The War of the Demon Controllers
Pre-Arc Fate of Escapees
Chapter 17's
The sun rose up in the air, but its rays could not penetrate the lush trees. Silent, silent and creepy. Only leaving the swish of river water where the herd rests, away from the main road.
A horse was lying on the ground in mud. Flock noticed. Lupan who had joined the herd carried a sword and slaughtered the poor horse.
"This is our last horse" said Lupan.
Poor horse was slaughtered. After that, Yvonne and Yogot help skin the horse to enjoy the meat. While Daedalus and Tael are looking for wood, Toras and the rest of the children watch the others work.
It had been a few days after they had escaped from the City of Libbam. After their escape, they continuously entered into the forest with the four horses. However, before long their stomachs were rumbling and they needed to eat.
Eventually they slaughtered the first horse and made it a foodstuff, leaving the other horse. They had originally been looking for wild animals to hunt or just birds perched, he said, but with the warrior sword alone they could not chase the running deer or throw birds perched on the branches of tall trees.
The rest of their three horses were forced to carry the entire herd, they got as far away as possible until the moment they were ambushed by a group of bandits. They can win the battle but unfortunately, two of their horses are hit by the spears of the bandits and are unable to continue the journey. They turned two horses into foodstuffs, the rest of one horse again. They continue their journey by walking.
The one remaining horse they finally slaughtered was also today. Not because the food from the previous three horses had been used up, but the horse meat had rotted and smelled. Not worth eating.
Daedalus and Tael had finished taking the firewood. They arranged it neatly. Toras then came and borrowed his Fire Demon power to burn the wood. Fire burns.
Toras' condition improved, but his improvement was only limited to him when he first met Daedalus. He was still pale and limp, but he could already speak.
Then Lupan, Yvonne and Yogot brought fresh horse meat and roasted it by thrusting a wooden twig into the meat. Before long, the meat had matured and they devoured it.
"At first I was nauseous and disgusted to eat this," said Tael. "but it turned out to be delicious as well."
"Maybe a nice horse but still chicken is my favorite food!" Yogot.
The others agree. Horse meat is so unique and strange, but those who do not have much choice about the food menu do not deserve to comment. All enjoying each other's meals, Daedalus helped Riel cut meat and Lupan and Yvonne did the same to their son and sister. Tael jokingly helped Yvonne while Yogot and Toras enjoyed themselves. But then silence. Only the sound of fire burning twigs was heard.
"So where are we next?" Yvonne started the topic of conversation. "Do we go south and go to the neighboring country?"
"Libion" Toras said. "maybe you've never been there, but there's an important reason why the Hervarar kingdom has never been in contact with Libion."
"I heard that the country is bounded by steep hills and mountains, there is only one way there" added Lupan.
"And that one road was heavily guarded by the Hervarars and Libion, and seeing us who are like refugees trying to cross the border, there was no way they would let us pass."
"What about the place you promised me, Toras?" Daedalus asked. "You say there are those who support the abolition of slavery."
"I lied." Toras answered lightly.
"What?!" The herd was surprised. Lupan. "Why are you lying? Forget it, we don't even know you. Why did you come to help us rebel against Lord Puqress? Who the hell are you?"
"I'm a friend" Toras replied, "and I will still help you fight Lord Puqress. As a matter of fact, I think it's good to go back to the city and infiltrate, then persuade the other slaves to revolt."
"With our heads plontos?" Toras pointed at all the herds. They were all brilliant bald leaving not a single hair. Only Toras had a thick white beard strands on his chin "The news of the slave rebellion must have spread all over Hervarar and when you appeared in another city, what did you think would happen? You will be arrested and sent before Lord Puqress."
Everything's silent.
"But I don't think it out" Toras added. He looked at Daedalus. "Why didn't you kill Lord Puqress when you had the chance, Daedalus?! You don't learn from mistakes?"
Daedalus. He had thought that the Slimonoid Demon that threw Lord Puqress hard against the wall would make God die, but after talking to Toras, it would take more than that to kill a human. His heart was anxious about the consequences of his actions.
"Learning from Gallam, Daedalus. Your forgiving attitude to the enemy has slapped you hard with the deaths of your father and mother, as well as the failure of our rebellion. All the lives of slaves who didn't make it out are in your hands."
Daedalus. She's mistaken. He looked at his hand as well as his Pomegranate Jewel. His hands have been filthy for the vain deaths of slaves. His parents' blood, too. But, at the very least, he had avenged by killing the Gallam Warrior. But Daedalus had no idea that Gallam was alive.
"That's it, what happens will happen." Yogot. "We'd better enjoy this meal."
"Daedalus' erroneous decision makes him unfit to be the leader of this group." Lupan. "A leader needs a cold heart and high calculations for the survival of the group. From now on, you must listen to my every decision."
Lupan spoke like a military commander. Firm and authoritative, but Tael was not happy to hear the tone.
A voice of scream and war was heard. It came from the main street. Daedalus immediately got up and hurried to look. Others followed.
The herd hid behind a large tree, all pairs of eyes staring at the group of horse carriages being attacked from various directions. The attackers were dressed in leather with animal fur on their shoulders and heads. All carried swords, axes and spears.
"The barbarians," explained Lupan. "tough, mighty and brutal. Also cruel. If they were the ones who attacked us a few days ago, it might not be just the horses who were the victims."
"Whose attack? Looks like they're experts."
A group of Horse carriages consisted of male and female servants, but their attention was focused on the five people dressed in purplish black. One was wearing a cowboy hat and looked old, as if he was the leader among them. Although they were outnumbered one to three by the barbarians, they seemed to be able to return the situation.
"Garda Valaan, a powerful Merkenari group that every member of the elite is a Knight class. They were created directly by a family of wealthy merchants, the Valaan family." Lupan. "We better not interfere, dealing with the barbarians is a bad thing and dealing with the merkenari belonging to a large family will get us caught."
Daedalus did not want to help them. After all, the Valaan Guard was so proficient and shrewd in facing the barbarian tribes who attacked them. Their formations were so neatly surrounding the servants and dispelling the invading barbarian tribes. However, that was before a large tall man entered crashing into the formation.
His body was shrouded in demonic power, the Flame Devil. With his huge mace he crashed into the formation and made the Valaan Guard with a cowboy hat exclaim to have the others dodge.
After that, the formation was broken and the barbarian tribes were free to attack from all directions. Some who attacked the Valaan Guard could be skillfully encountered, but some who chased the servants apart from the formation so brutally finished them off on the spot. It made the Valaan Guard try to protect the others and instead made them trapped and finished off.
Daedalus.
"Don't!" lupan Strictly. "Remember the consequences of your decision, Daedalus. You have to listen."
But Daedalus did not listen. If he remained silent then he would let the Valaan Guard along with the helpless servants be slaughtered. By asking the Demon Slimonoid, his entire body was shrouded in slime and he entered the battlefield with a sword in hand.