<h4>Chapter 442: Marauders</h4>


    Atop the hill overlooking the sea, right at the center of what used to be called Lioness Kingdom, a fort could be seen.


    The fort was abandoned, traces of dried blood, debris and fallen rocks littered the floor. Tattered remains of proud banners made of fine fabric served as a reminder of its former glory.


    Hundreds of people filled the fort, all wearing rag-tag uniforms. They were screaming and talking with each other, creating a cacophony that could be heard even from outside.


    In the middle of the fort, stood half a dozen poles marred with fresh blood. One person was tied up on each, their body full ofcerations and exposed to the heat of the sun. The tang of iron could be felt in the air, but none of them seemed bothered by it.


    Arge muscled man stood on a raised tform, right next to the chained and tortured victims. Meanwhile, a hundred men kept cheering his every move.


    "This is what happens to those who dare to oppose us, the Big Bear Marauders!"


    The muscled man mmed his feet onto the tform.


    "Hurraaaaaaaa!!" The hundred men shouted in unison.


    Not long after they started celebrating, a group of people approach from the eastern hill towards them. They also wore a rag-tag uniform, but theirs were of a different color.


    "Open the gate!" Their leader dered.


    "It''s the ck Rat Gang! The have returned"


    Therge muscled man shouted an order and several men ran towards the gate to open it. Around two dozen more people walked in and, behind them, a group of women chained together by their ankles.


    When they saw those women, the men all immediately turned wild.


    "Whoa, the ck Rat chief is so lucky!" One man whistled in appreciation.


    "Women! Women! So many women!"


    "ck Rat chief, let us y with them too!"


    The group arrived at the center of the fort and the bulky muscled man, chief of the Big Bear, weed him.


    "How did it go, brother? I see you brought us many gifts!"


    "Hahaha, yeah, those viges are ripe for the taking! Of course, brother, as a sign of my respect to you, you can take three of them."


    The chief of the Big Bear walked towards the captured women and stared at them one by one from head to toe. Even with a quick nce, he did have to admit, the ck Rat gang morons really were very lucky today, as he saw several amazingly beautiful girls chained amongst them. The women seemed to be silent, every single one of them resigned to their fate.


    "This golden-haired girl! I want this one."


    The ck Rat chief walked towards the girl, lightly ruffled her hair and said. "Not this one, brother. This is mine."


    The muscled man''s eye twitched in annoyance, but he took a deep breath and calmed himself. There were a few more beautiful women among them and there was no use fighting over such a trivial matter.


    He looked around like a man appraising fruits in the marketce before stopping in front of another beautiful woman.


    "This red-haired one… I like her! She is so fierce!"


    "You certainly have good eyes, brother!" The ck Rat chief praised. "But, I can''t give her to you, either. She is my favorite!"


    Hearing this, he narrowed his eyes and said. "Hah! Then, you choose one and I''ll get the other!"


    In response, the ck Rat chief looked at the two girls in confusion, unable to decide who he should get. Before he could say anything, a girl with long white hair shouted.


    "What about me?! Choose me!"


    The ck Rat chief looked at the girl and nodded. "Yes, I was about to offer you that one, brother. She is very young and I thought you liked young girls!"


    "No, no! I have decided I want the golden-haired one! Yes, her hair, her eyes… She''s just like a princess!"


    The bear chief walked closer to the golden-haired girl. To his surprise, she seemed calm and fierce at first, no fear was reflected in her eyes even as she came face to face with a known gang member. But, as if she remembered something, she looked toward the other chief and shouted.


    "No! no, my chief! Why are you giving me away to this big monster!"


    The girl''s words quickly stoked the heart of the ck Rat chief and the two leaders argued once again. What started as a friendly banter slowly turned heated and they almost pulled their des at each other.


    In the end, the leader of the Big Bears conceded and let the golden haired beauty go. After all, this was a gift of friendship. "Alright, then! I''ll take the red-haired one!"


    He looked around, but he realized the red-haired girl was gone.


    "Where did she go?!"


    As if to answer his question, the chief heard a thud from behind, right as a few men who stood behind him fell.


    "What the hell?!"


    The situation quickly devolved into chaos. Amidst men scrambling to pull out their weapons, the golden-haired girl said.


    "Now is the time!"


    The young white-haired girl, along with three others, immediately stood up. The rope that bound their hands and legs broke like it was made of paper.


    They immediately went into action and jumped at the closest gang member, knocked them out and stole their weapon.


    The others immediately went full alert and they picked up the closest weapon they could to attack.


    Only to be a yer in the most unbelievable battle.


    The six girls looked small and petite, their soft skin and beautiful hair seemed to indicate they weren''t used to doing much work in their lives. However, the moment they decided to strike, their true ferocity came out.


    With strength beyondparison of their strongest, they fought and defeated each and everyone who approached them. They were able toy waste to most of the camp within minutes.


    The chief of the Big Bear gang was so angry, to the point he picked up hisrge axe and swung it towards the golden-haired beauty.


    "It''s a pity. You are such a beautiful woman, but you have to die here!"


    The chief was confident and to most his confidence was not unfounded. Once, he fought against multiple silver knights and managed to wipe the floor with them. But none of that strength helped him today, as he saw the girl dodge all his attacks easily.


    nk!


    With a swing of her sword, the heavy ax was thrown away.


    "W-what kind of magic is this?!" the man shouted in fear and surprise.


    The girl merely shook her head. "Hah! I wish it was magic!" She said and hit the man''s neck with the hilt of her sword, causing him to fall and lose consciousness.


    Six girls fighting against a horde of marauders and none of those men stood a chance.


    Right as they finished thest man, someone appeared out of thin air.


    "Good job, girls."


    The red-haired woman yed with her knife and said. "Those tasteless blind marauders! They deserve even worse than this!"


    He scratched his head, wondering what made her angry yet again.


    Before he could think too much about it, the golden-haired girl interrupted. "The local nobles shoulde and capture them all soon."


    At the same time, another girl shouts as she found the marauders loots. From coins, jewelry even crops. The golden hair girl then said to the man "We can give them to the people whose vige was attacked, is it alright?"


    The man just nodded as he has no need for these things. This made the girl so happy.


    She swung the sword to get rid of the excess blood and threw it onto one of the fallen men''s bodies, before looking at the guy, smiling. "What do you think? This can serve both as practice and to help the people! Isn''t this a good idea?"


    The girl in white hair also excited, she jumped up and said.


    "Brother Emery, where to next?"


    He really had tomend her enthusiasm, but he shook his head. "No, no, that''s enough for today… We''ll do this again next week."