"Cleave the enemies apart!" Saki swings her sword wide with precision and defeats a group of bugs. 'Saki defeated the bugs!' She then engages with another group. "Cleave the enemies apart!" She continued to fight the bugs while Abigail healed her using herbs. "Haah...!" She swings and kills bugs that are not in a group, slowly picking them off.
After more than five minutes, Saki is beginning to tire out. She faces another four bugs in a battle with labored breath. "Cleave the enemies apart!" She swings her sword wide and hits all the bugs at once. 'Bug A takes 16 damage!' 'Bug B takes 15 damage!' 'Bug C takes 16 damage!' 'Bug D takes 15 damage!'
After dealing damage, Abigail yells from behind. "Saki! You should be aware of the attacks by now! Watch as they jump towards you and step to the side as you swing your sword! Slice them as they jump!" Saki ponders her words as she steps back. Her breathing is quick and her body is visibly fatigued. She also wonders if she still has the strength to pull off something like that. Mastering the timing of the bugs' lunges and stepping to the side to counter their jump with a slash seems to be a lot for her in her current state.
Between her breathing, she responds to Abigail. "I, um... don't think I can do that right now..." Abigail quickly picked up the fatigue in her voice and spoke concernedly. "Alright, that's fine. Just hang in there, keep up the good work!" She would hold her herbs ready for Saki as she saw her fight again.
After the bugs' turn, Saki's health drops to a critical level just like the previous battles. Abigail calls out for her, ready to toss the herbs. "Saki, here!" Causing Saki to turn and catch the herbs. "Finally doing it right!" Her voice was sarcastic as she gulped down the herbs. 'Saki recovers 50 hp!' She quickly returned to battle.
"Cleave the enemies apart!" She yells as she performs her cleaving skill, defeating four bugs in one swing. Once the bugs fell, another group swiftly took their place. Saki clicks her tongue in annoyance. "There's no end of them!" But just as soon as she yells her complaint, a man diverted from the entrance and charged against the bugs. "Let us help you, Miss Nisshin! Hyah...!" He swings his sword at the bugs, initiating a battle against a group. Many of the men followed shortly and the line of battle expanded.
Saki retreats behind as the men take charge of defending the western side where the houses are. As they stood watching the battle unfold, hurried stomps came from behind. They turned to see the chief and two youths, their expressions wary and with urgency. "Miss Nisshin, I'm grateful that you helped defend the village, but I would like you to come to Kanna and help them defend!" Shizuku requested. Her words surprised one of the boys. She then turns to them
"Mister Rito, go with Miss Nisshin and help Kanna in their defense! Leave Shigure to us!" She asked the youth to come with Saki. "What?! You could have just sent me alone! I don't need to babysit a girl!" The youth was irritated by the thought of fighting alongside a female villager. Shizuku, Abigail, and Saki looked at him with a frown. "Miss Nisshin here is very capable, I'm vouching for her. You will go with her to Kanna and help their defenses, that's a direct order" Shizuku closed her command to prevent any further complaints.
Rito grunts loudly to emphasize his annoyance, but none of them react. Saki sheaths her sword and talks to him. "Come on, quit whining like a child and follow me to Kanna" She said before turning to run away, but Abigail stopped her. "Wait, here!" She tossed a lot of herbs at her, which she caught. She nods at Abigail and runs off without Rito, prompting him to follow after. "Wait up!" He yells as he runs after her. "Stay safe you two!" Shizuku calls out to them, shouting her farewells.
Saki and Rito run through the number of battles happening in the villages. Each battle was filled with intensity and focus, the bugs fighting the men wouldn't even turn their attention away from their battle to face the two. Seeing Saki look around and watch the battles going on as she keeps running, Rito yells at her.
"You sure you can handle battles?! Look around you! This ain't as easy as picking flowers for ornaments!" He mocked her while chuckling. Saki let out a short exhale before yelling back. "Save your breath! You will need them when the bugs impale your chest!" Her voice was filled with annoyance. "You talk big! You're nothing but a home-stuck doll with nothing to gain at all!" Rito yells back.
"I will become an adventurer while you remain here tilling our soil!" Saki retorts. Her words struck a nerve in Rito and gritted his teeth in anger, but before he could yell anything back, they were blocked by two bugs, causing them to enter into a battle. Rito smirks and walks in front of her. "Leave this to me!" He proudly declared, stepping forward with a confident grin as he unsheathed his sword. Saki looked at his figure with a skeptical gaze then reluctantly stepped back.
"Hrah...!" Rito swings against Bug A, his iron sword cutting through the bug's flesh. 'Bug A takes 18 damage!' Saki was quick to realize that his normal attack dealt more damage than hers, which was around 12 to 16 damage by her current village militia rank, causing her to roll her eyes. Bug A lunges and bites into Rito's arm, making him grunt and wince in pain. 'Rito takes 17 damage!' He pulled the bitten arm behind him momentarily. "Ow, goddamn it...!" He looked at the wound and shivered slightly in fear.
Saki smirks behind, silently watching his fear. He quickly catches himself and focuses on the battle. Bug B lunges and bites his other arm. 'Rito takes 16 damage!' He stumbles backward, overwhelmed by the bites. "Grr... You pests!" With a grunt, he swings at Bug A and ultimately deals a killing blow. 'Bug A takes 18 damage!' 'Bug A has been defeated!' The bug flies to the side as it gets blown away by his sword.
Bug B lunges and attempts to bite his arm, but Rito holds his sword with his two hands, one by the blade, to block its jaw. The bug bites into his blade, its force from the lunge causes him to spin around and almost drop his sword. With the bug on the ground keeping a tight bite into his sword, he struggles to take control. His arms shiver as the bug tries to wiggle the sword away from his grasp.
With a desperate gaze, he turned to Saki and saw her watching with a smirk while crossing her arms. Seeing him look, Saki asks him. "What are you trying to show me? That is boring" Her voice was bitter as she kept her smirk. He grits his teeth in desperation as he hears her words. He let out a yell and swung his sword wildly, causing the bug to lose the sword and fly to the ground. He then finishes it off without waiting for it to recover. 'Bug B takes 18 damage!' 'Bug B has been defeated!' Rito breathes rapidly, gasping for air as he stares at the dead bug.
Saki scoffs and runs past him. "Took you long enough! Come on!" Rito quickly snapped at her and ran after her. As he managed to catch up, he yells out. "Must be fun seeing me in trouble... Typical women" Saki glanced over her shoulder with a smirk. "Leave this to me!" She mocks his voice and laughs as she returns her gaze ahead. Rito greets his teeth in anger again but chooses not to reply.
"You don't face danger to prove something, you fix it instead" Saki smirks once more. "I don't need lectures from you, lady!" Rito exclaims and says nothing more. Saki just chuckles lowly as they continue to sprint towards Kanna through the forest.