Finally, we reach the southern edge of the camp. The chaos of the battlefield is still a ways off, and from where we stand, we can see soldiers rushing north, likely to reinforce the front lines. They’re too distracted to notice us slipping in through the gaps in their defenses.
“The man said he had a coin pouch in his barracks… Let’s quickly go through that building first while farming some easy XP, then the warehouse, and if we can’t find the [Geimroot] there, then I’m afraid we will have to enter the cavern.”
I really hope they have at least a piece of it lying around somewhere that they’ve already harvested from whatever it is they do in the caves below. I don’t know how time intensive going there ourselves would be, so I heavily prefer avoiding it if possible.
“Alright.” My companion is quick to agree.
Ayame and I move with practiced stealth as we approach the barracks uninterrupted until we find ourselves in its first area, the lounge, which is deserted as I expected.
“Then let’s get down to business, shall we…” I whisper happily.
We move from the spacious lounge to the thin corridors leading to the quarters of the soldiers.
I take the rooms on the right side of the corridors, while Ayame takes the left. She moves swiftly, and soon after entering the first room, I hear the muffled death wails of her unfortunate victims. A chuckle escapes my lips at her efficiency. My gorgeous murder machine has activated herself finally. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
I suppose I should follow her example.
I step into the first room on my side and find a soldier lying in one of the cheap beds, fast asleep. The room is filled with ten identical beds, but only this one is occupied. Without hesitation, I creep closer and drive my blade through his neck, swiftly placing my hand over his mouth to stifle any noise he might make in a last ditch effort.
His body jerks briefly before going limp, and I pull the blade free, wiping it clean on the bed’s blanket.
With the soldier dispatched, I turn my attention to the room. It’s sparsely furnished, but I’m not here for decor. I search the beds, lifting mattresses and checking under pillows. A few coin pouches are hidden in the crevices, and I find more tucked away in wooden chests that don’t take much effort to slice open.
[Thief lvl 4 → 5]
Nice. The system’s notification means that not all of the owners of these valuables are dead, as otherwise I would not get any Thief XP. They must be busy fighting for their lives against the monsters Blossom invited in.
Ayame and I continue moving through the barracks with a quick pace, systematically clearing each room. Most of the soldiers we encounter are either asleep or too weakened by Aurora’s poison to put up a fight, but the valuables we find aren’t particularly noteworthy- mostly small amounts of coin, a few trinkets, nothing worth writing home about.
After about five minutes of this methodical looting and killing, we find ourselves in front of a dorm room’s door. Unlike the others, we can hear loud, raucous sounds coming from inside- laughter, pained groaning and… was that a bark?
“What the hell…?” I mutter under my breath as I glance at Ayame. She shrugs her shoulders, just as confused as I am.
We examine the door, and find that written on it in bold letters are the words: “Iris’s Loyal Dogs.”
I frown inwardly. Iris’s loyal dogs? Who the hell are these weirdos? Maybe we should just leave them alone… I feel like I don’t want to see what’s beyond this point…
Ayame gives me a look, clearly as unimpressed as I am. Then, without a word, she kicks the door down and waltzes in nonchalantly. It seems that they’ve been handed the death sentence by the oriental grim reaper herself.
As Ayame kicks the door down and strides in nonchalantly, I follow close behind, chuckling at her complete disregard for subtlety. The scene that greets us is both pitiful and disgusting. Nine soldiers are scattered around the room in various stages of sickness or slow recovery, likely those with higher Vitality.
One unfortunate soul lies unconscious on the floor, blood pooling from his mouth, with loose teeth scattered around him like macabre confetti. The stench in the room is overwhelming- a nauseating mix of vomit, sweat, and who knows what else. Yeah, I knew we should’ve left the weirdos to their devices.
“Ah! Lady Iris, welco- who the fuck are you people?!” they shout in unison, jumping to their feet. One of them even knocks over a mug of ale- or was that piss?- in his haste.
I snicker inwardly. So, kicking down the door made them think we were this Iris person and not invaders? She must be the real life personification of an angel.
The soldiers reach for whatever weapons they can find. But Ayame and I are faster. We dash at them, our blades already drawn, moving with a practiced ease.
Ayame moves like a shadow, her katana flashing in the dim light. She severes the first soldier’s arm before he can even raise his sword, the limb falling to the floor with a wet thud. The man barely has time to scream before Ayame’s blade finds his neck, silencing him forever. As efficient and ruthless as ever.
I, on the other hand, manage to dispatch two before the rest arm themselves, and then I find myself engaging with a pair of soldiers with short swords in their hands. They lunge at me in a clumsy, desperate attempt to overwhelm me, but I sidestep the first swing and parry the second with ease.
The sound of steel clashing echoes through the room and I can’t help but feel a surge of adrenaline course through my veins.
It’s been a short while since I had been in a proper, to the death combat situation.