The leader did not take long to speak.
At first, he tried to maintain the same defiant attitude, but the tip of Liza's spear remained beside his throat, and the bodies of his men were still scattered across the road. Some had died instantly, others had tried to resist for a few more seconds before collapsing, but none of them were still alive.
The confidence he had shown upon arriving at the village disappeared quickly.
Liza did not need to raise her voice.
She asked about the group's base, the approximate number of men, the routes they used, and the person giving the orders. The man answered with what he knew. Not all of it was precise information, and more than once he tried to hide something until Liza's gaze forced him to continue, but in the end, he said enough.
Once he finished, the man swallowed.
"I talked," he said, his voice tense. "You said that if I surrendered…"
"The opportunity to surrender was before you ordered them to attack me."
The man opened his eyes wide.
"Wai—!"
Liza's spear moved before he could finish.
It was not a long or showy blow. Only a precise, swift movement that opened his throat and cut off his voice immediately. The man fell to his knees, brought his hands to his neck by instinct, and collapsed onto the ground a few seconds later.
Some soldiers looked away.
Others did not.
Liza cleaned the blade of her spear with a sharp motion and turned back toward the sergeant.
"Besides, we are not in a position to take prisoners right now."
The sergeant remained silent for several seconds.
The situation was worse than they had expected.
They knew the group's influence was considerable, one that had extended its control over several villages and routes. This group was only a small part of a much larger band. Their base was not too far away, but the number of enemies was so high that a unit as reduced as theirs had no real chance of facing them.
It was not even a matter of courage.
They were simply too few.
The sergeant was the first to say it.
"Instructor, we cannot attack that place with the men we have."
Liza looked toward him.
The sergeant continued without needing her to say anything.
"They outnumber us. They may not be formal soldiers, but they know the terrain, they have a fixed position, and they most likely have lookouts. If we advance now, we could end up defeated before even reaching their leader."
Liza listened without interrupting.
The sergeant clenched his jaw.
"The most prudent course would be to withdraw, report to Viscountess Nina, and return later with more men."
It was a reasonable conclusion.
It was also one that weighed on him.
Liza noticed it in his expression. The sergeant did not want to abandon the village. Not after seeing its inhabitants. But knowing something had to be done did not mean they could do it at that moment.
The soldiers understood it as well.
Some looked toward the houses with frustration. Others looked away, as if bothered by the admission that a victory on the road was not enough to solve everything.
Liza lowered the tip of her spear.
"I disagree."
The sergeant raised his gaze.
"Instructor?"
"We do not need to face the entire group."
"But if we go to their base…"
"The base is not the target," Liza said. "The leader is."
The sergeant fell silent.
Liza continued.
"If we eliminate him, the rest will lose their command figure. As a result, they may fight among themselves for leadership, scatter, or even if they appoint a new leader quickly, it will not matter because we will have gained time to reorganize."
The sergeant did not reject the idea immediately.
That meant he had understood it.
Even so, his expression remained grave.
"It is possible, but I do not see how we could reach him with this unit. If all of us move, they will notice us. If we leave part of the men behind, we will be even fewer. And if we enter combat inside a fortress, we will be crushed."
"That is why I will go alone."
Silence fell all at once.
Tama and Pochi, who were nearby, raised their heads at the same time.
The sergeant took a step forward.
"I cannot accept that."
"I am not asking for permission."
The answer was not harsh, but it was firm.
The sergeant closed his mouth.
Liza looked at him without looking away.
"For a mission like this, sending more soldiers does not increase our chances, as you said. It lowers them. You cannot move silently with enough speed, and you do not have the strength necessary to force your way through if something goes wrong."
Several soldiers lowered their gazes.
Liza did not say it to humiliate them.
She said it because it was true.
"I can enter alone. I am fast, I can choose my battles, and if the situation becomes impossible, I have a better chance of escaping on my own."
"Even so, it is too dangerous," the sergeant insisted. "At least take Tama and Pochi with you."
Pochi immediately stepped forward.
"Pochi can go!"
"Tama too~."
Liza did not look at them first.
She looked at the sergeant.
"If they come with me, who will protect the village?"
The sergeant froze.
"The soldiers…"
"The men who attacked the village were not all the enemies in the area. If another group appears or if the village falls into panic, you will need enough strength to maintain control."
No one spoke.
Liza lowered her voice slightly.
"After me, Tama and Pochi are the greatest strength in this unit. If I take them with me, you will be left vulnerable."
The sergeant tightened his fingers.
The phrase was not cruel.
That was why it hurt more.
He could not deny it. He had seen Pochi stop adult men with her shield, he had seen Tama move in ways enemies could not follow, and Liza's strength was clear to everyone. He was the unit's second-in-command, but in terms of actual strength, he knew perfectly well.
He was not at her level.
Nor at the girls' level.
"I understand," he said at last, with difficulty.
Pochi looked at Liza, uneasy.
"Sister Liza…"
Liza turned toward her.
"You will stay here."
"But…"
"Protect the soldiers. Protect the villagers. And obey the sergeant while I am gone."
Pochi pressed her lips together.
She did not want to accept it.
But the order was clear.
"Yes, Sister Liza."
Tama tilted her ears.
"And Tama?"
"You too. Watch the surroundings. If anyone approaches, warn them before fighting."
Tama puffed her cheeks slightly, but nodded.
"Understood."
Liza looked back at the sergeant.
The man was still tense, though he had recovered part of his composure. She understood what he felt. It was not easy to stay behind while someone else took on the main danger. Nor was it easy to accept that the best way to fulfill his duty was not to follow her.
"Sergeant."
"Instructor."
"I am not leaving you a lesser task."
He raised his gaze.
"If this village falls while I am gone, my incursion will have no meaning. I am entrusting the villagers, the soldiers, and Tama and Pochi to you."
The sergeant took a deep breath.
The shame did not disappear entirely, but something in his expression settled.
"I will protect them."
"I know."
"And I will hold the position until you return."
Liza nodded.
"I am counting on you."
The sergeant straightened his back and brought a hand to his chest.
"I will not fail you, Instructor."
Liza did not answer with more words.
She simply took her spear, checked once more the direction she had been given, and began walking toward the forest.
Pochi took half a step, as if she still wanted to follow her, but Tama grabbed her sleeve.
Liza did not look back.
If she did, it might become harder to move forward.
***
Once the village was behind her, Liza slowed her pace.
Not because she was tired.
She needed to listen.
The forest was dense, but not silent. There were insects in the undergrowth, leaves moved by the wind, and small animals fleeing before she arrived. Each sound occupied a different place in her mind, and Liza advanced while separating them one by one as she followed the direction indicated during the interrogation.
She did not look back.
But she thought about the sergeant.
"I am sorry," she murmured.
She had not lied to him.
If she took soldiers with her, her chances would decrease. If she took Tama and Pochi, the village would be more vulnerable. If the band sent another group while she was away, the sergeant would need all available strength to resist.
All of that was true.
But it was not the whole truth.
Liza tightened her fingers around the shaft of her spear.
The other reason was simpler.
She felt weak.
She had improved. She knew that. Her body was stronger than before, her movements were faster, and her spear no longer felt like a foreign tool in her hands. She had faced monsters, bandits, soldiers, and enemies she once would not even have been able to look at directly.
But it was still not enough.
When her master faced real threats, Liza could barely follow him with her eyes. When Hans trained with her, every movement reminded her of how much she still lacked. When she thought of enemies like Zen, the woman with the sacred sword, or that giant her master had gone to face, the distance between her and the world surrounding her lord became too clear.
She did not want to remain in the same place forever.
She did not want to be someone her master protected while he carried everything.
She wanted to be useful.
And for that, she needed to grow.
The bandits were not honorable enemies. They were not warriors seeking a duel or soldiers defending a cause. They were criminals who had used the poverty of others to feed themselves. Eliminating them was part of the mission.
If she could gain something from that as well, then she would not look away from that possibility.
Liza continued advancing until the light between the trees began to weaken.
The base was not as close as the man had made it seem, but neither was it far enough to change the plan. When night fell, she reached a raised area from which she could see the silhouette of an old fortification among the trees.
It was not a city.
Nor was it a simple hideout.
It looked like an old military post, built with stone at the base and reinforced wood in the upper sections. A palisade surrounded the outer courtyard, and a low tower rose above the rest of the structure. There were lights in several windows, shadows moving near the entrance, and at least two lookouts on the wall.
Liza crouched among the undergrowth.
It was larger than convenient.
It was also better defended than she would have preferred.
Even so, she did not retreat.
She closed her eyes for a moment.
"Black Demon."
The air changed at her side.
There were no footsteps.
No sound of branches.
Only a presence that appeared where nothing had been before.
Liza opened her eyes and found the dark figure standing among the trees, a short distance from her. The creature tilted its head slightly, as if it had been waiting to be called from the beginning.
"I was wondering when you would do it," Black Demon said.
Liza showed no surprise.
There was no point in pretending she did not know why Black Demon was there. Normally, one of Hans's clones remained hidden in her shadow to protect her, but those copies had a limited time before they needed to be replaced. Since Hans was busy following her master, that task had fallen to Black Demon. Although that also meant it had temporarily had to step away from the investigation it was carrying out.
"I need your help."
"To destroy that fortification?"
"No."
Black Demon remained silent.
Liza looked toward the old military post.
"I will enter. I will fight. I will kill the leader."
The creature did not respond immediately.
"Then what do you want from me?"
"Let no one escape."
Black Demon turned its face slightly toward the fortification. Its eyes shone with an interest that was difficult to read.
"A rather simple request."
"I came here to deal with all of them personally. If I want to become stronger, I need to face as many enemies as possible."
"And if you enter and discover that you cannot win?"
Liza did not look away from the fortification.
"Then I will escape."
"And if you cannot escape either?"
Liza's hand closed more tightly around the spear.
She did not answer immediately.
Black Demon let out a low laugh, almost soft.
"I understand."
The darkness around Black Demon spread over the ground like a shadow too thick. It did not advance toward Liza, but toward the fortification, slowly surrounding it among the trees. It was almost imperceptible, a dark line blending with the night, but Liza felt the space change.
It was not a visible wall.
But it was a cage.
"No one will leave that place unless I allow it," Black Demon said.
Liza nodded.
"Thank you."
"Do not thank me yet. If you fail, I will have to carry the consequences, so proceed carefully."
Liza did not answer.
She did not like hearing that.
Precisely because she knew it was true.
She stood, held the spear vertically before her, and closed her eyes for an instant. She thought of her master. She thought of the calm with which he walked toward enemies that would be impossible for others. She thought of the distance that still separated her from him.
Then she opened her eyes.
Her breathing stabilized.
She could not allow herself to hesitate.
Not there.
Not that night.
***
Liza did not go toward the main entrance.
The fortification had been built to watch the road, not to resist a prolonged siege. That meant it had useful points for a quick defense, but also neglected areas after years of abandonment and repairs made by untrained men. Liza circled the palisade from the undergrowth, keeping low, the spear close to her body so the tip would not strike the branches.
The first lookout was on a wooden platform.
He was not looking toward the forest.
He was looking toward the road.
It was logical. Those who lived there expected enemies to come from the same place travelers, patrols, or merchants they could rob passed through. No one seemed to consider that a single person could approach from the thickest part of the woods.
Liza waited for the man to turn halfway around.
Then she climbed.
She did not use the ladder. She drove her fingers into the edges of the wood, placed one foot on a poorly fitted joint, and pushed herself upward in a swift movement. The lookout managed to turn his head when he heard the creak, but by the time his hand dropped toward the alarm bell, Liza was already behind him.
The blade of the spear crossed his neck.
Liza caught the body before it could fall.
The man trembled once, barely, and then lost strength. Liza placed him on the platform floor carefully, away from the edge, and took the small bell he would have used to alert the others. The rope was worn. A single pull would be enough to wake the entire fortification.
She cut it.
From there, she could see the interior better.
There was a central courtyard, several rooms built against the wall, a storehouse beside the low tower, and small campfires where some men were drinking or talking. Not all of them were awake. Many were sleeping inside the barracks, trusting in the lookouts and in the number of their companions.
Liza breathed slowly.
She could not allow noise.
Not yet.
She descended to the other side of the palisade and moved close to the shadow of the buildings. Her first target was the second lookout, a man sitting on a box near the storehouse. He had a spear leaning against the wall and a jug in his hand. He was not completely asleep, but his eyes closed every few seconds.
Liza waited for those seconds.
When the man's eyelids fell again, she crossed the distance.
The shaft of her spear first struck the jug to prevent it from crashing to the ground. With her other hand, she covered the lookout's mouth, and the tip entered beneath his ribs before he could take a breath to scream. She held him until he stopped resisting.
Then she leaned him against the wall, in the same position in which she had found him.
From a distance, he seemed to still be asleep.
Liza continued moving.
The next one was in an outer passage, urinating against a wall without bothering to look to the sides. He died before he finished realizing someone had passed beside him. Two more men were playing dice near a door. Liza could not approach both at the same time, so she threw a stone toward the opposite side of the courtyard.
One raised his head.
The other turned.
That difference was enough.
Liza pierced the throat of the first and used his body to push him against the second before he could shout. The man fell backward with wide eyes, trying to push away his companion's corpse, and Liza drove the spear into his chest before he managed to draw his knife.
The blow made more noise than she would have liked.
Liza went still.
No one shouted.
Laughter came from one of the nearby rooms, followed by the sound of a jug striking a table. The men inside had not heard anything, or they had not recognized the sound as something dangerous.
Liza withdrew the spear.
Blood began to run along the wooden floor.
She moved before it could form a visible pool.
Inside the first barrack, she found six men asleep. The air smelled of sweat, alcohol, and damp leather. There were weapons leaning against the beds, boots thrown on the floor, and bags full of objects that did not seem to belong to those sleeping there.
Liza closed the door behind her.
She did not think about their faces or names.
They were enemies, and she needed nothing more.
The first died without opening his eyes. The second managed to move when the bed creaked, but Liza covered his mouth and finished the strike before he could understand what was happening. The third woke enough to see a shadow over him. He tried to take a dagger from beneath his pillow.
He did not reach it.
The fourth death was clean.
The fifth was not.
The man stirred at the last moment and kicked a small table. A bowl fell to the floor and shattered.
Liza gritted her teeth.
The sixth woke abruptly.
"What…?"
The spear pierced his chest before he could finish the word.
Outside, someone knocked on the door.
"Everything good in there?"
Liza did not answer.
The man knocked again.
"Hey!"
Liza positioned herself beside the entrance, the spear low.
The door opened.
The bandit poked his head in.
Liza pulled him inside and broke his throat with the shaft before finishing him against the floor. This time, the noise was louder. The wood creaked beneath the blow, one of the beds moved, and a weapon fell from the wall.
The silence ended.
"What was that?"
A voice sounded from the courtyard.
Then another.
"Check the barrack!"
Liza left before they arrived.
She could no longer move as before.
The clean part of the operation had ended.
The first man who appeared before her raised an axe clumsily. Liza pierced him without stopping and continued advancing toward the shadow of the storehouse. Another tried to run toward the alarm bell at the entrance, but the cut rope hung uselessly from the platform. The man stared at it without understanding.
Liza reached him while he was still looking up.
The scream he let out as he fell was enough to wake the rest.
Doors began to open.
Half-dressed men came out with weapons in hand, some without boots, others with their eyes still heavy with sleep. One asked where the enemy was. Another shouted that it came from the barrack. A third pointed at Liza when he saw her cross the courtyard covered in blood.
"There!"
From that moment on, everything turned into chaos.
Liza stopped trying to hide and began moving among them.
She did not give them time to surround her. When two came from the front, she shifted to the side and opened the throat of the nearest one. When one tried to attack her from behind, she turned the shaft and broke his wrist before finishing him off. If someone stepped back to create distance, Liza closed the space with a single push and brought him down before he could use the advantage of his weapon.
Her spear did not stop.
It cut, pushed, deflected, and cut again, destroying any source of light within her reach along the way. As a demi-human, she possessed natural night vision, an advantage she was willing to use.
In the darkness, her movements did not seem like those of a soldier, but of a creature attacking without mercy.
There were too many of them for her to maintain her usual technique. Relying only on the difference in strength, as well as the quality of her spear, Liza simply moved and swung her weapon. Every cut she could land would undoubtedly be fatal for them, and her erratic movement would keep them from surrounding her.
But there were still incidents.
A knife grazed her side when she avoided its spear by chance. An arrow passed too close to her shoulder and opened her skin. A fallen man managed to grab her ankle, and although Liza killed him in the next instant, that second allowed another to strike her arm with a short mace.
Pain climbed up to her shoulder.
Liza did not release the spear.
She advanced.
One more fell.
Then another.
A third man tried to flee toward the palisade. As soon as he reached the shadow of the trees, a deeper darkness closed before him. The bandit screamed, crashed into something he could not see, and fell backward, trembling.
Liza did not wait for him to understand the situation.
When the last group in the courtyard fell, Liza remained standing among bodies, breathing with difficulty. Someone else's blood covered her arms, part of her face, and the fabric of her clothes. There was also blood of her own. Cuts, blows, scratches, wounds that were not serious individually, but together were beginning to weigh on her.
She had been discovered too soon.
It was a shame.
Even so, she did not stop.
The leader remained.
The information from the prisoner had pointed to the low tower as the place where the man commanding the band slept. Liza advanced toward it, but before she reached the door, it opened from inside.
Seven men stepped into the courtyard.
Their state was completely different from the others. None of them were half-dressed, none looked sleepy, and none were affected by alcohol.
They wore reinforced leather armor, clean weapons, and clear gazes. It was obvious they had used the time to prepare while others died outside. Among them walked a man better equipped than the rest, with a longsword resting on his shoulder and a short cloak fastened with a metal brooch over steel plate armor.
The band's captain observed the courtyard.
Then he observed Liza.
His face showed no fear.
Only a cold expression of irritation as he looked at the bodies scattered across the courtyard.
His gaze passed over the corpses without lingering too long on any of them. Rather than fury or sadness, he seemed to be calculating how much it would cost to replace the men he had lost.
"What a mess."
Liza adjusted her grip on the spear.
The captain looked back at her.
"I thought Muno or an enemy band had ambushed us. Turns out it was a single intruder."
Around him, the men accompanying him raised their weapons and took combat stances.
Liza took a deep breath.
Her body hurt.
But she could still fight.
Seven men, in addition to the captain.
Eight, she repeated to herself. Eight more, and she would win.
******
Author's Note:
As usual, things did not go entirely as I expected.
This chapter ended up becoming much longer than planned, so I basically had to split it in half. As in the past few chapters, we are still following Liza on her journey to become a stronger warrior, and I hope you enjoy this part as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Technically, this part enters original material, which is one of the reasons I enjoy writing it. At the same time, it is still connected to canon in a certain way, so I have avoided going into too much detail until now.
To make up for the lack of a proper author's note in the previous chapter, I'll explain a little.
Volume 4 of Death March can be summarized as Satou's adventures in Muno. During that volume, Satou learns about Muno's situation, shows his kindness by helping children, the elderly, and other people in need, then meets Karina and travels with her to find the giants, where several incidents happen along the way.
The volume would eventually end with the confrontation against the Hell Demon, followed by a time skip of a few months showing how Satou helped Muno recover.
This Volume 4 has probably been the one most affected by my changes. Satoru confronted the Hell Demon much earlier, and chronologically, he is currently traveling with Karina while Liza is dealing with bandits.
I truly hope this kind of content has been enjoyable. Once the events corresponding to Volume 4 are finished, probably within two or three chapters, I will begin a more personal arc to properly close things with this world. It will also include several important elements for Satoru and his subordinates going forward.
That's all for now. Thank you as always for reading and supporting the story, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.