Lanon walked inside the camp of the Guardsmen of Throes, carrying the Hob's head. The Hob left a bloody trail and those who saw him were surprised that their coward was able to bring a monster's head. Lanon ignored most of their queer stares. He walked into the tent where the doctor was and sat on the stool.
The doctor eyed him, "You look like shit."
"I am, doctor," said Lanon. "I have a Hob's head. Can I ask for treatment for this?"
The Doctor took the Hob's head that was offered. "Ears are punctured, the eyes are slashed, and severe damage inside the head. How did you take down this lower monster?"
"Two stakes in the ears, and a sharpened rock to the eyes. My spear broke so I have to make do with what I found in the forest." He rounded his arm. "Doc, I would love to talk about this but can treat me? I think I am going to faint."
"Let me see," the doctor neared Lanon. "Hurt your back from a tree eh?" he nodded. "Looks like you've done well in surviving considering your record. I've told the commander that you should be good as a scout and looks like I was right. I don't know why he's sending you to the hot zones."
"The monsters are still around," said Lanon. "Every single day a guardsman dies because of the Higher Monsters. The monsters we are hunting are middle-tier monsters. Most of the Higher Monsters that came from the barren lands have taken control of the lower monsters like this bastard." He knocked the Hob's head.
"I guess you actually listen," said the Doctor. "That's right. Most of the monsters we are lower-tier monsters controlled by the Higher Monsters of the Barren Lands. The scale monsters that wiped the squad yesterday belong to the middle-tier monsters. These are monsters with harden defenses but they do not have the magical defenses of the Higher Tier monsters which we would need a master of the arcane to deal with. All these deaths are not something to laugh about." He eyed Lanon. "That's why I asked you are not hanging upon a tree. We need manpower to deal with the threats."
"I see," Lanon smiled wearily. "So does killing this Hob make me useful?"
"Barely," said the Doctor. "Anyone could kill a Hob as long as they can cut the back of their knees and bring them down. The moment I entered this organization I killed five Hobs every day. I needed to study the insides of these monsters and use them to test the drugs that I concoct." He eyed Lanon. "You should count killing a hob as a blessing. I can convince Leader not to hang you up in the tree. Lanon, I hate bastards who leave their comrades behind. But, we need every man right now that Oasis City has fallen. Come, I'll treat your wounds."
Lanon nodded gingerly. He let the Doctor take care of his wounds. He drank concoctions that stank like a dead frog and forced himself to swallow the concoctions down his throat. After that, his legs carried him to his tent where he rested and took care of his own bruises that the Doctor didn't treat. "Man up," said the Doctor to him.
"I thought that I killed something 'strong'. A lower-tier monster, give me a break." He thought internally. "I did all that yet that monster is considered weak and even the doctor could kill? What a big joke, this world truly is a big joke." He grabbed his forehead.
Helplessness, despair, bitterness, and sadness covered Lanon's heart. The proud feeling of killing a monster without any assistance vanished so easily without a single trace. He gritted his teeth in anger. He struggled to kill that yet monster but getting told outright that the monster he killed amount to nothing?
How could he feel great about that?
He did what he could and in the end, it didn't matter. The world that Lanon stands in was inherently cruel that people have grown jaded and strong. A monster like that was a threat to Lanon but it wasn't for those who were used to them. He could not rack his brain or fathom how they could live in such a world that they think that a monster that could break trees with its club was nothing but a 'low-tier' threat to them. He could understand why their mindset was like that. He could but yet in the end even among the people he was of the lowest tier.
A weak nobody that was considered as useless on their own standards on what a strong man should be. Lanon could understand yet at the same he could not. He was no warrior. He was only good at running or climbing around. He was useless when it comes to a straight fight and he knew that unless he goes into a life-changing situation that he might change as a person. He might turn into a wonderful warrior, a soldier of fortune, a veteran with a lot of experiences or a monster in a human form.
Yet at the moment he was a Guard A that amount to nothing. Here inside his tent, he was aching from his bruises caused by monster considered weak even to the guards. Lanon felt miserable to the point of crying, yet he could not complain or dare to voice out the thoughts inside his head. He can never cry. He can never beg or act as if he was afraid. He needed to act like a local.
"I should be happy that I am alive at least, or should I be mad that I am still alive? Or is this a dream and a nightmare that I might never wake from? Even living is suffering, yet here I am foolishly trudging forward despite the hardship that I am facing. Am I a masochist? I have a way to thrust a blade to my throat or cut my wrist yet here I am thinking of it only. Am I coward or a brave man for continuing on despite all of this suffering?" he thought.
Lanon didn't know the answer to his own thoughts. That's why he can only ponder about it as the winds gently caress the walls of his tents.
...
Sir Rave trod the grounds along with his guardsmen. Their faces had the air of depression as they move their feet along the road. In their hunt against the middle-tier monsters, they lose another ten of their men who died bravely. Every single day they have to watch their comrade die because of these monsters.
"Sir, it is Da's Mill," one of his guardsmen said.
Sir Rave slowly moved his eyes to the Da's Mill. The mill was used to sort out the rice berries, the product of the local which have grown their roots over the years of settling down. The Teresina Settlements are still highly populated with lower and middle-tier monsters. The recent events of the fall of Oasis City made the settlements restless and gloomy. The Da's Mill was one of the popular mill and the biggest mill in the place. Sir Rave could recall that rice berries are sorted out by the size of the berry beads. Each of these berries is sold by their size.
"Look at this mill," said Sir Rave. "Once teeming with workers yet empty because of the monsters. What a sad scene!"
"Sir," said a soldier with a low voice. "Look at that." He pointed at the field where the rice berries are usually placed. There was a man in a cloak with two sigils on his cloak. He carried a well-made blade that was rather dirtier but was still exceptionally sharpened.
Sir Rave could tell that the person wanted the blade only for practical use. He didn't care for how it looked but only how it would work against his enemies. The man in a hooded cloak moved slowly through the fields and slowly impaled the buck-tooth child-like monsters with brown skin with his sword. His movements were precise and calculated as he crept along the shadows and become it as he kills along the field.
"He's skilled," commented the soldier. "I wouldn't want to fight alone in that field. It looks like there are warrior hobs eating the berries inside the mill, Sir."
Sir Rave observed the four hobs that were eating the sacks of rice berries. Killing them would make enough noise yet the man with the cloak carried his steps lightly and killed as if he knew where to strike. The crossbow he carried easily shot inside the ears of the Hob Warriors, and they all fell down and when the other lowly creatures noticed the death of the hobs, the man with the hooded cloak has already taken the watchers and sniped the remaining guards with his crossbow.
The rest of the pack scattered the moment they found out about the fallen. They quickly rushed at the man with the hooded cloak only to be put to the sword by the man. By the time the wind from the east stopped blowing the monsters around the mill were killed with precision. What was left among the fields were the dead monsters and their own pool of blood.
The man with the hooded cloaked wiped his blade using the rags of the monsters he has slain. Sir Rave and his guardsmen watched with admiration and fear at the slayer that killed a den of monsters. Da's Mill has been on their life yet they continued to place it last on their list until the situation went bad. Yet, the monster in human form before them was able to clear the place as if he has done it for so many times.
Sir Rave could tell that the man was rather young. But, the sigils on his cloak told him that the man was a walker who possibly has walked so far that he was used to doing so. He couldn't understand how much a monster someone could be at the young age.
But how could he understand someone who has walked through hell every single day fighting beings beyond him? How could he understand the sufferings that the man with cloak experienced? Sir Rave could look at the warrior with admiration, yet he didn't dare to move and only talk.
"Tell the rest to go and secure Da's Mill. We shan't let any monster get near that place unless we want to waste this man's time. Look at that warrior, men. He did his task with absolute mastery and one day I hope that those who survive the current trials would become someone like that." He looked at everyone's eyes. "Men, we are facing a tribulation brought on by the Gods themselves. Even with the brave warriors, we were unable to defend Oasis City. We were not around at that time when Oasis needed us the most. It is because of this sin that we are now hunting these lowly monsters down. We have sinned and we shall repent by hunting down the monsters that dares to allies with the abominations of the barren lands."
The Guardsmen of Throes straightened their bodies. Their dominant hand held the shaft and hilts of their weapons. They looked at Sir Rave with a grim determination on their faces. Most of them felt distraught at the fall of Oasis. They lost loved ones and now they have to live repenting over their inability to protect their beloved city at her time of need.
In their mission, they lost five good men who died bravely. They had heavy hearts but seeing a show of bravery and skill made them motivated. If that man could do it then they should be able to do so too. They want to believe that they will be able to survive this tribulation and repent through slaying their enemies. They were the last of the Guardsmen of Throes and every single day many of them die. So at the moment, they could only be brave.
Sir Rave had troubles within his heart. Yet, he was reminded of what a human could do. What the Bleak Walkers are, and how they could possibly walk through lands that many men would despair. He respected these wandering men, and now he felt like he needed this kind of display to motivate his men. This reminded him of what a human could do and even at the face of these monsters, they can become monsters for the monsters too.