They stopped to look around. There were bugs everywhere, chasing villagers, destroying fences, breaking into the houses, and fighting the men defending the village. Saki looks around where to step in and begin their aid. "Alright, let's make our way to the chief's house!" She gestured for Rito to come and they both ran up ahead.
"Hold them off! Don't let them get past the chief's house!" They heard a commanding shout ahead. "You heard that? Let's help them!" Saki proceeded ahead and appeared behind a line of bugs having a stand-off with the village's guards. There were more than ten bugs with the same count for the guards.
Upon seeing Saki and Rito, the guards looked past the bugs with surprise and relief. "An aid from Shigure! We got these bugs pinned! Men, enter the battle!" As one of the guards yelled in command, the rest of the guards entered battle with the bugs with cheering yells. And just like that, a wide line of battle erupts in front of them.
Saki points to the right. "You help them, I will help here!" Rito nodded at her and rushed to the right side. Saki readies her sword and picks a battle to join in. "I will help you!" Saki yells then executes her skill. "Cleave the enemies apart!" She swings her sword wide, hitting four bugs at once. 'Bug A takes 16 damage!' 'Bug B takes 15 damage!' 'Bug C takes 15 damage!' 'Bug D takes 15 damage!' The guards in the battle gasps loudly at her prowess, adding to her motivation to fight.
"Haah...!" Guard A swings his sword at Bug A, slashing at its flesh. 'Bug A takes 10 damage!' Guard B swings his sword at Bug B. 'Bug B takes 12 damage!' Guard C swings his sword at Bug C. 'Bug C takes 10 damage!' Guard D swings his sword at Bug D. 'Bug D takes 10 damage!'
Bug A and B turned around and faced Saki, and then Bug A lunged quickly at her in an attempt to bite into her arm. But Saki was quicker with her feet, she stepped to the side and swung in the air, hitting the lunging bug. 'Bug A takes 15 damage!' 'Bug A has been defeated!' The bug dies in the air and plops down on the ground rolling for a few meters away.
Guard A stood in awe and complimented her. "That's a wonderful display of swordsmanship, my lady" He said before facing the rest of the bugs in the battle. Saki quickly smiled and scoffed off her fluster as she focused on the battle as well. She then finishes the remaining bug with her Cleave skill. "Cleave the enemies apart!" Her blade connected with the two bugs. 'Bug C has been defeated!' 'Bug D has been defeated!' 'The guards won the battle!'
The guards in the battle took a moment to give Saki an appreciative grin. "As expected of the lady who stood up to sir Friedrich" One of them nods before facing the others and supporting their battles. Another warmth envelops Saki's chest from their compliments. With their appreciation, Saki entered another battle.
In the battle she entered, the bugs were already halfway to defeat. It would be a quick sweep for her to victory. "Cleave the enemies apart!" She swings her sword wide against the bugs, killing them simultaneously. The guards in the battle give her a nod as an acknowledgment.
She proceeds to the next battle but is stopped by one of the guards. "Your swift dispatch has greatly turned the advantage to our side, my lady. We will be able to do just fine on this side thanks to you. The chief's house is still under pressure, I must require you to go inside and help the guards surrounding the chief's house" Saki nodded at his words and went past through the closing line of battle between the bugs and guards.
"Hey, wait up!" Rito saw her disappear inside the village. One of the guards then spoke up. "Go with your comrade, this will be over soon" Rito nods at him and runs after Saki.
Running through the paths between houses, Saki encounters stragglers and quickly slashes them out of her path. Once in the clearing, the chief's house stands in the middle. Multiple guards encircled the house, fighting the bugs from every direction, with the chief behind them shouting orders. As she assessed the situation, she saw the chief's son fighting a bug with a little girl behind him. Looking closer, he seems to be doing fine on his own while protecting the girl.
Saki began to rush ahead with her sword out. "Out of my way!" She would slash away any bugs that blocked her path towards the chief's house. Slowly, she would make it to the encirclement and run past the guards fighting the bugs. The chief saw her enter and let out a loud sigh. "Miss Nisshin... Oh, I can't believe there will be a time when I feel relief at seeing a woman coming in with a sword in our aid!" He bursts into a brief chuckle.
Saki faces away briefly to clear her fluster before talking back to the chief. "What's the situation?" She asks. The chief hums coarsely as he thinks of their situation. "My guards were scattered around when these pests attacked. I could only muster a few of them to defend my house. There should be some guards around fighting somewhere. If you wish to help, go around the village and help every separated guard and villagers in distress you can see. We can handle ourselves just fine here!"
Saki nods at his request and runs away. She slips through the ongoing battles and heads towards the direction where she last saw the chief's son. Upon reaching the spot, they were no longer there. She ran through the houses to look for any sign of distress.
As she ran toward the row of houses ahead, she heard a young man yelling to her left. She rushed towards the source of the voice. "H-help! Guards! Anyone?!" The voice became more audible as she got closer. She turned a corner and witnessed a man being cornered by a bug monster. "Hey! Over here!" She waved both of her hands to distract the bug.
They both turned to her, and the man took the opportunity to sprint towards her. "R-run, it's dangerous here!" He instinctively yells as he sees Saki. As soon as he reached her, he quickly noticed her sheath, and the thought quickly came to him. "You're... You're Miss Nisshin from Shigure! Thank the heavens! There are more people trapped in the houses just over there!" He points at where the bug is standing. "I-I think a family is still in there!" His voice was full of concern.
"I don't know where you should go, but go somewhere safe!" Saki yells as she pulls out her sword and faces the bug. "Thank you! Save the family as well! The chief has an evacuation plan for this very situation! They should know where to go once you save them!" The young man rushed off where she entered. Ensuring his safety until he disappeared somewhere, Saki faced the bug once more.
The bug rushes towards her and lunges from a distance. Saki was quick to react and stepped to the side while slashing the air. The bug slams down on the ground, concussed. She then finished it off with a thrust to its body, letting out a withering cry. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her wrist as she proceeded ahead.
"Hello?! I've come to help! You need to get out of here and evacuate!" Saki called out and waited for a few moments as she slowly walked and looked inside one of the houses. Suddenly, two bugs appear behind one of the houses and slowly crawl towards her. When she faces them, the battle starts. She wasn't planning on taking too long.
"Cleave the enemies apart!" With the thought of defending the helpless family stuck inside one of the houses around them, Saki puts even more strength into her arms. 'Critical Damage!' 'Bug A takes 24 damage!' 'Bug B takes 25 damage!' The bugs were both concussed by her strike. She executed her skill one more time and defeated the bugs. 'Saki won the battle!' She let out a brief sigh after winning. As if sensing her victory, a family of four hurriedly came out of the house next to the one she was looking through. They gazed at her worryingly.
"Hello... It's fine now, you can evacuate. I heard the chief has an evacuation plan, you should go, it's not safe here" She told them as she slowly sheathed her sword. The father quickly takes his little son's hands and runs past Saki with his daughter, muttering their appreciation as they go. His wife stops to talk to her. A weary but gentle expression on her face, she smiles at Saki. "Thank you kindly. You're Miss Nisshin, yes? It's not much, but this should help you at least" She gave her a small pouch of herbs. "My husband is a merchant. If the time comes when we would be of any help to you, we will surely repay you properly" She then speaks her farewell and catches up with her family.
A warmth envelops Saki's chest once again, feeling the appreciation of the family for her act. As she stared at the pouch then a thought came to her. This was it, the dream she was longing to achieve, to help others with her sword. It surprised her that she could go as far as achieving it right away at the very beginning of her climb to the ranks of the adventurer. Then she recalls every encouraging and motivating word from the people around her when her plan of being an adventurer spreads throughout all the villages around them.
She tightens the grip on the pouch. "I will become an adventurer!" She let out a self-encouraging yell and put the pouch away in her virtual inventory. With a determined gaze at her sword on her waist, she runs off somewhere in search of distressed villagers.