24 Difference between young and old

My face turned dark. I had never expected something like a half-step Warrior Beast! This was something that even the mainstream cities would have a hard time hunting down.

I know that I am quite reliant on father, but this time, even if father was here, he would be powerless to stop such a monstrosity!

"What is such a powerful beast like this doing out in the plains?"

One guard faced upwards and shot his voice up into the sky. It was as if he was asking 'the one above' why he had been so unlucky.

"Keep calm and attack!"

One guard looked at the beast with resolute eyes. He was wearing armour that had a different pattern than the other guards. That meant that he was the leader in charge of the guards, he had a cultivation of The Third Layer of Human Realm.

"Are you trying to get us killed? How about we escape and leave the young lady behind? Isn't that easier? She seems more like a hindrance than a blessing!"

A seemingly young guard insisted. He seemed to be the least experienced out of the guards.

The squadrons would often take out youngsters for them to experience the hardships of life. It was an easy way of killing two birds with one stone. Training youngsters and completing the task set. The youngster was recruited by my family, the Rox family. He looked around the age of twenty and his cultivation was at The First Layer of Human Realm, this meant that his talent could even be compared with nobles.

looking his arrogant demeanour, I gave a sour face back. His arrogance stemmed from his talent, but he also knew how talented I am.

-Planning to make my guards join your side? It may be harder than you think!

I laughed inside my mind.

Of course, father would never pick the untrustworthy! I have full trust that my guards would never join your side.

I could now see most of the guards. I could also hear and see the young man scream:

"Why?"

The young man asked. I could see the guard leader pointing a sword at the young man.

"Why? You think we would betray our young lady? She is the hope and pride of the Rox family! Why would we trust a nobody like you?"

One of the guards clicked his tongue and retorted.

"If there were other youngsters with you, they might've agreed with you, but you never considered that we are all old men!"

Another spat at the young man.

"Old? Young or old, what does that matter, do you all not care about your lives?"

The young man was insistent. He couldn't escape without the help of others. He also had a sword to his throat by someone two layers higher than him, a single blow from such a person could turn him into dead meat!

This time, the guard leader answered the young man's question:

"As we said, you are young and we are old. We have a different thought process. You have a family too don't you?"

The young man nodded.

"Do you think we don't?"

The young shook his head:

"No, I think you all have families you want to protect, but doesn't that mean you should live to see another day for them!?"

The young man hadn't given up yet. I clicked my tongue when I saw him still trying to convince the guards.

"We have family and we want it to survive healthy and strong for long!"

The guard leader spoke with pride.

"When you escape what and how do you think the Rox family would react?"

The guard leader spoke in a hurry. This wasn't really the time for talking and consoling, but he had to make it seem as if he was the most loyal and would always be on the Rox Family's side. This may be the last chance that he had to live, he must extract the most benefits from me.

-He and I both knew that I knew his motives, yet he dared to bring it up. Interesting, his family will definitely get many benefits if I escape this predicament.

I wanted to escape the beast, but at the same time, I wanted to see how this 'drama' would play out. I know that the guard leader isn't really that loyal, but for his family, he could lift the world and beyond.

"What does this have to do with our escape? The beast may be closing in right at this moment!"

The young man had cold sweat running down his head. It seemed as if he was quite afraid of the beast.

"HAHAHAHA! Don't you know that we were born to protect the young lady?"

The guard leader laughed.

"If we were to escape and abandon the young lady, what do you think would happen if the lord were to be aware of this!?"

The young man seemed to have been struck dumb. His eyes showing less determination and more fear. He spoke hurriedly:

"But If the lord doesn't know, then we should be able to get out of this alive. Right?"

"You are still concerned about your pitiful life? What about your family?"

The guard leader looked at the young man with eyes of disgust. He only wanted to escape himself and never considered those behind him.

"My family? I am a genius and they are nothing! I have no need of parents that can't provide me with anything!"

The young man argued back.

The guards started to shake their heads. They could already tell that such a youngster was the same was when they were young.

"That is the difference: we are old and you are young!"

The guard leader seemed to explain.

"You have to know that we were hot-blooded like you when we were younger."

The guard leader seemed to grab a bunch of guards and put his arms around his shoulder.

"We didn't care about family or friends, but look where it got us! We used to be veterans, skilled in the field of battle. But when we fell, we took realised that the ones who loved us most had already disappeared. That is a moral that you shouldn't forget."

The guard leader patted the young man's back.

"But wait! I am a genius! I can become a fourth or fifth layer of Human Realm in the future! It is impossible for me not to join another family!"

The young man seemed to have gone mad. His obsession with him thinking he was beyond everyone else had started to show.

Nearly all the guards started laughing as they saw the young man's craziness

"Hahahah! Kid, don't you know we were veterans too? You should know that we were all the fourth or fifth layer!"

One laughed.

"You think a mere Fourth or Fifth layer is enough to make great families of towns recruit you?"

Another disdained.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The comments went on and on.

The young man was already on the verge of breaking down.

The guard leader put one of his hands forward, indicating everyone to stop talking.

"Tsk, it seemed that he wanted to do be the final push to break the poor guy down. He always hogs the glory."

"Roaaaaaaar"

A sound echoed in everyone's ears.

"The beast is near!"

A person from ahead came back and reported.

"Mhmm."

The guard leader looked at the young man and thought about what to do.

I knew that he was trying to make himself seem like the hero and the young man a villain, I didn't mind as long as he helped me escape.

"I will give you a final lesson! Don't try to be arrogant with your measly cultivation, there are many beyond you! I may have been the lord's right-hand man with a cultivation of the Sixth layer, but even he had to bow his head too many times! Some, he didn't even dare to look in the eyes. Don't overstep your boundaries, kid."

The guard leader struck the sword at the young man's head.