Chapter 162: Cursed Mountain

That night some hostile nocturnal beasts attacked them. They were composed of different types of beasts. One type of them was the four-legged beast, with thick dark furs, sharp claws, and fierce looking-eyes.

They were sending eerie howls and growls. But the most distinct thing about them was that they sent fear on their target. This type of beast was known as Noclur or the night-lurker beast. There were many of these kinds of beasts in this area. And mostly, they hid in caves, thick forests, and underground in the daytime.

There was one soldier who froze in fear and even peed himself. The beast did not waste time and leaped to gnaw it. But before the beast could gnaw him, a red streak passed by in the soldier's vision and directly onto the beast's forehead. Blood sprayed after that. Right after that, the soldier was freed from fear.

He glanced to where the red streak came from and saw their young commander standing in the middle of the battlefield.

What?

The soldier was surprised to see their commander in the front. And much to his surprise, he noticed the commander was suddenly surrounded by five beasts!

"Watch out!"

He shouted. Although he was not quite approved of this commander, he changed his opinion after he saved him. He was about to run to help him, but he stopped. Because he noticed the young commander moved so gently, gentle that he could not feel a tinge of fear on him. It made him wonder for a second. People of his age were supposed to become flustered in such a situation. However, the young commander was different. 

But it was futile since this beast could weaken everyone's braveness. Yet, he didn't proceed with his plan of helping him. Because there was no need for that. The young commander easily defeated the surrounding beast.

"How is that possible?"

He mumbled. The beasts were sliced in a second by his 1-meter sword in hand. He didn't even notice when the commander took it.

"Commander! Are you okay?!"

Just then, a female soldier shouted and ran to the commander's side.

"Yeah, don't mind about me. Regardless, tell them to regroup with their squad. No matter what happened they should never break their formation," said the young commander after getting rid of the blood on his sword.

"....."

The female looked at the dead beasts with widened eyes and agape. "Oi," looked like the commander noticed her slight pause. He called out to the female soldier. Then she snapped. "Okay!" After saying it, she shouted to all the captains and gave them the commander's order.

Then the soldier ran to his squad as well. He finally understood why his majesty chose this young man as their commander. Although he was so young, his fighting capability wasn't to joke around. 

Thanks to their defensive fence that the soldiers placed beforehand, they hindered the surprise attack from the beasts, and they avoided getting swarmed by them.

Also, the soldiers' quick action had a huge impact in fending off the beasts. They have easily handled the situation. But even though none of the soldiers died, some of them suffered some injuries. Fortunately, it was not so much that could hinder their advance. The healer squads that also acted as support did their job so well.

Before the sun rose, they resumed their advance, until they reached the foot of a mountain. The mountain was so huge that they could not see the top of it. Probably, the top of it was swimming in the sea of clouds.

"Commander, are you sure that we needed to do this?"

Bross, who was walking anxiously the whole time in their travel, ran to the young commander's side and once again, asked him. He could not settle. Even after telling the young commander that the mountain was cursed by evil spirits, the commander still chose this path just because he wanted to arrive sooner in the village.

Although he showed great strength in fighting against the beasts recently, his decision-making was still what you would expect of a young man. It was unwise to persist in the face of unknown danger.

It would be fine if they could see their opponent as they have already resolved themselves to die in this mission but. They wanted to die while fighting their enemies till the last breath of their life. They wanted to die honorably. Looks like his majesty truly made a mistake in choosing a persistent brat as their commander.

Bross waited for the young commander's reply, hoping that he changed his mind. It was not for him only, but for everyone. "Yeah," however, the young commander's reply was just a nonchalant nod.

Bross felt depressed.

"But I'm not joking about the curse," Bross said, trying to change his mind.

"Commander, maybe you have to reconsider this captain's words." Suddenly, the female soldier beside them interjected. Bross did not expect it. But he was glad at her. Looked like even the female soldier also felt uneasy at this path.

Soldier Kanna did not expect that the shortcut she heard about was the infamous cursed mountain. After hearing Bross mentioning it, it rang a bell on her. When she was still in the academy, she often heard rumors about the place. They said that many people failed to return after climbing it. Only a few returned alive. However, they still died of unknown diseases afterwards.

Although it was proven to be a shortcut, none of those who proved it lived a long life. Soldier Kanna regretted mentioning it to the young commander a while ago. After all, young people were known for being adventurous.

That's why she was hoping to change his mind. However, "No, we continue in this path."

The young commander's answer was still the same. And he seemed to be firm about it.

Following Bross's lead, they arrived at the shoulder of the mountain. The path was enough for a carriage and a person to travel side by side. However, they needed to be more careful because beside them was a cliff. It was so deep that they could not see the bottom of it.