Ch-56 Living Is A Bigger Punishment

"Then sit down and brace yourselves because this is not something children should ever have to listen to."

"It had been two months since the disappearance of villagers began. The number of families who had lost their loved ones was increasing every day, and the pressure on us, the Nether Ashes Soldiers, to stop it was mounting.

The enemy was very cunning, ensuring that no witnesses were left behind. However, with a stroke of luck, one of the villagers survived the attack. After questioning him, we got the first description of the mysterious enemy that had eluded them for months.

In his words, he described it as, 'When the moon gleamed at night, showering its sparkling light, the abominations shaped as wolves howled like enraged beasts, ready to tear the world apart. They pounced behind the backdrop of moonlight to have a taste of each of them. Their insatiable hunger knew no bounds as they devoured my friends to the last bone. Nothing was left for even a proper funeral."

"Is there a connection between the moonlight and the wolves being named the Lunar Wolf Pack?"

"Let's not jump to conclusions. We need to understand the full story before making any decisions."

"The Nether Ashes Soldiers spent the next few days searching for these wolves day and night, and a week later, we had gathered a lot of information. Some of the Soldiers had encountered a small group of Lunar wolves and engaged in battle with them, even managing to kill one.

From their attack patterns, I realized that they only chose to fight when sunlight disappeared. This made me wonder why they didn't appear during the daytime. Whatever the reason, it limited the unpredictability of their attacks, and with the right countermeasures, we could potentially eliminate them.

I formed a team with the finest warriors I trusted with my life. This was not our first encounter, and as a team, we were unstoppable. I had confidence that no matter who the enemy was, my team would be able to handle it.

To prevent the body count from rising in Nether Ashes, we devised a plan to strike the enemy in their territory. Catching them by surprise would give us the upper hand, and with momentum on our side, we could eliminate all these abominations."

"The Village Chieftain is a powerful Magic User. He could have intervened and saved the village."

"No, he wouldn't. My father stays here because it's his birthplace, and the people of Nether Ashes made him the Chieftain due to his immense power. This deters others from attacking the village. If he had somewhere else to go, he would never have stayed here. He doesn't interfere in the village's affairs, and that's how the villagers prefer it.

So, why should he meddle when they are in trouble? Besides, it's vital for a village to be self-reliant. It will never develop if it always depends on a single entity. Only when all the villagers contribute will the village keep growing."

"Rihan, you've grown into a responsible man. I'm proud of you. What you said is true. If the Village Chieftain intervened every time the village was in trouble, the villagers would stop thinking for themselves and always wait for their problems to be solved. Besides, then there would be no point in having soldiers."

"Anyways, the plan was put into action. At night, when the moon shone brightly with moonlight, we scoured for Lunar Wolves. There was a pattern to all the battles that occurred with the wolves. The attacked soldiers were always close to the border of the deep forest area on the west side of Nether Ashes.

After surveying the surrounding area of the forest, the team entered it. The moment they found the Lunar wolves, they were ordered to eliminate them immediately. Their mission was to exterminate every single one to ensure none posed a threat to Nether Ashes.

The massacre began when the moon reached its zenith, spreading moonlight throughout the forest. We had divided into two groups to increase efficiency in our search. If one group encountered the enemy, they would inform the other.

Lunar wolves pounced on my group in large numbers, but we used our exceptional skills, which had earned us the title of Nether Ashes Soldiers, to fend them off. The numbers kept increasing, and we were forced to fight them off, unable to move an inch.

By the time all the wolves were killed, one of my colleagues had lost an arm, and another had lost a leg. I was mentally and physically exhausted. The fight had lasted long enough for the sun to begin rising, and we had killed nearly fifty wolves.

The anomaly was the other group coming to help us, which made me anxious about their condition. We planned to find them once they arrived.

The Lunar Wolf King stood at five feet tall, exuding an oppressive presence that could only belong to a king. It gazed at its fallen kin, howling in anger, then locked eyes with us. Before I could react, my team members had their throats slit, their heads severed from their bodies.

All I could do was shout at the top of my lungs in denial, regret, and other complicated emotions. I was prepared to die, but the bastard left without killing me.

Perhaps the bastard was smart enough to know that living was a greater punishment for me than death.

I crawled back to Nether Ashes, and on the way, I saw my other team members. They had been brutally murdered and then consumed. All that remained of them were bones.

I crawled back to the gates of Nether Ashes before losing consciousness, wishing to forget the worst nightmare of my life."