21

Terror

You are nothing. Talentless. You should never have been born.

/

How do you fight an arrogant enemy?

Kyril mused that question over as he watched his soldiers ram down the gates to an old estate that had once belonged to a noble, which was now being used as an outpost by the Leaping Lizards.

"We've breached the gate, Captain." Bergen said to him.

Kyril gripped his Saw Cleaver tight. "Advance. Give them no quarter." He ordered and spurred his horse onward. As he and the rest of the men charged forward he knew the answer to the question he had been thinking about. You become a monster, he thought to himself. When a man or woman thinks themselves invincible you show them how wrong they are. You destroy them without hesitation, without remorse or pity.

Show them just how..."human" they are and the facade fades away pretty quickly.

The Good Hunter rode into battle once more. It was the second week and they were close to utterly dismantling the Leaping Lizards. Even with the confirmed sighting of Shamuhaza's work here, the Lizards were on the run and Roland was receiving more and more soldiers from the once helpless nobles of Scathlocke.

Although helpless wasn't exactly the word Kyril had in mind for these nobles. He made a note to have Roland make some inquiries as to why they weren't sending support before he took command. If the noble class here didn't like it well that was tough for them. He was going to be rooting out traitors here too if he had to.

Any resistance and he would raze estates to the ground. Down to the last child. When they heard that threat the nobility was more cooperative during Roland's inquiry. Kyril the Bloody was in town and nobody wanted to piss him off anymore than he already was. He hated Scathlocke. He hated the mud and the cold.

The battle was utterly pathetic, Kyril mused as the Lizards were destroyed by his soldiers. This was another paltry outpost. He had to give it to Morgan, he knew how to run and hide. The Good Hunter was still on his trail, but the man had proven elusive so far. The only description he got was from a screaming wretch he had tortured in Fort Branswick.

The wretch described an arrogant man with a penchant for trickery and working for the highest bidder. A whore of war, much like Vault was. A slaver and a philanderer at the same time. It was just too bad that Grace hadn't been wanting to talk about her experience with Morgan the Lizard, but he figured she was traumatized from the entire experience. That woman had been on this land for three hundred years, many of those memories bad.

She deserved peace and closure. Kyril had promised to give that to her when he undertook this Hunt. Now it seemed that there were two foes that had become important prey to put down. Shamuhaza for his experiments on the Wild Ones and Morgan for being a slaving wretch.

And for dragging him to this godforsaken place.

/

Fort Branswick, Scathlocke

"You need to take a bath."

"No."

"Seriously, you fell in the mud. I don't want you to get sick. The Boss will kill me."

"No bath. Hate water."

"You're taking a bath."

"No like bath. No like water. Soap smells weird. Like you."

Hugh struggled to keep his laughter in while Sanakan tried to pull Yurie from the post she was hanging onto. The Wild One child was muddy, from the tips of her large ears and down to her toes. Good thing, the Boss put Sanakan in charge of taking care of her for the day. Even if it was their day off, Hugh found Yurie to be quite fascinating. Sanakan, in comparison, seemed to make the child even more uncomfortable.

The funniest thing was when Yurie kept thinking that Sanakan was a strangely shaped boy that smelled like a girl.

Deciding that Sanakan was already having enough trouble, he walked over and leaned down to look at Yurie with a pointed look. She pouted, looking up at him with those orange eyes. Then she huffed and let go of the post. Sanakan looked warily at the deep scratch marks made on it. Gods, even the little ones could probably tear off your face if you got sloppy in a fight. She then glowered sullenly at Hugh who was leading Yurie to the direction of the baths. He nudged his head for her to follow.

It was a slow day. Sir Kyril was out, investigating a lead on a possible location of the Leaping Lizards. He'd be back in a few days and had left Yurie in Sanakan and Hugh's charge. There were a few refugees in the fortress now, some had volunteered to work in the fort. Blacksmiths were valued in particular by Sir Kyril. There was even a Half-Ling there who was currently in the forges. Some of Kyril's men, the veterans from Rad, didn't really associate too much with her but it was understandable. The tragedy at Rad wouldn't go away from most of them and a few Half-Lings were still grieving for Luu-Luu.

"There. Finally." Sanakan grumbled wiping her forehead with her arm. Her sleeves were rolled up and she got started on drying Yurie's ears. The child was scowling up at them even as Hugh prepared another dress for her to wear. Much like Sanakan, Hugh had abandoned his coat in the private baths. His lean frame was easily seen under his clothes. It was a sight that Sanakan enjoyed. She bit her lip slightly.

"You stare too much." Yurie's comment snapped her out of it.

"Oh, hush you." Sanakan scowled.

"But he boy." Yurie said.

Hugh let out a soundless chuckle, shoulders shaking in amusement.

Sanakan turned red. "Yes, Hugh is a boy. And I'm a girl." She shot back at Yurie.

"Yes. He boy. You too. But smell like girl." Yurie said with a straight face.

That was it, Hugh lost it. Sanakan growled at him and took the dress so she could dress Yurie up.

/

It was night time when Kyril arrived back at the Fortress. He looked satisfied at the various jobs being finished up. Lucky too, because that Leaping Lizard Outpost had some top quality food they had managed to get back in wagons. It was a small victory but a victory nonetheless and moral needed to be kept up.

He got something nice out of it, more hardtack biscuits and a bag of some divine tasting salted pork. Someone had sweetened it and he had let slip a reward for those cooks who figured out the recipe.

He was currently in his office, sipping a cup of coffee as he finished drafting up his report to Lady Celestine for her review. Kyril kept his eyes on the door, waiting for Sanakan and Hugh to tuck in that little Wild One they had in their charge before heading up here so he could brief them on the current situation. As it stood they had more than enough men to wipe out the Leaping Lizards for good.

The problem was finding them, although rumors had begun to reach his ears about the old Malys estate that was quite a ways away from the civilized center of Scathlocke. It was said to be haunted and because of the war, the stories said, evil was stirring within that place. Something that the Lizards would regret unleashing. Kyril used to not put much stock in those stories but he knew better now. He held no more fear, that had been bled out of him back in Yharnam, but he did know horror.

There was a knock on the door.

"Enter." Kyril said standing up behind the desk.

"Boss?" Sanakan walked in. "You called us? Sorry we were late, Hugh had to tell Yurie a bed time story."

Hugh walked in a few seconds after her, dusting off his hat before placing it upon his head.

"It's fine." Kyril said. "Our work here in Scathlocke has come to a head. I've heard of a possible location that the Lizards are using as their main base and since we are seeing signs of Shamuhaza's work here, I am going to guess that he is there also."

"The old Malys estate?" Sanakan asked. "Lots of fighters are talking about that place, Boss. Heard it was haunted by ghosties."

"It's a ghastly place from what I heard, true." Kyril nodded in agreement. "But it makes sense I suppose, if you want to do some experimenting."

Hugh wrote something down on parchment and held it up for Kyril to read.

Want us to scout it out Boss? Me, Sanakan and Sharl are on shift tonight.

"It's a three day ride." Kyril told them both. "I hope you do realize that you could be walking into a possible enemy stronghold."

"We understand, Boss." Sanakan said. "But we've always taken the hard jobs, we can handle it."

"Understood." Kyril said. "You leave at dawn tomorrow. Travel light, travel swift. Do not engage unless it is absolutely necessary."

"Yes, Boss." Sanakan nodded. Hugh repeated the same motion and both bowed before departing to give Sharl their new assignment. Kyril sat back in his chair and removed his hat to scratch at his black, grey-streaked, hair. Evetta had come by recently from the Dream to say that Olga had wanted to talk to him. Privately.

In the Dream. Now that was a request he had not heard before. He guessed this might be important enough, Olga was never seen without Celestine seeing that the Dark Queen was still mistrusted by the general public and Celestine's presence softened the enmity people felt against her. Kyril could understand that quite well, seeing that she was responsible for starting one war. Now she was with the Alliance fighting the war against the Black Dogs.

It was funny how fate worked sometimes. Truly, Kyril sometimes wished he had the gift of foresight. But that would have brought its own type of madness. One possibly even worse than what the Beast Plague would have given to him.

He put the quill pen back into the ink pot and fished out a Bold Hunter's Mark. He might as well see just what was going on back in Ken. And talk to Olga.

/

The Hunter's Dream...

It was foggy and chilly here, but at least Kyril's workshop was warm. Olga drank from the cup of tea Evetta set down for her. The Plain Doll was cleaning the gravestones scattered all over the Dream. Kyril was a morose fellow for living so close to such a depressing sight but this was his home and he had allowed her to visit so she dropped those thoughts about the absent host. All Olga knew was that Sir Kyril was busy in Scathlocke going after the Leaping Lizards. He was currently causing quite a stir up there from what she heard from Celestine. The High Elf constantly worried about Sir Kyril, but that was what his job entailed. He was actively roaming the country side putting a stop to whatever the Black Dogs were planning. He wasn't the only one.

Maia was doing her own part in Ansur and she had heard that Alicia was also on the war march, taking down a large orc war band that had settled in her province's back door. Their reasoning was that if Sir Kyril could do some good on the counter-offensive then they could do that too. Although, Maia had other reasons to do it. As always, gossip said that she admired the Good Hunter greatly especially after the rescue from Ansur. Olga knew better though, Maia thought she owed Kyril a debt that she could never repay. It was something that made him very uncomfortable but he had not said anything.

The Dark Queen set her cup of tea down as she saw the Good Hunter walking up to the Doll. Both bowed to each other. Olga felt a rush of jealousy as she saw the warm expression on Kyril's solemn face. He never showed that side to anyone, not even her. Olga knew how unfair that line of thinking was, Evetta knew Kyril longer than she had and was utterly loyal to the Good Hunter. But Kyril had been the only man to show her or Chloe kindness, rescuing them from the Black Dogs' treacheries. Even now, after all that has happened he still put the both of them under his protection.

So Olga frowned slightly when Kyril let the Doll go on her way with a smile that gradually faded into the emotionless mask he preferred to show to the public. Before actively hiding it behind his cloth bandana. She was used to that sight even more so than others but Olga had heard Celestine privately complain that the Good Hunter never showed his face to anyone unless she explicitly ordered him to. Even then, the shadows of his hat seemed to make it hard to see his visage.

Impossible as it may have seemed.

Olga stood as Kyril approached. The Good Hunter bowed formally, as he usually did in her presence or Celestine's.

"Lady Olga." Kyril said politely, but distantly. "You wished to speak to me?"

Olga looked hesitant but she nodded. "I made your retainer..." She started but trailed off into a miserable silence. "I have committed a grave sin against your retainer."

Kyril's impassive stare did not make her any more comfortable. But he did gesture to the table for her to sit down. That made some of her apprehension go away, at least he wasn't annoyed or irritated. But what scared her was how...impassive Kyril was. Olga could see why no one really wanted to interact with Sir Kyril Sutherland. You never knew whether he was in a bad mood or not.

Olga sat down. "When I was still at war with Celestine centuries ago, I augmented my forces with the orcs that you fight against today." She said softly.

Kyril did not reply, he merely inclined his head for her to continue her...confession.

"To...reward them for their effectiveness..." Olga said laughing bitterly. "I gave them a city and their people to toy with as they wished. That one city was where Grace lived, thus forcing her to leave Garan with several others."

Kyril leaned forward watching her. "So you returned their loyalty with treachery." He said. There was no anger in his tone, he merely stated what Olga had done. It still made her wince slightly. "What has happened since then?"

Olga said nothing for a while. "We work together. That's it...but, she hopes that you will kill me someday." She stated softly. "For what I had done to her."

"An understandable reaction." Kyril said. "But you made your choice, I cannot change that. Neither will I speak to Grace on your behalf. You were the one that wronged her." He leaned back in his favored chair. Olga wilted. She had hoped he would have some advice at least on how to deal with this.

"Do you...hate me for what I have done?" Olga asked.

"Hatred has nothing to do with it anymore." Kyril said serenely. "You have wronged my retainer, a personal grievance that I cannot and will not act upon seeing that you are still a Queen and royalty." His tone turned neutral. "Logically speaking, what you did was a crime against your own people. A horrendous, cruel sin that logically would have had you assassinated."

The Dark Elf hid a wince from the Good Hunter's intimidating glance. "You...You would have killed me had it happened to you?" She asked.

"Depends." Kyril said shrugging. "I'm not over a hundred years old. Neither am I a ruler of a country at war, all I know is that you made a choice and you are now suffering with the consequences of that choice."

He stood up. "It truly only depends on you if you can live with it or not."

...

Fortress City of Ken

Soren moved quickly and quietly through the streets, bandana over his mouth as he crept closer to the group of mercenaries. He looked to his new weapon and grimaced, but he knew how to use it.

The Reiterpallasch was a mixture of sword-rapier and gun. He wasn't as good as Hugh or Sanakan but thanks to Lady Alicia and Miss Lily, he could use a sword decently now. He still had his Saw Spear of course in case things got desperate but he had other tools at his disposal.

Such as Molotovs, or fire bombs. Sure it would probably get him in trouble with Lily, or worse Lady Claudia, but if he had to he could set a building on fire. Soren grinned to himself.

"Getting paid." He told himself. "Got a job to do...oh, man Sister Ramiel is gonna kill me." Soren continued on, sneakily of course. Every footpad worth their salt had no business getting made while snooping. Soren was gettin better and better at this, with Lily's approval. Soren moved into the empty building that the thugs had occupied, making sure to keep low. He kept a tight grip on his Reiterpallasch and stayed quiet.

"How long are we gonna wait?" One thug said, a portly man in grimy clothes.

"We wait until the Black Dogs come by and ask us for the scoop." The lead man said. "That's what Sir John Mandeville says, so we wait. And if we get the chance to get our hands on that Dark Elf Queen's little bitch, all's the more better."

"But how long? I wanna get my hands on one of the Dawn Templars...I can't bloody well wait."

Soren nodded in his hiding place. Lily told him to take care of these goons after getting whatever info he could get. It seemed that Sir John Mandeville did indeed have his hands in dirty money and even dirtier causes. The apprentice exhaled then burst out of his hiding spot in a sudden, violent motion.

He may have been the newbie of the group but Soren had his own talents to add in Kyril's cadre of Hunters. He was quiet during combat, sometimes to the point that almost no one notices that he was on the way to kill them before it was too late. Mixed with the drive to become better in the eyes of his master, he had been forged into a Hunter who fought much like an assassin.

Soren's sword punched into the first thug's throat. Drawing the blade back, he struck the next scoundrel down with the hand guard of his weapon. Reaching into his jacket, Soren drew his Hunter's Pistol and fired a shot into the fleeing thug's back. The last one left alive had dropped his weapon.

"I surrender." He stammered.

Soren exhaled under his bandana as he loaded a new cartridge into his firearm. He could shoot, not as good as Hugh but decently enough. He kept the maw of his pistol on the man.

"What does Mandeville want with the Dark Elves?" Soren asked, his voice muffled by his cloth bandana.

"He likes 'em, kid." The man kept his hands raised, glancing to the side. "They-They sell pretty good on the market."

Soren was about to answer when someone clubbed him over the head. He dropped then quickly scrambled back as the thug he had recently knocked in the face raised his mace for an overhead smash that would have crushed the apprentice Hunter's skull.

There was a flash of white.

The thug with the mace screamed as both his hands were cut off.

Lily held her Church Pick in hand, kicking aside the handless thug without remorse. She looked at the last thug Soren had spared. Soren was getting up, grabbing his loaded pistol and shaking his head.

"You're hurt." Lily frowned.

"Yeah," Soren removed his bandanna. He let out an exhale, blood was running down the side of his head. "Either that guy had a hard skull or I didn't hit him hard enough."

"Either way...you got hurt." Lily said gently.

"I...you..." The thug stammered. Lily and Soren stared at him.

"I surrender. I'll tell you whatever you want."

/

"Well, that was easier than expected." Grace said as Soren and Lily reported back to her. "We should probably inform Sir Kyril that Sir John Mandeville is a traitor."

"What about Klaus Levantine?" Soren asked quietly.

"Ah...that can of worms." Grace frowned. "Well, since Mandeville is obviously a backstabbing conniving wretch that should solve itself shouldn't it?"

"I certainly would hope so." Lily said. "But you know how things can go downhill if you think you're ahead...that and Claudia refuses to work with us because of Sir Kyril."

"That's...really unfair." Soren frowned. "We did tell her that we weren't going to touch him right?"

Lily did agree with that statement. Sir Kyril had told them that he had absolutely no reason to shadow Klaus as a traitor, but regardless he asked all three of them to keep an eye on him just in case something happened. Claudia was not very happy when she found out but she had allowed them that, even if she was completely uncooperative with Kyril.

The fact that the Good Hunter had suspected Klaus of all people as a traitor seemed to have affected their working relationship. Soren knew Kyril didn't give a rat's ass about what Lady Claudia thought about him, and would probably just ignore her concerns anyway. You gotta hand it to the Boss, Soren mused, he was one stone cold fish with a stubborn streak.

"Well, in any case that's more charges we can bring to Lady Celestine." Grace said, looking cheerful. It was a marked change from a few days ago. Grace had been sullen and nigh unapproachable. Ever since Grace had confronted Olga Discordia she steered clear of the Dark Elf Queen, often pointedly ignoring her during the war council meetings.

Lily and Soren knew she had every right to be angry but they had a job to do. Kyril depended on them to keep things stable here. If they started falling apart right here and now, things in Ken would end in disaster. Sir John Mandeville could possibly escape and bring with him important information that the Black Dogs could exploit.

And...well, Soren didn't want to think about what could happen.

"How are they doing up there, I wonder?" Lily asked.

Grace sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "Since that Shamuhaza bastard is up there? I'm honestly worried."

"Worried?" Soren asked. "The Boss ain't easy to kill."

"I know, I know." Grace said. "I just...don't like seeing him get hurt." She shivered. She remembered Kyril taking three crossbow bolts to the lung back in Ansur. He had killed the bastard that shot him of course. It was like he didn't even feel pain, then he just pulled the bolts out of his side like they were nothing.

"Oh?" One of Lily's red eyebrows raised, her tone was intrigued.

Grace flushed. "Oh come on." She said. "You clearly know that Sir Kyril is...well...desirable to some folks around here."

Soren stared at her. Lily did as well.

Grace flushed even more. "Yes, I think he's handsome. There, are the both of you happy?"

"You didn't hide it too well." Lily said as a smile grew on her face. "But, jesting aside...Sir Kyril may be wrapping up his operations in Scathlocke."

"The Boss is coming back?"

"Aye." Lily said. "He's found the Leaping Lizards. It'll only be a matter of time." She frowned. "I should be there with them."

"They'll be fine, Lily." Grace told her. "Sir Kyril and the other two can handle themselves."

Lily didn't look too convinced. But Grace was right. The Master, Sanakan and Hugh were up in Scathlocke. They were back in Ken doing what they had to do to keep the peace. She decided that when the Master got back, they would all work towards exposing Sir John Mandeville and do what they could for Klaus Levantine.

They had to...otherwise Sir Kyril would be fighting a war on two fronts.

/

Fort Branswick...

"Sir."

Kyril looked at the soldier as he bowed briefly and took a deep breath. He looked nervous.

"What is it?" Kyril asked the soldier. At his side, Roland and Bergen waited for the news that this soldier had bought.

"Sentries spotted a large group approaching us." The soldier reported. "Looks like company strength at least."

Kyril nodded. "Ours?" Roland spoke up.

"No sir...um...You might want to see for yourself." The soldier told all three of them.

The Good Hunter's eyes narrowed as he pulled his bandana over his mouth. "Let's move then." Kyril said to Roland and Bergen. If this was an enemy attack by Greenskins or the Leaping Lizards they were about to be unpleasantly surprised at just how many soldiers waited to kill them.

Sanakan and Hugh were out at the Malys estate to scout it out. Kyril was busy preparing a strike force of over five hundred Eostian troopers alongside his own company to head out there. He had given them free reign over how they chose to finish their scouting run but he knew full well that not everything was going to plan. So if this was a ploy by the Leaping Lizards to keep him from aiding his scouts, then they had another thing coming.

As Kyril ascended up to the northern wall, he looked out at the field where the large group had been spotted approaching.

"They're moving fast." Roland commented.

"Archers!" Bergen barked. "Ready arrows! You, in the bell tower sound the alarm! Prepare for battle, maggots!"

A bell began to ring even as Kyril reached into his coat for his Monocular. He decided to get a closer look, although he appreciated Bergen's caution this just got...extremely interesting.

"Belay that order!" Kyril's voice snapped out. He then returned his Monocular. "Roland, Bergen...Please fetch Yurie from her nap."

He gave a smile to both confused men. "I believe her father has arrived to pick her up from our care."

/

Kyril watched the gates open. Yurie was on her way and soon enough, the strangers at the gate had finally approached to greet them. Wild Ones, the tribes who had been living here before Eostians came over. Kyril had been doing some research, apparently they had been forced out by the native humans long before Celestine had come into power.

No wonder they hated humanity. The Wild Ones had lost their homes too. Kyril wondered if Celestine knew what her people had done in the name of purity. Then again, he found it rather ironic that the humans of Eostia followed a High Elf and named her a Queen.

It must be the Goddess Reborn thing, he mused to himself. He shook himself out of his reverie and saw that the Wild Ones were being led into the Fort by the strongest one amongst them. Which happened to be Yurie's father.

Strength was what mattered amongst these beast kin, Kyril remembered. The Good Hunter stepped forward away from his retinue of guards to meet with the Chief.

"Human." The Chief spoke.

"Welcome to the fort, Chieftain." Kyril said blandly. "I would offer you some refreshment but I am afraid you caught me...well, preparing for something else."

The Chief had the same large ears that Yurie did. He glared at Kyril with the same orange eyes and wore bulkier furs that did nothing to hide his intimidating physique. His retinue of guards had the same furs on although less ornate looking. The Good Hunter was unimpressed, especially with his own cadre of soldiers around him. The Wild One was clear he didn't like him. That was not his problem.

"I see that you humans are as arrogant as ever." The chieftain didn't seem impressed with him either.

Kyril raised a brow. "Have I done something to offend you?"

"You have my daughter, human." The chief said.

"You must be Chieftain Raus, I suppose?" Kyril asked.

"Do not say our chieftain's name so casually you little fleshling!" One of the guards snarled. She looked really high and mighty. Kyril scowled and merely raised an arm.

In unison, the archers on the wall turned and put arrows to string. Their bows aimed right at the retinue of Wild Ones around Raus, who was looking around with a snarl on his face. As he turned to let out a tirade against Kyril, the Good Hunter's Saw Cleaver was in hand.

"Let's not." He said to Raus who growled audibly. His tone was bland but it was clear that he was showing Raus just who was in charge of the situation here. "I will make this abundantly clear, you're angry at the humans for enslaving your people. I understand that quite well, but if you came here looking for a fight then that is what I will give you. But it won't end in your favor."

Raus glared at the Good Hunter.

"You seem to believe that the ten of you can put down this entire fortress...I have refugees here as well." Kyril said. "And I will do my utmost to defend them, even if it means making your daughter an orphan."

Raus looked at the archers and then at the soldiers who were tensed up, swords out and spears in hand. He did see the women ushering children back. The Wild One Chieftain exhaled through his nose then turned to his guards and nodded.

Kyril waved his hand once more and the archers lowered their bows. The soldiers resumed their more neutral stances.

"So...what will it be?" Kyril asked Raus.

"Let me see my daughter's face." Raus rumbled. "Then we shall discuss terms human."

/

Malys Estate...

"Pull back!" Sanakan yelled for the scouts to retreat. She swung her sword into a bug headed mutant's face and cut its head off. Beside her Hugh shot another mutant down with an arrow from his Bowblade. He looked at Sanakan briefly.

Yep, this was something of a disaster. They had had no idea that the Malys Estate had been occupied by new tenants. A team of scouts had been spotted and overwhelmed by nightmarish mutants, men that had been fused with insects and other creepy crawlies. They were fierce and didn't seem to feel any pain. Battle had been joined almost immediately, casualties were heavy and Sanakan's group was immediately in deep trouble. But that wasn't going to stop them. In a daring gambit she had several men and women formed up into a group to report back to Fort Branswick, to Sir Kyril. The brash Hunter took the rest to form a cordon to make damn sure the messengers escaped. Bold, but risky. Sanakan wouldn't have had it any other way.

Sanakan struck off another mutant's head, regretting that she didn't send Hugh with the messengers. But at least they knew that the Malys Estate was the right place. The sad part was that the Leaping Lizards were turned into these things, and most likely Morgan was too. A screaming wretch charged at Hugh, who shot it in the throat with his Bowblade. He stepped aside then swung his weapon down, transforming it back into a sword. He began hacking down another mutant.

Sanakan was right by him even as Sharl organized his archers into a line to cover the escape.

"Did the second team get away?" Sharl whispered as Sanakan and Hugh met up with him.

"Yeah." Sanakan said. "Now we have to head back to base camp and hold. The Boss will know what to do."

"This is such a bad idea. But if Shamuhaza runs, we need to be there to put a stop to him." Sharl said.

Hugh shook his head and looked at Sanakan pointedly.

"What do you mean he won't run?" Sanakan asked reading his expression.

She knew the answer as to why Shamuhaza wouldn't run. Shamuhaza, back in Rad, had an obsession with showing up Sir Kyril. The Good Hunter wouldn't care of course, Sanakan knew the Boss didn't give a flying shit about Shamuhaza. He'd just see this as a good opportunity to put down a madman who had lived for far too long.

"All right then." Sanakan said. "Sharl, we're gonna head back to camp and prepare defenses. We're gonna hold Shamuhaza's attention right on us until the Boss gets back with reinforcements."

Sharl laughed sardonically. "Sounds easy enough." He commented. "We just have to take care of this rabble."

There was a loud metal screech as Sanakan combined the longsword of the Holy Blade with the gigantic sheath on her back. At her side, Hugh put away his Bowblade, hanging the weapon on a harness on his back, and readied the Chikage alongside his Evelyn pistol. "Yep." She grunted, settling the weight on her shoulder. "All right, you sorry lot! Here's what we're gonna do! We're going to countercharge these bastards and make them regret coming after us!"

As the men and women under her command lifted weapons with weary limbs, Sanakan pointed at the incoming horde of mutants. "We'll bleed them for every inch and then we'll fall back to camp! It's only for a short while gents but we'll dig in and make them wish they'd killed all of us!"

A ragged war cry sounded from the throats of the scouts as they readied for battle.

"So what'll it be boys and girls!?" Sanakan crowed. "Are we gonna let this filth make the Boss look bad!?"

NO!

"Are you gonna let these ugly bastards feast on our bones without a fight!?"

NO!

Sanakan laughed, a howling sound that reverberated over the din of battle.

"Well then, ladies...Kill them all!"