POV 3rd person
Along a dirt road a young man could be seen leaning against a tree, seeming frustrated.
"F*ck this shit, why do i have to keep watch? It's not like anyone that could be a threat travels on this road, i bet those a*sholes are having a great time back at the camp." He kicked a nearby pebble launching it towards the road before sighing.
"I really wanted to have one of those mature ladies for myself tonight and properly enjoy my eve-" He suddenly turned around on guard after having felt the hairs on his back stand up, he grasped the hilt of his sword tightly looking around at the surroundings warily. After a minute he calmed down and released his grip.
"This entire mission is starting to affect me it seems, felt like i was staring down death there for a hot second."
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POV Damien
'This stupid b*tch almost blew our cover' If i hadn't knocked her out that guy definitely would have sensed that killing intent, even i felt my hairs stand up and it wasen't even directed towards me.
We had barely caught up with the mercenaries before she suddenly stiffened and released killing intent equal to Fenris. I knew it was a bad idea to bring her along.
We've been travelling and hunting for 4 days now and it's been really fruitful.
~Flashback~
[Goblin warrior lvl 5 slain]
[25% EXP gained]
[Level up!]
[Level 5 reached, beginner EXP boost no longer in effect]
[Fenris has reached lvl 5]
[Gobi has reached lvl 5]
[Gobi has evolved to a Goblin warrior]
'Didn't even know i had a boost but makes sense when i think about it since everyone reaches lvl 5 by the time they are 10 years old' I sight down on the ground to rest looking over our handiwork. We just finished raiding the goblin cave and i can honestly admit i'm not too optimistic about our chances when it comes to fighting the mercenaries. Just this fight with the goblins has showed me that i'm severely lacking combat skills and experience, i got grazed by those nasty stone daggers enough to increase my disease resistance to lvl 2. Luckily my soldiers seem to sort of know what they're doing so i can rely on them for now.
"Arise"
[Shadow soldier: Goblin warrior lvl 5 aquired]
[Shadow soldiers: 10/10]
[Threshold reached, skill: Blackheart has been upgraded to lvl 1]
[Shadow Soldiers 10/50]
[Blackheart lvl 1]
[Increases the mana capacity of the user according to skill level and intelligence stat. Current increase: 220]
(A/N: Using this to calculate the increase (skill level * (Int stat * 20)) so for now it doubles his mana stat, but later though :) )
'So the next goal is for me to have 50 shadow soldiers.' I look over to where my soldiers fought and see a pile of 6 more goblins, these were lvl 4 so i left it to the others to fight while i attempted to improve myself fighting the big guy.
I walk over to the pile and add them to my growing army, now Gobi has 9 goblins in his squad. I wonder if he might get a skill or something once he reaches 10? It's too bad there weren't any more in this small cave, got to write that down on my to-do-list.
We rest and then we head towards where Liam remembers that the wolves live, we also make sure that we are travelling with headwind since the wolves probably can smell us from far away.
~Flashback end~
We were a bit unlucky when we got to the wolfs den as the wind turned effectively announcing our presence to the pack. This lead to them leaving the den with only 3 male wolves to occupy us. Apparently their breeding season just passed so they probably ran away with the pups to protect them. To summarize, we won, and Fenris got 3 new lvl 4 wolves in his pack.
Now that i can observe our targets i get relieved, the lookout is only lvl 9 so we shouldn't have any problems taking him down. Since our strongest members are only lvl 5 and that includes the beastkin siblings even though they can't fight at all. Luckily i know just the way to do this stealthily and at the same time annoy the b*tch.
We fall back so that we are far enough away from the lookout to not be heard as i start to go over the plan, once all my soldiers got the gist of we just had to wait for the rude lady to wake up. We have to wait until dusk anyway so that we won't be discovered as easily.
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POV 3rd person
"Um excuse me sir you don't happen to know the way to Polus?" The guard got startled when he heard a feminine voice coming from down the road, but when he saw the source his frown turned to a wide grin. In front of him stood a young beastkin woman and you could see his intentions clearly on his face.
'F*cking Damien i'll get you for this, this guy has zero poker face' The young woman was Alice who just got thrown to the wolves by her own brother and his new friend.
"Of course young lady, i happen to have a map over here and i can show you. Just come over here." Alice had trouble holding herself back from just running away from this situation, but she had to do this for the other villagers.
She carefully walked closer to the man hoping that Damien wouldn't let the ruse go too far, she sadly had to play along until he started the plan no matter what the guy on lookout did to her. 'If he touches me i'm going to kill that Damien and then beat that little shit Liam to a pulp'
The mercenary was oblivious to her inner monologue, only feeling excited for the rest of his watch duty now that he got himself some entertainment. He started checking every inch of Alice with his eyes, both searching for a weapon and inspecting his new toy.
When Alice was just an arms length away from Alice he suddenly lunged at her, grabbing her arms and pinning her to the ground. "Girl you have got to be the dumbest b*tch in this entire kingdom, we just captured a village of you people and now you served yourself to me on a silver platter." He started licking his lips while looking at her frightened face, this is reward enough for this entire mission with the other losers. He did wonder though, why didn't she scream or anything?
Meanwhile behind some bushes in the distance Liam watched the entire thing with Damien. "Damien isn't it time we start? I don't want to see my sister get tainted by that scum."
"Yea yea i know, i just wanted her to panic a bit but now we have to start before the guy gets suspicious." 'Do it now Gobi.'
The mercenary's happy mood suddenly did a 180 as he felt himself get penetrated by 10 sharp objects, he looked to the side only to see a face within a shadow holding a dagger that pierced his neck. 'I'm going to die' That was his last thought as he suddenly only saw darkness and all that was heard was the crunching of his skull, and the blood spurting over the face of a young woman.
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POV Damien
[George lvl 9 has been slain]
[40% EXP gained]
'Holy sh*t Fenris, good job. You spilled that guys blood all over her, i'm so proud of you' I had to hold my laughter as i could see on Liams face that he was not as amused.
"You did that on purpose didn't you? My sister is going to kill you for that i think." I just shrugged as my response, if she can get past both Gobi and Fenris with their squads she honestly deserves to kill me.
It seems my EXP rewards got nerfed heavily after reaching lvl 5. I only got 15% for the 3 wolves yesterday and now i got 40% for killing someone 4 levels higher than me, i wish i could complain to somebody about this but there isn't anyone to complain to.
As we watched the mercenaries body collapse on top of Alice we made our way over to her. She seems pretty shook from the entire thing but she hasen't screamed or vomited yet which is impressive. Can't say the same about myself though, i'm just putting up a strong front while i'm trying to not gag or vomit.
"Sis, are you alright?" Liam ran over and started helping her push the corpse off her. While he was helping her sort of clean of the blood i started checking the mercenary's loot, of which i only took the things that were in good condition. Sadly that only amounted to a pair of leather boots, a shortsword, a leather puch with some coins and an iron dagger. 'Gobi you can take this iron dagger, and give the bronze one to one of the other goblins. I'm going to have to rely on you guys for this fight i think and serve as mana supply for now.' Gobi nodded and took the dagger from my hand, I fastened the shortsword around my waist as i would need something to protect myself with.
Fenris grabbed the corpse and ran back where we came from to hide it, while the rest of us started preparing for the next part of the plan. I just hope the rest the mercenaries are as dumb as the dead guy.
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POV Village chief
"Chief what should we do? At this rate we'll end up getting sold to some sick human scum over at Polus." I just looked at the other villagers, knowing that our best shot is to not resist. If we try anything the slavers will make an example out of one of us, and i dread what these humans would do. Even if we could escape we have nothing to defend ourselves with, so it's either these humans or whatever beast finds us in the woods.
"Don't be stupid, the consequences of resisting could be worse than our future as slaves." The others seemed to think about what the consequences could be and settled down. 'If only we settled in a beastkin kingdom this wouldn't have happened, i only hope Alice and little Liam got away.'
Suddenly there was a commotion in the camp, we could hear shouting and screaming. Then we saw a young man approach the slavers, i managed to hear their conversation and when i saw who was accompanying the young human i froze.
"Greetings, seems i'm not the only one out on the hunt for some demi-human slaves." Next to the young human stood a young beastkin woman embracing a young beastkin boy. I could see faint traces of blood on her face, no doubt she struggled against her captor.
'No. No this can't be. Why are you here? You should have just stayed hidden' Now i finally felt all hope was lost, i promised to take care of those two and i failed. I'm sorry Gabriel, i tried my best but i still failed you.'
"Aren't you a little young to be hunting for slaves kid? You don't look to be much older than 14."
"I'll have you know i'm 16, and for my reason, well that's complicated." The young boy smiled meekly.
"That's fine you don't have to tell us, but" Just by listening to the slaver i could almost hear his ugly grin. "What's stopping us from just killing you and taking those slaves for ourselves?" I can't help but pity the young human, being betrayed by your own kin is no pleasent thing no matter what race you are.
"Well i was going to approach you with an offer, you see my party got attacked by some strange beasts and i had to escape with the slaves. I assume you are going to auction them off back at Polus, but I have a potential buyer that purchases it at auction price. Without having the auction house as a middle man"
The mercenaries started mumbling amoung themselves, seemingly considering the offer before a broad and bearded man who seemed to be the leader raised his voice "Quiet! All of you! Young lad who is this buyer of yours if i may ask?"
"You might not have heard about him but he goes by the name of Mister O, but i can't say anything more. He is a man that appreciates discretion, and repays insubordination severely." No longer did i feel pity for this young man, to have a buyer means this isn't his first time kidnapping and enslaving people. The pity was replaced by disgust, to think a teenager would be an accomplished slaver.
The bearded man started grinning while approaching the young man, he threw his arm over his shoulders and started walking back to the others. "Now you're speaking my language kid, i assume this offer of yours is to include us in your deal?" The young man nodded and then the bearded man started laughing loudly.
"Men! Tie up those slaves and take them over to the others, this kid is going to make us rich"
It's over. What kind of monster would risk themselves and get their own supplier of slaves. 'Why didn't you stay hidden Alice? And why didn't you stay in the forest Liam? You've doomed yourselves.
The mercenaries started drinking and celebrating their new companion, they started trying to extract more information from the young man to no avail. The young man didn't let them know anything more telling the others it would get them killed if they know too much. They were celebrating around the campfire with dried meat and various beverages, not minding the total darkness around them.
Then suddenly a loud howl was heard from the forest, even though the mercenaries weren't sober they still raised their guard. Then i heard the young man speak in a scared voice.
"Oh no, It's them! How did they track us?! We have to run! NOW!" The mercenaries were slightly startled by the young mans outburst, but the leader was quick to calm them down.
"Relax kid, we aren't weak. We will protect you from those beasts, we need you to help us contact Mister O when we reach Polus"
The young man seemed to calm down, and the rest of the mercenaries surrounded him while watching outwards towards the darkness. 'If the beasts slaughtered the young mans party what chance do we have? If the slavers can't defeat them we're as good as dead anyway.
After they got in position only silence followed, some of the mercenaries were slightly unsteady as they stood. Obviously affected by alcohol as they seemed to have celebrated a bit too much earlier. Then a quire of growls was heard and all you could see was the faint light of eyes in the darkness.
Then suddenly someone screamed, everyone snapped their heads in the direction only to see one of them get dragged into the darkness by something. 'What did this young man bring to us? Is this how our village will perish? With no one to even remember it?' I looked towards Alice feeling sorry for not being able to protect them, only for me to end up confused. Is she smiling? I understand that people react differently to imminent death but still. No tears? No crying? Everyone else has what i would call "normal" reactions but she and Liam are strangely calm. Do they know something we don't?
I notice Liam staring intently at the young man that brought them. Is he angry at his captor and wants to see him die? No, hold on. The young man is acting strange, he is shifting his gaze between all of the mercenaries until he stops at one. He turns around and then suddenly another scream comes and the man he looked at disappears into the shadow. This can't be a coincidence. 'Is it the young man that made the two of them disappear?'
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POV Damien
[Thomas lvl 10 has been slain]
[50% EXP gained]
[Level up!]
[Gobi has reached lvl 6]
[Goblin has reached lvl 5] X9
[Fenris has reached lvl 6]
[Wolf has reached lvl 5] X7
[Andre lvl 11 has been slain]
[50% EXP gained]
[Skill created through continuous effort: Acting lvl 0]
[Skill: Acting has reached lvl 1]
To say the plan worked would be an understatement, they literally started protecting me as if i was made of pure gold. All i had to do was find the weakest among them and get Fenris and his pack to swiftly drag them away, although i do admit i felt disgusted trying to fit in with this crowd. Making up stories of how i supposedly r*ped mothers in front of their family was disgusting, even if it's a lie.
'After this i seriously need to check if it's possible to reduce the amount of notifications i receive, it seems as if the levels of all the goblins and wolves stay the same so i don't need to see multiple of them. That's for later though.'
Currently we've dealth with two of the mercenaries now there's only 5 of them left, i continue to check who among them are weakest and most affected by the alcohol. Would be stupid to not take advantage of their drunken state.
Gradually we are thinning them down, and currently i've not lost a single point of mana. Making the wolves go in groups and incapacitate their victims was the correct choice, i do feel a bit bad though. I mean i'm just standing here and getting free EXP from these guys, they're even protecting me from my own soldiers.
I do think i have to act soon though, the guy with the beard is a little bit too strong and his equitment is no joke. I'll be patient and wait for my chance to hopefully wound him and weaken him a bit. I found the weakest guy and turned my back to him 'The one behind me Fenris.' Suddenly 4 shadows jump at him and biting over each of his limbs before dragging him away.
"AAAAAAAAAHHH! HELP MEEEE!"
'Another one bites the dust, only 4 guys left' Then suddenly the bearded guy turned towards me with an angry frown.
"Why didn't you warn us about them?! I've lost 3 men because you led these beasts to us!" He was absolutely fuming if this was a cartoon his face would be red from rage. Guess it's time to start acting again.
"I did warn you, but you told me you and your men could handle them!" He suddenly grabbed my collar and lifted me off the ground, then he roared in my face.
"You didn't warn us about this! These beasts are showing intelligence for f*ck sake! They have picked off our weakest as if they are being directed."
'Shit! Did he realise i'm commanding them?'
"That means we're dealing with a f*cking demon beast you goddamn idiot" Guess i'm still safe. I tried my best to start shaking and made my voice as scared as i could manage.
"D-d-demon b-beast?" He suddenly got even more furious, did i say something wrong?
"You f*cking child! You don't even know what that is? How could we even think that you were something, you probably just rode on the back of your teammates and then abandoned them when you got the chance. You f*cking coward!"
He suddenly threw me out of the circle towards the darkness. "Make yourself useful and act as bait for us you waste of space!"
'Fenris, drag me away from the campfire'
"No please don't do this! They will kill me!" Then i felt a jaw lock softly over my arm before violently dragging me away and into the shadows. "Noooooo! Help meeeee! Aaaaaaaagh!"
When we were completely consumed by darkness Fenris let me go and looked a little sad. 'Don't worry Fenris, you acted perfectly. I can take a little bit of punishment to keep up the act' At that he got happy again and started licking my face. 'Not now Fenris i'll give you lots of head scratches after this is over'
I stood up in a crouched position and looked towards the campfire, then i looked towards the beastkin. They were currently tied up far enough away from the campfire that they were consumed by the darkness, but not completely out of sight. 'Need to create a distraction so that i can release them, hopefully that will create enough chaos so that the mercenaries will abandon the campfire and split up'
Don't think we can handle the rest while they are in formation, so that's our only option. 'Fenris Gobis team up one goblin per wolf and get the slaves, don't just release them but drag them away. Start with Liam and Alice, bring them far enough to not be heard and have the other two goblins guard them. Then drag the other beastkin to them and let them explain the situation.'
Gobi and Fenris did as they were told, from the shadows i could see two wolfes drag Liam and Alice away while the other beastkin were screaming for them. They seem to have understood the situation as they started screaming aswell, this continued until they couldn't be heard anymore 'That's far enough, now grab the rest.'
Once they started dragging more and more beastkin away i could see the mercenaries were conflicted, then suddenly one of the bolted away from the campfire. The leader started shouting after him but he didn't return. 'Wolves ignore the beastkin now, kill the one running when he is far enough away that they can't hear the runners screaming.'
[Michael lvl 12 has been slain]
[60% EXP gained]
[Level up!]
[Gobi has reached lvl 7]
[Goblin has reached lvl 6] X9
[Fenris has reached lvl 7]
[Wolf has reached lvl 6] X7
'Alright now there is only 3 left, it's power levelling tonight boys'
Ended up expanding the campfire scene as i originally thought to skip it. Instead i thought i should show that the mc's intelligence stat isn't there for no reason.
Hope you enjoy the chapter