An emergency meeting was held with vassals of Lord Halvark as they discussed the information they had obtained from the mercenaries and merchants that had traveled to the Halvark territory.
"It's a monster… I've read what kind of beings they are, but I haven't seen them in person like this before."
"You said they had green skin, a short stature, and long ears like elves. If so, it's a goblin isn't it?"
"Most likely. What kind of beings are they described as in the literature within the library here?"
"It is said that they attack humans, thieve supplies, apply poison to weapons and rape human women…."
"…It looks like a humanoid creature as well."
Lord Halvark laughed at someone's words. Goblins robbed possessions from traveling groups and used poison to kill others, as well as rape. They sounded just like human thieves to him.
"So how do you think we should respond?"
"… … ."
The vassals turned speechless at Lord Halvark's words. They were also thinking the same question in their minds, but didn't have an answer either. Lord Halvark sighed.
'Is this what Van Ester was trying to warn me about?'
Van Ester had warned Lord Halvark to start arming his forces and tightening the security around the walls of his estate before he left. Lord Halvark wondered at the time what he should do it for, but nonetheless kept the words in mind.
It would have been nice if Van Ester had explained in more detail to him about what was coming though. Lord Halvark felt bitter at the unexpected situation. Suddenly, one of the older vassals, sporting a long and white beard, spoke up and broke the silence.
"Unfortunately, the characterization of these monsters was written to be quite savage in the literature, but there was no countermeasure written to combat these creatures in the literature. Even if we look through the other books, I didn't find any specific methods described on how to fight them. I think we should draft a letter up to the capital and wait for a response."
"Weren't you still alive back in the days when monsters were present in the world? Are you saying even though you were alive back then, you don't know of any methods?"
"I do not…."
At Lord Halvark's words, the vassal smiled bitterly. He was over sixty. The monsters had disappeared from the world over fifty years ago. It wasn't wrong of Lord Halvark to wonder why the old man hadn't known of any methods. But, most humans were hiding in shelters away from the monsters as the warriors and Empire's forces were the ones to carry out large scale subjugations and were the only experienced warriors that had knowledge of how to combat the creatures. Most people did not even dare to confront one, let alone fight one.
"At the time, I was still a child. The battles against the monsters were the responsibility of the adults. Besides, it's been over fifty years."
It was a different time and a different era all together. The years had passed by and the eras had changed with them. This generation was surely different from the past generation and the same might be said for those monsters as well.
"That's why the response method wasn't written in the literature."
The reason for not leaving any records of how to provide countermeasures to the monsters recorded in literature, was because monsters were not fools. They would also adapt and evolve just as much as humans did. New methods and strategies had to be drafted.
Back then, the monsters had also not directly clashed with humanity under a unified front. The Demons had done that against humanity, sure. But, the monsters also fought amongst each other, lessening the burden on humanity back then.
The conclusion was that none of them knew how to respond. An uncomfortable silence settled in the meeting room.
"…Are you sure they are approaching and moving in this direction?"
"Yes. We sent scouts to confirm, but the monsters are coming directly towards this location. A fight will be unavoidable at this rate."
"How on earth did these monsters just pop out of nowhere? Not only that, but this is too close to the capital to be called a coincidence. Things could turn dangerous if we do not defend properly."
Someone clicked their tongue as they heard the last comment. Since the Halvark Territory was close to the center of the Empire and the capital, it was fortified through several layers of defense from other cities. So if anyone wanted to invade, they had to go through multiple territories to do so. But suddenly packs of monsters had appeared. Something was weird, but there was no time to worry about the details. They had enough things on their plate, having to first survive the monster's attack.
Lord Halvark closed his eyes. His head felt dizzy and light-headed. He needed a break and some sleep. But he couldn't do so, since if he did at this point the manor would fall into confusion
"You sent someone to the capital. Did you get a response yet?"
"No, they haven't come back yet. Weird, they would have arrived by now…"
"Is there not enough room for error right now…"
The Halvark estate was near the capital. If this territory collapsed, the threat would directly threaten the capital. Still, if the response from the ca[ital was late, there were only two things that could have possibly happened. Either the Empire intended to abandon the Halvark territory, or the Empire itself was struggling with other similar requests from other territories. Either result was not good news.
"Why the hell is this happening! Those bastards disappeared over 50 years ago, why do they have to show up now of all times?!"
One of the vassals, who seemed to be younger than thirty, cried out, striking the table in anger. There was a subtle trace of fear present in his eyes.
'I'm not sure this will work?'
Lord Halvark felt worried about this younger generation facing these monsters. This generation thought swordsmanship was just for showing off, and real armor was cumbersome and annoying. They had never experienced true war and looked rather unpromising as a whole.
Their innocence of not knowing the experience of war time was alright, but their mindset was a problem. It was due to them being forced to the frontlines because of the huge generation gap between the generations that had last faced these monsters and demons. That generation was too old to fight, or had all died off.
'More than anything… This won't be the end'
The vassals and residents of the territory were only thinking and worried about the current wave of monsters, but Lord Halvark knew. That the monsters appearing now, were most likely only the tip of the iceberg. There would only be more strife and hardship to come later.
It was a bleak future. Lord Halvark felt distressed as he rubbed his temples and kept his gaze down.