First Blood

Chris noticed Catherine and her soldier gathering in front of the camp. He was impressed, they had guts.

"Oh, nice guts there! But today is not your stage."

Just then he heard a loud whistle, and this was the signal for the first wave of the attack.

Two volleys, each made up of 100 arrows, covered the sky above the Kunalls.

"Haha! Gogogo!" Cheered Chris as he stood up. "Ultima Arrows!"

The Kunalls were so into their charge that they only noticed the arrows as they struck them.

"What the..." The shock was such that even Karg was stunned.

The Kunalls shared incredulous looks as they noticed the arrows poking out of each other.

Another wave of arrows fell before they had any time to react. But this time Karg's loud voice woke them up.

"AMBUSH!" Shouted Karg. "FROM THE HILLS! FORGET THE CAMP!"

[An ambush? The puny humans are actually ambushing us? What's going on?!] He looked at the camp. [I don't get it, such a small camp, why bother defending it?]

"Leader. Leader!" Karg's thoughts were interrupted by one of his soldiers.

"What? Don't tell me a few arrows are enough to take you down?" He barked at the soldier.

"Leader! Which side? Look, they don't know where to charge!"

"Damnit, those idiots!"

Just then another wave of arrows came from the east side of the road. "THAT SIDE! FOLLOW ME!" Decided Karg as he charged.

Most, if not all Kunalls, were already hit by multiple arrows by now, it was truly painful. Most of them just chose to rip out the arrows as they charged the hillside. They had no time to waste patching up the wounds. It would only make them targets for longer.

From somewhere not far, Chris was dancing, jumping left and right and shooting in turns "Titus!" and "Ferlin!" as each side released their arrows.

This time he shooted "Titus!". And sure enough, a hundred or so arrows came from the west side of the road and pierced the Kunalls in the back. The target this time was much larger than the Kunall's side and so many more arrows hit their targets. Many Kunalls stopped and prepared to charge the other way.

"IGNORE THEM, YOU IDIOTS!" Barked Karg, his excitement and smugness were nowhere to be seen. This was turning bad after all. "TAKE CARE OF THE BASTARDS UP THERE FIRST!"

An excited voice was heard, it was so far away it could barely be heard. "Ferlin!"

And another wave of arrows came from the east side.

Karg and the Kunalls were starting to breathe heavily. [Damnit, it shouldn't be so hard to climb this small hill.]

"Leader! The blood won't stop coming out of my wounds! Something's wrong"! Shouted a scout.

Sure enough, the bodies of every Kunall around him was covered in blood.

[Blood letting poison!] Karg turned pale as he realized the arrows were poisoned.

His Kunalls were starting to panic. The blood loss was getting to be too much. He had to do something and fast. "Don't remove the arrows for now! Let's get rid of these bastards first!"

Chris was very excited, he had completely forgotten his earlier worries. "Haha, smart Kunall! If you leave the arrows in, you physically plug the holes and the blood won't flow as much. But too bad, this poison has two effects!" Gloated Chris.

"The second one might be weak but who knows what will happen if you give it enough time to spread in your bodies."

And Chris was right, even a Kunall would suffer its effects if there were enough of the poison in their blood.

Soon enough, they felt their bodies getting heavier.

"What's going on boss? My axe is getting so heavy."

"C-can't go one..."

Every Kunall now knew something was very wrong, many chose to drop their weapons and continue their climb. But new waves of arrows kept coming, and they were getting slower and slower as they got close to the top. The weakest ones, which were the ones with the smallest bodies, were already on the ground as they felt the blood loss and the paralysis the strongest.

Karg looked at the arrows sticking from his body and was reminded of the hornets they fought earlier. [Blood loss and paralysis! The red hornets! Damn it!] He cursed.

He was not the only one who came to this conclusion, some Kunalls panicked and removed the arrows while others bitterly left them in. But it was too late for either of them, there was too much poison in their bodies, without the arrows and with the prolonged exposure to the poison the wounds were bleeding much more. As for those who kept the arrows in felt their bodies getting increasingly heavier until they collapsed under the rain of arrows. Their only chance was the antidote.

[Damnit! Those bastards!] Karg was so angry veins started to appear on his forehead.

He was still holding on, and it was proof of his rank in this scout group. It was very simple with Kunalls; the strongest was the leader. But the Kunalls around him started falling, and one thing came clear to him.

[What to do? If I stay, I die. If I flee to warn our camp, I'll be humiliated.] Karg gritted his teeth and made a decision. [Flee!]

He pulled out a small vial from a pocket on his waist and drank it. It was a very expensive antidote he purchased for safety when dispatched to the human kingdom. It was not specifically made to fight the red hornets' venom, but it worked on most things found in this valley.

His body became lighter as the mild paralysis wore off, his wounds didn't bleed as much anymore, but the damage done could not be repaired. [I barely have any strength... But this will have to do.]

"AAAAHH!" A powerful shout echoed as Krag psyched himself up and threw his weapon at Ferlin and his hunters. Luckily for them, he missed, but the impact of his weapon near the hunters did create enough of a commotion to give him precious seconds to start running. With the antidote active, a few more arrows in his back should not be a problem, and humans could hardly catch up with a Kunall on foot, even an exhausted one.

Chris looked at the fleeing Kunall. If he managed to flee, then this was all over for them, they were clearly not ready to fight the troops stationed at the scout camp. But this time he was not worried.

"Just watch it your dirty monkeys! Enjoy your last days of peace! I'll be b-" Karg looked incredulously at his torso. It was pierced by a few swords.

The swords belonged to the soldiers that stayed behind with Berg at the camp.

They did not waste time and left right after the messenger did. They skirted the battlefield and lied in wait in case any Kunalls managed to flee. There were no guarantees in battle after all.

Karg fell to his knees, his heart was most likely injured.

"Going somewhere?"

This was the last thing Karg heard, as a sword pierced his throat and took his life.

Berg removed his sword and gave his orders. "The Kunalls are done for. Go finish them up! Do not take any stupid risks. Ask the other hunters for back up if needed!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Bergyyy! Good job." It was Chris coming down from his observation spot. He was mounted on Dalahan and followed by his two guard escort.

Berg waved at his Lord and turned his attention back to the battlefield. His soldiers were busy giving the finishing blow to the incapacitated Kunalls. He noticed Catherine and her soldiers had joined in to help out.

She noticed his gaze and bowed as thanks.

"Sigh..."

"What are you sighing for Bergy? We won." Said Chris with a smile.

"This is certainly a happy occasion, my Lord. I'm just thinking of the hardship now waiting for us ahead." Answered Berg.

"You mean worse than living in smelly caves twitching at every noise?" Breathed Chris. "Come on. Let's worry about that later!"

"Haha, I guess it can't get much worse." Laughed Berg.

"That's the right attitude!" Said Chris with a smile. "Now, the important part. Bergy?"

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Let's exchange swords." Chris handed him a wooden sword. "Take this. I made it myself. It has +5 attack power."

"Sorry? What was that?"

"Come on don't be stingy! I'll give yours back later." Said Chris.

"Huhu." Chris used his creepy trademark laugh. "Now, it's time for the second part of the act."

"Hya!" Chris headed for the entrance of the refugee camp. Mia was already waiting there, and Catherine was on the way.

Berg knew his lord was up to no good as always.

And so, he did nothing, closed his eyes, sheathed his new "+5" wooden sword and followed behind Chris.

Only one thought was on his mind. [My Lord. You are still riding Dalahan for your victory lap...]