Chapter 4: King's Grace

"CHIEF, the hunters would possibly be back by evening twilight if they do not run into any mishaps," a village boy, aged 19, reported to Leon who had been surveying the group ever since the stormy morning came.

In Horai, it is particularly difficult to differentiate time as the atmosphere remains gloomy and even darker when the clock strikes 1:00 am. In the ancient Horai when it was believed that day and night existed, a system of time has been followed. Although the world as they know it is plagued with a storm and therefore does not have a ball of light that floats in the sky, time is still the same.

There are still specific hours for dawn, morning, noon, afternoon, dusk and night like what those books of the old world portrayed. In the past, it was a different scenario for all empires and continents as this ball of fire was believed to appear from one area to another in different hours which is why time was relatively inconsistent in all parts of the world. However, it is not the same case for the present since there is definitely no ball of fire and all of the places in Horai; no matter how far-reaching they can be appear the same.

Clocks are also of equal importance to the people as navigations. The reason is that the time can be a huge predictor of a stormy weather which is not suitable for anyone to roam outside of shelter. By evening twilight, at around 6:00, the weather can grow so bad that storms can appear in any direction. If anyone is travelling during this time and beyond, it can be a fortunate thing to survive and greet the dawn some place they don't know after being blown away by the strong winds.

Leon nodded at the young boy and narrowed his eyes once more to his people. He still feels indignant about refugees from three, different villages being denied entry to the major stronghold, Phospiest. People in the villages have a rough understanding of these kingdoms and always have dreamed of entering one.

The downside is it is, at most impossible. Although some people can pay a huge sum to get inside, it cannot be the same thing to civilians who live on by hunting, raising cattles and growing vegetables, fruits and herbs to trade. His village has been one of the three that were unfortunate to get passed by a storm and almost everything they built was destroyed. They cannot stay there anymore as there is a possibility that they would get swept by another storm and lose their lives this time.

They begged for help at the gates but like everything else they heard from neighbouring villages, entry is non-negotiable for people like them. Now, they are trying to take camp in this barren forest for the meantime and continue to travel against danger.

The storm is not only the major difficulty in Horai. There are a lot of creatures that can threaten humans and even if they have fighters among them, it will not be reassuring if they happen to meet a pack of dire wolves, or even any giant monsters that terrorize particular areas in the wilderness.

Leon could only grit his teeth in anger. If he only had the ability to smash those nobles into pulp, he wouldn't think twice doing so. These people don't understand an inch of the struggles he and his village endure to live another day while they splurge into the comfort of the strongholds and play around with their resources.

With this experience, he could only imagine himself hating them until his last breath.

Leon's train of thoughts did not travel long as he immediately sensed danger around. He unsheathed his sword from its scabbard at once and jumped towards a young girl who was playing with a few tree branches, scooping her before the snow-covered soil erupted.

A deafening sound of explosion was heard and everyone immediately fled from the area. Most were only able to secure their kids and not the few commodities they managed to save from their homes; which can be considered a real pain since everyone are scantily surviving on few reserves.

"Careful! It's a moon spider!" Leon shouted to his people before he gave the horrified kid he just saved to a villager beside him.

He couldn't help but curse as his eyes focused on the giant monster in front of him. He wasn't expecting to meet a moon spider here, especially because he also made sure that he didn't choose a location that can be its ground. Moon spiders are especially difficult to deal with for fighters like him who are not adept with agility.

These detestable creatures live underground and only come out to hunt, usually during night time when the skies are at its darkest. They are known for their white hair that covers their entire body and legs which also makes them difficult to locate in this snowy field. The average moon spider can grow at 5 meters long, but this one is huge; at about 8 meters which means that this has fully matured.

Leon does not have confidence in tackling this one. What's more, the hunters who are the elites of the group are out to hunt and have not yet returned. Aside from him, there are only about ten fighters left in the group and this number is definitely not enough to fight the moon spider.

"Why is a moon spider here?"

A series of mumble was heard from the rest of the villagers who are frightened on their feet from the moon spider's presence in a distance. A few men took out their swords and aimed at the monster with their grip shaking noticeably. Leon couldn't blame them though as he feels the same, only he could muster his courage since he had superior years of experience in the wilds.

"We don't have a choice against it. We can only fight! The rest, run as fast as you can!" Leon yelled to his people and sprinted towards the moon spider with his sword.

Clenching his jaw, he aimed at its legs and slashed with his might. He couldn't be bothered with the sound of footsteps running away from the place while some followed him to fight. He knew this can be a dead end for him and the other fighters who chose to confront this monster but his sense of duty is more tenacious than the fear in his heart.

He came from a lineage of village chiefs and ever since he was young, he had been shaped to protect his people from harm. Now that they suffered from a storm and lost their home, even having to face this beast that is far stronger than all of them combined, he could only silently accept his fate.

"Chief!" he heard a roar behind him.

It did not take long for Leon to realize that his slash did not hit its legs and instead put him in a dangerous position where his body would be stabbed with the spider's sharp limb. His eyes widen as he looked at the towering and hairy legs bellowing unto him, his life flashing in front of him. He couldn't believe that he wouldn't even last a minute in front of this dreadful monster.

His people are still close and the sobs of the children can still reach his ears from this distance. If he die immediately, the fighters that followed him wouldn't be able to fend against it.

So he definitely cannot die. If he will, at least not this easily!

"You arrogant beast!" Leon roared and held the spider's legs with both of his hands.

His sword fell on the ground with a clang. He gripped its limb and gathered his strength to hurl it along its gigantic body. Surprised and alarmed, the spider was not able to predict his action and was thrown a few meters on the ground while smashing unto trees.

"Attack!" Leon shouted and retrieved his sword to advance again.

His palm was already bloody from gripping the beast's hairy leg that felt like knives. Eleven brave fighters joined the siege against the beast. Blows and grunts could be heard from the two opposing forces as they ganged upon the moon spider despite being disadvantaged.

Everyone knew defeating it is utterly impossible, unless some miracle happen. Only, they hope to injure it enough for it to be scared and leave them alone. That way, they won't have to die and leave their families behind.

The moon spider shrieked and struck with its sharp legs in rage. It must have been distressed with the minor injuries it received from them making it madly retaliate. Thick blood trickled down the white snow and a number of trees that lay dormant in the forest have already fallen from the exchange.

Leon could feel his exhaustion, stabbing his sword on the ground to support his balance.

"Chief! You should run now!" Felix told him while catching his breath.

Leon violently shook his head. "I cannot abandon you here!"

"But —"

"No more! I will fight this beast to death!" he stubbornly said and charged once more.

Leon has long past his prime. At age 64, although he might still retain the strength of a bull that he cultivated for decades, his stamina has already plummeted. Fighting for long will not be beneficial for him but he cannot be burdened by that fact since the current situation does not allow anyone to have second thoughts.

"Chief!" Felix called for him but Leon ignored him.

It wouldn't help to be distracted at this point. If he could just land a fatal blow on this spider's body, dying wouldn't be in vain but it could potentially be impossible. This moon spider's defense is more accurate than its offense. In addition, its body is as hard as rock and venomous as well.

He has already been injured with it when he held its limbs which mean the venom could be travelling in his bloodstream right now. His exhaustion is already over the top and he could hardly catch his breath as he sprinted towards it.

Only, he ended up screeching to halt when the seemingly undefeatable monster in front of them suddenly exploded into minces of meat. Blood splattered many meters in length, even hitting everyone from a distance.

There was utter silence after the moon spider burst. Even Leon couldn't help but gape at the few remains of the monster, completely unbothered with its blood trickling from his hair down to his skin.

"W-What..." he stuttered.

"How... did it..." one of his fighters muttered, surprised and awed to even construct his words properly.

Before anyone could completely absorb the sudden events, the sound of unhurried and careful footsteps was heard from a distance. Everyone turned to the direction and saw a dark-robed man walking towards the direction of the moon spider, his hands behind him while a look of disappointment graces his unappealing face.

"What a waste," the man said before disappearing from his place.

Leon's jaw dropped even more when the man suddenly appeared right beside the bloody remains of the creature, as if carefully inspecting it.

"He's completely destroyed," the newcomer commented, shaking his head before he retrieved a small piece of rock from the remains.

Leon and his fellow's surprise skyrocketed even more.

This man horribly killed this giant with this piece of stone?! What kind of expert is he?!

"I apologize, my lord. I should have held back," the man spoke, expressing regret.

"It's okay."

The bewilderment of these village men did not end as a man's voice, cold and somber, suddenly came out of nowhere. A gushing sound of wind was heard before a mixture of steam and vapour arose beside the dark-robed man and another person appeared.

This time, the newcomer was riding a majestic, white horse.

Leon couldn't take his eye off the man. The first thing he noticed was this person's silver hair that was illustrious, almost like gems that dazzle inside a grotto. He wore an ostentatious, blue robe that seemed to be crafted from a rare material. His boots looked heavy, almost alike what the military wear; only it looked more of a high quality and possibly expensive as well.

His skin was pale, almost resembling the snow. Leon couldn't make out anything of the man's face as half of it was covered with a cloth. Only, when the man turned to their direction, his icy, blue eyes were so sharp that everyone almost wanted to kneel.

"W-We thank t-the lords for killing the b-beast..." Leon expressed his gratitude as he bowed at them.

The rest of his fighters followed suit and thanked the two men as well.

"There is no need. I didn't have it killed for you," the silver-haired man replied indifferently.

"We are still thankful, my lord. W-We would have lost our lives if you didn't," Leon humbly insisted and bowed again.

His heart was beyond relief. He really couldn't imagine what would have happened if these people didn't arrive and took an interest in killing the moon spider. What is more, he was beyond stupefied with the level of power these people possibly possess.

A grown up moon spider was killed just like that with a small stone. Even if Leon wanted to admire the skill that the dark-robed man has shown, he couldn't help but be more curious about the person on the horse. He was referred to as "my lord" by that insanely strong man, which could possibly mean that this person's status is ridiculously high.

"How come a moon spider appeared here?" the dark-robed man asked, slowly taking a few steps towards them.

Trying to calm his erratic heartbeat, Leon replied, "We didn't know as well, benefactor. We were simply camping here when it suddenly appeared from underground."

"Do folks right now have the audacity to camp in forests like this?" the silver-haired man asked; a hint of amusement evident in his voice.

Leon could only cup his fists to explain. "We aren't, my lord! Our village was destroyed by a storm and we weren't allowed inside the stronghold s-so we could only spend the time here!"

"Is that so?"

Leon desperately nodded to express his sincerity.

The man did not say anything for a moment, which only made Leon's heart beat wildly. The rest of his fighters feel the same, as they can definitely feel the ominous and extremely strong energy coming from these people. These kinds of experts are not the type to be trifled with. With this kind of strength, they can roam free in the wilderness if they want to.

Only, with the way they dress, they definitely should belong to a powerful house inside the strongholds.

"Where are your people?" the man asked once again, his tone unchanging.

"I told them to run away from here, m-my lord," he nervously replied.

"Hm."

The man simply nodded and held the reins of his horse to direct it to move. The horse slowly walked away from them but the man in dark robes remained, giving them a smile that made everyone's legs to tremble.

"My lord invites you to his base. It may not be much but it can definitely provide your people shelter for the mean time," he said as he ushered his gloved hand towards the silver-haired man on his horse who was already a few meters away from them.

Leon's mouth pried open. Did this person just say they've been invited in their shelter?!

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