Eclair and her soldiers nodded and took a fighting stance.

“It seems like you lowlifes thought this was going to be easy, but today is not your lucky day. You probably expected to crush the villagers, but the only thing getting crushed tonight is you!”

I dashed forward to provide Raphtalia with backup.

“Tsk! Everyone! Pull out!”

The boss raised his sword and ordered his men to withdraw, but Raphtalia and Keel both brandished their weapons and leapt at him. The boss warded off the attacks with his sword and locked blades with Raphtalia. He attempted to deliver a swift kick to Keel while he was struggling with Raphtalia, but Keel saw through the attack and dodged it by half a step.

“Hiiiyaaaaa!”

“Ugh!”

The boss guarded against Raphtalia’s katana with his own sword. He was nearly thrown backward but steadied himself just as Keel’s sword grazed his armor.

“Damn you! Don’t get cocky, you demi-human scum!”

There was a loud explosion that came from right where their blades were locked together. Magic!? Now they were getting fancy on us! Looking more closely, I could see that there was someone in the rear providing support by casting magic.

“I’m not done yet!”

Unfazed by the explosion, Raphtalia spun around and sliced sideways with her katana.

“Whoa!”

The guy had a good eye, if nothing else. But he was forgetting something important.

“Unfortunately for you, you picked the wrong opponent. You just might have lived a long life if you hadn’t gone and done something as stupid as attacking the village under the protection of the Shield Hero.”

That’s right. He was forgetting that I was here. I grabbed the boss by the collar and pulled him to me.

“Argh . . . Let go!”

“Yeah right! There’s no running from this, you coward! This is the Shield Hero’s fight!”

I signaled to Raphtalia and Keel with my eyes.

“Here I go!”

Raphtalia sheathed her katana momentarily before drawing it once again, as if she were about to perform a finishing move.

“Instant Blade! Mist!”

“This is for everyone you hurt!”

Keel swung her sword and landed a direct hit immediately following Raphtalia’s skill.

“Arggghhhhh!”

Blood splattered all over me, but I couldn’t have cared less. The guy got what he deserved. The boss went limp and his armor was in shreds. I shoved him away and he fell to the ground.

“Ahhh!”

Having finally realized that they had picked a fight with the wrong person, the other slave hunters began screaming in fear. I may not have been using the Shield of Wrath, but I probably still looked like a monster to them.

“Come now, it’s time to confess your sins . . . and pay the price, you scumbags!”