The Best Defense is to Attack

Spotting the robber a few yards away, Diana took off at a run. Jeremiah followed close behind wanting to make sure he could protect her in time. He swore he wouldn't lose her too in this attack. That was the least he could do after losing several of his comrades.

The robber was going through a fallen mercenary's clothes. All shame had left him long ago and he cared not about treating the dead with respect. As he went through the dead man's tattered and blood stained clothing his face was full of glee. His actions were fluid, feeling along the body for any abnormal surfaces that might indicate something of value. This was a man who had done this many times.

Fury rose to a high peak within Diana. And Jeremiah's anger erupted, clouding his vision with red. Like a volcano that laying dormant which then suddenly exploded, Jeremiah facial expression contorted in rage. A fallen comrade was being violated. Could a man not rest even in death?

Jeremiah truly treasured all of his comrades. Together they had become one of the best mid-sized mercenary groups. His fellow mercenaries trusted him even though they came from all walks of life. They had saved his sorry hide more times he could count. And he had saved them many times as well. But this time, losses were unavoidable. In life, one cannot save everyone. Sacrifices must be made. A bitter fact everyone must learn, even our Hero, unfortunately.

Jeremiah motioned for Diana to slow down and let him take the lead. As Jeremiah approached the disgusting bandit, the grip on his sword tightened. He knew he had to strike quick, if the bandit was alerted and put up his guard, the fight could be drawn out. Time was of the essence and the death count was rising every second.

Five steps.

Four.

Three.

Two.

The Bandits head snapped up. But his reaction was far too delayed. Having been consumed by the search for the loot he had tuned out his surroundings. He certainly was no master in combat. Such a rookie mistake, stopping for loot while there were still enemies alive. It would cost him his life.

With a quick upwards swing Jeremiah's blade sliced through the air. The Bandit's head toppled, sliding off his body like butter on a plate. A dull thud was heard as it hit the dirt. A light mist of blood sprayed from the remaining stump on his body.

Jeremiah glanced down with regret at his friend.

"I'll come back to bury you Mark, I swear."

"My condolences, Jeremiah. But we must move swiftly if you want to prevent anyone else on our side from dying."

Nodding to Diana, Jeremiah spared one last glance at his friend. As Diana moved ahead, he looked down at the dismembered bandit. Filled with anger he kicked the bandits head out of spite.

"Hope you burn in hell, you fucking disgusting bastard."

"Jeremiah come on! You can kick his body when everyone's dead."

"Yes dear!"

"Don't 'yes dear' me, you jerk. Hurry up already will you?"

Jeremiah chuckled dryly as he sprinted towards where Diana was. As he caught up with her, fighting could be heard on the other side of a wagon. Weapons drawn, they rounded the corner of the wagon, Jeremiah going first.

A group of five mercenaries were facing off against eight bandits. Not the best of odds, they were almost outnumbered one to two.

Jeremiah surveyed the battle looking for a way in as he approached the fray. However this was not the time to create a long-winded plan about the how to attack. Realizing this, Jeremiah jumped straight into the jumbled mess of bodies fighting.

Diana knowing that she was only of help in subterfuge situations, backed up a few feet to the wagon to provide support, which entailed using magic arrows. Magic arrows were her favorite and she was interested how boosted they would be with the holy sword at her side.

Shouts of surprise from Jeremiah's mercenary group rose up. One mercenary briefly glanced at Jeremiah and shouted.

"You jackass, we though you were dead!"

"Sorry to disappoint you boys, but I'm alive and well", Jeremiah grunted out as he parried a blow from a bandit.

The clatter of blades continued as the mercenaries faced off against the bandits. Now that Jeremiah had joined in, the mercenaries moral had been greatly boosted. Many of them had considered grabbing a horse and making a run for it. They were still mercenaries after all, they couldn't make a living if they were dead. But their loyalty towards Jeremiah was greater than their selfishness, so they begrudgingly stayed.

Diana all the while had been casting her spell. Unfortunately it took awhile to complete the chant, but she needed a stronger spell to make sure that all the bandits would be killed on impact.

Diana softly chanted her wind and light arrow spell as she stood beside the wagon. As she did so she could feel the sword vibrate at her side. A low hum could be heard. It was if it was encouraging her to continue her chant. A rush of excitement swept through Diana and power surged through the air, small shocks of something akin to electricity fluttered across her skin. It felt as if she was in the middle of a thunder storm. Her hair stood up as if she was hanging upside down.

'How much power is flowing through this damn holy sword?! If I can't control this I could kill everyone!', she thought.

But it if she canceled the spell she would have to take the risk of it backfiring and blowing up everyone in the vicinity. Or she could complete the spell and loose control of it blowing up everyone again, or control the spell and blow up the bandits instead. Either way, someone was going to explode and die, but Diana knew she couldn't falter and continued chanting.

Jörnen

Hear my prayers

Take my light

Forge it into spears

Help me defeat my enemies

That stand before me

Pierce their skin swiftly

Like a storm's cold wind

Strike true

Arrows sewn with light

Go forth and destroy

Streams of light flowed from Diana's hand, piercing the air like hundreds of arrows. Twisting and turning like wind sprites they flew to their targets.

"Get back a bit boys!"

Diana yelled at the mercenaries from beside the wagon. They quickly jumped back from the bandits, seemingly abandoning the fight.

"Oi! Little mercenaries, aren't you going to play with us anymore? Too afraid that we'll kill you dead eh? Too bad we're still going to kill you, those clothes you're wearing look awfully expensive!"

"Fuck off you dipshits, bet your lives that you're going to be the ones dead very soon."

Jeremiah grinned as the sentenced left his mouth. Who doesn't love taunting someone who was trying to kill you, it was truly so much fun.

However Diana wasn't filled with so much joy, as she anxiously watched the arrows go towards them.

She really wasn't sure how big the area of destruction would be now that the arrows had become overpowered because of the holy sword. Usually the arrows of light would pierce the targets skin and explode inside, creating about a two inch wide hole wherever the arrow hit.

Diana usually enchanted the arrows with the intent of them hitting the target's abdomen or to hit their heart. The head was too tricky, and there was too low of a percentage when aiming for the head, even with spells. If someone saw the arrow of wind and light in time, they could dodge it and the arrow would be rendered useless within several seconds and unable to loop back and hit them again.

But as the arrows hit the bandit's bodies, something extraordinary happened.