Slaughter

[You have obtained High-Quality Venison Meat x122]

[Are you sure you want to sell High-Quality Venison Meat x122?]

[You have obtained Tokens x7,320]

The big-horned and big-eyed monster Irene saw turned out to be a bull elk. And with its massive size, only the darkness would have been be able to hide it.

The brown fur blended well with the ground, in the mist that the dawn had veiled over their surroundings. And only when he had sat on the driver seat, elevated, did he notice the beast just a few meters ahead of the coach.

One lucky shot brought him seven thousand tokens before the day could even start. It was sudden and he threw the spear instinctively. The powerful skill shattered the spine, and punctured the lung, killing it in place. And this was impressive considering that elks were so hard to kill, that it would've been impossible for a hunter of his caliber if he didn't use any skill.

Before he could walk back to the wagon, the first rays of the sun finally touched the fields of grass. And his eyes, widened and his heart, jumped out of joy when the darkness fled and revealed to him was a small bachelor herd of seven more elks. The small group was in the grassland, not more than fifty yards from the road.

The one he killed must have been a member who got too curios of the carriage. He was lucky that the darkness hid him from them when he made the kill, as he was not confident he would have managed, getting charged on by all seven.

He rushed to the wagon and informed Irene it was all alright. He was unable to offer a proper explanation to Irene, in a hurry for the grasslands.

But seeing that he was frenzied not by fear but excitement, she figured there was nothing to worry about. She decided to deliver back the sleeping David back to his crib, and then she opened one of the windows.

What she saw brought back fear and worry into her heart. Anthony rode confidently towards the group of the same thing she saw a little earlier. For her, it was nothing short of madness.

The "monsters" stood a meter tall and three meters in length, and their heads crowned with massive horns. A kind of creature that she thought would have only existed in that dusty pages of tales.

But Anthony knew what they were and what he was doing.

Unlike the deer and the swans, the elks will not scamper away in the presence of a hunter and would more likely attack even when unprovoked. And he already had an idea of what he would do.

Figuring out that the bow would do little damage, he kept the huntsman occupation. Then he would use the horse to easily get near or evade and, one by one, pick out the bigger but slower elks.

The sound of the hooves soon alerted the elks, and lifted their heads from the ground, and spotted his approach. The herd was at first hesitant and confused, unfamiliar of the creature that was coming towards them.

But when he did not stop and continued riding onwards, ever nearer to where they were grazing, the herd took him for a threat and were alarmed. Until he continued on, and the alarm turned to hostility.

The biggest of the elks initiated the assault. A massive war machine, charging at him at full speed with the intent to bulldoze him out of existence.

Intimidated, he was, but kept his composure. He was a man with a plan.

He slowed down his horse and reined it in to pivot to its side.

The spear lifted, ready to be thrown, he watched the beast closely.

Then the signal came. The elk lowered it's head and presented its majestic horns, it's killing weapons. A stance that made it easy for a headshot.

[Used 'Spear Throw']

[You have killed a Bull Elk]

[Mastery Points +40]

The elk's legs collapsed and a lifeless shell, its body came crushing to the ground, propelled by the momentum of the charge.

[Used 'Piercing Shot']

The next in line received a less cleaner shot. He aimed for the head, and instead, hit the shoulders. However, the spear penetrated deep and caused enough havoc to cause serious injury to put it out of the fight. He would come after it, a little later.

Having used both skills and the cooldowns ticking, Anthony quickly disengaged. He had his basic skill shots, but was not confident that he could stop the charge with them.

But he was not finished with the herd.

When both skills were available again, he repeated the same tactics. Using his mobility and his two op skills, to thin the herd, two elks at a time.

Irene watched in awe as what she thought would be a disaster, turned out to be an easy slaughter for Anthony.

Remembering he massacred an entire platoon of elite Cavalryman, she realized how foolish it was to worry about him. The worry should be to the ones he would be facing, whether they be men or weird-looking creatures.

"So it was your first time seeing a wild animal?" later in the wagon, Anthony found out that she had not even seen a deer in her life. And except for the chickens and the birds she would see from her window, her idea of animals came from picture books.

"And it was my first time seeing swans. Beautiful, majestic birds they are. And I can't understand why you have to kill them." her voice quivered with emotion in the last sentence.

"So it was the swans." he whispered to himself.

"Even the king prohibits killing them. They're harmless little birds, and they signify love, and loyalty and beauty." tears threatened to fall from her eyes, as she tried to continue eating her breakfast.

A part of him was tempted to say that she should toughen up. That the world wasn't all about flowers and rainbows.

But he knew that she knew that already, and she had her share of being tough. Furthermore, she was a sheltered girl, and until a few weeks ago, a stranger to hardships and brutality.

Anthony heaved deeply.

He had decided to instead, and if he could, preserve what remained of her soft and gentle heart.

"Alright… you be the witness" Anthony reached for her free hand and recited a solemn promise.

"I swear in the name of Christ… I mean in the name of the gods, that, I Anthony will cease murdering swans for the rest of my life."