Chapter 13 - Liar
Encampment Outskirts - Loncouche Forest - Midnight
Simon sat alone on the hill overlooking the encampment, shrouded by cold darkness and never ending rain. Below several mercenaries and soldiers could be seen scurrying around the camp, frantically rearranging supplies to protect them from the rain. According to Kuro, rain can last for several days during this season. Any goods not adequately covered or sealed would quickly become ruined by the ceaseless downpour.
Simon rose slowly before descending down the hill, carefully moving in between the trees and hiding behind several of the larger bushes until eventually making his way inside the camp properly.
"You there!" one of the nearby soldiers shouted out at Simon as he appeared from behind a tent. "Get this crate moved into the main tent already! The last thing we need are these damn pelts getting soaked and molding before we get back to town."
I'll kill you last.
Without missing a beat Simon approaches the crate and lifts it slowly, careful to make the effort seem somewhat taxing as to avoid suspicion.
"Yalriks Burnin Hells yer strong ant ye?" the man comments before pointing in the direction of the main tent.
Simon grunted at the main before carrying the crate over towards the main tent. A map of the layout of the encampment began to form in his mind as he made his way through, carefully noting the location of each tent and how many guards were inside. Thanks to his current attire being entirely supplied by the bandits he killed earlier, the mercenaries seem to think he's one of their men.
Several tents stick out to him, but the thing that stands out the most is a shoddily constructed cage filled with female beastmen completely naked and exposed to the rain. Their bodies are so tightly packed that none of them have enough room to lie down. Several of the weaker-looking ones seem to be pressed against the bars by the other women in an attempt to give them some support. He quietly raised his head and tries to do a quick headcount before giving up.
At least fifty.
All of the women appear to be malnourished and beaten, shivering heavily in the cold rain. Some seem to be in their early to mid-'20s, but the vast majority of them are far, far, younger. Additionally, not all women shared the same animal characteristics present in Kuro's village. Most likely captured from the neighboring villages and brought to the staging camp.
Gritting his teeth silently, Simon quickly passes by the cage and eventually arrives in a tent cluttered and sets the large crate down, much to the annoyance of a nearby soldier turned quartermaster.
"Oi, what the fuck are ye doing? That crate goes over there with the rest of them! Are ye blind or something?" Simon's expression briefly displays his displeasure before picking up the crate and walking over towards the direction that he was pointed in.
"Hey, I'm talking to ye!" the man said before grabbing onto Simon's shoulder, attempting to turn him around. Simon gently sighed before placing the large crate back down on the ground and turning to face the unlucky bastard behind him.
"Who do yo- Wait, who the fuck are ye? I ain't ever seen you around the-" A loud cracking sound fills the tent as the quartermaster's head does one last look around the world before his body crumples to the floor. Simon frowns while looking at the fresh corpse at his feet and casually kicks it away behind a stack of nearby crates. Out of sight, out of mind.
A sharp scream comes from outside the tent as one of the soldiers opens the rickey-looking cage, most likely to drag one out to be raped. Simon quickly appears before the man and repeats the same process. The man's body falls to the ground while several of the women look on in shock. Simon quietly puts a finger to his lips to silence the nearby women before hurling the man's body into a nearby latrine pit.
"I'm going to get all of you out of here. Just be quiet until I come back." He says in a hushed tone before heading towards the largest tent.
Simon approached the tent slowly, his rage already beyond its boiling point from the sounds being emitted inside. Two soldiers standing outside quickly find themselves joining their comrade in the latrine pit before Simon enters the tent. Inside, the large man can be seen beating a small girl repeatedly.
"Yeah! You like that, huh! I know you do!" the man repeatedly screams each time he hits the girl. Simon shakes his head from side to side before speaking softly in a voice colder than ice, "She's already dead."
The man, likely the encampments commander, quickly jumps off of the bed and turns towards Simon, his hands still dripping with the woman's blood. "Who the fuck are you?!" He screams loudly while reaching for his sword. The distance between the two men is cleared in an instant as Simon lifts the man up by his neck.
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"You like beating little girls, do you? That's what gets it up for you? Beating on those incapable of resisting?" he says while grinding his teeth. "I was just going to kill you, but now...now I've got a better idea."
Simon's heavy footsteps echo outwards as he exits the tent, still carrying the naked man by the neck. Passing by the cage, several of the women shout out in fright at the sight of the commander being held up. A few of the more battered women faint at the sight, likely those lucky few who managed to survive his assault until he eventually grew bored of them. The commotion attracted several of the nearby 'soldiers' and mercenaries turned bandits.
None of them attempt to close the distance and instead merely crowd around the pair of men until Simon and the commander arrive in the middle of the encampment. Some of the men had their weapons drawn while others merely cheered and began passing coins along, likely placing morbid bets on the outcome.
"All of you, get out here!"
Simon's command boomed throughout the encampment loud enough to drown out the roaring thunder overhead and caused several of the 'soldiers' to quickly stand at attention. In under a minute the remainder of the encampment had quickly formed a ring around him and the commander. An audible gasp escaped the crowd as the commander was casually tossed across the ground.
"Get up," Simon growled before removing his gauntlets and tossing them to the ground. "You like beating women, do you? It makes you feel excited, does it?" Simon lightly kicks the commander in the chest, just enough to send him rolling across the ground several times. "I said, GET. THE. FUCK. UP!"
Simon's roar is filled with rage as he pulls the commander to his feet, only to shatter his jaw with a swift right hook. The commander flies across the ground again before crawling on his knees in front of Simon, seemingly pleading for his life, his face rubbing softly against Simon's boot.
Simon spits at the man in disgust before kicking him back across the ground, grinning slightly at the sound of cracking ribs coming from the rolling man's broken body. The process repeats several times until, eventually, the man is no longer able to crawl and is instead loudly weeping through his broken jaw. Simon slowly approaches the commander, raises his foot overhead, and stomps down. A sloppy splattering sound reverberates throughout the campsite as the commander's head explodes like a watermelon hit by a sledgehammer.
Simon's hateful gaze lifts up from the splattered remains of the commander, quietly observing the surrounding men. "Well?" He growls, "Who's next?!" he shouts angrily before grabbing one of the nearby observers and ripping his head off savagely, lightning reflecting off of his blood-stained teeth.
Like a dam of metal and flesh had been broken, the stunned men flooded forward, charging at him from all directions. Some to avenge their commander, some for 'honor and glory', and some simply to kill the nightmarish demon that had appeared in front of them. None of it mattered. They'd all die the same.
Screams echo throughout the encampment turned battlefield. Three minutes had barely passed since the commander had been mercilessly slain and already dozens of his men had joined him in whatever hell awaited beyond. Out of the corner of his eye, Simon spots a lone black crow staring intently at him, a fresh piece of meat within its beak. The crow merely nods at him before taking off into the night only to be replaced by a white dove seconds later that lands on a dying piece of filth that seems to have killed itself rather than fight the demon in front of them.
The dove disappears as he blinks, narrowly dodging a thrusting spear. His right foot kicks off the ground slightly before his left foot finds itself firmly lodged in the spearman's chest cavity. Simon tries shaking off the hanging mass of flesh but one of his boot's armored plates appears to have become lodged on an unfortunately intact rib cage. The dying man's last moments were spent as an impromptu bludgeoning instrument as Simon gave up on freeing his foot for the moment.
Another minute passed before Simon stopped to take a breath and take in the scene around him
A man clutches the bleeding stump where his arm had been a moment before. Meanwhile, another man is staring wide-eyed at his own intestines scattered across the dirt in front of him. Beside him, a man sat across the ground, mumbling softly at missing his legs while clutching them tightly.
A soldier charges at Simon from behind with his spear, only to have his advance stopped when his spear is caught by Simon's bare hands. The soldier suddenly lurches forward as he's pulled in. Eyes wide in terror as he tries to scream but only manages to make a soft gurgling sound as Simon rips out the man's throat with his teeth.
Newly acquired weapon in hand, Simon thrusts the spear forward, skewering four men at once with a sickening grin. The soldiers cry out in agony as they are lifted up vertically by the spear before its half is impaled into the earth, the still screaming soldiers quickly slide down the shaft and become piled on top of each other.
Blood, viscera, and limbs fly in all directions until roughly thirty men remain, hiding beneath the mutilated corpses of their fallen comrades.
"All of you, get up," Simon says coldly, kicking away the corpse a man had hiding beneath.
"You, go open the cage. Get the women and children loaded up onto a wagon, GENTLY. The rest of you start loading the remaining wagons with as many supplies as they can hold. If any of you try to run, I'll chase you to the ends of this damnable world and flay you alive."
The remaining men quickly leave the area and begin carrying out his orders. The cage is promptly broken open, and the women inside are directed to board one of several nearby wagons. Those incapable of walking were swiftly carried inside instead by the horrified survivors.
Still, far from satisfied with this outcome, Simon looks down at the man still struggling beneath his blood-soaked boot. "I know I said I'd kill you last," Simon mutters under his breath. The light of hope briefly flashes in the man's eyes before being snuffed out unceremoniously as his head is crushed.
"I lied."