Chapter 27: Emotions and monsters ( VII )

It was the dark of the night, Brandon and the rest of the soldiers could be seen sprinting toward the village with disturbed expressions on their faces. None of them were happy after leaving their lord behind, someone they were supposed to protect until their last breath.Brandon and the two captains had the worst expressions, they still hated themselves for being so weak and having to rely on their young lord for protection.

As they got near the boundary of the village, a loud, bone-chilling shriek swept across the area, reaching their ears and filling them with panic. Some farmers working nearby heard the shriek as well, but it wasn't as loud and terrifying as what the soldiers heard. Still, it was enough to put fear into their fragile minds.

"That is the cry of the monster. Lord Rowan must be facing it right now. Oh, gods of our ancestors, grant him strength and divine protection," they all prayed silently in their minds.

As they crossed the border and arrived in Winterseed, they saw some farmers looking at them with questioning and confused expressions. The farmers had seen them leave alongside Rowan, and now they returned without him. What might have happened?

Among these people was Riela, who had come to collect fresh fruits for Rowan. She was holding a basket of ripe apples. When she heard the commotion, she immediately left the basket and went toward the large group of soldiers returning.

"Where is Lord Rowan?" she asked Brandon, who was standing in front of the soldiers, breathing hard to catch his breath. She could easily tell from their tired expressions that they had run their way here and that it wasn't just a normal run—they were running from something.

While Riela's question was directed at Brandon, all the soldiers heard it, and they became really ashamed.

"Lord Rowan will be back very soon. He asked us to come back to the village first," Brandon replied, struggling to come up with a proper answer.

However, his answer wasn't convincing. He tried to hide his panic and embarrassment, but it was evident to everyone.

"How could you all leave Lord Rowan close to the south forest all alone? It doesn't make sense, there is something you guys are hiding from us," one of the old farmers shouted in a loud, suspicious tone.

The other farmers agreed—there was no logic in what Brandon said. Slowly, they began to grumble. Riela looked at Brandon with a questioning gaze, waiting for a genuine answer, her heart already beating fast, expecting the worst.

One of the captains standing beside Brandon couldn't take it anymore and stepped forward to speak his mind. "Lord Rowan is fighting a monster and will return soon. But until then, it's not safe to stay near the south forest. Everyone, head back to your home."

The mention of monsters caused a loud and disturbing reaction from the villagers. They quickly recalled last night's event that almost destroyed their village.

"This is not a request anymore. All of you, go back home!" the same captain shouted again, with a deep frown on his face.

The villagers looked at the huge captain, he was one of the strongest men in the village, and his name was Bryce.

Captain Bryce managed to make everyone leave. After they left, he stayed behind with the other captains to guard the border.

Brandon, though scared, stayed behind with them.

About three minutes later, Roland and the other captains returned with deep frowns on their faces—they immediately began berating Bryce for leaving Rowan behind.

However, when they heard the full story, their eyes widened, and they completely understood how dire the situation was.

---

[ Threat has entered RAGE mode. All stats have increased by 200% for sixty seconds. BEWARE ]

Seeing this warning, Rowan realized that it would be even more difficult now to defeat the Ratax general. But he wasn't fazed, he has so many cards up his sleeves that he hasn't used yet.

As for the Ratax general, after observing the corpse of his fellow race, it became really pissed and glared at Rowan while charging up inside.

It was dark of the day and two monsters of different races could be seen glaring at each other in the dark, the breeze whipped past their faces, but they remained unfazed, ready to devour their opponent.

The Ratax general let out a bone-chilling shriek and began charging towards Rowan, its clawed feet digging against the ground as it made its way towards its prey.

'Come on little monster,' Rowan grinned, clutched his sword, and charged at it. They closed the distance almost immediately.

The Ratax general whipped its clawed fist towards Rowan, trying to decimate him with just one move.

Rowan halted in his steps, dug his feet into the ground to provide balance, and then blocked with his sword. The clanging sound of their collision spread across the area.

The Ratax general didn't halt after the block,, it kept punching and clawing continuously while letting out low angry shrieks.

Rowan remained on the defense, testing the strength of the Ratax general.

'It is pretty fast for a big monster, but that is due to rage,' he noted, his eyes analyzing the attack pattern of his opponent.

Right now, the skills at work are [Night Vision], [Sword Grandmaster], and [Resistance]. Using these skills, Rowan did not back out and kept defending himself, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

[ RAGE of threat has deactivated ]

'That's it!' Rowan yelled inwardly.

The attacks of the Ratax general had already decreased by twofold, making it very weak and slow. Nevertheless, its punches still carried enough power to turn a soldier into meat paste.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Rowan made a quick dash to the right side, evading the claws of the Ratax.

SHRIEK!!

The Ratax general shrieked in annoyance as it slowly tilted its huge figure to search for its opponent. Its movement was sluggish as expected.

Now behind the Ratax general, Rowan kept his sword back in his inventory and tried to leap onto its neck. Sadly, the huge figure of the Ratax was difficult to climb up to with just leaping. Thus, Rowan made use of its fur to drag himself upwards towards the neck.

The Ratax general, feeling the itching sensation as Rowan climbed its back, began to move its body dangerously, trying to shake him off while letting out shrieks that carried its annoyance and anger.

Unfortunately for it, and fortunately for Rowan, its big figure made its movement very sluggish, and while it threatened to throw Rowan off, Rowan was still able to climb onto it successfully.

Without wasting time, Rowan wrapped his hands around the neck of the Ratax to provide support and balance. Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

SHRIEK! SHRIEK!

The Ratax general kept moving, fearing that its death was near as Rowan was now very close to its weak point! Its shrieks now carried its fear of death and frustration.

"Die, you fucking monster!!" Rowan yelled as he summoned his sword from his inventory and stabbed at the neck of the Ratax.

SHRIEK!!!

As the cold blade stabbed into the neck, the madness originating from the fear of death kicked off in the heart of the Ratax general, and it began shrieking continuously, whipping its body with no fear of wounding itself.

Rowan found it even more difficult to keep his balance at this moment. Even while grabbing its furs, his balance wasn't guaranteed, and he was almost tossed away.

"Fucking monster!!" Rowan cursed as he kept his sword back in his inventory and then used both hands to hold himself.

From this height, if he is tossed away, he would definitely sustain ghastly wounds, and that is one thing he could not bear, as there is a wave incoming, and it would be pretty messy if he is not in his best state then.

"Stop thrashing around, madafaka!!" Rowan cursed again. His hands grabbing the furs were already hurting pretty badly.

...

AUTHOR NOTE: This will be the only chap for today. Sorry for missing yesterday's I'll make up for it this weekend.