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The slums, striking a sharp contrast to the cultural district of Elheim, greeted the travelers with a bleak vista of dirty, narrow streets and dark alleyways, where suspicious figures seemed to scurry from time to time. On the slanted porches of time-blackened shacks—some of which had strangely new doors—faces of questionable freshness flickered repeatedly, while tightly drawn curtains shifted periodically as if on their own. It felt as though they were being watched from everywhere. How could Anders have spent his childhood in such an unpleasant place?
A clash with the local criminals did not take long to happen—when Anders aimed at a hooded figure attempting to sneak up on Alessia, the slums began to resemble a disturbed hive; bandits swarmed from all sides, and crossbow bolts whistled through the air. However, the group was lucky that these were merely ordinary thugs, attempting to win by numbers and possessing no special skills. In that regard, the battle reminded them of a fight with dendroids, with the difference being that human flesh was hacked through far more easily than stubborn wood. But since then, the Baldurian company had significantly improved their skill, so the local gang stood no chance. Although some were hit by shots, the team's integrity was restored at the cost of a couple of first-aid kits, and they pressed on until they reached the abandoned house mentioned in the intelligence reports.
What happened inside was a real nerve-wracker; barely had Anders responded to an unfamiliar female voice when the thunder of a shot rang out, and the crossbowman collapsed as if cut down. The house turned out not to be abandoned at all; from the gloom, Diablo stared at them with a spear at the ready, and behind him, a stranger was reloading a musket—evidently the same companion the spearman had mentioned to the Mirai at the casino. How quickly his mood had changed; not long ago he had offered to play cards, and now he intended to kill. A heart skipped a beat when Diablo pierced Ayr with his spear—one glance was enough to realize that Ryohai would not be able to raise her after such a wound. During the brief battle, only he and Veserod remained of the group, but the musketeer also fell dead after a precise shot from the hunter.
Despite being eaten away by anxiety for his motionless comrades, there was no time to be distracted—Diablo alone posed a great danger. Exchanging a glance with the leader, who was loading another arrow, Ryohai continued the onslaught against the villain. While dodging his strikes, the spearman took a couple of arrows from Veserod, and it seemed that at that moment his nerves gave way—Diablo left his companion lying in the dust and ran out of the house, vanishing into the alleys.
There were only enough first-aid kits for half of the fallen friends, and Ryohai was already bitterly preparing to choose whom to sacrifice, but then Reynold and Ayr miraculously regained consciousness on their own, and Anders and Alessia were quickly stabilized. Although they let Diablo slip away, the youth had already forgotten about him—after all, there were no casualties, and it felt as if a stone had been lifted from his soul. Taking the body of the woman, who, judging by her belongings, was the heiress of a fallen count's house of Elheim, they departed to report to the Governor-General.
Some time after the skirmish in the slums and the visit to the Governor-General, Ryohai, feeling the need to distract himself from what had happened, went to the fighting club to end the week with a performance in the arena. His first opponent was a sturdy warrior in armor with a war hammer—this fight was long and exhausting, but in the end, the samurai managed to open Axel up like a tin can. Then a rapierist stepped forward, unleashing a series of lunges, but was quickly defeated by a single precise strike of the katana. The next opponent also had a rapier—the same August who had descended into the sewers, and the reigning champion—but he was much stronger than the previous one; his strikes were less frequent but more powerful, and moreover, they maimed and disoriented—defeat was inevitable. Then something of a comedy occurred—Ronald, a guy with a bastard sword, stepped up against the samurai, and for an indefinite amount of time they hacked away at each other, unable to deal significant damage. Eventually, Ronald exhaustedly jammed his sword into the ring and stared at the samurai in bewilderment—apparently, he had no idea how to win and no longer wished to continue the fight. And the final fight turned out to be the fastest; a guy with a dagger poked rapidly, of course, but couldn't take a hit at all and went down with the first attack.
For the first time in a long while, Ryohai was in high spirits—Eugene's tasks were partially completed, all his comrades were alive and well, and he had managed to prove himself in the arena. Only this August caused concern... He needed to be ready for a probable next clash with him, and Diablo would likely not let what they did go unpunished. But that's for later; now he only wanted to rest... Collecting his reward, Ryohai returned to the hotel, and with that, the second week of his stay in Elheim came to an end.
A clash with the local criminals did not take long to happen—when Anders aimed at a hooded figure attempting to sneak up on Alessia, the slums began to resemble a disturbed hive; bandits swarmed from all sides, and crossbow bolts whistled through the air. However, the group was lucky that these were merely ordinary thugs, attempting to win by numbers and possessing no special skills. In that regard, the battle reminded them of a fight with dendroids, with the difference being that human flesh was hacked through far more easily than stubborn wood. But since then, the Baldurian company had significantly improved their skill, so the local gang stood no chance. Although some were hit by shots, the team's integrity was restored at the cost of a couple of first-aid kits, and they pressed on until they reached the abandoned house mentioned in the intelligence reports.
What happened inside was a real nerve-wracker; barely had Anders responded to an unfamiliar female voice when the thunder of a shot rang out, and the crossbowman collapsed as if cut down. The house turned out not to be abandoned at all; from the gloom, Diablo stared at them with a spear at the ready, and behind him, a stranger was reloading a musket—evidently the same companion the spearman had mentioned to the Mirai at the casino. How quickly his mood had changed; not long ago he had offered to play cards, and now he intended to kill. A heart skipped a beat when Diablo pierced Ayr with his spear—one glance was enough to realize that Ryohai would not be able to raise her after such a wound. During the brief battle, only he and Veserod remained of the group, but the musketeer also fell dead after a precise shot from the hunter.
Despite being eaten away by anxiety for his motionless comrades, there was no time to be distracted—Diablo alone posed a great danger. Exchanging a glance with the leader, who was loading another arrow, Ryohai continued the onslaught against the villain. While dodging his strikes, the spearman took a couple of arrows from Veserod, and it seemed that at that moment his nerves gave way—Diablo left his companion lying in the dust and ran out of the house, vanishing into the alleys.
There were only enough first-aid kits for half of the fallen friends, and Ryohai was already bitterly preparing to choose whom to sacrifice, but then Reynold and Ayr miraculously regained consciousness on their own, and Anders and Alessia were quickly stabilized. Although they let Diablo slip away, the youth had already forgotten about him—after all, there were no casualties, and it felt as if a stone had been lifted from his soul. Taking the body of the woman, who, judging by her belongings, was the heiress of a fallen count's house of Elheim, they departed to report to the Governor-General.
Some time after the skirmish in the slums and the visit to the Governor-General, Ryohai, feeling the need to distract himself from what had happened, went to the fighting club to end the week with a performance in the arena. His first opponent was a sturdy warrior in armor with a war hammer—this fight was long and exhausting, but in the end, the samurai managed to open Axel up like a tin can. Then a rapierist stepped forward, unleashing a series of lunges, but was quickly defeated by a single precise strike of the katana. The next opponent also had a rapier—the same August who had descended into the sewers, and the reigning champion—but he was much stronger than the previous one; his strikes were less frequent but more powerful, and moreover, they maimed and disoriented—defeat was inevitable. Then something of a comedy occurred—Ronald, a guy with a bastard sword, stepped up against the samurai, and for an indefinite amount of time they hacked away at each other, unable to deal significant damage. Eventually, Ronald exhaustedly jammed his sword into the ring and stared at the samurai in bewilderment—apparently, he had no idea how to win and no longer wished to continue the fight. And the final fight turned out to be the fastest; a guy with a dagger poked rapidly, of course, but couldn't take a hit at all and went down with the first attack.
For the first time in a long while, Ryohai was in high spirits—Eugene's tasks were partially completed, all his comrades were alive and well, and he had managed to prove himself in the arena. Only this August caused concern... He needed to be ready for a probable next clash with him, and Diablo would likely not let what they did go unpunished. But that's for later; now he only wanted to rest... Collecting his reward, Ryohai returned to the hotel, and with that, the second week of his stay in Elheim came to an end.