Lexi slowly opened her heavy eyelids, she was greeted by Cain’s concerned face. “Hey, you. you’re finally awake?” He closed his face to her, “You were shaking a lot, do you feel any pain?”
“I-I am fine, where are we?” She asked, quickly noticing everyone around them. What drew her attention the most was the torn tree behind Cain, they looked as if something heavy crushed them.
“At the forest outside your village, the trip only took about an hour.” Cain’s words were almost unbelievable. She looked around and she didn’t recognize the forest, all the trees looked the same.
“Let’s move, they didn’t see us by they heard our landing.” Zaleria interrupted them. As much as dragons denied it, they were lizards. This means they had the same signature skill, Camouflage. They can change the color of their skin to blend with the environment. Zaleria used that to make herself blend with the clouds as she flew.
Lexi slowly stood with Gracie’s help, “Make sure to move, don’t slow master down.”
“I understand, let’s get out of the forest so I can find the way to my village,” Lexi said, looking around her.
“That won’t be necessary, we already know where the village is,” Sofia said as she handed her bag to Selena so she draws something on the ground.
“It’s around here!” Her drawing was so bad that Cain had to actively prevent himself from laughing.
“I can smell them-nya, the fire I mean-nya!” Selena could smell the fire inside Lexi’s village, it was their version of seeing smoke to knowing a camp existed.
Cain nodded, “We already know where the village is, we need you to introduce us in case they don’t recognize Alice’s family seal.” That was one of his main concerns. Without her, the villagers might be reluctant to accept his help.
After walking a bit, the forest came to an end and they could spot the small village in the distance. The fields were empty as it was still winter, Alice could imagine how beautiful they will look in the summer with golden wheat.
Cain’s part this time looked even weirder, A rogue-like young man with white hair, a mage that was covering her whole body with only her face showing, a blond cleric who radiate a holy aura around her, a cat woman who was running around, two maids, and a woman with black hair who seemed to be in a bad mood.
Zaleria could keep Sofia’s aura in check as long as she was close she was attracting people instead of letting them get attracted to Sofia. It was helpful that she could control her aura to make both herself and Sofia look not threatening. Considering she was a dragon, her angry face looked cute thanks to that.
The village looked to be abandoned since not a single person was outside, they all hide inside their houses from the cold. Cain could steel hear sheep and cows on the farms so the village was safe for the time being.
“This is my home, sorry it’s a bit small…” Lexi was about to start but Cain stopped her.
“I lived in a dog house so you don’t have to treat me like a noble,” Cain said.
“Same for me, It’s like I ever cared about such things,” Alice added up.
“I could sleep on trees-nya,” Selena bragged about it.
“I did sleep a few nights in the street, you don’t have to be that concerned,” Sofia added.
Lexi looked at them in surprise, seeing how Cain appeared from nowhere and healed Alice she thought he was some scholar sent from the capital. Considering how strong he was, she expected him to have lived his whole life in luxury.
Lexi then gently knocked at the door, “I’m home, open the door!”
Cain could hear the quick footsteps rushing toward the door, “Big sister!” The little Lexi opened the door fast enough that Cain thought she smashed it. “Mommy, big sister has returned!” The little Lexi rushed inside at top speed.
“Lexi!” A man came rushing from inside, “Hurry get inside, wait you have guests?” He was surprised to see the bunch of them behind her. “It’s a long story father, I will explain inside.” From the corner her mother peeked at them, she looked a lot like Lexi. In Cain’s eyes, there were three Lexi in front of him, Little Lexi, Lexi, and big Lexi.
Lexi and her little sister share the same signature twin tail hair cut and the sharp voice, her mother on the other hand seemed calmer and her hair tied to the side.
“Dear, why are you leaving them at the door. Let them inside!” Lexi’s mother yelled at her husband, ‘Here is the sharp voice.’ Cain though, even if they were just speaking they seemed like they were yelling.
They sat inside a wide room that was dimly lit by the fireplace and some candles. Lexi’s father observed Cain and the rest, who are they?
“About the bandits…” Lexi said and her father sighed, “So that’s what brought you here, and I assume they are adventurers that you hired? The bandits are numerous and you will only get killed.” He said with a sharp tone.
“They are not, he’s my employer.” Lexi cut him off, “I don’t they are weak enough to be killed by some bandits.” She added. Her father froze in place.
“Didn’t you say you were employed by a noble…”
“He is the one, this here is the lord’s daughter and one of his wives.” She pointed toward Alice and Cain. Alice showed him her father’s seal and Cain weaved his hand with a smug look on his face.
“This here is his other wife Lady Sofia and another wife Lady Selena…” She pointed at Sofia and Selena, Cain was thinking, ‘Do you only know how to say, wife? Try introducing them better!’ Both Sofia and Selena smiled.
“This here is our Headmaid, her name is Gracie and I’m been in her care lately.” She at least tried to introduce Gracie well. Gracie didn’t respond at all.
“This here is Lady Sofia’s grandmother, she is quite strong and I saw that with my own eyes!” Zaleria just glared back at them, she still haven’t gotten over having Lexi on her back.
It was then when her mother walked in with some mint tea, “Sorry to have you come all the way here.” She said, “You don’t have to worry about that, I can here to deal with them since one of my maids was involved. Where are they, and do you know their exact number?” Cain took the conversation from thereon.
“We know that there a lot of them, probably around one hundred strong. Some of them come and go to the village pub to eat and drink.” Lexi’s father said with a serious face, “What we know is that they have killed over ten people, mostly young people who stood in their way.”
As Cain expected, there was already a casualty. Some bandits refrained from killing but those don’t seem to care much, it was better to clear them out quickly. “Then I will go to the pub to see for myself, once I knew their numbers it will be easier to…”
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! A loud banging at the door interrupted their conversation, ‘It can’t be…’
“I will open the door since I want to vent off some steam.” Zaleria stood and walked toward the door, “Stop it must be them,” Lexi’s father called to her but Cain stopped him. They must have come to either look for Cain and his party if they somehow saw them, or they have come to collect food or taxes.
“Just don’t let Little Lexi look outside!” Cain told him as he drew his sword, all the other girls got ready for a fight.
An evil smile crossed Cain’s face. ‘They will never expect that the one who is opening the door is a pissed-off red dragon.’
Zaleria slowly opened the door, she was greeted by a large man and about 10 others standing behind him. They were all wearing monster fur armors and armed with various weapons.
“HO? Where did this chick come from?” One of the men behind gasped as he saw Zaleria, “Take her with the food, we can have a fun night!” another one said.
“Hehe, sorry but go bring us the food we asked for yesterday. Don’t for…”
Zaleria’s fist moved faster than anyone could see, the bandit’s large body seemed to stay still for a moment. The instant her fist touched him, his body exploded from the sheer power behind that punch. He splattered backward like a spilled bow of soup, his bones killed two of the people that were behind him before the shockwave from the punch could reach them.
As Cain said before, even though Zaleria looked like a normal woman, she was still a gargantuan dragon. Her fists carry that weight behind them.
The shockwave reached the other bandits and their bodies were blasted back, they still haven’t even had the time to blink. She instantly appeared underneath their still mid-getting-blasted bodies and used the sixth-tier [Incinerate] spell to turn them to ash. It all happened in less than a blink, the whole house shook from the shockwave.
“I did muffle it but please try to be silent next time,” Cain said as he walked out, he has used [Soundless] with [Enchanting] to increase its range and muffle the blast caused by Zaleria. This was what a serious 30 strength could do, her speed and raw power were inhuman.
“You should be grateful that I was considerate enough to erase all the corpses!” She replied to him.