Blood Rider [Alonia's Queenslayer #1]

7

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"By the Great Sisters! That's a dragon!"

"May the gods bless me, there's so many!"

Eli gritted her teeth in annoyance. It was the tenth day of travelling, and they had been traveling through the Dragonlands and seeing all sorts of creatures all the time. Yet, the guards that she was travelling with were relentlessly getting shocked, scared, or impressed by dragons. They hadn't come close to any of them, luckily, or their fear would've been valid.

Ahead of Eli were the caravans. The king rode first with some nobles, then the commander and some warriors, then other nobles and finally, ten guards and Eli on horses. The formation had been switching up during the drip, but as the land of elves drew closer, the more organised they travelled. Eli had only been greeted by the commander and bowed to the king as he passed. That was all the interaction she had with anyone apart from the guard group. She was also given another horse, a large black stallion, and he seemed good enough. She did whish she had her life-saving mare, though.

The sun was travelling towards the horizon, turning the surrounding green of the trees into a fiery beauty. Eli rode at the head of the group of guards, as they trusted her more since she had been to the Dragonlands and through Linos before. They also weren't afraid to make smug comments about the fire scars that were clearly visible on the back of her neck.

Eli sighed and turned around to tell them to shut up, but when she looked behind her, her words got caught in her throat.

Behind the group, peering from the shadows, were three large, grotesque creatures. They were nearly twice as big as a human, with hunched backs and long, strong arms. Their facial figures were disfigured, and their skin colour was an unhealthy grey. One wielded a club, another a mace and one held a large battle hammer.

"Three trolls coming at us from behind! Warn the others, now!" Eli ordered. All the guards glanced behind them, terror clear in their eyes. One of them yelled out, another one fell off his horse, and one actually listened to Eli and rode faster, yelling that there were trolls following us.

"What do we do?" asked the lead guard as Eli came to a stop.

"I'll take care of them. Check the sides and protect the king. Ride for ten more minutes, a bit faster and wait for me," Eli said as all the other guards overtake them in their panic, all screaming and yelling. The lead guard glanced at Eli with uncertainty, but the proximity of the trolls made up his mind. He nodded.

"Good luck." The man quickly rode on. Eli glanced at the trolls. They were now eyeing her, the isolated target. She could feel a hint of fear creep up on her, but she kept it at bay. She needed to stop them. They got so close without any incidents. But it was Eli's duty to slay the monsters. She was sure it would be good publicity. But trolls... they were aggressive and merciless. Some understood human speech, but all were very dull.

"Halt. Stop following us," Eli said loudly. The trolls didn't acknowledge her words at all, still approaching. They were trying to circle her. There was no way Eli could fight all three at once – they were too big and too strong. They would crush her.

Eli cursed the king for picking to travel so close to Linos instead of delving deeper into the Dragonlands. She quickly dismounted, and her horse instantly moved a few steps away. Eli drew her sword, barely reaching it because of her armour.

The trolls' skin was as thick as her plating. Their only weak spot was their neck, and it was rather difficult to reach. One hit from their heavy weapons would heavily damage her and break her bones, or even kill her if it got her head or neck.