Human camp and prisoners [Dark Forest War - Part IV]

[[N/A : Lots of descriptions and little dialogue, sorry if you're not a fan but it's important :3]

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-- POV General --

As Freya gained new supporters, the atmosphere was very different where the humans were positioned. Huge metal cages were everywhere in the clearing with hundreds of half-humans, beastmen and other races inside. They were all squeezed together without any possibility to move properly, they were literally treated like animals.

There were rabbits, cats, elves, foxes, dryads, dwarves and many more. They were all of different ages, but they had two things in common: they could not fight and they had been captured by humans.

Those cages were placed near the ruins of a triangular shaped temple similar to those built by the Mayans on Earth. Around this ruin were stone pillars, also half destroyed and overgrown. Weeds, brambles and ivy were frantically winding their way over all the stone structures in the clearing. If one forgot the sad sight of the locked slaves, their dilapidation contrasted sharply with the perfection and harmony of the forest.

In this place were the 71 humans that Freya wanted to kill, there were 50 mercenaries, 21 adventurers including a mage. They were there for one thing only, to capture as many intelligent beasts as possible in order to sell them later as slaves. However, it was easy to state that the mercenaries were not teaming up with the adventurers at all, but were only there to collect their share of the wages. They all seemed to be separated and didn't even look at each other, but the forest was their hunting ground and they were having a great time.

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The leader of the mercenaries, a tall, muscular man with long black hair and a beard that lasted several days, spoke up while stamping his foot on the ground with a disgruntled look.

"Where the hell are the four who were supposed to join us already this morning ? Don't tell me that....! We had to set up in that clearing next to those dirty adventurers because it was the only place in this damn forest that was easy to find ! Don't you dare tell me they got lost those fools !!"

He wore a sword at his waist, was dressed in tough leather clothes and proudly wore a short wolf skin cape over his shoulders. He was 40 years old, level 25, and his name was Grim. Contrary to what the receptionist had said, the level of the mercenaries was not between level 17 and 19 but rather between level 15 and 25 which explained their number. Grim was the leader and what he hated most of all was having to rot in a place, which didn't really fit his money and adventure hungry personality.

"Tsk, if it wasn't for the mass of gold coins the Church promised, I wouldn't be here rotting with this trash !"

As he spoke these words he sent a huge kick against the bars of the cage that stood nearby scaring the young children inside who had been separated from their families. They had managed to capture 130 of them but had found no fire foxes compared to the adventurers. But if Grim was upset it was because he had no desire to stay there. He had to, because he had already accepted the job that the Church of the Kingdom of Zal had given him. His group had to take as many slaves as possible and capture the fire foxes present for a unique magical sacrifice.

Mercenaries did not work for a guild, but for various people who could afford their services, and unlike adventurers, their methods included rape, murder, looting, and other horrible things. That's why adventurers didn't like mercenaries, because even though they were doing a similar job they couldn't stand to be in league with men of no value or morality. However, it was still a matter of perspective, because for the half-humans in the cages, all these humans were still the same no matter what, no matter how much time passed.

"Grim calm down. We only need to wait for them a little longer, they were probably delayed before coming. Let's wait another two days."

A young woman near him touched his shoulder to signal him not to get upset. The group of 50 mercenaries were waiting impatiently for their four comrades who were supposed to join them since the morning to tell them if they could leave with the merchandise they had already collected for several weeks. Obviously they were already dead and by Freya's hand, but no one knew that yet.

"Jessica, do you know if there are any more specimens to be captured in the area around us ?"

The woman at his side was his right arm and possessed level 23. She was a brunette with green eyes, also dressed in leather and wielding two daggers strapped to her ribs.

"We haven't seen anything yet lately, I feel like we've cleared the forest and the remaining creatures that were resisting have retreated to run from us. It would seem that our work is done."

But Grim was not reassured, this was all very strange to him.

"Yet I feel like we are missing something but I can't figure out what !".

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On the side of the adventurers who numbered 20, the group leader and only level 29 mage Kirk was counting the slaves.

"We have about 120 not counting the 2 fire foxes. If the Church offers us 50 silver coins per fox and 10 per slave, in the end we should all split 1300 coins."

The adventurers had also been hired by the Church, which had taken care to contact them through a guild in addition to the mercenaries to have the best chance of success. The two foxes were in a separate cage from the others and were among the rare races capable of taking human form despite their original animal form. They were therefore hunted to be sacrificed because they were considered too dangerous and inhuman. Gaya as an Earth dragon was also concerned, which explained the war that had been waged years ago to exterminate them and Freya was no exception.

The leader of the adventurers was quite short, thin and dark. He really didn't look like a level 29 fighter and for good reason, he wasn't a warrior. Kirk was a fire mage, which was more than enough to defend himself against the forest races. He possessed an attack called "fiery whip" that conjured up a flaming whip capable of tearing and burning the skin and a defense called "flame armor" that protected his entire body from physical and magical attacks.

Like the mercenaries, he had finally decided to leave the area in a few days, fed up with the situation. As he joined his group of 10 men and 9 women, he went to sit on a rock while sighing.

"I think it's a waste to sacrifice them, it would be much more interesting to experiment on them and understand why they are able to transform into half-humans. Maybe one day they will be able to make their ears and tails disappear pretending to be real humans. Tsk disgusting."

He couldn't stand the thought of mingling with the half-humans while being unaware of their race. Like most of humanity, he was obviously one of those who treated other races as worthless objects.

"It's true that killing them for no reason is a shame, you might as well make the most of them before you get rid of them."

The one who spoke was the second leader of the adventurers. He was level 27, used a huge hammer, and called himself Sam. Freya didn't know it yet, but the information given by the receptionist was not at all up to date and as she always said: information is important because one small mistake can bring a whole plan crashing down. The battle ahead was shaping up to be a lot thornier than expected.

"If only I could keep one to conduct my own research..."

Kirk was unhappy that he couldn't use these prized foxes and was desperate to find a way to keep the human race from being invaded. He was fiercely attached to his human race and had a boundless admiration for it. He believed himself to be on the side of justice and enlightenment, driven by a deep desire to rise to the top to gain more responsibility.

The foxes in the cage were in animal form and trembled at his words. The adventurers didn't know it, but they had captured a woman and her husband while their daughter was in the resistance group. They had sacrificed themselves to help her escape as any parent would, but had no idea that she had not given up on freeing them. Only, frightened and wounded the foxes locked in whispered.

"Do you think Naia could have escaped far, far away ?"

The girl's mother was far more worried about her daughter than she was about herself and as she asked her question tears formed in her green eyes.

"I...I don't know. But since she's not here we can assume that she's at least safe."

As for the father, he couldn't bear the idea that his happy and naive daughter was now alone and on her own. They knew in their hearts that they didn't have much time left and had accepted their fate if it meant that Naia was safe.

While these worried parents prayed for the safety of their only daughter, the other 250 prisoners were no less anxious. Families had been separated as the children were all herded into one cage. Except for them, the others had been crammed together without being able to move, without food and very little water for days.

All the prisoners were beaten daily to weaken them and prevent them from rebelling or trying to escape. Even children, old people and women were beaten without any remorse, without any mercy or respect. No one had any real hope for what would happen next, and the exhausted spirits had long since given up. If anyone could hear their thoughts, they would not be able to bear the despair in their words.

"Please..."

"My children...someone save my children."

"Die...I want to die."

"..."

"Mom where are you...? Dad I'm scared !"

"Someone..."

"No..no more beatings please.."

"..."

As time passed, souls were breaking and it wouldn't be long before everyone turned into an empty shell.

It had to be done quickly, the cruelty of humans had struck again and Freya was not yet aware of this fact although she knew that time was running out. The situation was much more complicated and dangerous than she had thought. The she-wolf not only had to defeat her enemies, who were more powerful than she had expected, but also had to save the prisoners physically and psychologically.

The humans in the clearing didn't care about the harm they inflicted on these poor people, they only saw the money, the recognition and the fun that it gave them. The adventurers thought they were acting for money, justice and the preservation of the human race, while the mercenaries were only interested in the money they would earn from their hunt.

No one suspected yet that a unique and powerful being had burst into the forest and was already planning their extermination, which would not be without suffering. The humans were relaxed and patiently waiting for time to pass as a mercenary hurriedly entered the clearing shouting.

"THE...THE GROUP THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO JOIN US IS DEAD ! I WENT TO MEET THEM, THINKING THEY WOULD BE HERE SOON, AND I FOUND THEM A LITTLE FURTHER DOWN THE TRAIL ! THEIR LIMBS WERE CUT OFF AND THEIR HEADS WERE MISSING !"

The humans couldn't believe their ears while those of the prisoners stirred slightly as they clung to the slim hope this cry had awakened in them.

Who could kill four level 20 mercenaries ? Freya of course. All the pieces of the chessboard were in place and the black queen, cruel, merciless and driven by a strong desire for destruction, was about to confront the opposing pawns. Who would be checkmated ? No one really knew yet.

The time of the confrontation was not far off as dark clouds began to cover the sky, presaging a bloody and deadly tragedy.

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FULL STATUS

Name : Freya

Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course : Ice Demon Wolf of chaos - Adult

Race : Major Demon

Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell.

Dragon tamer

Ruthless slayer

Level : 32/70

Exp required for next level: 2 000 / 33 000

HP : 90 000 / 90 000 MP : 45 000 / 45 000

Strength : 340

Defense : 336

Agility : 350

Stamina : 353

Speed : 342

Intelligence : 340

Charisma : 410 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 0

Engaged to: Gaya

Daughter : Shiro

Kingdom (menu)

Subordinates : 128

Humans killed : 128

Elements: Ice / Chaos

Skills (all):

Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 5)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 5)

- Fighting techniques (lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic aura of the empress (lvl 3)

Defense - Ice demon wall (lvl 4)

- Demonic cloak (lvl 5)

Pain Resistance (lvl 3)

Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 1) - (under condition)

Others - Humanoid form

- Ice creation (Lvl 4)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 3)

- Devouring chaos (Lvl 4)

- Analysis

- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique

- Telepathy

Passives - Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]