That is, my body is always within the effect of a primary healing spell.
AI Model: gemini-3.0-flash
This small wound was, of course, healed before any blood could even flow.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have questioned your strength. I was looking at the sky from the bottom of a well. You have at least the strength of our eldest sister, Darsy Romero. I apologize to you."
Even after that display, in her heart, I'm only about as good as her eldest sister; she really hasn't seen any true masters.
Whatever.
"Fine, those who don't know aren't to be blamed. I won't hold it against you for looking down on me. In the future, you'll still be the one leading the charge to eliminate monsters. I'll only step in when you encounter something you can't handle."
"Alright, I'd be happy to."
From that day on, Bonchiani's attitude toward me seemed to change completely. She seemed to especially admire strong people. I felt like the way she looked at me had changed.
This resulted in Elinalise hugging me even tighter at night. She seemed to have some inexplicable jealousy toward this 'wild woman.' I hadn't even made a move on her! Why was she acting like this?
It was a bit hard to understand, but at least during this trip, she didn't go looking for other men, which suited me just fine. I didn't want too many fellow travelers in that sense.
After I demonstrated my strength, it wasn't just Anya; the other guards also showed me more respect.
Rudy and Roxy admired me greatly, and Rudy even came over to chat with me.
"Brother Dorin, I didn't expect you to be so powerful. I thought you had just started learning the sword!"
"Yeah, I've been studying the sword since I was two. My swordsmanship teacher is even more incredible—it's the current Water God Leda Lia."
"Well, since you're so strong, I wish I'd known earlier so I could have let you take the lead against the monsters. At the time, I thought your swordsmanship wasn't up to par. How embarrassing."
"It's a small matter. If something like this happens again, just leave it to me. I can block the enemies for you."
Rudy and I looked at each other and smiled.
To be honest, I thought Rudy was going to ask me how I condensed Battle Aura! But he didn't say a word; he probably knows that close-quarters combat doesn't suit him.
Instead of going up to fight, it's better to stay in the back and cast magic.
During the rest of the journey, I remained in a supporting role. I wasn't assigned more dangerous work just because I had shown strong combat power.
Furthermore, I thought the president of this merchant guild would come to me and ask me to join them permanently or something, but nothing happened.
I didn't even get another chance to show off.
Just like that, we passed through the desert near Encoz. We were less than a week's journey from the Labyrinth City, Rapan.
But, as expected, our luck remained poor.
After leaving the desert, while walking on the road to Rapan, the warning whistle of the scout, Cheetah Vera, suddenly sounded from ahead.
We stopped and went on alert. I activated [Kanryu] to sense the surroundings. 10... 40... 80... 150.
Within a 100-meter radius, the number of enemies was constantly increasing.
Before two minutes had passed, the scout Vera came rushing over from the hill ahead.
"Run! It's the Cynthia Bandit Group, about 200 people. We've been surrounded!"
Vera shouted as she rode toward us. Behind her, many bandits in black cloaks had already appeared, and several were shooting arrows at her.
I shouted to Rudy, "Help her! Cast a stone wall to block the arrows!"
Rudy did as told. A massive stone wall rose, blocking the arrows flying toward her. However, as she got closer, I noticed she had already been hit by an arrow in the shoulder.
"Rudy, go help her with healing magic, and cast detoxification magic while you're at it."
"Okay."
Rudy trotted over. We guards had already gathered in the center to discuss a countermeasure.
Helen Robert, the guild president, also stepped out from the carriage in the middle.
The first to speak was the greatsword-wielder, Darsy Romero.
"President, what should we do? I don't know if it's too late to run now, but the camels definitely can't be saved."
"Darcy, do you think there's any room for us to escape?"
"Since we're surrounded, it's quite dangerous. But I think there's still a chance. As long as we abandon the camels, the bandits won't pursue us relentlessly. They have no reason to fight us to the death."
"But if we abandon this cargo, we'll go bankrupt. With such massive debts, there's simply no way to pay them back. I don't want to do that."
By this time, Rudy had already finished healing Vera's wound.
He spoke up, "President Helen, the goods aren't as important as lives. Let's leave quickly."
Roxy, who was standing nearby, also said, "If you can't bear to part with the goods, we won't stay and die with you. We're leaving now. Being a guard is just a job; it's not worth gambling our lives on."
Elinalise stood behind them. She didn't speak the Fighting God Language, so she didn't know what they were communicating. But looking at her expression, she also supported escaping.
Perhaps because Roxy's words were a bit blunt, the others in the guard team weren't very happy.
Their second sister, Eunice, said:
"Miss Roxy, we took this route because of your invitation. You caused us to be surrounded by bandits, and now you want to desert us? Does that seem right?"
Anya also shouted, "Yeah, yeah! Anyone else can suggest running away, but not you, because you are the main reason we encountered these bandits!"
Roxy was left somewhat speechless. In reality, it was true. She didn't know how to defend herself.
"Sigh, forget it. Rudy, use an Earth Fortress to protect them and the camels. I'll handle the enemies." Amidst the heated argument, I spoke these words.
Everyone looked at me.
I glanced at their president, Helen Robert, because I felt she had been watching my expression, waiting for me to speak.
"Back on the Northern Continent, I once killed 500 rogue soldiers. These mere 200 bandits are nothing in my eyes. Just stay safe inside the Earth Fortress!"
Anya then chimed in, "I'll go with you. I can protect you from the side. Don't worry, I won't let a single enemy attack you before I die."
After Roxy translated for her, Elinalise also expressed her desire to stay outside and protect me.
Naturally, Rudeus and Roxy said the same thing.
"Having you out here isn't protecting me; it's distracting me. Don't waste my time. I can wipe out a mere two hundred people with a flick of my wrist. Don't make me lose focus by having to protect you."
Hearing my words, they all fell silent.
I didn't feel like explaining further.
I stepped away from them and shouted to Rudeus:
"Rudeus, cast the Earth Fortress. I'll open it myself once I'm done. Don't come out until then."
Rudy obeyed and cast the Earth Fortress, enveloping everyone.
I activated [Kanryu], using my maximum sensory range to detect the enemies.
221 people. Good. You'll serve as my whetstone!
Kanryu Secret Technique: [Kanryu: True Mirror], activate!
Time Flow, 18x acceleration, activate!
I unsheathed the meteorite sword and infused the blade with Wind Blade: [Wind Boared].
At this moment, the surrounding bandits hadn't yet realized the danger descending upon them.
Seeing the man whose body was erupting with a hurricane, several bandits drew their bows, preparing to shoot arrows at him.
But suddenly, the deepest fears in the hearts of all the bandits inexplicably surfaced. Looking at the red-haired swordsman, it felt as if they were seeing a red demon. Many of them burst into tears and fell to their knees.
Once they had lost their will to resist—
Suddenly, the red-haired devil in the center of the field vanished. A meteor with a glowing red trail appeared on the ground, sweeping past every single person.
One by one, like sliced sausages, their heads were separated from their bodies.
Their bodies, like fountains, rhythmically sprayed a rain of blood.
They didn't even get to see the face of the red devil.
Just like that, their lives were easily snuffed out.
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