After thousands of birds took flight across the sky, the next were all kinds of small rodents. People who didn’t notice any abnormalities because they were busy protecting themselves from the monsters now knew something was really wrong.
-Something has happened in the mountains.-
-There must be something wrong in the Khalodian Mountain Range.-
-Will the Ainos know what’s going on?-
-I heard Magnos appeared from the deep within the mountains.-
Rumors began to spread as people saw all kinds of animals being driven out from the mountains. The monsters were slowly being taken care of as the humans prepared for any incoming attacks. Monsters and carnivores who preyed on humans now changed their target to herbivores, but it meant a stop to all kinds of production. There was no way to farm with monsters lurking about outside towns, not to mention hunting and gathering. Lumber was especially scarce as the already cold weather became colder. People needed wood to warm themselves, but many decided to not use it as there was not enough wood available.
“Monsters!”
A scream was heard through the darkness. The soldiers on guard flinched.
“Dammit!”
They tightly clenched their hands around their spears and shields. Their faces were filled with terror and hesitation.
“JASON! NO! MY SON!”
“DAMMIT!”
They heard a woman’s desperate scream, and a soldier with a beard spat out a curse before he began to run.
“JIM! Dammit, you crazy son of a-!”
Rezon called out next to him, but then followed. As the two soldiers darted off, other soldiers followed.
“MOM! MOM! AHHH!”
“NO! GO AWAY! NO!”
Five soldiers arrived at a scene where a young mother was desperately fighting off a monster to protect her son. She was bloody from wounds all over, and the young son was crying.
“BASTARD!”
Jim, who arrived first, threw his spear at the dog-like monster called Kaidog. The spear penetrated its back, killing it instantly, and the other Kaidogs backed off. They growled and barked at Jim who was now in front of the woman with his sword drawn.
“Jim!”
The woman shouted at the soldier as she hugged her son. Jim didn’t look at her, but he raised his shield and swung his sword at the monsters as he yelled.
“RUN! Why are you even here? Why did you come out of the house! DAMMIT!” Jim shouted in anger. There was a sense of guilt in his voice.
“I-I’m sorry… but we had nothing to eat…”
“Mister Jim, it’s my fault. I was hungry…”
Jim bit his lips.
“Run away!”
The other soldiers joined him and raised their shields. The woman hesitated for a second, then ran into a ragged house in the distance.
“OH! So that’s why you ran out like that?”
“You owe us more than just a beer if we survive.”
“I’ll kill you instead.”
“HAH. Damn these dogs. They won’t fall back.”
A crossbow was fired at a Kaidog and killed it. The other monsters attacked the soldiers at that instant. Four soldiers swung their spears and swords for the soldier with the crossbow to ready the weapon again. Another shot was fired, penetrating right into a Kaidog’s head.
“NICE! UGH!”
Jim shouted in joy, but at that moment, a Kaidog attacked his wooden shield and crushed it. Jim rolled on the ground as he was attacked after his shield was broken. His back was bloody from the wounds and the soldiers’ face grimaced at the sight. There was an increasing number of growls from nearby.
‘We would have died even if we didn’t run here.’
There was no point in blaming each other.
‘We had no luck. That’s all.’
They gave up on any chance of survival.
“I didn’t expect to die with you folks. That’s a shame.”
“WHAT! I expected to die after making out with Susan.”
“You should’ve done that earlier.”
The soldiers spoke as tens of Kaidogs closed in on them, growling.
“Damn, that’s a lot.”
“We should kill many as we can.”
“I will not die easily, you monsters.”
The soldiers readied their weapons and shields. They were ready to face death.
“COME!”
They shouted as the Kaidogs jumped at them. It was then that screams came from the monsters. Multiple arrows were fired, all aimed at the Kaidogs. Each arrow penetrated a Kaidog without a single miss, and in an instant, all of them lay dead.
“A-Ainos!”
Gilmerton, who had been watching the sight in awe, shouted at the figures appearing through the darkness. It was then that they heard a heavy roaring sound that shook the ground. They saw a huge monstrous thing emerge with bright lights from behind the Ainos.
“Uh-is… is that?”
“Th-That- That’s the carriage of the Daehan Empire! S-Sir J-Joonbum Christos!” someone shouted. The Marauder was upon them in its glory. There were Joonbum and Ainos on Galims next to it. Joonbum was fully armed and in full body armor. The Ainos who appeared from the darkness were also astonishing. Joonbum thrust his long lance at a dying Kaidog, killing it instantly and the area fell silent.
“M-monsters… they have all been killed! The monsters are dead!”
“Knight Joonbum has come!”
“The Ainos have come to help us!”
The people who were fearfully hiding in their houses ran out, shouting. The roads were lit up with torches.
“We… can we…”
Joonbum nodded.
“I will allow it. Take these as food.”
“T-Thank you, sir!”
The people had been starving and the news of something to eat delighted them. They moved quickly to carve out the meat from the dead monsters and began preparing to boil it. Everyone seemed to anticipate the food.
“We should also give them some food.”
Doral nodded at Joonbum’s suggestion and shouted to the back.
“Pav, take out some rice and flour from the carriage. We will make porridge.”
“Understood.”
Pav and the other warriors moved to the back of the Marauder where the carriage was waiting. At that moment, the door of the Marauder opened and Sunsook came out.
“The countess is here!”
“Countess!”
People who recognized her bowed and backed away. To their surprise, Sunsook began working on cooking the porridge herself. A smell soon filled the area and children who were starving gathered in curiosity. Soon, they were handed a wooden bowl full of white rice porridge.
“You should eat slowly and carefully. You can die if you eat it too fast when you are starved. There is more if you want, so make sure you eat slowly. There will be no more food if you don’t heed my words. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The kids answered and nodded. They were afraid of being denied food. The adults, however, knew why she told them to eat slowly. They understood starved people could die if they ate food so suddenly. The adults were served with bowls of porridge after all the kids were served. They ate as they became tearful.
“It’s good that we’re here. All because of you.”
“No way, it’s because of you. You wanted us to come here quick. The town would’ve been finished if we didn’t come.”
Sunsook shook her head.
“I did ask you to move fast, but you’re the one that heeded my request. And the Ainos people too. Thank you, son.”
Joonbum grinned.
“I don’t think there are any more monsters around.”
“Have they moved deeper into the kingdom?”
“Looks like it.”
Monsters had now reached the inner part of the kingdom, further away from the mountains. These monsters had come out of the mountain late.
