VENGEANCE

"By the Nord Pass!"

Chu noticed the eyes under the hood widen as the man unconsciously stepped back. Even during this initial shock the man did not relinquish his hold on the boy.

He twisted the sword to generate a new scream, while dropping the crossbow and gripping the boy's shoulder. This sort of reaction to maintain or keep an advantage could only be done by an experienced hand.

"Ah, I see how it is. Looks like you still have some use alive boy."

He muttered.

The bandit roughly removed his sword and spun Chu around like a top. One hand gripped Chu's black hair while the other held the sword blade across his neck. From the firing of the crossbow till the present, not even five breaths had passed.

Chu finally witnessed what caused the man to become excited.

"Drop that crossbow brat, or I cut his throat. Good thing I fired the shot or else that damn beast might have sneaked up on me, eh!"

As the man growled his commands, Chu let out an audible sigh.

Lucy had her crossbow aiming at the man while Ming stood ready with his sword. Beside them stood their companion. The nock and shaft of a crossbolt partly visible from a bleeding wound on its left front shoulder.

Even though the animal had itself avoided taking a critical injury, the apparent limp showed its mobility had been impeded.

Dyna had lived up to her promise that fateful night in the barn admirably. The trained wolf showed no hesitation in sacrificing itself for Ming.

These beast had fully graduated from cannon fodder to loyal companions in everyone's minds since then.

Unfortunately the excruciating pain from a stab wound, and more importantly the dangerous predicament Chu found himself at this time, drove any romanticized thoughts from his mind.

"Looks like you think this is a deadlock? Let me give you country folks a lesson on the ways of the world."

Halfway through speaking, he lifted Chu upwards by his hair. As the boy tiptoed and screamed, the man plunged his sword into the thin left leg drawing another wail. Seemingly aware of the cloak's unusual resistance, the man applied ruthless force.

The bandit seemed to revel in the inflicted suffering since he gouged at the wound with the weapon to administer maximum trauma.

"Drop it girl, and call back your dog. Right now both of them have matching leg wounds. The next strike will take a limb."

As if to reiterate his seriousness, he plunged the sword into the leg again, this time carving a new wound. Lucy cried out to stop as she lowered her crossbow to the ground. Ming also dropped his sword in disgust at the man's behavior.

"Good, good. I want that beast for my young master. With such a fine specimen, he would undoubtedly be the talk of the city. Be thankful that I have never laid eyes on such a breed, otherwise I would have killed you all. Hahaha! What luck this trip has been!"

As the man laughed his hood finally fell backwards revealing his face. Riddled with pain, Chu maintained enough semblance of sanity in his mind to see the silent words forming from Ming's mouth.

Their time hunting in an environment that depended on absolute silence had birthed all sorts of communication methods.

In this more sparse and brightly lit wood, Chu made out the word.

'Gofart'

His mind reeled as he matched his aggressor to the not so familiar voice. The unbearable agony coupled with the sword at his neck prevented him from thinking clearly. At the moment it had taken all his willpower and previous near death experience to avoid panicking or fainting from the torture.

Their only hope lay in the man's unawareness of the trump card. The ones who previously witnessed the Lucy's ability had already embarked on the road to hell. The distance the man held Chu hostage approached over ten feet.

Because of this Lucy's ability of near instantaneous burst speed had become useless. Neither she nor Ming would ever take the chance to place the Chu in added danger.

If the man decided to release him for any reason, and hence give Lucy an unobstructed target, that loaded crossbow on the ground was akin to death. All they had to do was bide their time.

This unspoken agreement and plan soon came crashing down.

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"Spade what the heck are you doing? You playing house?"

A group of men swaggered in from the south-west of the camp. The leader who spoke held a crossbow trained at the huge wolf in the clearing.

The four others who accompanied him were all drenched in sweat further holding in their shaking hands some cheap short swords.

"Shut your damn mouth Daffodil, and don't you dare kill that beast. It's a present for my young master."

The man did not lower his crossbow but instead became more vigilant. One quick glance around the campsite along with the dead bodies near the fire placed him on edge.

"By the Nord Pass! You really are a piece of work. First you lead a team of bandits to assault some farming family because you recognized a woman who jilted you. Then you butcher the family and torture the women until death. Now I return, only to find you entertaining some kids. For a mercenary of high standing, you sure have fallen miserably!"

"Who are you trying to fool, you pervert! Both of us know you bitch about this because I didn't haul over a man for you! One look at you and I can bet all my gold you got discovered by some lousy farm worker. By the stars, man. Seems like even an ex-Military officer can lose his skills!"

The two men flung insults between them while Chu shuddered anytime the sword bounced across his neck. His mind whirrled in despair ever since Daffodil and his group appeared. A battle of attrition at the moment could only lead to death, and most likely he would have the honors of first kill... first killed.

Ironically it seemed that those two men failed to still recognize him. For a structural society to stand in which even the servants of a noble could not be bothered with a lowly commoner spoke volumes. It also highlighted how vindictive and black-hearted these men could be.

By sheer coincidence this man Spade finally saw Mrs Hoyle on a trip to the village. Mr Hoyle would have avoided the winter fiasco due to his understanding of the general conduct of those Military and Mercenaries.

After so many years however, all the woman raised from this man was vengeance.

"Don't forget Daffodil, the lady in question also snubbed the lord of my house. Unlike you, I can expect generous rewards on my return to Frost City. Coupled with a wolf and a nice plaything for my young master, this venture was worth it."

That statement of fact quelled any planned retort. Daffodil only scowled in a reply. It did not take him long to hit upon another idea to rile up his companion for this given mission.

"Hey Spade, you may think your out for some just rewards. But you fail to understand something. It looks like those kids wrecked your camp, this kind of rumor is certainly something you wont like spreading in the city, right?"

Chu nearly cursed at the man. Spade had appeared to have forgotten about them for the moment, only for this ass to raise the man's ire again.

As if on queue, a sword plunged into his right thigh as the servant turned bandit exacted his fury. The move brought howls of pain, shouts to halt, and loads of laughter.

Encouraged by the crowd, Spade pierced the sword a second time, opening a fresh wound. Now that Daffodil and the others had arrived, he held the numerical advantage. Chu's life now became worthless to him, since all he had to leave alive was the girl.

Once he broke her fragile mind, the present for his master would be assured. If the wolf refused to submit, then all that awaited it was death. Furthermore, the new Mong bandit leader along with his supplemental forces would soon arrive. This swelling of ranks made this subjugation effort a breeze.

Daffodil seemed to read his companion's mind as he slowly inched closer to the girl. One well-timed distraction by Spade aimed at the wolf, and Lucy should be within his grasp. The rest of the group remained where they were, still laughing and enjoying the show.

They were yet, too inexperienced to understand this subtle plan.

"Girl, pledge allegiance to me and I will spare your companion. All I want is control of the beast. If you come with me, you will have a life of untold riches!"

Spade readied himself as Daffodil moved about five feet away from the stupid group of laughing idiots to within about eight to ten feet of Lucy. All Spade had to do was throw the bleeding boy now hovering on the brink of consciousness, between the wolf and the girl.

The ex-military man would take care of the rest. He was confident he could fend of the creature if it chose to attack him until the girl came under their control.

As for the other boy, they could deal with him after. Maybe the men could use him as a live dummy during sword practice.

He sneered knowing that something like was best to help smash any resistance in the girl's mind. He moved his grip to the hostage's neck grabbing the clothes for leverage.

Just before he could place his plan into action something he never experienced nor heard of in his entire life happened.

A little girl, a third his size, walked out from the northern end of the woods. As if encountering some strangers on a lonely path, she halted and then continued slowly. Ignoring the surprised onlookers, she walked with her hands held behind her back and her head held high.

If it was not for her light leather armor complimented by a pair of leather boots, they might have taken her for a young master out on a stroll.

What came as a shock to the minds of the both these well-traveled servants- this girl had an aura that transcended that of all the major nobles they ever encountered.

Dyna moved towards the front of the wolf and nodded.

"I lend you my wolf and look what happens. Good, good, very good."

Her voice sounded like it was trembling from anger as she finally looked around.

"Was it you who did this to my Lycos?"

She turned to Daffodil and questioned. To anyone present he was the obvious choice. The man was the only one wielding a crossbow in his hands after all. Nobody saw the glance she gave the injured wolf who kept its eyes locked onto Spade.

Never one to miss a gifted horse in the eye, Spade acted during what he considered as a great opportunity. Before Daffodil could answer, Spade flung the half dead Chu towards Ming, essentially separating the wounded wolf from the small girl.

He did not fail to miss the words coming out from the girl's mouth. Neither did Daffodil.

'My Wolf.'

Spade readied himself for the anticipated attack from the beast.

"Got ya, brat!"

Daffodil shouted as he lowered his crossbow and lunged a grab at Dyna. The older girl nearby remained unarmed, creating the perfect opportunity.

Even an idiot could see this unarmed newcomer owned the wolf.

Controlling her meant controlling the beast.

Halfway through his lunge, the newcomer's gentle voice, dripping with fury and anger set off warning bells. In not even a breath of time, both him and Spade understood they had made a life-threatening decision.

A fatal mistake.

"Kill them all."