Chapter 10: For The Lynx Clan
In the forest, the commander and all the other soldiers searched for the whole day but couldn't find anything relating to Zagan, not even his footprints.
They retired to the camp at sunset and were eating roasted wild meat for supper. As they were eating, the sound of a riding horse was heard. Quickly, they picked up their sword instinctively in a defensive manner but when the horse drew closer, there was no one on it and when they tried to make the horse calm, It wasn't working. it looked like it had gone insane and was unstable. It was standing on its two back legs with its eyes widened and its nostrils, flared.
The commander approached it and realized it was his soldier's horse; The one he had sent back to the clan but what was his horse doing back here and where was the soldier? The commander wondered. He stared into the horse's eyes trying to calm it down but the horse did not budge. The commander tried different techniques to calm the horse but nothing seemed to work.
After a while, the horse began to calm down. The commander noticed a small pouch by the horse saddle belonging to the soldier so he opened it and there were items owned by the rider.
Taking out a piece of paper in one of the pouch pockets, he read the content which stated, 'Comb the entire forest till you find that boy.' The commander sighed and declared. "Ready your horses. We find that boy tonight."
The soldiers who still had their swords out stared at each other in puzzlement. They all wished that the letter would be a letter from the king asking them to retreat but they were not so lucky.
Ugh...most of them wished they could quit at that moment but knowing how duty-bound the commander was, they didn't dare speak.
At midnight, horses and soldiers were seen combing the forest. Some of the soldiers were chattering.
"This is the toughest mission I've ever been on. The war against the Leo clan wasn't even this tough but..., this mission has taken the lives of more than half the number of our men. I wonder..."
"Shush... You've been talking the whole time can you just keep it down?" Another soldier retorted.
"Ha! Keep it down? Who knows, this might be my last night. I might as well just talk my fill to ease my anxiety and helplessness."
The commander was hearing all that the soldiers were discussing but didn't have the heart to hush them because he had the same fears. He kept listening to them but it was adding to his tension and just as he was about to lose his mind, he heard a sound.
The commander raised his hand signaling the soldiers to keep shut but the soldier who was chattering was unaware and kept talking.
"Besides, you should be thanking me for..."
"PA" The soldier beside him slapped him on the head.
"What did you do that for?" he pouted.
The soldier pointed at the commander which caused the noisy soldier to hush his tongue.
The commander closed his eyes to focus on the direction of the sound and when he finally got it, he looked towards the direction and squinted his eyes. He saw a dull light coming from that direction and he beamed with joy. 'It must be the boy. He thought.
"There... Over there. Follow the light." he resounded.
With that, they began to approach the deem light, and with every step, the light became brighter. When they finally got to the spot, they found that it was a cave. The commander narrowed his eyes and stared at the cave. 'He must be here he thought.'
He alighted off his horse saddle handing its reins to a foot soldier and began to walk into the cave with his weapon drawn. The other soldiers also followed matching in with their armors and shields and their swords were drawn out. As they matched into the cave, they saw the bright blinding light which was on the left-hand side of the cave but as they looked on, they didn't see anything else. After a long inspection, they found that the cave was empty.
The noisy soldier that had been chattering the whole time stood behind all the other soldiers and protested. "Great! We just match into an empty ca.....ah!!!"
In just a second, the soldier disappeared. The commander and all the other soldiers instinctively turned back but didn't see the soldier at the location he initially was, just his helmet rolled on the floor.
The commander walked in haste while being vigilant to the spot where the soldier was and scanned the area. As he checked for evidence, something dripped on his armor. He touched it and saw blood. 'Blood' he thought. He then looked up and widened his eyes in horror. The other soldiers also followed the direction of his sight and saw a mighty creature at the top of the cave.
The commander immediately shouted "Retreat! Retreat!" but before they could move the creature crawled down with the speed of light. The commander dived avoiding the creature's wrath.
Now that the creature was on the floor, they got a clearer view. The creature had slimy but scaly skin showing its muscles and bones which looked like a kanima. Its long tail as spiky as a spiked ball on chain, It had fangs and claws, Its face was as horrendous as a dragon with shrieked flesh revealing only its skull. It was looking very terrifying with two, long, curved horns. It had eight gigantic legs and hands; and when its long tongue came to sight, it was split in two and as long as its tail. Its eyes as red as wildfire.
The soldiers began to run because the creature was obviously unbeatable. The soldiers were not able to run far before the creature caught up to them with its fast long legs and hinges crushing their bones while its tongue and Peirce through their bodies like a hot knife cutting through butter. When they saw an escape route, the commander and the soldier shielded a junior soldier and asked him to deliver the message of what he had seen.
The soldiers clasped their swords with their shields to distract the creature while the junior soldier ran. The commander shouted.
"For the Lynx clan."
And the other soldiers repeated
"For the Lynx clan."
The junior soldier ran as fast as his legs could carry him. It didn't take long for the creature to be done with the commander and the other soldiers then began to trail him. The creature met with an obstruction which gave the soldier more time.
As the soldier got to the edge of a cliff, he looked down and the ground level was filled with water, He deciphered jumping for a moment but when he turned back to look at the vicious creature, it began to metamorphosed into hot lava and trailed down approaching where the soldier stood. Without thinking twice, he took the leap screaming "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" as the fall felt endless.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone