Chapter 55

—Thed's group—

"Be cautious. Be aware of your surroundings."

[rustle]

They are all pointing their swords at the rustling bushes. They were waiting for something to appear when a small fluffy rabbit hopped out of the bushes.

"Haa..." they sighed.

A voice from behind was heard, "Why are there young ones here?"

They immediately pointed their swords in the opposite direction and let out a deep sigh as they saw an old man carrying a few herbs.

"Oh? What are you so afraid of?" The old man looked around the ground before looking at the knights, "There are no beasts here, this section of the village is within a protection, the only thing you'd see here are preys and middle-class predators."

The old man approached one knight and pushed him slightly, "Don't step on the herbs!"

"Ah, my apologies."

"You too!"

"Tsk tsk," The old man began to collect the herbs, "You should go to the restricted region, there are signs of big creatures in there... lots of them."

The restricted area is where Tado's group is. The restricted area is far away from the villagers, where Yjhan's squad are, and close to the small forest where Thed's group is.

"Have you come across one?" Ken asked.

"I have, accidentally, but that was years ago. I was a survivor from the last war," The old man rose to his feet and faced the knights. "I'm telling you, the impending war is different from before. We're in a new generation in which you, the youth, are the heroes."

"How is it different?" A knight asked.

"The war before only consisted of ordinary creatures which were difficult to battle, which caused that war to last for almost 3 months. If it hadn't been for the emperor, the war may have lasted a year, and if he hadn't been there, the entire empire would have vanished off the map."

"T..that's how it was?"

"Yes. The near-war will involve more than just those creatures."

"Is it the witches?"

"Maybe and much more. I'll take my leave then," The old man walks away, causing the knights to become agitated.

"After we finish here, we should head to the restricted region," Thed said, continuing to survey the surroundings.

—Tado's group—

"We've been here yesterday, why do we have to come here again?" Tado grumbled.

"Should we just loiter here?" A knight proposed.

"We can't. Thed will ask for our investigation," Tado responded, "Tsk. Let's get things done quickly."

They continued to walk around the restricted area until they walked far enough.

"Sir! There are footprints in this area!" Tado went to where the knight pointed. "It's big, right?"

"It is... measure it."

Knights started to measure it, "it's about four feet long!"

They had no idea they were treading on a large footprint from a large creature, or that a creature was staring at them from afar.

"grrr..."

--Squad 15--

"I am Teves, but the villagers call me either Ives or Tev. I am one of the guards of this village," he bowed, as did Squad 15. "I have only seen a few creatures located in the restricted area."

"Why is it called a restricted area?" Kane asked.

"That's because it's not under protection, which is why there are creatures lurking around. It began months ago, but ceased during the winter season and after the winter season, they started to come out. The village head already requested assistance from the king, they did come, but they didn't see any creatures at all and assumed that we were merely hallucinating out of terror."

"Is that why you asked for the Imperial Knights?" Aeries asked.

"We didn't ask for them. We were surprised when they arrived in our village. We've also heard that surrounding villages are being investigated."

"That is right,"

"I guess the war is near?"

Squad 15 didn't respond.

"We're all prepared for what to happen," Teves faints a smile, "About the creature I've seen. The most creatures I saw from the restricted area are mostly forest creatures, such as golems, goblins and Kapres."

Nash's forehead creased as she thought to herself, 'I knew it.'

Teves continued to talk about the creatures he saw before. "To be honest, there have been cases of golems for the previous two years, but they have never attacked us."

A few hours have passed and it was already afternoon. Each group continued to examine the area. Tado's group continued to wander far as they followed the footprints.

"Why is the ground bumpy?" said Tado.

"It ends here! Look there are ink stains on the wall," in front of them was a rock wall which was stained with black ink.

Tado's brow furrows as he stares towards the wall. He examines the ink by touching it. "It isn't ink... "

"eeekkk" A creature screeched.

Tado's group flinched as they heard it from behind.

"...it's blood." Tado continued.

"s..sir... b...behind us."

Tado slowly turned around, his eyes widened.

"eeekkkk"

They covered their nose once the area was filled with a horrible odor.

...

"eeeekkk"

Thed's knight team immediately looked in the same direction, which is where the restricted region lies.

"Faster!" Thed yelled as they sprint into the restricted area.

...

"eekkkk"

"What's that?!" Aidan exlaimed.

"It's coming from the restricted region, let's go!" They left Teves and ran towards the restricted place.

"We'll arrive late!" Idris said as they sprint.

"I want to ask something," Nash said as they ran.

"At a time like this? Really?" Kane said.

"Will you live after being thrown high?"

"Of course!" Idris responded.

"Then... I'm sorry for doing this!" Nash wore the hood of her cloak to hide her eyes. She unleashed a part of her ability. Her members began to float high.

"What the?!" Idris exclaimed.

"I really am sorry! We'll talk about this later! Please live!" Nash used her magic ability and threw her squad mates towards the restricted area. "I'll follow!"

Her squad mates didn't have time to comprehend the situation and were thrown away.

"Where flying!" Idris yelled.

"We're thrown!" Aeries exclaimed, "By Nash?!"

"We're falling now," Yjhan said, calmly.

"This is fun!" Idris laughed as they landed.

"Make sure to land properly or else you'll break a bone!" Yjhan added.

...

Thed already arrived at the restricted area and were already fighting with the Kapre.

"The body is hard!"

"Attack it's neck," Thed shouted.

"eeeekkk!"

"Isn't it supposedly a 'neigh'? Not a screech?" Ken asked, innocently, which caused Thed to smack him.

"This is a battle! Take it seriously!"

A few knights have already fallen after being hit by the Kapre.

"Sir! It only has one eye!"

Thed looked at the Kapre and noticed, "That must be how they got away."

The Kapre already got a few scratches due to the swords.

A lightning strike has already struck the Kapre, rendering him stunned.

After carefully aiming his sword at the Kapres heart, he flung his blade, which thrust the Kapre's chest but failed to reach the heart due to the thick skin. The sword was stuck.

"All that remains is for the sword to strike deeper."

"Sir!" Thed turned and saw a knight pointing above the sky.

"What is--" Thed gaped and his eyes widen as he saw the squad landing towards them.

A shadow, made by Jaxael, formed in a free space helping the Squad team to land safely.

"Whoo!" They landed safely.

"Where's Nash?" Thed asked.

"She said she'll follow." Aidan responded.

"That's one big creature..." Idris mumbled, looking at the Kapre in front of them.