“Nana,” Jirot called, holding up her cup towards the woman. “Mik peas.” She tapped her chin as a sign of gratitude.
“Okay,” Mirot replied, taking the cup from the girl. She waited a moment to see if Jirot would start a fight, before going off to fill her cup with milk. Sometimes the girl would be breastfed, but it was about the time they had to wean her and her brother off.
Jirot drank up the milk, sighing with joy, before handing the cup to her brother, letting him drink the rest of it.
“What do you say?”
“Thank you, nana.”
“Do you love me?”
The girl smirked.
Mirot raised her brow.
“I love you so much, nana.” The girl giggled, reaching out to hug her grandmother’s leg.
“Good.” She brushed Jirot’s hair, while little Jarot also thanked her and hugged her.
“I love you so much, nana,” the boy said. “Nana always so nice.”
“Yes,” Jirot agreed.
“Do not forget.” Mirot hoisted them both up within her arms, holding them close. “I will always love you, my grandchildren.” Between Mirot and the children, there was no need to call them anything but her own grandchildren.
Tonagek stepped within the estate, his eyes glancing around, before noting the lack of the triplets. ‘Are they with their greatfather?’
“Hello,” Danagek said, waving at Gurot. Gurot turned to look at him, before waving a hand back. Danagek sat nearby his chonky cousin, playing with some of the blocks to the side.
“Chonky boy!” Lanarot called, rushing up to Danagek, before hugging him tight. “Danagek, you are okay?”
“Okay,” the boy replied, letting his cousin hug him tight.
“Oof. So big. So big.” Lanarot brushed his hair, smiling down at him, before grabbing his hand and leading him away to play with her.
“Hello, baba,” Jirot called, staring up at Tonagek. “You have come pay dwagon chess?”
“Yes.”
“I do not pay dwagon chess, I pay Demon Woad chess.”
“There is no Demon Lord chess.”
“Huh? What you are saying, baba? I pay it!”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“Will you teach me?”
“Okay,” Jirot said, joining him to play, while Jarot joined them, watching from the side.
As Jirot set up the board, Tonagek noticed Demon Lord chess was very similar to dragon chess. As Jirot began to explain, Tonagek quickly realised Demon Lord chess was exactly the same as dragon chess, except Jirot, the Demon Lord, got to take her turn first.
“I am the Demon Woad so I go fust,” the girl informed, before taking her turn.
‘Did she learn the game by watching us casually?’ Tonagek thought, surprised to see how well she played. ‘She is almost as good as Konarot.’
While Tonagek played across the battlefield of the board, his nephews and niece were currently on their own battlefield.
‘What are they doing?’ Willow thought, extending out a hand to command her Rays to assist, the wagons of children behind them.
The children stared out from the back, looking out to the appearance of the hydras which had emerged from behind, each coming the eastern side of the forest. The quiet whimper, the wide eyes, their fear flooded the area, only enticing the hydras forward.
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Nirot’s body was full of hot rage as she stepped forward towards one of the hydras. Her axe in hand, her shield raised, ready to face the hydra in front of her. The four heads snarled towards her, though two glanced away, towards the other figure who stood tall, also wielding an axe in hand. As two snapped their maws towards Nirot, another two snapped their maws towards the large figure beside her, and yet they found an axe through the side of their neck instead.
‘Carefully,’ Nirot thought, dodging the heads as the axe beside her cut through the side of a hydra’s neck.
Bavin was near silent as he hacked away as the hydras, tearing scales from each. Though it was a good idea to take out as many creatures as possible to reduce how many foes one was facing, when it came to hydras, that logic was very different. Instead, the pair had to be careful when facing against the creature, especially since they were the only two facing the hydra with four heads. If Bavin cut one head, another two would grow to take its place, and then they’d be in serious trouble. So the best way to kill a hydra in such a position was to slowly chip away at it, before finishing it by cutting off each head quickly.
‘I am Bavin,’ the young Iyrman thought.
Naqokan and Uwajin darted forward, their greatblades in hand, the pair almost dancing aside their own hydra. They were also merely two against the creature which was nightmarish for even the army to face against. They followed the same tactic as Nirot and Bavin, with one dodging and weaving through the necks while the other struck, changing their roles every so often. Cutting off a hydra’s head was extremely dangerous for them too, especially if they didn’t have the ability to wield fire.
‘Carefully,’ Naqokan thought, her body full of excitement. If the pair managed to slay the creature without the support of the others, then they’d be able to claim their own victory too. ‘Even if I am no Ray, I am still a Kan!’
Uwajin’s thoughts were very simply. ‘Cut now. Do not cut now.’
“Finally!” Lucy shouted, Mara assisting beside her, the pair also filled with their own battle lust, their axes tearing through the hydra. Though they had paired together to face against the hydra, they cared little for the tactics of the Iyrmen. Destroyer and Great Destroyer flickered with flames as they tore through the heads of the hydra the pair faced, which snarled and howled in pain and anger, their own maws snapping against the pair.
While the three sets of Rage Dancers held off their hydras, with one set ready and eager to kill a hydra, the other hydras found a more difficult time ahead of themselves.
Jurot’s body, red with rage, tore into the side of a hydra, a head clattering against his shield, though it clamped down against it, before pulling it up, along with Jurot into the air. As Jurot clutched at his shield tight, for he was a member of the Rot family, how could he lose his shield?
Jonn focused on the hydra head ahead of him, his eyes glued to the creature as it darted out towards him. There were many bodies all around him, each moving to tear into the hydra. He inhaled deeply, narrowing his eyes, claiming the hydra as a creature which needed to be put down, and with vengeance on his mind, he stepped forward, his blade flashing white hot as he cut a head clean through. A glow fell across from his side as the head dropped onto the earth beside him, red splattering all across his armour.
Jaygak inhaled quietly, her blade swinging through the air without a thought in her mind, cutting through a hydra head, cutting through it clean, while flamed spread all across the hydra’s side, Laygak’s holding out a hand, flames washing over the monstrosity while he hid behind his shield.
Though the hydra tried to snap at the pair who seemed to wear the least amount of metal, the heads found themselves snapping only at air, while a staff clattered across a skull, crushing it to bit, while another staff struck against its throat, before a pair of fists struck each set of ribs simultaneously. The pair of Ools were still holding back, since the battle would take quite some time.
While the Iyrmen were having their own fun, and in the midst of the various roars, howling laughter and cackle filled the air.
“We’re going to be eating good tonight!” Vasera roared, inhaling deeply, before letting out a breath of fire against the hydra, while the rest of her companions, each at least Experts, swung their blades with divine fury towards the creature, cutting off several of its heads in one go. It tried to turn and flee, but the smell of gold caused the Golden Savages to drool.
“Rays!” Willow called, before before motioning a hand, dispersing the Rays between each of the groups to assist. Meanwhile, another hydra snuck its away around, towards the wagon. “It seems there is another for us to fend off. Will you assist me, Brother Adam?”
“If you want to fend it off, then it won’t be a good idea for me to join in,” Adam said, still standing there, sighing out as he thought about his adorable children. ‘I can’t go around killing too much around these losers, so I hope you can forgive me.’
“Even I am not confident to face it alone,” Willow admitted, though she was preparing to do so anyway.
Adam raised his hand casually. “I can’t have you go by yourself, Fourth Hope, what will they say about our business? Why don’t you take the farmers with you? Rick, will you assist the Fourth Hope with her hydra?”
“Right,” Rick said, feeling a deep chill fill his heart, though with how casual Adam was being about it, he stepped out, donning a shield, while the other farmers also stepped out, two of them grabbing their pikes, while the other two knocked their arrows.
‘Farmers? He’s sending farmers to assist me?’ Willow’s eyes glanced around. She had heard about them being farmers, though they were rather heavily armed for farmers. ‘…’
‘Hey, Bell, make sure you share the XP with-,’
From the opposite tree line, the bushes exploded, as another large figure charged towards one of the carriages. Adam’s entire body turned in shock as another hydra stepped forward, ready to claim a wagon as its own.