Dumrivil jumped forward and slammed the man into the ground. He used his other hand and covered the man’s mouth before he could make a noise. Ezra jumped in and recalled Filamenta to his hand, then swung down into the man’s head.
620/1000
He pulled his needle out and swung down twice more. Pieces of the man’s brain poured out all over the ground in a meaty mess.
331/1000
0/1000
Ezra pulled out his needle and flicked it sharply, sending blood splattering against the stone. Dumrivil watched it with a grimace.
“We’ll need to move quickly. They’ll notice this guy’s disappearance soon,” Dumrivil said.
Ezra raised an eyebrow.
“I thought we were going to just take care of everyone in the area,” he said.
Dumrivil blinked, then leaned backward. “Let’s try to avoid a massacre. Besides, we’re good, but I doubt we could take on over a hundred people.”
Ezra would take those odds, but since Dumrivil was so insistent…
“Fine,” Ezra said. “Let’s stop wasting time.”
They made their way to the camp, leapfrogging from boulder to wall outcropping wherever was convenient. They had a few close calls, but they were each dealt with quickly.
“You’re so damn loud,” Ezra whispered. “They keep on coming after us because of your footsteps.”
“Yeah, well not everyone can have an A-ranked skill, bucko,” Dumrivil said.
They were soon close enough to make out in detail what they’d seen at a distance earlier. They both poked around a corner.
Dumrivil was right. They were breeding monsters. Hundreds of cages filled the canyon floor, each of them full of several monsters—several that Ezra recognized. The odd bunnies with the magic core, a handful of Giant Lizards and even that oversized snake Dumrivil had run into.
Dumrivil’s eyes were locked onto them and he reached up for his sword.
Ezra glared at him and gave him a light shove.
“You’re the one who said we needed to be quiet,” he said. “Don’t go around changing your mind whenever you feel like it.”
Dumrivil’s hand stopped right before it touched the hilt of his sword. He pulled his hand away and then nodded. “You’re right. Let’s see if we can find some kind of command tent. That would probably have what we’re looking for.”
Ezra slid his head out and glanced around. A man to the right was whipping a monster for no apparent reason, while to the left, two women were talking to each other. The tents themselves were all the same save for one in the middle. It was significantly larger and of a better quality of construction. It looked more like a yurt than the simple lean-to tents that the others had set up.
“I’d bet that it’s that one,” Ezra said. “For no particular reason.”
Dumrivil’s vision honed in on the spot that Ezra had picked out. His eyebrows raised. “Huh, that was easy.”
“Yeah, but actually getting there is going to be hell,” Ezra said. “It’s dead center in the camp, no spots to hide, nothing.”
Dumrivil stroked his chin and looked back to where they’d slaughtered two other men.
Ezra followed his gaze. Oh… Dumrivil wasn’t seriously suggesting…?
“I think I have an idea,” Dumrivil said.
----------------------------------------
Ezra tugged at his newfound clothing and frowned. The collar chafed against his neck. He’d probably have rashes after this is over. On the ground was Dumrivil’s large sword, hidden away in a tunnel with only the hilt sticking out. Filamenta had been dispelled, leaving Ezra with a warm feeling next to his heart. Unfortunately, Dumrivil could not be convinced to part with the scarf.
“I think that there was still a bit of his brain in mine.” Dumrivil shivered. “Gods, why did I agree to this?”
“You’re the one who suggested it, what the hell are you talking about?” Ezra said. “Come on, we can’t avoid to waste any more time.”
The two of them stepped from out behind a rock. Ezra strode forward, his steps slow and measured. Dumrivil followed behind a second later, awkwardly skipping over to Ezra. A lady who saw them walking by gave them a nod, then returned to her work. Ezra waved at her as he passed by.
“Just act natural,” Ezra said. “Look, if I can get by with the eyepatch, there’s no way they’re going to spot us when we’re like this.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Dumrivil nodded and his back straightened up. “You’re right,” he said. “This shouldn’t be an issue. We can do this—“
“You two!” A voice bellowed. “Come over here!”
Ezra and Dumrivil froze. Ezra’s face dropped.
“Are you kidding me?” he muttered.
Footsteps pounded the ground.
“Hey, you! I’m talking to you two!”
Ezra turned around and looked at the man calling their attention. He was a larger guy, strapped with muscle from head to toe. His head was bald and shiny with only a small tuft of hair on the chin.
Malin - Mercenary Captain - Lv. 55
“Who the hell’s your commanding officer?” the man said.
“Uh—“
“Never mind, I don’t care,” the man said. “Come on, we need an extra hand dealing with one of the monsters. It needs to be… taken out. If your sergeant gives you shit, just tell ‘em that Colonel Malin was involved.”
The man—Colonel Malin, presumably, walked away. Ezra looked at Dumrivil, shrugged, then followed behind Malin.
As they walked, Dumrivil’s eyebrows furrowed.
“They’re professionals,” he said. “Probably a mercenary company. But I’ve never heard of a mercenary company that would be willing to do something this stupid.”
“They’ve got to be from overseas,” Ezra said. “That’s the only thing I can think of.”
“But if that’s the case, then this operation must be massive. We’re talking about shipping hundreds if not thousands of men—“
A caged monkey-like monster slammed into its cage, rattling it and making Ezra and Dumrivil jump back instinctively. Malin glanced over at it and grunted.
“These creatures are a real pain to work with,” Malin said. “Normal monsters are tough enough, but these mutant ones have twice the fire and none of the patience. I’ve half a mind to throw Villscha in one of those cages just to see how he’d react.”
He laughed. Ezra followed up with a chuckle. This guy was obviously terrible and had probably committed multiple war crimes, but he was at least mildly funny. Dumrivil gave him an incredulous look. Ezra rolled his eyes. Kill-joy.
They eventually stopped in front of one of the larger cages. It was a—
Skinwalker.
Ezra stepped back, his face turning pale. His hands shook and it took everything he had not to keel over and vomit.
[Calm] kicked in a moment later and the feelings washed away. He sighed. Dumrivil gave him a worried look.
“Are you okay?” he said.
Ezra grimaced. “Something I ate didn’t agree with me.”
Malin looked at the cage and grunted.
“Skinwalkers are a real pain to capture,” he said, “They’re also tricky to work with, given that they can take human form. Even [Inspect] is fooled by them—that’s why there are so many locks on the cage.”
Ezra looked at the skinwalker. Even now, his heart pounded in his chest and it was taking everything he had not to run away, even with [Calm] on.
“Is that the creature we’ll have to subdue?” Ezra said.
Malin chuckled and smirked. “No, I was just here to check that it was still in its cage. You two will be dealing with something a little… bigger.”
They walked off. As they did so, they heard the sound of a shout and a loud crack.
Someone flew through the air and tumbled over to the ground.
Malin grunted. “Damn, it already got out of the restraints? Come on, we—and by we, I mean you—need to go help!”
They ran closer. A giant horned rat was trampling over tents. To the side, an unfortunate man was on the ground, his stomach gored and flesh strewn all over the dirt.
Seven other soldiers approached with their spears outstretched. All of them were shivering and leaning back as much as they could.
“Well?” Malin said. “Get in there and help them!”
Ezra jogged over to behind the monster, closing the encirclement. Dumrivil took up his right. They’d just got into position when the giant horned rat poked its head up and screed at the top of its lungs. It rushed toward one of the other soldiers and stabbed him in the head with its horn, exploding it like a watermelon. The two soldiers next to him screamed and ran away.
Ezra rolled his eyes. [Calm] was still on, thankfully, meaning that he wasn’t as affected by this as he might’ve been without it.
“Come on, let’s just take care of this,” Ezra said. “I don’t want to waste any more time.”
“Is that a good idea? We might draw attention to ourselves,” Dumrivil said.
“The gig is up once they find one of the dead bodies anyway. Let’s just get in there already.”
Dumrivil hesitated, then nodded.
Ezra gave a quick, experimental stab with the spear. It was ungraceful and awkward, clearly marking him as a beginner—but it would have to do. Dumrivil, on the other hand, twirled his spear over his head, then lowered into a ready position.
Show off.
“Ready?” Dumrivil said. “On three. One, two, three!”
Ezra broke off to the left while Dumrivil broke off to the right. The horned rat screeched and tried to attack Ezra with its horn. Ezra dodged to the side and jumped onto its back. He raised his spear to stab it in the brain.
As if it sensed its doom, the rat rolled onto its back. Ezra jumped away with a frown, landing softly on his feet. Dumrivil jumped into the air a moment later and embedded his spear into the creature’s soft, exposed underbelly.
The giant horned rat screamed and swung its horn at Dumrivil. He was forced to let his spear go and jump away from the incoming strike.
Ezra took the chance to dash at it from behind. This time, Ezra was at the right angle for him to not be seen. The rat didn’t move, and Ezra slid and stabbed forward.
His spear landed against the skull and snapped uselessly.
Ezra stared, slackjawed. A moment later, the rat swung its tail out, whipping into Ezra and sending him flying through the air. He flew through and instinctively shot his feet out to let him land.
Blood trickled from the edge of his mouth. He glanced at his HP.
72/300
Ezra was starting to get tired of the glass cannon lifestyle. He made a mental note to raise his Constitution as soon as possible, preferably not in the middle of a fight.
He glanced around. If he couldn’t use a traditional weapon, he’d have to think outside the box.
Dumrivil, meanwhile, had grabbed another spear. He stared down the rat as if daring it to make the first move. The rat growled and lunged forward, horn pointed outward. Dumrivil rolled to the side, then bounced up and threw his spear into the rat’s eyes. The spear sunk deep, sending bits of flesh to the ground. The rat screeched and reared up like a horse.
Around him, Ezra had a torch, a rope, caged monsters, some wood scraps, canvas for tents—there wasn’t exactly a lot to use. Ezra continued scanning the ground until he rolled his eyes. Screw this.
He popped open his menu and pumped all 20 of his stat points into Strength, putting him at 30. He felt a wave of power flush through his arms like heat through his veins.
He picked up a rope and dashed toward the horned rat. It didn’t even have a chance to scream before he was on its back, the rope wrapped around its neck.
[Exotic Weaponry skill unlocked!]
Ezra pulled it as tight as he could. The monster screamed and bucked up and down in an attempt to get Ezra off. Ezra gritted his teeth and held on as tight as he could. The rat dashed forward, slamming into a pile of logs and scattering them all over the ground. Ezra pulled back and tugged even harder. The rat jolted, then rolled onto its side.
Ezra saw the ground rush toward him.