, but a 67.21% of success still leaves a 32.79% of failure. Of you getting hurt, or worse. I advise you to stay put and wait for the creature here. The city's guards will be able to help.] -Aralis would not have it.

'Do not let yourself be clouded by those numbers. They are not perfectly accurate, and you know it. They are just a reference. You lack data.'

[That may be true, but you cannot deny that it is not safe to expose yourself to an unknown enemy.]

'I have intentionally stopped using the Subterranean Blind Worm's ashes two days ago... My scent has not been erased for that period, and yet, my pursuer has not yet struck.' -Leylin's face had a confident half-smile.

[Because it is unsure if it can handle that many targets.]

'Precisely. In its inaction, it has confirmed various things to me. Things that are key to my victory... First, I know that it does not have nearby reinforcements, or that they would rather not aid it in the first attempt on my life. This has other implications but they are not relevant right now.'

'Second, I know it is not just any kind of hound that was sent after me. It is a reasonably smart one since it can react cunningly to my own moves. Not charging into the city means it is probably clever enough to lay traps for me. What happened at Messi Village was bait to lure me in. And a poor one at that. It chose that village simply because there is lesser risk of an external party getting involved, like a guard or soldier.'

'Third, I know that its infiltration capabilities are not high, since it has not tried to attack me in that way. Not even at night. This leads me to the fact that its appearance must be evidently mystical, with no method of concealing it. Basically, it's not a human Magus or acolyte we're dealing with.'

[So... you suspect another type of Demon?]

'Whatever it is, it will be easy to spot. And if I can see it, I can kill it.'

[Yes, but then what about its combat abilities?]

'Your simulation is too conservative. That thing may be smart enough to hurt itself to make it seem as if it was hurt, believing that I would try to take advantage... But it is not smart enough to know I am not a prey, but a predator.' -Leylin smirked.

[Then, what is your strategy? Going out there by yourself to face that thing?]

'Why would I expose myself when I have a tavern packed with disposable meatshields ready to die for me?' -Leylin chuckled, as he dangled a pouch filled to the brim with gold coins.

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At the tavern, around 80 men were enjoying a round of cold beer, when out of nowhere a shout could be heard: "Who wants to earn 15 gold coins by doing one simple job?"

Everyone turned to look at the man who had been rumored in every corner of the city to be the devil himself. Most of the men turned their heads around, but a few dozen were still interested. The amount offered was equivalent to 10 months' worth of guard salary, so it was quite tantalizing.

Out of that number of greedy individuals, Leylin pointed with his finger at those who Aralis deemed the strongest, and called them over to explain what their mission was. None of them were even close to being preparatory Knights in terms of ability or power, but they were perfect for Leylin's needs.

After the 8 selected men nodded in agreement and happily took Leylin's money, they went out to saddle up for the short journey towards Messi Village.

Before leaving, Leylin was told by the receptionist that Grey Stone City's lord had sent men to look for him since he wanted to meet him, but he did not care in the slightest.

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The next day, late in the night, a series of broad-looking figures were walking around in a burned woodland area, next to where the bodies of a man and his son had been found not long ago.

"Investigate? What is there to investigate here? Most likely this was caused by some careless farmer, which resulted in this area going up in a blaze." -One of them said.

"Something isn't right... These scorch marks were not done by normal flames..." -Another bandit's brows furrowed. His experience as a brigand made him realize the nature of the marks just by looking at them.

"This seems to be the doing of a mysterious entity..." -The other bandits' hair stood on end as he uttered the words.

As partakers in underground activities, many of them had only heard of these entities in myths. The stories emphasized the most important things about them: their viciousness, their cold-heartedness, and that they were not to be made enemies of.

"Then let's get the hell out here! That guy is not paying us enough to- !" -One of the bandits was interrupted, as his chest had been perforated by a set of green claws.

"I found it! The smell of my enemy!" -At this moment, a hoarse and repugnant voice sounded from behind the group.

The bandits shivered in horror. They saw an abomination the size of a fat crooked woman floating in midair.

Its body was strewn with scales in a disorderly fashion. Its face was full of warts. From time to time, its snake-like tongue hissed out. Her arms and legs were also disfigured, looking like rotten tree branches.

The monster stretched its hand forward, and its palm split open. From it, a tree root-like object extended out. The tree roots entwined and assumed the shape of a crossbow. A green-colored bolt was already loaded onto it.

"Fuck, let's get back to the horses!" -The bandit leader thought as he jumped back out the way of a poisoned arrow.

"I should have thought of this before! We have been turned into bait by that son-of-a-whore Knight!" -One bandit shouted.

"Die!" -The creature's eyes were bloodshot. It did not care about the screams of the bandits. It immediately rushed at two of the weakest-looking of them and tore them apart in seconds using her claws.

One of the bandits had already made a run for it, heaving a sigh of relief as he got out of the killing zone.

"I gotta tell the others back at the city! If that thing gets too close, we're doomed!" -The man told himself, as he grabbed the reins of his horse with shaky hands.

Just as he was preparing to jump on top of his mount, a hand took him by the arm, only for a glinting cross blade to slit his throat from behind.

"I paid you to die, and now you have fulfilled your end of the deal." -A voice muttered in the dark, as the dead man plummeted to the ground.

The four men that were still in front of the mutated sprite had faces of utter horror and shock.

"Where is my true enemy?! Come out!" -Doris hissed, as it grabbed another bandit before he could even react and ate his head off with her giant fangs.

"I'm tired of seeing good friends die! Have this, monster!" -The leader of the bandits yelled, as he took out a makeshift bomb and threw it at the creature.

A small explosion ensued, and despite it being hit directly by the bomb, the sprite had not suffered any damage.

Hissing in anger, the sprite flew at the offending bandit and cut him into pieces. Then the other, and then the last one. It was a bloodbath.

In mere seconds, no bandits remained.

"I know you are here, filthy human! Come out so I can feed on your flesh!" -Doris yelled out, as she licked the blood out of her claws.

Just then, a black arrow zoomed past. A boom was heard as it went supersonic, directly piercing Doris' chest. Several more arrows struck different parts of her body shortly after.

"Agh!" -The creature did not hurt that much since its thick wooden skin was protecting her, but shortly after, the bolts went off in a fiery detonation that stunned her off the air.

She was not that damaged as the fire was quickly extinguished by the sprite's green oil-like blood, but her wings were gone now.

'I wasted the element of surprise for almost nothing. These incendiary bolts are no good against mystical creatures after all.' -Leylin thought bitterly.

"Come to avenge your family, sprite? You should've stayed where I left you. At least there you would've died close to them." -Leylin came out of a tall bush, still under the effect of Transfiguration.

[Doctor, this sprite has been altered by some kind of spell or potion. Its attributes were raised 15 times the level of a regular forest sprite. Furthermore, my short-range scans show it has a high resistance to fire, poison and acid.]

'Its body's unstable condition can already be seen on the surface. It is unlikely to survive more than half a month. She was made to kill me and nothing more.' -Leylin eyes flashed coldly.

"The enemy who murdered my father and sisters! Even if Doris had to sell its soul, Doris will avenge them!" -Doris howled as it yanked the arrows out of its chest. A puddle of green liquid gushed out of the wounds. The green liquid quickly covered the whole chest, and a plant root could be seen extending continuously. Very soon, the wound was contained.

"And your soul was worthless. Thus, your unavailing struggles have been good only to kill a few trashes." -Leylin said nonchalantly, as he inchanted Umbra's Hand under the sprite's feet.

The shadow hand grabbed the creature's ankle, and regardless of its effort, it could not move.

"This is nothing! You can't hold me down with such petty magic!" -Doris immediately broke free of the shadow by cutting off her leg, only for it to regrow almost instantaneously.

The sprite then rushed Leylin with its claws at the ready.

[Her skin discharges acidic fluids! Stay away from her, Doctor!] -Aralis warned.

'I want to try something...' -Leylin strengthened his grip on his cross blade.

The Farlier heir had already taken a stance to do melee, but when the time came when he collided his blade against Doris' claws, the weapon started to melt.

'Can't even cut her claws off... I must admit, she's tougher than that Tree. Now I gotta retreat and get some breathing space to think.' -Leylin concluded in the act.

He used his superior speed to stay out of the range for close-quarters combat, and his agility and reflexes to evade all arrows directed at him.

Although he was not doing anything to the sprite by dodging everything, Leylin noticed how Doris was getting progressively more annoyed, and her moves got clumsier as frustration built up inside it.

'I can't waste any more Spiritual Force or mana on this bitch. None of my spells will get through her defenses, and my weapons are ineffective...' -As he analyzed the situation, Leylin had come up with a plan.

"I want you to yell in despair as much as you can for me. It will be the best for when I harvest your energies as I did with your sisters." -Leylin taunted with a wicked smile, as he threw away his corroded blade and took a vial out of his trusty satchel.

"AAAAHH GO TO HELL!" -The infuriated creature started to convulse where it stood, as its warts began to bulge and more green fluid started pouring out of them. Fire streaks rose from its hands and were gradually covering its body. The eyes also turned a bright yellow.

[It's gathering all of its magic! It's preparing itself to do one final move!]

'I know. This stupid creature wants to blow itself up and take me with it. My strategy worked all too well, it seems.' -Leylin had noticed its intentions as soon as Doris' energy waves spiked.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Send my regards to that incompetent Tree Demon." -Leylin smirked as he swallowed the potion he had taken out, and quickly inchanted his spell one more time.

"DIEEEEE!" -The mutated sprite bellowed, as it exploded violently, releasing a giant shockwave of acid and fire.

"Umbra's Hand!" -Leylin had previously downed a Dark Enhancer, a potion that temporarily blocked his other elemental affinities but heightened his Dark element. It was one of his trump cards.

The blast of Doris' suicide attack covered a radius of 30 square meters. Quite impressive considering the short time it took the sprite to ready the final offensive.

As the smoke cleared, a dome of purple energy slowly retracted from where Leylin was standing moments ago.

Before it dissipated entirely, Leylin grabbed a white gem from his satchel and poured the energy he took from the mutated sprite onto it.

'A Spirit Confining Sphere. Useful for storing wild energies and souls. When I get back to the inn, I'll use it to fuel my...' -Leylin's breath hitched, and he fell to one knee.

His battle had yet again resulted in a profit for him. Though not without a cost.

[Doctor, your arm! It was hit by some of the acid! It is contaminating your cells at a fast rate!] -Aralis remarked abruptly, making Leylin turn to look at his left arm that was half-covered in bubbling goo.

'Shit! In my effort to use Umbra's Hand to capture as much energy as possible, I accidentally permitted that the layer shielding me fractured!' -Leylin did not regret what he did, but it was still a grim discovery.

The Farlier heir was swift to remove the surface layer of his skin containing the pollutants using a red-hot dagger he had infused with a touch of magic.

[Use actual fire to cauterize the wound. The dagger is not enough. That will prevent any additional pollutants in the air from entering the wound.] -Aralis recommended in an earnest tone.

Leylin followed his assistant's words, using a small arcane flame to cover his left arm. Gritting his teeth he proceeded with the first aid. He poured a hemostatic potion all over the affected area and then covered the scab that had formed with a bandage that had mild regenerating properties.

[Congratulations, Doctor. Thanks to your fast response to contain the injury, you have lowered the chance of complications by 96%. However, even if you removed the acid's pollutants that would've led to possible organ failure, you are still infected with some of the sprite's lingering bacteria.] -Aralis gave her assessment.

'What do I need to cure my cells of that?' -Leylin's expression had gone from pained to calm and collected, in mere seconds.

[Treatment requires one feather from a Human Head Bird, 500 milliliters of pink ink oil, 50 grams of Green Coconut Rock...]

'Okay, okay. I get the idea... My first aid will have to do for now. Still, this is a win for me. It is not every day that I get to capture so much raw emotional sprite energy in one go. It will yield great profits for me in the future, given that I can now activate 'that' should I be in a desperate situation.' -Leylin was content with the overall results of the battle.

[You will never change. Putting profits ahead of your own health.] -Aralis resembled to be somewhat bothered by her Master's reckless gambles.

'As long as I survive. Without risk, there is no way to advance. Plus, it's not like a lost my arm or anything. I'll keep burning my tissue if necessary; I don't care about the pain.' -Leylin shrugged as he walked to the horses.

He took his time looting the corpses of the bandits, recovering his gold plus what they had on them, which was not that much.

Nevertheless, just as he was finished using his Acidic Aqua Shot to eliminate all traces of the bandits and their mounts, he heard shouts coming from the direction of the road.

"Over there! Kill him!"

Leylin simply raised an eyebrow.