Passing through the final rows of houses, she came into an open area with a small pasture. Inside are the scurrying cattle that are being protected by a guard and their owner from the invading bugs. Saki observes the escaping cattle, imagining herself to be in that space and having to avoid being bumped into. After a few seconds, she shook her fear and charged in to help the guard and the farmer.
Saki jumped the fence and entered the enclosure. As her feet land, she quickly analyzes the directions of the cattle running around. She could feel the heavy stomps of the animals on the ground, shaking the earth as they scurry around. Making sure that she wouldn't be in their path, she cautiously ran up ahead while looking around her for incoming cattle.
"Whoa..!" Just as she turned her gaze to her left, a cow almost ran her over, only getting out with a bit of a stumble. Her breathing quickened as she narrowly avoided the cow. As she nears the guard and the farmer, she called out. "I've come!" They looked in her direction. Just as soon as they did, a cow came from behind them and rushed at Saki.
"Oh... Oh no!" Saki stands ready to dive to either side as the cow hysterically sprints towards her. She feels the incoming stomps of the cow in front of her as her fear progressively increases. Just before it reached her, Saki threw herself to the ground out of its path, avoiding it completely. She lands on her chest on the grass, slightly cushioning her fall. She quickly stood back up and faced the guard and the farmer.
"Are you okay, young lady?!" The farmer asked as he glanced at her from the bugs. "I'm... I'm fine..." Saki replied as she walked towards them. "Damn pest!" The farmer thrusts his pitchfork at the bug, causing the bug to cry in pain. "Hah...!" The guard swings against the bug in front of him, causing it to buzz aggressively. Saki watches them and asks. "Do you need help?!"
The farmer glanced at her again. "Yes, we need help. There are bugs crushing down the fences just past this barn" He motioned with his head towards the barn just beside them. "The last time I saw there was a group of bugs coming. Until we can get a hold of the situation here in the front, we won't be able to hold back those bugs. I can't risk them killing my livestock!" He exclaims.
Saki nodded and rushed to the other side of the barn. Upon turning a corner, a group of bugs was indeed trying to break down the fence, with some of them climbing over already. "You can stop there!" Saki rushed towards them and readied her sword. Three of the bugs have climbed over and initiated a battle with Saki. "Cleave the enemies apart!" Saki yells as she swings her sword wide. 'Bug C takes 16 damage!' 'Bug B takes 16 damage!' 'Bug A takes 15 damage!'
Bug A lunges and attempts to bite into Saki's arm, but she steps to the side and swings her sword high up, slashing the bug in the air. 'Bug A takes 16 damage!' 'Bug A has been defeated!' The bug dies in the air and lands on the ground rolling away. Bug B lunges and manages to bite into Saki's arm. 'Saki takes 16 damage!' Saki flinched in pain, grunting as she focused on the remaining bugs.
Bug C lunges to bite but Saki steps to the side and slashes the air. 'Bug C takes 15 damage!' 'Bug C has been defeated!' The bug dies in the air and flops to the ground. "Slash true against the bodies of gel!" Saki performs her combo of slash and thrust on Bug B. 'Bug B takes 27 damage!' 'Bug B has been defeated!' The bug dies, buzzing aggressively and slowly withering away. 'Saki won the battle!'
After the battle, Saki rushed towards the fences which were being bit and slammed by the bugs on the opposite side. "Get off!" Saki yells as she thrusts her sword past the fence and plunges the blade into one of the bugs, killing it instantly. She thrusts her sword again through the fence and kills one more bug. "Give it a rest!" She yells as she thrusts her sword again, killing another bug.
Suddenly, heavy stomps came rushing behind her. When she turned around, a cow was rushing towards the fence. Saki's eyes widened in shock as she yelled. "Hey! Wait!" Her shouting was in vain, the cow remained charging forward, determined to press on until it crashed through. Saki grits her teeth in annoyance as she readies to jump to the side. When the cow was close enough, Saki dived away from its path. The cow crashed through the fence, letting out a deafening crack as the wooden fence splintered and broken apart by the mass of the animal.
Saki watched the cow charge through the bugs, stomping some of them to death. "Good thing I'm not out in the fields dealing with this every day!" She yells as she stands up. The fence broken by the cow became a problem. The remaining bugs on the other side came rushing in and initiated a battle with Saki. As she readies her sword, she yells past the bugs towards the cow with her sword up in the air. "I will turn you into a deep-fried steak!" She grits her teeth in irritation
"Cleave the enemies apart!" Saki swings her sword wide. 'Bug D takes 16 damage!' 'Bug C takes 16 damage!' 'Bug B takes 15 damage!' 'Bug A takes 15 damage!' Bug A lunges and attempts to bite into Saki's arm, but she steps to the side and slashes the air, connecting her blade with the lunging bug. 'Bug A takes 16 damage!' 'Bug A has been defeated!' The bug's lifeless body flies into the barn with a loud thump before falling to the ground.
Bug B lunges low and attempts to bite into Saki's left leg, but she steps back, raises her sword high and swings it down onto the bug. 'Bug B takes 18 damage!' 'Bug B has been defeated!' Its life was swiftly taken by the sharpness of her blade and the mass of the gravity. Saki let out a short sigh as she looked down at the dead bug. "Trying to incapacitate me?" She taunted before focusing on the remaining bugs.
Bug C remained wary, letting its opportunity to strike pass with a guarded stance. Bug D aggressively buzzed toward Saki. She let out a scoff. "What? Are you afraid of me now?" Without wasting more time, Saki readied her sword to her side and executed her skill. "Cleave the enemies apart!" Her blade hits the two bugs, defeating them. 'Bug C takes 16 damage!' 'Bug C has been defeated!''Bug D takes 16 damage!' 'Bug D has been defeated!'
'Saki won the battle!' Saki let out a sigh and wiped off the sweat from her forehead. Her hair whipped around as she turned towards the field, and beads of sweat flew from the strands of her hair. The cattle have mostly calmed down, remaining in each corner of the fences, and the battle on the other side of the barn has subsided. She checked the broken fence one more time and saw no bugs as far as she could see.
As she made sure no more bugs were coming, she returned to the other side of the barn. She saw the farmer with his hands on his hips as he looked at the dead bugs around the field, while the guard stood beside him. As she approached, the farmer spoke up. "Killing these pests is one thing, but cleaning them up is another story. Cleaning all these bugs is a lot of work! They rot faster and smell a lot more. And when they rot, their limbs come off easily" He sighed.
"Don't worry, sir. The guards will help you clean up. The chief favors your farmstead a lot" The guard reassures him. They both turn to Saki after they nod at each other. "Hey, thanks a lot, lady. How was it back there?" The farmer asked. Saki sheaths her sword and replies. "A cow broke through your fence, it's out there somewhere" Her words added to the farmer's frustration, causing him to shake his head slightly. "Oh, and more bugs to clean up there" Saki added and the farmer just grunted a silent reluctant acknowledgment.
"So, you really can fight, huh? It wasn't just a bluff when I heard you stand up against the prince in Kire" The farmer analyzed her from top to bottom. "Maybe we can talk more about yourself once all of this is done. If you have the time later, I want you to visit my farm" He nods in anticipation, his expression finally lifting from all the stress of the day. "Perhaps I will deep fry you a steak as you wanted" He added in a joke. Saki feels a bit flustered and nods quickly. "I, um... I will!" She then bows and says her farewell to the two before leaving the area with a slight embarrassment.
As she returned to the center of the village, she could still hear the yelling and clashing of swords in the distance as an indication of the battle still going on. The invasion wasn't done yet, but it was slowly dying down. Saki continues to run around looking for more distress to come to.