—Flashback Dream Start—
"Purpose?"
An exasperated sigh escaped Trautman's mouth, "Yes Johnny, a purpose. When you get back to the states, you gotta find some sort of purpose, every man needs one."
John stared at his mentor, confused and lost, "I don't understand, sir."
Trautman looked out of the window of his room, gazing at the Vietnamese land which use to be covered in beautiful expansive trees. Now, it was just flatland thanks to the use of Agent Orange.
"Every man has a purpose, even if they don't think they do. For most, their purpose is their family. For others, their purpose is to garner and gain wealth or security. For some, their purpose is to simply experience as much pleasure as possible."
Trautman stopped staring at the ruined land in his peripheral and averted his gaze to John, "Alternatively, there are men who are completely lost and attempt to gain a purpose, consciously or not. Men who latch onto anything and deem it their reason for living because they have nothing else."
Sam paused and adopted a thoughtful expression, "...Military is one such thing that men latch onto. Serving their country, fighting for their country, defending the honor of their country. That becomes their purpose, their reason for living." Trautman kept eye contact with Rambo, "However, when these men eventually go home, they find out that they lost their purpose, their reason for living."
Rambo stared at the ground, conflicted.
Trautman sighed, "Thankfully, most of the men I've seen eventually get back on track and realize the value of things such as family. Hearth and home, that's all a man needs."
"What happens to a man who has no family… no home… no purpose."
"You'll rarely find a man with completely no purpose," Trautman responded.
"You didn't answer my question, sir. What happens when a man has… nothing?"
If Sam was surprised, he didn't show it on his face, "I can't say, that's only a question either God or the man in question can answer." Sam let out a sigh, "But I can assure you that the answer won't be something you like."
John looked thoughtful but didn't mutter a response.
Trautman pushed out a small smile, "Don't worry Johnny, when you get home you'll be treated like a hero, you'll get a support system, and hopefully, you'll gain a new purpose in life."
—Flashback Dream End—
Waking up from his short nap, John quickly sat up and tended to the fire he had lit earlier. He had made it a habit to take short twenty-minute naps instead of prolonged slumbers for the sake of getting more work done. Although truthfully, the real reason he had adopted this habit was to avoid the more bothersome night terrors.
Not that it helped at all. The dreams still came and the guilt always resurfaced.
Rambo threw a few twigs he had scavenged last night into the fire. He found some semblance of comfort as he saw the embers dance around the fire. Satisfied by the size of the flame, Rambo reached into his inventory and grabbed a Usapil. The Usapil was less a monster in John's eyes and more just an overgrown hare. Thus, he had no qualms eating the creature.
Grabbing his bowie knife, he began to skin and drain the blood of the monster. Even though he was getting electrocuted for using the knife, he could genuinely care less. [Ignore Pain Lv. 4] made the pain negligible and borderline non-existent.
Once everything was set and done, he grabbed a stick and impaled the corpse. John set the hare over the fire and spent the better minute just staring at the blaze.
His eyes were hollows of madness, fire had always been a divisive thing to John. On one hand, it reminded him of the times he spent with his squadmates. Yet, on the other hand, it brought memories of burnt corpses, burnt by his own hands. The smell… he could never truly forget the smell of burnt flesh.
What am I doing… I'm losing myself, I'm getting detached. Trautman always warned us about getting detached during our missions. I always followed his advice, so why now?
The same stinging pain returned and John clutched his head. Despite the head-splitting pain threatening to force John on his knees, he refused to scream.
John was on the brink of pulling out his hair, the pain wouldn't leave, it refused to leave. "God… dammit…"
The worst of the migraine, or at least what he assumed was a migraine, passed and he was left with the lingering pain constantly haunting his head.
Rambo let out a slight groan and continued his task of cooking the hare, occasionally rotating the creature. Eventually, the overgrown hare was all cooked and John laid the creature on a bed of leaves.
Before he could start cutting up his meal and begin eating, he noticed that the Shadow he had been taking care of was beginning to wake up.
She restlessly sat up, adopting a confused expression. It was as if she couldn't believe the idea that she was alive, occasionally looking at her hands and feet in disbelief.
For the duration of three entire days, Rambo had rehabilitated the Shadow to nigh perfect health. He was trained as a medic so treating the Shadow was a rather smooth process. However, he was no surgeon and was woefully unprepared to treat the woman's broken legs.
In the end, he simply made casts for her legs and applied the potions he had initially bought upon arriving in this world. To his shock, the herbalist wasn't scamming him when he raved about the effectiveness of these potions.
Truthfully, John had assumed that this world's potions were just traditional medicine found in his old world. Like penicillin or something, but to his surprise, these concoctions were insane cure-alls. With these, he could have stayed on the frontlines indefinitely.
Rambo broke from his internal musings as the Shadow, now unmasked and confused, seemed to regain her bearings.
Presently, the woman seemed to be in perfect health and sitting up from her bed, aggressively investigating her surroundings. It didn't take long for her eyes to finally land on him. Reminiscent of a beast, she began to glare and snarl at John.
Rambo spared the woman a brief glance before returning to his food. He began to cut up the Usapil like a veteran butcher.
The Shadow never ceased her glaring, "Y-you demon! Why have you captured me!?"
John grabbed a wooden bowl and placed a decent portion of the hare meat inside it before sliding the food to the woman. "There's water and a few more potions next to your bedside, use them as you see fit."
The fox-eared demi-human glared at the bowl of food, "So, this is your game? Treat me well until you betray that trust and squeeze as much information from me as possible?"
Rambo remained silent and continued to clean his favorite knife after the butchering job.
The kitsune began to growl, "Pig! Demon! You killed all my allies! Devil!"
Rambo began to touch the tip of the knife to test its sharpness.
"Bow Devil! You just healed me so I'll be worth more once you sell me!"
She scoffed, "Or maybe you want to take advantage of me now! Of course, the Bow Devil wants undamaged goods! Devil!"
John continued to remain silent.
"Well? Come on bastard! Start! Start ripping information out of me while you take pleasure in my body as all humans do!"
Rambo began putting out the fire, making sure no stray embers remained.
"Do it! Do it you devil! Do exactly what your predecessors have done! Rape every demi-human you see and scream about how superior you worthless humans are! Start preaching about justice, just like the past Bow Devils!"
The kitsune grinned maniacally, "Come on! I want to see your face when I bite my tongue and kill myself while you attempt to tear information out of me!"
For the first time since the demi-human went on her tirade, John stared at the woman. He had a perfectly neutral expression, "Once you finish eating, drink the leftover potions and leave."
Without muttering any more words, Rambo got up and began packing what little he had in his temporary base into his inventory.
The Shadow's eyes widened in shock, "W-what, aren't you going to…"
"I'm not gonna do nothing. I'm leaving, the monsters here are too low level and it's only inevitable until more Shadows track my location."
"W-what about," The kitsune paused before blowing up, "A-another trick! Is this how you get your sick kicks? Devil!"
It didn't take long for John to pack everything he had, it genuinely wasn't much, "There should be a bag next to your bedside, it has 150 silver coins in it, take it. I don't need them for where I'm going."
Without another word, Rambo began walking away from his camp, sheathing his knife and strapping the bow over his body.
For a brief second, Rambo muttered, "Your Shadow gear should be hanging around somewhere." John paused before nearly pleading, "Please don't follow me, I don't wanna kill you."
The kitsune was left speechless but never relented her glaring, somehow expecting the Bow Devil to backstab her at any point. However, the attack never came, and the Bow Devil had walked far enough away that she could no longer see his back.
The Shadow's brain was on overdrive. W-what!? Where in the world is he going? And why the hell can I move my legs? I was sure that they broke during the skirmish between the other shadows. Unless…
She began to leave her bed of leaves. The kitsune took a moment to admire the bed that the Bow Devil must have built for her. It was elevated off from the ground, away from the dangers crawling on the forest ground. In addition, the bed was covered in large, clean, and soft leaves that served to simulate the cushions found in a traditional bed.
This confused the Shadow beyond belief. Why in the world would the Bow Devil waste time creating a bed for her? She began to search the camp for the Bow Devils' bed, only to fail to find anything. That was until she found a small pile of leaves on the hard ground, adjacent to a dead fireplace and tree.
Rambo must have slept sitting up, leaning against a tree and next to a fire. A massive contrast to her luxury forest bed.
"This… doesn't make any sense. Why would the Devil do this." It was then that she noticed a small pile, consisting of supplies and her Shadow gear.
If she felt any modicum of endearment, she didn't show it. Rather, her mind was racing to find an explanation for the Bow Devils' actions. She was always taught that the Bow Devil was a maniacal and hypocritical idiot that claimed to be the harbinger of justice. The texts illustrated how the past Bow Devils committed genocide, slavery, and pillaging en masse. Consistently claiming that their deeds were done as an act of justice.
However, this Bow Devil hadn't done anything to her, if anything, he treated her like a noble guest. It just didn't make sense.
Suddenly, she had a revelation, "No… he probably took advantage of me when I slept. All of this special treatment is probably just a way to spit in my face."
The kitsune nodded, satisfied that she found an explanation for the Bow Devils' behavior. She began to equip her gear and went out of her way to destroy the supplies provided to her by the Bow Devil. Finding some measure of joy from destroying the devil's gifts.
Satisfied by her work, she disappeared into the shadows to report back to her employers in Siltvelt.
—x—
"Where to next?" Rambo asked himself aloud.
He was being truthful when he told that fox-eared woman that he didn't need the money he had leftover. After getting a lay of the land, he was confident that he could survive independently from society. Truthfully, he was overjoyed by the idea, large cities and people brought too many memories.
John laughed at himself, mockingly, "To think, I spent the majority of my life, wishing to leave the forests of Vietnam. Only to find myself in another forest, living off the land on my own volition. To think the words of a hippie could sting more than a bullet covered in feces."
In the span of three days, Rambo had reached level 11 by relentlessly hunting everything in his general vicinity. To his surprise, the bow registered kills from the traps he set up. It was pretty simple from there, set up numerous traps throughout the forest in the day, and hunt in the night. By morning, he'd earn an exorbitant amount of experience points.
The change in level didn't go unnoticed, John felt far stronger than he ever had in his life. It was as though he had the strength to tear a man's head off with his bare hands.
Now, he had to find new hunting grounds. The land he originally occupied was exhausted, and he had no desire to completely destroy the environment's ecosystem. The Navajo Elders taught him better than that, although they always seemed to emphasize the sins of the 'white-man' whenever they decided to educate him about the importance of nature.
Rambo shook his head, this wasn't the time to reminisce. John began to march north, if the map he bought was accurate, the land should have expansive forests and sparsely populated areas.
Sadly, contact with individuals appeared to be inevitable since he would be entering the Northern Territory. From what little he heard from passing merchants, the governor of the area demanded a toll for entering and exiting the region, even for those with Traveling Merchant Certification.
So the land would more than likely be swarmed with guards and patrols. That wasn't even the brunt of his issues, the entire territory appeared to be a corrupt hell hole. His presence would more than likely sprout even more problems.
Equipping his bow, Rambo decided to tackle the issue when it came. For now, he would hunt and level up.
—x—
"What do you mean you lost track of him!" A regal woman screamed.
The poor soul getting berated was none other than a Shadow. "I apologize my queen. We had our best Shadows tracking him, however, he has eluded us somehow. All of the Shadows we sent have failed to report back to us."
The Shadow paused, incredibly nervous before muttering, "S-sadly… upon further investigation, it appears that all of our Shadows were killed."
This caused the Queen, Mirellia Q Melromarc, to completely freeze, struggling to process the information, "What do you mean they're all dead! That's impossible!"
Afraid of her Queen's wraith, the Shadow shrank, "I-I apologize, your majesty, their corpses were all found in several unmarked graves outside of a cave in the middle of the forest. There were several more graves as well, all holding the corpse of a shadow from different nations. However it should be noted that there were several goblin corpses as well, those weren't buried."
Subsiding her anger, if only temporarily, the Queen sighed, "Well it's obvious that the Goblins weren't responsible for this… was it the Bow Hero?" Mirellia knew better than to assume that the low-level hero was capable of such destruction but remained suspicious.
"No your majesty, we inspected the corpses and found no injuries that could be traced to a bow and arrow. The best theory we could make up was that the Shadows fought each other for whatever reason and ended up destroying each other."
The Queen frowned, "Okay, but who buried them then?"
Although the Shadow's face was covered, it appeared somewhat thoughtful before answering, "We cannot be entirely sure, but it may have been the Bow Hero. It is said that the Bow Hero is a paragon of justice, thus, he may have taken pity and buried the bodies. This theory makes sense when you realize that the corpses weren't looted and respectively buried."
Despite the fact that she was still considerably furious due to the Shadows failing to track the Bow Hero, her inner geek was screaming. She had always loved the legends of the four legendary heroes since she was a child, to see that the Bow Hero was acting like a true warrior of justice pleased her.
The other heroes were, in short, very disappointing. While the Bow Hero was in the forest doing whatever he was doing, the other heroes remained in Castle Town. However, within the span of a few days, the Shield Hero was accused of rape, the Spear Hero was being seduced by her whore of a daughter, and the Sword Hero… the Sword Hero was actually doing fairly decent.
Although the Sword Hero had happily gone along with the court and agreed that the Shield Hero was a rapist, she had actually been leveling. She had even kicked out several of the more incompetent members of her party. The shadows had reported that the Sword Hero was screaming something about 'efficient leveling strategies' when she had kicked out the members. Everything considered, good riddance. Especially since one of the men, she kicked out was an infamous slave-owner. The slaves were always women, and always brutalized… bastard apparently gravitated toward aquatic Demi-Humans.
The Queen shook her head, she was getting sidetracked, "Nonetheless, I need you to find the Bow Hero again. We can't have opposing countries attempting to negotiate with him nor can we have his life at any risk."
The Shadow nodded its head in affirmation before disappearing to continue their search.
Mirellia sighed as she slouched in her chair, "Oh god what am I gonna do."
'Knock' 'Knock', "Mother? May I enter?"
A smile etched its way onto Mirellia's face, "Yes sweetheart, you may enter."
"Yay!" The Queen's daughter, Melty, happily entered, "do you have the recordings of the heroes?"
Mirellia laughed, "Yes, yes I do dear. Let's look at our future saviors together."
The Queen slowly pulled out a crystal ball portraying the four heroes, however, her daughter quickly gravitated towards a certain charismatic-looking individual.
"Wow, so that's the Bow Hero, huh?" Melty muttered, amazed.
Mirellia nodded, "Indeed, if the reports I received were anything to go by, he was a soldier in his old world. Grizzled, raw, and unstoppable."
Melty's eyes were sparkling.
The Queen adopted an even greater smile upon witnessing her adorable child. She could only hope that she could find more reasons to smile in the future
—x—
One Week Time Skip
Standing tall yet ragged, Rambo fiddled with a map at the edge of the forest. His time in the forest wasn't unproductive by any means, he had managed to reach level 36 thanks to his hard work. Currently, he was figuring out what exactly to do next.
At this point, he had exhausted most of the forest. A healthy amount of the monsters were caught in his traps or killed by his own hands. Any more hunting would destabilize the ecosystem beyond repair, so with some reservations, he decided that it was time to leave.
After releasing a heavy sigh, Rambo covered his face in a hood and reluctantly walked to the nearest town. With any luck, he could figure out the locations of better hunting grounds. Hopefully one with better and higher leveled prey, so far, nothing had challenged him.
He wasn't in the Northern Territory yet, instead, he was in the neighboring town that was barely even marked on the map or discussedt between the merchants. With any luck, he could get all the information he needed from this backwater and avoid the Northern Territory entirely.
If the miserable state of the town bothered John, he didn't show it. The walls were in a state of disrepair, and the houses were constructed with cheap/old materials. Lacking the beauty and refinement of Castle Town, this city lacked extravagant mansions or impressive architectural masterpieces. Instead, the best-looking structure was just an oversized farmhouse.
However, the most pathetic aspect of the town was its destitute population. Malnourished and emaciated, the people looked to be on their last legs. It was a bit reminiscent of how the Cambodian refugees migrating to Saigon looked like after getting their land destroyed in the 'crossfire'. Starved and desperate.
Although resigned, John finally made it to the shoddy wooden gates of the town and waited to be processed. There was a distinct lack of merchant caravans, just skinny villagers carrying a meager amount of supplies. The lack of animals traditionally used for husbandry was also considerably worrying.
Even though Rambo covered his entire body in a cloak, his presence still attracted an uncomfortable amount of attention. Villagers all stared at his form, which was considerably taller and beefier than all of them. His muscled body was still very visible under the thin cloak. Even more eye-catching was the impressive bow strung over his body.
However, to Rambo's shock, the villagers in line with him directed a surprising amount of blood lust at him. Perhaps they were thinking about robbing him? He couldn't be sure.
Before Rambo could consider leaving the line and skipping the town altogether, a small boy aggressively tugged at his cloak. To the shock of the surrounding adults.
"Hey! Are you another one of the evil men stealing our stuff!" He screamed at John.
What? Rambo's neutral expression never changed under his hood, but he was incredibly confused. He shook his head no, "No, I'm not."
The child grit his teeth, "Lier! Why else would you be here! With that big body of yours and fancy-looking bow! You're just another burglar!"
The surrounding adults in line began to circle around Rambo, some were worried, others were angry. Rambo sighed, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm stopping by this town for information, nothing more. Once I get what I need, I'll leave."
Just like what I used to do back home. Traveling town to town, receiving constant beratement from bastards calling me a war criminal. No home, nothing. John nihilistically thought.
Unconsciously, John activated his [Medal of Honor] skill. The surrounding adults began to avoid eye contact and return to their spot on the line. The child, however, remained next to Rambo, hand still on his cloak.
"I-I see… maybe you're not one of the bad men…" The child shyly admitted.
Rambo raised an eyebrow, "It's fine, but can you tell me about these bad men that you confused me with?"
The little boy's sheepish expression turned into one of anger, "T-they are a bunch of thieves and monsters sent by the neighboring town in the Northern Territory. The governor there is a jerk who keeps bullying us! Merchants won't even come anymore, and my parents told me that he's demanding our lord's daughter!"
The child paused to catch his breath, "And now, our lord raised the taxes to defend against the Northern Territory, but now we can't afford anything… even food. I'm so hungry…"
Seeing the truth behind the child's words, Rambo sighed, "I see… thanks kid."
John reached into his inventory under his cloak and grabbed the remainder of his coins and a few Usapil corpses. "Here, it ain't much kid, but take it. Consider it payment for the information."
The malnourished child's eyes widened in shock before timidly accepting the man's charity. "T-thank you, sir… I'm sorry for being mean before."
"Don't worry about it," Rambo responded.
Time passed quickly as John was finally processed and able to enter the town. His present goal was to find either a tavern or an adventurers guild for some much-needed information gathering. The church was also an option, but that was a last resort, those fanatics were creepy, plus, they might figure out his identity.
After asking around, he eventually got directions to the adventurers guild. Sadly, he was disappointed to find that the building was an abandoned and shabby hut. The door was locked and had a piece of paper attached to it. Even if he couldn't read this world's language, it was obviously an eviction notice.
Releasing another sigh he was holding in, Rambo made his way to the nearest tavern. Luckily, the tavern appeared to be somewhat lively, plenty of men drinking themselves into an early grave. It was to be expected, even if an individual was suffering abject poverty, many would still prioritize their buzz over their family.
It wasn't his place to criticize hedonistic men, after all, at least they had some semblance of a purpose in this world. He had nothing to live for.
Wasting no time, John marched through the small, broken-down doors and sat down next to the bar counter. Adjacent to him was a middle-aged man dressed in modest clothing, fairly healthier than most of the townsfolk.
"What can I get for you?" A burly bartender asked before pointing at John, "take off that hood, this ain't the thieves guild."
John nodded, removing his hood, revealing a grizzled man underneath, "Hot water, please."
The bartender sighed, "Really? I have a business to run y'know, order something reasonable."
The corpse of an Aquilae, an oversized and fearsome eagle, landed on the counter, "Hot water, please."
The bartender gulped, "U-understood." He hurried off to boil some water after grabbing the corpse to sell later.
Next to Rambo, the already drunk man laughed, "What? Did you run out of money?"
"Yes."
He laughed even louder, "Well don't worry, I'm in the same boat! I've lost everything! Spent all of my money to protect my people! But it was just a waste…"
John inwardly sighed, he needed information on good hunting grounds, not a drunk man's ramblings.
"The Northern Territory's governor made us all destitute… scaring off all the merchants, then burning all of our fields. I raised the taxes to try to protect everyone, but it just made us worse off. Now! Now that bastard is calling me a corrupt lord taxing his people to death!"
The man, John now discovering as the lord of this town, began slouching in defeat, "And… and he took my daughter…"
Rambo continued to maintain a neutral expression, even though he was internally fuming. Kidnapping was a common occurrence during the war, soldiers on both sides kidnapping young women to gang rape in alleyways or camps. He had personally strangled two U.S. soldiers after catching them forcing themselves on a teenager they had dragged into an alley. The bastards were court marshaled, thankfully.
He wasn't sure what drove him to act, but he responded, "I'll get back your daughter."
The man froze, "W-what? Are you sure?"
John nodded, "Yes… and I'll try to resolve this conflict, for the sake of everyone."
"I-I, but how exactly are you even going to do it? And why? What do you want?"
Rambo looked thoughtful before answering, "I'd appreciate some information on the best hunting grounds in Melromarc and the world, if possible."
"That's it!? Wait, who even are you to promise such a thing?"
John began to wonder about the benefits of revealing his identity, before equipping his bow and changing it to its base form, an ornate piece. "I'm the Legendary Bow Hero, and I hope we can clear up this issue quickly so I can receive my payment."
—x—
The initial response was disbelief, but the lord quickly capitalized on the situation and dragged him to his farmhouse. He had marked the location of the corrupt lord on his map and gifted him a weak-looking horse for his journey.
Hopefully, news of his arrival would travel quickly and allow this entire conflict to end without any bloodshed. That was the only reason why he revealed his identity. He knew the consequences of his actions, but if it prevented more death, he was fine with the decision.
The way that the townsfolk began looking at him was perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the experience. Even more disturbing than the numerous Shadows that began trailing him again. It was insane how fast news traveled for these master assassins, losing them again would be difficult.
In town, people would quite literally throw themselves on him, muttering prayers and praising him as a hero. It pissed him off beyond words to hear that word constantly, 'hero'. It brought too many memories, a constant reminder of his naive beliefs.
The church fanatics were even worse, his attempts at avoiding them constantly failing. It was as if the bastards could smell him. One of the nuns even salivated all over his hand when she managed to grab him. The woman hung onto him like a lifeline. It took the efforts of her fellow nuns to finally rip her off of him. The freaks even called him a 'Lord'.
He fought for freedom and liberty in his missions to tear down brutal dictators. He'd be dammed, as an American and a Green Beret to be called a 'Lord'.
Keeping his internal musings to himself, Rambo maintained a neutral face and rode his horse out of the gates of the city. Plenty of the townspeople followed him and waved him goodbye, constantly screaming the words he hated the most: 'Hero', 'Lord', 'Saviour', 'Saint', 'Angel'.
Rambo fought the stinging pain in his head and continued to ride toward the Northern Territory and save the Lord's kidnapped daughter.
His appearance was quite the sight. He understood that he couldn't ride in with his usual getup, so he removed his cloak, shaved his growing beard, and hung his ornate-looking bow over his shoulder. In an attempt to look somewhat heroic in order to end this whole ordeal quickly.
Too bad he didn't have that many options when it came to clothes, he just hoped the tank top and cargo pants would suffice. He even went out of his way to clean them in the river.
The horse was a hard contrast to the war hero. It was old and lacking the muscles present on proper war-horses, but Rambo didn't mind. He had plenty of experience riding horses on the Navajo reserve, he knew that he should respect the creature. It had a long life, serving their human companions, thus, he rode her, proud and strong.
[Navajo Descent] activated, and the horse quickly formed a connection with Rambo. That was when a thought came to him. "Hey girl, do you wanna join my party?"
The horse gave a cheerful neigh, to express her agreement to the offer.
John smiled, "I'm glad, I'll name you after my old horse from the reserve, Lucy."
[Lucy has joined your party]: Level 7
The war hero smiled for the first time in a long time, breaking off from his usual bland expression, and rode off to finish this entire ordeal.
—x—
"What do you mean the Bow Hero is after me!" A fat noble screamed.
The guard, wearing overtly gaudy armor shrank as he answered, "T-those are the rumors, my lord. Apparently, he has deemed your actions reprehensible and has come to retrieve the kidnapped girl." He paused, nervous, "Also if the rumors are to be believed, he wants to end your 'corrupt' rule."
The fat lord's eyes bulged out before smacking the soldier, "Who the hell are you calling corrupt, peasant!"
Holding back the urge to kill the fat pig of a lord, the soldier continued his report, "He has already ridden into our territory and is making his way to the town. The patrols have ignored your orders and they refuse to arrest the Bow Hero. Many have actually guided him."
"W-what! That's impossible! Inconceivable! They're all on my payroll, how dare they disobey me! What the hell do I do now!" The lord screamed before formulating a plan.
The fat man rubbed his hands together like a rat, "Kidnap the families of all the soldiers, throw them into the dungeon and force them to send letters to the soldiers serving me. We have to ensure the loyalty of the men."
The guard's eyes widened in shock, "Y-you can't be serious. The men will despise you!"
Once more, the noble glared at his guard before grabbing the soldier's face with his short stubby fingers, "And why should I care? They have disobeyed my orders, this is a natural response." He paused before smirking at the kneeling man, "Oh, and remember who's paying you Atticus. It would be a shame if you run out of money to take care of the ones you love…"
Atticus clutched his hands and grit his teeth, "I understand, your will shall be done… my lord."
The noble laughed, "Good! I'm glad to have loyal men such as you! I'm sure you're son appreciates your efforts!"
Atticus remained silent, inwardly fuming, until he eventually left to make good on his orders.
—x—
"Jesus, this whole shtick is really starting to piss me off," Rambo muttered. He was fairly sick of soldiers worshiping the very ground he stepped on.
After several hours of riding and convincing patrolling guards to leave him alone, he decided to set up camp for the sake of his new ally, Lucy.
John had abandoned his bindle bag a long time ago once he discovered his inventory, and he was all the better for it. Pulling out a bundle of hay, Rambo laid it down next to Lucy. While his horse was enjoying her meal, Rambo went off to start a fire.
Setting up a fire pit fairly quickly, Rambo allowed himself a moment of respite and sat down. Once more, he spent the better minute just staring at the fire and its amber glow, illuminating his surroundings. The sun had set and replacing it was a shimmering night sky, the stars were like sugar poured over black marble.
There was simply so much solace to be found in nature, Rambo understood that.
Too lazy to cook, the war hero grabbed some nuts he had foraged earlier from his inventory. Never letting his guard down, Rambo kept checking his surroundings while popping a few peanuts into his mouth.
Delicious and filling! He would have roasted them if he wasn't so anxious about the numerous eyes staring holes into him.
To no one's surprise, the Shadow's numbers had increased, easily dwarfing the previous group that had tailed him in his first day here. If he would make a rough guess, he'd say that their numbers had doubled.
He couldn't sleep like this. Sleeping in enemy territory was one thing, but sleeping while being watched by the enemy? Even he wasn't that brazen.
Lucy had already eaten her fill and decided to cuddle up next to him and the fire.
They hadn't known each other for long, but he found himself attached to the creature. She brought back the few good memories he had while growing up. Learning how to ride from the Navajo Elders and practicing by himself on the horse farm. Even if the farm was owned by his abusive father, the good memories easily overrode the bad ones. He had so few good memories in his life, he'd be damned if they were ruined by his pathetic excuse of a father.
Rambo spat into the fire, causing the fires to sparkle and crack.
John resigned himself to stay up for the rest of the night and keep an eye out for the Shadows to make a move.
*Clop*! *Clop*!
Turning his head towards the direction of the sound, John's body tensed. That was the sound of several horses galloping toward his location. He swore that the patrols would have left him alone after word got out that he was the Bow Hero.
"Guess I was embarrassing myself for nothing," Rambo grunted as he equipped his bow.
Brandishing the [Fire Arrow] accessory he had unlocked by absorbing the corpse of an Incendia, the war hero shot an arrow at an angle. It had landed directly in front of the riders, halting their rampant galloping. The men stared at the arrow, horrified. Soon they saw the Bow Hero drawing his bow once more with a strange-looking arrow.
"Why are you here?" Rambo muttered in an emotionless tone while equipping a [Rubber-Tipped Arrow] accessory.
The color had left many of the heavily armed soldiers' faces, nonetheless, they continued to march toward Rambo and exclaim, "Y-you're under a-arrest Lord Bow Hero."
"Retreat now and survive. No more warnings." Rambo explained, activating his [Medal of Honor] skill, intimidating the men even more.
The knights, possessing a measure of resolve rarely seen in men, pushed down their fear and charged the Bow Hero from horseback. Individually screaming various battle cries.
A sigh escaped Rambo before he worked on incapacitating the fervent men. From his count, there were eight soldiers, all heavily armored and most likely high-leveled.
Rambo loosed two rubber-tipped arrows, both slamming into an armored knight, easily knocking him off his horse.
John frowned, they were too fast. Bringing his fingers to his mouth, John whistled, "Lucy!"
Immediately, his horse ran to him. Rambo quickly mounted Lucy and directed her away from the charging knights. "C'mon girl, ride!"
"The Bow Hero is running!" "After him!" "Cut down his horse!"
Before the knights could mutter another response, Rambo twisted his body and drew his bow from horseback. Wasting no more time, Rambo loosed several more arrows while steering Lucy away.
Three more knights went down, clutching their broken and bruised bodies once dismounted. Only half of his pursuers remained.
Despite their mounting casualties, the horsemen continued their rabid charge. Before Rambo could loose any more arrows, the knights had finally gotten close enough to strike at the war hero and his steed. The superior training and breed of the warhorses simply eclipsed Lucy, both in speed and strength.
Trained and experienced, one of the horsemen slashed at Lucy's hind legs. Rambo growled as he blocked the strike with his bow, forcing him to relent his shooting.
Forced into melee combat, Rambo held his bow like a club and swung with trained precision. His first victim was the man who attempted to strike his horse, expertly dismounting him with a well-placed strike.
A soldier from his left caught him off guard and slashed Rambo's arm, "Argh!"
Lucy neighed in fear and concern for her companion.
That blow should have made his arm useless for the rest of the fight, but his high level somehow helped negate the degree of damage.
Enraged, the war hero grabbed the man's wrist as he attempted to swing at him again. With a hard tug, Rambo pulled the man off his horse.
The remaining two soldiers began to falter, fear overwhelming them. John turned his horse around and drew his bow at the remaining soldiers.
"It's finished, get on the ground."
The knights didn't attempt to fight back and quickly dismounted as they fell on their knees, "W-we surrender!"
Rambo growled, "Why did you attack me, thought that was against your religion or something."
The youngest soldier stuttered, "Y-yes, of c-course it is my lord! We were forced to attack you!"
"Explain."
"The Lord has imprisoned our families! All the men on patrol received letters from our loved ones! I-if we didn't attack you, then the Lord would kill our families!"
John's eyes widened in shock, "That doesn't excuse you for attacking me."
"Y-yes, we know! Please kill us as a way to atone for our sins… but please save our families! They're innocent!"
Rambo continued to have his bow drawn as adrenaline coursed through his veins, "I ain't gonna kill you, but I am gonna use you."
"L-lord?"
"Gather your men, I have a mission for you."
—x—
A fat noble paced back and forth in his extravagant room, stressed and worried. "A day has already passed but there's been no news on the Bow Hero's whereabouts! Perhaps kidnapping the families wasn't enough, I need to start making an example out of them."
During his maniacal musings, his 'trusted' captain entered the room holding a piece of paper. "Lord! The patrols bring news of the Bow Hero!"
The noble froze before erupting, "Well! What are you waiting for! Tell me the news!"
"Several men in a patrol returned bruised and beaten, they were attacked by the Bow Hero. They claim that he attacked them just east of the town."
A demented smile etched its way on the noble's face, "Perfect! We can finally focus our forces and crush him!"
The captain, Atticus, nodded, "Several scouts have also reported that the Bow Hero has set up base in a cabin, only an hour away. If we're quick enough, we can get him."
"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" The pig squealed, "send out all our forces and half of the garrison, and capture him alive! I don't want the Church breathing down my neck any more than they already are. We can torture him and force him to formally apologize!"
The soldier was disgusted, but relented to his Lord's will for the sake of his family, "Understood."
"Good! Now go!"
Feeling the stress and anxiety finally leave his body for the first time since this entire fiasco began, the noble decided to sit on his lavish chair. He leaned against the chair and placed his feet on the table, absolutely giddy.
"Finally, I can partake in my spoils, the reason why that Justice-obsessed fool even thought about going against me." He clapped his hands, ordering the maid to bring in the daughter he had kidnapped.
The pig cackled, "I've waited so long, it's time to release some stress." He paused before his grin grew even wider, "I don't think I'm gonna rush into the main dish so soon. I'll spend the next few hours belliting her, make sure she has properly lost all hope."
Once he finished giggling to himself, the young girl he coveted entered the room, shivering like a leaf. Her hands were in binds and a rough yet strong rope was wrapped around her neck. The most distinguishing feature of the girl was her green eyes and hair.
"Let's begin…"
—x—
Rambo hid amongst the foliage near the West Gate of the city. He already saw the number of men on the walls and patrolling had greatly decreased. Their men were likely preparing to march towards his dummy location. Thanks to the urgency of the situation, they'll probably sally out within the hour.
Misinformation.
Classic and simple, yet always effective. With their forces diverted, slipping into town will be a simple endeavor.
To be honest, Rambo was surprised that the men he beat had so readily agreed to his plans. Probably had to do with his [Medal of Honor] skill and the local religion. He honestly didn't care, as long as his goals were reached, he would be satisfied.
After half an hour, a long column of men began marching out of the East Gate, first led by heavily armored knights and followed by thousands of infantrymen.
Rambo didn't express any form of joy or glee on his face, his face was perfectly neutral. He had reverted back to a pragmatic and ruthless Green Beret. This was a mission…this was his war.
Hiding in a bush near the West Gate, several guards were patrolling and passing him. Rambo waited for one of the guards to pass him before pouncing on him. He performed a rear-naked chokehold and rendered the man unconscious, hiding his body in the bush.
Removing the armor and clothes of the man was awkward work, but it wasn't something he was new to. With his face now completely covered he was ready to pass the gates. Sadly, the vambraces were too small to fit on his arms, so he had to forgo that piece of armor.
Standing up from his hiding spot, Rambo began marching to the gate. Although his intimidating presence elicited some stares, most of the officers had either sallied out or were occupied. All the men left to garrison the town were greenhorns, thus, he was unhindered when he entered the town.
The town was in considerably better shape than the town he came from, but the citizens still seemed fairly malnourished. It was to be expected when their Lord was as corrupt as he was.
Rambo stopped his sightseeing and began marching toward the compound holding all of the imprisoned families. The soldier he beat had marked it on his map, apparently, the whole prison was guarded by unaffiliated mercenaries for the sake of avoiding breakouts.
Eventually seeing the building and the numerous guards, Rambo scoffed. The men guarding the entire facility were obviously battling a hangover and incredibly unskilled. They were a pathetic rabble of men, resembling bandits more than professional soldiers.
John released a sigh before spending the next twenty minutes incapacitating all of the guards. A few well-placed arrows and expert stealth were all that was necessary. Rambo eventually made his way to the lower levels which held all the prisoners.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing down here?" A mercenary exclaimed while pointing at Rambo who was still dressed as a guard. "You aren't allowed in this facility, I thought the Lord ran that through you guys, or are you just stupid?"
The mercenary was met with silence, "Well? Are you gonna say something or am I gonna have to kill you?"
The remaining mercenaries in the entire facility began glaring at Rambo, they had no idea that they were the only ones left.
Rambo didn't utter a single word, simply drawing his bow. He released the full brunt of his aura and [Medal of Honor] skill.
The mercenaries began shivering, "W-who are you!"
"You're worst nightmare."
The degenerates held onto their weapons like a lifeline, refusing to move from their spot in fear.
The war hero shot several arrows in succession with rubber-tipped arrows, knocking several men unconscious. Eventually, only one man was left, like a rabid honey badger, the man rushed at Rambo.
Rambo didn't even bother taking a stance against the amateur. Once the man had reached John with his short sword, the war hero simply smashed the man's face with the brunt of his bow. The man fell like a rag doll.
A quick glance of his surroundings confirmed the validity of the information he had gathered. Several jail cells that were clearly overcapacity and overfilled with scared civilians. Luckily, it looked like they weren't imprisoned for that long since most of them seemed pretty healthy. They may be scared, but no signs of severe starvation or torture were present.
The civilians all stared at him with a mix of awe and fear, still apprehensive of his intentions.
John was annoyed at what he had to do next but resigned himself, "All of you! I'm the Legendary Bow Hero! I have come to free you!"
Pushing down the shame and anger that arose from the word 'hero', Rambo continued, "Your lord… your dictator! Has imprisoned you for the sake of his own corrupt ambitions! To kill me!"
Rambo drew his bow and shot an arrow at the locks holding the men and woman captive, "All of you! Get the word out, tell your family members to stand down and surrender and meet up with me at the Lord's manor!"
Although initially apprehensive, a loud cheer reverberated throughout the cells. Hundreds of prisoners stormed out of the compound to ensure the Bow Hero's will.
Satisfied with the results, Rambo hid in the crowds and navigated his way to the Lord's estate.
He had to admit, the former prisoners knew how to make a distraction. The sparse garrison was easily dispatched since most of them surrendered once they saw their families in the various crowds.
It was a bloodless affair, no deaths. "Just gotta deal with the dictator now."
—x—
A pudgy man laughed maniacally, "You pathetic girl, don't you see now? It's hopeless, and all of this!" He pointed at her and in the direction of her home. "Is you're fault!"
"Your father! Your mother! Your people! All of them are suffering because of you!" He tugged at the rope around the girl's neck. She fell to the ground, her green eyes were watery.
"And now? Now even the Bow Hero will die because of you! The world… the entire world will be doomed because of your pathetic existence! How does it feel? To be the reason why the world will be destroyed, thousands of people's deaths on your hands!" The man laughed in sadistic glee when he saw the girl shiver and cry on the floor.
"...You're wrong," She whimpered.
A tense string of silence reverberated between the two, the noble was struggling to comprehend the fact that he was talked back to. However, anger quickly replaced shock, and the pig slapped the girl so hard that the side of her head slammed into the floor.
"What did you say! Huh! Bitch!"
The green-haired girl coughed up blood, "y-you're wrong… the Bow Hero will save me."
"Save you? Didn't you listen to me? He's dead! Dead! Dead! Dead! Dead!" The noble started stomping his feet on the ground like a child.
The noble began glaring at the girl full force now, "Congratulations, you ruined my fun… this was a waste of time anyway, I'll destroy whatever shrivel of hope you have left the way I intended to."
The pig began unbuckling his pants, fear quickly returned to the young girl's face.
Good, the lord thought, this was how she's supposed to look at me!
Before he could finish that thought, an arrow destroyed the window behind him and showered him in broken glass. "Wha-"
A second arrow slammed into his back, forcing him to kneel in pain, "Gargh!"
The Lord closed his eyes and curled up on the floor in pain. Praying that the pain would go away.
"So… you're the dictator?" A man muttered in a gruff voice.
The pig looked up to see a tall, tenacious, and intimidating man. His hair was flowing freely in the air, a red hairband was wrapped around his head to soak up any sweat. His body was still clad in the armor he stole, but he had abandoned his helmet. In his hands, was his signature compound bow, as well as a rubber-tipped arrow accessory.
The Bow Hero… impossible! He thought.
Rambo glanced at the man's pants that were on the ground and the cowering girl. He genuinely wanted to be angry by the sight, but he was too desensitized to elicit any emotion. The camps he had raided always had an absurd number of abused and mangled women. It was the harsh reality of war, the strong take from the weak, sadly, the weak were consistently the most vulnerable in society. The Soviet invasion of Germany, the Japanese campaigns throughout Asia, and every other damn conflict in history. So many people hurt… just because men couldn't keep it in their pants.
Luckily, it didn't look like the man had taken advantage of the young girl, but he did beat her. Rambo frowned, "You're a strong kid, get out of here. This isn't something a kid should be exposed to."
While the noble continued to shiver, even pissing himself, the young girl sat up from the ground and gawked at the Bow Hero. The awe she felt wasn't due to John's [Medal of Honor] skill, but a genuine sense of wonder.
Rambo glanced at the girl, "Didn't you hear me? Wait outside of the door, don't worry, this man won't bother you anymore."
The girl continued to gawk at him before nearly whispering, "h-hero."
John frowned, "I'm not a hero, now leave kid."
The green-haired girl shivered, afraid that she angered her savior. Rambo released a sigh, deciding to ignore her presence and finish his mission.
With bated breath, Rambo strapped the legendary bow over his body and approached the dictator. Making sure he didn't step on any of the piss on the ground, Rambo grabbed him by the throat and threw him on top of the table.
The pig grunted and whimpered in pain, incoherently pleading mercy from the Bow Hero.
Rambo pulled out his bowie knife, ignoring the stinging pain. The noble attempted to sit up, but Rambo grabbed him by the throat and held him down against the table.
The corrupt Lord cried even louder once he saw Rambo hover a knife over his head. Before he could continue his pathetic weeping, the Bow Hero stabbed the knife next to the Lord's head.
"You brought this upon yourself, but I ain't your god or some damn paragon of justice. Your fate will lie in the people."
Several townsfolk and guards stormed into the room, holding various weapons. Every single one of them glaring at their Lord in abject hatred.
Rambo glared at the man he was holding against the table one more time before throwing him on the ground. "He's all yours, just don't kill him, at least not in front of me and the kid."
Although still fueled by righteous fury, the crowd bowed their heads in reverence and followed the Bow Hero's orders. Several guards grabbed their former lord and dragged him to the dungeons.
John averted his gaze to the girl he was meant to rescue, who continued to cower in fear. Green hair and green eyes, everything checks out.
"I told you to stay outside, I didn't want you to see that," Rambo paused. "Not like it matters, c'mon kid, I'll take you back to your parents."
"Rishia," she muttered.
"Excuse me?"
"M-my name… my name is Rishia Ivyred, not kid."
John glanced at the shy girl for a second before turning around, "Duly noted, c'mon Rishia, we're going to ride back to your hometown."
Leaving this town in a state of chaos left a bad taste in his mouth, but he had a mission to accomplish. Hopefully, his employer would consider taking care of this territory.
A small smile made its way onto John's face, no one had died. He was glad.
—x—
Authors Note: Thank you for reading. First I would like to apologize to those who thought that the Shadow was going to become a companion. I thought that it would be out of character for Rambo to partner up with an assassin sent to kill him. Plus, I don't like writing OC's, they're incredibly difficult to write correctly. Furthermore, I already planned for Rambo to have four companions (even that many is overkill from a writing perspective).
Also, for those wondering, this is not a harem story or anything of the sort. John Rambo is an American, in the 1970s. It should be fairly obvious that Rambo would despise polygamy.
Please leave some reviews and call me out if I wrote Rambo out of character in any of these scenes. I seriously want to do the character justice and avoid accidentally turning this into some pathetic self-insert. So please call me out if something is amiss.