[Chapter 189] Bandages

After a moment of silence, Soca clears her throat as she begins to explain the war, "A war began several years ago over something I don't remember. It has been against a kingdom called Silck, those assassins are most likely sent by them or perhaps a noble who doesn't want the war to end."

I shake my head while sighing, "I had left that one soldier alive in hopes of interrogation, but he died from blood loss."

She pauses for a moment before continuing, not showing any acknowledgement of what I said.

"As a princess of my kingdom, I must do what is best for my kingdom and marry Slick's prince to end the war..." she fades off, as if afraid to continue. She takes a moment to ready herself, as if struggling to speak. I hold up my hand, stopping her immediately, "I plan on ending this war so I am going to give you two options, take me to your kingdom to prepare and map out the enemy's location, or don't and I will find it myself."

A look of shock spreads across her face as she falls silent. This stranger just said he is going to end the war with overwhelming confidence, as if he is already guaranteed victory. This man hasn't even heard the full story and it is obvious he knows nothing about the war, but he has chosen to fight in this he knows nothing about. She has seen his strength, but fighting 20 assassins is different compared to 100s of 1,000s! And he plans on attacking their base! It's impossible!

She quickly shakes her head, "Impossible! One man can't stop a war!"

I smile underneath my mask, "Then I guess we will see tomorrow? Won't we?"

Ping!

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"New Quest."

"One Man Army."

"This young lady has mixed feelings of you, fear, amazement, confusion, but even after witnessing your strength, she still doubts your prowess."

Goal: End the war

Reward: Title: Warlord, item: Warlord's Cry

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I accept the mission and lay onto my back, "Get some sleep, I'll keep watch."

Soca opens her mouth, as if she is about to say something. But no words come out as she lays down on the ground, the cold dirt being her only bedding. I inwardly sigh as I hold out my hand, whispering 'Absolute Shadow' in my mind. The shadows bounce to life once again as they dance happily, folding and weaving to make a few blankets. I roll one up and toss it at Soca, causing her to jolt from the sudden weight.

She swiftly looks up to see a rolled up piece of fabric, causing her to look over at me. I clear my throat of any phlegm, "Use it, if not, give it to your sister."

I walk over to the 2 unconscious guards as I place them beside each-other, covering them with a blanket. I approach my original spot and lay a blanket down, rolling up in it like a burrito. Soca sees this as a look of slight anger appears on her face, "I thought you said you would be keeping watch?"

I nod, "Yeah, I am. Sleep."

She retorts back fiercely, like a mother, "You said you would keep watch, how can you do that rolled up?"

"Because I can. Anymore questions?" I ask unmoving. She lays down with a humph, clearly irritated with me. I ignore her as I ask Sky using 'Parasitic Telepathy', 'Can you keep an eye out while I sleep? It's been a long day.'

She responds positively, 'Yup! I'll keep all eyes wide open!'

I thank her as I disconnect the link, falling asleep in an instant.

After several hours and as the sun begins to touch the horizon, the brunette guard, Amelia, yawns as she slowly looks around. As she gazes her surroundings, she sees Emily beside her, her face peaceful and full of color. Suddenly, everything comes back, the blood, the odd pad, the attacks, and the outburst of that man.

She inspects the blanket, as if scrutinizing every detail. But she is amazed by it, the threading unique and the texture soft, softer than anything she has touched before.

She touches it a little bit more before cautiously looking around, seeing her target. A masked figure wrapped up calmly in a blanket similar to their's, shocking her to her bones.

'Are these his?' She asks herself as she sees his blanket. She knows no one brought blankets and especially ones with this design which leads her to believe they are his. She sits there confused, unsure of what to think.

He had ripped Emily's clothes off and placed a mysterious pad on her stomach, yet when she asked what it was, all she got was silence. So she started attacking, but he seemed unfazed until a point, then knocked her out cold. But when she wakes up, she is covered in a blanket with Emily looking better...was he really trying to help?

She shakes her head and slowly gets up, making sure to try and not wake up Emily. 'I guess I will leave him alone and trust him for no-'

As if he sensed her, the masked figure awoke with a start, having torn through the blanket in seconds. His muscles bulge as he eyes me up and down, like a cautious predator. Amelia jumps from the sudden surprise, stunned at the swift movements of him.

'I swear he was asleep! Just what is he?'

They stand silently in a stare off, neither moving. After a few moments, the masked guy visibly relaxes, slowly reaching behind his back. She stays still as she curiously watches, showing him a slight bit of trust. He had knocked her out, but gave her a blanket from somewhere and also hadn't done anything naughty to her body, having done a swift feel over.

From his back, he slowly pulls out his hand, revealing a black set of bandages to her.

"This is for your wounds, use them."

He gently tosses the roll of bandages towards her, its black figure dancing in the sunlight. She reaches up and catches the roll from the air, being slightly caught off guard by the talkative attitude this figure seems to be in, at least compared to last night.