“Aaaaarrruhg!”

Ulagan roared out, slicing another leaping Grassbreaker in two with the blade of his spear. The blood-slick wood nearly slipped from his raw, torn hands at the impact, but he regained control in time to swat another penguin out of the air with his weapon. He looked over his shoulder and called out to the stalled cart.

“Hurry, will you?! They’re regrouping!”

The young male and female Herbalists working on the tangled wheel jerked, but the young woman was the one to respond, her voice tight and cracking.

“W-we’re trying, okay?! Myriad Death Tanglevine isn’t easy to remove! If we try pulling it off, it could crush the wheel or ignite!”

Ulagan tsked, but turned around in time to stab another penguin through the eye as it tried to rise through the ground and bite his leg. It figured something else would go wrong today. This trip was supposed to have been his big break, his chance to step into the leadership of Slatewalker and bring honor back to his family name.

Instead, ever since they’d seen the Fallen Star, it had been one disaster after another. They’d slowly been picked off, one by one. Even now, he doubted they would make it back home alive. Still, he had to try. Even if he knew that the situation was beyond him. They were going up against a Beast Lord, and Ulagan might have been a Guardian, but he was no hero. This wasn’t a storybook where some gallant knight on an armored steed rode in at the last moment to rescue the fair damsel from the enemy.

In real life, more times than not, people simply died. That was the nature of their world. But he was a Guardian: that was his duty, to stand in the gap in front of impossible odds so others didn’t have to. If he had to die, he’d sure as hell make the enemy work for it, at least.

When Yutu and Ganbaatar stayed behind to stall their pursuers, the soldier in Ulagan had thought it was a foolish effort. It should have been a terrible choice to split up their dwindling fighting power under their circumstances. But another part of Ulagan couldn’t help but feel proud of them, too. He’d met Ganbaatar before, as the young man was a regular at the Guardian training grounds. He would have made a great Guardian, if not for his poor earth affinity; bad luck, that.

Ulagan had only known Yutu for a scant few days, though, and the boy had always struck him as… mousy. Not cowardly, per se, but he always seemed nervous and jittery, as if expecting someone to yell at him for some perceived mistake. He wasn’t the type Ulagan would have expected to make the choice he had.

Few ever found the courage to stand in the gap, knowing they would die so others might have a chance to live. Ulagan marked both young men down in his soul and swore that if he ever made it out of this, he would ensure their story was heard and their song was sung.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Yutu and Ganbaatar’s sacrifice seemed to pay off. At the very least, their pursuer’s numbers had dwindled… for now. They were still being relentlessly pursued, but the attacks had trickled to a more manageable level. Ulagan even had time to regain some Spirit Energy!

Zolzaya though…

Yutu and Ganbaatar’s… departure had weakened something in the young apprentice Grassreader. She had stood at the back of the cart, watching where the grass had swallowed them, tears streaming down her face and her eyes glassy. The memory of her primal cry of rage and fury, unbecoming of such a tiny woman, nearly an hour later, sent a shiver down Ulagan’s spine, and he almost missed his next strike.

Not long after they lost another of the Herbalists — a young woman Ulagan remembered growing close to Zolzaya during their graduation trip — something inside the apprentice Grassreader snapped.

She’d leapt from the cart, clutching one of the spare Guardian blades, and charged the approaching penguins with reckless abandon. Though she was untrained, Zolzaya had done impressive damage, but Ulagan’s heart couldn’t help but break at the look in her eyes. He’d seen it countless times before, on soldiers overwhelmed and broken by the surrounding horrors or the loss of friends and family. It was the look of someone who no longer cared whether they lived or died, only how many enemies they could take down with them.

And like any candle thrown into the bonfire of madness and rage, Zolzaya had quickly faltered. If he and another survivor hadn’t restrained her and dragged her back to the cart, she might very well have charged off alone into the grass, blade swinging. Since then, she’d huddled herself into a tight ball near Grassreader Kallik and had refused to respond to anyone.

With no way of telling how long it would be until the Grassbreakers returned in full force, Ulagan had a hard choice to make. Did they continue on as they were? Could they hope their path would cross a city or a large town? Or did they take this chance to split up in all directions, to confuse the enemy and hope someone managed to slip away and warn someone? Both options had pros and cons, but the choice would ultimately fall to him.

That choice was taken from him as a Herbalist on the cart cried out in fear. Ulagan’s head snapped in that direction, and his blood ran cold. From the direction they had come, a small group of twenty penguins emerged as one from the grass. Ulagan cursed under his breath. It had just clicked that there hadn’t been an attack the whole time he’d been pondering. The penguins had realized attacking him one at a time like this would get them nowhere and had been building their numbers. With how exhausted he was and so much to consider, it hadn’t crossed his mind until it was too late.

Now they had enough numbers to overwhelm him in a stationary fight when he would have to protect himself and the still stuck cart. It was a far more devious plan than Grassbreakers should have been capable of. But then, this entire chase had smelled fishy from the very start. Grassbreaker penguins weren’t this smart. Sure, some of the older flock leaders knew how to strategize, but those were always habits formed by trial and error, not deductive thought. Was this the Beast Lord’s influence? Or was there more going on that he couldn’t see?

Ulagan readied himself, wiping the half of his polearm dry on his already soiled jerkin, and took a defensive stance, his spear at the ready as he stood between the penguins and the cart. If he played this right, he could take a few out before they slipped past him and give the herbalists enough time to arm themselves. They couldn’t fight an entire pack, but they could defend each other well enough not to be slaughtered immediately.

Both groups stood in silent stillness for a long moment, each staring the other down. A sudden gust of wind that rustled the grass broke the standoff. One of the larger penguins cried out and pointed towards Ulagan with a fin. The pack mimicked the cry and charged him.

Ulagan braced himself, but before they had traveled more than a few meters, all the Grassbreakers stopped. Each turned and looked off into the distance, heads cocked.

The humans stood still, confused, but Ulagan, with his high earth affinity, could sense what the penguins had. He turned and ran toward the cart, yelling as he did.

“MOVE! Take cover! Something’s coming!”

The next instant, that ‘something’ burst from the grass cover at incredible speeds. Ulagan didn’t even have time to look at it properly before the massive object was over — then through — half of the Grassbreaker pack before disappearing back into the tall grass.

Several penguins squawked in surprise and dove underground. Those that didn’t, spontaneously exploded into gory chunks as thunder echoed through the grass. When all the penguins had either fled the scene or were scraps of meat even the butcher would throw out, the thunder stopped, and the humans were left in shocked silence. Then, from the grass, a massive shadow slowly emerged.

Ulagan faced the shadow, polearm raised and ready, though visibly shaking.

Just great… What now?!

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

—————————————————————

When they heard the distant clash of combat, Ganaa almost leapt off again, but instead of slowing down, the Lord Protector sped up. Ganaa could barely stand straight against the buffeting winds as they rushed through the tall grass at blinding speeds.

Then, between one blink and the other, they broke into a small clearing. The Lord Protector’s frontal carapace — and Ganaa — was splattered by gore as they plowed through a small pack of Grassbreakers. The Lord Protector came to a sudden stop as they entered the grass on the other side of the clearing, using his momentum to swing back around and stand to his full height. Ganaa was nearly thrown from his perch by the momentum, but stayed standing. From there, he watched the Lord Protector’s attacks obliterate the remaining penguins — attacks so fast, Ganaa couldn’t even perceive them except for the monstrous thunder they produced.

Despite the splattering of still-warm gore, Ganaa could feel an icy chill run down his spine at the display of power.

After only a moment, the deed was done, and the Grassbreakers in the immediate area were dead or had fled. Then, slowly, the Lord Protector walked back into the clearing like a mighty conqueror come to claim his prize. As Ganaa looked out over the clearing toward the people he’d thought he had seen for the last time, he couldn’t help but laugh as muscles he didn’t even know he had slowly unclenched. He slowly sank to his knees, gripping the edge of his seat, but before he could recover or call out to the group, something else unexpected happened.

A primal roar sounded from the cart, and Zolzaya leapt off, charging the Lord Protector with what looked like a Guardian blade. Her face was contorted into a demonic visage he’d only ever seen on the otherwise calm and mellow woman once before.

It was that day, years ago, as she stood over her wounded father and swore revenge on the Jadewalker scion who’d put his blade through the man’s chest, all for the ‘crime’ of denying the arrogant young man Zolzaya’s hand.

Zolzaya crossed the clearing in what seemed like a flash before Ganaa could fully process what was happening. His heart racing, he cried out, Ulagan echoing just a heartbeat later.

“Zaya, no!”

“Stop!”

But it was too late. With both hands on the hilt and her full body weight behind it, Zolzaya swung the large blade towards the Lord Protector… only for the sword to bounce harmlessly off a cyan energy shield. The Guardian blade was forcefully knocked from Zolzaya’s hands, and the young woman was thrown back, tumbling several times.

She recovered easily enough, rolled to her feet, and prepared to lunge again, the fire in her eyes screaming her intention to bite and claw if she had to. Ganaa was there in an instant and wrapped the woman in a tight hug, despite her struggles. In her blind rage, she even bit into Ganaa’s shoulder hard enough to draw blood. Ganaa powered through and spoke to her.

“Zaya! Zaya, snap out of it! It’s me! You’re safe! We’re safe!”

Slowly, Zolzaya’s struggling weakened, and she looked up at Ganaa, eyes wide and wary, as if being startled awake from some dark nightmare. The demonic look shifted to a more familiar, wide-eyed stare, and then her face was a teary mess. The young woman wailed and wrapped her arms around Ganaa, squeezing a mite too hard, as she buried her face into his wide chest, heedless of the blood and penguin bits.

After a long moment of not-so-quiet sobbing, Zolzaya pushed him away, though she refused to look up at him—as if afraid he’d be a hallucination. The two stood in awkward silence before Ganaa placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly.

“We’re back, Zaya. I’m sorry we left you like that… But we—”

At that moment, Zolzaya’s fist slammed into the side of his jaw.

—————————————————————

Following the trail of bodies had been easy enough. At least the people they were tracking had put up a decent fight. Not long after discovering the poisoned human remains, the [Wasps] Alpha had sent scouting reported active combat. The live feed showed a small group of humans surrounding a large cart as they fended off a group of attacking penguins.

Well, one of them was fending them off, at least. The rest of the group was injured or attempting to free the cart from a tangle of plants.

Alpha played with the idea of letting them do just that. The giant penguin was nowhere in sight, and if it was hiding, the ambush might be the best bait to draw him out. He decided against it in the end. While Alpha didn’t enjoy leaving such a loose end, there was no guarantee the penguin boss would show. Generating goodwill with the humans was more important… for now.

Breaking the ambush was easy. A quick show of force and the surrounding penguins hiding in the grass scattered in the wind. That likely meant Alpha’s choice had been correct; if the giant penguin had planned an ambush, the rest would have acted more cohesively. At the least, they would have distracted Alpha while their boss made its escape. No matter; something told Alpha he’d have another shot at the creature soon.

What followed was about what he expected from the group’s reunion. Biologicals were always leaking one kind of fluid or another.

Then the woman had cold-cocked the young man on the jaw, dropping him instantly.

Alpha liked this woman!

Of course, Alpha had to point and laugh at the young man. The glare he received in return as the man stood on shaky legs needed no translation.

Laughter was universal.

Still, that seemed to break the floodgate as the others rushed the young man and woman, nearly smothering them. After extricating themselves from the group, the young woman began laying into the man with a tone Alpha was all too familiar with. She even wagged her finger at him! Some things really did transcend space and time.

The man raised his hands and tried to defend himself, though not very well. The man glanced at the group, but they all turned away. He even looked at Alpha, pleading in his eyes. Alpha took a step back and pretended to fuss over the dirty Snowball.

Yup, he wasn’t getting involved in this one; even Alpha wasn’t that stupid.

Alpha recorded it all, of course. This was a gold mine for his lexicon. It helped that the young man was graphically retelling the story of his rescue, letting Alpha decipher the inferred meaning of several repeated keywords through context alone. The chatter quickly died down when an older woman approached, helped by another group member.

She looked healthy, given she seemed to have lost both an arm and a leg during the chase, if the bandages wrapped around the fresh stumps said anything. The group parted ways, and the older woman approached the young man. The young man bowed to the woman and spoke, but the woman only waved him off.

Though, Alpha noted how her face and brow crinkled as she looked over his injuries. Her eyes lingered on his missing foot and how the young man limped slightly, the crude wooden prosthetic having been a rushed project. Ultimately, she didn’t comment, only sighed and shook her head.

She asked a question, and the group behind her muttered. The young man stood straight, then turned to Alpha, bowing to him as well, before leaping up onto his back. With gentle hands, he lifted the other man into his arms and jumped back down. As he approached, there was an audible gasp from the group, and the young woman who’d attacked Alpha broke into sobbing tears.

The unconscious man was laid on the ground at the older woman’s feet, and she sat down beside him, both the young man and woman from before gently lowering her to the ground. A sharp shout sent one of the group running off toward the cart while the older woman examined the man on the ground and the other one spoke. A large leather bag passed through the group once the shuttle-bus returned and made its way to the older woman.

She dug through the bag, pulling out several items. Given their primitive clothes and weapons, Alpha had half expected to see bone tools and stone knives. Instead, what the older woman pulled from the bag was a finely crafted set of metal surgical tools that wouldn’t have looked out of place in any Federation field kit.

While Federation medical technology was some of the most advanced in the galaxy, it wasn’t as if soldiers could bring recovery pods into the field with them. Nor was it wise to waste medical nanites on wounds that could be easily dealt with in the short term with simple sutures and sealing foam. Thus, such basic field kits have changed little over the tens of thousands of years since the First Federation.

The older woman paused, then looked up at Alpha as if asking a question. Alpha didn’t know what was asked, but he could infer based on the context and her hand gesturing toward the sealed wound. He queried the medical nanites and found they were still hard at work, but the man was stable enough. Alpha waved the question off with a flick of his hand.

The older woman nodded and called other the young woman, then pulled out a thin knife from the pile of tools. Alpha watched in amazement as the young woman produced an open flame on top of her hand. With a few quick swipes through the fire, the blade was sterilized, and the older woman cut both the clothes and hardened sealing foam from the man’s chest. Once the wound was exposed, the group marveled at both its severity and cleanliness. Alpha knew the nanites wouldn’t let it fester, but the humans were likely surprised.

The old woman began digging at the sealing foam. Alpha raised a hand before she could remove too much and called out.

“Wait!”

Though the meaning of the word was lost to the older woman, the tone in Alpha’s voice made her pause and stare up at him, a brow raised. The foam was designed as a material for the nanites to use and would be absorbed by the body over time; removing more would cause issues. It took a bit of charades, but Alpha eventually got his meaning across.

The woman frowned at him, nodded, then pulled out several marble-sized pills instead. With practiced hands, she added them to a mortar with some water and ground them into a thick paste. After flushing the site with more water, she applied the paste to the wound and wrapped the man’s chest in clean bandages.

Next, she ground a different-looking pill and, with help from her assistant, force-fed the medicinal concoction to the young man. He choked and sputtered, but got it down with some help.

Alpha wasn't sure what any of it was for, but anything the medicine did the nanites didn't have to, and it would only result in a faster recovery.

Now, the only thing Alpha had to figure out was how to actually talk to these people…