-But Khaloda Village sure is lucky.-
Khaloda Village was located between the borders of human land and the mountain range. Unlike other villages, this village was well fortified enough to protect against any monster attacks. The town also had a lot of merchants, which meant that mercenaries were aplenty. Not only that, its close proximity to the mountains meant there were hunters residing in the town who would travel to the mountains in search of rare animals. Spring was an especially busy time for the village as all the mercenaries and hunters gathered. There were upcoming trades with the Ainos as well which made more people gather. After the fall of the Donian group from the previous year, more merchants now came to the village prepared.
All these resulted in Khaloda Village being prepared for any monster attacks.
‘Luckily, so many merchants that came for the potions.’
“Here, come this way. Have you guys heard anything about Khaloda Village? Oh? I see, so you couldn’t flee to the village in time.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Sunsook smiled as she cared for the kids. Joonbum and Doral grinned at the sight.
“I asked around and it seems that Khaloda is safe. It looks like the guards fought off the monsters by hiring mercenaries.”
Doral spoke as he handed over a bowl of meat porridge to Joonbum. He dabbed his spoon and took a bite. It was good.
“It’s so tasty.”
“It makes me more hungry!”
“I’m… I’m so happy…”
“Mother…”
Townsfolks spoke to themselves as they ate their porridge. Some wept for their lost families and some were crying with relief that they were now saved.
*
A large number of giant Boduas ran through the plains as monsters followed them. The fields were full of various animals and monsters striving for survival. It was a merciless but beautiful glimpse of life. However, Hectos wasn’t looking at it. He was eyeing a large, mixed group of Keroxes and other similar monsters.
‘It’s increasing in size! It might be hard to even defend against.’
The fence was only twelve feet tall. It was usually more than enough, but after the monster outbreak, there were monsters who were able to easily jump over the wall. Those monsters came in to kill and hunt down unsuspecting women or kids. By the time they were killed, a lot of people had already died.
“We should tear down the storage to make the fence higher. We should also set down traps at places where we can’t have men on guard,” Jackson said as he looked to where Hectos was looking at. Hectos scratched his beard carelessly at Jackson’s advice.
“Storage? Tear that out to reinforce the wall? The merchants won’t be happy.”
Hectos hated the idea of confronting merchants of the town. Jackson sighed and turned back toward the outside of the wall.
“What can they do? We have no choice. They can only stay as merchants if they survive. We should also tear down our barns or guard posts. They won’t complain.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea.”
Hectos nodded. He pulled up a leather satchel and began drinking the liquor in it. Jackson, who usually reprimanded such behavior, didn’t say anything this time.
‘He worked hard alright.’
When monsters first attacked the village, Hectos became a different man. He was brave and valorous, more than anyone else, always leading the soldiers to fight against the monsters. He killed more monsters than anyone else and saved many people. It was also him who stubbornly went out to rescue hundreds of people from the small farming towns around the village.
‘My sister sure knows a man when she sees one.’
Jackson was tempted to drink the liquor, but he resisted. He wasn’t the type to work under influence of alcohol, unlike Hectos.
‘Maybe just a sip… huh?’
At that moment, Jackson noticed a dust cloud in the distance.
“What is that?”
Jackson looked to the cloud and pointed.
“Something’s coming.”
Hectos, who had been observing the Keroxes, looked up.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“Something’s coming!”
The guards, who also noticed the appearance of the dust cloud, began shouting. They were agitated.
“What is it?”
Some of the soldiers with better vision strained to look. Soon, they were shocked with surprised looks on their faces.
“A carriage!”
“A red carriage is coming!”
“Red carriage!”
Hectos seemed to be confused and Jackson frowned.
“Carriage? Why a carriage…”
“The huge carriage from the Daehan Empire! It’s coming! Bu-but…!”
Gerrickson, who had extraordinary vision, shouted. However, Jackson was puzzled.
‘Is it that surprising?’
Gerrickson looked like he was disturbed from what he had seen.
“It-it’s coming alone!” Gerrickson reported. Jackson frowned again and Hectos even scoffed at the report.
“What’s so special about that? Carriages sometimes travel alone.”
Hectos picked his nose as he carelessly spoke. Jackson thought the same.
“I- I m-mean… Sir. It’s alone. No horse… No Galim, or Duran, nothing. The carriage is just moving by itself at an amazing speed!”
Hectos wasn’t convinced and neither was Jackson. But Jackson soon understood.
‘Carriage coming alone… without anything pulling it. Alone?’
Jackson turned to the dust cloud and narrowed his eyes to get a better view. Something was surely coming toward them alone.
‘Th-that’s a carriage?’
Jackson could not speak out as he was shocked. Everyone began to realize what was closing in toward them. A huge, red shiny carriage was charging toward the village by itself. Monsters scattered, trying to avoid being run over by the charging carriage.
“What!”
“Monsters are…!”
The carriage rammed through a large group of Keroxes, bulldozing through the group like it was nothing. After the carriage ran over the group of Keroxes, it then turned toward a group of Kawiqunins. They swung their clubs at the incoming carriage and used so much strength that the clubs exploded into pieces as the carriage was struck. Some even tried to stand in front of the carriage to overturn it.
“N-NO!”
Someone shouted as they feared the worst. However, the carriage effortlessly ran over the Kawiqunins. It was a repeat of what happened a few moments before. The Kawiqunins’ bones were crushed as the carriage just ran over them like rag dolls. Some tried to put up a fight by throwing a boulder, but was stopped as the Marauder slammed it to its death. The Keroxes ran away from the carriage but the Kawiqunins tried to fight and that only brought doom to themselves. There were tens of Kawiqunins, all lying dead in the field.
The soldiers watched in awe from the top of the wall. The red carriage that finished running over the monsters came toward the village with a loud roar. Everyone seemed to be in a daze as the carriage came to a stop in front of the wall.
“HUH?”
“WHAT!”
“The countess!”
There she was — the countess walked out of the red carriage, bloodied by the monsters it had run over.
“Open the door.”
She spoke in a low voice, but it was like thunder to their ears.
“O-Open the door, you idiots!”
“OPEN IT!”
“The countess is here!”
“The countess has arrived!”
All the soldiers ran down the wall to open the door so they could let the countess in.
“Wow. Unbelievable.”
Hectos was the first to come back to his senses. His expression showed that he seemed troubled.
