9 A Deadly Winter

  "Run, RUN," Anna screams while clutching her son Franklin's hand dragging the young boy behind her. The sounds of screams surround her as she hurtles through the underbrush of the Unbroken Region. Anna doesn't have time to worry about those behind her. As long as her son escapes, that's all that matters.

  "Hold, Stay together!" some brave guards from Lemon town try to rally the panicking mob, but few heed the call. Soldier's from the Red River Empire mix with Demonic Wolves slaughtering through the holes in the defense, causing panic and loss of life. Howls of angry men mix with screams sapping the morale of the survivors of Lemon town.

  As a demonic white wolf lunges towards Anna's small son, she dives down to the ground covering Franklin with her body. She can only hope the wolves won't notice the young lad under her as she grits her teeth, waiting for the pain. Arron lunges from behind a nearby tree smashing into the wolf with his body. Being a farmer, he has no experience with weapons, but he is sturdy and well built. The wolf crashes into a tree, stunning it. "Are you alright, Anna?" he asks as he pulls her and the boy to their feet.

  Anna glances at the young man who was once her neighbor with relief, "I'm fine, thanks." Anna looks around her and grimaces at the grim situation. The falling snow mixes with blood to form blooming flowers in this damned forest. There doesn't seem to be any hope as she sees the people she knows tore apart before her eyes. Then she squeezes her son's hand, regaining her resolve. 'At least him,' "Please gods," she whispers as they continue running.

  There isn't much hope in her fellow refugee's eyes. The recent wars forced those near the outskirts into Unbroken Region. Usually, only powerful cultivators dare venture into this dangerous place. Now with no choice, they could only test their luck. But it seems their luck has run out, and they find themselves constantly harassed by demonic beasts.

  The panicking crowd disperses in all directions. Anna, Franklin, and Arron move towards the north. Right now, there doesn't seem to be any direction better than the other. Slowly the number of screams dissipates. Those caught no longer have the energy left to yell, giving in to their fate.

  Growling and yelping at each other, the wolves start to make more noise as if discussing something. They look at each other as if confirming something. The lead wolves began to crouch with sharp glints in their eyes.

  Arron feels the change in the mood. Looking over his shoulder, he sees that the demonic beasts seem to be more cautious. 'What can make such a strong demonic beast so weary,' Arron wonders with a cold sweat, joining his already sweat-drenched body. Chest heaving from exhaustion, he yells, "something is wrong. These demons look scared!"

  Anna also feels that something is off and tries to discover what is wrong. Yet, she can't see anything different. The trees are oversized and dense, blocking out the sun. Not being cultivators, these mortals can't see far in this forest. "Ahead, there is a clearing," someone ahead calls out.

  "Is this clearing a blessing or the end of our path?" Arron asks as the trees indeed begin to become sparse. Looking ahead, they see a small hill covered in snow. Behind they see that the wolves aren't giving chase anymore. They are seemingly happy to stalk behind them.

  Bursting into the clearing, even these nobodies can feel the difference here. The air seems denser as if there is power in the air. Many hold their breaths and look around in a panic. Anna can only see a small hill with a strange bump on it. It looks as if a second hill has been built on top of the first. As the demonic beast wolves near the forest's edge, this mound on the hill moves, shocking Anna. With wide eyes, Anna points toward the hilltop and yells, "Look!". Everyone's eyes focus on the hill, and indeed the mound is moving.

  The mound shakes, and the snow falls off, revealing a giant demonic bull. As its eyes scan the people in the clearing, their hair stands on end. What is this intense feeling? It is as if the world will end if this beast willed it. The bull seems to ignore them for now as it focuses on the demonic wolves. With a single snort, the bull blows away all the snow around him. The wolves no longer put up a front, fleeing back into the forest with the utmost speed.

  Just as one foe flees, soldiers from the Red River Empire burst forth from the woods. They are battered and bruised, their red arm covered in claw marks. When they attacked this small border town, they hadn't expected the citizens to flee into the Unbroken Region.

  A soldier with a scar on his cheek curses the townspeople, "You bastards caused us a lot of trouble! Boys, if we kill this lot, we should be able to go home and leave this hell." The other soldiers glare at the townsfolk and brandish their weapons.

  All around, Anna sees people panicking, scrambling to escape. Arron steps in front of Anna and Franklin, blocking the soldiers with his large muscular body. Anna clenches her fist and goes into a fighting stance. "Quick, run. I will hold them off!" Anna yells to Franklin, giving him a shove.

  "No, mom!" Franklin screams, grabbing Anna's arm. Anna shoves her boy, releasing her arm. "Listen to me," she yells before preparing to make her last stand. She prepares to bite her tongue to perform her last act.

A soldier points up at the hill and calls to his buddies, "Look, not only did we find these pests, but we have beef on the menu tonight!"

Joe ignores these strange creatures while nursing his hungry stomach. Suddenly feels as if these weaklings are looking down on him. It's one thing when a bush that makes tasty food has an attitude…. But these worthless creatures too? Joe snorts in anger, echoing throughout the forest clearing.

Everyone looks around in shock. The scarred soldier's eyes shift back and forth as a cold chill runs up his spine. "What the hell is that?"

  A few soldiers charge at Arron and Anna, their swords rising in the air. An older man jumps out, blocking one soldier's sword with a dagger. The old trapper lived on the edge of their old town. Gritting his teeth, he grabs the soldier to try and stop him.

  "Muoooo," a terrifying roar crashes down from the hill. Joe leaps down his gut flops as it distorts from the sudden movement. His mouth gapes, and his tongue floats behind him. Everyone turns towards the sky in shock as this boulder-like bull falls on them. Joe crashes like a meteorite crushing three soldiers at once. The ground collapses under him, sending debris around him.

  "Shit, kill it!" the scarred soldier orders. Soldiers slash with their swords and stab with their spears. The attacks bounce off Joe's hide at most, creating annoying paper cuts.

  The men who were attacking Anna and the others back off to help against the rampaging beast. Joe, however, is unstoppable in his rage, stomping men to death and impaling them on his horns. Soon the soldiers are in disarray and running for their lives, including the scarred man. Once the men in red armor run away, Joe begins to settle down, breathing heavily.

  After taking one more glance at the humans, the powerful demonic bull loses interest and returns to the hill. "Are we safe?" Anna asks as she falls to her knees. She hasn't run this much in her whole life and is beyond exhausted. Even the fit Arron can't keep his legs under him and falls to the ground.

  They don't know why this demonic beast doesn't care about their presence, but they are happy about it. "Perhaps it sees us as ants not worth his time," a young man speculates. In any event, at least they can now catch a short break before braving the forest once again.

  After they rested through the night, they are preparing to leave this place. They don't know when the demonic beast on the hill might go berserk. However, Anna looks at her exhausted child covered with scrapes and bruises. "Can't we just stay here?" she wonders out loud.

  "How can you say that, lass?" one of the older ladies looks at her as if she is crazy. "She's only worried about her son," a man states. "My daughter can't go on much longer either," a mother laments.

  Even with a night's rest, they look like they will collapse at any moment. Arron looks at this ragtag bunch without much hope. As he looks at the hill, an idea comes to him. "Once, I heard from a merchant that some villages have something called a Guardian spirit."

  "Oh, what's that, uncle?" The small boy next to Anna asks with sparkling eyes. "Well, Franklin, they are demonic beast or other wondrous entities that protect a village in exchange for offerings and worship," Arron says as he furrows his brow, trying to remember.

  Anna can't help but be shocked. "Do you think that if we give offerings to that demonic beast, it will help us?"

  "That's hard to say. It doesn't appear to hate humans, but who knows what it will do in the future. It's a gamble whether we leave or stay, though," Arron responds as he wipes his brow from a nervous sweat.

  After a spirited debate, fourteen people decided to stay, mostly those with young, who will be quickly picked off in the forest. While the more fit mostly choose to chance the wolves, they can at least fight them to a certain extent, unlike that powerful bull. Arron and two other men are the only men left; four mothers and Anna also chose to stay, with the three boys and Franklin and two girls.