Deadly exercise

"...?"

Everyone's eyes turned in the direction that the voice came from.

A tall slim man jumped on the road while holding the struggling tied-up Shanks over his shoulder.

"Guess who came up at me from behind? A little thief who thought he could sneak up on a rogue!"

The slim man laughed and threw Shanks on the pavement.

"Fuck...!"

Rotte's face twisted in anger while Uresha's body was already shining from the skills showing that she was about to jump in the center of the bandit group to take back the rat-faced man.

"Ghuh...! Screw you...! I managed to steal your money while you weren't looking, you piss-poor rogue...! GUH!"

Shanks grinned back at his captor but was silenced with a kick to the stomach.

"Shanks!"

Uresha shouted and was about to jump down but got stopped by Lairs and Rotte holding back her shoulders.

"Then? How does it look to you now? Drop your equipment or your precious companion will die."

The leader of the bandits regained his nasty smile and laughed.

To back his words up, the slim rogue pulled out a dagger and put it to Shanks's throat.

If it was another group of adventurers, they might just forsake their team members and barrage them with spells together with the bandits, but Dandelions were a bit different than most.

Even when their main purpose was to survive and thrive the connection they all shared was stronger than many family bonds.

Even Rotte who kept the calm act up until then could no longer hide his true emotions, not to mention the Uresha who was literally shaking from anger, and Lairs who stopped casting her spells as soon as she saw Shanks between the bandits.

"Haa...! You guys are really insistent on not earning your keep, are you?"

Suddenly the carriage's door opened and a young red-haired girl jumped out while holding a piece of wood that was too thin to be called a mace.

"Graough... (They wanted to leave us too...)"

A small blue boy in extravagant clothes followed her and the high heels of his boots clacked against the pavement.

"Ha! Ahahahaha! Look, boys! A big fish is jumping in our hands all on her own!"

The bandit leader busted into hearty laughter.

"Haa? A handful of anchovy is dreaming of devouring a shark? Good one."

Cranberry's words suggested a playful message but her tone was icy enough to chill the air around her and make all the Dandelions flinch.

"Proud speeches won't help you, little miss, you'd better..."

"Little miss? Filthy commoner, who the hell do you think you're speaking to?"

The bandit leader was making a tough speech but was completely ignored by the red-haired girl.

"Graough. (They don't seem too strong, just about the average white frenzy wolf level.) Graough. (Though the leader and the rouge are stronger than the Dandelions.)"

Zombie growled glaring at the bandits with glowing eyes.

He was so focused that he missed Cranberry nodding her head slightly as if acknowledging what he said, even though she was supposed to not understand him.

"Those poor plebians probably never had proper guidance in their lives... Zombie, don't you agree that as a noblewoman, it's my duty to help those in need?"

"Graough...? (Um... I-I guess...?)"

Zombie growled awkwardly unsure what his master is talking about.

"Since they are so weak, we should let them join our training session..."

Cranberry explained.

"Oh-ho! So we have a noble on our hands!"

The bandit leader laughed and made a mocking bow.

"Well, then, let me just apologize for the rudeness... noble brat."

He raised his head, showing off his nasty smile in full.

"...grough... (...I want to kill him...)"

Zombie let out a low angry growl.

"How about we let them join our training session?"

The red-haired girl asked with a benevolent smile while her body began glowing.

"Graough! (Ah! I understand! As you wish!)"

Zombie grunted jumping up with joy.

"Hey boys, look at this! This brat thinks she's some sort of a hero..."

*CRUSH*

Before the bandit leader finished talking one of his men got crushed into a pulp in a single attack that came out of nowhere.

"Excercise number one, dodging training."

Cranberry, who just a second ago was still standing by the carriage, smiled eerily while raising her bloodied bat from the steaming pile of gore that was still a living human mere heartbeat before.

Before anyone was able to shake off the shock, Cranberry took a step forward and her body shone brightly.

Four more bandits around her exploded into fountains of meat, blood, and serpentines of intestines.

The closest bandits followed their most primal instincts and backed off, but one of them wasn't fast enough.

Cranberry swung at the man turning his back on her as if she was swatting a fly and tore him in half splattering his blood all over the roadside.

While the brains of the bandits tried to comprehend what was happening, the red-haired girl took another step forward.

"Aaahhh! AAAAHHHH!"

One of the bandits couldn't handle the tension and rushed at her, slashing with his chipped sword in a frenzied attack.

Cranberry's baseball bat started glowing and...

*clang*

A clean sound resounded amongst the trees as the blade was countered and ricochetted right into the bandit's head, splitting his face in half.

The girl leaned to the left to dodge the falling body and took another step.

"Haa... This noble lady is doing her best to educate you, why are you all dying so easily?"

Cranberry sighed and shook her head at a loss.

"Archers! Take her out!"

The bandit leader shouted with a voice lined with fear.

...

But nothing happened.

The confused bandits looked at each other, too afraid of doing anything.

"Wh-what are you all waiting for?! GET HER!"

The bandit leader took out his sword and roared at his underlings.

Having a clear order shouted at them helped their panicked brains take action.

All bandits charged at the single girl.

Well, they might as well be a bunch of sheep charging into the gates of hell.

The difference in power was far too great.

Cranberry wasn't only smashing around with her weapon.

What she couldn't hit, she grabbed and tore off, what she couldn't grab, she kicked - breaking bones and ripping flesh apart.

"Damn it...! DAMN IT! ARCHERS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! SHOOT HER!"

The bandit leader shouted in a panic-fuelled fury.

"Graough! (But they're all dead!)"

What responded to him was a growl coming from the treetops where his best archer was supposed to be stationed.

"Wha...?! Where's the blue kid?!"

The bandit leader realized far too late that only the red-haired girl was coming his way while the blue undead disappeared completely.

"Ha ha! I guess those archers also didn't dodge fast enough."

Cranberry shrugged her shoulders and stretched her neck.

Every single bandit that attacked her was littering the road with ripped pieces of their corpse.

The handful of survivors that turned back seeing the faith of their comrades was backing off to join their leader and the rogue, after figuring out that they'll be safer with the hostage.

And Cranberry took another step forward while smiling wider and wider.

"D-don't come any closer, or he dies!"

The slim rogue shouted, pressing the blade into Shanks's throat and nicking his skin.

"R-right! If you take another step he will...!"

The bandit leader joined in the threats.

"Then kill him."

Cranberry, still smiling, shrugged her shoulders dismissively and took another step.

"Huh?!"

The bandits looked like they were about to cry.

"Those guys are the adventurers hired to protect me. Why should I bother with them if they cant take care of themselves?"

Everyone, even Shanks and the other three Dandelions who were still on the carriage not even trying to help Cranberry, flinched and shuddered.

"Now... let's continue the first exercise, shall we?"

Cranberry giggled and her eyes and body started shining.