Leave a comment

As George directed his full attention to his rebellious younger brother, a 25 year old, handsome hunter with a center parting hairstyle that flowed to his shoulders nocked an arrow to his bow.

A moment later, an arrow flew straight at a fleeing soldier’s head, ending the man instantly.

Due to the suddenness of this attack, no one was able to react, not even George.

However, that stunned silence did not last long as a wave of anger washed over the man. “Moranthal! What do you think you’re doing?! Are you mad?!”

“I’m not mad, nay, you’re the one that has lost his mind.” Moranthal did not withdraw his bow, instead nocking another arrow. As he pulled back the bowstring, he mocked the man. “You’re too calm about this, as you’ve always been. Cold-blooded, even.”

At the mention of “blood”, he fired his second arrow.

Once more, the arrow flew sure, ending the life of a fleeing soldier.

Moranthal was a four-star warrior, and a hunter at the same time; there was no way his arrows would be dodged by a mere two-star.

With two of their comrades dead by arrow, even the dumbest of soldiers had figured out that someone was sniping them. These were elite soldiers, not fools. They merely seemed like one because of the gigantic stone monster trying to murder them.

The leader of this particular unit was a six-star officer. His armor was noticeably more ornate than the rest of his men, with even hints of a defensive array carved onto it.

“Do not panic. Form up and raise the defenses!”

A wise decision in a chaotic situation. Having given the orders, the officer strode towards the villagers; he clearly had something to say to these peasants.

He knew the villagers were responsible for those arrows. And with those experts stalling that frightening monster in the background, they could only rely on themselves to resolve this situation.

Naturally, he did not think that such a faraway village would possess any expert of their own, but what if…

Charging at the villagers without first rallying the troops could lead to an even worse outcome anyway.

The fact that the villagers had waited till now to act meant that they had their own reasons for doing so. If there was a silver lining to be had, it was that only two arrows had been fired off so far. In all likelihood, those two arrows were fired by an archer who was dissatisfied with them, and this archer was in the scant minority.

Truthfully speaking, this officer was already beside himself for having to stoop so low as to address these peasants, but he dared not act rashly in this sensitive situation.

Calmly, he watched the villagers merely dozens of meters away from him fight amongst themselves. Or rather, it was one particular person they were fighting against. However, the crowd was too thick, and he was unable to locate the perpetrator.

A soldier wasn’t just a simple fighter. Each soldier represented the nation they fought for. Should anyone decide to take aim at one, they had better be ready to face the consequences.

The brave and wise officer knew that now was the time for caution; to prevent his hidden foe from doing anything rash. While he did not think that he would lose to some village hunter, he would much prefer if his men did not die in vain.

Besides, with his prestigious background, it should not be a problem to have these peasants scurrying back to their hovels. A couple of threats, and they should know where their best interests laid. This was the tried and tested method of intimidating the commoners.

By the time he had those peasants in a panic, his troops should have reformed themselves, and at that point, he could easily run rampant over these peasants. Perhaps he could even pay a visit to their village.

“Lowly peasants! How dare you…”

The plan was set. But just as the officer was about to pull his sternest impression of a noble, an arrow came flying right at him.

The officer only had time to notice the black flash in the air, at which point his honed instincts made him duck to the side. However, that meant the soldier behind him was now in the line of fire.

Not at all expecting such an attack, the poor soldier was struck dead before his superior was even done doding…

“Moranthal!” George grabbed the hunter’s hands. “Are you trying to push us all into the depths of the abyss?”

Moranthal had already expected some form of retaliation and dodged the incoming hand easily. “Aren’t we already there?”

Yet George wasn’t the only villager Moranthal had to deal with now. A number of villagers were of the same mind as George.

“Moranthal, we all wish to help Lady Mo Ke, but there’s no way we can stand against the Duke’s men…”

“Moranthal, stop. No matter what, Lady Mo Ke is still a devil…”

“Moranthal, are you trying to get us all killed–”

“Fools! Do you really believe those soldiers will forgive us now that I’ve killed three of their own?” Moranthal glared at the approaching officer with cold eyes. As he stared down the ornately-armored man, he slowly pulled out another arrow and smirked. “To these little lordlings, I’m the same as you guys. And they don’t seem like the listening sort either. Put yourselves in their shoes for a second… Would you even listen when three of your comrades were just shot dead?”

Immediately, the rising anger died down amongst the villagers. His words were like a bucket of the coldest water, splashed upon them in the dead of winter…

At this point, they had no choice but to accept the cold hard truth. From the moment that first arrow was fired, they were pulled into the same camp as the Demoness Abode. At least to these soldiers, they were all cultists in league with the devils.

Even George knew not what to say right now.

He knew better than anyone else that there was no going back.

“Well? What are you all waiting for? While they are still in disarray, kill them all! Do not let a single one of them leave this place alive… if you value your lives!”

Moranthal fired off his fourth arrow then. Not too far away, the brave and wise officer knew his master plan had just failed…