"We are here," a group of 15 men and women were at the entrance to the Dark Valley. Most of them wore nothing but trunks and small top with weapons of varying sizes and types hanging on their backs or strapped to their waists. Some had swords strapped to their waists. There were light sword users and heavy sword users. There was even a woman with a zweihander strapped to her back. There were also people with axes and hammers. There were also about two of them who had spears clinging to their backs, and two more with clubs made from pure metal. Yet the one thing they shared in common was their auras. Each of them had the aura of a powerhouse. Some had auras denser than the others, but of all of those here none was weaker than a Pseudo Nightmare!
Of the fifteen, 5 were at the High Level of the Pseudo Nightmare Realm. Another 5 were at the Peak of the Pseudo Nightmare Realm. And the last five people were at the Nightmare Realm! Of the five who were at the Nightmare Realm, one was at the Low Level Nightmare Realm, two were at the Mid-Level of the Nightmare Realm, another one was at the High Level of the Nightmare Realm, and the last person who happened to be the strongest person and leader for this expedition was at the Peak of the Nightmare Realm.
The one who spoke earlier was a woman. She had long black hair and deep red eyes. She was beautiful, much like every other woman here and she had the aura of one who looked down on the world from a gaping height. She was one of the sword users, and had a large heavy sword strapped to her back. This sword was for only those with amazing physical ability and that was because it was a zweihander! Not only was her weapon impressive, but her aura was magnificent. For she was one of the Nightmares in this group! Her High Level Nightmare Realm aura wasn't restrained, and its might kept every curious creature at bay.
"We are late by a day," there was another woman standing next to the zweihander user. No, it was rather the zweihander user who stood next to her. And that was because within this group of fifteen this woman was the leader. She was also very beautiful and had red eyes just like the zweihander wielder. Her long black hair was slightly longer, just ending right above her buttocks. She had a large axe strapped to her back, and her red eyes were squinted slightly as she gazed at the entrance of Dark Valley, a place she had been to only a few times in her life. And definitely not since she became the captain of the Night Patrol.
With her status she wasn't supposed to be at a place like this. Scouring Dark Valley was reserved for Pseudo Nightmare Level Teams. But her team was a Nightmare Level one, so she wasn't supposed to be here. Life was strange at times. A place she thought she would never see again was before her. And her duty was go bring back the one who killed the Princess. But she was to do that without killing him. And that was why there were so many powerhouses here. Although the culprit was only a Pseudo Nightmare, he was able to kill the Princess who was a Low Level Pseudo Nightmare with combat ability of a Mid-Level Pseudo Nightmare. So they brought more than enough men and women for the job.
"We are," the woman with the zweihander acknowledged her leader's sentiments. "But none of us could have foreseen the interruption of the Ancients," she added, and the leader nodded her head.
"It's a good thing we were able to still get here at this time," the zweihander wielder spoke once again.
"We lost ten people Chichi," the captain of the Night Patrol sighed and said. Although majority were still able to get away, they still lost ten barbarians to that unforeseen interruption. Those ten were strong fighters, and amongst them were two Nightmares who fell to the enemy's blade. The two Nightmares were captains of two other teams that had been dispatched. There were 5 teams that had been chosen for this mission, with the captain of Night Patrol chosen as the leader. But before the mission had even started, they had lost two captains and 8 team members. Although no Night Patrol member nor any of Chichi's men had died, it was still a huge loss. As for those who had made it here, they were only able to after successfully shaking off their enemies. Chichi was the Captain of another elite team, one that was comparable to Night Patrol. Her team was called Sunset Bloom. She had a good relationship with the Night Patrol captain, having been friends with her for over a decade, although their relationship didn't start off that way.
"We can never have a mission without casualties, Camila," Chichi, the zweihander High Level Nightmare smiled wryly and said.
"I know. But it is disheartening to lose numbers even before a mission starts," Camila stated.
"Indeed. But the person we are up against shouldn't be a challenge. He is weaker than the weakest person here. So we should be able to get this done pretty easily." Chichi replied.
"You are right," Camila nodded her head and took her eyes off the Dark Valley. She took a few steps back, and started walking to the horses that had been tied to the side.
"Everyone! We didn't arrive here in time." She addressed the several other Barbarians who were here with her. Each of them paid attention to her, whether they were members of the Night Patrol, or members of other teams. Right now they were her subordinates, and they were under strict orders to listen to her without any complaints.
"We have missed our target. It is likely that he has already made it into the Dark Valley. And that means that we have no choice but to wait for him." Camila stated, and many of the barbarians frowned.
The Dark Valley was large and difficult to navigate, even for barbarians. It was stupid to go searching for someone in it, so Camila's suggestion was the best and only thing they could do. But they didn't like the prospect of having to wait indefinitely. The frustration of having lost some comrades and the helplessness of having to wait for some nobody was starting to get to them. And they swore that they would make the one who dared kill their princess pay for bringing them so many inconveniences. Even though they couldn't kill him, nothing was said about how healthy the boy was supposed to be when they brought him back. So torture was still very much part of the equation.
"In the meantime, we shall set up some traps and barricade the area. We cannot allow other members of the three races to go in." Camila ordered, and everyone nodded their heads. Since their order was to bring the boy back alive, they couldn't risk having other races interfering and either helping the boy to escape, or killing the boy. Since the three races were in constant disagreements with each other, it was more likely that they would help the boy escape if they saw that the barbarians were trying to capture him. It would be done out of spite, but since it would make them feel really good they wouldn't mind putting their lives on the line to do something like that.
"The Night Patrol is in charge of the barricading. Sunset Bloom would set the traps. And the remaining members of Fire Flash would join the surviving members of Thorned Horns under Captain Nasir. You are in to remain on the lookout for any unwelcome guests. Dismissed."
Camila dished out orders quickly and efficiently, and everyone got to work. Well, everyone except the largest man in the entire group. This man was about two and a half metres tall, with a large shaggy beard and fierce eyes. His hair was brown, and so was his beard. He had a large hammer hanging from the side of his waist. He approached Camila slowly, and gestured that he wanted to speak to her.
"What is it Nasir?" Camila asked. The large bearded man was called Nasir. The man was so big that Camila who was a tall lady and stood at about 1.9 meters looked like a child before him. He was the captain of Thorned Horns. Thorned Horns had lost two men in the earlier ambush, and those positions were now filled by the remaining survivors from the other teams that didn't make it.
"The boy; is he an ancient?" Nasir went straight to the point. There was no need for small talk between captains. He wasn't close to Camila like Chichi was. But his relationship with her wasn't poor either. However, it wasn't at the stage where they would need to make small talk between themselves.
"Honestly, I don't know," Camila shook her head with a bitter smile on her face. She couldn't help but admire Nasir's mind. The man may look like a brute, but he was very far from that. Nasir was highly intelligent, and it was his intelligence that held more renown than his strength. The only reason he wasn't leading the team was because the other captains objected to it, saying that the strongest and not the wisest, should be leading the charge. And since the mission wasn't considered a complicated one, the Elders agreed. But now those captains who opposed him were dead. The irony in it wasn't lost to Camila.
"Because it is seems like too much of a coincidence that we were attacked by them once we were out. And that seems too strange to me." Nasir narrowed his eyes and said. They thought Mane was human at first. But thinking about it, which human other than the Black Dragon had been able to enter the ranks of Pseudo Nightmares? And one so young too? He couldn't be an Elemental because Ivor had personally thrown him under the bus, and he was no barbarian. So that left one race – the race of Ancients.
"Indeed. But if they were there to protect the boy, why did they retreat after a while?" Camila asked. Perhaps the greatest inconsistency was the fact that their enemies had let them go. And that was what she couldn't understand. Chichi and the others thought that they had been able to escape, but only the truly discerning like Nasir realized that that was far from the truth. Their pursuers had just given up halfway into the chase. They had only escaped because they were allowed to.
"I don't know. But it almost feels like they were dwindling the numbers to a level that could be dealt with." Nasir stated with a serious expression on his face.
"Pff. You think he can deal with us? He is a Pseudo Nightmare teenager. It is impressive, yes. But talent isn't going to save him when he's up against so many Pseudo Nightmares and actual Nightmares." Camila stated with a slight chuckle. To her, Nasir's words were not to be taken seriously.
"I guess you are right. I must be overthinking things." Nasir admitted. He too felt that he was thinking too much into the entire situation."