CHAPTER 90

THE NIGHTMARE OF EVIL MONKEYS

  Despite being preoccupied with his duties, Arat was able to find some time to spend on Delimira. He sought her out in the spot where she sat idle, and upon seeing him, she stood up anxiously. She couldn't help but feel like an unwanted burden in this place. However, she eventually expressed her belated gratitude to Arat for providing her with warm shelter and food. Arat received her gratitude with kindness, but couldn't ignore the uneasiness in her voice. "Will you be alright staying away from him, for a while?" he asked her, pointing at Hans.

  Delimira glanced at Arat's face and easily discerned that he genuinely appreciated her expression of gratitude, but his concern for her was feigned, concealed by his perfectly composed face. She accepted her circumstances with resignation, knowing well that her attitude was inconsequential in the eyes of these people. It would not have mattered in the past since she was accustomed to being alone, but the successive threats to her life and the fear enhanced by Xandor's influence had shattered her mental fortitude. At this point, all she wanted was to return to her mother.

  She gazed at Hans as he moved around carefree, realising he was the only person she could trust in this place. "He could have fled," she thought, their friendship was not strong enough for him to stand by her through thick and thin. But no matter how complex the situation was with the Xandor incident, Hans still came searching for her. And this time too, he stayed by her side and even shielded her from harm.

  This restored some of his lost credibility, a small but reassuring gesture that she could rely on in this cold and unforgiving place. If it was up to her she did not want to be separated from him until they returned home but she nodded in agreement since Arat's eyes wanted only one answer.

  Both of them turned their attention to Hans, who asked the group what they should do if the natives refused to negotiate. But their response suggested they were already prepared for such an outcome. The answer was the same as what Hans had proposed earlier: "Steal it." As a result, they divided themselves into two groups, with one group serving as a distraction while the other sneaked in to find the object. They had both a main plan and a backup contingency in place.

Hans finally turned to his anxious companion, but Arat reassured him,

"I have instructed these two to protect her, so don't worry."

  Hans kept his gaze down as he spoke, "When death comes, commands become shit, Mr Prime Minister." He then turned to Delimira and shouted, jolting her out of her saddened state, "Winters, get a grip. You have to fend for yourself now." He shifted his gaze and fixed on Arat this time and added, "I'm taking a big risk here. I won't leave two capable people to guard her while she waits cooped up somewhere, knowing well that they could increase my chances of survival."

Delimira couldn't help but laugh at herself, "Yes that kind of person he is," she thought laughing at her previous thought that Hans could be considered a real friend this time.

Meanwhile, hearing the child's words, Arat smirked and replied,

"You should trust your people, Prince Hans."

  Despite the sense of trust, Arat exuded, Hans couldn't help but feel that sometimes, Arat was like a snake slithering around trying to grasp when he could swallow him whole. As this was not the time for that, he trusted him momentarily not forgetting Vanessa's words 'The only people who can betray you are the ones you trust.'

"We both need something so let's stick with that." Hans responded, "You will find the gem and we will go home, not to forget you finding me everything about sis, that's it."

Arat asked with a pout that didn't suit him,

"You get two while I get one? What a fair trade, Prince."

Hans quickly responded to Arat's sarcasm, "I thought you were receiving 'my goodwill' and 'trust', or perhaps 'sparking a flame of revenge inside me'. It makes it four to two, Mr Prime Minister, should I increase my side?"

"You sure use the gift of gab at the right times."

Hans smirked and stole a glance at Delimira again, before turning to Arat and declaring,

"It's better for her to hide than to consume the firepower of two people - "

"But we can manage fine, either way," Arat interrupted.

"NO" Hans replied firmly, ending the conversation but Delimira interjected,

"Are you really going to be like this? They say they can protect me - "

"you are a mage, you have beaten me", Hans said, cutting her off and maintaining his firm tone, "prove that it was not a fluke"

"But -"

"Winters, these people are not obligated to protect you. You have to survive on your own,"

  After suppressing her urge to say more, she didn't speak further since no one was willing to listen, and quietly followed the people. Eventually, all arrived at the Evil Monkey village after a brief trek for an hour. They stood on a cliff, a bit far from the destination, gazing down at the village below and taking in the sight.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The village was located in the midst of a frigid, snow-covered valley, nestled at the foot of a large, rugged mountain. It was like a half cave structure that they dug at the foot of the mountain, sealing their abode from the three sides and only offering one as an entrance and exit.

  Hans couldn't contain his excitement as he laid eyes on the Natives' residence for the first time. It was like stepping back in time to when tribes and clans roamed around. The village was made up of small, robust huts and cabins constructed from the sturdy branches of the trees that grew in the valley. The roofs, on the other hand, were steeply pitched to shed the heavy snow that falls from the above mountain peaks.

  Hans had read about this but he did not know that the Evil Monkeys have also cleverly engineered the walls to be well-insulated, to keep the harsh winter winds at bay. As he looked at the entrance, he could find many of them, each with their own unique appearance and personality. Some are tall and broad, while others are smaller and more nimble. All of them are covered in thick, shaggy fur that provides an extra layer of protection against the cold.

  Resisting the urge to admire the scenery further, Hans followed his training and focused on surveying the hunting ground. His gaze automatically landed on the native patrols tasked with vigilance and guarding the village. He observed guard posts positioned along the perimeter of the village. As he continued surveying the place which only gave one way in and out, he concluded as he murmured,

"it is like a trap inviting people in, only to ambush them from within"

  Once he had assessed the situation, Hans gestured towards a spot situated a distance away from the village. He suggested Delimira to head there and create a shelter using the remaining meat as cover. Pointing at the putrid smell coming off the aged meat he said like an expert,

"Despite their harsh living conditions, the Evil Monkeys are clean creatures and actively avoid foul odours, making this the perfect cover for you."

  With her safely hidden away, Hans proceeded to the village entrance alone while the escort and Arat surrounded the perimeter, preparing for any unforeseen circumstances. Hans knew that he was not a significant threat to the Evil Monkeys and hoped that they might let down their guard. He thought, in previous encounters, the escorts must have been too intimidating, leading to hostile confrontations. so he wore the most innocent face he could get out and reached the entrance of the village.

As he was detected, the Evil monkeys surrounded him, greeting him with grunts and howls, their body language asking his reasons for coming here, so he said in loud and clear words,

"I.CAME.BARTER."

A towering Evil monkey, with bulging muscles, confronted Hans. Its size was nearly ten times larger than him, and its voice was deep and menacing." WE.NO.NEED.NOTHING." he said.

  Hans took out the artefact from his pocket, pointing at the native with his small hands. It was the very artefact that kept their cave warm yesterday. He received it from Arat as a bargaining chip since many Evil Monkeys die in infancy due to the harsh cold, it could become a valuable chip to get the aqua gem. Activating the artefact in front of everyone, with an aim to entice the natives, Hans said, "I.CAN.GET.COLD.AWAY"

"Grrr..." the towering evil monkey grunted, "NO.SHINY.THING.GIVING." he declared.

  The creature standing in front of Hans appeared to be a mere representative of the village chief, who was preferring a gem, worthless to them over the lives of his village offspring. Hans increased the range of the artefact, and the warmth spread throughout the area near the gate. The guards could feel the heat penetrating the cold, and after seeing their comforted but ugly faces, Hans addressed, "ARE.YOU.SURE.YOU.NO.EXCHANGE."

  Hans couldn't discern the creature's expression with his eyes but he knew that greed must be surfacing in their mind. The representative in front of him turned his head slightly and let out a loud cry, " O ooh oa ooou ohahaaaa oo ooe."

  Hans thought the puppet in front must be asking what to do from the real chief and a similar reply came in a loud voice back. He could probably understand many languages because of his resurfacing power of inheritance but the Evil Monkey tribe’s tongue was not one of them.

  Upon hearing the response, the representative native looked at Hans and roared as loud as he could, this got escort alerted and they got ready to attack at any moment. But Hans was not started a bit, he knew and aimed for this situation to happen from the beginning, he smirked and said, "I talked first, now it's self-defence, you bastards."

~ Mutilate ~

The conical-cased crying seed found its target on the representative’s torso and with a horrifying scream, the native shredded in many unrecognisable parts. The guard evil monkeys were shocked, as they had deemed Hans to be as harmless as a lamb in their tribe

  Once started, Hans knew that there was no going back so he did not stop there. He knew that the Evil Monkeys were masters in wide-range attacks, so so he decided to force them to use less destructive measures. He flung himself into the village and charged straight to the most densely populated area.

  This move alarmed the Parvians, who abandoned their plans and rushed to rescue Hans. However, it would take them some time to reach him, as Hans had started the attack, catching both the Parvians and the Evil Monkeys off guard.

  Meanwhile, Hans was venturing deeper and deeper towards the centre, his move was akin to a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the natives couldn't act freely, but on the other hand, he couldn't easily escape. Arat was practically biting his nails in anxiety. He had wanted to see Hans's prowess, but it had gone too far, and now Hans's life might be in danger. The escorts shared his concern, but they couldn't act rashly now. Their presence would only bring out the higher-ranked evil monkeys, so they approached Hans's supposed location stealthily.

  Hans finally reached the centre and stopped on seeing he was surrounded by the whole village. Hans said in loud voice, Aah, the fresh wind of the wilderness. Suddenly, several orca vines sprouted and targeted the weakest natives who were not warriors but breeders and common folk. The orca vines ran rampant, dismembering many of them in a matter of moments.

  There were only screams and terror in the village, the race that went haywire when one of them was hurt, did not wait further and dived into rescuing the villagers. The warriors among them shouted and tried to uproot the vines but little did they know the orca vines were highly paralytic and the one who uprooted it started feeling lethargy in an instant.

  Hans did not miss the opportunity, since the bait did its job, now it was time to collect the game. In no time, the paralysed natives were swiftly beheaded by the very vines they had uprooted, coiling around their necks, twisting, and severing them from their bodies. The situation quickly spiralled out of control, and the natives' mistake of underestimating Hans's lack of mana came back biting their red asses.

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