Chapter 195: Worse

The first thing that registered to Ned was the hunter's uncoordinated movements. The saber guy moved with his hands in unison with his feet for every step: left hand; left foot. Right hand; right foot. He moved like a robot or a puppet. Yet his movements weren't dull, too agile even if being controlled. The control was a mastery. The control must be recent. If so, he must be near.

Ned swept his eyes, massive trees, grasses as high as their chest, Ned heard a river flowing to his right, leaves falling, and arrows of sunlight bathed the forest.

For a moment, the surrounding went eerily quiet.

The silence broke as the first wind blew from the East at the same time the saber guy went dashing toward Ned.

Before he could reach Ned, Sujiro intercepted him with the knives now shining with light. Sujiro's hand blur and blocked the guy's saber. Sparks left the grinding blades. Sujiro threw a knee, hitting the other hunter's chin and throwing him like a bullet, hitting a tree behind. Rotting barks scattered as the guy landed with his back.

As the saber guy remained in a groggy state, the warrior cut in, throwing his blade toward Ned. Not a good idea, unless he was fast enough to recover it instantly. So he did. Sujiro did acrobatic movements mid-air, evading the broad-sword within hair length. Ned did the same as the sword went passing through Sujiro and straight to where he stood.

But together with the throw was the warrior. He tackled Sujiro along the way and went dashing to Ned. Both of them lugged over the warrior's shoulder.

During the drag, Ned had a glimpse of the parasitic beast leeching behind the warrior. So did Sujiro.

"That's the one," Ned said.

Sujiro nodded, and before they hit the tree from behind, he stabbed the knife at the parasite. The green sticky liquid left the throbbing parasite from the wound. As the knife went through, the warrior lost its control and this made Ned and Sujiro escaped his clutch.

Dragged by his weight, the warrior descended to the ground, like a bullet train lost its power and unable to stop, he crashed. Head first and stopped together with his broad sword stuck against the tree.

As the warrior lost its parasite, the saber guy twitched. He stood, and started to move, just in time for Ned and Sujiro to balance themselves from landing.

The saber guy's limbs were twitching. His chin touching his chest. As if a string has been pulled, the saber guy sprinted toward them.

Ned raised his hands in a defensive position. One arm across each other, defending his head and chest.

The parasite's control was mobile. He evaded Sujiro's throwing knife with a flick of his saber then zigzagged as he evaded the second knife.

But Sujiro was a rouge, and rouges weren't rouge if they don't have a surprise hidden under their sleeves.

As soon as the second knife passed through the controlled hunter, he threw another knife. The knife whistled on the air, thin, and pointed, it flew like a bolt of arrows.

Saber guy was hit right through his left shoulder. But the pain was being dulled. Saber guy proceeds even though blood seeping out his wound. His dominant hand wasn't affected, so he proceeds with a blank look painted on his eyes. The pain wasn't obvious. He raised his saber, parrying another knife, then another, then another, and another until shadows bored through his legs. Three knives, halfway through.

Saber guy passed Sujiro, and Sujiro let him be. He wasn't running, he could barely walk. He limps going toward Ned. Blood on his shoulder, and right leg. His boots made a bloodied footprint along the ground. He dropped with saber still in his hand. His face showed no pain, revenge, or animosity. He just fell.

"Y-you," saber guy said. blank eyes looking up at Ned. Parasite sucking his mana and controlling him. "W-we never stop. U-until Gogmurch."

His last breath was nothing but a sigh. The parasite then turned grey. Slowly, its body cracked, and eventually, crumbled.

"What was that?" Sujiro said. Flicked his wrist then the three throwing-knives clipped between his fingers vanished.

"Our mission," Ned said from behind Sujiro.

Grasses obscured the rouge's back. His shoulder going up and down. Exhaustion, perhaps excitement. Still, he was good.

"We need to leave," he said, ready to dash forward. "We need to rall—"

Arrow grazed Sujiro's cheek. He dodged just in time for the second arrow, and the third, and the fourth to hit. The fifth arrow was met with a throwing-knife. The knife chipped and the arrow turned to splinter.

"Six," Ned muttered. His eyes glanced at the top of the tree. Behind a trunk was a figure in green, with pointed ears and jagged teeth. Goblins, the crowd of the forest. "Six of them," he said. Two goblins over each tree.

Ned rolled, evading the arrows aimed toward him.

Sujiro flipped backward and stopped when his back touched the trunk of a tree. He was hidden together in the tall grass.

But from a bird's eye view, the goblins could see Sujiro and Ned confidently.

Ned stopped as soon as Sujiro climbed up the massive tree. To increase his climbing speed, Sujiro used the dents of the surface of the tree and used his knives to lurched going upward to the first two goblin archers.

Ned reached for the dying hunter's saber, blood and pebbles hugged the sword.

To his surprise, it was light—feather-light. As if it was made not of metal but cotton. The saber was a meter and a half long, a little more and long-sword family will welcome the saber. The hilt was wrapped with cloth to avoid slipping. The owner was not fond of decoration as his saber looked dull. Plain, simple, yet sharp.

Ned raised the saber. No time to test, he bent, almost crouching, and dodged an arrow whistling over his head. Ned waved the saber in an arching motion, grasses cut to half within a meter and a half radius around Ned. The move wasn't for show-off as four arrows were cut to half along with the grasses. To his left, a scream came falling from the top of the tree.

Two goblins fell with knives dug inside their eye sockets.

Sujiro then jumped from branches to branches until he reached two more goblin across the other tree. While Ned on the bottom evaded and sliced to half the arrows aimed at him. The process repeated until the last goblin fell from the top of the tree. Six goblins, six knives, six eye sockets, six life.

Sujiro landed across Ned. The two wore black leather, they almost looked identical, gloves aside.

Ned swept his eyes to the dead hunters. He sighed, the parasites leeching on their back were dead. Nothing was even left from the first hunter as his body was mutilated to half.

Sujiro flicked his hand, knives vanished. He went straight to Ned with burning eyes and grabbed the latter's collar.

"They're hunters!" He said, voice roaring throughout the forest. "Why are they attacking us!"

"I told you," Ned said, not fighting back, but eyes meeting the other. "They're being controlled, I need to find the one controlling them."

Sujiro said, "Who!"

Ned said, "A beasts."

Sujiro said, "Impossible."

Ned shook his head. "Saw it before."

Sujiro let go of Ned's collar. "Was it the same as this?" The rouge's eye looking at the dead hunters.

Ned shook his head. "Worse," he said. "Only me and the other Rouge remained. I wasn't even sure if the rouge was still alive. Last thing I heard he was taken care of by the Association. After that, I have no news. The other team fared as well. Only one of them was saved."  Ned thought of Sasani and how they were saved by Twali.

"Sorry," Sujiro said, voice lowered. Eyes remained at Ned. His voice then spiked up as if he wasn't sure if what he said was true coming from him.

Silence was Ned's answer. His mind transitioned to the day where the Quickfall team was almost annihilated. If only his team has been more careful. But that time, they do not have any idea about the group of beasts doing their test, and luck wasn't on Ned's team at that time.

"Who's Gogmurch?" Sujiro asked. He may be talking to Ned, but Ned felt that his senses were doubled. His eyes darted to every tree and grasses there is. Trying to look for darkened figures hiding behind the trees, maybe from the tall grasses, or rocks nearby.

"You could say he is the beasts Captain," Ned said, contemplating. "More like their general."

"Why are they after you?"

"I was the last person their General had seen." Fought, Ned thought.

"Then this mission is about?"

"That's need to know," Ned said, standing his ground. This is about me, about Roy, maybe I'm being selfish here. But it must be done, Ned thought.  The saber extended to his right. "Just get me to the settlements until I find that caterpillar beast." Ned paused and walked past Sujiro. "The rest, I'll handle it my self."