When the king of Toria decided to send the central army, all nobles of the capital started joining in. Not joining would only mean treason against the country, so they had no choice. The fact that the situation was desperate also pushed them to do so. The merchants also began moving as they quickly brought supplies for the war. In turn, the mercenaries became busy protecting the traveling merchants who were gathering supplies. People were concerned with fears of war, but it was also very lively because of all the preparations. Saloons and brothels were full of soldiers going to war and it made the towns very active.
News of Toria preparing for war spread like wildfire throughout the three kingdoms. Galia also began to prepare by sending out its central army. Just like Toria, the people of Galia had also begun to prepare for the war.
With the mercenaries joining the forces, the economy flourished. The mercenaries’ rate of hire doubled and some just joined for the war. Winners would take all and losers would lose everything. Pillaging was acceptable behavior during a war and any prisoners also meant more profit for the winners.
War preparations were already underway, but Benzen, which was the third country to join the war with Galia, was not the same. Most soldiers of Benzen were retreating back to their country. Not long after, word spread that monsters had come down from the Khalodian Mountains, creating disasters in Benzen.
-HAH! Those Benzens are paying the price!-
-So much for taming Krakuls!-
-Idiots, having a hard time against monsters.-
Neighboring countries smirked at what had happened to Benzen, but it did not last long. The monster attacks did not stop with Benzen as more monsters came down from the mountains and began attacking all the neighboring kingdoms.
Benzen had a large number of Coulders attacking livestock that belonged to the humans as well as merchants. Keroxes also began attacking small villages. Soldiers were dispatched to deal with the monsters, but they were gone before any of the soldiers arrived. The monsters did not risk their lives to attack any humans if they were deemed dangerous. Hundreds of merchant groups guarded by the mercenaries were wiped out overnight by the Coulder attacks.
-Grey… Gray monsters…-
-Giant!-
-It’s the gray devil!-
Some survivors spread the news and instilled fear in people. Rumors of survivors going mad or committing suicide added more fuel to the fire.
-The mercenaries were wiped out!-
-Hunters were hunted!-
-Soldiers trying to kill them were killed instead!-
The Coulder pack was unlike any they had ever seen. Large groups of soldiers including knights, were dispatched to hunt them down, only to be wiped out by the pack. After that, all the nobles began to recall their armies to defend themselves and their towns. Merchants began to avoid traveling and only big merchants dared to travel through the roads. This resulted in food rotting in storage and the skyrocketing of all food prices while the mercenaries hired for protection upped their prices. Commoners struggled to keep up with the increased costs as nobles began barricading their towns.
It was now February and the war between Galia and Toria was at its peak. There were battles all around the perimeter, causing multiple casualties. The fight was vicious each time, but the odds never tilted toward any country.
-Punish Dentrion!-
Soldiers from the Katzback Kingdom attacked Dentrion’s perimeter and began pillaging the neighboring towns. Dentrion, who was preparing to attack, began to fall apart. They began sending their troops back to the borders of Katzback, losing power in the war.
Galia also had problems of its own. The worsening of Benzen’s economy affected all nearby countries, including Galia. It was the first country to import all food from Benzen. But without Benzen sending food to Galia, it wasn’t enough anymore. Dentrion, which was focused on producing massive amounts of lumber and steel, was having trouble with their food supplies. Galia, which focused on dairy and livestock, was in a similar situation. Benzen’s fall was affecting countries from all around the continent.
The problem started to worsen at the beginning of March.
*
“Monsters!”
People began climbing up the wooden wall at the bell. Monsters began screeching and growling as farmers watched them draw close — their wooden spears looked so weak compared to the vicious monsters.
Moments later, a large group of Keroxes began charging towards the eight-foot wooden fence.
“Shoot the arrows!”
“Throw the fires!”
Some men with axes shouted as they watched the Keroxes. The men threw their torches and some shot their arrows. A few Keroxes died, but that was it. That simply wasn’t enough to fend off against tens of Keroxes.
“ARGH!”
The Keroxes began attacking the small town. It was over in an instant — no help and no miracles.
It wasn’t only the Keroxes that roamed the countrysides. The news of tens of Kawiqunins attacking a mid-sized town guarded by two hundred soldiers and wiping them out spread quickly throughout the continent. All the countries near the Khalodian Mountains were having problems, both big and small, because of such monsters.
The war ended due to such problems, when Toria, Galia, and Dentrion signed a truce so they could focus their attention on their own countries. It was the beginning of the war against monsters.
The Ainos had started their war against the monsters also. Deluga, Baekgu, and Gumdong returned. Baekgu and Gumdong returned with two new male Guardians.
‘I guess I will never see Heukgu and Urlook again.’
The two seemed to have joined other packs. There was now a total of thirty-three Guardians in the town. After a year, the town would be guarded by the vast number of Guardians.
Galfus howled to gather all the Guardians. It also signaled the Ainos to gather up on top of the twenty-foot fence. Monsters began appearing through the snow-covered field. They were Kawiqunins.
“Where are they all coming from?”
It was inexplicable. It was not long after they had just killed fifteen kawiqunins, and there were now thirty Kawiqunins trying to attack the town.
Joonbum frowned. He remembered the day he fought Kawiqunins. Galfus was growling at the presence of the monsters. Joonbum grinned.
“Bows and arrows should be enough.”
There was no need for guns. Kawiqunins were strong monsters but they weren’t much of a threat against the Ainos up on a sturdy wooden fence. It was also easy to kill them with the Zyelok-poisoned arrows.
“Ready!”
All arrows were readied.
“FIRE!”
Arrows soared through the air as Howen shouted and the Kawiqunins began to charge. The arrows pierced their bodies, but they ignored the few arrows on their bodies like they were nothing. But before they could take a few more steps, they began falling down, blackened blood flowing from their mouths. All the Kawiqunins, totaling over thirty, were on the ground, dead.
