The Guardian

Chapter 240: I Am Strong

Aurora followed the three goblins, who carried the magical beast on their backs carrying it.

All three were B-ranks and wore fur rags as clothes and used low quality swords or bows.

The ‘lower’ caste was referred to as the least intelligent and the most savage, but that did not mean that they did not become as intelligent as the others.

That there were leaders being little devils in the goblin army was evidence that there could be exceptions.

Sure, others talked about their nature being different and having a hard time controlling themselves and one of the reasons why they were classified as the lower caste.

Now those creatures were showing some cunning and intelligence to remain hidden.

They did not notice her, but were trying to avoid the monsters as much as possible while shouldering the prey.

After following for half an hour, Aurora stopped when she saw a camp in the distance.

—Security is high.

It was a strange camp where all kinds of monsters were impaled, as if they wanted to use it to warn other monsters to stay away.

The houses used bones, dry wood and even skins to create huts and tents and among all of them there were some larger ones.

As her system said, the security of the camp was high.

There were a few towers with imps keeping watch, while there were also other groups patrolling the area and keeping an eye out for monsters.

The three goblins ran up to the camp and, unlike someone who hunted creatures in this inhospitable environment where food was hard to find, and had to be welcomed with open arms.

Here it was different.

Even though she was far away, Aurora used a pair of binoculars she had in her inventory to observe clearly.

The three goblins were not greeted as expected, as a hobgoblin who seemed to be in command, picked up the magical beast and kicked the hunters.

The stricken goblin rolled on the ground, while those of the middle-and upper caste who were fewer laughed.

—They have a clear hierarchy.

Their system made clear what was already evident and Aurora, instead of stopping, jumped into another tree and continued to watch.

She needed to check the forces of these goblins and see what kind of individuals they were.

She needed to gather information and catch one for interrogation. It was the most important thing and more so when she already understood the language.

The others who came with her would move the same way if they found goblins still in this world.

What she needed to verify before carrying out an interrogation was if they could dialogue peacefully or if they could understand each other.

She didn’t know if there were differences between the other goblins or even if her ‘baptism’ that allowed her to understand their language worked here.

—It must work.

Her system gave a comment, and Aurora believed in that possibility as well.

Aurora followed with the binoculars the leader who had left the beast to another and that goblin headed for the central tent-shed.

After seeing that nothing was there, Aurora was about to stop watching when she noticed someone come out and when she saw the figure, her expression changed.

A medium-sized goblin was dragging a figure that looked lifeless.

It was a woman wearing rags for clothes and even Aurora, from a distance, could see the malnutrition in her body and the gauntness of her face that revealed how hard she had lived.

With the expeditionary force had come in five S Ranks with their respective groups of five individuals, some of the groups had two S Ranks, and this was the case.

Aurora recognized the woman, even though her physical situation was very different.

—Dayana. S-Rank heroine, wife of one of the expedition members. A healing mage.

Her system brought to her mind the information from what she had read some time ago and, in the same way, made her see a mental image of that woman.

Due to the woman’s condition, it was currently difficult to recognize her, but there were characteristic features.

Dragging the woman, the goblins threw her into one of the tents as if she were garbage.

What was she doing there? Why was she coming out of the leader’s tent? Why was she in that state?

Those questions were naïve... The cloth she wore as clothing let a difficult situation sink in.

Different thoughts came to her mind and her emotions rose like a tidal wave, among it was anger.

She was assuming too much... No, she couldn’t deny what the goblins did with the women they captured.

The players knew and feared it for a valid reason.

Now here... Aurora took a deep breath, trying not to think and evade that possibility that deep down, she knew for certain.

—It’s best to distract them all... We don’t know if the leader is an S-Rank and even if he isn’t, they may end up surrounding you if their teamwork is high.

Her system didn’t ask what she would do, but rather gave her commentary to keep her from moving recklessly.

S Ranks were strong, and she had a lot of experience fighting A-Ranks, but that didn’t mean there weren’t groups that couldn’t restrain her.

There were very few that could restrain someone as fast as her and with such versatile sword auras, but it wasn’t impossible.

What it was all about was avoiding that possibility.

Taking a deep breath to focus on her work, Aurora picked up her sword.

She knew what she needed to do now.

******

Monster roars sounded distinctly and a young lady ran as the monsters chased after her.

On her tail were different types of monsters, some were C-Rank, some were B-Rank and there were also A-Rank creatures that were more grotesque.

They advanced like a stampede, being drawn in, coming out of the trees and noticing a camp.

Then, the young lady was shattered as the drone stopped projecting the holographic image and extended an electric attack on the monsters.

“GRAAA!”

Roars erupted and like mutated or Chaos-affected creatures, they advanced in anger, wanting to sweep through the camp in front.

“Enemy attack!”

That cry echoed from the camp and Aurora, who was watching from afar, checked the stealth of her combat suit.

Her system had been directing that support drone she had for Liam to use... Though its qualities were diverse, it was now useful.

“Enemies! Sound the alarm! Everyone protects the camp!”

Goblin voices boomed from the camp, but Aurora was not relieved to hear that she could understand them.

Her gaze was on the guards in the tent the woman was in, and when they moved, Aurora did the same.

Leaping at high speed, she ran, creating remnant image trails as if she was blinking until she reached the entrance and charged in without looking back.

The battle cry sounded at her back, but she could smell a foul odor from inside the tent, and when her vision cleared, her expression changed.

A sight that could only be called something cruel and heartless unfolded before her eyes.

The nauseating smell of fecal waste, filth and putrefaction was nothing compared to the bodies of the women lying inside.

There weren’t many, but here were most of the women who came on the expedition.

Slashed necks, pierced stomachs, pierced hearts or slit wrists... Aurora searched among them to see if there were any signs of life.

“They’re already gone.”

A soft, faint voice sounded behind her back, and Aurora clenched her fist, but looked at the person who spoke.

“It’s okay. Come on, I’ll get you out of here,” Aurora said, looking at the only woman left.

Dayana was a woman in her late forties who was once full of vitality, a great healer who liked to keep her body healthy, but now she was totally different.

Emaciated, malnourished, with dry lips, dull eyes and a weak body.

Her body had wounds all over. Some were old and some were new. There were even wounds that were not cared for.

Aurora pulled a scroll from her space ring.

“You don’t need to spend that on... You’re a silly girl,” The woman muttered as the scroll broke and the light began to heal her.

It was an S-Rank scroll whose uses were quite varied, which made the woman’s body improve the body even though it was surely weakened by different factors.

Recent wounds closed, infections mitigated, the body regained some vigor and finally her vitality improved.

“It’s okay. I have several of those,” Aurora said and, giving her the best reassuring smile, announced. “I’ll get you out of here.”

—The battle ahead is about to end, but other monsters have approached. It’s possible they’ll notice you when you leave.

“Go... I already... You’d better go,” the woman said with a dull look.

How did she survive?

Aurora didn’t ask.

“I’m sorry, I can’t leave you. This isn’t about you, it’s about me. So excuse me,” Aurora replied, trying to settle the woman on her shoulder.

Steadying her in one hand, with the other, she took her sword... The woman was very light, but Aurora took a deep breath, feeling the presences coming.

Her system had informed her that she was likely to be detected and now she was passing information to her mind from a drone watching from outside.

The monsters were coming from the rear area of the tent and she would pass in the middle to escape and avoid the monsters.

“Can you at least let me take that dagger?” the woman asked, changing the subject and pointing to a dagger through the center pole of the tent.

Aurora looked at that fancy dagger and reached over for the woman to take it, then stuffed the corpses of the women inside her space ring.

They were no longer alive, so they could be put away... At least they deserved a proper burial or their relatives could mourn at a funeral.

“You’re not from the expedition. Are you part of the reinforcements?” the woman asked in a muffled voice and with a simple tone, she murmured. “No. You’re not... If you were, you wouldn’t be alone. What’s a young lady doing here?”

She had regained strength and was speaking calmly, but the muffled, monotone voice made Aurora feel a great heaviness.

Even though she had been injured and surely affected by fever and infections caused by her wound, along with everything she had been through... She was too calm.

A calm that was eerie.

“There was a little mishap with my team and I got away from them. You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve been in scarier places than this,” Aurora announced, trying to give a semblance that she could handle this.

From outside, the monsters were coming, and she prepared to charge forward.

She was trying to relax the woman she was carrying on her shoulder, whose mental state was complicated and needed to prepare to move forward.

“Is that so? How old are you? Twenty? What places can you have been at this age?” the woman asked, in a muffled tone and in a low voice, she muttered. “Just put me down... Go away, it’s better not to get caught. Don’t underestimate it, those creatures are cruel and even if you are strong, they use poison to weaken you... Then you won’t be able to use your strength and you will be at their mercy. That’s the way they got us.”

Aurora heard that murmur that gave a sense of helplessness, pity and anger... That was the way they caught them.

—Now.

She couldn’t respond as she heard the command from her system and the image the drone was passing her.

“GRahh!”

A six-legged creature with a huge mouth tore through the tent and looking at the light on the other side, Aurora used the ‘blink’ ability of her combat suit and began to run forward.

“A human! Another human has appeared!”

“Another incubator! Chase her!”

“Get them both!”

Aurora heard the screams of the goblins, but focused on the monsters dodging them, creating platforms beneath her feet.

With her sword in her hand, the green aura began to envelop her, and she began slashing to cut through the monsters as she ran.

She couldn’t fight with all her strength having the woman on her shoulder, but it was possible to break through a gap between them.

“Graa...”

Slashing and piercing through her enemies, she could break through the gap and then, without looking back, she waved her sword, surrounded by the green aura.

She swung it multiple times as she ran and the green slashes advanced forward, but in a moment, they retreated.

They were heading towards her and Aurora only kept running and the slashes passed through her body and the woman’s without hurting her.

“Grhhh...”

“GRhhh!”

The roars of the monsters chasing her sounded at her back, along with those of some goblins that were closer.

Her slashes always reached their target, always succeeded... And now, too.

Running harder, she advanced through the trees, trying to outrun the roars.

“I was in Africa for a few years and before that I participated in the undead calamity.” Aurora said as she ran at high speed.

Creating platforms under her feet or using the trees, her speed increased, but she could hear the roars.

“The calamity was a long time ago. What were you? Twelve years old or thirteen years old? Do you want me to believe you?” the woman asked and in a low voice, she whispered. “They will follow you and every step you take you will attract more monsters... Before you know it, you will be surrounded by monsters and then you will be confronted by them.”

Her tone was hard and serious, despite how unnaturally calm she was, and Aurora ignored her.

“I matured too young... Or to put it another way, time affected me differently. Thanks to the place where I trained and, in a way, I grew up earlier,” Aurora said, ignoring her last words and giving a low laugh, she added. “I didn’t change physically, though.”

She was telling her experience of her training... How many hours did she spend inside the place where her master was?

It was many hours per day training, and those hours were counted from the ground and not in the boundless space that those hours were practically multiplied in a different time.

Aurora continued forward without retreating.

“I’m talking seriously. It doesn’t matter what training you’ve been through. This is not something you can prepare for,” the woman mentioned and in a heavy voice, she explained. “They let you fight monsters and when you are tired, they will attack with poison. If their swords touch you, it will be the end of you... You won’t die. It will be worse.”

Aurora jumped to another branch and then to another without stopping.

“They will catch you, tie you up and rape you... Again and again, constantly, sharing you among all and when you are impregnated with their seed, they will not care and will continue. If you die, it will be a blessing if you resist... You will live hell,” the woman murmured softly and with a flat tone, she revealed. “When that time comes, it’s better to bite your tongue... It’s better an ending... As I gave them to those who were trapped with me... Death is the only release and to be strong is just to keep suffering.”

The heavy voice and her words made Aurora be engulfed in all kinds of emotions, wanting to explode... But everything made her colder.

Why did the women have specific wounds on their bodies when the goblins most certainly wouldn’t let them die?

Why were they still in the tent despite the passing time?

It was a reminder to the one who ‘freed’ them from their suffering... The one who remained strong, but when she was given the chance to escape, she realized it was impossible and preferred to free them from suffering.

Why was she the only one still alive?

Probably, in the end she was stopped and that the goblins had not healed her wounds was for her to remember her failed attempts and also to weaken her so that she would not run away again

“I have lost my husband in front of my eyes... I have no family to go back to... I have been tortured and suffered their bestiality... I already... It is better that you leave me, run and save yourself. Don’t look back.” The woman muttered as she felt the roars coming from behind her.

Aurora felt it too, not only those roars, but she could also feel the battle cries of the goblins.

The monsters were attracted and no matter how much she ran, more and more came.

Still, Aurora clenched the handle of her sword tightly.

“You know, I used to be a heroine... I earned a great title. Maybe because I was a girl at the time and they realized I was of the ‘new generation’. What’s a girl doing fighting at that age? I don’t know. My body moved involuntarily and before I knew it... I had become someone who was strong,” Aurora counted and, feeling the presence pounding the trees ahead, she announced. “I am strong.”

“GRAA!”

A giant beast like a red-eyed mammoth tore through the trees, and Aurora, instead of retreating, continued forward.

Her sword lost the greenish color of its aura and became colorless... It was as if there was nothing, but all her emotions were swallowed up.

Turning her brush into a weapon to cut through reality.

The mammoth ran hard, and she cut through reality.

The trees, the ground and the creature were split with a destructive cut that brought Aurora to a halt.

The next moment she used the blink ability of her combat suit and continued running.

The roars sounded behind her even more violent.

She had lost them, but they would follow her, looking for any trace to find her.

Looking around, Aurora spotted a well-hidden hollow tree and quickly approached.

Leaving the woman against the inner wall, she tore a concealment scroll and pulled out four drones, leaving it in place with the basic control system.

“I’m strong... Very strong. A day in the real world was several days and even weeks where I trained. I meditated for hours on end, swung my sword countless times, and when I was tired, my master would engage me and beat me up, then another and another. All through my childhood,” Aurora recounted, and looking at the woman, she asked. “Trust me... I became strong, not because someone forced me, simply because I wanted to be a heroine, but most of all I wanted to help... Now let me help you.”

The woman watched her for a second.

The woman’s eyes were tired and exhausted, but listening to her and seeing her solemn expression, she gave her a soft smile.

“It’s okay...” murmured the woman in a voice while lowering her gaze.

Aurora immediately moved and pulling out one of her two swords she always wore with her silver battle armor, she circled it in her light blue aura and then stabbed it into the ground.

A bluish dome was created using her sword aura as a barrier, and even though the aura would last for a few hours, it could withstand several attacks and hold out for a while.

Pressing it hard into the ground, the log where it was surrounded with the aura sank into the ground like a primitive cave.

“Wait. I’ll take care of the monsters and be back in a moment,” Aurora said, preparing her equipment.

She checked her sword, checked the location and the drones.

“Alright...” the woman muttered and, taking a deep breath, she asked. “How does it feel to be the first of your kind? You know how heroine of this new generation.”

Aurora froze for a moment as she heard that question, which let it be known that she had recognized her from the story she told her.

“I was there during the Undead Calamity too... And there was only one person of the type you describe,” The woman pointed out, raising her gaze.

Aurora could see a soft smile on the woman’s haggard face.

No matter how hard Aurora tried to hide, her youth was visible and even though her physical features were different, her abilities could not be hidden.

What did it feel like?

“It was hard... Too much pressure and criticism, but in the end, even though it was hard and difficult. I don’t regret it,” Aurora replied in a serious tone.

Those words made the woman laugh softly and just that little laugh got Aurora to relax.

“Just wait for me... I promise I’ll get you out of here.” Aurora announced with overwhelming confidence.

She had learned to move forward, no matter the place... Move forward and keep moving forward.

Now she had to move forward too.

“Go. Just be careful, never let them surround you and remember they always wait for you to be weak to attack you,” The woman advised, giving her a soft smile and looking at her, she murmured. “Thank you...”

Feeling the monster growls and tremors caused by the enemies hunting her, Aurora took a deep breath and added. “Thank me when we get out.”

Suppressing her emotions and doubts, she stepped out through the opening and then closed everything as she pressed the blue barrier of her sword aura, further hiding the entrance.

From the outside, no one would notice, and that was enough.

Putting thoughts aside, Aurora moved forward with her sword in hand.

A colorless aura surrounded her sword, swallowing her emotions and then, she could see the mammoth charging slowly.

Half of the body was severed, but it was a creature releasing an S-ranked force.

All around the mammoth were other monsters and as for the goblins they were nowhere to be seen, at least visibly.

“GRahh!”

The mammoth, seeing the person who had seriously injured it, let out what sounded like a roar and charged towards Aurora.

And Aurora, in response, swung her sword with all her might.

Her colorless aura was destructive, but it needed to be in a perfect position and required a moment, unlike her other three sword auras.

Watching the creature approach measuring close to four meters tall, Aurora slashed horizontally again.

“...”

Her slash was directed at the feet of that monster where other creatures stood... A horizontal slash that cut everything in her vision.

The feet of that big monster, the big trees and the other monsters.

“Grahh...”

The S-Rank mammoth fell to the ground with its legs severed and crawled to Aurora’s feet, where she simply employed her red-colored sword aura and pierced its head completely through.

She then lunged at the other monsters coming up behind the mammoth, who propelled themselves towards her.

She cut down a large snake, an eight-legged lizard-like monster, a large bird that could not fly, and then a many-mouthed monster.

In the midst of that large group of monsters, she ran swiftly, dodging and slashing without stopping or losing speed.

Her red and green sword aura spread around, the former cutting everything in its path and becoming stronger after killing more monsters.

Since they were not humans using barriers or artifacts, those monsters were even easier to cut through despite the flesh and muscles.

All while green slashes flew in all directions, hitting the enemies he was meant to hit.

Wounds piled up on her body, it wasn’t the lack of experience or that she was rusty, it was the amount of enemies of different strengths.

A cut on her leg, on her shoulder, and on her stomach, they kept piling up, and she kept going.

Her body was stained with black and red blood of those who were less corrupted and, despite this, her sword did not stop cutting again and again... Then she continued cut after cut.

Striking with her free fist when she should and receiving the cuts with her body without fear.

Now she wasn’t a weak-bodied swordsman, she was a fighter with high endurance, strength and regeneration.

Adding her speed and quick reflexes, she had great virtues and less and less flaws.

That was why she cut down everyone she encountered leaving corpses in her wake and when there were no more, she used the ‘blink’ of her combat suit to escape and then used an artifact to clean up all the blood.

Her wounds pooled in her body and she simply drank a low-quality potion to aid her regeneration and hid around.

The corpses would attract other monsters, but the various corpses could attract the attention of all the monsters and allow them to escape.

Moving to the place where she had hidden Dayana, Aurora tried to control her breathing.

She had trained with her masters for a long time, improving her stamina, and while the combat was arduous, she had trained just as arduously with her master.

When the place arrived, she breathed a sigh of relief that nothing of note had happened in the vicinity, but her expression turned serious the next moment.

Digging out the log with the strength of an A-ranked fighter, she could see the blue dome of her sword, and when she entered the inside of the log, her body became still.

‘I’m sorry.’

Those words were engraved the inner wall of the trunk and affirmed on the wall was the motionless woman....

Blood dripped from her wrists and her body turned cold, while a blood-stained dagger lay beside her.

Aurora took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions, but something began to burn from within.

It was her anger... Her anger was rising from within her and no matter how much she wanted to appease it, she couldn’t.

The gnashing of teeth spread, and the anger turned into rage, that rage into vigor to ravage everything in her path.

In the midst of her state, a green creature jumped out of the trees where it was hiding and Aurora turned to catch it from its neck with her hand.

“Grr...”

The little devil grunted as his neck was caught with a great force.

She had mentioned it... They were attacking by surprise when she was done fighting monsters.

Aurora looked at that creature, seething with anger inside and....

*Crack*

She squeezed her neck with all her might, listening to the sounds of bones being broken.

“...”

When the creature fell to the ground motionless, Aurora was not satisfied.

She needed to vent; she needed to release all her anger, all her rage... And she had a perfect target to do so.