12 Chapter 12: Escorting I

ARTHUR LEYWIN'S POV:

A few minutes prior.

It was nightfall as I stood high on a branch with my brother, making sure the plan would go smoothly. I was extremely hesitant in letting my brother fight with me. However, when I saw his expression after he had heard those slave traders' words, I knew I wouldn't be able to convince him.

His face didn't contort into anger or anything like that, however his eyes told a different story; a bone chilling gaze that could freeze an ocean targeted those men. Even I was a little uneasy. I also wouldn't have left the elf girl to those men, it wouldn't sit right with me, so me and my brother were now partners in crime!

I was still somewhat worried however, we were essentially going to kill people as children. I'm not sure if Tori understands the concept of life and death, but he was going to put some people to sleep, permanently...

"I'll deal with the awake ones and I'll leave the ones that are asleep to you." Artorias spoke.

Yeah... Not a chance. I was already hesitant in letting him fight with me, and now he's going to put himself in the most danger? What's the point if I go home, only to tell my parents, "Hey everyone! I'm alive! But we fought some slave traders on our way back and your other son died!"

Yeah, the happy reunion would be quickly ruined...

My brother fights good for his age, but even if he were to be the future war God, I'm not gonna allow it.

After a few rounds of arguing, I decided to come up with a little game to decide our positions in the plan.

After deciding on a number and hiding it behind my back, I waited for his response.

"Fine... Two?" Tori spoke.

Damn, he got it right... Welp, time to switch it.

After revealing my hand, I saw my brother's expression of annoyance–probably realising I cheated– which made me a little smug. It's not everyday you get to see another expression that isn't his 24/7 dead-pan face.

After reassuring him that I'll be fine, I threw a rock to stir up the hounds.

I was going to make this quick.

As one of the two on guard went around to the other side of the carriage to quiet them, I made my move. I dropped down with a quiet thud behind one of the slave traders. This man had a very lanky build. While lean muscles were visible, he didn't seem too strong and was only armed with a long knife.

Startled by the soft thud, lanky turned around probably expecting a curious weasel or a rat. His face twisted into a mixture of surprise and amusement when he saw me, a four-year-old child in ragged clothes.

But before he had the chance to even speak, I lunged upward towards his neck. I infused mana into the blade of my hand, turning it into a sharp edge. This was called the swordless art in my old world but here, it would be more accurate to call it a wind attribute technique.

He flinched back reflexively, his hands trying to reach where his face was to guard against the boy shooting towards him.

However, it was too late.

I take a quick swipe at the jugular, taking his vocal chord out along with his carotid artery. A stream of blood sprayed out of his neck immediately as I land behind him, supporting his lifeless body and gently placing him down to avoid making noise.

Just as expected, the forest hounds that had just been calmed down by Lanky jolted back awake at the stench of blood causing them to howl and bark.

"Ey Pinky! Can't even calm the hounds...What the?!"

I had already picked up Pinky's knife and was waiting for him at the back-corner of the carriage.

While the other slave trader's attention was directed at the corpse of Pinky, currently being eaten by the forest hounds, I jumped out from behind and stabbed the side of his neck with the knife.

The hounds quieted down while devouring the two corpses.

I should go check on my brother. I killed the two rather quickly, so he should still be in the midst of assassinating those men. He was doing a stealth mission afterall, it was easier than fighting awake adults, however he needed to be more patient and careful. I even told him how to kill them quietly.

"HELLLLP! MOMMY! SOMEONE! ANYONE! PLEASEE!!"

Shit! Why now of all times? The worst thing that can happen in a stealth mission is when it doesn't become so stealthy. From how loud that elf girl was, they're definitely awake now. My worries manifested into reality when I heard a gruff voice shout out.

"ARGH! YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Damn it! I need to hurry.

I reinforced my legs with mana as I sprinted as fast as I could to the tent. I called out his name before entering, however it was already over... 

I must say, I was rather speechless. It looked like a scene out of a horror movie.

My eyes had been imbued with mana, so I could clearly see what had happened. On one of the straw mats, was a man laying on his back. His neck had been punctured as a stream of blood poured out of it. It seems he didn't put much of a resistance and probably got killed during his sleep.

I then looked at the other man, currently mounted by my brother, who looked nearly unrecognisable. He had dozens of stab wounds which had completely covered him in crimson. The numerous wounds had formed a puddle of blood below him which gave off a strong stench as I could smell it even from here. I noticed some of his fingers were chopped off, an apparent show of resistance, with one of his eyes gouged out. I then looked at his neck which currently had a knife inside it.

"I've dealt with them..." He uttered, giving me a cursory glance as he wiped the blood off his face.

Somewhat startled at my brother's indifference to taking a human life in such a violent way, I managed to mumble, "U—uh, yeah, I can see that..."

I hope my brother doesn't grow up to be a cold, ruthless killer else it would definitely be my fault...

"Tori, let's go free the elf girl." I said, trying to get us out of this disturbing scene as soon as possible.

"Alright."

-

I climbed up onto the back of the carriage where she was locked and I spotted her shivering in the corner with dirty rags as her attire. She studied me and my brother in surprise and doubt, her eyes almost saying, "They can't have been the one who had saved me, right?"

I untied her as she remained silent, her swollen turquoise eyes never leaving my face.

Tired, I helped her up and simply stated, "You should go back home now."

"Hic...hic..."

She probably didn't know whether we were an enemy or a friend until now, but once the word 'home' was said, a look of relief washed over her tense face and she broke down.

"Hic! I was so scared! They were going to sell me! Hic! I thought I was never going to see my family again! Hic! WAAAAAA"

After what had felt like a good hour, I managed to calm her down before explaining a little about the situation. I had omitted a lot of information, especially about the deaths of those slave traders.

I helped her up to her feet before speaking again.

"Those people that tried to kidnap you aren't going to chase you anymore. That being said, do you think you can make it to your home by yourself?"

Instantly, her eyes retracted in fear as a panicked expression spread throughout the rest of her face. As tears welled up and both her hands clenched tightly to my shirt, even an infant would be able to tell what her answer was through her actions.

"Look, me and my brother need to get home too. Aren't elves generally safe in this forest?" I let out a sigh, trying to pry open her fingers from my shirt.

She violently shook her head and rebutted, "Beasts only scared of adults...Parents warned me that children will get eaten by hounds or tree golems."

I would normally be pretty amazed about something like a tree golem, but it was becoming pretty hard to find something that surprised me after witnessing a demon king metamorph into a dragon.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, trying to come up with a solution for all of this. I glanced at my brother to see if he could come up with anything, but he just shrugged his shoulders. Fantastic...

Sigh.

"How long does it take to get to where you live from here?"

...