Chapter 67: Back to New Herbal (part 5)
"Ptfu...!"
That last attack was a mistake, though, as because of its much higher DEF, not only wasn't stunned or pushed back, but it was Vernlily's shield that ended up damaged, with metal bending in an awkward direction and one of the planks breaking apart and sending some splinters right into the black-haired girl's face.
*STAB*
"GHIGH...!"
The champion Stone Fang dog still ended up yelping pitifully and dying when the blade of a shortsword slipped under its jaw and pierced its throat as the weapon's wielder, with her eyes burning burgundy, used another Skill it wasn't prepared for.
[87/111]
"Eh?! When?"
Vernlily glanced to the quest progression counter and became pale, seeing that nineteen more villagers had been killed off.
The initial champion, a lesser giant rat, was either defeated or chased off, and there didn't appear to be more monsters that infiltrated the village walls – but neither the gate nor the walls were destroyed. Then how...?
As the Bound guardian knight was trying to figure out what happened, the answer presented itself to her rather gruesomely...
"AAAAARGH!" *SPLAT*
[88/111]
Three giant lesser rats were climbing the walls; the fastest one jumped up and bit into the throat of Vernlily's cousin – a guy with a brawler class that Zorey used to train with – after the youngster missed his punch and got pulled down, meeting his end when his head burst open against the ground.
Still – that wasn't even the end.
The remaining two rats actually had a passenger – a Stone Fang dog was biting onto the tails of both of them and was getting pulled along until all three monsters ended up on the other side.
*THUNK* *THUMP* *THUNK* *THUNK* *THUMP* *THUMP*
Luckily, that one Stone Fang dog ended up getting its skull pierced by an arrow and fell back down to the ground, and the rats that gave it a ride followed up in its steps within the next few seconds.
The problem was such efficiency wasn't common, and that's what was costing the villagers their lives.
"...ghhh...!" *SHING* x273
Vernlily gritted her teeth and chained her Skills in seething anger.
Her taunt being a passive one working in the territory meant that it could not be reapplied, so the monsters that weren't affected immediately – be it the champions or just the common ones that got lucky – had no interest in Vernlily and focused on much easier targets.
...but was there really no chance to realize the passive taunt...?
"!!!"
Vernlily's eyes light up – not because of another Skill being used but because of realization.
Without wasting any more time that would lead to risking more lives of the villagers, the black-haired girl charged away from the New Herbal's walls, barging into the forest.
She broke through the encirclement of the swarming monsters in a mad dash – the creatures didn't seem surprised at all and instantly started chasing after her.
"...ITOR...!"
"...?"
Vernlily heard someone's voice from behind, but raising one brow was the only reaction it would get out of her, as she was too focused on keeping a distance from the pursuing monsters.
The border of the territory was within her sight, and the black-haired girl was running ahead – seemingly straight into a tree.
A dozen feet, half a dozen... one step...!
"URGH...!"
Vernlily took a leap as if she wanted to run up the tree to hide when she was hit with the outrageous debuff of a 75% decrease in Status Points, which felt as if her whole body was hit by an enormous hammer and squashed down.
"RAAAAAAA!"
Nonetheless, the black-haired girl roared as her eyes shone brightly, and she used the tree as a stepping stone to jump right back within the borders of her territory – and in the middle of the charging monsters.
While still in the air, the debuff disappeared and was replaced by the buff, returning all of the girl's missing strength and even having a side effect of accidentally restoring some of her HP.
It was worth keeping in mind – but in Vernlily's situation, it wasn't something that she could pay attention to.
"TAKE THIS!"
*SHING* x468
The girl growled and let her body follow the guidelines of the chained skill, unleashing a blizzard of slashes that resulted in a huge eruption of blood from the slaughtered monsters.
It was such a gruesome and horrifying sight that some of the creatures tried to stop their charge or even run away, but funnily enough, their escape route was cut off by the appearance of the rest of their brethren.
Vernlily's plan worked just as she hoped for – her passive taunt ended up activating again after she left and entered her territory again, basically resetting its condition for activation.
And it seemed like this time, all of the monsters in the area – including the ones that made their way into the village – were now rushing at her.
[51/111]
"Not a single person more... I couldn't save even half of the villagers, but I will make sure that none of you will kill even one more person..."
The black-haired girl raised her damaged shield and pulled back her sword-arm, and her eyes shone brightly in the shadow of the forest...
---------
[51/111]
"...haaa..."
Vernlily gazed at the counter that didn't change – just as she declared – and breathed out.
She was returning to the village dragging her feet, drenched in blood, and with messed up equipment.
Her shield was now only two splintering planks, and her shortsword ended up breaking after a bit too enthusiastic stab in the guts of a Stone Fang Wolf.
Nonetheless, she was alive, and 51 villagers too.
It was a pitiful score, and the Bound Guardian knight definitely wasn't feeling good about it.
Vernlily was bothered by guilt - if she got the idea to leave the territory for a bit to reset her taunt, she could have saved more people. It wasn't that outrageous of an idea either; she should have figured it out sooner...
|Zorey will be so disappointed in me... Please, System, let his parents be amongst the survivors... I will not be able to handle it if even he starts hating me...|
The black-haired girl lowered her head and prayed silently while coming out of the woods and walking through the corpses of monsters she had slayed earlier to make her way to the gate.
"Hey, it's me – I've..."
"You have some guts to show your ugly face here after leaving us here to die!"
Vernlily called out, trying to report that she managed to kill off all the monsters that charged the village, but the person who greeted her – which happened to be Zorey's mother – berated her without letting her finish.
"What? What are you even talking about?! Do you think that I ran away? Why do you think the monsters left too?!"
The black-haired girl felt a surge of rage and raised her voice at the other woman.
"I don't know what monsters think because I am not one of them, unlike you!"
"!!!"
The woman scoffed, making Vernlily so angry that she momentarily lost her ability to speak.
Zorey's mother disappeared behind the wall, and Vernlily was about to move away, but...
[51 villagers remain in the village]
[Defense quest - Save as many villagers as you can – failed]
[New defense quest received]
[Survie the 5th wave]
"..."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Sound_Hammer
Sound_Hammer Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
I tagged this book, come and support me with a thumbs up!
Like it ? Add to library！
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
(And as you surely added this story to your library to be notified of a new update, why not check some of my other stories? Like:
Reincarnated as the Villainess's attendant
or
The Villainess and I, her Zombie)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone