The ride is long and painful. This box has zero holes in it so I can't tell the passing of time through the light of the sun. The straw that was piled on top of me is really scratchy and I think there is a snake in the box with me. Eventually, the cart stops, and I feel my box being roughly thrown off the cart in an "accident". I hit my head a few times as my box falls down a hill. When it comes to rest I am upside down and I feel a group of people pick up my box and carry me somewhere.

Once the box is set down my box is torn open and I come tumbling out of the box. I am in a damp basement of some kind surrounded by a group of very emaciated folks. The oldest one who I assume is their patriarch approaches me and says,

"You must be the one the duke sent.

We are serfs to Minister Donnerhauge, we have been colluding with your duke for some time. We only wish for the death of the Minister so that his lands can be taken by someone else..."

I don't speak but I nod in understanding. He thinks for a second before he asks,

"I know you have your mission, but I beg you... he has taken all of our women, young old, thin, fat, beautiful, and ugly. Please... free them."

I think for a second and then nod again, opening some cages could be possible. This seems to relax him and he motions for me to follow. I follow him up the stairs into a wretched town. The streets are mud, the buildings dilapidated, and literal corpses line the streets stinking and covered in maggots. I nearly gag at the smell but I steel myself. The old man points a shaky hand toward the manor on the hill and I begin walking toward it as the sun slowly sets. I guess another stereotypical villain is waiting for me...

Getting onto the estate grounds is easy. Under the cover of the night, I am able to easily clear the stone walls surrounding the grounds. The guards are lazy and not very alert. I guess if the entire village is full of such emaciated people aren't really a threat to well-fed and armored guards.

I sneak through the landscaping and get close to one of the towering windows. I slide a thin metal bar through the gap in the middle and lift the latch. The windows silently swing open and I get inside. My shoes are wrapped in cloth so my steps onto the tile floor are completely silent. I close the window behind me and latch it back, leaving no trace of my entry. I can distantly hear the sound of metal on porcelain, and the sound of glass being set down on wood. There must be some kind of dinner going on.

I walk through the house holding close to the walls as I move through the house and check every room. I go up a flight of stairs and continue this path. I find no one else in the house but I do find the study, and just like before some very interesting documents. Due to the quiet of the house, I can take my time in making sure every paper I put in my satchel is important. Once I finish with this I look for log books on the shelves along the walls but find nothing useful.

Now, it's time to find those ladies, because I plan to torch the entire building and everyone in it and I'd rather not burn civilians.

I take a peek into the dining room and find out quickly where all the women are. The room is huge per usual for noble houses, but there is a single massive table with women of many ages and looks sitting at it dressed in really tacky clothes. They all look uncomfortable and scared. At the head of the table is a man fitting the description of Minister Donnerhauge. He has what appears to be royal knights flanking the table making sure none of the women stray too far from the table where the old man is clearly perving on all of them.

With a sigh, I decide to really make a message with this one. I sneak into the kitchen and startle the cooks. They appear to understand that they shouldn't intervene and leave the building. I scoop up a large dish of some kind of meat and hold it like a server and I kick the kitchen door open and strut into the dining room.

The knights slightly unsheathe their swords but don't move as the minister laughs at my appearance. He shouts,

"What are you? Some kind of rabbit person? Are you ugly enough to need a bag over your face?"

I get close to him and set the dish down in front of him. He reaches for a piece and before anyone can react I draw one of the cheaply made throwing knives off my bandolier and pin his hand to the table, all the way down to the handle.

There is a universal surprised gasp from everyone in the room and then silence. It takes a bit for the old man to register that he has pretty much just lost a hand. Then he begins screaming in agony. The royal guards begin powering up and moving to surround me. The women all begin rushing out of the room and hopefully the building. I hop onto the table and pick up the oil lamp off the center of the table because for some reason this guy doesn't use candles.

The knights have me surrounded as the minister tries to free his hand and fails. I open the top of the lamp slightly and throw it at two knights. The oil combusts instantly and covers the two who begin writhing in pain as they burn to death and the others all rush me at once.

The four knights move impossibly quickly due to magical buffing and a quick hop makes all their attacks miss. I stay close to the minister which greatly limits their range of motion to attack me. I draw my hatchet and sword and use them to parry blows as the burning oil spreads to the curtains which begin to burn.

My first victim is a knight who overextends. I use the hooked head of my hatchet to catch his blade and pull it upward. With it upward I stab my sword through the eye slit of his helmet and hit the backside. He falls and I remove my blade. One starts to climb onto the table but I trip him with a dish of fruit. He falls down which breaks the table in the center. I leap onto him denting his armor from my weight coming down on him. He groans in pain and weakly swings at me. I dodge it and turn my hatchet around and stick the back spike into his forehead easily going through the metal. I fall backward as I pull the weapon free just in time to dodge another attack. I roll backward and kip up to my feet again.

I kick the one who missed me in the head staggering him a little and the last one rushes me hard. He tries to keep the pressure up but I pull close within his reach. Due to his longsword, his arc of attack is limited. My weapon's short blade is at the advantage now I'm within his arm span. I tab into the underside of his armpit where the armor is weak and almost severs his arm at the shoulder. His friend comes to save him but I move him into the attack and his own buddy splits his skull. I spin around him and bring my hatchet into the final one's head. His arms fall limp and he collapses as the hatchet's head is buried into the side of his skull all the way to his nose.

With all the knights dead I go and collect the minister who is whimpering pitifully. I notice him raise a hand and begin chanting something. I stomp onto his fingers folding his hand backward and break it badly. He creams again and I take the blade from his hand. I pick up the frail old man and start carrying him upstairs. I find the roof access and drop him onto the ground. I tie his ankle to the railing on the roof and toss him off the side. He hangs upside down as the smoke begins to rise from the manor. I slowly climb down the building as the outdoor guards come rushing inside. I avoid them all and as the last one enters the manor I board the main doors shut and go around the perimeter boarding all exits shut.

I walk out the front gates happily as I see the first guards reach the roof and try to pull the minister up to safety. The tounges of flame begin licking at the night sky as the minister's flailing makes it nearly impossible to pull him up. I see the guards realize they are screwed and they look at me in the light of the front gate's lanterns. I wave at them as I head to the town below, then they begin screaming as the fire fully engulfs the entirely wood and paper household.

The townsfolk just stare as I walk down the hill and through the town. My heavy breathing menacing. I see all the women have escaped which is good. They just stare at me as the manor burns down behind me and screams of the burning guards fill the night. I am greeted outside the town by another cart, and I am loaded into another straw-filled box...

The ride is just as bumpy and horrible as before, but I still manage to get some sleep. No matter what I have to keep my wits about me, being fully rested is the first way to do so.

The cart eventually stops and my crate is lifted out of the cart. I am carried for a good while by what feels to be five people. They talk normally amongst themselves joking and laughing as laborers do. The crate is eventually set down and the men walk away. I am about to climb out when another set of footsteps approaches me. I stay down in the box and a male voice speaks to me,

"You are in the storehouse of the cathedral. Do as you must. This is as far as I can take you..."

The voice trails off as the footsteps move away. I hear the voice report to someone and then two sets walk off. I take this as my cue. I open the box carefully and once freed from its confines I stretch myself quietly getting my joints back into place, or so it feels.

Since this must be a cathedral I assume my target here is the Archbishop. Once done getting my parts in order and taking stock of my remaining weapons and kit I begin my task.

The storehouse is a simple stone building with wooden shingles attached to the back end of a truly impressive cathedral. The building itself looks to be a castle. It's gothic in style with the spires reaching into the sky. I can see towering stained glass windows depicting art of some glowing woman who I assume is the goddess Serena. The grounds are encircled by a six-foot-high wall with decorative metal spikes on top to deter thieves. The grounds are completely barren, just stone brick and no grass or flowers. I walk around the cathedral and find no guards, or really anyone walking around. I would say this place is abandoned, except I can see lights faintly glowing through the windows.

It's still night outside, but I don't know how long I have until daybreak so I must perform my task quickly. Under the cover of darkness, I slip silently through the huge main doors of the building.

The inside is absolutely beautiful, with high arched doorways, gold-plated everything, and expertly painted murals everywhere. I hear the sound of singing and chanting coming from a large open room which I assume is the main chapel of the building. I peek inside and see the chapel is filled with churchgoers and at the altar is a bald man kneeling in front of a statue of the goddess Serena. I know this because that is what they are chanting over and over.

I keep out of the chapel and move around the cathedral, I climb a flight of stairs to get an overlook of the entire room. I keep moving up floors trying to find an angle of attack. I kick myself for not bringing some kind of bow or ranged weapon. I manage to get to the top floor and am forced to duck due to how the ceiling is shaped. This balcony is designed so that someone can light all the candles on the massive chandeliers on the roof of the chapel. The one above the altar has a strange shape as it's a massive ring filled with oil and lit to look like a massive ring of flame. Kinda reminds me of a certain song, but I shake the catchy tune from my mind before it can become a burning thing.

I try to think of a plan and decide to wing it. One of my goals is to send a message and destroy all stockpiles and safe houses. This cathedral can be considered a... something for the royalists. Now is the moral dilemma of ya know, spilling blood inside a church.

Back in my old life on earth I was admittedly a shitty one but did consider myself Christian because of how I was raised. When I got to this world I thought about it a lot. I mean can't be a Christian if christ never really came to this world, and the Frontiersmen are staunch Deists. They spoke against the religions of the rest of the world calling their gods false and everything, but we never really had a church or anything similar. We prayed, but as a more general thing to do before and after fighting and eating. It's believed that there is a God above all else, but no real dogma, so religion in this life has been... strange for me to say the least. I mean I absolutely do not worship this Serena lady, but in a world of myths and magic I'd rather not piss off something that could exist, and that can be literally considered a god.

I debate for a while on what I should do, and in the end, I decide on what to do.

If I'm going to desecrate this holy place by spilling blood, I might as well go all out. I should really be fucking disrespectful. A little or a lot, I don't think it's going to make a difference, so let's do this.

I leap from the balcony and fall into the burning ring of fire. My weight is seemingly too much for the knot someone tied so it begins sliding down down down and due to the added air from the passing wind, the flames get higher. The fall is controlled so I won't break my legs but I really can't help but feel utterly horrified.

With a thunderous crash the ring slams into the beautifully carved statue of the goddess which is shattered almost instantly by the weight of the ring. I am thrown into the air by the force coming down and land in a heap as the fire engulfs the expensive cloth that is laid all over the altar area. I hear screams and gasps come from the congregation and I slowly stand up in pain as the flames consume the entire altar area of the chapel, the various holy oils, and articles turning into an inferno instantly.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The fire smells great, all kinds of incense burning all at once and I suddenly feel my throat clog up and get tight. Wait... am I fucking allergic to incense in this world? I stand upright slowly with a pained groan both from the fall and the burning in my eyes and throat. The Archbishop shouts at me,

"Who are you? Be you a demon?"

I shout back, my voice now deep and scratchy,

"I am your death! You lead the sheep, not as a shepherd but as the butcher!"

That sounded cooler in my head, but what is said is said. I leap out of the fire drawing my weapons. The bald man goes to perform some kind of magic but a quick slash across his belly spills him out onto the altar of Serena which is now an inferno spreading to the woodwork of the chapel.

I cough loudly and begin rushing toward the door which is now clogged with fleeing people. I can't get out that way. I find the nearest window and get a running start and leap into the window shattering the beautiful artwork and falling roughly onto the stone courtyard. I run around to the front door and find only three people have made it outside and are trying to pull the jammed doors closed. The bastards are trying to kill everyone else.

They don't notice as I come up behind them and kill all but one. I simply knock him out and make haste toward the front gate of the grounds of the cathedral. I hope this was enough of a message.

I run through the streets of the town as the night sky is filled with an orange glow. I am coughing up my lungs the entire way as onlookers come out of their homes and the guards come rushing to help the people in the cathedral. People stare at me as I run by hacking.

Once out of town I finally rest and take a break. A fancy-looking carriage comes rolling slowly down the road and stops in front of me. The driver simply says to me,

"You. Hasslerouges man, get in."

Without hesitating, I climb onboard and lie down on the plush seat to take a nap. Ignoring the other person in the carriage. I am sleepy and my throat hurts. I need to sleep this shit off.

When I wake up I instantly sit upright and open the carriage door before coughing my lungs out and spitting out a massive loogie. Once that's done I tuck my mask back into my shirt collar and sit stock still when I realize I am not alone. Across from me is an old woman wearing a masquerade mask. She is quietly sitting there with an unamused expression. I nod at her and she suddenly begins,

"I will get you inside boy. That is all. After what you have done the whole place is going to be on high alert. Do your duties and leave. I'll make sure you get home."

I nod in compliance and the rest of the ride is spent in silence as the old woman continues to stare me down. I try to avoid her gaze as I sit there but it's incredibly difficult. This keeps going for another hour or so before the carriage is stopped and the old woman motions for me to get out. I step out of the carriage and into a stable and the carriage pulls away after a moment. It's go time.

It's daylight so hiding in shadows is going to be very difficult. The stableboys seem to know to just ignore me causing me to wonder just who that old woman was, but I cast the thoughts aside because I have a job to do. This is the last assassination, after that, I hopefully won't have to kill ever again... well at least not a person I hope.

I slink out of the stable and move toward the main house. The building is surprisingly quaint compared to the last. Two stories and not sprawling in any definition. I know better than to assume it will be easy just because it's a smaller home. There are no guards outside so I decide to walk right in. Leave a message right?

The front door leads to a cozy interior. I walk carefully making sure not to tread too loud. I make sure to peer around every corner before I take it, ducking into cover if I notice even the slightest movement. There seem to be no servants in the house, every bit of movement I see is a curtain flowing in the find from open windows, as it truly is a lovely day outside.

I make it up to the second floor and find it empty as well. I peer into the study there and also find it abandoned. I step inside and begin looking through the documents on the desk. It's all financial statements and tax documents, but nothing of use. This minister is moving huge quantities of money, but for the most part, it all seems regular and legal business.

I look up for a second to look around and see something leaning against the wall making me pause. I stand upright and approach the object. A spear, about six foot long with hooked crossguards under the head, which is a triangular point twisted down to a flat cutting blade for slashing. The pommel at the bottom is shaped into a brutal cudgel designed for crushing bone and armor alike with mighty swings. The pole is wrapped in intricate leather wrappings made by caring hands with a charm hanging from the center where the wrapping is thickest. I'd know this weapon anywhere.

It is the spear of my father. Named Vepyr, for its quick and deadly strike. If I remember correctly my grandfather made it for him and my mother created the wrapping. The charm is made from the bone of the first great beast I hunted. It was a big bear of some kind. I mean six feet at the shoulder-sized big bear. He was so proud and carved the charm in its shape on the spot. It's in the shape of a bear to commemorate the occasion.

I move the charm around in my hand looking it over and smiling to myself remembering the time. I may not have had the mind of a child, but I sure felt all the excitement and happiness of one. There is no reason not to cherish happy memories of childhood, even if it's your second one. Moments like those are fleeting and are gone before you can even feel them pass.

I take the spear into my hands and feel its balance. I have a good idea why it's here. A war trophy from the conquest of the Stella Coyote. I can't help but feel a little angry, but it was the dragons who killed my father, not the minister. Considering how much money was written on those documents, he probably bought it for a hefty price. Since it is his, it is now mine, and if I am to kill the minister, it's not like he will miss it.

I spin it around in my hand a couple of times getting a feel for the weapon I had only held for moments before. Then a venomous-sounding male voice says,

"Ohhh... a little intruder seems to have taken a liking to a trophy... my trophy..."

I turn around and feel my blood boil. Standing before me in a tall man with dark eyes. He is wearing shiny scale-mail armor with a helmet that doesn't cover his face. The helmet is shaped in a reptilian visage with long fangs working as the visor. He smirks at me confidently one hand on the twin-edged sword on his hip. His left hand clad in heavier armor than everywhere else in order to work as a shield. I'd know this type of warrior anywhere. A drake guard of the Solar Dragons. Another Frontiersman, those responsible for my father's death, and the death of my home. This one is claiming to be the one who slew my father.

I feel my hands begin shaking in anticipation as the man stands there staring at me hungrily. He clearly is taking my shaking as a sign of fear, per usual, and his stance is that of a competent warrior sure of his victory. I know his armor is tough and his skills great, this might actually be a difficult fight. He smiles wider and then says,

"Feel free to run... but you'll just die tired. We have a dozen royal knights here. We know what you have been doing to our compatriots. Here you will die...and I'll bring your head to my employer. "

I shake my head and respond,

"You claim to have killed my father, but I watched his death. I watched four blades pierce him. Where are your other three?"

His smile drops and his eyes go wide in realization about who I might be and I lunge forward with the spear leveled at his chest. He barely managed to deflect it upward and into the ceiling above. He goes to draw his longsword but I grab his wrist with my other hand. He is stronger but I stop his motion slowing him down. This allows me to drive my body into his and I slam him into the doorframe behind him. He grunts in pain and shoves me away which frees the spear from the ceiling. He grabs it by the pole with his right hand and tosses me to the side to circle away from the wall. He is using my spear reach to my disadvantage because we are indoors. When I am against the wall I cannot wind up attacks as easily. He starts to draw his sword again and I drop my head and rush forward. I wrap him up in the midsection as he pounds on my back with his armored hand. I lift him from the ground and keep running forward. I plow through the desk easily which breaks from our weight and we keep going all the way through the wall and window behind it.

We fall about thirteen feet and I land shoulder-first on top of his gut. While scale armor is very protective against slashes and stabs it has little to no protection from blunt forces. I most likely break a few of his ribs as we bounce off the grass below. I hear and feel the wind getting knocked out of him and feel my shoulder threaten to break. As we land I am thrown off of him by the force and roll sideways back onto my feet. He isn't like the warriors of this kingdom, so he is on his feet quickly as well while sucking air. He finally has his sword drawn. I remove my hatchet from my belt and hold it in my left hand because my father's spear is a one-handed spear.

I see the pain and surprise in his eyes, and it works like morphine on all my aches and bruises. Like a shark smelling blood, I am prepared for this fight. His heavy breathing working like a dinner bell for victory. We circle one another as the sounds of armored footsteps grow closer. I think I'll take this fight really seriously. I'm now feeling kinda... murderous.

The dragon rushed forward with an upward slash. I catch it with my hatchet hooked part and spin my arm in a wide circle raising his arm to the sky. I swing the spear up toward him and he blocks the slash with his heavily armored left hand. This causes the hooked crossguard to catch his armor and I raise the spear to the sky putting both of his hands in the air. He goes for a headbutt but I sidestep it and put my right leg behind both of his and push forward knocking him to his ass. He gets free of my weapons and rolls back and kips onto his feet. A truly impressive show of athleticism considering he is wearing armor.

I keep my pressure on and lunge with my spear. I remember my father's lessons on spear combat. A spear is a great tool for offense as it is difficult to defend with a spear. Keep pressure on with the spear and an opponent will have no time to attack, but I must always be careful to never overextend or leave myself without options.

I throw my spear forward releasing my grip slightly letting the handle slide until my hand slams into the blunt implement on the back. This thrust manages to bite into the shoulder armor of the dragon. I duck a slash from him as I whip around the other way slashing across his head. The attack scrapes loudly across the steel but does superficial damage to the helmet, but it rattles him greatly, enough to not notice the upward attack with my hatchet. I have it turned around so the armor-piercing spike is the front of the attack. He goes to block it with his armored hand and the spike goes through the armor like butter. His hand is impaled and he screams out in agony. He leaps backward away from me showing me away and taking my hatchet with him. He rips it out of his hand and tosses it aside. I go to draw my machete but he starts the attack again. I pull my spear back to where I am holding the center again and I just barely manage to knock away his wild slash, but I fail to block the return backslash. It bites into my leg, missing any important arteries but it still hurts like a bitch. Thankfully it is a very shallow cut so the bleeding can be ignored for now.

In response, I grab the large fangs on his helmet and pull him down like a facemask in football. He falls forward a little and I sidestep as he stumbles past. As he turns around I thrust my spear into him and I catch his sword arm from behind. He shouts in pain as my spear digs into the humerus bone of his upper arm. His armor is useless against a thrust like this. He drops his sword due to the pain, which he realizes is a mistake as I retract my spear before spinning it around. I swing with the heavy bludgeon on the back and he manages to block it with his left arm. It dents the metal inward and I feel the flesh underneath being impacted. He grits his teeth as he falls to a knee. I raise the spear again and come back down with another strike, breaking his forearm. He screams falling to his other knee as his arm limply falls. I do a heavy downward swing letting my hand slide down the spear's pole until my hand is stopped at the crossguard. The blunt end comes down hard and smashes through the steel helmet as if it were made of paper. The dragon's body stiffens for a moment as blood comes out of his nose, mouth, and eyes. I remove the bloody cudgel and he falls to the side. I draw my sword as the royal knights round the corner being led by a man in very noble-looking armor. I stand there over the corpse of the dragon, spear in hand staring at the approaching foes.

The group stops as the noble-looking man raises his hand for them to hold up for a moment. I point the spear at him and ask,

"Are you Minister Haller Keener?"

The man removes his helmet revealing a large birthmark across his face. He replies,

"That is a correct masked warrior. May I ask your name and your employer?"

I laugh having confirmed my target and rush forward into the fight...

I kick the corpse of the last royal knight off of the head of my spear. He slumps to the ground in a bloody heap joining his companions. The Minister sits against the wall of his burning home holding his pierced guts and breathing heavily as he bleeds to death. His knees had been broken during the fight ending his chances of escape. I approach him breathing hard myself and in lots of pain. I have cuts and stab wounds all over my body. Nothing major, but any more and I'd probably be out of the fight for a while. I limp with every step having taken a nasty blow to the knee with the blunt side of a sword, I don't think anything tore or got broken, but it still hurts like a motherfucker. The minister goes to say something but I don't want to hear it and run the spear through his throat. He dies quickly and I begin limping down the road and out of the grounds of the estate.

After walking for a mile I stop by the side of the road and sit next to a tree. I hope the Duke sent someone to collect me. I wrap my wounds with strips of cloth I stole off the corpses of the fallen knights to stop the bleeding. I need something better or a healer soon. I doubt I'll bleed out, but in a few minutes, I really won't be able to defend myself from scavenging predators. After catching my breath I get back up and continue limping down the road.

Hours pass and I feel weaker by the second. Everything aches and my wounds throb as they bleed through my makeshift bandages. My breathing is heavy from bruises sustained to my flanks, and the struggle of dragging my near-useless leg along. A carriage comes softly trotting down the road and I step to the side and raise my thumb like a hitchhiker. Not that this world understands the meaning. The carriage stops and the door opens. I gulp loudly when I see who is driving and who is inside. The driver is a royal knight and the person inside looks to also be a royal knight, but of a higher caliber considering the fancy armor. I start cussing under my breath as the fancy knight steps out of the carriage while drawing a sword.

I take a step back in fear. I don't have it in me to fight anymore, but I'll try my best to stay alive. I try to grab my hatchet and find air where it's supposed to be. I think I forgot it on the ground. I pull my father's spear off of my back and hold it in both hands getting in a defensive stance. The knight laughs and says to me,

"I recommend not fighting back here. This isn't the time."

I don't move as the knight continues to approach. I feel my knees begin to buckle as the blood loss starts getting to me. I am really fucked up. The knight then says calmly,

"Ah shit. I am not an enemy. I am with Donnerstein. We are your ride."

I lower my weapon and say,

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

The knight laughs and motions for me to come along. He never answers but I climb into the carriage. The knight does not speak to me the entire ride which is frustrating but he does give me a bitter-tasting potion that partially heals my wounds so I somewhat trust him.

The ride is long but eventually, I make it home. The carriage leaves wordlessly and I go find Aelia who heals me. Once healed I take a bath before heading to bed after dropping off my satchel of documents in the Duke's office. I fall asleep instantly when I hit my bed. I just hope I don't have to do anything tomorrow. that would be great...