Erick headed south. His goal was to reach his village, which was somewhat distant; a carriage trip would take about two months. For this reason, Erick began to walk south. A handsome young man, shirtless and with no visible weapons, what could go wrong?
As he moved away from the white-mantled mountain, the vegetation changed drastically. Abandoning the green bushes for drier ones, the south was becoming desert-like, enough so that few inhabited those areas. Even so, it was Erick's home, the home he never wanted to leave.
While he continued walking and hunting when he was hungry, night eventually came, and Erick, like every human, went to sleep.
The sword, for its part, kept trying to figure out how to activate the system. While the trip was refreshing for Erick, helping him release certain tensions, it was frustrating for the sword. They had been walking through the desert for almost a month now.
The green forest had long been left behind. This was not the adventure the sword had expected; in its memories, powerful characters only appeared with magic or something similar, but so far, everything was so slow.
Sure, it was relaxing to walk, but walking for almost a month and not even being halfway there was already frustrating for the sword. At this rate, the sword would start forgetting its past life.
It was then that, on a day like any other walking, they saw a small caravan in the distance.
Upon getting close enough, Erick saw a group of armed people approaching the caravan. They rode small giant rodents that helped them move easily through the desert, raising clouds of sand in their wake. In his head, the memory became strong and vivid; with a mental click, Erick deduced that they were bandits and were preparing to ruin someone else's life.
The small caravan, composed of 2 carts and about 6 men dressed in white robes, also noticed the dust cloud generated by the intruders. It was then that Erick saw both groups prepare for combat, drawing their weapons and using some boxes as obstacles.
Then, one of the robed men stood in front and let out a shout that Erick couldn't hear due to the distance, but he already knew what it was: the start of a combat.
The first to attack was one of the men riding his rodent. Looking at the possible leader, he threw his short spear with great speed, leaving a small trajectory trail, but one of the robed men lunged forward with a firm step and, as if dancing with the wind, his sword deflected the spear with great ease—a pure demonstration of weapons control.
*Clanck*
The sound echoed through the desert dunes. It was then that Erick awoke; although he was far away, he couldn't stand idly by. Stamping his foot hard on the sand beneath him, he advanced toward the fight.
*Zas!*
Another spear was thrown with a long trajectory, but this one, unfortunately, did hit one of the robed men, piercing the area near his collarbone. Even so, looking firmly ahead, the man tore the spear out and prepared for combat. His resilience was impressive.
It was at that moment that the men on their rodent mounts got close enough for their short bows to be effective. Tensing them, the merchants aimed and shot, hitting two of the mounted men.
With the collapse of these two riders, their rodents lost control. The animals, frightened and wounded, jumped onto the robed men, and the chaos completely broke their combat formation. The boxes they used as shelter were scattered.
Seeing the opportunity, the mounted men pressed their attack, dispersing the robed men even further from their belongings. The combat was already showing a clear ending.
Dismounting their rodents and drawing their short axes along with their curved swords, the fight began. The man furthest from the robed men was thrown forcefully against his cart. The impact made the wood groan.
Meanwhile, the most skilled one, who had managed to deflect the spear not long ago, was being overwhelmed. Axes and swords came from all sides, preventing him from concentrating on protecting his leader.
With the collapse of another one of the robed men, the battle shifted toward the leader and the few who remained. They had barely managed to group together again, their backs drenched in sweat either from the sun or the combat touching.
Giving one last cry, the leader prepared for the worst. Narrowly dodging an attack that would easily pierce his skull, he counterattacked quickly. His sword left a faint trail, and his eyes refused to see his defeat.
*¡Clanck!*
The leader's sword clashed against another axe and then against a sword. Refusing to step back again, he refused to die without a fight.
But with one last clash, he finally yielded. The enemy approached with firm steps, grabbed his weapon, and prepared to finish him off.
It was at that moment that a sword, illuminating like the sun itself, approached from the distance.
[Skill Bloodlust activated, physical enhancements and fatigue decrease applied]
"Erick, don't kill the giant rodents, they remind me of the hamsters from my old world!" the sword yelled, still knowing Erick couldn't hear it, and even if he could, his concentration was elsewhere.