Both the guy moaning with a bandaged half-severed leg and the one who'd frantically shouted not to speak stared wide-eyed at their companion.
Well, watching soone's right hand fight their left hand wasn't exactly an everyday sight.
"Ah! Ahhh! Why is this happening!"
"The curse is too strong to remove completely, just stay still!"
"I want to stay still but my body's moving on its own!"
His left hand twisted at an unnatural angle, ignoring his joints' limits, grabbing the dagger at his waist to aim at his throat. His right hand grabbed the left wrist in panic, struggling against it.
In the chaos, his left leg kicked hard at the ground trying to escape the village while his right leg, realizing he'd definitely die if his body moved freely, dug deep into the dirt. The result was him gripping both hands together while his left leg kicked at the ground like riding a scooter.
It was quite a sight watching all four parts of his body - left and right, upper and lower - move with different wills. While terrifying for him, for observers it looked almost comical, like a video ga physics glitch.
"Mills, got any rope instead of wire?"
"Sure. Let's twist his arms back."
As Elize groaned trying to defend against and understand the curse, Jacob and Mills naturally stepped in. Jacob grabbed the thrashing limbs in his huge hands while Mills pulled thick rope from his pocket and bound the rcenary like capturing a wild animal.
anwhile Han Se-ah, who'd started moving without explanation to viewers, was busily digging holes with Earth Control.
"Get in if you don't want to die!"
"Uh, huh?"
"Hey! Your limbs won't move anymore!!!"
She pointed her staff like a spear at the remaining four rcenaries, shoving them into the holes and burying them with dirt up to their necks.
One was bound with rope and thrashing, while the other four were effectively buried alive by moving earth. The villagers panicked at seeing the ground "eat" people, while the rcenaries stared blankly with terrified eyes, wondering if the mage would break the evil curse.
After quickly planting people in the ground, Han Se-ah finally answered her viewers' cries.
"Nothing special, just saw the quest log update. It said 'Why are the rcenaries thrashing?' so I buried them all first. ...What do you an why? The log said ALL the rcenaries would thrash, not just one!"
-That's not amateur burial work - perfect control lol
-Instead of solving it with magic she just physically buried them?
-Well technically using magic to stop them from thrashing counts right? lol
-Way more efficient than rope, just bury them and be done with it lol
-Finding witch traces on day one of the eastern journey? Trying to speedrun again?
[The Intruders in the Small Eastern Rural Village]
[For so reason, these bandits don't seem to be after wealth and won]
[Controlled by unknown curses, what are they thrashing for?]
She pointed at the word "they" in the updated quest log she was showing.
If Elize hadn't jumped in to counter the curse, all five would have started convulsing after the loose-lipped rcenary. A witch cruel enough to curse suicide for speaking wouldn't be kind enough to avoid collective punishnt.
Han Se-ah's actions proved correct as terror and confusion filled the rcenaries' eyes.
"Uh, uhh? My body feels weird!"
"Wha- what is this?!"
Though buried up to their necks, the dirt around their heads bulged and shook, showing they were thrashing regardless of torn joints and muscles.
Their non-superhuman bodies couldn't dig through the dirt to escape, but they were thrashing hard enough to move the earth. Not strong enough to clear the dirt, but also not strong enough to resist the force making them move.
Han Se-ah looked troubled as the rcenaries scread in pain. The magic she'd learned was for summoning things like light, flas, water drops, lightning and blizzards - she had no way to help the thrashing, suffering rcenaries.
"Elize, do they have curses on their heads too? If not, should I just crush them?"
"...Why do you keep focusing on heads?"
"The noise is annoying. Even superhumans need sleep."
Han Se-ah peeked at the bustling chat hoping for hints. Jacob and Elize continued their brutal head removal debate while Mills and the others just stared blankly at each other, unsure what to do.
In this situation, one of the villagers bravely stepped forward.
"Whatever it is, we just need to subdue them, right?"
"Hey! What are you- oof!"
Before the elderly chief could stop him in shock, the man darted out under our party's implicit agreent to watch what he'd do.
"Ack!"
"Gah!"
"Wha-what!"
"Wait a-!"
His sprint seed lightning fast to normal people but looked like an elentary school sports day dash to superhumans. The shepherd ran out from the crowd, raised his staff high, and bonked the rcenaries' heads one by one.
Precisely knocking them out with single hits.
※
2★ 'Hill-Leaping Shepherd' John
That was the title of the man who suddenly rushed out to club the rcenaries' heads with his long staff. He was the richest man in this tiny rural village, raising fifty sheep, and a reliable guardian who would beat wolves and foxes to death with his staff when they threatened the village.
Even 1★ adults in rural villages had the potential to knock out others with their fists, so at 2★ he could easily defeat beasts. After all, wasn't the average first companion for Heroes Chronicle newbies 2★?
Shepherds weren't people who looked after livestock in safe villages - they were lone guardians of incredibly valuable animals in wilderness crawling with wolves and monsters.
"I thought maybe knocking them out would break the curse... Sorry, was that unnecessary?"
"Not at all! Just discovering that unconsciousness temporarily stops the curse is hugely helpful!"
"Oh, ohh! My body, I can move my body freely now!"
While he would've been brutally killed fighting mid-rank rcenaries climbing the fence at night, he had enough skill to knock out buried rcenary heads.
Though he knew nothing about curses, discovering that unconsciousness temporarily broke them provided a clue for solving the unknown curse. The only unburied rcenary, tightly bound with rope, finally regained freedom under Elize's touch.
The rcenary who'd been thrashing like a freshly caught fish suddenly sat up calmly. Seeing the shepherd's staff aid at his head, he carefully knelt and lowered his head.
"Well then, ti for explanations?"
"Yes, understood!"
As soon as they heard the words "mage's magic and witch's sorcery," the villagers hid in their hos on the chief's startled order. These K-dieval people seed wise enough to know what matters to avoid.
Thanks to the villagers quickly hiding and removing their torches, the village grew darker as the rcenary began speaking.
"It's true we were rcenaries following a rchant group. Not separated, but forcibly controlled."
"By whom?"
"A witch, of course. A witch who attacked the rchant group and kidnapped everyone."
As shown by the curse on his head and Han Se-ah's updated side quest log, a witch had controlled the rcenaries.
They were part of a massive rchant group that had set out from the eastern city of Baruks to tour the margrave territories at the eastern edge, along with rcenaries hired for the long journey. It was a huge operation with over twenty cargo wagons, fifty workers, and a hundred mid-rank plus fifteen high-rank rcenary escorts.
Well, they weren't just dealing with one margrave but touring all the margrave territories in the eastern edge. In other words, they were trading with every frontline base along the border. But neither the hundred mid-rank nor fifteen high-rank rcenaries could handle a single witch.
"The witch... poisoned our water supply..."
Because a mad witch had started stalking the rchant group.
A witch wouldn't have so ridiculous 10★ raid boss powers. Being a side quest, she'd probably be weak enough that I could instantly crush her head with my warhamr in direct combat.
But a mad witch who saw people as toys and test subjects wouldn't fight fair 1-on-1 with a superhuman. After getting interested in the rchant group and confirming there were 15 superhumans, she began a very dirty, persistent stalking campaign.
First she sprayed magical potions on their food and water. When they ran low on food and sent rcenaries hunting, she sent contaminated beasts from her experints. She burned small villages where they could resupply and blocked city-bound roads with curses.
'...She's properly insane.'
Nothing to drink
Nothing to eat
Can't sleep
Can't find the way
A crazy witch guerrilla flying around on a broomstick, spraying potions from the air and running away. According to this rcenary, the rchant group's fifteen superhuman escorts were helplessly worn down and captured facing such an unreasonable situation.
"...It's her alright."
A flying guerrilla witch?
Flight, evasion, agility, curses and CC potions - every elent I hated gathered in one enemy.
...Fuck, aren't there any archery fragnts instead of just swordsmanship ones?
Enjoy the chappy!
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