*Planned to release this at least a month ago, but it took more time than predicted to write.

I finally decide to split it into two chapters due to its lengths.

ps: someone bomb-shelled chapter 7 up to 15,000 views, dunno what's their objectives.

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A few days have passed since Baku the peddler informed me about the demon fugitive.

I have put the village under high alert, the villagers are not allowed to leave the village until the vagabond has been found.

Thankfully our food stock is enough to last until spring, we won't have to starve ourselves while waiting for this disaster to pass.

In addition to that, several other response were also implemented. Guards are now keeping vigilance on the wall at all times with regular shift.

There's several complaints from guards assigned with night shift, but it is a job someone has to take no matter what, even I had partook on it.

I have also asked Sylv'air to do scheduled reconnaissance around the village, she's a fellow demon after all, even if they met each other the hobgoblin shouldn't consider her as a threat.

There's request from other villages to send few of our best guards to join theirs on a hunt for the hobgoblin, but I don't have any plans to send anyone to join them.

They were furious at my decision, but Rupherd ordered me to guard the village, not chasing fugitive demons. If the hobgoblin doesn't come to my village then there's no problem between me and him.

Thankfully, for the past few days Sylv'air hasn't picked up anything within the village perimeter.

The chance for the hobgoblin to be in this area should be small after all.

There's four other villages between Ronia and Redwall, it's unlikely he can reach all the way here unnoticed. However, a chance is still a chance, I don't want anything bad happened to the village while Rupherd is away.

It's good that the snow have quieted down a bit, at this rate spring should arrive within a week or two, then Rupherd should return within a week after that.

Winter length in this part of the world is absurd, it should have ended a few weeks ago.

In my long years of life as a demon I've never encountered a winter as long as the one in human territories.

I'm sure there will be many dead bodies found at spring If this same winter were to hit upon demon realm.

It's amazing how humans have adapted to survive in this weather, they even have different clothes for different time of the year. Take my current apparel for example, It's currently are composed of wolf fur mantle over wool clothes. A perfect combination to keep my body warm despite the cold of chainmail between it.  

The chainmail was Rupherd's birthday presents for me, it's a perfect choice of armor for me as the size can be adjusted with my growth.

It would be a waste to make an armor which will be outgrown in a few years, with chainmail local blacksmith could simply add more chains if need to.

However, wearing metal was certainly unpleasant.

This chainmail is certainly quite heavy, even though it is not at the level as to seriously hinder my agility. I could walk around the village and climb the wall's stairs without losing my breath.

Continuous falling snow have made the stairs slippery, the kettle I'm currently holding are shaking as I carefully choose my footsteps.

I was planning to patrol around the village's gates when Gaby asked me to deliver this to the guards.

A little share of herb brew for extra motivation, and as a substitute to prevent them from drinking alcohol.

The cold is still chilling to the bone, especially when you have to stand guard for a few hours.

Alcohol is obviously a perfect drink for times like this, but I have to question their readiness when the moment calls.

The guards are assigned to each of Ronia village three main gates, each at north, west, and south part of the village.

East side doesn't have a gate because it's the side which directly face the Great Forest, only a fool would make a gate for his enemy to enter.

Whenever the goblins came to attack they have to go around the walls into either north or south gate, leaving enough time for the guards to react.

Guards which are nowhere to be seen after I finished climbing the walls. Just where the hell they gone to?

"Ah young lord Glenard, do you have a business with me?."

A man from the corner of my eyes answered my question. It seems not everyone is missing yet.

"Barry, where's the other guards?. Shouldn't there be four people guarding this gate?."

"Well, they say the cold is too much for them to bear. So they are currently recuperating in the tavern. They should be back soon after finish warming up."

Seriously?, what use is guard shift if they leave the post on their own whim?.

"So other guards just left you here alone?."

"I can just yell at them if I notice something suspicious. A hero doesn't feel cold anyway. "

Barry, blacksmith's son with the heart of a hero, or so he hopes.

Ever increasing goblin's attack have forced Rupherd to incorporate more militia into the village guards, taking anyone willing and capable enough to guard the village.

One of the new trainees was Barry, who've been itching to get swordsmanship training from his idol Rupherd.

Barry recently become fourteen years old a few months back, the age which are considered as adult by human standard, naturally making him eligible candidate for militia.

His swordsmanship talent is average, yet the determination to train make him shine above the others.

Rupherd occasionally arrange a duel between us since we are similar in age.

Barry might be a little older than me, but I've been training with sword long before he was even born, an eleven year old body won't stop me from defeating him.

It felt quite good to occasionally win a spar every once in a while.

There's chance that I'm already capable of beating Rupherd or at least the other guards, but it will require me to use my domain in battle, something I tried to avoid in order to stay low profile.

I'm planning to keep low profile until I truly sure I can hold my own when there's challenger or other sorts of people after me.

There should not be too many suspicions if I manage defeat Barry, hence he currently act as some sort of punching bag for me.

Until today, our current spar records is thirty-four win for me and null for him. Barry simply doesn't know when to accept his defeat, always asking me to spar whenever we meet.

His behavior also worried his parents, who would prefer him to take over the smith rather than becoming a swordsman.

He himself have set the path of hero as his goal, currently splitting his time between blacksmithing and swordsmanship.

For some reason he currently consider me as his rival. Although I couldn't care less about him for most part.

"...I might have to talk with the other guards a little bit after this. Anyway, Barry, congrats for your privilege over a full kettle of recently brewed herbs. I'm going to visit other gates."

"Wait, let's have a duel right now!.  This time I will-"

"Not interested, I want to keep my energy level high in case the demon came to attack."

I interrupt Barry thirteenth duel challenge this week.

Seriously, was dueling me the only thing in this guy mind every time he met me?.

"...So you really planning to enter the front line when the time comes?."

"Why not?, my father have entrusted this village to me in his absence."

Well, Rupherd didn't actually gave me the permission to fight on his behalf, he still have some concern in sending his only son into battle.

It's not like I'm that eager to fight against my former kin either, but there are things I have to protect in this village.

If the only way to ensure their safety is by fighting against demons, then so be it.

On the other hand, Barry seems overly eager to fight them...

"I won't lose, I swear I will beat the demons before you!. That way Lord Rupherd will recognize me!."

"Sure~, knock yourself out."

"I'm serious!."

Fortune favors the bold, but overconfidence is the main reason of stupid deaths.

I hope Barry won't be rushing out of the village when we manage to locate the enemy, I'm sure he would be safe as long as he stay within the wall.

Redwall is north of Ronia after all, there's no way the hobgoblin would purposely go around the wall simply to attack from south gate.

Perhaps that's also what the other guards were thinking before leaving their post.

I can't help but felt that they underestimated the enemy too much. Why are they still haven't grasp the situation?.

The fugitive is a hobgoblin, he is on another level than normal goblin this village guards are used to.

If this hobgoblin turn out to be really strong I doubt the guards can stand a chance against him, they even intoxicated themselves before battle.

Perhaps this is the limit of frontier village's guards discipline.

They are certainly not the types you want to send into battlefield.

"I'm going to leave if you have nothing else to add. Be sure to tell the other guards not to slack off again or I will ask my father to cut their salary."

"Please don't!, they will be mad at me for snitching th-"

-The world seem to have stopped for a brief moment, as if giving me time to thoroughly observed the events unveiled.

Barry voice was cut off midway, replaced with a loud cracking sound.

His mouth was wide open without any words coming out from it, yet his eyes stare deeply into me.

Blood was splashing everywhere, dying the snow with red paint.

The snow absorbed the blood as if accepting its offering, glistening with diamond-like sparkle of crimson blood.

My clothes was also sprayed with this red matter, one which are used to reside within the body in front of me.

A foreign projectile hit Barry right on his head, and now he's lying on the ground twitching in the puddle of his own blood.

His fall was slow, yet I made no attempt to catch him as he fall into the ground.

Bewilderment is the best word to describe my current situation, my conversation partner are suddenly no more than a fish outside the water.

The same thing would happen to me If I didn't immediately face towards the source of the projectile.

The second wave is already on its way towards me with amazing velocity, not giving me much of a time window to reflect it.

The projectile crumbles under the stress of the forces as it clash with my domain [Barrier], revealing what used to be a big lump of rock at the size of a fist.

But it didn't stop there, another avalanche of rocks projectile keep coming at me one after another.

I decide to duck to evade most of it, reflecting all of them will only waste of my energy.

The avalanche stopped soon after most of it simply flied above my head, providing a gap of time for me to locate the assailant.

There's quite a distance between both of us, but I have seen this race far too often to mistaken them.

What I saw was something I've been on the lookout for this past few days.

Possessing all characteristics of a goblin, yet with bigger build than normal, it is without a doubt the hobgoblin fugitive.

One look was enough to identify him as on another level than normal goblins.

Compared to normal frail goblins who often attacked the village, this one seems so out of place that you might mistaken him as an ogre if not for his green skin.

His arms looked like it could break any human body as easy as a twig if he ever manage to get his hands around one.

Furthermore, his body are full with scars that will drive off any light-hearted challenger.

Truly, this fellow here is not one you want to mess around in close quarter combat.  

The green skin demon frantically searching his surroundings. Most likely looking for more ammunitions to throw at me.

In the end he decide on a boulder so large he was unable to fully wrap his arm around it, yet it didn't stop him from throwing it at me.

This new projectile is way too big for my [Barrier] to handle, but it's no match for its own weight.

The large boulder was way too heavy to reach my position. It ended up crashing against the wall instead, creating a large gaping hole as it makes its way through the wall. Stone bricks below my feet starts to crumble apart after losing its foundation, dragging me and Barry down to the ground.

Thunderous sounds accompany our fall as Ronia village's walls was breached, that was the heaviest damage anyone ever inflicted on it.

Guards casualty are sporadic, but the wall have always been unscathed in every raids until now.

Goblins naturally fight on open grounds as normal footmen raiders, hence during their raids there's no artillery similar to the one human used.

Not that they need one with this hobgoblin around, his muscle power are stupidly strong enough to bring down the walls.  

I carried Barry's body away from the wall's debris while keeping my eyes on the hobgoblin movement. He's running towards us with full speed, it seems direct confrontation is inevitable. I put Barry down on the ground before moving as far as possible as to not cause any more collateral damage on him, but the hobgoblin doesn't seem to be interested on me, he is still charging towards inanimate Barry.

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"Shit!, [Uplift]!"

I immediately use my domain power [Uplift] to lighten my current equipments.

[Uplift] is a part of four-directional domain control of [Force].

[Push] away from me, [Pull] towards me, [Pressure] to the ground, [Uplift] to the sky.

It is the most basic form of my domain control, to the point of me considering not to name them, which eventually happened after I managed to use multiple of them at the same time.

There's no time nor need to yell all the names, hence I'm calling the multiple uses variant as [Force].

As if being carried by the wind, the swords and chainmail are nothing but featherweight, allowing me to rush as fast as possible towards the hobgoblin.

We will clash head on halfway before he reach Barry.

The hobgoblin notice the incoming danger as I unsheathed my swords, he's looking at me before stamping his feet on the ground to quickly change his trajectory.

A crash between the two of us is inevitable.

As soon as the distance between us was nothing more than a few seconds apart, I took a large step as I prepare to throw one of my sword at him as if it's a javelin.

The sword fly true at him, piercing the cold winter air as it force him to stop his charge.

The hobgoblin was simply too fast and too large to evade my makeshift javelin. He clap his hand to stop the sword before it pierce his chest, blood gushing out wildly from his hands as it is cut by the friction.

I myself didn't stop charging at him, fully using my momentum to thrust another sword at him.

His entire body are now entirely enveloped in my domain range.

I let out a scream as both of my hands are pushing the sword through his chest.

"[Force]!!!"

[Force] is giving a second wind push to my javelin-sword's momentum, allowing it to resume its fight against the hobgoblin hands.

Meanwhile, another force also pulled his large body towards me, with two force working together from both side there's no way he can stop both swords.

The hobgoblin was caught by surprise with my domain control, there's nothing he can do but to keep his hands tight to stop my javelin-sword.

Allowing me to use my two hands to grip the sword as strong as possible as I pierce it through his stomach.

Half of the sword in my hand is now deeply stuck on his stomach, it failed to hit any vital target, yet the damage should still be immense.

The hobgoblin cry in pain as I twist my sword to enlarge the wound, he let go of his hands to try swatting me away from him, leaving the other sword free to pierce his chest.

His hands caught nothing but air as I quickly jump backwards to evade it.

Blood starts to gush out like a fountain from the wounds I have inflicted on him, first blood is mine.

I have successfully dealt some damage to him, but now I'm all out of swords.

The hobgoblin shift his gaze from me to his pierced body, allowing me to run towards Barry to grab his sword, it is foolish to fight this enemy empty handed.

"...Aah... pain... hungry... meat.. human meat..."

The hobgoblin tries to remove the swords pierced on his body while crying in agony with broken up demon language.

How long has it been since I heard someone using it?.

Sylv'air was always using human language inside the village, she also never tried to strike a conversation using demon language with me, hence I haven't revealed that I'm capable of it.

My demon tongue might be a little dull after long period of inactivity, but I'm still capable enough to decipher the meaning of the hobgoblin's words.

It seems this guy is one of human-eater demon with more brawns than brains.

Some demons due indulge in enjoying the flesh of humans, but it's nothing more than emergency food when you can't find anything better.

I personally once presented with human-meat cuisine by my vassals, normal animals meat taste way better for me.

"You, why are you here?. How can you evade other villages surveillance?."

"Ah?..human..speaks..understand.."

"Answer me!, why are you suddenly showed up in this gate!?."

"..Pain..noisy...fight.."

It seems there's no way to talk around this one, not like I'm planning to let him go either. He have destroyed a part of the wall with that giant boulder and incapacitated one of my guards who've bravely stand vigilant all by himself despite the snow.

If I let him go now it will be nothing but letting the whole world know that Ronia village defense is incapable of protecting itself, tarnishing Rupherd reputation.

The hobgoblin's movement should be obstructed with those swords stuck in his chest. This would be a perfect time to attack him once more, if only I'm not currently out of breath after excessive use of domain control.

The fatigue hit me hard as soon as I release [Force] uplift on my equipment. As expected, this body current strength is still not suitable for drawn-out battle using domain.

Running around while keeping full concentration to control the domains certainly takes a large toll, even more so when I had to keep tab at different domain usages at once.

There is only enough energy left for one more bout.

Should I risk it and go anyway?, but since he's a hobgoblin there's a chance he have a unique skill similar to my [Berserker's Blood].

Perhaps I should wait for the other guards to come here and fight him while I recover my stamina.

"You..strong..me..fight.."

Too bad it doesn't seems like my enemy have any plan to let me catch my breath. He already pluck the swords out of his body, ready for our next engagement. His gaze was locked on me without a care for the fountain of blood currently gushing out from his body.

Should I take Barry and run back inside the village?, what if the hobgoblin decide to follow me?.

The hobgoblin's eyes are red with madness, as if he want to drags others down to hell together with him.

No.., I can't involved the villagers on this.

Leading him into the village will only incur more casualties, I have to keep him outside.

Damn, it seems all these years spent in the village have made me gone soft.

Since when I began to put this village before myself?.

I raise my hand towards the hobgoblin as he charges his way to me.

"..[Ca-"

"Archer! Fire!"

From out of nowhere, a rain of arrows fall upon the hobgoblin.

I hear a few footsteps above me, it seems guards from the other gates have arrived. How can they arrive before this gate guards return from the tavern?, don't tell me they have fallen asleep and unable to hear anything. I really should cut their wages.

Oh well, at least I have backups now. I should be able to catch my breath a little bit longer.

"Young lord Glenard!, are you okay!?"

I become even more relieved as I hear the voice of Rupherd's trusted guard captain, Gilbert. Now I don't have to lead the guards personally.

"Yeah.., just keep raining arrows on him. I already make two holes in his chest, he should have run out of blood soon."

"Incredible, I almost didn't believe when the other guards told me you are fighting him alone. They thought you were already a goner."

"Wait, they went to notifies other guards instead of helping me first?."

"I know, I will scold them later, for now just step back and let us do our work."

What a bunch of cowards, so they consider me to be dead and went to notifies other guards so that they won't have to fight the hobgoblin alone?.

I should punish them more than simple wage cut.

"..Is that Barry over there?."

Gilbert was relieved to see me woundless, but that smile only last until he look at Barry's body behind me.

"Yeah, the hobgoblin caught him by surprise. He could have gotten either of us, but he choose to target Barry first. I owe him my life."

"Is that so... wait! there's still pulse, he is still alive!."

"What!?"

"It's faint, but there's a possibility we can save him if he's given a medical treatment as soon as possible."

Seriously?, his head was cracked open by the rock yet he still alive?. Perhaps he does have the hero star shine above him.

"Let me take him then, you guys should focus on pushing back that hobgoblin. Just keep a watch out for any strange movement from him, summon me if you need further help"

"Haha you must be joking young lord, we can finish this wounded mongrel in a jiffy. Come on men, let's go!."

I watch as Gilbert and the other guards charge towards the hobgoblin while I carried Barry away from the south gate. They should be able to hold on long enough until the wounds I inflicted drains all the blood from hobgoblin's body.

The best thing I can do right now is to recuperate myself in case they need an extra pair of hands.

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My feet slowly carried me and Barry to central plaza, Sylv'air and the old doctor should've transformed the herb shop into a makeshift first treatment station. The size and location is perfect as it is neither near nor close to the gates, even new guards should've known of central plaza location.

The village itself are lifeless, almost all villagers have returned back to their house and locked their door. It is basic precaution action whenever the village is under attack. Panicking residence is the last thing you need when you're defending a settlements.

The tranquil is broken when I hear a scream from across the plaza. The one screaming is Gaby, she run towards me without a care for the tables in herb shop lawn.

"Glen!, are you okay!?"

"Yeah, this is not my blood. All of them are Barry's and the enemy's. I just need some rest, but Barry need immediate attention."

Barry's head is still leaking blood. Most of it are absorbed by my mantle as I carried him.

The wolf fur are now dyed crimson red.

"This is..Barry?, what happened to him?."

"Got hit by a rock right at his head. You should notify the doctor to prepare his tools immediately, else Barry might not survive."

"Understood..."

Gaby rush back inside the herb shop as I follow behind her while carrying Barry. His bluish face are sign of how bad his current condition is. I doubt he can be saved, but there's no fault in trying to save lives.  

That hobgoblin are certainly quite strong, his raw strength are almost at the level of an ogre. He was still able to run around even with the grave wounds I've dealt on him. There's a slight chance the guards will found him to be quite a challenge, but he should fall sooner or later.

I have to be thankful to him for reigniting my battle senses. It was a feeling I haven't felt for a long time, the adrenaline invoked by a battle for life and death. If even a single hit from him managed to land at me, it would be my death. I had no choice but to throw everything I had at him, truly a worthy enemy for my first real battle as a human.

It is too bad that I can't witness his death.

I put down Barry on the bed as soon as I reached the herb shop. The shop interiors are now filled with beds and medical equipment instead of its normal furniture. The old doctor have a grim expression on his face as he examine Barry's head.

Everything is now out of my hand, it is up to Barry determination and the old doctor skills.

Sylv'air throw a few glances at the doctor and his patient before coming closer to me. Barry's injury is not on the level she can tend to, hence she came to check on me instead.

"Are you alright?, what happened?."

"The hobgoblin caught both of us by surprise. Somehow I manage to hold on until other guards arrive. They are still battling against him at the moment"

"It's not over yet?."

Even though it's covered by her veil, I'm sure there's worried expression surfaced on Sylv'air face, it seems she's quite afraid of this hobgoblin. An acceptable reaction by anyone who've seen Barry's injury.

"Perhaps only for a little while longer. He's bleeding quite heavily and should have run out of blood any time now. But I'm kind of tired, can you let me rest a bit?."

"Ah, of course. I will prepare a drink for you. You can use the bed over there."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

The bed attracts me like a magnet, tempting me to put my tired body to rest on it. It is an offer I can't refuse, right now there's nothing I want more than a moment break to catch my breath. Drowsiness hit me hard, my eyes are no longer capable to keep me away from my dream.

Shortly after I throw my body like a log at the bed, Sylv'air brought a cup of herb brew to alleviate my fatigue, but I can only drink a few sips before falling back to bed.

At last I finally able to rest in peace without any fear of the hobgoblin attacking while I'm asleep, although technically he already did.

The world become darker as I slowly giving up to the temptation of redeeming lost sleep from night watch.