Chapter 99

The first person to notice the commotion was Shizuka.

"Hey? Mr. Azumi, is that... a robbery?"

As usual, Azumi was being affectionate with Tsuki in the car, with Kashiwagi inserting herself between them. The upgraded Ice Kannon and Thunder Dragon were threatening each other, which made it almost impossible for Azumi to see the road, leading to dangerous driving. Hearing Shizuka's words, Azumi finally began to pay attention to what was ahead.

As Shizuka had said, it seemed that a caravan was being attacked by bandits. Two opposing groups were engaged in a fierce battle. As they got closer, Shizuka's rabbit ears picked up the shouts and cries of the people, and Azumi's [Far Sight] clearly revealed the details of the situation.

"The attackers seem to be bandits... about forty rough-looking men... On the other side, the caravan has fifteen guards. Despite the significant disparity in strength, they're managing to hold their own. Impressive."

"…Yeah, that barrier is quite something."

"Indeed, it's like a fortress. As long as that barrier doesn't collapse, the bandits can't get close to the core of the caravan. They can't withstand the magical attacks through the barrier."

"But they don't seem to have any intention of retreating?"

"Of course not. A barrier covering such a large caravan can't be maintained for long unless it's by someone from another world. It will take some time, but if they wait, the barrier will eventually dissolve on its own."

It seems the caravan was initially ambushed. Several people were seriously injured and lying on the ground, and some had already been killed by the bandits and were lying in pools of blood. They were barely holding on thanks to the sturdy barrier, but with so few people, especially guards, if the barrier were to be broken, they would surely be massacred. Outside the barrier, women who looked like adventurers were stripped naked, as if deliberately displayed to the other adventurers inside the barrier.

Then, as Azumi had predicted, just as he finished speaking, the barrier dissolved and melted away. The bandits, who had been waiting for this moment, charged at the caravan like hungry tigers, their faces twisted with malicious grins, already imagining how they would enjoy their spoils. The guards fought desperately, but outnumbered, they fell one by one.

At this moment, Kashiwagi's expression froze, and she turned to Azumi with a frantic voice, pleading for help.

"Mr. Azumi, please! Save them! Maybe, among them is…"

Before Kashiwagi could finish her sentence, Azumi responded silently by accelerating. He judged that if he waited to hear her out, the caravan would be wiped out, and he could always listen to what Kashiwagi wanted to say later.

The wheels screeched as they gripped the ground, and the car accelerated with the momentum of a rocket.

"Mr. Azumi… thank you."

Kashiwagi smiled gratefully at Azumi, who merely shrugged. Tsuki and the others, sensing that Azumi was about to take action, quickly fastened their seatbelts and grabbed onto something in the car.

"Mr. Azumi? Could it be…?"

Feeling the car's speed increasing, Kashiwagi's cheeks tensed. Indeed, she had asked him for help, but as someone who knew the traffic rules of Earth, she couldn't help but wonder why he would so readily execute such a preemptive tactic.

In response to her concern, Azumi replied with a clear expression.

"Seeing a criminal, you step on the gas… that's what driving school teaches, right?"

"That's not true! Don't twist the traffic laws! Look, Tsuki and the others are nodding in agreement!"

Despite Kashiwagi's protest, Azumi seemed completely unfazed and charged towards the man directing the bandits, as if to say, "No hesitation, this is to crush the criminals!"

The bandit leader finally noticed the mysterious object approaching at high speed, stirring up dust, and hurriedly gave orders to his companions, starting to cast a spell himself. To them, it must have looked like a new species of monster, never imagining that it was a metal object controlled by a human.

Azumi infused magic power into the car's mechanism. Blades about a meter long extended from both sides and the top of the car. Although the bandits shot fireballs, they were ignored as they had no real effect, and the car continued to charge forward. Seeing the black object hit by several fireballs and still advancing without slowing down, the bandits' expressions twisted in fear.

Thud! Smash! Crunch!

The bandits, their faces showing terror, despair, and confusion, were thrown aside with bloody sounds, as if in a cruel joke.

Some rolled onto the hood and were sliced by the blades extending from the roof, others tried to jump out of the way but were cut in half by the blades on the sides, and those who managed to avoid the blades were still crushed by the car moving at eighty kilometers per hour, their internal organs ruptured and bones shattered.

In just a moment, seventy percent of the bandits in the rear group were killed.

After crushing the rear group of bandits, Azumi performed a drift to reverse the car and stop. The sudden slaughter left both the bandits and the caravan members stunned, staring at the car Azumi and the others were in. Even the bandits and guards who were still fighting looked at each other in shock.

Azumi glanced at them and then turned to Kashiwagi, confirming with a serious look.

"Once we start, don't hold back. Kill all of them. No mercy. Understand?"

"…Yes. I understand."

This meant that no matter how gentle Kashiwagi was, she was not allowed to heal or protect the enemies. If she did, she would not be able to be Azumi's companion and would have to join the hero's team. Kashiwagi took a deep breath and nodded with a determined look.

"Then, let's go. I won't let them get in the way."

"Okay!"

Kashiwagi got out of the car without hesitation and ran directly to the injured. The bandits, who had been scared by the car, now recognized that a young woman was running towards them and immediately regained their senses, attacking Kashiwagi with angry expressions, enraged by the deaths of their companions.

"Damn brat! Die!"

The bandit roared and swung his longsword over his head.

However, Kashiwagi glanced at the bandits and ignored them, continuing to run towards the injured while chanting a spell. The bandit was enraged by Kashiwagi's attitude, but in the next moment, his head exploded, and his life ended abruptly.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosions echoed continuously, each one unleashing a storm of murderous intent. Seeing the bandits' heads explode one after another, even the guards who were being saved shuddered. The overwhelming and merciless nature of the attack was too much. In just a few seconds, the number of bandits, originally over forty, was reduced to less than half.

Faced with this surreal scene, several bandits panicked and lunged at the rabbit girl, intending to take her as a hostage. A guard shouted a warning, "Danger!" but it was a futile concern. After all, this was Shizuka, who was gradually evolving into a superhuman. There were no blind spots for a battle rabbit!

Shizuka summoned a Doryuken from her [Treasure Vault], which appeared in the air behind her, and with a satisfying sound, she gripped it and swung it with all her might. A circular white membrane appeared in front of the swinging Doryuken—creating an air wall that, with one strike, tore apart and blew away the upper bodies of three approaching bandits.

"Hey? Oh, blood splattered!"

It seemed that, having not fought serious enemies recently, she hadn't adjusted her strength properly. She had only intended to knock them away, but accidentally shattered their upper bodies. It was like performing an impossible move in a game. Shocked by the splattered blood, Shizuka stepped back in a panic.

Even as Shizuka looked surprised, Tsuki and Tia mercilessly unleashed a storm of magic, leaving the bandits no chance to approach.

The remaining ten bandits finally remembered to run, but this was impossible. They didn't even have time to beg for mercy before being easily shot and killed. It was a merciless massacre.

Kashiwagi used multiple-person light healing magic [Recovery] to heal the injured adventurers and caravan members in one go. Unfortunately, most of the guards who had been killed before Azumi and the others arrived were already dead, and even with resurrection magic, it was impossible to bring them back to life.

Looking at the bodies gradually growing cold, Kashiwagi gritted her teeth. Suddenly, a figure ran towards her. The person was small, wearing a hood, and looked suspicious at first. However, this was actually the person who had been desperately maintaining the barrier to protect the caravan. Azumi had already confirmed this through the flow and color of magic, so he did not stop her and let her pass.

"Kashiwagi!"

The hooded person ran towards Kashiwagi with a determined look, calling her name in a cute voice and hugging her tightly. Kashiwagi, surprised that her almost impossible guess was correct, called out the person's name.

"Lily