Chapter 221: Chapter 221 - Slow-Down Strike
PoV: Renata
The Brazilian girl was sitting on her bed, looking at the elaborate paintings on the wall of the room she had been assigned to in this city’s temple.
She had spent the last two days on a monster-suppressing mission in Eestria, a little country that was more like a city-state. It is the city farthest east in all human realms.
The painting depicts the first adventurers driving off monsters under the guidance of the goddess.
Among the monsters, there were some humanoid forms, with big ears and tails. Beastkin.
Someone knocks on the door.
"Lady Renata, may I come in?"
"Yes."
The one who enters is Llago, the Bishop of this country. He has an apologetic look as he enters, followed by his slave, a young fox man called Peri.
"I’m sorry to disturb your peace so soon after you returned from your mission. But I would like to ask for your help with a crisis."
"What is it?"
Renata was an easygoing and very social person on Earth. Yet, she now rarely talks to other people and only answers with short sentences when someone talks to her.
It isn’t like the Bishop, or anyone else, had a bad view of her because of it. She is a Hero, a Holy person, after all. She is behaving like they imagined sacred people would behave.
"A group of beastkin slaves has revolted. They are fleeing at this very moment, through the wilderness."
"Oh?"
Renata raised her eyebrows a little bit.
"We are assembling adventurers for the hunt. Would you please take command of the squad?"
Though it was worded as a request, Renata was well aware that saying no was not an option. Not because of the Bishop, of course. But because of the one who sent her to this world in the first place.
A being so powerful that she had no chance of surviving if she defied openly.
Ever since the angels came to give her a warning, she had complied with everything. Even though she wanted to say fuck off to all, her survival instincts were still stronger.
And that’s the reason she also accepted the mission this time.
:::
At the Adventurer’s Guild, a group of ten rowdy adventurers gathered. With them, there was a priest and the Hero.
The adventurers were quite pumped up for being with the Hero, of course. But none dared to approach her directly, out of fear.
Renata didn’t have an approachable demeanor, after all. And they had already heard stories about her strength.
Though she didn’t apply herself in training, the quantity of monster subjugation missions has raised her levels. No matter how half-hearted one goes at it, XP gain through the System is an objective reality. In this world, at least.
"Hello. I’m Renata, the Hero."
Her voice sounded emotionless, almost eerie.
((Maybe I can stall them enough so the slaves escape. Slow-down Strike is the way to go.))
"Let’s not dwell on formalities, lady. I heard you’re a ranged fighter who favors stealth. Is that right?"
"And you are...?"
The one who looked the most experienced among the adventurers tried to steer the conversation to the issue at hand, but she stopped him to ask his name.
"I’m Keel. So, will you answer my question? We have fugitives to catch."
((Ugh, this one will be hard to deal with.))
"Well, Mister Keel. Yes, I am more used to fighting at a distance, indeed. And you?"
Renata kept with her usual demeanor. It was something the priests were already used to dealing with, but for the adventurers, this was their first dealing with her.
"Most of us are melee. Except for the two girls back there, who are mages. That’s all you need to know. Now, what are your orders?"
"Where did they flee to?"
"To the northeast. It seems that they are going somewhere on the mountains."
"The mountains, huh? Wouldn’t they simply die up there?"
"There’s no way to know what those beasts think, if they think at all. They are just like wild animals, running without knowing where they go."
The one who answered the last question was another adventurer, one who looked more like a thug. A type of person Renata could recognize at a glance.
((I wonder if there’s a hideout there... or even if they are getting help from outside.))
The mountains to the east weren’t as inhospitable as the Barrens, but they were crawling with strong monsters. That was the only reason that there weren’t any settlements up there.
To the other side of the mountains there was a vast sea. Though it was possible for a strong party to cross the mountains, the sea’s creatures made it impossible for people to sail.
On Earth, the sea was always a place for the gathering of people, so big cities were often built along the coastline. Here, it was the contrary. The sea was a place of dread. ’The Blue Desert,’ as the tales called it.
Well, at least that was the official narrative.
"I see."
The goal wasn’t to kill the fugitives but to bring them back. They were valuable property of the nobles. And the fat rewards riled up the adventurers.
Renata didn’t want to go, but she didn’t have a say in the matter.
"Okay, let’s get going, then."
She would use every opportunity to gain time for the beastkin to flee, but not to the point of raising suspicions. She wouldn’t want to get in the way of the angels’ wrath, after all.
:::
The group walked in silence to the city gate, then to the point of the walls from which the slaves escaped. The traces of their flight were still visible on the ground.
It was easy to follow fifteen fugitives who weren’t used to walking outside. So the chase followed swiftly.
The fugitives were two hours ahead of them. The adventurers tried to push ever faster, but Renata always found a way to delay them, even if just for a few seconds.
They were already far into the wilderness when they found the first monster corpse. It was a wolf, who had been killed with a magic that the adventurers, the Hero or the priest could recognize.
"What is this? Did one of the beasts have magic, and the owner failed to notice?"
"Agh. That will make things more difficult for us. None told us that they have magic."
"It’s the fault of the owner for not noticing. That’s why they managed to escape in the first place."
"But what kind of magic is that? It looks nothing like any element I know of."
The adventurers were talking among themselves, and even the mages were impressed by the way the monster was killed.
Renata just watched from the side, doing her best to hide her amusement.
((So much for ’mindless beasts,’ huh? Those guys seem more capable than this bunch gives them credit for. In any case, they didn’t bother butchering the wolf... are they confident that they will get food later?))
She watched everything and took notes but didn’t share her thoughts with anyone. She was actually glad that the team was taking so much time examining the corpse.
((There aren’t signs of an actual struggle here. Only one clean cut on the wolf’s head. Maybe it died before even managing to attack the fugitives. If so, they continued without barely slowing their pace. Very admirable of them.))
Soon the pursuers were on their way again. After two hundred meters, they found another killed monster. And then another. All fell under the same magic attack.
"The mage who did this is very powerful. To keep using that spell again and again... they must have enormous mana reserves."
"That probably means that when we find them, the guy will already be dry of mana. So we’ll have half the job done for us."
"Imagine retrieving a slave with that much power. We will be able to negotiate higher fees for retrieving him."
The adventurers chatted happily, without ever considering the possibility of failing in their mission.
Maybe that’s why Renata was the first one to notice it. Or maybe it was because she was, by far, the one with the higher level.
She noticed it, and yet, as always, she didn’t say a word about it.
((The System... is weaker?))
She could feel the strength given by it weakening as she pushed forward. Then she suddenly stopped, startling everyone.
((Hmmm. When I stop, the weakening stops.))
"Hey Hero. What happened?"
Renata just raises an open hand, an universal gesture of ’wait a moment.’ Then she walked ten meters back in the direction they came from.
((It strengthened up again. That means that if we keep going, soon the System won’t be working at all.))
"Lady Renata?"
"Oh, I’m sorry. It was nothing. Let’s keep going."
She smiled for the first time in months. This time, she wasn’t stalling for time anymore. She wanted to see what those adventurers would do when the system they relied so much on ceased working completely.