The group immediately took their position and pulled their weapons out, ready for whatever creature that made that scream to come out. This has become something akin to second nature to the group.
Whenever they hear a weird noise, their first instinct is to grab their weapons and be ready for battle. It didn’t matter if the noise was far or close, they had to be always ready for battle no matter the situation.
“What was that?” Emmy asked as she looked around her and saw nothing. The place was still as tranquil as ever. There was no movement or disturbance except for this sudden screech.
*BOOOOM*
Then, the group suddenly heard a loud explosion that shook the ground beneath them followed by a louder screech of total agony and pain.
“What the hell is going on?!” Herculia grumbled.
“Don’t put your guard down!” Danny clenched his teeth.
“Can you feel that… Isla?” Arthur asked coldly, his eyes looked in one particular direction.
“I can feel it…” Isla looked in the same direction and nodded.
“It’s giving me goosebumps.” The boy clenched his sword when he realized what he was feeling at that moment. Whatever was the cause of that scream, it wasn’t a weak monster by any means. After all the powerups he went through, for a monster to give him goosebumps means that it was extremely strong.
“Should we go that way?” Isla asked him.
The direction led them around the foot of the mountain to the other side where this monster was.
“We should check and see but try to stay hidden. Something is telling me there is more than one thing right there.” He said as he started moving forward.
“Are we sure, Isla?” Emmy asked.
“…” The latter thought for a moment before she sighed. “We should check, just in case. This thing might get in our path either way.”
Arthur walked around the foot of the mountain until he reached a point where the noise was at its loudest. As he got closer, he started recognizing other noises that were drowned by the screeches of the monsters.
‘Wait, could it be?’ Feeling a deep suspicion welling in his heart. Then, he slid behind a rock and peeked at the sight of the battle. Right there, he witnessed it.
A giant creature standing on both feet was running wildly around like a crazed ape. Its body was covered in white fur from head to toe, leaving only its hideous face visible. Its large body and overwhelming aura made it very intimidating to look at. Even Arthur felt a chill down his spine when he saw it. However, to the ones standing right in front of it, it didn’t seem to be a problem at all.
‘Is that a fucking Yeti?! No, this thing has six eyes and four arms. It looks terrifying!’ Arthur frowned. While it did have some similarities with the mythical creature called ‘Yeti’ this monster was arguably far more hideous than that one.
‘… The ones fighting this thing are far more terrifying, though.’
The monster was in a brutal battle with several humans clad in thick fur coats carrying large weapons on their shoulders that were at least several hundred kilograms in weight each. The three of them spread around the monster, attacking him relentlessly.
*BANG*
Arthur saw one of them swing his hammer at the monster, sending the creature stumbling on the ground. Then, the second one stabbed forward with the greatsword, piercing the monster’s abdomen.
As a last resort, the creature screeched as it started smashing the ground and kicking everywhere in complete madness. The swordsman wasn’t able to run away in time as one of the kicks smashed into his body and sent him flying.
“Now!” The hammer warrior yelled as the third man quickly rushed toward the monster and leaped in the air, reaching its neck with ease. Then, the man swung his comically large scythe.
*Swish*
The weapon swiftly sliced the monster’s head as if it were a piece of butter. Blood splurted from the severed neck like a fountain as the monster’s entire body fell to the ground motionless.
“… Wow…” Without realizing it, the boy gasped in shock.
Arthur was completely entranced by what he had witnessed. This small segment of the fight, as brief as it was, hit him hard. The three men were so swift and lethal in their teamwork that he didn’t even realize when the monster was already dead. Their coordination was almost flawless and their power was horrifying.
Arthur knew that sending something as big as that monster flying required an unfathomable amount of strength.
‘Who are these people?’
Quietly, he stared at the three men as they approached the dead monster.
“Huh? What-”
At that moment, Arthur heard Herculia’s voice near him. In the time he was watching the fight, the others had reached him. But, they weren’t aware of what was happening.
“Shush!” Arthur puts his hand on his friend’s mouth before he can speak. ‘We don’t know if these people are hostile or not.’
“Hm? Hmm, hmmm…” Herculia hummed through Arthur’s hand until the boy released his hand.
“Stay quiet, they could hear us.” He whispered to the others as he pointed at the three men. “They have killed that monster on their own. They aren’t weak.”
“… What? That thing?” Emmy gasped.
“We need to quietly leave. They don’t look friendly.” Danny replied coldly.
“Those clothes…” The only one that seemed to be occupied by something else was Isla. Her eyes followed the three men with a terrifying sharpness.
“Isla?”
“That attire… I have heard about it back in the village. Look at their chests.” She said.
The group instinctively peeked again at the three men. That was when they noticed what she meant. Etched into their armor was a large crest made out of gold. It’s corners were drawn as pillars while a single silhouette stood in the middle, shining with pure divine light.
“What’s that?” Arthur asked.
“I… When I was going around the village doing quests, I learned a lot about the Last Empire. That crest, if I’m not wrong, belongs to the Royal Mercenaries.”
“Royal Mercenaries?” Emmy asked. “Who are they?”
“They’re a group of people that work under the royal family. They are notorious for being one of the strongest forces the Empire has simply because they’re ready to do all the dirty work for the royal family in exchange for money and status.” She explained.
“Shit, that doesn’t sound pleasing to the ear at all,” Herculia muttered. “Look at those large weapons, for god’s sake, that’s insane.”
“That’s why we need to leave quietly and take another turn. I don’t want to fight them.” Danny frowned. He felt the overwhelming aura those three had.
As the group was discussing their next move, one of them didn’t notice a small pebble close by and tried to step back, only for that pebble to roll away and hit another rock, making a small noise.
Everybody froze in place at that very moment.
“Hm? Who’s there?”
‘Goddamit!’ Arthur clenched his teeth when he heard the man.
“Did you hear that?”
“I did. Something is hiding behind that rock. Go check.”
‘Perfect! They didn’t even take a moment to think about it!’ Arthur sucked a breath before he looked at Isla.
“I’m going out, you lot stay here.”
“What? Are you insane? What if they attack you?”
“Better than getting cornered like this. If I get attacked, you can come out.” Arthur replied. “Or better yet, ambush them when they least expect it. I will take their attention.”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
