Chương 29: [BL] 29. The Bright Star [1]

Name: Willow [Hunter] Class: [Hunter—Level 4] Outfit: [Huntress Garb] Rune: [Bright 6/6] Attribute: [3 Strength, 5 Dexterity, 2 Vitality, 3 Constitution, 4 Sense, 2 Arcanic] [6 Bright Runes] [+100% Dexterity] Spell: [Mana Bow] [3] [Mana Arrow] [1] Enhancer: [Grand Hunt](2) [Archer's Instinct] [Steady Draw] [Hunter's Mark] The smell of blood was carried across by the crisp night air. Above, the bright star still streaked through the dark sky, a veil of white that stretched to the horizon, each like a small meteor.

Willow tipped her head, and she felt sorry for these souls. They were brought into this world to fight. The battle was bloody; almost half of the guard died. A solemn silence took over the entire group as they rode forward, being led by Willow and Josha. She glanced at her new party. [Hunt Party (4/4)] Hunter—Level 4 Warrior—Level 1 Thief—Level 1 Thief—Level 1 The Blight goats dropped two class stones, and each was immediately given to the surviving unclassed.

Willow had offered the [Dragooner] Class Stone, but none accepted it. She even told them to leave the half-dragon corpse, since it would take an entire horse to carry it, but the veteran guard insisted its body could be made into a strong magical weapon or armour and should not be left behind. The whole thing still seemed unwise to her, but she figured it was better to listen to the veteran guard—an old man named Erick.

Erick rode beside Josha and Willow, and his eyes were still teary after he mourned his dead horse. Willow glanced at Erick's sword, trying to identify it, but the guidance spirit showed her nothing. He just used lightning on a sword earlier, right?

"It's not enhanced, lass," he told her, and she flinched. How? He was not even looking at her.

"My rune is the Lightning Rune," he said as an explanation.

"That sounds rare for a Guard," Willow commented.

"It is," Josha shouted over the wind.

"I think Erick is the only one who has that Rune." They did not have to ride long until the forest ceased its silence. Sounds of screams mixed with splashes of water echoed and reechoed, approaching fast, and Josha came to a stop, leading the entire group into a trot. Willow dismounted, and every horse's rein handed to Willow's party—all the level ones. The plan was to approach any monster on foot, in case they found any Blight Goats so at least no horse would be targeted. But this scream was obviously human.

Another tore through the air, and Willow nocked her arrow and put her back against a tree.

"My lady!" She twitched in sheer annoyance and looked at a girl, probably younger than her, holding three horses' reins.

"I can fight—""No," Willow denied her and the other level ones quickly.

"I will get each of you levels. When you reach at least level three, then we will talk." The other level ones were about to complain until Erick and Josha cut them off.

"Guarding the horses is as important," Erick said.

"Josha!"

"Yes, I got it," Josha said. He was the only one on horseback since it was the best use of his rune. As Josha readied his charge, Willow peeked across with Shera and Erick to a rather strange sight. Two warriors clad in dark chain-mail armour fighting each other—a woman and a man. The woman held a greatsword and swung it like it weighed nothing; while the man stumbled around, wielding a short sword and an axe, skilfully matching the woman's strikes and turning them away.

The clang of steel reverberated, pushing out a gust of wind that scattered sapphire green leaves around them, and they kept fighting. Bodies of all kinds of monsters surrounded them. Willow found Treant, Wyvern, Blight Goats, and even some monsters she'd never seen before, like a red-skinned, child-like monster with bat wings with trident lying just near their hands.

Of all the dead monsters, some of the red-skinned were still alive, and they giggled as they flew from tree to tree; with their trident they swooped down, teasing a group of legionary that scattered and could barely keep the tridents away with their shields. [Imp—Level 8]"Not sure how much I can help here," Josha mumbled, his brow furrowed at the flying Imps.

"More importantly, is that tier three imperial soldier fighting?" Erick pointed out. Tier three? Willow tried to see closer, leaning into the tree bark and pressing the moist ground below. [?] [?] Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"What is happening?" Shera grumbled.

"Lass, did the paper point toward them?" Erick asked.

"It is."

"Then, if we assume Liches is here… My guess is one of the tier-three soldiers is controlled somehow. Does that sound familiar?"

"They reanimated Dorian's corpse before," Josha scowled, clenching his blade. Beneath him, Enzo craned his neck and tapped his hooves up and down in response to Josha's anger.

"That close enough to mind-control," Erick said. The old man stood up from his crouching position and took command instantly.

"The Bright Rune is clear! It wants us to kill the Liches, and we will do so. For now, we free these soldiers and go from there. Leave the tier-tree alone for now!"

"Sounds good to me," Shera said. Erick split the units into three: one being the horse-caretaker, who'll only join the fight if necessary; Erick himself and Willow of all people would lead the other two units.

"Me?" She almost sputtered.

"You will do it." Erick said with all the finality in the world. He assigned Josha to act independently.

"Lad, I trust you to rush around and help whoever needs it. Shera and Jaquin will go with you, lass. The rest with me! Now go! We split!" Before Willow could say anything, Erick led one woman and one man with him, and they rushed toward the circle of pools where the legionaries were fighting. Josha, too, already spurred Enzo and rushed through the ground, curling his gallop around to help stranded empire soldiers.

Shera and Jaquin looked at her with expectation, and none of them offered any complaint about her leading.

"Fine," she huffed. Willow led them to a group of legionaries—five of them. Instead of forming a shield wall to keep themselves safe, they tried to chase the Imps and even threw their spears; some Imps were pinned dead to tree bark and some shot down with nasty wounds on their stomachs, but the humans took worse damage as one Imp swooped down with a spear thrust and, with a crescent glide, gored its trident into a legionary's neck.

The man gasped and tried to keep blood from splurging out, but he collapsed backward, and their formation broke. Willow thought about why they did not form a shield wall, and she looked over the battlefield once again. Their legionaries fought in a circle, with the middle being the tier three fighting. They were trying to protect their commander from the Imps!

"Shera! Mist!"

"Mist?" She blinked, clearly unsure about Willow's command, but did it anyway. Cold mist expelled out of Shera's body, billowing her blue witch cloak. The fighting ahead froze for a moment when the mist rolled toward them.

"Not sure what your plan is!" Jaquin shouted in his run. Josha's brother forwent his sword and wielded shield and spear for these Imps.

"She can tell you where they're coming from."

"You can?" Jaquin asked.

"Yes, I just got the Enhancement. As long as they're inside my mist, then I can sense them," Shera confirmed.

"To the soldiers," Willow ordered and led them to the group of four.

"Halt! Halt! Who are you!" One [Legionary] pointed his spear at them. When he saw they were human, he lowered them. Willow held a nervous breath and chided herself for not thinking this through and assuming the Legion would just—"In! Come on! Inside the formation!" The man changed his tone, and they ran toward them. When they crouched along with them, watching the figures of Imps flying above in a dark silhouette, the man asked a question.

"You're from the village?"

"We are," Jaquin said.

"Mind telling us what's happening with your commander?"

"Lich." Shera flinched at that and looked over toward the [Legionary] until Willow took her chin with her left hand and pointed her face toward the Imps again.

"Focus on them."

"I get it," She grumbled.

"You can let me go now."

"We saw one with chains; a riftborn somehow took control of Leynah and hid further into—""Behind! Shield up!" Shera cried out. The soldiers followed in unison, and three tridents slammed against their raised shields, leaving no gap for the Imps to pierce through. Willow locked eyes with one imp, and it giggled, showcasing its toothed teeth and full red eyes.

It spun around in the air and used its tail like a second spear to lash at the shield again; this time it sneaked in its thin black spear-end-like tail and drew blood from the legionary closest to Willow. The man stumbled to his knees, and a dark vein crept on his cheek. Willow reached forward to steady the man, but he still somehow held his shield up and, with ragged breath, said:"Curse, girl, curse. Don't get hit."

The Imp laughed as it hovered backward with its fellow devil and tickled its own stomach, cackling at them.

"We're out of throwing spears," another Legionary admitted.

"Mark." An arrow mark appeared right above one Imp as it drifted upward slowly, perhaps because it was careful of Shera's mist. Willow took full advantage of that. She drew an arrow past her ear and let loose; her arrow splitted apart the mist in its flight path and dug right into the Imp's chest, puncturing it in one go. The Imp's small neck blew apart, and its head fell. Yeah, try to laugh now won't you? [You grow stronger]"Shera!"

Shera raised her hand, and Mist swirled around her, and this time her mist hand grew bigger and bigger. She slammed it down like a slap, and four Imp let out a shriek as they smashed against the pool. They were drenched in water and tried to shake it off until—"Mark." Willow fired her arrow, and the Legionaries' squad leader bellowed a command for a charge. Spears reached, and the Imps could barely react as spears gored through their bodies with a satisfying puncture of flesh. [You grow stronger]"Up!

Willow above you!" She barely looked up when a trident thrust breached through the mist, and not one but two tridents rushed at her. Jaquin, who had been at her side the whole time, brushed aside both tridents with his shield, swinging it above Willow's head as he reached up. His spear tried to impale one of them, but the Imp dodged by careening its body sideways.

"Mark!" Willow fired a quick shot, but her arrow missed as it went skyward. Calm down, you fool. Mark is not an auto-hit, so draw properly. Shera fired her mist hand upward and choked one of the Imp while the other one tried to escape into the thick mist, but Willow's arrow mark followed it. She stood and drew, letting her body calm itself and let go. The arrow streaked onward and punctured deep into its hip, blowing one of its legs like a wind blast. Slowly its flight got weaker, and it dropped.

[You grow stronger] Not over yet. Another three imps swooped down again, but by this time the Legionaries had returned and formed a shield wall, blocking their Tridents. Willow marked again and fired again, over and over until she downed another two Imps and a new spell entered her mind.

"Another five! This time one is bigger!" Shera shouted.

"It's level ten!" One of the Legionaries shouted. Willow saw its shadow first, a meter and half tall with wings larger than normal Imps and it held two tridents.

"It's a thrower! It just pierced one of ours—" [Hunter's Constellation] Bright light gathered in Willow's palm, and she squeezed it. Above her, an arrow made of bright gold shone so brightly that the imp let out a shrieking cry. Its tridents dropped from its hands, and it shielded its eyes. The humans covered their eyes with their shields after their cries as well—but Willow's eyes adjusted properly. She took the golden arrow and drew it.

"Mark." When she released it, the arrow flew, leaving a trail of seven golden specks—each of the specks flashed and turned into a small golden arrow that followed the trail of light. A bright light exploded and was gone in a flash. Shera's mist disappeared, and fallen by the pool was the big Imp impaled by eight golden arrows of equal size. [You grow stronger]