The order from Hespar wakes everyone up, whether they're asleep or not. But it was mainly directed to the three guards, Victor, Rory, and Sean, who are likely to be resting.
"Leader! There's a convoy coming in our direction. They're likely attracted by the bonfire in the middle of our camp. What is your order?" Terry approached the carriage and reported because he knew that Hespar was not asleep yet.
Victor, Rory, and Sean appeared ten to fifteen seconds later as Terry made his report. Paul, Ashley, and Selene also woke up from their rest and gathered around the camp for non-fighters.
"Help! Please!" the plea for help once again came from the incoming horse-drawn carriage. Although there's still a distance between them, the helpless tone made Hespar unable to reject their call.
"Sir, please forgive me for leaving in the middle of our discussion." Hespar turned around and spoke with the merchant before leaving the carriage. Then, without waiting for his delayed reply, Hespar hopped down from the carriage and donned his leather armor.
"Where's Alex?" Hespar's first concern is to check where are all the people at.
"On the lookout point. One of the guards is accompanying him. The other two are standing nearby if some monster might come out from that spot." Terry answered.
"Alright, Terry and Sean should take the south and east lookout point. Victor, Rory, and I will make our way to the incoming convoy to provide help. Do not leave the camp unless you hear any of us screaming, alright?" Hespar asked.
"Understood." Terry and Sean nodded.
"Good. Defense is not our priority. If anything happened, make sure everyone gathered together. The grouping point shall be the tent beside the bonfire, where Ashley, Selene, and Paul are. If possible, just tell Paul to..." the bonfire seems brighter as Hespar is about to mention something related to the fire.
"Treat it as if I never mention anything." Hespar chuckled. It seems that Paul is still his best buddy. At a time like this, that guy just had to remember Hector's advice to make an enormous fire for attention during emergencies related to monsters.
"Victor! Rory! Are you ready?" Hespar pulled his sword out and asked if they were ready to go.
"Ready whenever you are, leader." the two answered simultaneously, using the exact words as one another.
'Tsk... Don't copy me,' both of them clicked their tongue as they heard what the other said.
"Let's go!" Hespar made his move first. Victor and Rory followed him as the trio charged towards the horse-drawn carriage.
"Both of you will check for survivors. I'll be handling the monsters chasing them. There'll be around two to three people on that carriage from the number of torches they had." Hespar said as they approached the vehicle.
Hespar avoided crashing into the horse using an agile side jump. A smaller, more portable wooden stick was taken out and went aflame as he prepared to fight against the Forest Wolves chasing the carriage.
"Come here!" Hespar taunted the six Forest Wolves chasing the vehicle. He would likely give his act a second thought if this was happening in the afternoon. But since it was night and the light of sight was barely two meters away from his portable torch, it somehow diluted his fear away.
"Awoo!" one of the Forest Wolves howled in response to Hespar's taunt. Its action is no different from taking up the challenge.
Still, it was foolish for a beast to expose itself by making a loud noise. The noise allowed Hespar to pinpoint its location before swinging his torch like a club.
The fiery torch struck right on the nose of the beast, making it cry in pain. And borrowing the light from the torch that now illuminates the Forest Wolf thoroughly, Hespar ruthlessly stabs his sword through its throat.
Witnessing the death of a companion made the remaining Forest Wolves pay more attention to Hespar. But their action only shows more weaknesses as Hespar fought valiantly with a weapon in both hands.
The burning torch could stagger and scares them, and the sword cuts with the least effort. Both were releasing the smell of death when used by this young, fragile-looking youngster.
Another Forest Wolf quickly fell to Hespar's sword when it failed to avoid the human's trickery. Using the same fire and a stab through the throat strategy, Hespar effortlessly slays his second target, leaving only four around him.
The remaining wolves seem to be waiting for an order, but the return call they've been doesn't seem to be arriving.
When Hespar finally slays two more, Victor and Rory appear and quickly pick on the two remaining targets. Their swords need no effort as it stabs deep into the monster's heart, killing them.
"What about the people in the carriage?" Hespar asked. He noticed the vehicle had stopped when the wolves started gathering around him.
"The driver is somewhat injured, but the woman and a child inside the carriage are safe and sound. They mentioned two children, one nine and the other ten, were fell from the carriage on their escape."
"What do you think? Should we take a look or return?" Victor asked. He's eager to help, but since he's not the leader, he can only await Hespar's decision.
"Rory, are you fine with bringing them back to the camp? Also, Ask for the children's names. We'll try to look for them, but we can't promise their safety." said Hespar. After he tells them what to do, he takes the chance to collect the monster's parts before continuing on their way.
As for the corpses themselves, it would be acceptable to leave them here until they're on their way back. Or Rory could allow either Terry, Alex, or Sean to accompany Paul over to butcher them.
The hide of these Forest Wolves would be excellent for leather craftsmen, and the meat would be great to be made into stew. These six corpses would be equivalent to the food of twenty or so people for the next two to three days.
"I've gotten their names. Let's go." Victor returned in a rush. He seemed to be quite motivated to search for the missing children.
"Alright, let's go." Hespar took the lead and followed the route in the middle of the night. It was easy to follow the carriage's track due to the damage it caused to the ground and surroundings.
About an hour later, Hespar and Victor returned with a body behind each of them.
The mother seems to be happy because both children are in good hands. Still, her happiness was gone soon after knowing that only the younger survived the Forest Wolves attack. To protect the younger brother, the older brother sacrificed himself to cover his brother while getting mauled to his death.
"I can understand your sorrow, but please honor James and his sacrifice for leaving a road to his brother Henry...." Hespar apologetically said. His words were nothing but thoughtful condolence, but it was better than nothing.
"I should be the one to say thank you." the driver replied. Without Hespar, Victor, and Rory making their way over, their chances of survival were pretty slim. They were considered lucky because hardly anyone was willing to extend a helping hand at such a dire time.
Sometimes, it wasn't due to the people's cold-heartedness but because of the limit of manpower. Being a hero was easy, but protecting everyone from all sides was hard. One could barely have a three to four-meter radius of clear sight with a torch in hand at nighttime.
While for the monsters, their sight was much better than humans at night. Like right now, the camp might seem safe, but it might be surrounded by the monsters they're unaware of.
"Everyone, please have some hot drink first." Paul approached the group and offered something hot to everyone. Selene also made her way over to check on the younger child called Henry. Except for a few lucky bites on his arm and legs, there don't seem to be other severe injuries on the child's body.
Paul left the camp accompanied by Alex and Sean not long after that. The three of them went to collect the goods from the six Forest Wolves and returned after an hour.
Meanwhile, it was Hespar and Rory's chance to take a rest before it was their turn for the guarding duty. The guards also provided some help this time, making the camp safer until sunrise.
With no attack further on, the two convoys were prepared to leave after they were done with some repairing over the carriage. Although there are a few injured individuals, they wouldn't hinder the travel too much towards the Lavos Village.
And before leaving, the merchant insisted that Hespar accept the packet of monster deterrence powder he gave Hespar. As for the driver of the second carriage, he had left the group with three wooden shields that came with a leather lining to enhance their durability and aesthetics.
They were reluctant but had to accept the goodwill nevertheless.
After seeing the carriages left, a sense of satisfaction came to them. They can be counted as completing their first-day task. As long as such a performance could continue for the next two days, passing the final exam won't be an issue.
But a sense of realization also came to them soon after. Yesterday was a complete wake-up call to the youngsters, as the wilderness openly welcomes the nine of them into this bloodbath and reality.
On a night alone, two guards, a woman, and a child, lost their precious life. This shows them how weak humans are in the face of nature.