When the hunt began, all the children ran off, some went straight to the forest without worrying about the map as if they didn't need it, but most still went towards the map, including me and Aurora and my other siblings Arthur and Alice.
"Damn it Arthur give me that map, you'll only slow us down with your terrible sense of direction" Alice quickly takes the map from Arthur's hand and begins to look attentively seeking the maximum information possible.
Arthur knowing it's true doesn't deny it and tries to disguise walking in our direction "Noah I think it would be a good idea if we unite and divide the spoils by the level of collaboration"
I didn't need to think much the more people the better
"I agree, it's safer to go together than each one for themselves" I look at Aurora to know her opinion
"it's fine by me brother" Having her confirmation we went to Alice to decide the route
"So Alice had any idea which route to follow analyzing the map?"
Alice looks in our direction with an uncertain face and responds "From what I could see there are two paths, towards the forest which is the most known and leads directly to the hunting area, the second is passing through the mountain Arthur and I have already been there and passing we arrived at a more isolated part with river and plenty of animals"
"Summarizing our choices are to follow the practical and compete with the other children, or risk a little known path but with greater opportunities and less competition"
Before anyone could respond "Let's go through the mountain even if something out of the ordinary occurs, the guards chosen by Ulric can handle it, not to mention that Alice and I went directly there hidden, we can say that there is our secret base" said Arthur confidently
The group, finding Arthur's words sensible agreed promptly with the idea
"well, then without time to lose let's go to the mountain," said Noah excited with the change of horizons locked all day in that castle, a walk through the forest is welcome
while we were going towards the mountain we found 3 guards and a person with a hooded person with a mask
the moment we got close the three guards lowered their heads "We greet the young masters, we have the mission to protect you during the journey, so be warned that we will only act in life-or-death situations"
each one introduced themselves right after
first the two with simpler armor
"I am Sven Sergeant of the second battalion" The guard had a leaner posture but had a sharp aura.
"I am Erik commander of the shield wall" This one was more robust as if he were a wall and held a large shield behind.
Right after approaching the third guard, who was over 2m tall and wore heavy armor that seemed to make the ground tremble with each step, he looked at me with a gaze as if I were ants. The power emanating from him was almost suffocating, a physical pressure in the air that reminded me of Ulric's presence.
"I am Bjorn better known as Iron Berserker, I am a mercenary hired by the duke to protect you and I will make it very clear, I am nobody's babysitter here and I only take orders from my contractor" proclaimed Bjorn with an intimidating voice
the moment they finished saying, the hooded figure bowed and made a reverence "Edwin of the 12 black moons greets you, I will be responsible in case some unforeseen situation that depends on my scout abilities occurs, I am here under Ulric's orders out of concern for you"
Noah was impressed with his entourage, especially with Edwin and Bjorn, Edwin for being from the black moons which according to Ulric are the most loyal assassins of the duchy trained since childhood to deal with any threat stealthily, they are the shadows of the Duchy and because he works for Ulric I know he is trustworthy
Now Bjorn impressed me by his size and intimidating appearance, by the Aura and mana he exhales, he must be only a few levels below Ulric known as iron fist for his conquests and unshakeable discipline during the wars against the beings of the abyss, another reason that Bjorn caught my attention was for being personally hired by the Duke I should stay alert probably the Duke has some hidden intention
looking back, I wasn't the only one impressed
Arthur, for example, just lacks drooling with admiration
"well it will be a pleasure to work with you" When I said this the others came out of the stupor
except for Aurora who looked at the sky thinking attentively... until I gave them a poke on her forehead and she returned to normal
even rubbing her forehead with an angry expression that seemed extremely cute.
After everyone greeted each other we followed normally to Arthur and Alice's secret base.
During the path, Arthur's voice echoed as he boasted about having found animal tracks, while Aurora occasionally pointed to a rare plant. Alice kept focused on the path occasionally consulting the map. Behind us, the guards moved in silence. Their eyes didn't stray from the trail, and their postures were rigid as if they demonstrated that their only objective was to stand guard, indifferent to our conversation.
Alice stopped in front of a cave "Here we found it now we just have to pass through this cave and we get to the other side"
"Are you sure it's in here?" I thought with a certain cynicism
"Of course, Noah Arthur and I went directly here we even left a marking in front so as not to confuse" With a confident posture Alice entered the cave
We used a small light magic to illuminate the path
right behind us came the guards with a
"Aurora don't stray far it can be dangerous"
"Okay brother" right after she grabbed onto my clothes
Alice noticing the group's concern, tried to reassure "You can stay calm, Noah, Arthur and I entered directly here and never had any problem, already--"
Alice's word was cut by a deep crash that came from the cave walls.
The ground shook violently. Dust and small stones began to rain from the ceiling. I saw a blur of movement in the corner of my eye Edwin. He didn't hesitate, jumping back in our direction with the speed of an arrow. An instant later, Bjorn followed him, his massive body moving with impressive agility.
The exit collapsed, sealing the path behind them.
"Forward!" shouted Sven's voice.
Before I could react, I felt a hand on my back carrying me to the back of the cave. Large stone blocks fell where we were seconds before. From the side, Erik positioned himself like a wall, raising his enormous shield over our heads. The sound of rocks breaking against the metal was deafening.
Edwin quickly jumped to the cave exit
with Edwin's cue, Bjorn jumped together to the cave exit
Sven and Erik not having the same agility and speed, knowing they couldn't jump to the exit, chose to go the opposite way while Erik raised his enormous shield to protect the children from the Debris
Noah and Aurora managed to leave the cave calmly, thanks to Edwin
However, the debris blocked the cave exit, making a return impossible
"I didn't know that the famous black moons were so incompetent, if I had let me handle the situation, we wouldn't be here," warned Bjorn with a mocking face
Edwin, as if shocked by the recent event, didn't respond to the mockery
Noah, observing the scene, couldn't help but notice Bjorn's unconcern about the recent situation as if maybe he already knew, not to mention having quickly seen smoke signs from where the debris fell and during the explosion and having noticed Bjorn's stares during the journey
He is plotting something at the Duke's request
"The situation got out of control, I am taking control now instead of the incompetent assassin," declared confidently.
Edwin said nothing as if thinking about the cause of the explosion
"Ok, we will follow your leadership," I decide to follow the duke's game and see what he planned for us
While we followed Bjorn, we found several corpses of abyss beasts
And every time we passed by them, Aurora went one by one, touching, murmuring something that seemed like a prayer, probably, she couldn't bear to see this massacre and prayed for each one of them. How lucky I am to have such an adorable sister.
When this happened, Bjorn looked as if it were something incomprehensible, opening his mouth but stopping it as if following some order
at the end of the corpse trail, I saw the culprit of this, it was a pack of wolves with grotesque forms and dark fur with parts catching fire, flaming eyes, and mouths with embers inside as if inside them were made of fire
"Damn they are Hellwolfs, let's retreat and look for another way" commented Edwin with a worried face
"AHHAHAHAHA" Bjorn laughed attracting the wolves' attention
"Children, consider this a test of mine for you, You will have to kill all these demons while Edwin and I observe from behind"
"You are crazy, Bjorn how will an 8-year-old child deal with a Hellwolf?"
Before Edwin could continue his complaint, Bjorn exhaled an absurd force, his aura changing completely. The surrounding air seemed to distort with his Mana, revealing that there was much more to him than appeared.
"if you interfere, you will have to fight me, in that case, the children will be on their own," said Bjorn with a coldness that contrasted drastically with his previous personality. With a deliberate movement, he drove his axe into the ground and remained motionless while the wolves approached slowly.
Edwin just observed ready to intervene if something serious happened, meanwhile, Noah, seeing that there was nothing to do, prepared with Aurora for the Wolves.
The pack consisted of five Hellwolves of varied sizes. Three were smaller, while two larger ones seemed to be pack alphas, with more developed muscles and more intense flames in their fur.
I looked at Aurora as if understanding my plan, she put her hand on her staff and prepared for combat.
The alpha Hellwolf advanced first as if wanting to demonstrate its superiority before the other wolves. With a quick jump in my direction, it opened its mouth, spitting a fire blast in my direction. I dodged quickly and gathered enough mana to throw a stake at its belly.
The moment this happened, I saw it disappear as if it were an ember
"Now, Aurora," I shouted
Right after Aurora raises her staff, intense mana begins to gather around it, creating an ice stake 10 times bigger than mine
completely crushing the remaining wolves
Seeing that the fight was concluded extremely easily, I ran towards my sister and gave her a hug.
"You are incredible Aurora."
"We did it, brother," she blushes shyly with the hug but doesn't refuse
The sound of slow applause interrupted us.
"HA! HA! HA!" Bjorn's laughter was contagious. "Bravo! True northerners! This calls for a celebration..."
His word was cut.
Aurora and I turned around. Bjorn was standing, rigid.
Blood began to drip from his helmet with each drop marking the snow,
Briefly, Bjorn managed to turn his head enough to see the culprit's face.
It was none other than Edwin. His knees gave way, and the giant Bjorn, considered invincible by many, fell forward with a thud in the snow.
His last thoughts, visible in his eyes that were losing focus, passed only one word: Why?
Behind him, Edwin was standing. The tranquility on his face was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen. In his hand, a dagger dripped a dark and thick liquid.
And without wasting time, Edwin draws a hand crossbow that was equipped in his outfit and shoots towards Aurora.
While I hug Aurora animatedly, I see blood flowing from her mouth, and looking down, I see an arrow embedded in her belly. My brain froze
"Brother?" with her last words before her pupils closed completely
Edwin, reloading the crossbow again, looks in Noah's direction and says
"Let the real hunt begin, Noah."