Enemy soldiers point of view
“All of you step forwards!”
One of the bashi of the army is standing in front of us barking out orders. If my sister and mother wasn’t part of the conscripts of this army I would have fled my duties. Most of us know whats waiting for us if we draw the short straw. A quick and brutal death at the hands of that madman hiding in the swamps.
It’s been two weeks since we’ve arrived here. I know that we’ve been sort of forced into this but it feels dirty. The night of the attack a large portion of our army was assaulted but only the higher ups in the army we killed. It was as if the attacker knew who was a valuable part of the army and killed only them. Even still, with him only going after high ranking members more than one thousand died that night.
The scariest part of it is it was a single person. I wasn’t one of the few unlucky ones that seen him but the number of deserters skyrocketed after that night. The aghas had to order a curfew against his own troops and anyone caught outside at night was to be treated as a potential deserter to cut down on the amount of men who ran away during the night. The members of my group are currently drawing lots to see who is the unfortunate one to keep that man in the swamp busy.
It’s been two entire weeks but it doesn’t seem like the man has gone to sleep. A single person can’t fight indefinitely. The aghas’ plan was to wear him down so the numbers we’d suffer while dragging the entire army through the swamp would be minimized but at this point we’d have saved more if we’d all just crossed the first and second day. The group I’m part of isn’t completely untrained but we’re not a part of the army either. The best way to describe us is mercenaries with hearts.
Each of us has family tied up on this side of the war. None of us would have fought otherwise but the thoughts of this being done in over with quickly have slowly died. The one who draws the short straw will be leading a group of armed civilians to keep the man awake. A few weeks ago I doubt any of them would decide to go against the lots drawn but a few of them have seen the man themselves… They sometimes scream me awake at night since that day.
A few of my group have drawn lots so far, none unlucky enough. It’s my turn next. I go forward to the bashi and he clears his throat. He slowly pushes one of the straws upwards… It wouldn’t make sense for him to push a single long straw up. The choice falls on me now then. Do I take the short straw so my men don’t die? I am the leader of this group…
I pluck the straw and confirm it is in fact the short one. I hold it up as a sink my head like I didn’t want this to happen. I hear a few sighs of relief along with some concerned whispers. The bashi leans down close so only I can hear him.
“The butcher has a weakness for strong females.”
“So you think I might stand a chance against him?”
“No… What I meant is he might not rip your head off your shoulders if you can put up a good enough fight.”
I gulp instinctively when he says that. He said it so non-nonchalantly, this must be the hundredth group they’re sending in but only a handful of survivors have come back. If you combine the casualties of the mercenaries this tiny group has killed almost five percent of our army. I shudder at that thought. He’s so strong that huge numbers like ours don’t matter...
Even if we do eventually exhaust him, if he runs away we’ll have to fight him again once he’s rested. If that happens and he manages to get away I’ll take my family members and flee. That’s if I even survive this assault. I step forwards and see the conscripts chosen for me to lead… Most of them are women… They must really believe this monster of a man isn’t going to kill females if they loaded the group with this many.
The few men in this group are mostly young. None of them look like seasoned fighters while most of the females look to have at least some experience. I think they must have been picked in the same sort of way I was. That’s not good… They plan for the men to die it seems. Boys barely in their teens are going to be killed for the sake of keeping the butcher busy.
This man is already more of a legend than anything. He has more nicknames than anyone else I’ve ever heard of. The butcher, the bloody man, Ash the bloody and so on. Every single nickname is about how fierce a fighter he is besides one. Kite the kind… It seems out of place but some of the men we’ve captured and our spies confirmed that’s what most of the soldiers of the other army call him. It doesn’t fit him at all, at least no how he is now.
I say loud enough for all of the people chosen for this suicide mission.
“Alright! Some of us will not return from this challenge. Not much will change if we fail here. Another unit will be chosen to take our place in stalling the butcher until he’s completely exhausted. If we succeed however and manage to kill him. We will be rewarded immensely. He’s been awake for a full two weeks already. He should be tiring out soon so our only goal is stalling. Stay alive for as long as possible and stall him so he becomes more tired and we may win this fight!”
This manages to cheer up most of the conscripts under me. The doubtful faces show hope for the first time since we’ve met. A few of the more seasoned fighters expressions don’t change. They know as well as me that this is an impossible task and perhaps maybe soon our army will overwhelm him but we are ants compared to an elephant.
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We all say goodbye to our loved ones before we leave. We head to the outskirts of the swamp, oh gods the smell. I don’t think swamps are supposed to smell this bad, like rotting corpses. We all know why it smells like this and some of us start to involuntarily gag at the smell. We start to wade into the swamp trying to stay on the sand path but most of that path has been destroyed by fighting.
We start to make our way into the swamp. The last few groups tried to go down the main path but I'm hoping that by coming at an odd angle of attack it might give us the advantage. I know that it most likely will not help but anything to help us stay alive. I get a few complaints from the fresh conscripts. I brush them off and after walking up to my knees into the swamp a chill runs down my body.
Floating corpses cover the surface of the swamp. Yea, we already knew where the smell was coming from but it only gets worse as we push further in. Some of the less experienced girls hold their noses and the youngest vomits. These corpses must have been floating in the swamp since the butcher showed himself. We should be getting close.
Nearing the middle of the swamp we come across a large clearing with a pillar of smoke coming from the center. A chill runs down my spine. All my years as a mercanary has honed my ability to sense danger. All of my senses are telling me to run. I should flee, no I need to flee! A smooth voice echoes from the opposite side of the fire.
"Hello there. I'm just about to eat. I'd enjoy the company, if you don't mind."
He pokes at a fire that has all of the sort of things you would expect someone who was a traveling adventurer would have. A few pots and pans of food inside the campfire and a makeshift tent. It seems out of place, all of these rumors seem to fade away with this sight. The feeling in my gut doesn't go away though.
Two of the greener adventurers whisper to each other.
"We're here to kill this guy?"
"He doesn't seem to live up to the rumors... We should be able to take him down."
I put my hand up and stop the group. I turn around so he can't see my face and whisper to them.
"This doesn't seem right... We should be extremely careful until we know for sure this isn't a trap..."
He speaks up again.
"It's not a trap and I'd advise not attacking me. I'm in a fairly good mood but interrupting my meal would spoil it and I'd have to kill you all."
He shouldn't have been able to hear us from that far away. He's almost shouting for us to hear him as we're still so far away. I know he'll hear me again so I reach into my pouch and pull out a sheet of paper. I write down.
"Our mission is to keep him awake, we'll keep him distracted by talking to him while he eats."
Everyone nods in agreement at my plan and we slowly make our way towards his camp looking for traps. He notices and yells again.
"I disarmed all the traps I set. It was too boring having you all die before you even reached me so it's safe to make your way here."
As much as I hate the idea that he's going easy on us it makes sense. We haven't seen any traps but the remnants of traps being set and going off are visible on the path here.
"Are any of you hungry? I've made enough for you all if you want some."
We make it closer to his camp and the irregularity sticks out even more. Right smack dab in the middle of this swamp and an island sitting a foot out of the water. Full of creature comforts someone in the midst of war shouldn't have. He is living like a king while we have little in comparison.
He looks young... Much younger than I would have assumed he was. Someone who has this infamy would need to be seasoned in combat beyond the years of most. Everything about this man is odd.
Some of the younger recruits go running up towards him. We haven't had a decent meal since even before we've started this war. Not only are we rationing food, none of us are a very high rank so the food we do get isn't any good. His food however is on a scale even the emporer might not eat in times of peace.
I instinctively start drooling at the smell of the soup he's cooking and the sight of the pan seared meat but I control myself. The first recruit to make it up to him reluctantly grabs a nearby bowl and fills it with the soup before looking at it for a second. She must have realized it could be poisoned.
The man takes a ladle of soup out and pours it into his mouth. Then takes a big bite out of a hunk of meat to prove it's not poisoned. It's enough for the first girl to take the risk of trying it and for the first few seconds she yelps and cries and I panic thinking she's been poisoned until she starts shoveling more food into her face.
A few of the younger recruits start eating with him and making conversation. Anyone looking from the outside at this situation wouldn't assume we're bitter enemies but close friends. The man makes jokes and gets laughs from the group and even some of the more seasoned members of the group cave in and grab a plate of food.
Everything seems unreal right now. It feels like it isn't real. All of the rumors all of the stories. Groups of men disappearing into the swamp and not returning seems almost fake... Wait!
"Where did this meat come from!?"
Everyone looks over at me shocked and then a few moments go past. A few of the smarter members of the group grasp what I'm asking and he speaks up again.
"Calm down this is basilisk steak."
He reaches over into a bag and pulls out a huge basilisk tail from no where. This person is too irregular. I feel like if I don't ask him now I wont ever get this chance.
"Why are you doing this?"
He pokes a few embers of the fire with a stick before speaking very softly.
"I'm just bored... Killing all of you over and over again is getting boring. I knew in my head that the general wasn't anything special but."
He tosses the stick into the fire and breaths out his breath as he finishes his sentence.
"He's fallen for every trap I've laid for him since I've started fighting. I kill all his leaders and instead of attacking me with enough force to push me back he keeps throwing these little groups at me trying to wear me out."
He gestures at us when he says little groups with his hand and continues.
"I'm just... Unsatisfied with how... Average your general is. I've crippled the infastructure of the army and he thinks I don't kill strong women because I'm weak towards them."
He chuckles alittle when he says it then continues once more.
"I killed most of the leaders of his army the first night of the attack. All of the strong men were the first to volunteer and challenge me. Getting him to send me the strong women to cripple was the next challenge but he easily fell into that trap by sending back a few alive saying that bold faced lie and he listened. Right now his army has no leaders but himself."
He stands up suddenly. Everyone reaches for their weapon instinctively until he lets out his blood lust. He barks at us now.
"This is the best of whats left of your army!? I wanted to be challenged but if this is it then how am I supposed to have any fun!? LEAVE NOW PISSANTS AND TELL YOUR LEADER THAT I HAVE WON!"
The thought that we could even draw his attention for long enough to make a difference fades. This isn't a human, it's a monster wearing a human as a disguise. I can't help but back away and most of the troops sent here have fled already. All we can do is flee.