We had finally started the raid throughout the territory.Everyone had their spirits high; we could get seriously hurt here, even though we're under the protection of the territory soldiers. We never know what might actually happen in situations like this.The soldiers' morale was something I had never seen.Such as their discipline.Everyone was so relaxed, but once Patrick showed up, the atmosphere completely changed.Everyone grouped up so quickly, ready to depart at any moment.He always led the army from the front lines. His posture was so correct, so noble and composed.As if there was no other meant for that position.The crowd instantly silenced, everyone paying attention to HIM.The champion of the champions, and Knight of the Knights.Red Wolf of the North, and the one I call father.Patrick Von Ayer.I couldn't help but think about the expectations people might have for me.The thought that I, Richard Ayer, am expected to succeed such an amazing man.I couldn't help but sigh.Why did I have to be the son of aura farmers... like, for real.One is considered one of the strongest, even in the continent ranks; the other is considered to be one of the most beautiful women of the kingdom, if not the continent, fighting with the elves in terms of looks, not forgetting that she is considered a genius among the mages.And I am the product coming from them, I honestly don't know if I am lucky or not.We had walked a lot, going through hordes of monsters, but weirdly enough, we didn't go through any gang of bandits."This is weird," I said."What is?" Valkyrie asked, a little surprised by my break of the silence."If I'm not mistaken, this was supposed to be a monster and bandits' hunt," I said, giving a little but dramatic pause."But so far, we've only faced monsters," Jucelis finished, his expression telling that he was exactly thinking about what was happening."You have a point," Nibbo said. "And I don't think that the lord and his vassals committed a mistake; there's definitely something off.""Maybe they ran away once they noticed what was happening in the territory?" Joen said, "I mean, if I were one of them, I don't think I'd sit still waiting for the subjugation to reach me," he commented."You're right, my little disciple. But what's weird here is the fact that our scouts didn't even catch a glimpse of them," Jucelis said."Disciple? What do you mean by disciple?" Joen asked, clearly confused"Exactly, if it became a problem big enough for the lord and his vassals to create a subjugation team, and go out themselves after the bandits, you can be assured that it was no small number of bandits.""Hey, am I hearing things, or Jucelis just called me disciple?""Yeah, you guys are right, such a large gang wouldn't just vanish overnight, even if they fled, they had to be somewhere or at least leave signs of it behind, no way that a big group of bandits would worry themselves about hiding their tracks.""Guys, are we really just ignoring the fact that he just called me a disciple?""Oh no, my disciple, we are by no means trying to ignore you; we are just debating about something important here," Jucelis continued."There it is, again. Why are you calling me that?""Well, because I have plans for us, my little grasshopper, you have no Idea of the projects we have ahead. We are busy now, but once we're back, we'll be working on the projects focus on the projects.""Projects? What projects?""OH OH OH, my friend, you have no idea of what lies ahead, forget the master disciple thing, after this you ight even call me papa.""Dude, wtf are you even on about?""The projects, man, trust the projects.""Hey nutheads, you're starting to annoy me," Val said, seemingly ready to go down the path of aggression.While on the battlefield, she was definitely the scarriest of us all.We're considerably tied when it comes to strength alone.But I can't put into words a description of how terrifying she is when she's carrying her battle Axe arround.None of us, other than Kristoff, could be considered a natural monster hunter.It was weird, even though it is a monster, it is still a life.It can't be that easy to take one for the first time,It didn't become easy to deal with,But it became bearable,We all struggled with doing it, And even more complicated to do it with your own blade rather than magic.Because it was a direct contact,Slicing bones and cartilage,The sharp blade trespassing through flesh, a realm completely new to me, Far from all my experiences of either this or previous life.I didn't want to make a fuss over it, but it was so ingrained in me that I couldn't help but puke,I couldn't bring myself to eat for a while.It wasn't just me; we couldn't help it. The memory of it was engraved in our mindsA few days passed, and we kept going, doing it even tho it wasn't pleasantWe had topeople's lives depended on itIf we didn't do it, a lot of people would die because of these monsters and banditsIf left unscathed, they would rampage through villages, kill people, and kidnap women in order to increase their numbersThat's why this problem had to be dealt with this wayThe forest path narrowed without warning.What had once been wide enough for two wagons thinned into a crooked trail hugging a cliffside, roots clawing at stone, the drop beside us opening into a black-green ribbon of river far below. I could hear it even from here, the constant roar of water smashing itself against the valley floor."Single file," one of the soldiers muttered ahead. "Careful with"The sound cut him off.It wasn't a roar. Not at first.It was… pressure.
Branches snapping. Trunks bending. Something is forcing the forest open.I felt it in my chest before I understood it.From the left, deeper in the woods, the undergrowth exploded outward. Trees didn't sway; they were shoved aside. Leaves and splinters flew as if the forest itself were fleeing.Someone shouted, "Formation!"Too late.The space was wrong for it. The path was too tight, the cliff too close. Shields tangled. Boots slipped on loose gravel.Then they came.A horde of quadrupeds burst through the trees, massive, armored hides like cracked stone, heads low and horned, bodies shaped like grotesque, oversized rhinoceros. Their weight shook the ground. Each step was a hammer strike."The Rotten Horror" I heard someone shout.They didn't slow.They didn't turn.They ran through us.The impact was chaos. A soldier beside me vanished, swept clean off the path. Another screamed as the ground simply… disappeared under him."BRACE!" someone tried to shout.The cliff gave way.The world tilted.And then we were falling.Wind tore the breath from my lungs as the path disintegrated beneath us. Bodies tumbled together, armor flashing, hands grasping at nothing.Krystoff was beside me, eyes wide but sharp. We didn't look at each other. We didn't need to."MAGES!" I shouted, forcing air into my chest. "NOW! SLOW THE FALL!"I was already thinking about distance, velocity, and impact. The river was too far. The rocks are too jagged."Earthbelow us!" Krystoff barked. "Raise it! Shape it!"Wind howled as one of the mages forced air beneath the falling mass, not to stop us, just to steal speed. Another screamed through clenched teeth, water twisting upward from the river like a desperate hand, thickening into a cushion that slammed against the rocks.Stone surged.Not enough. Never enough.But enough to change death into impact.We hit.The landing shattered what little order remained. The shock punched through my legs, through my spine, rattling my teeth. Mud and water exploded upward. I tasted blood.For a moment, there was nothing but ringing.Then screams.Not many.Too few.I pushed myself up, hands shaking. The valley floor was a ruin of broken bodies, twisted armor, and blood darkening the wet earth. The magic had saved some of us.Most of the adults lie still.I counted quickly. Once. Twice.Two… no, three soldiers still breathing, but they didn't seem to be in exactly good shape. I saw broken arms and legs, and from their faces I could tell the excruciating pain they were in, not like I was in a much better state.Children. All of us.The forest above was silent now. The horde was gone, leaving only destruction in its wake.Krystoff staggered to his feet beside me, face pale but set."…We're alive," he said, as if testing the words."For now," I answered.I looked around at what remained of our Fang.And began assessing what we had left to survive with.