"Hah… of course..." Zarba sighed with a tired expression as he and Xin stepped out to the main road that led to the east gate. Zarba could see that the gate in the distance was filled with mercenaries guarding the place and many improvised barricades of overturned wagons and random objects arranged in a way that would force the enemies into a choke point in the center. He also could see the heavy wooden doors already barred shut behind the mercenaries, so he and Xin couldn't just charge straight through them on his warhorse golem. They will have to fight their way to get out of town, just as Zarba expected.
Worse still, he spots "her." The very distinctive woman leaning against the wall and clad in the cliché fantasy trope of a female warrior in bikini armor with her large greatsword rests casually against her thick thigh as she holds its long handle firmly in her right hand. Zarba could recognize her kind instantly with just a glance, as they always dress uniquely and give off a rather strong presence.
That female warrior is likely one of those Greats, an honorific title for the exceptional individual with at least two superhuman abilities, like super strength, super speed, super mana capacity, or super intellect, for example.
The Greats are also considered a powerhouse in this world under the legendary and mythical titles that are almost impossible to find now ever since the era of Altra Zigma, who was also a legendary warrior, has long passed.
While in the game, the Greats are usually a boss or mini-boss that you can fight with enough health potions and decently powerful equipment, but in reality, they are pretty troublesome, as they are not restricted to only attacking in a programmed pattern and can use their superhuman abilities freely.
When he was young, Zarba also entertained the thought of becoming Great, but the reality just casually backhanded him back to the dirt, as no matter how hard you try, you won't be able to achieve that level of strength with training alone. There seem to be many factors involved in how to become Great, such as genetics, external influence, mentality, and most important of all, luck to have all of the seemingly arbitrary conditions met.
Zarba was pretty disappointed back then when he found out that he couldn't just train himself into a superhuman level like the usual Isekai setting in this fantasy world that he reincarnated in, and despite being the descendant of the legendary figure Altra Zigma, Zarba seems to have not inherited anything extraordinary from him other than his handsome face and very healthy physique.
"Tsk, just my luck..." Zarba clicked his tongue as he scanned the barricade and the mercenaries that positioned themselves behind it, while there were also some archers and crossbowmen who stayed on top of the gatehouse that could be seen keeping watch over them.
The battle is inevitable, as Zarba is not going to even try to reason with them, and he also can't just casually reveal his princely identity either, so there's really no way around it but to fight.
The mercenaries are not much of a problem for Zarba, but the real threat stood apart from their group: that Great Warrior in bikini armor. Her sheer presence alone radiated lethality and power, just like those two brute warrior slaves of Zarking that he was familiar with. Zarba also noted how her black helmet head was turning around constantly, like she was looking for someone to fight. Her relentless demeanor is giving away her impatience for bloodshed.
'Ah, it's one of those perverts who likes to fight too much…' Zarba wants to curse out loud, as he knows that she will keep on fighting until she can't move her body anymore, and depending on how fast she is, she might decide to chase him around like a mad dog if he tries to avoid her and makes a run for it. 'What a nuisance…'
"Should I, my husband…?" Seeing Zarba's troubled expression, Xin whispered her help while her fingers entwined with his, and her amber eyes seemed to glow faintly with magic power as she suggested annihilation of their obstacles with her magic spell. Zarba felt the air thicken with invisible tension as if the world were holding its breath while the large amount of mana was stirring in Xin's body, ready to be unleashed.
Zarba knows that with just one high-level spell, Xin could obliterate the gate and the mercenaries along with it in a couple of seconds, but not the bikini armor warrior, as she could just dodge it by instinct before the spell could even be unleashed. The great warriors are all ridiculous like that…
"No, not just yet; this place has too many eyes," Zarba murmured in denial while looking around the buildings in their surroundings. He could feel dozens of terrified stares from the buildings, from the people huddled in doorways and windows who were watching the situation outside with fear and helplessness.
"Let's just send my summoned units out to fight like usual." He said, as he could feel Xin's massive mana energy beside him, it felt just like a thunderstorm was forming near you in a petite humanoid form. With just one word from him, Xin could really turn this entire street and the gate into a crater, but Zarba can't do that, as Xin's existence must be kept secret as long as possible.
"Your existence is our greatest advantage against our enemies, who will not be expecting a powerful magician to accompany me," Zarba muttered, leading Xin off the road toward a narrow alley in between the buildings near them. The stench of rotten vegetables and wet stone enveloped them as they walked past the pile of garbage in the alley. He then mentally commanded his four ranger knights to split off to the main road. "Let's keep you a secret as long as possible."
"My, my, I'm so flattered~." Xin purred but was pouting inside as she pressed her body closer to Zarba's while they slipped deeper into the alleyways behind the buildings. She actually was hoping to wash away her guilt by getting them out of the town, but it seems like she can't just atone for her selfishness that easily…
After the two of them are now well hidden in the alleyways from the street while the great commotion from the north district is currently going on. Zarba starts to summon his soldiers into the alley; as he first summoned his ranger knights, he also decided to finally give his template the worthy name of Zar-Bro.
"Zar-Bro…?" Xin gives him a strange look while he ignores her and summons the Zar-Bros, fifty of them, into the alley before commanding them to join the four Zar-Bros on the road.
Next he summoned his new template, the Gay-Bros, as they popped up into existence in a similar getup to their original, but their skin was pure white with bald heads and faceless like mannequins.
"So this is what your summons looks like…" Xin said with interest while she observed the summoned units that didn't have armor to hide their skin and features this time. She feels like they are really a construct, like a golem.
And half a minute later there are now fifty of the Gay-Bros standing in the alleyways waiting for their orders. Zarba then commands them to join the Zar-Bros as he begins to summon more Gay-Bros into the alley.
'I am just going to simply flood them with an endless tide of bodies…!' Zarba thought with a malicious smirk as he planned to overwhelm the mercenaries with the waves of his summons. "Let's see how long they can defend the gate under the constant Gay-Rush…"
In the alleyways, Zarba's sinister chuckle could be heard as the group of mannequin-like men moved out to the street...
÷×÷×÷
At the mercenaries' side behind the barricade, the mercenaries were joking around at each other—until their laughter died mid-guffaw as they spotted a group of silhouettes emerging from the alleyway: four black-armored knights stepping into the mud of the main road in the distance, their armor gleaming under the sunlight. Then not long after, dozens more emerge from the alley as they join the four in a three-line formation. The mercenaries exchanged uneasy glances; these weren't panicked townguards. One of the mercenaries spat into the mud, hefting his axe. "Oi! Oi! They're just fifty-something—"
Before the mercenary could finish ridiculing the knights, another group suddenly emerged from the alley and filled out the road with more figures—faceless, bald, pure white-skinned men lined up like the knights in eerie silence, causing him to swallow his words.
From fifty it became a hundred, then two hundred. The mercenaries' morale began to waver as they cursed since the alleyways seemed to vomit forth an endless tide of pure white men in kilts and swords.
"Finally…!" The female warrior pushed off the wall, her greatsword humming as she spun it in her hand. Her purple eyes beneath the helmet narrowed at the forming force.
"No warriors," she murmured, almost disappointed that it is not a fellow warrior or even human that she can cross swords with. "Hmph, doesn't matter; it's still better than just standing around…"
Then one of the mercenaries, who regained his common sense first, quickly barked orders, his voice cracking. "What the fuck are you all doing?! Archers! Loose! Loose now!"
And a moment later a rather modest volley of arrows and bolts soon arced toward the strange pure white men that kept coming from the alley.
Then the metal clanged resoundingly as the projectiles got deflected by the swords or sunk into the Gay-Bros' rubbery flesh—no blood, no cries, just the wet thud of impacts and silence. The summoned units didn't falter as they started marching onward fast after getting attacked; while they trampled muddy puddles under their boots, their silence was more unnerving than any war cry to the mercenaries.
Seeing that her enemies were finally marching towards them, the bikini armor-clad warrior also lunged forward at great speed like a cheetah. Her greatsword became a silver blur that could hardly be caught with an average person's eye, cleaving through five charging Gay-Bros in a single horizontal sweep, and their torsos split in two like a piece of wood, spilling no viscera—only shimmering dust motes that dissolved mid-air.
"Hah, as expected…" Seeing them easily destroyed, the bikini armor warrior snorted quietly beneath her helmet, already lunging toward another cluster of Gay-Bros.
"Pathetic puppets!" Her blade met their swords with a deafening clang that echoed off the buildings as their swords got cut in two while the Great Warrior continued her onslaught in the middle of the charging Gay-Bros. Behind her, the mercenaries immediately scrambled to stand behind the barricade as they got ready to face those Gay-Bros that slipped past the bikini-armor warrior charging towards them.
At the same time, on the back of the Gay-Bros army, the Zar-Bros, who didn't join the charge, are drawing their Alright bows before they release their enchanted magic arrows in unison at their targets on the gatehouse…