Chapter 7 - Deore Village

Slowly, the sound of galloping approached, coming from the darkness that stretched across the dirt road ahead. At that moment, the only light that seemed to exist in the world was the huge silver moon in the sky.

The wind whipping Drake's face, the sound of his cape rustling with the movement, gave him a sense of freedom. A smile spread across his face as he commanded Blackie to speed up his run.

"YAH!"

"HIIINH"

Blackie whinnied as he responded, speeding up his movement. Allowing his wild spirit to run wild.

A little time had passed since he left the castle, around 30 minutes. The Crimson Castle was in a remote area, at the closest point to the border with the Demonic Continent. There were no towns or passers-by nearby, making the dirt road and surrounding plains distract from view.

It was quite a sight. The grassy plains glistened as the moonlight glinted off its dew, while the darkness of night seemed to engulf the world around them.

Drake was heading towards Deore village. They were a people who lived relatively isolated from the world, only appearing in society when they needed to. Recently they sent a request for reinforcement to the Crimson castle, they also sent a request to Viburg, the nearest town, but they still didn't get any answers.

The people of Deore could be considered barbarians, everyone who was born in Deore became warriors from an early age, but with their efforts misplaced over generations. Caused your community to be a bit behind on mana.

From the reports Dante received. The strongest warriors in Deore should be in the Intermediate Knight position, who can manifest and maintain aura throughout their entire body.

Absurd as it is, Dante thought it a good idea to send his son Drake to slayer training alone.

Drake suspected there was more to this expedition, he felt Dante had left out a lot of information about the monsters, but the mystery excited him.

The time has passed.

Taking small breaks and slowing down periodically, soon, the sun showed itself on the horizon, starting the dawn.

Drake had taken a few detours along the dirt roads as outlined on the map. Until in his current vision, small trees passed in a blur in the corner of his vision. In the distance a dense forest could be seen.

Currently on the road, there was the wreckage of carriages and dried blood, which expanded in various directions. Drake commanded Blackie to slow down as he followed the only road in front of him.

Looking in a certain direction, there was smoke. Drake again commanded Blackie to accelerate and get close to the location.

Thick trees surrounded the entire length of the road, making its surroundings slightly shady. There was a faint scent of blood, but it appeared to be dry, making Drake think he was late.

Commanding Blackie to enter through the trees, soon, his vision found a large wood fire. There were few people around them, but they all exuded an air of experienced warriors.

Drake commanded Blackie to slow down.

Upon hearing the sound of the horse's hooves, the warriors put their hands on their weapons as they looked in the direction of the sound.

Drake and Blackie's figures emerged from the shadows created by the trees, Drake's hood had long since fallen from the pressure of the wind. Showing his childish features, which contrasted with his eyes that showed an unusual ferocity.

" Who are you! "

One of the barbarians shouted, thrusting his spear at Drake.

Drake reached into his pocket, pulling out a red medallion. The medallion contained red fierce traits, resembling a demon, carrying an oppressive air.

" Drake Crimson, I came at the request of backup " Drake replied calmly.

"We call for reinforcements and they send us a child? " One of the barbarians proclaimed.

Many murmurs began among the barbarians, who showed disbelief towards Drake.

"Very well, calm down" A gruff voice rang out from among the barbarians.

A strong man showed himself, he appeared to be around 50 years old, he was over 1 meter and 90 centimeters tall, his hair was slightly gray and short, his light brown eyes showed the confidence that only a born warrior had.

By his posture, he appeared to be a superior.

He approached Drake and spoke.

"Nice to meet you young Drake, I am Kaesir, leader of the Deore people" his voice sounded confident.

Drake descended from Blackie, then stood in front of Kaesir, raising his head and looking into Kaesir's eyes, Drake said.

"Pleasure Sir Kaesir"

Nodding his head, Kaesir said.

"Young Drake, are you aware of why you are here?" Kaesir looked suspiciously as he asked.

"If it's about the monster horde, then yes" Drake said with a thoughtful expression.

Kaesir's hopes crumbled at the sight of Drake's relaxed posture.

'Whatever, at least the Crimson answered our call' Kaesir thought.

" Take care of his horse " Kaesir Said to a member of his group and continued.

" Very well, follow me, I'll explain the situation on the way " Kaesir said.

Drake nodded and soon began to follow Kaesir.

"For 7 days we have been suffering from attacks by hordes of goblins, they try to surprise us at any time of the day" Kaesir said as he continued.

" We suffered the last attack 2 days ago, we are still dealing with the damage and burning the bodies of those who died " Kaesir said as he looked at the bonfire with regret.

In the bonfire, there were charred bodies, both people and monsters.

The monsters were small, about 80 cm to 1 meter tall, their skin was slightly drawn in a green hue. Their features were grotesque, teeth and pointed nails could be seen from their charred bodies. His yellow eyes, even dead, showed the ferocity of a being with no empathy.

The appearance of these beings surprised Drake, it was the first time he saw beings so different, even in two worlds.

The surprise on Drake's face made Kaesir feel even more depressed, but he didn't show any reactions.

As they walked towards what appeared to be a large wall, made of wooden stakes. Kaesir was talking to Drake.

" Drake, mind telling me your rank? " Kaesir said.

"Nah, I'm currently bone tempered" Drake replied nonchalantly.

The expression on Kaesir's face froze, he felt like screaming towards the heavens. As crazy as the Crimsons were, they didn't do things without meaning. Putting the thoughts to the back of your mind. Kaesir continued to walk.

The walls of Deore village were in sight, the wooden stakes approximately 5 meters high, with a large massive wooden gate. There were two wooden towers, containing archers, beside the gate.

The archers whispered something and soon, the gate opened.

His vision was filled with small wooden houses, people transited through the small streets that interconnected through the small village. The village had around 300 people, making it relatively small.

Kaesir walked in accompanied by Drake, some guards eyed Drake suspiciously, but being in Kaesir's presence showed that he was no ordinary person.

" You must be tired from the trip, we have a spare room in my house, you can stay there if you want " Kaesir said as he walked.

"Fine," Drake replied, looking around with interest.

Soon they arrived at Kaesir's house. It was a house big enough to accommodate 10 people, maybe 5 if it were the barbarians...

Kaesir approached the door and opened it. The interior was quite ordinary. The living room contained a fireplace, a table with chairs and some decorations around.

He screamed.

"Honey, we have a visitor"

A delicious aroma of food came from a room that appeared to be the kitchen, from which a lady came out. By her appearance she appeared to be in her 40s, she had slightly tanned skin, long dark hair and brown eyes, she was very pretty.

She came walking until she was next to Kaesir and ignored him. Looking at Drake she smiled and said.

"Where did you get that handsome boy from?" She said, on her way almost squeezing Drake's cheeks.

" Take it easy, he's a Crimson " Kaesir said sighing.

The lady's hands that had been pinching Drake's cheeks froze, carefully removing his hands, she said.

"I'm sorry sir" She said with a crooked smile.

Drake didn't know how to react when she pinched his cheeks, but he didn't hate the feeling.

"Don't worry, it wasn't so bad" Drake's voice rang out as a slight smile formed on his face.

"I'm Drake Crimson, I came here for backup" Drake said.

"Nice to meet you young master, my name is Fenn" She said, with a composed manner.

" Please, leave the formalities aside, just call me Drake " Drake said trying to not sound unfriendly as possible.

Fenn smiled to see Drake trying to appear as sociable, but looking carefully, she noticed that Drake's eyes held a look that no longer belonged on a child.

Fenn went back inside, talking with Kaesir.

"Breakfast will be ready soon, Frey should be finishing her training by now, go get her" She told Kaesir like a commander giving orders to a soldier.

Drake smiled watching their interaction.

Kaesir walked towards the exit with a downcast gaze. Seeing Drake standing next to the door, he asked.

"Drake, I'm going to get my daughter, do you want to accompany me?"

It had been 24 hours since Drake had been awake, but even so, curiosity overcame tiredness.

" Sure, let's go " Drake replied, slightly excited to be able to observe this different culture.