#36 Ambush
It was more than 5 minutes since we discovered some people following us. We just continued talking without acting suspicious and after we traveled more than 1 kilometer from our previous position, we spotted some people blocking the road so we stopped our horses and then we heard the sound of trees cracking.
We looked up and saw 2 big shadows, 2 trees were falling down on our position from each side of the road.
"Haha, finally some fun!" Mez exclaimed with a happy expression and jumped from her horse up ready to meet the falling tree head-on.
I threw a glance at Suzuka beside me and she returned the look, I just nodded my head with a calm face and she did the same before jumping from the horse same way as Mez.
"Ha!" Mez with her happy expression punched the falling tree with her petite hand and the unbelievable happened for the people standing in front of us, blocking our way.
*Crack!* The tree split into many parts while being sent away from the road.
"Wha-?!" The people blocking our way exclaimed when they saw such petite girl break the enormous tree into many parts with just 1 punch but they had no time to act surprised.
Suzuka on my side extended her nails for more than a few meters, penetrating through the tree without any problem and then she threw to the side of the road.
That must be another body manipulation...they are not to be underestimated.
Any wooden chips that were falling on me were immediately burnt away by a small and almost invisible fire.
"Hey!" Suzuka has fallen down right behind me on my horse and rested her chin on my right shoulder while holding my waist with a smile on her face.
"What are you doi- Hm?" I wanted to ask her with a weird expression while looking at her from the corner of my eye but I snapped my hand up and caught a bolt coming for Suzuka's head, stopping it right in front of her head
"Oh? Nice catch! I guess I owe you my life now~" She exclaimed with a slightly surprised expression but that quickly changed to a smile.
"Don't exaggerate, that bolt wouldn't be able to kill you." I said with a stoic face and threw that bolt back to its owner hiding inside the forest.
"Agh!" A low scream was heard right after I threw it.
"Nice aim~" Suzuka didn't retort to my words and instead tried to change the subject.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing, Suzuka!" Mez shouted at us with an angered expression while throwing a bigger part of the broken tree back into the forest, crushing another person in hiding.
"Nothing...What does it look like?" Suzuka asked with a confused expression but a provoking smile formed on her face.
"Haaa! You-!" Mez cracked her knuckles while glaring at Suzuka.
"You guys sure are playful even during fight." I interrupted their little fight with a small smile.
"Well, it's only right to be prepared to be killed anytime since I am the Empire's assassin, there is no need to be afraid so why not enjoy it while I am at it. However, Akashi, you look really calm and uninterested during a fight...Why is that?" Mez asked while stretching her arms with a big smile.
"There is no one strong among them..." I muttered with a disappointed expression without even thinking while I was looking in front of me at the 18 people blocking our way.
Hearing my words, both of them directed their gazes in front of them but Suzuka's chin still remained on my shoulder.
---
"W-who the hell are those girls?! And that guy just caught the bolt with his hand without even looking at it!" One man muttered with a shocked expression.
"H-How about we run away?" One woman suggested with a forced smile
"...We have 18 people here against 3 of them...There is no chance that they will be able to protect themselves from so many sides." The man replied with a forced smile, trying to sound confident.
---
Those people readied their swords, spears, sabers while looking at us with a determination.
"You are right, Akashi. There is no one strong among them..." Mez replied with the same disappointed expression.
"Mez, you can take care of them" Suzuka said with a smile as she started gently rubbing my abs with her hand.
The vein appeared on my forehead and I hit her head with my own head.
"Ah" Her smile widened from this.
"Knock it off, you can have your fun with them! I have tolerated you for long enough." I said and put my hands between her armpits and then threw her towards those people with an annoyed expression on my face.
"Hm? How cruel!" She replied with a smile and redirected her gaze in front of her.
"?! Kill her! She is all alone!" Probably the leader shouted at his people who were shocked by this development but they still got ready and threw a few daggers at Suzuka who was flying towards them at full speed.
Suzuka also noticed the daggers and with her speed and body manipulation, it would be easy to dodge them but she decided to take all of them head-on without even defending. Numerous daggers were burried in Suzuka's arms but...
"Ah! But it's not good enough." Her face became one of the ecstasy but after a while she became disappointed.
"...Is that normal?" I asked Mez with a weird look while we were observing Suzuka taking any attacks head-on and sometimes killing a few men with her nails.
"...Pretty much, be careful around her and don't trust her, mainly at night" Mez replied with a helpless smile.
"Does that mean, you are trustworthy?" I asked with a smirk.
"Of course! Oh? Suzuka, wait! Let some of them for me!" Mez replied without any hesitation while pointing with her thumb at her heart with a wide grin before she noticed that Suzuka was slowly killing all of the people blocking our way and shouted at her with a horrified expression.
What a battle maniac...Well, I am not entirely different since the only thing that wasn't boring me to death in my old world was assassinations and sleeping.
Mez already moved to join Suzuka in her fun but Mez at least wasn't letting any weapon near her.
Well...I need to get that new special class and I am not sure how...but judging by how bloodthirsty it felt, I definitely need to do some killings. I will also use this time my entire strength.
Now where to go...ah!
I thought while observing the "fight" but those two were mostly playing around with them, until I saw one man with his katana over his head, ready to slash Mez's back from her blind spot.
Well, I am sure she won't need any help but at least it's a good spot to join in.
[Phantom Strike]
[Overwhelm]
[Energy: 1065/1115]
I appeared closer to them and then used my physical strength to kick off the ground, creating a small hole and cracks around it in the ground.
My speed wasn't as fast as when using my skill but most of them weren't able to even catch my movement with their eyes.
I flew right next to Mez and continued further until I stopped a few meters behind the man who just swung down with his katana.
But nothing came down, no weapon...not even his arm.
He looked completely confused and even Mez turned at him with a disappointed expression. As I guessed, she already knew about him.
"Are you looking for this?" I said with a small smile and the man turned around to see me holding someone's arm with katana still being in its grasp.
"Thanks, Akashi~!" Mez immediately thanked me while waving at me with a smile even though she was already aware of that man's attack.
*Gush* The man's body finally reacted to his torn-off arm and blood gushed out of him, spraying it even on his colleagues.
"You-" *Thud* He tried to say something but his eyes closed and his body dropped on the ground.
[+2 XP for killing your enemy.]
Class: Warrior (Lv. 7, +10 Str, +6 Const, +1 Agi, +1 Cha) 212/640 XP
I can feel it...that bloodlust from before. I must try to accept it but also keep it in check so I don't attack Mez or Suzuka, although I doubt Suzuka would mind that.
"Fuu" I inhaled a deep breath and then loudly exhaled with my closed eyes.
The atmosphere immediately changed all around me and even Mez and Suzuka noticed my sudden increase of bloodlust so they stopped playing around and jumped behind me, leaving 3 more people who were panicking alive for me.
---
'What's going on with Akashi? Maybe I will get to see something interesting, hihi' Mez thought while observing Akashi with an expectant and exciting look.
'Ah, that bloodlust from before again...I really hope to see this new Akashi!' Suzuka thought while looking at Akashi with flushed cheeks.
---
After what felt like a minute for me inside my head but at most only a few seconds in real-world...it finally happened.
[Congratulation for unlocking a new special class: Yato]
[Do you want to replace your current special class with this new one?]
I immediately switched them together since I don't want to use my fire manipulation in front of many people so I won't even be able to gather experience for my current special class so why not switch it and look at this new one.
---
Special Class: Yato (Lv. 1, +4 Str, +4 Const, +4 Agi) 0/10 SXP
[Health: 530/530]
[Energy: 825/875]
[Strength: 40 (64)]
[Agility: 40 (60)]
[Intelligence: 32 (41)]
[Constitution: 40 (50)]
[Charisma: 25 (30)]
---
I finally opened my eyes, revealing absolutely no change in them and even my bloodlust disappeared like it never existed but the air only became heavier for some special reason.
Mez and Suzuka looked confused by this change but even they sensed that something was wrong.
The other 3 remaining people alive, 2 men and 1 woman respectively didn't feel anything wrong since they were too weak and ignorant so they stopped shaking and calmed down a bit.
[Overwhelm]
[Overwhelm]
[Energy: 765/875]
Suddenly, the ground under me cracked and I rushed towards them.
I appeared in front of them in no time and performed front kick at one of the men and struck my hand towards the other man
"Wha-?!" They were surprised by my speed but they were stronger than others since they were able to stay alive this entire time. They tried to block my kick and hand with their swords but...
*Crack* *Crack* There was no resistance before those weapons broke down into 2 parts without slowing me down a bit.
When my kick connected, the man's head flew away and as for the other man, his body was entirely pierced through by my hand.
[+4 SXP for killing your enemy.] x2
Special Class: Yato (Lv. 1, +4 Str, +4 Const, +4 Agi) 8/10 SXP
I turned at the last remaining person with a wide smile and closed eyes.
"I- Wait please! I will do anything, just don't kill me!" The last remaining woman kneeled down and begged me as she dropped her weapon.
"Hey! Don't flirt with him, you bitch!" Mez shouted at woman with irritated expression while threateningly showing her fist to the woman.
"Who are you, people? Who do you work for?" I completely ignored Mez's comment and crouched down and asked with a kind smile and still closed eyes.
"I- We are just bandits, we were forced to-" Before she could say anything more, I kicked her head off, making it fly deep inside the forest.
[+2 XP for killing your enemy.] x3
Class: Warrior (Lv. 7, +10 Str, +6 Const, +1 Agi, +1 Cha) 218/640 XP
"That's enough for me. Attacking us for money is enough of reason to kill you. And it doesn't matter if you are forced or not." I muttered with a smile and turned back at the girls.
"We should move ahead, Esdeath will be here in a few minutes so let's go even farther from her so we can have some time to find a river to clean up." I said with a smile while my face was covered with a little bit of blood.
Strange...I didn't get any SXP for my new special class from that woman...Maybe it's due to her surrender?
"Aah, yes." Suzuka replied with flushed cheeks again and I noticed that most of her wounds already healed.
"I totally agree! I just hope she won't realize us slacking off. I don't want to go back to the Kouken temple, it's extremely boring there." Mez said with a smile and winked at me while showing me a thumb up before her mood dropped down once again when she mentioned Esdeath.
----On the peak of the certain hill----
"His fighting style became completely different...but he still has that sword with him, weird." Babara muttered with a thoughtful expression while observing Akashi's fight.
"His physical strength is similar to Gilberda's strength...even those girls are pretty strong but not enough to cause us any major problems." Mera nodded and commented after seeing Akashi's raw strength.
'I hope he still practices with his sword...it would be shame if not' Taeko thought with a slightly sad expression.
-----END-----
[Name: Akashi Phoenix (Age: 12)
Title: King of Sloth
Class: Warrior (Lv. 7, +10 Str, +6 Const, +1 Agi, +1 Cha) 212/640 XP
Special Class: Yato (Lv. 1, +4 Str, +4 Const, +4 Agi) 8/10 SXP
[Health: 530/530]
[Energy: 765/875]
[Strength: 40 (64)]
[Agility: 40 (60)]
[Intelligence: 32 (41)]
[Constitution: 40 (50)]
[Charisma: 25 (30)]
Free Stat points: 5
Classes: Young Noble (Lv. 4; +5 Cha) 12/80 XP,
*Passive Classes: Assassin (Lv. 10; +15 Agi, +9 Int, +6 Str, + 4 Cha)
Special Classes: Fire Monarch (Lv. 9; +18 Cha, +16 Int, +12 Const, +6 Str) 124/2560 BXP
ACTIVE SKILLS:
[Absolute Dominance - When facing the formidable foe, show no fear, instead show your arrogance. + 55% to every stat, fire intensity, and explosiveness]
[Phantom Strike - Blink towards your enemy, the maximum distance is decided by your Agility (20 energy)] (Assassin)
[Sun's judgment - Summon smaller sphere from the sky in the form of a meteor, scorching anything in its path. (150 Energy)]
[Overwhelm - Strengthens the power of your next attack by 40% (30 Energy)] (Warrior)
PASSIVE SKILLS:
[Child of Fire - Flames love you as its own child. You are protected by the fire itself, whenever someone uses long-ranged attacks, flames will protect your body from projectiles even without your consciousness but you can still stop them if you want. This isn't ultimate defense!]
[Contempt for the Weak - Whenever you kill a human, your intimidating aura strengthens. Making possible for your aura alone to change the temperature and gravity around you. With enough deaths, it's possible to even extend the range of your aura, crushing bones of the entire army just by your aura. 38/? (As the name suggests, works only on weak or on targets under a huge shock)]
GOLD: 6710
SILVER: 214