Bandit And Slaver Suppression

-Central Desierto, midday-

Wearing an unfamiliar outfit of tan t-shirt and khaki cargo pants with tan boots, Leona wore her Argent Gloves and Adaptable Armor. The Adaptable Armor's color scheme had been changed to a desert camouflage pattern to better blend with the sandy terrain. On her back was her backpack and on her left hip was her Nightshade Machete. In her backpack was both a good supply of bottled water and her familiar green-and-gold outfit in case she needed to change clothing at some point.

Leona stood at the crossroads of a well-used desert trail that was traveled by religious pilgrims, soldiers of the royal army, merchants, and the outlaws that Desierto was infamous for. Leona cupped a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes as a gust of wind kicked up a cloud of sand that slapped her in the face. She seriously needed to consider investing in goggles to protect her eyes from the sand and getting a wrap to cover her mouth with.

Reports of increased bandit and slaver activity had prompted Desierto authorities to send for Leona in order to suppress it. Leona was more than willing to answer the call because one of her personal goals was to make Desierto a little safer for the common man of the Tri-Council Cities and for the villagers who lived in the desert. It might be an impossible goal due to the sheer number of outlaws who called the region home, but the Wizard Saint of Courage was willing to do her best to push back against the outlaws. They had had their way for too long and it was time that someone began pushing back against them.

Her mission was simple. She was to kill any bandits and slavers she came across and free any captives that they had taken. Normally Leona did not like having to kill any more than she had to, but the outlaws of Desierto had declared her their enemy, so she would not pull her punches because they would not be pulling theirs. In light of that fact she could make an exception for them.

Leona looked around her environment for any signs of bandits, slavers, or Sol Terumi. The Desierto authorities had seen fit to call for someone to help Leona in her mission and the West Fiore Trading Company mage had answered the call. She could most likely handle the job on her own, but the blonde would not turn down his help because Sol had proven himself to be an adept fighter during their sparring match a few days ago. In between his skill with swords and his bare hands, the mage could more than handle the bandits and slavers of this region.

Leona stood in place at the crossroads because it would be a landmark that Sol could use to find her. He could also home in on her magic signature if all else failed, but she would try the simple approach first. Sometimes the simple approach worked the best.

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It was not long before the Reaper in question would appear in the distance approaching Leona, Sol had gotten the request to help deal with bandits in Desierto with his close friend Leona Jarnefeldt.though the Void Dweller was becoming very fond of the blond guild leader. He had quickly taken the job and had hopped on a boat to the main land so he could get to Desierto, while he was on the boat the slayer went thru the check list in his head of what he had stored in his shadow portals for supplies, he had water and food in case he needed it and also a change of clothing and camping gear should they have to camp in the desert. The Reaper himself was also dressed in his sparring garb consisting of black pants a black sleeveless Chinese shirt and his dark combat boots. He also had a mask made of shadows on his face to block the sand from getting into his mouth. It had not taken him very long once they had docked for him to get close to the crossroads.Sol was honestly curious about the region he was visiting since he had never been to Desierto at all.

While the slayer had read about the region he had yet to actually be there so he would be relying on Leona to help him on some things that he didn’t know. he did know that the dangers of the desert were less effective on him due to his inability to be killed easily, heck he couldn’t even drown and he used to be terrified of that. He had no doubt the heat of the desert wouldn’t bother him much. As he approached Leona he smirked a bit under his shadow mask. As he got close enough he would nod in greeting to her”you ready Leona Ill be following your leadership today” he said as he would gently kiss her on the cheek as a greeting as well. since this was his first time in the desert he would enjoy learning from another and it was always good to be under someone elses leadership on occasion. Glancing at the sky it seemed there was not a cloud in the sky and the tempeture was rather hot but then again they were near the entrance to a desert so that didn’t surprise him much. As he focused his hearing he didn’t hear any sounds of movement other then his and Leonas breathing.

“so any specific region of Desierto we need to go to “ he asked his companion as he would follow her as they went into the desert and it was easy for Sol to realize he would stand out in the desert due to his snow white skin and his blood red eyes thankfully though he couldn’t get sunburned so that was one less worry for him. “also any idea how many foes we might be looking at on this job?” he asked her. He had faced down armys before so he honestly wasent scared to much about bandits or slavers but a rough estimate on numbers always helped him deduce the odds.


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total wc- 527/12,500

Leona stood around until she detected a magic signature approaching her position. At first she thought that the enemies she was after had hired some magical muscle for this fight, but closer examination of the signature told her that it did not belong to an enemy. Instead it belonged to Sol Terumi, her partner for this job. The blonde mage raised a hand in greeting to the West Fiore Trading Company mage and waited for him to reach her side, which did not take long. Sol moved quickly and did not waste time with side trips or stopping to chat with the locals.

"Hey Sol. Nothing's happened yet, so you're just in time." Leona greeted her job partner cordially. She was not too concerned about him being on time because there was not much activity here. Not a single horse, wagon, or merchant caravan had passed by here, but that was to be expected because the center of Desierto was also the center of bandit activity. Bandits and slavers staked out the roads to prey on any passers-by they could catch and used the roads to transport their loot to their hideouts, be the plunder material or human. Today Leona and Sol were here to push back against the outlaws and make central Desierto just a little bit safer for its law-abiding citizens.

Leona felt herself be kissed on the cheek and blushed involuntarily, a reaction that Sol was likely aiming to get. If that was the case, he got what he wanted. Leona tried to focus on answering his question, which was where they needed to go in order to get on with completing the job. She tried to think of where the nearest bandit hideout was so that the pair could hand them an eviction notice and save any captives that had been taken by the outlaws.

"Right now we don't need to go anywhere because we're in central Desierto. The action will come to us soon. And the job notice said that we were to get rid of the bandits. The client doesn't care if we knock them out and transport to the authorities or just kill them. They just want the outlaws taught a lesson." Leona explained the specifics of the job to Sol. It should not take too long for trouble to head their way since there were always malcontents looking for easy prey. They were used to attacking people who were not armed or skilled enough to fight back. Today they would be in for an unpleasant surprise because they would be going up against a Wizard Saint and one of West Fiore Trading Company's most proficient mages. As if to prove her point, a team of fifteen horsemen in black outfits with red sashes galloped into view.

They had saddlebags loaded with loot like jewelry, fine clothing, Jewels, even gold coins that they had taken from their victims, most likely before killing them. The Crimson Sashes tended to do that to give people false hope that they would be allowed to live if they parted with their valuables. The bandits then killed them anyway just for the fun of it.

"Well, looks like the big boys have come out to play. What a way to start the job." Leona dryly commented on them. She then explained their significance to Sol.

"They're Crimson Sashes, the guys who have been terrorizing the desert for almost a hundred years. They raid villages to kill for loot, for captives to sell to slavers, or just because they're bored. These guys hardly ever leave survivors, so don't feel like you have to spare them." Leona told Sol a very short list of what made the Crimson Sashes hated and feared in equal measure. The lead horsemen took notice of the pair and Leona reached for her machete.

"Get ready to fight, Sol! They'll come after us with everything they've got and won't let us live!" Leona warned Sol. The horseman simply laughed in response, drew his scimitar, and spurred his mount into action. The other fourteen followed suit and barreled down on the two mages, looking to add two more kills to their tally.

[Word Count: 710]
[Total Word Count: 1,220/12,500]

Seeing the guild mistress blush made the Deathless smirk slightly before he nodded at he.”lets hope that our mission will be an easy one” he said. He wasent to concerned about dealing with such enemies since his training he had gone thru had lessened his fear of such foes immensely. As Leona then explained that they didn’t need to leave since they were in central Desierto and that they had their choice of how to deal with the bandits and slavers as long as they sent a message and taught them a lesson.”So I don’t need to hold back good to know I don’t normally get to stretch like this” he said as he cracked his neck and stretched a bit. He enjoyed a good battle and it allowed him to keep himself balanced as well. it seemed that the action would officially begin as fifteen horsemen approached and Leona would comment that it was a way to start a job. ”Let them come should make this interesting perhaps later you can show me around more of this region” he suggested his eyes holding a look that was focused on the approaching group but no fear was in them.

If anything the look in Sols eyes was one of boredom but yet his guard was still up. Listening to Leona explain that they were a group that was terrorizing the desert for almost a hundred years and that they often killed for loot and fun while also selling captives for profit the Reapers eyes hardened.”The thought never crossed my mind” he said as he saw her get her machete ready and he decided to ready himself as well.before him a beautiful ornate blade formed in his hand. This one was different from the last sword Leona had seen him wield. This was one was much shorter around 2 and a half feet in length and the blade was two colored being pitch black and a bright almost white gold color. This blade held such power in it and yet at the same time it felt like Sol himself, it was beauty and cruelty light and dark intertwined perfectly. The final feature of this blade was the split in it which allowed it to catch and disarm to even potentially break blades.”I have no intention of falling this day and I wont let you fall as well” he stated as he got into a stance as the group rushed towards them.

Sol waited until the first horseman was close and then he suddenly shot forward bending backwards to dodge the swipe from the scimitar and then he cut thru two of the horses legs before spinning and catching another horses back leg as well causing both animals to collapse and send their riders to the ground.Sol kept doing this until he had manage to cut thru 5 of the horses and downing 5 of the riders. the remainder of the riders missed Sol as they went past and the two of the riders were quick to get up and started to circle Sol.”You will pay for that and your blood will pain this sand red” one said as he would rush at Sol along with the other one and the Reaper didn’t even seem to put any effort in his strikes as he effortlessly deflected the bandits slashes, sparks kept flying as Sol dealt with the two slashing at him constantly and when it seemed like one would get the upper hand Sol twisted his blade so the scimitar would slide off of the guard or the blade itself.”If your done I have better things to do then break your blades” he said his tone bored. A glace would show that their blades were damaged and chipped and showing a lot of wear and tear while Sols blade was still just as immaculate as it was when he formed it.”I wont let a pretty boy mock me” one said before Sol would bring his swords gap forward and catch the bandits sword in his own before he suddenly twisted and the metal shattered like a twig.

“what how I..AGH!” the bandit managed to get out before the reapers sword cut cleanly thru him going from his shoulder to his hip in an instant and the mans body slid off and hit the ground as in the same instant Sol parried the lead bandits Scimitar and impaled him on his blade before he would rip outwards and remove his blade. Flicking his blade to rid of it the blood he turned to the three bandits that had gotten up while drawing their own blades and Sol gave them a bored look.” Moving on to round two” he said as he glanced over at Leona to see how she was handling the opponents as well.


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The Crimson Sashes did not waste much time with preambles. Leona did not need a preamble to know who these guys were and what they wanted... she drew her machete because a peaceful resolution was not possible here. They wanted to take her severed head back to their boss and prove to him that their greatest enemy was dead once and for all. Leona would not give them the chance to gloat at her expense because she would defeat this batch with Sol's help and she would defeat all the Crimson Sashes who came after her. She would defeat as many as were sent to try and take her head for a trophy.

One of them charged at her on horseback, but Leona knew exactly what to do to counter the attack. She fired a Wind Bullet at him and hit him in the left shoulder, dismounting him with about as much effort as it took to breathe. He toppled off of his horse and three more of his colleagues thundered past him on their steeds intent on coming to grips with the Wizard Saint of Courage. Leona simply raised a hand and fired a Wind Blast spell, making the horses rear up in fright and dump their riders from the saddle before running away to the curses of their former riders.

The first adversary rushed at Leona with his scimitar held in both hands and Leona exploited that mistake with two slashes across the chest, then a stab that ended the threat. She planted a foot on his chest and kicked him off just before the three dismounted horsemen ran in to take a shot at her. They stuck together and worked as a trio to try and overwhelm the blonde.

Leona took a swing at one of them and he strode forward to meet the blade with his own. While he clashed with her the remaining two circled around to both sides and made a simultaneous attack with their weapons, an attack Leona only dodged by giving ground and disengaging from the first Crimson Sash at the last moment by stepping back. That gave the first enemy an opening to kick Leona in the right knee and momentarily cripple her.

She quickly recovered from the pain and used a Storm Impact spell to kick up a dome-shaped cloud of sand when the wind dome expanded outward, knocking her opponents back and blinding them with sand. Leona took advantage of that opening and killed the first enemy with three slashes across the chest followed by a stab. She withdrew the machete and went after the second Crimson Sash, who had just enough time to face Leona before she decapitated him with a single swing of her weapon. The third enemy had recovered and now rushed to meet the blonde in combat.

His weapon clashed with hers and as she leaned in to gain leverage he pushed her weapon aside and headbutted her, sending her staggering backwards and giving the opponent time to press his attack. Press it he did... he grabbed her right hand and twisted it backwards, forcing her to drop her machete as pain shot through her arm. He then punched her three times in the face with his weapon hand and went for a decapitating stroke while she was still recovering.

Leona's adrenaline felt a lot more powerful than usual and she ducked the attack with such speed that she ducked almost as soon as it was made. Leona quickly drew the knife from her boot and plunged it into the startled Crimson Sash's chest four times, then stabbed him again to finish the fight. She shoved him down and faced two more Crimson Sashes who had come to fight her. They hesitated for a moment, giving her enough time to grab her machete and call for Sol.

"I'm gonna need a little help here!" Leona called to her job partner. The two enemies were soon joined by another three, making it a five-on-one fight. Her powerful adrenaline rush faded as suddenly as it had activated. She would need a little help from Sol to get through this fight.

[Word Count: 700]
[Total Word Count: 1,920/12,500]
Power of Apocalypse has been used. It is on cooldown for six posts.

Sol rushed at the three bandits before him  and once again jumped back as he was slashed at and with the three blades approaching him Sol suddenly brought his blade up and caught all three with no  problem before he suddenly flicked his wrist up and broke the stalemate before he fluidly managed to bend and slash thru all three of them at the waist completely bisecting them and they slid off their bodys and onto the ground as he flicked his blade to remove the blood from it and he then heard Leona ask for help since she was overwhelmed with five enemies and the Reaper started to move when he suddenly felt something he wasent expecting. A sharp smack right on his crystal location and  in that instant the Reaper suddenly let out a scream as he dropped to his knees as white hot electrifying pain shot thru his body.  Though in that moment he remembered back to his training with  Demi he had on the Gazebo. He had been repeatedly subjected to his crystal being touched and even slashed at by the elder reaper and in those moments he couldn’t move. The thing was when he felt this smack he didn’t even see who did it since no one was around him making him think that possible someone had done it and made sure they could not be seen.

His mind flashed back to Demi constantly telling him he needed to work thru the pain and not to let it paralyze him.  It was constantly pushed in his head that if he wasnet able to keep his focus with this then people he cared about could easily die and even innocent people could die as well.”Leona Dodge to the Left!” he shouted before he breathed in and when Leona had cleared his range he unleashed his Shadow Dragons Roar at the Group of Five Bandits and would manage to  rip thru 3 of the five with no effort at all. As he finished the roar he struggled to get his legs moving again from the pain he had just encountered. While it was sharp thankfully it didn’t completely debilitate him like it had before on the gazebo.it still flashed thru his mind at times the agony he had felt and the urge to want to give up constantly echoing when he felt that pain. He still had the scar on his back from when Demi had slashed up thru his glyph and  even now it throbbed as a constant reminded of what happened. He didn’t hate her for what she put him thru since he had honestly needed it  but the fear of her that he held had been increased greatly.

Yet he didn’t let that fear take hold over him. He had pushed thru it like he had been taught and he focused on getting  back to his feet though the pain made his movements slow and he held his blade close  and kept a strong grip on it. As he readied himself he saw that the final 5 were approaching again on horseback. He quickly sucked in a breath before he turned and unleashed a powerful burst of poison gas at the group of five, thankfully they were in a different direction then Leona so she would not be in the range of the gas as the horses of the five suddenly dropped dead from the lethal gas being inhaled. They fell to the ground as the Crimson Sashes  screamed and cried out as they felt their insides burning up from the poison ravaging their bodies. Blood started to pour from their eyes and mouths among other places as the Reaper watched on with no remorse in his eyes.”Please mercy grant us mercy” one of them begged as Sol simply shook his head.”It is not my place to be merciful this is not personal  now let death guide you” he said his tone not harsh or cruel but businesslike since he had been taught and it was reinforced by Demi that Everything dies nothing was exempt of that fact.

Sol then focused his attention to Leona and her opponents and he slowly started towards them his body aching from the smack on his gem.since he had not seen an opponent he could only assume he was either being punished by a fellow  reaper which instantly made the deathless consider that Oykai may have done it to him. But not was not the time to dwell on that and he hoped that he had given Leona the edge she needed to take care of the enemies.

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total wc 2,107/12,500

Spells:

"Huh, what?" Leona asked before she quickly caught his meaning and dodged to the left with a roll that threw her onto the sand. Had she not done so Sol would have hit her with his Shadow Dragon Roar, a technique that she had no prior knowledge of because she had access to only one technique during their time as a "married" couple in Rose Garden. Sol's Shadow Dragon Roar hit three of the enemies and ripped through them with no trouble whatsoever. That intervention gave Leona just the opportunity she needed to turn the tables on her aggressors.

"Thanks!" Leona called out to her job partner. Leona then went on the offensive against her adversaries with machete in hand. She carved through the first without too much trouble because he was still dazed by the effect of the Shadow Dragon Roar on what used to be his teammates. The second enemy recovered in time to block the downward swing of her weapon with his scimitar.

They clashed in a blade lock and met face-to-face. He was determined not to lose to her and she was determined not to lose to him. Neither party would give way, so one of them had to find a way to break the stalemate. The Crimson Sash struck first with a kick aimed at her left kneecap.

Leona raised her knee out of the way and took the kick on her shin. She struck back with a Mach Jab delivered to his face with her left hand. He stood his ground and pushed hard against her in an attempt to gain the leverage needed to win. Leona saw that there was no point to this and suddenly spun right, making him stagger forward and giving her a chance to finish the fight with a stab through the back. Leona would not get that chance because he spun around and threw a handful of sand into her eyes.

Leona raised her hand to block it but only managed to block part of the sand thrown at her. The other half hit her in the eyes and made seeing anything rather difficult. She could barely make out the man as he ran towards her and punched her in the face, knocking her back a short distance. Leona focused through the pain and managed to see him long enough to aim a Zephyr Charge. She focused magic into her legs, then she bent down and dashed right towards him.

The surprised man was hit with the full force of the technique and knocked off his feet, landing on the sand and dropping his weapon. Leona stopped to rub her eyes and try to clear them long enough to finish the fight. The sand refused to move... she would need to get a water bottle to flush her eyes out, but the Crimson Sash was not going to give her that luxury. He got up and ran at her with a curved knife in his hand.

Leona met the attack with a Silver Tempest spell. The horizontal silver tornado slammed into him and disoriented him long enough for Leona to finish him with a decapitation from her machete. The blonde then dropped her machete and fumbled for her backpack. She set it down and eventually got it open after fumbling with it for a good twenty seconds. She seized a bottle of water and opened it, then tilted her head skyward and poured the bottle on her face.

The water loosened the sand in her eyes just enough that she could remove it with her fingers. She dropped the empty bottle and slowly cleared away the sand using her fingers, allowing her to see clearly again. A lot of careful wiping and three minutes later Leona could see again. She wiped off the excess water on her face and picked up the empty plastic bottle, jamming it into a side pocket.

"I hate sand." Leona complained.

[Word Count: 661]
[Total Word Count: 2,581/12,500]
Power of Apocalypse has five posts of cooldown remaining.

As Leona rolled to the side Sols blast of shadow magic ripped thru the three bandits  and left them in tatters as the slayer took a few deep breaths to try and  get his pain down. The slayer was getting better as he pushed thru the pain though the constant throbbing was still there, it never left ever since Demi had slashed him with her scythe during his training. It had left a mark in his crystal and it would never leave him but with time he would learn to deal with it and it would not be a problem for him. As he approached his partner for this mission she managed to deal with the final two though she ended up getting sand in her eyes and she had to use one of her bottles of water to wash her eyes out and he approached as he  made his sword vanish.”you ok Leona” he asked as he would pull a bottle of water out of his shadow portals and hand it to her.”here to replace the one you used” he said as he took another one out and took a drink of it. He didn’t need to worry about heat stroke or dehydration but it still as nice to  drink some water out here in the scorching desert.

He then would look out at the dead crimson sashes and he knew that his other duty would mean either he had to deal with this or another reaper would. He sighed before remembering that he had not recieved any orders for these souls and that they were not his to claim so he would leave them be for the reaper that was meant to claim them.”Sorry I was unable to move much something hit me and stunned me for a bit.” He said as he stretched a bit trying to get the pain out of his limbs.”We have barely started and we have already taken down 15 enemys, I can only wonder what more we will be dealing with” he questioned as he finished his bottle of water and tossed it into another shadow portal.” Well shall we stick around here or start looking around for other pockets of bandits?” he asked. They had already managed to put an end to a pocket of them but the reaper knew there had to be more.

“Perhaps we can try and find out where the Crimson Sashes are based at then we could finish them off for good” he suggested, if this group was so infamous then surely they could scrounge up some information on them and hopefully  deal a nasty blow to them if not put them down for good. Feeling  some strong wind  hit him Sol gained a cautious look. “Leona how common are sandstorms in Desierto something about this high wind has me a bit on guard” he asked. If they had to deal with a sandstorm then they would potentially need to find shelter since who knows how  long such an even might last and  while he was sure it wouldn’t kill them it was dangerous since they could get lost and while he could wander the desert and not feel the effects his partner could not and there was high risk she could die.  Sol waited for her answer as he considered what their next move was and also looked out at the amount of death they had caused already/

Sol didn’t regret what he did and in fact he enjoyed it but then again he had come to terms with that with Demis Training. He liked fighting and killing and hurting others but that didn’t make him a bloodthirsty demon with no control. No he had tamed his monster and it was a tool for him  to use just like his sword and his magics. He had also learned that holding his darkness back was bad for him and so he allowed himself to enjoy what he had just done but not let it overwhelm him.


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Total wc  2,809/12,500

"I'm OK. Nothing a little water can't handle." Leona assured Sol. The sand in her face was only a minor inconvenience and it was almost gone now. Of greater importance was Sol's idea to find the main Crimson Sashes camp and attack the bandits at their source, ending them once and for all. Although it was risky, Sol's proposal had a very good reason behind it. Ambushing and killing individual groups of them would not stop the Crimson Sashes.

The only way to get rid of them for good was to find their camp, go to it, and kill every last one of them. If she did not eliminate them at the source, they would only recruit more members to replace those that were killed and keep coming after her and going after the people of Desierto. Leona saw the logic in Sol's idea, but she was having trouble bringing herself to agree with it. Leona was not sure why she was hesitating to get rid of one of her greatest enemies. Why was she hesitating?

Leona had no problem fighting the Red Sands Bandits on two occasions. The first encounter weakened them by capturing their leader and handing him over to the Tri-City Council authorities. The second encounter saw the end of their group despite them merging with a slaver gang to increase their numbers for a retaliatory raid on the Blue Sky Clan. She had effectively destroyed them without feeling any stress over it, so why was she worried about tracking down and killing the Crimson Sashes?

"Yeah. We'll have to end them at the source, but we'll need a lot more than just two mages to do it with. We'll be facing a whole camp of them and they'll number in the hundreds. They won't surrender to us. They'll fight to the last man." Leona said to Sol. As unpleasant as it was, she would have to deal with the Crimson Sashes sooner or later. The longer she waited to find and destroy them the more the people of Desierto suffered. Even if Leona were willing to do it this instant, she and Sol would need a lot of backup to make sure the Crimson Sashes did not overwhelm them with sheer numbers or get away to rebuild the group and come after her again. If she was to attack, she would need to make sure that none of them got away.

Leona was not sure where she could find some mages willing to participate in what was going to be a thoroughly unpleasant job that involved killing a lot of bandits. That would have to wait. The decision was mercifully postponed by Sol asking about sandstorms in the region.

"Sandstorms? They're pretty common out here because there's no natural cover to block the wind and the high winds kick up the sand. Do you need anything to help deal with them?" Leona asked Sol before she heard something approaching.

The creaking of a heavy wooden cart with an iron cage full of what looked like prisoners was audible nearby. The hooves of their mounted escorts pounded against the sand. Leona looked at them and saw that they were not from the royal army, a group of religious pilgrims, or tourists. They were men in white clothing with tan robes and they were slavers hauling a cargo of captured people back to their camp.

Leona was not going to let them pass with their cargo. She readied her machete and her resolve for what was about to happen. Two of the twenty-two slavers rode up to Leona and started to appraise her with the intent of adding her to their cage.

"She's a young and healthy one. She's pretty too. She'll sell for a very high price!" One of them, an obese man with a scimitar at his side, said to his colleague as he circled around her on horseback. He failed to notice that his would-be victim was armed.

"What about the guy?" The other asked.

"He'll make a good worker in the mines!" The obese man answered. He then reached down to grab Leona by the hair. The blonde simply raised her machete and cut his hand off at the wrist, causing him to scream and clutch the bleeding stump. Dodging the spray of blood, Leona then dragged him off the horse and threw him onto the sand before stabbing him through the chest multiple times.

"Get her!" His partner shouted before Leona fired a Wind Bullet that knocked him off his horse and onto the sand. Leona ran over to him and decapitated him before he could draw his weapon. The remaining slavers hesitated as the smarter ones recognized who she was.

"It's... it's Leona Jarnefeldt! She's the one who wiped out the Red Sands Bandits!" One of them warned his colleagues as to who they were going up against. They began to murmur in panic and started to back away. The drivers of the cart were frozen in their seats, not sure whether to jump out and run or stay where they were. The slavers soon recovered their resolve and a group of ten charged at her.

"They never learn." Leona muttered to herself. She looked at Sol.

"Sol, let's get rid of these slavers." Leona told him. Sol was handy in a fight and knew what he was doing. This should be a quick and easy fight.

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[Total Word Count: 3,510/12,500]
Power of Apocalypse has four posts of cooldown remaining.

As Leona told him that she was fine and that a bit of water would fix the problem. When she told him that they would have to  end them at the source. Sol knew that if they didn’t nip this thing that these Crimson Sashes would just keep coming back. As she explained that it would take a lot more then two mages to deal with them since it would be a camp with hundreds of them and they would not  surrender they would fight down to the last person. Sol shrugged.” I think we would be fine with the two of us. We are  both very powerful though if this was to be attempted  then an idea of their battle strategy and general fight style will give us a edge in combat.” He suggested to her. Sol knew that she was a wizard saint and he himself was no slouch in combat, in fact he had  done a job in the past where he had to fight a demon army with Ruvel and the others and it was intense to say the least. They had completed the mission and the army had been stopped so Sol was not that concerned about it only being two of them to deal with hundreds of bandits but it would depend on what Leona wanted to do.

When Leona asked him if he needed help dealing with sandstorms sonce they are common due to no natural cover  the Deathless shook his head.”Ill be able to handle it I was only curious since the wind seems like its kicking up a bit” he explained. The last thing he wanted to have happen would be them getting caught in such a storm and losing  their way. While he could survive the desert for an extended period he knew that without proper prep a normal human can die easy.  As he also caught the sound of something approaching the reaper turned his eyes to the  cart that was approaching, the instant he saw the cage and people inside it the reapers eyes narrowed since while he was taught better control of his emotions one thing he detested was slavers and human trafficking. The obese man seemed to think that Leona would be an easy target and would sell high and it caused the slayer to feel a flicker of irritation at their stupidity, they continued to show ignorance when the thought that he would also be an easy target and would work in their mines which made the reaper snort in disgust at the idea. The idea that they had any power over him was laughable and he actually chuckled as the  guild mistress of silver wolf proceeded to sever the mans hand before ripping him off his horse and stabbing him to death and then followed suit with the other man by beheading him. “the stupidity of some people” he muttered before he suddenly swung backwards with his blade remanifesting in his hand.

The Slayers reaction was almost automatic as it was revealed with a scream that someone had tried to blindside him and at a response the Reaper had severed the mans hand and to make the wound deeper he slashed three more times fluidly to  reduce it to pieces. Before the man could keep screaming Sol smacked him across the head with the flat of his blade and caused the man to drop down unconscious . “ you got it Leona” he said as he rushed forward to deal with the group with her.  The Reaper still felt pain thru his body but he was not going to let it get to him as he dealt with the threat. Instantly three of the 10 broke off and approached him as he brought his blade up and caught one of the scimitar coming at him in the gap of his sword and he twisted it snapping the blade like it was a twig before he suddenly brought his blade up to block another slash aimed at him as he suddenly delivered a kick to the slaver with a broken sword and sending  him forward into the path of the other man with a sword and was slashed by the incoming blade and ended up getting slashed across the back as Sol stepped away.

The remaining two were shocked at how this man somehow in  only a few seconds had managed to defeat one of them effortlessly  and before they could move again Sol suddenly shot forward before he impaled one of the men in the leg before  he suddenly shifted as the remaining bandit rushed at him and  he missed the reaper entirely. Sol then pulled his blade out and slashed the slaver across  his chest before going upwards with another slash to make the man back off, turning he snapped his fingers and three more of the  slavers that were going towards Leona would suddenly be caught by tendrils of poison making them unable to move and  leaving them helpless as  the reaper approached his blade flicked to the side to get rid of the blood and his blood red eyes staring them down with a icy look. One of the men looked at Sol and manage to utter one word in terror “Monster”  Sol didn’t even looked phased at the word being pointed at him since he knew that was what he was and he didn’t have an issue with it anymore since he came to terms with it and knew how to use his darkness when it was needed.


wc- 927

Total wc 3,736

Spells:

Leona had to put the issue of dealing with the Crimson Sashes on hold because now she was dealing with slavers. The slavers were a lot easier to deal with than the battle-hardened raiders because they relied on numbers, surprise, and intimidation to win their fights instead of fighting skill. Their predictability made them quite easy to deal with for any experienced fighter. Leona had had years of experience in dealing with them before her exile and had gained more experience in fighting them ever since. Since she knew all their tricks, they did not cause her nearly as much concern as more "professional" groups.

Leona was not surprised by their tactics and was not intimidated by them. The only thing the slavers had that could cause her concern was sheer numbers, but with Sol and his crowd control on her side the Wizard Saint did not have to worry about that as much. Leona had to face the five slavers in front of her, but she had an advantage over them because they showed fear of her once they recognized who she was.

Leona saw five of them coming towards her as a group and went on the offensive. Since they were attempting to fight as a group, she would be best served breaking up the group to deal with individuals but Sol beat her to it with an attack that killed three of them without any trouble. A Wind Blast in their direction knocked the remaining over like bowling pins and set them up to be easily dealt with. Leona knocked out one of them with a kick to the head and faced another who had been knocked down but had quickly recovered and had gained support from three more slavers who ran up to the fighting.

The second charged at her with weapon at the ready and Leona met him with a stab through the chest. She kicked him off the blade and faced the third man, who had grabbed Leona by the shirt sleeve. She punched him in the face and knocked him down, then kicked him a few times in the face until he fell back in the sand. While she was distracted by that the fourth slaver charged in and grabbed Leona's right hand, then threw her to the sand and started kicking her in return. Leona had a solution to that. It was time to get back on her feet and get rid of these guys.

She grabbed the foot of one in mid-kick and pulled him down, then scrambled up and used a Storm Impact to kick up a dome-shaped cloud of sand with her at the center. While they were busy coughing from the sand Leona moved in to kill them. She decapitated the first before he could recover and did the same to the second as he raised his hands in a vain attempt at protecting himself.

Two more horsemen rode up to her and Leona knocked both of them off with a Fast Ball spell apiece. They scrambled to their feet to oppose the Wizard Saint and were soon knocked out with her fists. Leona nailed the first in the face with a Mach Straight and knocked him unconscious. Leona hit the second with a Mach Uppercut and knocked him out before he even hit the sand. Maybe she was growing too soft by knocking out the slavers instead of killing them.

[Word Count: 577]
[Total Word Count: 4,087/12,500]