《Land of Blood: Returning of Origins》


 Chapter 1 - Prologue: The Continent of Zebois

    <hr>


    The continent of Zebois, an enormous continent housing over 3 billion beings. A continent with hundreds of Countries and Kingdoms spanning across its lands. It''s a continent where the struggle for power and strength happens everywhere, where Elemental Power and Magic Spells carve a Mage out of a man, where Legendary Weapons and Fighting Techniques can turn a chicken into a Warrior. It''s a place where many heroes rose while others turned to dust.


    In the beginning, Zebois was home to only four great races dominating the other lesser races. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Demons. Those were the four races that dominated the continent and waged wars against each other for territory, riches, resources, and supremacy. This situation had continued since Saintess Valcra L¨¦ Zeboist¨¦, "The Founder," passed away four thousand years ago.


    And the only reason the four great races ended their wars and joined forces was, the ''Dregoreth.'' Cruel, Strong, and Smart. The Dregoreth, also known as the ''Dregoriotts'' were the descendants of the Demonic Dragon Neffareth, and so they claimed. They invaded Zebois with absolute might, taking root in the heart of Zebois, slaughtering whoever dared stand in their path.


    In nature, the Dregoreth are extremely vicious. In stature though, they are no different from Humans or Elves. The only difference would be their immense physical and mental strength. Dregoreths have a lifespan ranging from six to eight hundred years, unlike Elves who only have a lifespan of 500 years. Their lifespans also made them superior to the other races. As for why their lifespans were longer, it was because they were born from the Demonic Dragon Neffareth''s union with someone from the Humanoid Race.


    In terms of their physiques, Dregoreths possess some visibly peculiar characteristic on their bodies despite being categorized as a humanoid race. The first thing would be horns which could grow on the forehead, the back of the head, on the shoulders, or even on their elbows, and back. While the length of the horns varied.


    The second peculiar thing would be their dark, thick skin partially covered with Draconic scales. The more scales covered their skins, the higher the respect, and popularity they had, and the stronger they would be. Some old Dregoreths said: "The thicker their Dragon''s blood, the more they resemble a true Demonic Dragon".


    No one knew who spread those words. But the words already became a basic measure for every Dregoreth fighter to be pit against the four other races. Not only that. The mightier Dregoreths would usually possess a stronger desire to slaughter and destroy, making them a Dregoreth War Chief, or even a Tribe Chief.


    The only part the Dregoreth race lacks would be Dragon wings. The only Dregoreths to have wings were the first descendants of the Demonic Dragon. Only 18 of them are known in history. They have a lot more intelligence, more spiritual and magical power than ordinary Dregoreth, and they have a pair of wings to lift them to fly.


    The 18 Dregoreths were called "Dregoreth Emperors" by the Dregoreth race since ancient times. But after 500 years, these Dregoreth Emperors suddenly left. With the succession of Dregoreth race inhabiting the Continent of Zebois, they flew away to their Origin. Leaving only their exhausted "Floating Citadels" and a little number of descendants to lead millions of their people.


    In the "First Invasion," Demonic Dragon Neffareth led his 18 sons and daughters while also bringing 18 gigantic Floating Citadels housing the 700,000 Dregoreths to invade Zebois. He landed at the center of Zebois and personally started the havoc. This added more chaos to the already chaotic land.


    With the great difference in power and natural instinct, the Four races ended up working together. They repelled the brutal attacks from the 18 Dregoreth Emperors, and their troops while also bringing along their absolute fear of the entity, "Ancient Dragon Neffareth."


    It was unknown whether there were still more Ancient Dragons living in this world, but people of Zebois knew of one existence, Demonic Dragon Neffareth. A Legendary Ancient Dragon from the past who is still alive and kickin''. Making a family of his own, and impregnating hundreds of humanoid spouses of his.Stolen story; please report.


    There is yet to be any concrete explanation as to why Neffareth took fancy to mate with humanoid species. But it doesn''t really matter. He may act so as to make a strong army, and the invasion might also be to gain new territory for his army to live in and train themselves.


    As for Neffareth''s reason to breed these Dregoreths, people could only assume. But those assumptions were mostly around Neffareth preparing his army to wage war against the other Ancient Dragons. Because it''s the only reasonable explanation as to why an extremely arrogant Ancient Dragon would let his offsprings live in a colony on the same land with other lesser humanoid races. This assumption led people to think that Ancient Dragons were still alive, hiding somewhere in this vast world.


    With the dawn of the First Invasion, Kohn Lodhar, a Dwarven country located in the centermost of Zebois, got conquered in only a day, without much resistance!! Not too many of its people were able to evacuate in time and became casualties.


    After flawlessly conquering Kohn Lodhar, the Demonic Dragon pulled away from the battlefield and watched from the sidelines. But he didn''t watch the show for too long. Soon, he left the continent because he got too bored. As expected of the arrogant Ancient Dragon Neffareth. He always looked down on humanoid creatures as if they were ants.


    Besides Kohn Lodhar, the countries surrounding it also got invaded. It didn''t take long for those Dregoreths to conquer those countries in the heart of Zebois.


    Four hostile great races raised a truce and built an Alliance. Ignited by a widely known and famous Dwarf King from Uscar, named Groodic Deadmaul. In the past, his heroic tales made the land tremble beyond crazy. At that time, because of his inhumane arm strength, he had won thousands of battles.


    Every country and kingdom from the four major races assembled their armies and weapons, including some individual famous heroes and champions of the continent. They gathered and marched towards the already invaded region of the continent, and began their campaign to drive away the evil invaders.


    Contrary to the Alliance''s expectations, despite their enemy''s barbaric method and seemingly unintelligent thinking, their enemy was overwhelmingly strong. While the Alliance held relatively strong technology in weaponry, and also had great strategists, and an army ten times bigger than the invaders, there were a lot of casualties from the Alliance''s side. In the end, they were only capable of holding them off. They failed to wipe the invaders out and failed even to drive them away.


    Even after a thousand years, the Alliance still stood strong. Yet, their enemy also had set deeper roots in Zebois. After the initial stage of the First Invasion, and realizing that the Dregoreths strength exceeded their own, the Alliance started amassing their wealth and materials to build a gigantic wall which took 200 years to construct. The Alliance built this wall to encircle and barricade the hostile alien race.


    The walls, thick and tall, were in fact sturdy enough to last for almost a thousand years of war against Dregoreths, expected to stand ten times longer than that.


    The Alliance realized that the wall held great merit in defending against the Dregoreths, and is one of the important factors in the four race''s survival in the Continent of Zebois. So, they always kept the wall in good shape and improved its defense carefully. To this day, people of Zebois call it "The Sky Wall."


    After the thousand long years of war against each other, the Alliance also came to know their enemy more deeply. By entrapping and capturing, then interrogating some of Dregoreths important figures, the Alliance came to know of what they were, their origin, their leaders and a lot of information regarding their characteristics and traits.


    They also learned their biggest worries, the real identity of the "18 Winged Dregoreths" whose authority was absolute in the eyes of the Dregoreth race and were many times stronger than the strongest Dregoreth without wings. The Alliance never knew about the reason for their sudden departure though.


    It was a great news for the Alliance that the 18 Dregoreth Emperors had flown away without making a fuss. But with that, the Alliance had another thing to worry. The 18 Dregoreth Emperors may return anytime with reinforcements.


    The Alliance also found out another important fact. Their enemy''s number had increased significantly. From a mere 700,000 to more than 3 million in just one millennium. 3 million might not be comparable to the total number of inhabitants the 4 major races had in Zebois, but such huge difference in number couldn''t completely cover their inferiority in power. For that reason, the Alliance kept intensely and massively producing weapons, recruit soldiers and train the most elite of elites, while also constantly researching the art of magic, and elements of nature.


    Aside from everything between the Alliance and Dregoreths, each one of the four major races never stopped their secret desire and effort to learn of the Great Secret of Origins, the legacy of the deceased Founder, Saintess Valcra, and obtain her Power of Origins.


    They never knew that their greed for power and knowledge was the spark for their doom.


    From there on, our story begins.

 Chapter 2 - A Young Bandit

    Spoiler: Spoiler<input class="spoilerButton" type="button" value="Show">


    Usually, there wouldn''t be many people awake in Trovin village in a cold night such as this. But tonight, Trovin village looks very lively. Because Trovin village is currently under attack.


    A group of bandits can be seen attacking the western barricade of the village. They seem to be about 30 in number and without much armor protecting their bodies yet they all wield decent steel weapons.


    They''re currently fighting in a deadlock with the village''s guards and militiamen which numbers twice their own. Even without much equipments, they seem to be holding on pretty well.


    One guard with a big body, swing his long sword towards a bandit, "DIE, YOU BANDIT SCUM!!" The bandit couldn''t react in time as he is currently fighting with 2 militiamen, but he still managed to dodge the fatal attack, "Aaargh!!!!!" The poor bandit evaded the guard''s deadly attack, but the long sword''s tip still grazed his chest and left a long bloody wound on it.


    Even after being wounded, the bandit can still run a few step back and stabillize his dire situation. Hearing the sudden agonizing scream, two bandits quickly flee or finish their fights and came to help their injured comrade.


    One of them, a handsome and young gold haired Half-Elf whom look about 18 years old, wielding a short sword in each of his hands, his purple eyes glints a cold and ruthless aura. "Simon, you''re injured. Get back! " He said to his injured comrade."Lil'' Evrick!!" The injured Simon exclaimed by surprise.


    Hearing the young Half-Elf ordering him to get back, he felt really ashamed towards the other comrade who almost reached his side. "Don''t be cocky, you little shit. The big guard over there just appeared so suddenly when I''m already fighting 2 militiamen, HE ONLY GRAZED MY CHEST BY LUCK. AAAARRGGH!" He suddenly screamed as he felt a sharp pain rose from his wound.


    Seing their enemy writhed in pain from his own ranting, The 2 militiamen who ganged up on Simon from before, charged towards him even faster.


    *"This guy is really troublesome"* Evrick thought as he narrowed his eyes. Not wasting any time, Evrick ran really quickly and then jumps over Simon''s head towards the 2 charging militiamen. He swiftly moved his body in mid air, and this beautiful and fast movement left both the militiamen stood still in amazement.


    The big guard from before, couldn''t protect them in time, instead he shouts to warn them, "YOU TWO, BE CAREFUL!!!" Only now those militiamen realised that they''re actually in a very dire situation. "CRAP! DODGE NOW!!" They yelled as they intended to evade the attack, but before they have enough time to move, Evrick already swung his short swords and beheads them both.


    Dolter who just arrived at Simon''s side, felt really bewildered. The swift and deadly action Evrick did to save Simon totally left both Dolter and Simon tremble with fear. Since they formed this bandit group, all of them, excluding the bandit leader, had always mocked and looked down on Evrick, because he is a Half-Elf.


    Only the bandit leader never mocked Evrick. This had always been a mystery to them. But Evrick''s battle prowess had made both of them realize the main reason, as they start to fear Evrick more than their own leader.


    Most of these bandits were criminals. From a serial killer,  pick pockets, thieves, and street thugs. Simon was a considerably strong thug himself, and he feared nothing. But Evrick''s deadly combat skill had completely changed the view on his world.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "SIMON! I''LL HANDLE THE BIG GUARD. DOLTER, YOU OPEN A PATH FOR SIMON TO RETREAT. GO NOW!!" He shouted to both of his comrades. Understanding his own condition isn''t very good, Simon felt ashamed. He nodded his head and begun his retreat, "Thank you, Evrick! I owe you one."


    Ignoring Simon''s departing words, Evrick slowly walked towards the big guard. Seeing the approaching Half-Elf, and without minding his chaotic surroundings, the big guard starts talking in a heavy tone, "I''ve never seen someone as strong as you in my whole life," he paused for a second, and swallowed some salliva, then he continues, "I won''t be your match, even my captain won''t" He acknowledged while holding back his trembling hands.


    Evrick, while still maintaining his steady breathing, he lifted his left eyebrow, and looked straight at the guard''s eyes. Evrick smiled for a brief second, then asked the big guard, "So, are you prepared to die? I''m going to take your head now."


    Hearing the Death God himself stated his death sentence, the big guard''s body trembled all over. Right now he really got the urge to flee from the battle, but looking around again, He can see his friends still fighting heroically for the safety of their village, and feel ashamed of himself.


    He gritted his teeth and mutters in a very low voice, "For my wife, and for our child!"


    Evrick frowned as he heard it. His voice was very indistinct, but Evrick still heard it. A sharp hearing is one of Elf''s superiority, and naturally Evrick have it too, because he is a Half-Elf.


    The big guard inhaled deeply and held his breath for a second, then exhales slowly. He did that to stabilize himself, then he asks Evrick, "Young bandit! I don''t really know what made someone as young as you to be a bandit, and you''re very strong too. We all know bandits are scum of the borderlands, while there are still many other respectable professions available in this realm, yet why are you-" "Cut it out!" Evrick cut him mid sentence, and asked curiously, "Just what''s your point?"


    "Someone as strong as you wouldn''t actually want to be a bandit. So why don''t you quit right now and join us to repell these bandits? I assure you, the villager will not disrespect you being a Half-Elf. They will thank you for saving them, as they are respectful humans. You will earn and live better if you work as a guard here." Answers the big guard as he also makes an offer.


    Hearing the big guard''s answer made Evrick frowned the second time. He thought to himself, *"This guy could actually figure me out. Not bad at all. In that case, I''ll make it easy for him then."* As he made up his mind, Evrick brandished his sword and prepared his attacking stance. "I don''t know how did you get that idea, but sorry, I don''t have any intention to quit what I''m doing at the moment," he paused for a second, to stare at his opponent''s eyes "My name is Evrick. So, what is your name ?"


    Intimidated with the cold stare he took a step back, and without much thinking, the big guard answered, "M-My name is Paulean. S-So, do you reject my idea?" Evrick smiled bitterly as he heard Paulean stutters while asking that, "It is as you said, I might not really want to be a bandit, and I don''t really hate your offer. I just need this bandit group to grow stronger, and to do some important matter with it."


    Evrick hesitated for a moment, but he quickly decided and he says, "You don''t need to worry, I''ll take care of your wife and child. They will be safe." Hearing this sentence Paulean suddenly felt a rage exploded from the bottom of his gut. His fear is no longer there, only replaced with a blazing courage to protect his family. "I WON''T LET YOU! YOU WILL NEVER TOUCH MY FAMILY. I WILL KILL YOU FIRST !!" Paulean''s sudden roar had caught the attention of the people in his surrounding. Both the militiamen and the guards also shouted to enhance their own morale, as they begun pressing the bandits further.


    "YEAAH!! KILL THEM ALL!! KILL ALL OF THESE BANDITS!!"


    "YOU''RE NOT GOING BACK WITH YOUR LIFE, BANDITS!!"


    "WE WILL PROTECT THE VILLAGE TILL WE DIE!!"


    Somewhere in the midst of the battlefield. A sturdy and strong looking middle aged man, is fighting 3 guards and the guard Captain with full concentration. Hearing the sudden warcry not far from his left side makes him curse inside,*"What the fuck happened over there! Those damned militiamen somehow able to raise their own morale to another peak. This isn''t good, our number is decreasing steadily. I need Evrick''s help to end this fight sooner, or else we might get wiped out on our first raid !!"*


    Looking at the bloody atmosphere around him, Evrick smiled in satisfaction. Evrick wants to make a bigger pressure for the bandits, so after they survived the battle, they will grow stronger as a result.


    After letting out his rage, Paulean growls as he courageously charged towards Evrick who quietly stood on his ground. "ORREAAAH!! DIEEEE!!!" When he got close enough to Evrick, he unleashed all his strength and swing his long sword horizontally to cut Evrick in two.


    Paulean''s cleave is really fast and powerful. Yet, Evrick is even faster. In less than a second, He already somersaulted over Paulean''s head as both of his swords dance in his hands at the same time. He then landed right behind paulean''s back, as he did so, Paulean''s severed head also landed right in front of him.


    Paulean''s big and headless body finally fell sideways, and thick dust raised up as it heavily hit the ground. Evrick executed all this swiftly as he intended to let Paulean die heroically without much pain. He looked at Paulean''s severed head, It''s face still showed his courageous spirit, but the eyes are lifeless.


    Evrick lifted the head, and tied it to his waist. *"I should bring back his head to his wife. She have to know that his husband died a heroic death."* He thought as he dashed towards the center of the battlefield while carrying a severed head on his waist, and he also helped his comrades in need along the way.

 Chapter 3 - The Way Of A True Bandit

    "Evrick! Lend me a hand!!" Shouted the bandit leader who saw the arrival of his strongest comrade. The bandit leader has been occupied with four enemies since the battle started, and right now, he couldn''t last longer than 10 exchanges. Evrick already saw the leader from afar, and already dashed quickly to help him, "You don''t need to ask me, Beiruth. I''ll help you finish them." Evrick said as he''s looking at two sprawled javelins in front of him.


    He stopped his dash and sheath one of his short sword, then he picks up one of the javelins. He looked back to the three guards who are still ganging up on Beiruth, they''re not too far from his current position, only about 50 feet. He observed each of them, and he starts focusing on one of the weaker ones. He used the unsheathed short sword to aim carefully at his target, while his body gets ready to throw the javelin anytime.


    It only took him 3 seconds to adjust his aim, and the moment his target shows a sign of a short halt, Evrick throws the javelin.


    The javelin launched powerfully like a canon ball, and it flew in a beautiful arc towards the unaware guard. By the time it reached the touchdown, a scream could be heard. "Eaaaaaarghhkk!!!" The javelin stabbed right through the neck of its target. The poor guard fell to the ground and wriggled violently for a few seconds, until he died a painful death. Even in the darkest night, Evrick''s eyesight worked at its best. Because he also inherited Elf Race''s Moon Eyes, which helped them see clearly in the darkeness.


    The other 2 guards still didn''t fully grasp the situation but their Captain reacted faster and yelled his dead underling''s name in surprise, "FELIX!!!" In only a split second, without ignoring Beiruth''s attacks, he seek the trajectory path where the javelin came from and saw Evrick preparing for another shot.


    "THE TWO OF YOU, BE CAREFUL!! There''s a Half-Elf standing 50 feet to your right side. YOU BOTH HANDLE HIM, RIGHT NOW! I''LL HANDLE THIS MAN BY MYSELF!!" The guard Captain ordered hurriedly.


    The two underlings, after hearing their captain''s order, quickly stepped back and ran towards Evrick while also doing their best in moving their body to disrupt his aim. But contrary to their expectation, Evrick didn''t throw his javelin. Instead, he dashed madly towards them. In his quick dash, Evrick killed every militiaman and guards he passed by in quick succession as nine of them fell one by one from beheading or throat stabbing.


    After looking at the bloody scene in front of them, the two guards from before trembles in fear. Both of their legs went limp, and they pissed their pants simultaneously. By now, Evrick has arrived before them. "The two of you seriously pissed your pants at the same time. Do you guys have no shame ?" Evrick said mockingly as he stared at the wet ground beneath the two guard''s feet.


    One of them make a plead to Evrick, "Please, have mercy!!! I only worked as a guard to feed my family! I won''t waste your time and be gone from your sight, RIGHT NOW!" He pleaded and wished that Evrick would let him go, then he plans to flee back to the village and take his wife to run far away from Trovin village.


    Looking at this sight, Evrick''s expression stays cold. He looked indifferently towards the guard who pleaded for mercy. "In my whole life, I''ve never heard of anyone who would actually give mercy to an enemy. The people of Velveria kingdom are such people, and so I am. It is best if you fight with everything you''ve got to survive, and protect those you love." Evrick finished his sentence while slitting the pleading guard''s throat.


    The pleading guard instantly fell backwards, and grunted loudly as he rolls his body left and right on the ground to express the agonizing pain he felt. He didn''t last long and died after too much blood loss. The reason Evrick killed him in such way, was because he got disgusted by his shameful act, that actually reminded Evrick of his own past. Evrick then turned his head to the other guard.


    Evrick can see the one remaining guard fall on his back, and he tried his best to crawl away faster than the approaching Devil before him. "NOO! GO AWAY!!! YOU DON''T WANT TO KILL ME! GO AWAY NOW!!!"


    *"This guy is even more miserable. There aren''t many decent guards here aside from that Paulean guy."* Evrick lamented in his heart. He Walked leisurely towards the crawling guard and chopped his head in a casual manner. After finishing off his opponents, Evrick turned his attention back to Beiruth''s side. "Beiruth!! Are you done yet ? He''s just a guard Captain. What took you so long ??" Said Evrick as he expressed his dissatisfaction.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    "I''ll be done In a few exchanges, he''s already on his wit''s end!" True enough, Beiruth''s powerful attacks had left the guard captain''s body in a miserable state, with many bloody wounds on some of his vital areas, he can no longer have any chance to strike back at Beiruth.


    "You''ll be damned, filthy bandits! The Soldier of Lorelius Marquessate will not stand quiet with your fucking unbridled act in the borderlands. You will be fucking wiped out soon!!!" The cornered guard Captain can no longer do anything other than blocking and swearing.


    "Hahahahaha!!" Beiruth laughed evilly as he heard those lines from the guard Captain, as he also pushed his attacks to the max, "Do you think we''d be doing this if we''re actually afraid of marquiss'' personal army ? You''re mocking us all!! Let me tell you this, all of us actually plundered steel weapons from their armory and slaughtered our way out of the Lorelius Castle''s dungeons! Wouldn''t it be stupid if we start to fear the Marquiss at this point !? Hahahaha, DIEEE!!" Yelled Beiruth as he landed his finishing blow.


    "Whack!! Slash!! IT BROKE THE GUARD CAPTAIN''S SWORD IN TWO!! Not yet!! Beiruth''s sword also cut through his shoulder and sliced his heart completely. The guard captain finally died !! And hereafter, we start plundering Trovin village as we see fit. Kill the men, take all the woman, and sold the children as slaves." Evrick''s detailed made up story totally caught the attention of the escaped prisoners.


    "And that''s how we''re gonna do our first raid. As I have narrated in the Way of a True Bandit story, Heheheh you guys must be amazed" Evrick said as he laughed satisfiedly.


    "Wait, The fuck Lil'' Evrick!! You made me sound like a cheap and weak person in your story while you sounded really cool as fuck. IT''S FREAKING UNFAAIR!!! And who the fuck is Dolter ???? Is there even anyone in this group named Dolter ??" Simon couldn''t take the insult to his name in the story. So he can''t help throwing profanities at Evrick. The atmosphere of the group got really warm afterwards as positive reactions went up after another.


    "Hahahaha, don''t take it seriously you idiot!!"


    "Boss! I agree with Evrick''s story. It is really the True Way of a Bandit!! Let''s start a bandit group, Boss!!"


    "Who''s Dolter again? Are you Dolter??"


    "Hahahahaha, really now! No one beats your genius brain Evrick!!!"


    Seeing how his comrades are having a good time, Evrick smiled leisurely.


    "Good job Evrick! Here is your dinner as promised, a complete roasted rabbit, our biggest catch today." Beiruth thundered as he gave Evrick a Fresh From the Oven roasted rabbit. Also he didn''t forget to lift a thumb up to Evrick.


    "Thank you Beiruth! It''s nothing much for a genius like me! Hahaha." Evrick said after he jumped forward and received his food, he then sat back to rejoin the rowdy guys around the campfire as he starts eating his food in big bites.


    Since their escaping journey started, It has been more than a week, And there aren''t any more signs of chasers from Marquiss'' Castle. These 35 escaping prisoners are quite the rowdy bunch, since they can eat anything and sleep anywhere along the journey without much complainning, they also hit it off nicely with each others. The main factor for the later was Beiruth''s great leadership. As expected of an ex-mercenary leader.


    He really succeeded in assembling a bunch of prisoners after letting them escape with him, and bond together with them as a group.


    Beiruth began cooking another 4 meats for himself and the lasts of the rowdy bunch who hadn''t eaten their share yet. He was about to put the seasoned meat to the fire before realized an important matter. "Evrick! Don''t forget about your night patrol shift! Your eyes works best at this hour of the night. Go straight after you fin-" He stopped his sentence abruptly as he can''t believe himself, "You''ve finished your dinner already ?? Not even 2 minutes have passed. It''s a completely roasted rabbit, and the biggest one amongst us all!! I can''t believe you!!"


    "You should have seen how he ate it all, Boss!! He broke the Zebois Continent''s Fastest Eating contest Record!!" Someone sitting near Evrick added exagerratingly.


    "Don''t worry, I was very hungry after that long story telling. I had to fill my brain again with more nutritions you know!! I''ll go patrolling now then. Good night!" Evrick answered without care while fastenning both his sheathed blades on each side of his waist and then he jumped away to go patrolling the outer vicinity of their camp site.


    "Aaah, such a bliss!! It''s a full moon and my belly is full. It''s a shame I don''t have any wine on me." Evrick expressed a satisfied smile while lightly slapping his full belly. He untied the flyer on his head to let his neck length golden hair ti move about in the cold night wind.


    His expression turned serious as he stared at the full moon. "Mother, I swear to take you back from my enemies. And also, I will make you happier than you''ve ever been! I swear under the grace of the full moon!!!" Evrick firmly said his oath. Ever since he parted with his mother, He''d always recite this oath once a day under the full moon whenever he can see it.


    "Just a bit more, Mother. I will come and save you!!"

 Chapter 4 - Ambush Up Ahead

    "I WANT TO DRINK BOOZE!!!!" Simon can''t hold his urge to shout out.


    "Shut it cheap guy!!" Someone can''t stand Simon''s Lamentation.


    "I''M NOT A CHEAP GUY!!"


    "You are, in Evrick''s story last night."


    "IT''S JUST A STORY! IT DOESN''T ACTUALLY MEAN I''M A CHEAP GUY FOR REAL!!"


    "The way you complaint about the inevitable made you sound like one."


    "AAAAAH I''M A CHEAP GUY, I DON''T CARE!! I''M ALREADY FREE, BUT I STILL HAVEN''T GOT TO ENJOY ANY BOOZE. IT''S REALLY DEPRESSING!!" Simon kept lamenting for half an hour until he ran out of energy. Simon behaved this way because there''s not much happened since they entered Alatois Woods, and there are no signs of pursuers, which made him feel restless. The only obstructions they faced was only from a group low leveled magical beasts, or a single mid leveled ones. So the party could proceed in their journey to Alatois Woods'' exit in a quick pace.


    Evrick is walking on Beiruth''s side at this moment when Simon''s lamenting had caught their attention. Beiruth pondered for a moment before he tells Evrick, "Evrick, In 7 hours of walking, we will exit Alatois Woods. By the time we reach near the exit, I expect there to be scouts or even an ambush. I need you to go scout our path ahead later, you need to prepare yourself."


    Evrick, who is the strongest and quickest among them all, naturally get to do the important task. "No, I don''t think I need to scout the path. I already saw a couple of enemy scouts since an hour ago. I think they''re already aware of the route we''re heading to. It is assured that they would set up an ambush near the exit."


    "What??? Why didn''t you tell me earlier ?" Beiruth felt dumbstruct as he heard that.


    "I haven''t informed you of this because I''m afraid you''d feel uneasy along the journey ahead." Evrick said as he tapped Beiruth''s chest twice with the back of his hand, "And you''re feeling uneasy now."


    Beiruth frowns. "Yes, you''re right. Now I feel uneasy." Being reminded of this fact made Beiruth feel slightly unhappy. "If you won''t scout the path ahead, then how are we suppose to know the position of their ambush?"


    "You don''t need to worry about the ambush, my eyes are quite sharp even in a bright day. I''ve lived in the extremely harsh environment of Dark Sanguinary Forest for six years. So, nothing can escape my eyes in a small playground such as this. Just trust me, you only need to move our people to position after I locate the enemy''s ambushing positions. Also, I will take the vanguard."


    "Are you sure?? We only got 35 of us, and we''re facing the Marquiss'' trained soldiers. Can we really face their ambush?"


    "Do I really need to repeat myself? Trust me! As for now, you need to divide our people into 7 of "5 man squads", then appoint a person in each group as a leader. Next, you should explain to each leader about battle formations. So by the time we faced the ambush, you can command them to take positions according to the battle formation that suits best for the circumstances." Evrick got really annoyed and explained the basic deployment to Beiruth.


    "And remember. Don''t include me in any group. For I would roam the battlefield to controll the ballance. For you, it would be fine with a 4 man squad, right?" Evrick reminded Beiruth of his sole role in the battlefield.


    They''ve been journeying for more than a week and have faced a few battles together. Yet, Beiruth still feel amazed with how good Evrick''s arrangement skill is. Beiruth replied on Evrick''s enquiry, "Yes, it should be fine. Then we should stop rest for a few minutes to arrange the deployments." Beiruth looked around to check upon the group and then orders them for a halt, "EVERYONE, HALT!"


    Hearing the order to halt, all of them stopped in their track. "What is it Boss? A short rest?" Asked someone who stopped near Beiruth. "No. Assemble everyone! We have to make some quick deployments." Beiruth explain the reason for the halt.


    After they assembled themself, Beiruth began to explain the deployment of 7 squads of five man and appoint a leader for every squads. As Beiruth is busy arranging things, Evrick sneaks away from the halting place without any sound and without alerting anyone of course. Whenever Evrick sneaks in a forest, it''s almost impossible for any normal person to detect his presence, because he had been trained in such a deadly forest for 6 long years. In fact, it has become a second nature for Evrick.


    After he moved about sneakily for far enough from his group while still blending in with the trees and other vegetations, Evrick suddenly stopped. He starts scanning the vicinity with his eyes for any oddity. He haven''t observed for long when he suddenly smiled sinisterly.*"There they are"* Evrick rejoiced in his heart. Sure enough, through the bushes, he can see 3 scouts hiding in 3 different locations.


    The reason for Evrick''s sudden halt was because at this spot, he could feel 3 different presence lurking somewhere. It''s the exact number of the scouts he detected the last time. As for how he could detect their presence, it was the work of his strong instinct.


    Surviving in the Dark Sanguinary forest is no simple matter. One needs to push their own potential until they break their own limits just to be able to hold up for a day. Not to mention about the scattered powerful magical beasts. Death in every corner, one should over-exert their consciousness to be fully vigilant for every second. Unless they want to die. Anyone would find it difficult to even survive for a day in Dark Sanguinary forest. Yet, Evrick had lived there for 6 years, and still came out alive.


    This reason alone would be enough for Evrick''s powerful observation and vigilance to detect any presence in his surroundings, also his extraordinary skill of stealth inside the nature.


    After pointing the exact location of the enemy''s scouts, Evrick started his rendezvous again in stealth. His first target is the scout who hides the farthermost from his group''s halting place.


    ......


    *"This is strange..."* A scout from the Marquiss'' army is pondering heavily.


    *"They shouln''t have stop here. They''ve only been walking for an hour. What''s the reason for their sudden halt? I can''t get any closer or else I''d be exposed. They can''t be wanting to take a shit at the same time right? In that case, should I take a leisure time to take a shit as well? I''ve been holding it in since dawn!"*


    The scout thought as he wiped the gushing sweat on his face and neck. It''s not like the scout''s brain is dead. He just can''t think of any matter other than taking a shit for a few hours now. Since this guy is way too duty-bound, he hates the idea of leaving his responsibility over something trivial, Including taking a shit.


    When he got really busy holding the call of nature, a shadow silently approaching behind him. The shadow suddenly moved it''s hand and covered the scout''s mouth and put his body into a death clutch. The scout got really startled as he quickly tries to break free but to no avail, this mysterious person''s clutching technique is very firm and strong.


    The poor scout cannot think of a way out and could only struggled harder to break free, but his action would only led to a fatal result. Because the sronger he struggled, the heavier the pressure are on his joints. Seeing the scout struggled even harder, the mysterious person suddenly executed his finishing moves, and a muffled clacking sounds of dislocated joints could be heard. "Mmmfff hmmmpppffff MMMPPFFHHHH!!!!!" The scout couldn''t hold the pain and tried to scream loud, but too bad, his mouth is still tightly covered by the mysterious person''s left hand.


    Afther he dislocated the scout''s shoulder joints, the mysterious person let go of his arm clutch and slits the scout''s throat with a hidden dagger from the scout''s waist. In the last moments of his life, the scout could feel his ass loosened and he let out everything he held in since morning. he thought to himself before his life faded out, *"Unexpectedly, This is how I''m going to die. Really shameful!!! I''M GOING TO DIE WHILE TAKING A SHIT!!!!!"* He felt instant regret of holding his urge to take a dump for so long. After inhaling the smell of the extremely smelly excrement of his, the scout finally let out his final breath.


    ...


    After killing the first scout, Evrick let go of it''s corpse. Evrick starts searching for valuables from the dead body when he suddenly smelled a really shitty smell. Evrick exclaimed in his heart, *"GOD DAMNED THIS DEAD PERSON!!! HE ACTUALLY SHITTED IN HIS PANTS AND DIED!!! HIS LIFE WAS UNBELIEVABLY MISERABLE."*


    After he got aware of the fact that there are excrements in it''s body, Evrick couldn''t hold his disgust.So he sneaked away as he gave up on plundering the valuables from this dead person. *"This fucker already died, Yet he could still endanger people with his shit!! This damned shitty fucker !!!"* Teary eyed from the disgusting smell, Evrick curses in his heart while also sneakilly crouches toward his next target.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    This time, evrick executed his assassination flawlessly without alarming the last scout. Using the dagger he got from the dead shitty scout from before, he got behind the second scout''s back and moved his hands as quick as lightning to cover the victim''s mouth and cut his throat. The second scout died without a fight.


    This time, Evrick comoletely plundered everything valuable from the corpse, including all the leather armors which been taken off from the body and he quickly put on himself. Surprisingly, the plundered armor fits perfectly on Evrick''s body. In fact this dude''s body build is almost identical to Evrick''s, which is totally unexpected. From the corpse, Evric found another pair of daggers with a word "LORE" engraved on it''s hilt, completely identical to the shitty scout''s dagger. Other than that, he also found some useful things such as a map of Lorelius Marquessate, a compass, a rope, and many others.


    The most valuable things he found from the body would be a magical amulet and a prismocular. Evrick didn''t know what''s the amulet''s use but from the cold glow emanating from it, he would know it''s of high value, since a magical amulet such as this are expensive, even though he still haven''t found out it''s use. And for the second prismatic thing, the prismocular. This pyramid shaped thing is a treasured device for every scouts. Evrick had an extreme joy when he found this rare and advanced spying device, as this rare device could observe an object clearly from a mile away. This is clearly a must have tools for any professional spies and scouts.


    Prismocular is a device invented by genius blacksmiths from the ancient Dwarven country, Kohn Lodhar. The technology to create this device was lost following after the fall of the Kingdom itself due to the First Invasion. There should be many other types of powerful ancient weapons and tools which were invented by the ancient country, but there''s only a handful of them which line of productions are still exist in other countries and kingdoms, while the rest of them were burried together within the ruins of their orgins.


    Evrick had once met a travelling merchant who coincidentally possessed a prismocular of the older type. Evrick intended to bought the prismocular from the travelling merchant, but he nearly died from a heart attack when he heard it''s sky high price of two thousand pounds of precious ruby crystals, which equals to 5,000,000 Zebs. With Zeboire or "Zeb" as the main currency in the continent of Zebois, it is estimated that a regular family of three in Velveria can live and eat luxurious food for 50 years with just 20,000 Zebs. Which explains why 5,000,000 Zebs to be an astronomical price for a nobody like Evrick. Because of this lucky encounter, Evrick couldn''t stop smiling for a while until later.


    (Author''s note: The main currency for the Continent of Zebois was supposed to be Zeboire. But I thought of another cool idea to make it''s slang version "Zeb". It''s like Dollar=Buck)


    After evrick finished plundering the corpse and hid it under the bush, He was about to move on to the last target when he suddenly saw the target himself seemed to be approaching towards his current position. The thing is, Evrick got too excited over his new prismocular device that he had forgotten about the third surviving scout, so he unconsciously released his vigilance on his third target.


    Seeing the sudden change of the situation, Evrick moved both his hands to grab two daggers on his waist, but his hands suddenly stopped. Why wouldn''t he grab the daggers? The reason was because the last target mistook something, "Leader!! I can see those fugitives are preparing to move again. Why haven''t you order us to move too? Are you sleeping again ?" This scout didn''t know that his team leader had been killed, and only thought he''s sleeping again. So he tried to warn him like he used to.


    *"Hwahahaahaha, this guy actually used to sleep while on duty! And he''s even a leader!! I just can''t believe this hahahaha!!"* Evrick couldn''t imagine a scout leader who''d slept and neglect his duty including his own people''s fate. But unexpectedly he killed one of them himself. Also, it was highly possible that Evrick had killed him while he was napping, since the dead guy didn''t even flinch while he was being assassinated. When Evrick realised of such possibility, he laughed so hard in his stomach until he got teary eyed.


    By the time the scout arrived behind Evrick, he warned for the second time, "Leader! Please wake up now! The enemy''s approaching. Me and Green is waiting for your command."


    Evrick, couldn''t wait to exploit the advantages he got now. He start to act his best and deceive the guy for some information.


    "Aaaah!! You got me startled Green!!!" Evrick threw his first line, as he acted as if he is extremely surprised.


    "This is Red reporting, Sir! Green is still hiding in the third layer."


    "So it was you, Red! My consciousness is still fuzzy. What did you say? The enemy''s preaching? What are they preaching? The end is near ?"


    "Leader!! get yourself together! Those fugitives, they''re preparing to move again. We should move out as well !"


    "Easy Red! Take it easy!!"


    "But, leader!!"


    "WHO''S YOUR LEADER, RED!!??"


    *cough-cough* "It''s my mistake, leader! Pardon me." Red apologized while showing his unwillingness in his tones.


    "NOW THAT YOU KNOW, JUST STAY HERE FOR A BIT AND TAKE IT EASY!! I NEED YOU TO REPORT SOME MATTERS TO ME."


    Evrick celebrated in his heart as his last conditions to get information easily from this "Red" guy has been fulfilled. The first was for Red himself to be aware of Evrick''s role as his leader both consciously and subconsciously, and also putting some pressure on Red by reprimanding and ordering him, so he''d get in a really bad mood and wouldn''t care about the leader being quite different from the one he know of.


    "Understood, Sir!" This reply from Red confirmed Evrick''s smooth plan.


    "Currently, how far are we from the main army ?" Evrick asked the first question.


    "We''re only half a day by walking distance." Answers Red.


    Evrick showed a thinking gesture "I see, this must be the side effect from being startled while I''m napping, that I had forgotten about many important informations. And it was YOUR FAULT!!" Evrick said in a very annoying superior tone.


    "Please pardon me, Sir!" Red still showed his halfhearted apology without minding Evrick''s reason for questioning him.


    "NEXT QUESTION!! What''s the number of our pursuing army, both melee and ranged soldiers, also who leads them ?"


    "Our main army only consist of 3 companies of footmen and a company of archers, totaling 80 soldiers, Sir Vaux is leading them."


    "What''s their last situation and deployments?"


    "They''ve fully prepared to ambush, only waiting for our bird signals to redirect the army towards the enemy''s main route to exit the forest. The deployments are, for the archer''s company to scatter into 4 positions and lay in wait until the enemy entered the red zone to open fire. Next are the 1st and 2nd footman companies, they would stand behind the archers and wait until archers finished their series of arrows to execute the 2nd phase and slaughter the enemy. The 3rd company would act as a reserve and wait at the forest''s exit together with Sir Vaux."


    "Okay okay, stop. Now I can remember everything clearly. Now, let''s go and rejoin Green at Third layer!"


    "Yes, leader!"


    The two of them walked towards Green''s corpse. Only a few feets away from the third layer, Red smelled shitty air. *cough!!* "What a shitty smell." Red coughed out his complaint and starts yelling in the direction of Green''s smelly corpse, "Green!!! Why are you shitting in your own post!?? It''s disgusting!!"


    There''s no reply to Red''s yells. Red got a bad feeling about Green. He covered his nose with his scarf and approached Green''s hiding place. He got really startled from what he saw. He saw Green lying on his stomach, dried blood on the ground and the area around his ass to crotch were covered in yellow greenish marks. seeing all that, Red raised his vigilance to maximum.


    "Leader take a look at this!! Someone killed Green in the most horrible way!!" The first thing he did was reporting to his fake leader. Evrick began to think that this Red guy is the embodiment of the Dense God.


    "I can see it. Green, he shit his pants in "green" and died. A really shameful way to die." Evrick said muffledly as he tightly covered his mouth and nose using unstained part of the scarf he just plundered.


    Red scanned the corpse for a bit and realised something odd. "The killer seemed to plunder Green''s dagger and left the sheath on Green''s waist. What do you think, lea-" Red stopped his sentence when he clearly saw a second sheatheless dagger slipped onto his leader''s leather sash.


    This time, Evrick can no longer hide in his disguise. so he stepped forward and told Red, "What do you think? I don''t want to spoil my dagger, so I killed Green using his own dagger, and then seized his dagger for myself. It seemed that he can no longer hold his urge to shit. So, I actually helped him to also take a shit while he die, It was really kind of me."


    Red''s eyes suddenly dripping wet with tears then he cried out, "LEADER!! WHYYYY!!???"


    Evrick got really shocked and stumbled hard after hearing Red''s cry of grief. *"HE STILL HAVEN''T FOUND OUT MY DISGUISE!!!!!!!"*


    Evrick could no longer stand beside this idiotic Dense God. He decided to dispose of him quick. Evrick took 2 daggers from his waist and throw them both at the same time. Each of them stabbed Red''s forehead and heart. He exerted most of his power to execute this lighning fast technique and those daggers killed the idiotic Dense God in less than 1 millisecond upon contact.


    After plundering all the valuables from Red''s body, Evrick quickly returned to his group''s halting place. By the time he returned, The group is preparing to move out again. He also found out that The group had been divided into 7 squads, with each squad have it''s own sense of familiarty and unity, they became slightly more coordinated than before.


    After observing for quite some time, Evrick finally showed a satisfied expression. Beiruth approached Evrick slowly as he asked Evricks opinions, "How was it? I arranged the squads based on which person he is most familiar with. And they started working with each other on who''s going to team up with who."


    "You''ve done it the right way, don''t worry. From what I see, each squad is strong enough to fight 2-3 armed soldier and beat them using various tactics." Evrick uttered his opinions based on his knowledge of each person''s capability.


    "Hahaha, that''s what I thought as well. Thanks." Beiruth said as he hit his chest with his fist 3 times. "What about the deployment of battle formations ?" Evrick asked as he thought again about the enemy''s deployments at the same time.


    "I already explained to each squad leader about commonly used battle formations and how to execute them on a real battlefield. I think they have no problem understanding those stuff." Beiruth answered Evrick''s enquiry. "Hmm, I hope so. Beiruth, come with me. I have important news here." Evrick urged Beiruth to walk with him. He intends to tell Beiruth of his guerilla from a few minutes ago.


    After walking for a few feet, Evrick suddenly stopped. "So, what''s the news?" Beiruth asked in a serious tone.


    From then on, Evrick explained to beiruth how he actually detected 3 enemy scouts and killed them 1 by 1 and fished many useful informations about their enemy.


    "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Beiruth asked in all seriousness.


    "I Am." Evrick answered briefly. "And that Red guy also told me." Evrick turned his head and stared towards their destination.


    And he say in loud whisper. "There''s an ambush up ahead!!!"

 Chapter 5 - Beiruths Concern

    Beiruth is feeling uneasy for many reason. He needs to consider again the best approach against the upcoming ambush. Three hours ago Evrick had explained to him about the enemy''s deployment on their ambush, but Beiruth still haven''t came up with any appropriate strategy to counter it. The main thing he currently concerned about are his group''s fighting capability and experience, which most of them are currently lacks. There are only a few people in his group who had actual battle experiences and skills, including Evrick.


    Beiruth himself was once known as Blood Tiger Mercenary''s leader, so he knows a lot of things regarding warfare and battle stuff. But his abundant experience seemed useless because his groups is filled with thief, thugs, pickpockets, and even rapist. There are only 4 of them who were actually have good battle experiences.


    The first one is Rendall. This guy is only 29, yet he was sentenced to death, because he had killed 5 city guards after he Stabbed an arrogant merchant who shamed him in public to a miserable death. He tried to flee from the scene and killed 5 of 20 city guards who pursued him to the city''s outskirts. after staying in the prison for a year, he was supposed to be executed next month. But Beiruth released Rendall on his successful prison break, so Rendall joined this group willingly. This guy have a real skill in wielding a long sword.


    The second would be old man Hovan. This old man used to work as a woodcutter, but woodcutting was only his side job. His real profession was an underground arena fighter. Old man Hovan used to hold the title of the Undefeated champion for 10 years in the Lore City underground arena. He was imprisoned for assaulting the underground arena''s promotor in a broad daylight. He''s hot blooded by nature, and the reason he followed Beiruth was because Beiruth had beaten him in a 1 on 1 brawl when in prison. Even beiruth have difficulties handling Hovan''s brute strength, so old man Hovan is unquestionably strong.


    The third person is unexpectedly a beautiful young woman, her name is Sevana. She''s the flower of this group of rowdy men, and these guys has always treated her like a princess since the beginning of their journey. Why would such a beautiful girl such as her got imprisoned ? Because she beat up a nobillity from Marquis''s family including his 6 personal guards inside the Lore City tavern.


    This 24 years old girl was a new watress in "Rolling Rock Tavern" which is a high class tavern located in the central area of Lore City. Sevana was purely tempted with the high pay the tavern offered, which was 10 Zebs per hour. The most important thing Sevana overlooked when applying for the job was the tavern''s esteemed customers who are mostly from lore city''s high class society, and sometimes even nobles from Lore Castle would visit there.


    Sevana never thought about the unrestrained practices some people from high class society tend to do while she applied for the job. Only on the first week working, her worst nightmare already came. The 4th young master of Lorelius Castle suddenly visited the tavern with the company of his 6 personal guards. When he saw Sevana for the first time, his eyes was already full of obscenity. He tried to woo Sevana, but to no avail, Sevana didn''t show any interest towards him, and this attittude of her enraged the 4th young master as he forced himself on her to show her his powerful might in lore city. Sevana had cried for help, but no one seemed to hear her desperate cry. She was really scared of offending the nobility, so she cried for help, hoping there would be anyone to help her escape from such predicament.


    Sevana didn''t think of anything else at that moment, so she headbutted the 4th young master and threw a deadly punch to his that instantly knocked him out. Sevana did this to protect her own purity. Seeing the young master got knocked out, the 6 personal guards moved out to apprehend the young girl. But contrary to their expectation, the beautiful young girl had already transformed into a tigress as she also knocked out the 6 armed bodyguards one after another, with only her fist and kicks.


    Apparently, Sevana was a martial practitioner. She had trained under her late father since her childhood. But still, an unarmed girl against 6 armed powerful men, and she still win with no serious injury. She''s undoubtedly a strong person even among these rowdy men. The reason she joined the group was because she have nowhere else to go.


    The last and the strongest one is undoubtedly Evrick the young Half-Elf. He had the most merits on their successful breakout operation from the castle dungeon. He singlehandedly slaughtered tens of guards and the warden inside the dungeon, then personally opened up the path towards the armory for all the escaped prisoners to get their own steel weapons. Evrick wreaking havoc again was the main reason to the chaos that''s been happening inside Lorelius Castle till this date, since the total number of Lorelius Castle''s guard had instantly dwindled to half it''s original. Marquiss Lorelius himself needed to pardon himself from the council meeting and quickly return home from the capital city in order to stabillize the chaotic situation in his own territory.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Evrick was the first person Beiruth had freed after he escaped his own cell with Simon''s help. Beiruth could only drop his jaws when he saw Evrick slaughtered ten guards in a mere minute. This made him wondered, how did such a strong individual got imprisoned. He later found out that the reason Evrick got imprisoned were for his infiltration to Lorelius Castle and the murder of 93 guards in the castle''s premises.


    Though Beiruth never know about Evrick''s reason to intrude the castle, he was still awed by Evrick''s prowess to have done all that alone. Without Evrick''s help, their escape plan would be full of chaos, and may even ended up in failure. Evrick had no special reason in joinning this group, he only tagged along because he happened to be also running away towards Southwest.


    "Sigh..." Beiruth couldn''t help but sighed in this hopeless situation. He didn''t want to always depend on young Evrick every time they faced a difficult battle, because once Evrick left the group, they would have nothing else to depend on other than their own strengths. Beiruth actually wished to train these rowdy bunch by letting them fight a real combat in a battlefield, yet their starting point is just very miserable. At this rate, they might get wiped out before they even start their bandit group.


    Hearing the leader sighed to himself, old man Hovan approached him from the side. and start trash talking, "Beiruth! What''s with the pitiful sigh? Do you feel bored with the peaceful forest ? Hahaha, don''t worry. As you had said before, there might be an ambush up ahead. This forest won''t bore you for too long, we''re already halfway towards the bloodfest, I can''t wait for it as well. Hahahaha!"


    "Bloodfest my ass. I hope your 3rd squad won''t get wiped out too soon later." Beiruth also replied with a trash talk. "I still haven''t found the most effective way to counter the ambush. Do you have any idea, Hovan ?" Beiruth could only hope to ask the opinions of one of his his strongest comrades. "Why don''t we just break into their formations and slaughter them all ? It''s the simplest way you know." Old man Hovan gave out his opinions as he raised his big shoulders, gesturing as if these matters aren''t so difficult.


    Hearing Old man Hovan''s opinion made Beiruth''s eyes twitched several times. In the end, Beiruth got his hopes up for nothing, since this old man is a complete muscle head. *"Nothing less from an Ex-Champion of underground arena huh? I''m realy stupid to have asked him."* He mocked himself and he felt miserable as he could only depend on Evrick''s quick maneuver again for later after all.


    At this moment, Evrick is walking a little further ahead, Since he need to observe the road ahead using his newly plundered device ''prismocular''. But this time, he isn''t alone. Sevana is walking a step away behind Evrick.


    She had been following Evrick closely since they departed from the halt three hours ago. She was not satisfied with the division of the group into 7 squads, since she needed to stick together in a squad full of men.


    Inside this group of ruffians, whenever walking or resting Sevana was often on her own, since she''s the only girl. It''s obvious that she needs her own space and privacy, when the other reason is that she has to keep practicing her martial arts. So, Sevana went forward and complained to Beiruth and told him she can''t stand walking together with a squad full of these rowdy men.


    In the first place, Beiruth assigned Sevana in his own squad out of his concern towards her safety. But at the end of their division meeting, this young tigress had coerced Beiruth to assign her for an Individual role like he did to Evrick. It''s obvious that Beiruth had rejected her idea to fight alone at first. But Sevana''s stubborn nature prevented Beiruth to make her stay in his squad.


    In the end Beiruth thought of an idea and suggested her to go and ask for Evrick''s permission to be his helper. *"With Evrick by her side, she''s suppposed to be safer, and Evrick isn''t a complete ruffian"* Beiruth thought really simply as if he had caught old man Hovan''s stupidity. But in reality, he just want this extremely stubborn girl to stop her complaints.


    Surprisingly, her eyes shone after she heard Beiruth''s suggestion. Sevana didn''t even need to reconsider beiruth''s idea at all. She had always thought to closely observe Evrick''s combat skill since the prison breaking operation, but Evrick''s movements were just too fast and unpredictable which made her unable to catch up to him at all. So, she quickly thanked Leader Beiruth and ran forward to went after Evrick with a face full of expectations.


    Seeing how the little girl just up and left without any more complaint, Beiruth suddenly had a really bad feeling regarding this decision, as he already had an intention to stop her. But thinking back to how persistent she was, Beiruth gave up on his idea.


    An here she is now, pestering the young Half-Elf to death.

 Chapter 6 - She Confessed ??!!!

    "No!" Evrick had rejected her for the 86th times.


    "What''s wrong with you !!?? I''ve already asked for so many times, but you''re still saying the same ''No!'' answer over and over, without even explaining to me your reason. Why don''t you surrender right now and just let me give you some helping hand."


    "No!" Here comes Evrick''s 87th rejection.


    At first, Evrick only rejected Sevana because he was concerned about her safety, but after her 10th time asking, Evrick rejected her out of annoyance. Evrick never actually met any person who''s stubborn to such extreme, and the first person he know is actually this beautiful woman walking behind him. *"Aaaaah I really don''t know what to do !!!!"* He screamed miserably in his heart.


    "Fine then! I don''t care about you!!" Sevana said finally.


    Evrick''s eyes are beaming with joy as he heard that, "You give up finally!! Yeaaaah thank God!!!!" Somehow, Evrick didn''t even know why he screamed with such ecstacy. He only felt that he heard something so refreshing after 3 hours of torture from Sevana.


    "What the hell are you so happy about???" Sevana looked at Evrick with wonder.


    "I don''t really know!! I only know that you''re going back to Beiruth''s squad. Am I right??" Evrick asked with a gleaming face.


    "Noo! I don''t wanna return there !!" Sevana''s reply made Evrick''s face contorted to the extreme.


    "I did gave up on your permission. But I''ll still follow you in the battle, I don''t care about your opinion. Hmmph!" In the end, the tigress will still follow him.


    This result made Evrick fall even deeper into depression that made him finally showed some discomfort in his tone, "Do what you want then!!!! I was really concerned about your safety, because I''m fully aware of the enemy''s formations, and the battlefield will be really deadly on the frontlines. Yet, you had pushed me this far. You don''t even know waht kind of heavy pressure that''s on my back, yet you want to act as you please as if it doesn''t concern you. Don''t expect me to save you later!!"


    *"Heh, I hope she''d cry from that. That will show us that you ain''t so strong girl!!"* Evrick sneered kiddingly in his heart. And he had wished for something he really should never have wished for.


    Tears starts to well up on Sevana''s eyes as she weeps little by little, "Wuuu uwuuu.." Getting suddenly scolded made her heart startled. She never expected that the cool headed Evrick would suddenly reprimand her really harshly, and she also unknowingly feel that Evrick is being unfair to her. All those added up made her heart stings as her nose started to feel sour and she weep involuntarily.


    "Hey! Don''t cry! We''re in a dangerous place!!" He may had hoped for her to cry, but it was for his own humour, not for real!


    Sevana is not listening to Evrick and keeps weeping, "Wuuuwuuu.. wuuu.. uwuuu.."


    "Come on Sevana I was just kidding. Stop crying, okay?" Evrick tried to hold her shoulder and pacify her.


    "Don''t come near me! I hate you!! you SAVAGE!! UWAAAA!!!"


    Not long after sevana started her loud weepings, a series of angry shouts could be heard not far from behind them.


    "THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING EVRICK!!"


    "YOU DARE TO MAKE OUR PRINCESS CRY!! YOU''RE LOOKING TO DIE!!!"


    "YOU BLASTED SAVAGE! I''LL KILL YOU EVRICK!!"


    "PRINCESS SEVANA! WE''RE COMING TO SAVE YOU!!!"


    Those rowdy guys can''t stand silent after hearing their Princess'' cry from up front while she''s alone with Evrick, so they started to gather and run forward to encircle the both of them. *"Aaaaargh!! Screw this !!!"* Not being able to fix the problem, Evrick can only curse helplessly in his heart.


    "OKAY OKAY!! You guys can take back your princess!! I have no business with her in the first place." Evrick said, as bitterness shows up on his face. He just wished this girl to learn her lesson and just follow along for now. But these rowdy guys can''t seem to accept his compromise and wished to mock and reprimand Evrick for bad things he did that they don''t even know of, when suddenly, this woman said something completely unexpected to all of them Including Evrick. "I DON''T WANT TO GO BACK THERE!!!! I JUST WANT TO ALWAYS BE TOGETHER WITH YOU EVRICK!!"


    Without exception, every one of them got so shocked that they involuntarily dropped their jaws at the instant the little beauty dropped the bomb. None of them ever thought that this tigress would be able to spoke such a bold line, and all of them had asked the very same question in their head, "Did this girl just confessed her feelings to Evrick? Just what exactly happened between them before?" Most of them was only shocked, but there are still a few of the younger guys who are truly heartbroken.


    The person who got confessed himself was already dumbstruck and speechless. This young Half-Elf might be quite adept at handling various weapons and is a close combat expert. But in fact, he is still very young and rather inexperienced in the matters of love, and this sudden confession from Sevana had made him feel really stupid as he can''t avoid the warm and tingling sensation that suddenly growing in his heart which made him forgot his hate for her stubborness. Replacing it was Sevana''s beautiful face with her daring smile.


    The most silly thing to be precise, is that Evrick lost every sharpness he used to have at this moment, and he''s begun to behave awkwardly which looked very stupid in everyone''s eyes.


    Seeing everyone''s shocked expressions while looking at her and Evrick''s stupid reaction after her shout. Sevana just realised that she had said something really wrong quite loudly, and she can''t help to get extremely embarassed as a huge mess starts to pile up on her head.


    The tigress herself never expected that she could actually say something so daring in front of these men, it was too unlike her. Even though she''s a 24 years old hardheaded tigress, but in fact she''s still a virgin and have never experienced being surounded by a group of rowdy men, so she feel quite cornered and timid when she suddenly became their main focus.


    She thought really hard to fix the situation, and finally thought of something good to explain her main reason as to why would she want to be together with Evrick. Even though she''s feeling extremely embarassed, she still said it nervously, "No! Everyone, y-you''re mistaken! I really have no other reason to follow E- E-vrick."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    When Sevana mentioned Evrick she unknowingly glanced at him stealthily. But, both of them couldn''t help to blush when their gaze coincidentally met. This had made her even more nervous and her messed up reasoning grew into a chaos. She''s still trying her best to explain herself though, "S-since we knew e-each other... (..from the prison) I had always thought that h-he is really g-good... (..at fighting). So I want to always be to-together with E-Evrick and to always watch him... (..fighting the enemies) closely" She messed up for real this time as she totally missed all the critical points and made the misunderstanding grew worse.


    "You really love him that much!!!" Everybody present could no longer doubt Sevana''s feelings towards Evrick as they shouted that line in unison. "NOOOOO! YOU''RE WRONG!!" *"Stupid me!!!! What did I just said!! How did I became this stupid!!"* Sevana shouted in denial of what she just confessed a moment ago while at the same time reprimanding herself twice inside.


    An older member slowly walked towards Sevana and say, "Stop doubting yourself girl. your prince is right in front of you, and he already heard all of your honest feelings towards him. You''re like the only daughter of our big family now. We can only support your choice and wish for the best to your future together. Go on, we won''t bother the two of you any longer. We''ll be going back." He said in a very old and wise way.


    "B-but I... I''m not-" "Stop! Say no more!" Sevana is still trying to convince them but the old dude cut her explanation. "It won''t do any good if you keep denying yourself in front of Evrick himself. Men!! Our princess is confirmed safe and sound! Youngsters over there, don''t cry now! We should go back to our squad formations before the Leader scolds us!" He gave his last advice to Sevana before finally ordered the other guys to retreat quickly, with the rest of them consented, they also quickly dispersed and return to their respective squads they had left behind, and even those few heartbroken young men who was hiding and crying behind the trees were no exceptions as they walked back quietly while in tears, leaving only Evrick and Sevana alone on their own.


    After those rowdy guys went back to the main group, between Evrick and Sevana there is only silence. To the both of them, this short few seconds of silence felt like forever. In a situation like this, the young Half-Elf is absolutely clueless on what to do, and the same goes for the stubborn tigress. Sevana''s huge mistake from before had made the both of them become more aware of each other.


    The silence continued for a few more second and they just keep staring at each other without moving nor speaking. Ever since they escaped the dungeon together, Evrick never had much impression towards Sevana, not even her strong martial arts. But at this moment, Evrick just realized, that the woman in front of him is really beautiful. More than that, she just said that she want to be together with him.


    Evrick couldn''t help himself as he is drowning in admiration. Even though all of this was a mistake, Sevana herself was unexpectedly also caught up in Evrick''s stare as her lovely eyes glitters beautifully while staring back at him in curiousity without knowing that a warm little flame had been slowly lit inside her heart.


    Both of them are so engrossed in learning each other''s features when suddenly, distinct sound of footsteps could be heard from afar. The one who heard them was Evrick, because he''s got superb ears and he had been facing east all this time. Evrick can clearly see Beiruth, old man Hovan, and Simon not too far from his point of view, and there are also 6 squads walking behind them.


    Evrick decided to break the silence, "I''m sorry, I was really mad before. I didn''t intend to hurt you. Please forgive me." He apologized while smiling bitterly. "You don''t have to, I realised I was wrong. I just want to follow you into battle, and those guys had terribly mistook my intention. I''m afraid that It made you feel ill and you would hate me." Surprisingly, the stubborn Sevana also apologized.


    After those few seconds of meaningful silence, this tigress can''t seem to show her stuborness to Evrick any longer. Instead, she acted like a cute little kitten. She''s trully inexperienced. After hearing her true intention, Evrick approached her slowly and stopped right before her. "Not at all, I''m afraid that I wouldn''t be able to hate you after this." Evrick told her as he smiles warmly towards her and gently caress her head.


    Hearing Evrick''s reply made her heart throb as a warm sensation filled her heart. Even more than that, seeing him smiling warmly to her and suddenly caressed her head, she can no longer resist another strong surge of a brand new sensation. She don''t hate it at all in fact, she really like it!


    True enough, her face blushed red like a cherry, and she''s holding back her strong urge to throw herself to his chest. If the others were to know about this, they might think she''s too easy. But what can she do, she''s only a 24 years old virgin. She never felt a man''s warmth before aside from her late father, and this handsome young man before her had just gave her that exact warmth.


    Too bad for her, she''s completely unaware of her true feelings as she''s thinking that some nervousness from those misunderstanding is still lingering in her heart. She''s totally inexperienced.


    She might have been observing Evrick from afar before, but it''s only when they''re in battles, she was only focused on his movements and techniques, not the person himself. But the big misunderstanding from before has led her to a situation in which she''s alone with him, and had made them feel really close to each other. That situation had made her too aware of Evrick''s outstanding features as a Half-Elf.


    Evrick had treated her coldly before, and she even resented him secretly for that. But her huge mistake a few moments ago had unexpectedly changed him into a really gentle person. She even felt really happy for his change somehow, and her resentment had turned into something really different.


    "Evrick . . ." She called him gently without even thinking. "Sevana ?" Evrick too, he called her back without thinking. *"hmm?"* Sevana felt a good sensation coming and called him again, "Evrick . ." At the moment, both of them has become a pair of idiots as they kept calling out each other''s name for a few times for no reason, yet they feel really happy somehow as they can''t hold their urge to smile.


    They only stopped when they hear Beiruth calling them out from afar, "Evrick!! Sevana!!" For a few moments now, they felt happy for calling each other''s names, but somehow, Beiruth calling both of their names make them felt annoyed instead."What happened ? Why are you stopping ?" Beiruth''s shout had startled Sevana, while Evrick maintains his composure and giving an ''everything is okay'' sign with his arm as he don''t really want to shout at this moment.


    "Sevana, let''s go. We need to get going." Evrick invited sevana to go together with him. "Is it really okay ? You''ve been rejecting me since three hours ago though." She asked Evrick with a doubtful expression. Seeing her doubtful face, Evrick felt a tinge of regret. "I was concerned about your safety before, and I didn''t really want to be burdened while I''m fighting later." Evrick told her the reason he kept rejecting her for 3 hours straight.


    Sevana feel quite at a loss when she hear Evrick''s reason, and it instantly shows on her face in. "But don''t worry, I''ve changed my mind. I will bring you as you wished. Not as a burden, but a partner." Evrick said as he look straight into her eyes, but he didn''t saw any happiness in her eyes, only worries.


    As of now, Sevana can finally see the big picture and she genuinely feel woried that she would be a big burden for Evrick in the upcoming fight and also many other reasons.


    Seeing her still worried eyes, Evrick breathed slowly and think resolutely to himself. He suddenly stood close and firmly hold Sevana''s shoulders. Evrick smiled gently and say, "Trust me, I''ll guide you with everything I have. We''ll be strong together."


    Seeing a strong determination from Evrick''s eyes, Sevana thought to herself, *"His eyes are full of resoluteness. Maybe I can really trust him."* She smiled and nodded her head, "I trust you Evrick."


    "Thank you Sevana. Now, let''s go!" Evrick led sevana to move forward and slowly vanished from Beiruth''s line of sight. Beiruth couldn''t believe what he saw a moment ago as he muttered in his heart, *"What the hell happened between those two ???"* He recalled those rowdy bunch had rushed ahead of his leading squad after hearing Sevana''s scream, he then asked one of them, "Nollan, what happened with Evrick and Sevana? You guys just returned from the front. Did you guys see anything strange?"


    Seeing the leader questioned him curiously, he can''t help to laugh before answering, "Hehehe, Boss!! Sevana just confessed to Evrick. She''s actually quite the shy girl!"


    Beiruth couldn''t hide his bewilderment as he shouts, "SHE CONFESSED??!!!!!"