Disturbance

"People are coming. Carriage?… no carriages.", Bonner says plainly.

As he spoke, Bonner turned to face the way that we were heading towards the area known as Astana. He pointed to his ears, indicating that he could hear them from our current position. While it wasn't superhuman strength or speed, Bonner's enhanced hearing could prove useful to us in the future.

That fact was made evident right now before us. The fact that we were now aware that a group of people and carriages were arriving at or near our location was important information to hear. It became quite obvious what reasons they could be heading here to us, but I was the one to confirm it out loud.

Gesturing with my thumb, I pointed toward the destruction that Q had performed earlier. The sound produced was rather loud, so it was natural that it would draw the attention of the nearby residents of Astana.

"I guess that this would be our cue to bounce. Astana must not be that far up the road, but I would prefer not to stick around and try to explain anything.", I say.

"Seconded. Let's get off the road and move alongside it for a bit while we head there.", Q proposes.

Naturally, I was in agreement, and Bonner was in favor of the method as well. We would quickly move into the shrubbery at the side of the road and duck into the forest in order to elude detection. As soon as we entered, Bonner soon ducked behind a tree and called to us instantly,

"God damn. Someone got here quick as hell. Take cover! Quick."

Initially, we were baffled, but soon enough, I heard the sound of someone quickly approaching as well as they had entered my own hearing range.

Even though Bonner would have no reason to lie to us there, it was initially unbelievable to think that someone could cover that distance in such a short time frame. I nodded to the two, confirming his words before springing into action. Immediately, I followed the advice of Bonner and quickly went prone into the thick shrubbery behind the nearest tree.

Q followed suit, but his larger frame was better hidden within a large bush that was thankfully nearby.

The sound of multiple footsteps arrived on the dirt road as they each came to a sliding stop before us. They appeared as if they were riding an actual gust of wind, which brought intrigue to my face. While we all remained hidden, it appeared that we all could get at least a peak of the individuals who seemingly shattered our view of things once more.

There were three of them in total, and they huddled together in front of the area of destruction that Q had created in his test of power. While I did not possess the eyes of an elf-like Bonner, my Kitsune vision wasn't too bad as long as I had my glasses. Presented with an opportunity to utilize them properly, I honed in on them in order to better pick up our potential pursuers.

Standing before us were two men and one woman. Much like I had anticipated, they seemed to be investigating the disturbance. From what I could tell about their appearance, they all seemed to be wearing a similar type of attire, no doubt they were a part of the local guards.

They were relatively lightly armored in the grand scheme of things. While their upper torso was tightly guarded by a dented, bronze breastplate, their lower half was covered in a seemingly tough leather with those same bronze metal plates resting on their thighs. They did possess braces around their forearms, it was made from the same metal material as the base of their pants.

While the underneath clothing was somewhat exposed, there was a crimson ribbon tied around the necks of the two men whilst the female's was white in color. No doubt it was a symbol of their status within their unit. They each had swords mounted on their hilts.

The fact that the woman was standing domineeringly over them was also a clue that she was the one in charge. All things considered, two of them were not that tall in the slightest, but the one human male there was the tallest of the group. It might be due to the fact that two were actually elves.

One could tell by their pointy ears as they were proudly presented for all to see. In a comparison of size, I would approximate that the two elves were actually a similar height as Bonner. The female was actually the taller of two elves, standing about five feet seven inches tall. While her back was turned to me at the moment, all I could see was the back of their heads and their hair. Her hair was about shoulder length and white in color.

"Report. There doesn't seem to be any notable movement nearby, but this is the exact spot of the disturbance, no doubt.", the human male says, turning away from the destruction in order to face his superior.

Now that he was facing our side of the road, I was able to better see his facial features. He was about a few years younger than me when it came to age, but he had a pale skin complexion.

His black hair was spiky around the edges and messy around the top, but he appeared quite serious in his tone. While he was more comparable to Q in height, this male was not as muscular as our comrade. In comparison, the smallest individual of the bunch was actually the elven male.

His skin tone mirrors his human ally's, but his hair extended far beyond his shoulders, and it ended at his back. While his ally's hair was charcoal, the elf's hair was a bleach blonde.

"Well… how nice of you to state the obvious, Gerald. What? Going to tell us that these trees fell by themselves next?", the elven male says, clearly mocking the other male with his tone.

"Eh- Well…"

"You have a lot to learn if that is the case. Clearly, foul play is at work. Would you not agree, Arch Captain Vanya?"

The words of her subordinates caused her to shift slightly towards their respective locations. Arch Captain Vanya stood there, offering no immediate answer as she too moved closer to the shattered trees. Her hands traced the side of the remaining half of the tree at first, but soon she crouched into the shrubbery below.

I could tell that she had found something as she traced her hands into the bushes. It took a moment to realize, but it appeared that she was tearing into the bush that my tail had gotten stuck on earlier during my demonstration. Instinctively, my eyes drifted behind me as I turned to confirm my own suspicions. Although I had not noticed it at first, a few leaves were still tangled in my tail, which meant,

"Fur."

"You found something, Arch Captain?", Gerald asks her, seeking confirmation when she finally speaks.

The two men stood around as they awaited proper clarification from their superior. However, she did not speak and instead looked around the underbrushes of the tree. Once her curiosity had been satisfied, Vanya joined her subordinates on the road.

Her hand was extended towards them as if she were showing something to them right away. Although I could not see what was in her hand from my angle, it did not take long for us to be let in on the discovery.

"Trees do not split themselves into firewood on their own accord, Arch Private. There are too many of them in this state to call this a natural occurrence. Foul Play is at work much like Lieutenant Aywen suggests. I found this tuft of fur hidden in the bushes below."

Upon examining it for himself, Gerald responds,

"I would wager that it is from a tail, Arch Captain."

While Gerald seemed particularly interested in the discovery, the elf known as Aywen was the opposite. He took a single glance at it before turning away to face the direction of Astana.

"What? Tail Fur? And here I was hoping that you had stumbled across something more interesting, but it looks like you have found dirt amongst the dirt. It wouldn't be too surprising."

"I suggest that you take things more seriously. These trees were not leveled by themselves, and we just found evidence that a demi-human was at the scene of the disturbance!"

"How dare you! I am taking this seriously, but you can't truly expect me to really believe that a mere demi-human would act out like this."

"Cease the bickering.", Vanya commanded, and sure enough her subordinates responded.

"Believe it, Aywen. While there is not much to go on, I was able to differentiate between two different bootprints in the soil near the tree. A party of two…no three."

'Seriously… this woman is good. Too good. That is some Spencer Reid-level detective work. She might cause a problem.'

I flinched when they mentioned the fact that some of my tail fur had remained behind and gave them evidence of our possible involvement. I shuffled softly into my leaves below as I began shifting more behind the tree that I was nearby.

However, that would ultimately prove to be a mistake, as when I looked up, I could tell a noticeable shift in Vanya's stature. The female had snapped away from her subordinates and looked in our direction with her left hand on the grip of her sword. Her action also prompted initial confusion from her allies as well. Though as if discipline was etched into their muscles, both Aywen and Gerald moved to reciprocate Vanya's.

"What is the matter, Arch Captain?", Gerald asks her, but he is met with silence.

It didn't take long for me to realize that she was looking exactly in my direction. It didn't occur to me when I saw them that the elves could have possibly heard any of my movements. Vanya would unsheathe her sword and point it in our direction.

"Come on out, Demi-human. I know that you are there, hiding in the bushes. You can not hope to elude my detection.", she orders.

It had appeared that the jig was up. There would be no point in attempting to escape considering that they arrived at this location in such an orderly fashion. What she had said was also true since there was no way for us to successfully elude her elven hearing in our current state.

That left us with only one choice. Without consulting the other two, I stood up from my position in the brushes and slowly made my way towards the open road. Once I was visible to them, there was a noticeable shift towards their demeanors.

While Aywen had eased up on his own stance, Vanya remained tense and continued to hold me at sword point. I held my hands up, attempting to show them that I was currently unarmed.

"Hello there.", I say to them, flashing an awkward smile towards the three before me.

"That's far enough demi-human. Not a step closer.", Aywen instructs.

I adhered to the instructions of the male and stood several feet away from them. I remained with my hands in the air as I sized up the shorter individuals. I could sense their eyes sizing me up, but I attempted to keep myself from appearing threatening to them.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well…I do not believe that is much of your concern, but I'll gracefully offer you an answer. I just so happened to be heading to Astana from Struburg."

"I do not appreciate your attitude, Demi-human. Watching your tongue would be the best course of action for someone of your status."

Turning around, I began looking for this person that this bastard thought he was talking to like that. The male was rather condescending for a short guy, but I made sure to go out of my way to look down my nose at him.

"What's your business here in Astana?", Gerald asks, slightly lowering his blade.

I offered them no response. While at first glance, I could tell that at least two of them seemed to not see me as a threat in the slightest. Neither Aywen nor Gerald had their swords pointed towards me as aggressively as their commander was. Without a doubt, Vanya clearly suspected me, and with her stance on guard, I do not believe that I have a chance of convincing her otherwise.

"Your tail. The color.", Vanya says, her voice was stoic and her face unreadable.

Looking behind me, I once more looked at my tail when she pointed it out. Since I was unaware of what type of fur she had in her possession, I sought to gather some information before I dared to act.

"Astute observation there. I do have a tail. I can barely believe myselv- myself, but it's true. Now I was going to move on. My journey has been quite arduous, so I think I would like to continue and check myself into an inn."

"You? Check yourself in an inn?", Awyen muses, chuckling to himself.

The male had fully sheathed his blade and stepped forward to address me once more. Gerald followed suit, but I did not offer any complaints. After all, that allowed me a chance to breathe slightly. I began lowering my hands, but that proved to be quite a miscalculation on my part.

As soon as I did so, I found the blade of Vanya inching closer to my position. We engaged in eye contact for a brief moment before I was the one to break it. I would shift my eyes to Awyen as I answered his question.

"Is there something wrong with that? Am I not allowed to check myself in?"

"Not necessarily, but you do not seem to be… qualified… to do so. Speaking that… Your uniform? What branch do you represent?"

His question threw me off for a bit, and I could tell that my initial confusion was obvious. The attire that I was wearing was actually quite similar to the one that the individuals before me. I had once described that we were dressed like peasants fighting in a rich man's war.

Arch Captain Vanya and her company obviously serve that specific role. I knew that they were looking for a proper answer, but I had no clue what branches were still in play during the time period of the update. I had to think of something, so I looked around at the three respective people for any clues,

"I am a member of the Conscripted Forces. A mere scout, as you can tell by my uniform, I carry no high rank. Even so, my Arch Captain sent me here to check out this disturbance. We were nearby and moving towards the Grotto Plains ", I lied to them.

After a moment of looking at themselves, Vanya nodded her head seemingly accepting my words, and finally, she lowered her sword. While she did not place her sword back in its sheath, it remained pointing towards the ground, which was a plus for me.

Now I stood there no longer under sword point, and I found myself smiling in relief. I am relieved that these individuals seem to be easily misled as long as I don't actively contradict my stories. I would have to make sure to be extra careful in that regard.

"Your allies. They may come out now.", Vanya says.

Her words were straight as she gave me this piercing gaze. Her comrades seemed a tad bit confused, but they weren't completely surprised. After all, Vanya deduced that there were likely three people near the disturbance. She was correct me, Bonner, and Q were actually responsible, but being an elf, I would have imagined that they would not elude her enhanced hearing for long.

I laughed in amusement as I could feel the intensity of the small elf woman, but I wouldn't allow myself to be intimidated. Though in my current state of being unarmed, I doubt that I could do much against her and her swordplay. Although I didn't imagine that Bonner and Q would be revealed so soon after I was.

"My allies?", I ask her, feigning ignorance.

"You say you are a scout. Scouts run in groups. There was a group near here, and I believe they caused this disturbance."

I could tell that her eyes shifted once more. She was looking beyond me into the bush where my comrades were hiding.

"Your tail. The color matches."

"Oh, right. My training indicates that I must deny such people's existence. I have come alone in this endeavor. As for my tail. Circumstantial at best."

In that very instant, Vanya raised her sword once more and pointed it towards me. It was rather played out at this point. I did not appreciate having a sword pointed in my direction in the first place, but it also appeared that my attempts to talk my way were dead on arrival.

When Vanya had raised her guard, it had alerted the other two to do so as well. At this point, even the indifferent Awyen had pointed his weapon in my direction. Instinctively, I held my left palm towards the group in hopes of diffusing the situation.

"Hold on now. Let's not do something that we will all regret.",

"Where are you from, Demi-human?! Answer us!", Aywen demands.

There was an obvious splash of annoyance on the elven man's face.

"I do not owe you another answer. I already told you that I am a scout for the Conscripted Forces. You do not need to know anything else."

"I tire of your games, Demi-human! Arch Captain. Please allow me to bring this foxkin to his knees!"

I scoffed at the words of the elf and pointed towards him. A foxkin is what he just called me, and the way that he delivered it was as if it was a slur. Watching as the three individuals attempted to surround my position, I could only think about how much of a disaster this exchange was. If only I had more knowledge of the area, then perhaps I could have bluffed my way out of it in a more convincing manner.

"I wouldn't attempt to attack me if I were you. Your leader was actually correct. I am actually not alone, but instead, I have you all surrounded. Boom. Tables turned, right?"

I laughed at my own cleverness initially before realizing that my words didn't go over too well with the guards. While Gerald seemed taken aback by my words, both elves seemed to not buy what I was selling. Perhaps they both could detect the actual number of people that were lurking behind me.

Stepping forward towards them, I aimed to draw their attention just in case either of them desired to make a move. I would have preferred not to resort to it, but with more people coming behind them, I would also not prefer to stick around any longer than we have already.

"I can tell that you think little of me, Little Elf, but underestimate me at your own peril. I am an unarmed black man, but I will not allow you to abuse me. No one will put their foot on my neck."

"Man? You are a mere foxkin. A slightly more intelligent than average foxkin, but a foxkin nonetheless. Your handlers must have needed you to do more paperwork."

"Handlers? You say that as if I am not a free man. I do not know why you keep saying Foxkin as if it is a bad thing, but you should pray that it isn't a derogatory term. Let me find out."

"And if it was?"

While the collective had succeeded in surrounding me, I focused mostly on Aywen. I stared down the smaller male as I awaited for any of them to make any move towards my position. While I could not see them, my ears twitched at the slightest movements that they were making. I really didn't appreciate the mannerisms that this bastard was displaying towards me at the moment. In fact, if me and him were alone at the moment, then I would've bodied his little ass.

"Alright. AywEn…. Gerald.. and Vanya. I am quite the generous man. Your partner has… disrespected me. I will not tolerate disrespect under any means, so tell that little boy over there to check himself before he gets his tiny ass stepped on… like the… in-significant insect that he is."

Those were fighting words, and I delivered them in a manner that showed that I meant business. I bit my lip as I instinctively clenched my hand into a fist. At first, I saw no real reason to really engage with them, but I felt like I was being discriminated against right now by the little bastard. Being born in Alabama, a black man like myself learns from an early age how to sense the subtlest of racist intent. While not as prevalent in the modern age, the internet allowed one to be exposed to the virus.

I could feel it in my bones that Aywen was using the term "Foxkin" as if it were a weapon.

One that probably normally breaks the morale of demi-humans here. Unfortunately for him, I was born in 2000 and lived over two decades in the modern era. Something like that can't break my spirit, in fact, the idea that he would even attempt to play that card shows a lot about his character. He was just as much of a prejudiced asshole to the demi-humans as he was to the humans. It's high time that someone gave this prick a reality check.

"Stay your hand, Lieutenant.", I hear Vanya say.

Ultimately, it appeared that my words had an effect on Aywen. The elf male seemingly tightened his grip on his sword and stared daggers into me. I could feel it. His intent to harm was obvious to anyone with eyes. So much so that his commander had to speak on it in order to keep him in check.

It took me a moment to realize it, but by his demeanor his choices of words, and finally the derogatory term, we have ourselves a race supremacist on our hands. The fact that neither of them spoke out on the matter gave me an understanding of the situation. In revealing myself, I have made a mistake.

"Listen to the woman, Aywen. You come at me now, and I will shatter your worldview.", I say to him, egging the male on.

I mocked him with an arrogant smirk, hoping to provoke the male into action. I can read it all over his face. Aywen really believed that he could bring me to my knees right now, and he desperately wanted to. The only thing preventing him was the instructions of his Arch Captain.

"I am Second Lieutenant, Mark Drago of the Conscripted Forces. A Foxkin that I may be, but I will lay your pointy-eared ass on your ass with no hesitation", I claimed.

Naturally, I falsified certain details, but the tiny things didn't really matter in this situation. While I was talking, I made sure to keep an ear out for Q's movements. I was sure that he would understand what I was doing and be prepared to make his own move.

"There is no such thing! You are lying foxkin on top of that! Mark Drago! You are under arrest for the destruction of private property within the territory of Astana alongside threatening a civil servant! You must surrender yourself immediately!", Aywen shouts, seething in his anger.

"Lieutenant!", Vanya shouts to him.

"I don't have to do anything, but be black and die!", I call to him, matching his intensity.

"Then DIE!"

My words caused the enraged elf to immediately charge me without prior orders from his leader. In a matter of seconds, Aywen moved to claim my head as he had desired, but I was not going to allow that to transpire. I gestured to him to bring it on with my left hand as I hunched over to his level. He charged with his sword down to his side and, on his first attempt, moved to pierce me directly in my chest. A kill shot right away was his intention.

Unfortunately for the male, things didn't go his way. When the distances closed between us, the familiar boom of ripping wind occurred, and Aywen promptly disappeared from my sight.

A devilish smile appeared on my face as I briefly watched the emotion of shock appear on his face as he was launched towards me. I would even laugh at him in the process.

Having seen it a few times now, I knew that Q had once again come in clutch. Aywen's body flew into the bushes on the opposite side of the road and leveled several more trees on impact. He had left his sword behind when he was struck- by a rock, no doubt - and I could hear the metal softy thud into the dirt below.

Firstly, I turned to see Vanya's reaction, and it was quite amusing seeing the stoic Arch Captain's eyes occupy 80% of her face now. That was only the beginning, as I secretly indicated with my movement that Vanya was to be the next target. Almost on cue, an object soon crashed into the shoulder of the warrior and sent her flying much like her comrade before. She traveled into the trees and disappeared from our sight.

"That leaves -"

As I spoke, Gerald moved to put an end to me, but that was expected of him. Being slightly taller than Aywen, I could tell that his strike attempt would be higher as well. At least that was what I anticipated. His movements were more clumsy in comparison to the first attacker, but he closed the distance just as fast.

Being relatively unarmed, I was clearly not completely powerless, and young Gerald presented himself as a test dummy for my new powers. My first notion was to evade, but curiosity overrode that option nearly instantly as it had done my previous decisions. Gerald's blade rained down from below, so I traced the arc of the attack in order to attempt to meet it. I wanted to flex on the male with my enhanced strength like a true Isekai protagonist. I could not dream of skipping the opportunity to do so.

"Useless. Useless. Useless. Gerald! Bahaha!", I called to the male as I moved the index of my right hand up in order to meet the blade.

Though things hardly go as one may desire. It was proven here at that moment that this was not the place to play around. Like a knife through butter, the blade sliced the finger down the middle and ended at my knuckle. Blood gushed out onto the metal, painting it and the dirt below in a crimson puddle.

I would scoff as my own expectation was quickly shown the reality of the world that I was in. It was a terrible idea, to be frank, but I just imagined that it would be cool. I felt the power that Gerald had placed into his attack, but that blade didn't travel any further. While I could not stop the initial strike all the way, I made sure that no more damage would be taken.

"Damn it, Gerald. Now why would you go and do something like that?", I ask him rhetorically.

The male didn't offer an answer right away and instead pulled his blade from my wound. He pivoted back a few feet before pointing his stained blade at me once more. With the enhanced pain resistance, it was true that I actually felt no pain from the attack.

It still didn't prevent me from being shocked that I was unable to prevent the attack from penetrating my limb. I was certain that I would be able to block it with just one finger, but apparently, I hadn't completely mastered my physical skill set. Perhaps I was just a tad bit too arrogant in thinking that was possible at my current level.

"Who- no... what the hell are you?", Gerald asks, snapping my focus.

As soon as my attention shifted away from the male, my finger began its reconstruction process. I would laugh softly when I realized it. That action brought out a surprised gasp from my opponent. Realizing in that moment that I had inadvertently hindered my body from utilizing the power that it possesses during the conflict. In mere seconds, my finger was practically new. I even wiggled it to spite the male.

"I believe… that I have told you already. You are surrounded, and I am Mark Drago. That is the name that I am going by now. Not my real one, of course. Your partner called me a Foxkin, so I am Mark Drago the Foxkin.", I answered.

"Your healing capabilities are.."

"Impressive, right? I failed to stop your strike with one finger this time, but I still require training. For now, I'll just heal from any damage that you manage to land on me. Come at me now. I won't be standing around this time."

"You will be defeated. We have a whole platoon of men behind us. They should be arriving any minute now."

It hadn't donned on me during the confrontation, but Gerald was right. More people were on the way, and I allowed my attention to be diverted once again, and I failed to consider it. I would push my glasses up further on my nose with its bridge before looking towards my allies' location.

"He's right about one thing. We should head to Struburg instead. Keep moving west.", I yelled to them.

Revealing themselves as soon as I addressed them, Q and Bonner moved from their respective ambush spots. The revelation that there were indeed three of us had an impact on Gerald. He attacked once more as he thought that my attention was shifted to my comrades, but I knew all too well thanks to my Kitsune hearing. He swung this time for my neck, and I leaned away from it as I was not going to try my protagonist flex with my neck since the last attempt failed miserably.

I followed my instincts, and my body moved almost on its own. A warming sensation had suddenly filled my body, racing from my legs and arms to my head. When the arc of his attack met its climax, my left hand shot up to the sword. Much like earlier with the tree, my body produced results. My hand struck the metal blade on its flat side and shattered the blade in one attempt.

"Poor Gerald. Thank you for opening our eyes even more.", I said to him before my body moved to sidekick the shorter male in his chest.

My kick landed on the side and launched him in the same direction as his allies. His breastplate cracked under the immense pressure of my strike. It was as if I had done that move a thousand times before, but in reality, I merely replicated something that I recalled in that moment. It had just felt correct to do so, and my body acted accordingly.

That must be the sensation that Q had mentioned before. After sending my opponent flying alongside shattering his blade, I joined my two comrades in the forest near the road. I had actually leaped over to them, and while I did not land at the spot that I desired, it was still rather close to the target. Even more so than my previous attempts. I would first thank Q for his assistance once more before explaining to them the idea that I had when I traveled.

"Calvary is on their way now. I told Gerald that we were heading to Struburg. Just in case you didn't hear. Obviously, it was a lie. I suggest that we move deeper into the forest and continue on to Astana as initially planned. I doubt that they will be able to easily find us once we arrive."

"Good work then. Let's move. The others are only up the road. They will see that their search party was wiped out and start looking for us."

"Well, fellas. Let's let them look.", I muse to them.

As planned, the three of us moved deeper into the forest in order to avoid the incoming reinforcements. From our distance, I could still pick up them when we passed them, but expectedly, we remained uncontested. We all ran there this time as we hoped to beat them into the city. It was about two miles give or take until we could see a large stone wall come into sight, and we all collectively moved back towards the road. We didn't have to speak on the matter as it was the thing that made the most sense.

Likely, there would be some type of checkpoint that we would have to pass in order to enter the city. That is a common thing that usually happens when an individual arrives in an unfamiliar city. They would have to first enter the gate via permission with the guards on duty.

When we got close enough to the wall and subsequently the gate, we could see a large line of various people waiting to be granted entry into the city. There, we would attempt to blend in with what appeared to be the common folk in an attempt to join the process. While now the only thing that we could possibly do now was wait.