FLESH EATING MONSTERS

CHAPTER EIGHT FIVE

Yuan is standing with his back against a roomful of people. These people are the Enforcers of the entire Baojin City.

Baojin City has three towns and each town have three or four representatives.

Agantuk Town has two sitting Marshals, a Head Deputy and Deputy in Command.

Chryses Town, where the East Garrison Military Fort is located, has one sitting Marshal, a Head Deputy and Deputy in Command.

Eurig Town has no Marshal in attendance. Their Marshal Zhou Shan's location is unknown to them. Sitting are the Head Deputy, Deputy in Command and a Deputy.

Including Yuan as the City Head Marshal and Chief Marshal Liu Shou, there were twelve people in the room.

And currently, the room is surrounded by an uncomfortable silence as they waited for Head Yu to speak.

They are all intimidated by Yuan's formidable aura. An aura that's so menacing that they can't help but feel jumpy.

Some are even getting nervous and agitated that they are in the verge of flight, wanting to escape from the ominous air crowding the room.

But Head Yu has been standing for awhile now and he is not saying anything!

Yuan sighed.

When Yuan suddenly let out a long sigh, they can all feel their hair stood up on ends and goosebumps ran all over their body!

What does Head Yu's sigh mean?!!!

They can all see their bewildered expressions reflected on each other's faces.

When Yuan turned from the window and calmly took his seat, they all shrunk their necks reflexively in response.

Yuan inclined his head towards Liu Shou.

Liu Shou cleared his throat.

"There have been thirty seven severe cases of mangled bodies reported by the Military of East Garisson. It was one of the military expedition teams who incidentally found these hollowed out bodies. It looks like the bodies were shredded by sharp claws and teeth. Some bodies were almost torn into mangled parts. And on all these thirty seven cases, one thing is common. All their organs has been removed. The stomach has been hollowed out."

Aside from Yuan, Chief Liu and Marshal Han, everyone's eyes widen with fear.

"One third of the victims were soldiers. All the rest were civilians. The military is unsure where these civilians belong to. The bodies were unrecognizable and further identification, if not impossible, would be very difficult. To prevent unnecessary panic, the Military has been investigating this case first. This is the first time this has been formally released and it was directly given to Head Yu."

"Where were the bodies found?"

Chief Liu Shou glanced at Yuan.

This Expedition Team was sent out to search for the whereabouts of the kidnapped General.

But what they found out instead was the hollowed out bodies hidden in a plain but discreet place in Barûk.

Well, these monsters are getting smarter. But not smart enough.

Maybe they were very confident that their disposal area was safe and really hidden.

They were not careful and meticulous enough in covering their traces. Not careful enough in hiding the dead bodies.

Their dumping ground is indeed hidden if no one is intentionally looking for it.

But the Military is searching for all these hidden places. Looking for their kidnapped General.

And the monster's hidden site is not hidden anymore. Their secret has been discovered.

The expedition team has unknowingly found the monster's disposal ground. An inconspicuous abandoned house.

When they went in to investigate, there were traces of flesh and dried out blood on the walls. The Military followed the foul smell and traced them down to the cellar.

They saw the shovels.

Seeing the obvious signs, the Military enclosed the area and started digging.

The Military then found a group of dead bodies.

Some were already stiff, rotten and foul. But a few some were fresh and a few days old.

They also found out that some bodies were almost torn apart into shreds! Its unrecognizable.

On some body parts, worms were already feasting on them. But on all these torn bodies, one thing is common.

The organs were all taken out.

The Military thought these mangled bodies were all citizens of Barûk, the Barbarians.

After all, they found these bodies under Barûk territory.

Gathering the mutilated bodies, the Military were alarmed.

They found two different shreds of Military uniforms.

One is the same as theirs, the military uniform of Yingshan.

The other is the distinct military uniform of the country Gyffes.

The dead bodies of both Yingshan and Gyffes soldiers were buried together. How did the Gyffes soldiers get dragged to Barûk?

So they had to do an investigation.

These bodies maybe found in Barûk but how can they blame the Barbarians?

Only flesh eating monsters eat body organs.

And the organs are missing on all of the dead bodies.

Then they all counted the number of heads.

If not for the number of heads, how would they be able to know how many dead bodies there were?

That's when they found out.

There are a total of thirty seven hollowed out bodies.

Liu Shou sighed.

"The Military Expedition team found these bodies in an abandoned house in Barûk."

Each and everyone has solemn expressions on their faces. The room this time is eerie silent as everyone was lost in each of their own thoughts.

Yuan gave them time to completely recognize the severity of this case.

"Head Yu." A Marshal called out.

"This...this is not a likely case of those flesh eating monsters from Never Ever Forest, is it?"

Everyone gasp!

"How could that be! The shields are up!" One Marshal rebuked vehemently. But his voice is not convincing enough as it was obviously trembling.

"They maybe called flesh eating monsters but everybody knows! We all know! They don't eat flesh, these monsters eat body organs!"

"It could also be the Barbarians who did this atrocity! The bodies after all were found in their territory."

"But these Barbarians only eat flesh! Not organs! Was there any reported cases of Barbarian attack since Head Yu became the City Head Marshal?! There is none! We are the only city directly connected to Barûk. So where did the Barbarians get all these civilians if they haven't invaded us?! These hollowed out bodies, it's not done by them."

"I wouldn't take it pass these Barbarians to use their own people as experiments!" One muttered.

"Yes. Since the Barbarians cannot plunder our people, who knows if these Barbarians use their own people for whatever purpose they might be scheming."

"What purpose could the Barbarians have if they only take out the body organs?"

Silence.

"Guhya Village is nearest Never Ever. But that village hasn't reported any cases where the body is hollowed out. So it shouldn't be those monsters of Never Ever."

"That's the truth. It should be the Barbarians who did this terrible act. The loss of organs...this should just be a coincidence?"

Hearing nothing else from the Marshals and their companions, Yuan spoke.

"One of the results from East Garrison's investigation is that, on the west side of Never Ever, there is no shield. And these flesh eating monsters have already crossed Antigone River."

Silence

"Since the country Gyffes is across Antigone River, their country has been busy fighting with these monsters already."

The Marshals stood up in horror.

So its not the Barbarians?!!

"How....how did these monsters cross Antigone River and be able to crawl out from it?! That river is full of poison and river beasts!"

"These monsters must be much stronger and more resourceful than before. Or else, how can they cross the River of Death?!"

"It has only been thirty years. Just thirty years! And they are here again!" One Deputy Commander spattered.

"History shouldn't be repeated. Those terrible days shouldn't be repeated. They shouldn't be allowed to settle here again! Or its going to be a disaster. I don't want to see mangled hollowed out bodies like cabbages on the streets anymore." Marshal Qing Zhu closed his eyes and whispered.

"I have witnessed how one monster has torn apart a limb from a body. The woman was still alive. Struggling, shouting in pain. The monster just sat down, held the struggling woman on his lap and forcefully pressed down the woman's upper body. The monster was so strong. His nails were black and sharp as he dug through layers upon layers of skin. Until the woman's stomach was seen. The shocking thing was, the woman was still shouting. Being opened like that. The woman was still alive. I was seven then. I will never forget how I hid myself while swallowing my vomit as the monster gobbled the organs with relish. The woman. My mother. On her last breath, she looked at where she hid me. Tears still streaming down her face while smiling at me for the last time, assurance and love in her eyes."

Silence.

"These monsters will separate our families from us. These monsters only leave a trail of death and destruction in their wake. Let's not allow these abhorrent creatures to come into our city!"

They all looked at Marshal Qing Zhu with tears in their eyes. Qing Zhu together with Han Lan are the Marshals in Agantuk Town.

Indeed, all the people here knows Marshal Qing Zhu's tragedy. The tragedy happened even before Head Yu was born.

And the mother of Marshal Qing Zhu is not the only victim. There are many people who shared the same tragedy.

Everyday, there would be mangled, hollowed out bodies discarded in the streets. And would always be followed by shrill cries of grief and anger echoing in every villages of every single town.

And the worse cases of dead bodies were always from Agantuk Town.

This Agantuk Town is the nearest town from Never Ever with Guhya Village as the entry point.

From Agantuk town, deaths would then follow to the other two towns. And everyday is a day of terror and fear.

A nightmare to all people of Baojin City.

True, Baojin City is rich in resources and mines, but every single town has always been deserted and hauntingly quiet.

Until.

The marriage between the Hidden Tribe and the Emperor was negotiated.

People from Baojin City were laughing and crying at the same time.

They shed tears of joy and liberation.

They are saved!

As dowry, the magical Hidden Tribe put up a shield against these monsters from Never Ever.

And that was thirty years ago.

"These monsters will cross our country too from Gyffes!" A Marshal panicked.

"His Majesty already ordered the Military of West Garrison to assist Gyffes in annihilating these monsters."

"The reason why I'm calling you all here is to discuss about the precautionary and safety measures that needs to be immediately implemented to all the villages of your jurisdiction."

"Regardless if its the Barbarians or these flesh eating monsters, these measures have to be implemented as soon as we can. First, all the people in our City must have distinguished Identification Cards. The Identification Card must have the owner's name, the town and village he belongs to and the name of their Village Head."

"Second, we need to have a check point in all possible places of entry. You need to have a record book that keeps information on all of the people who comes in and out from your town of jurisdiction. If there are new faces in town, investigate it right away."

"These are my two critical measures. I need you all to consult each other on how to get these two critical measures done. As for any other regulations you wish to add, you need to discuss the particulars amongst yourselves."

"If this case is done by these flesh eating monsters, I don't need to emphasize how terrible these monsters are. They are good in hiding themselves. If one or two of them infiltrates your town, they might find a way to bring all the others in. And it would be the end for your entire town."

"Because this is a mining city, one town has a population range of 6000 to 8000. The heads of these more than 6000 citizens are in your hands."

Silence.

"Then gentlemen, I will leave you all to your deliberations." Yuan lazily looked at each of these people's faces then stood up to leave.

When Yuan left and went to his private workplace, he walked to the shelf and poured himself a drink from the wine flask.

He stood there silently, absent mindedly.

"Shilu."

All of a sudden, Yuan's shadow contorted and a black mass skittered out from it.

The black mass separated a few steps away from Yuan and was slowly gaining height up until Yuan's knees.

"Sire."

"Check on the shields of Never Ever." Yuan ordered softly.

After a moment, he added.

"Ask someone to investigate Feifei's past. I want to know why his magic is bound."

"Go."

At Yuan's command, the black mass became a puddle, slithered to the shadows and was gone.

Yuan desperately wanted to unbind Feifei's magic. Most especially now with this looming threat.

But the magic is too potent, to huge. There must be a reason why it was binded.

Yuan drank all the wine in his cup in one shot.

Others can all die.

But death should stay far away from his Feifei.

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NOTES

YINGSHAN KINGDOM is a country at the center.

West is GYFFES, a military country.

East is BARÛK, a barbarian country.

North is NEVER EVER FOREST, flesh eater territory.

ANTIGONE RIVER, a river between Never Ever Forest and Gyffes.

Across the seas, that will be introduced at a very latter part of the story.

HIDDEN TRIBE IS HIDDEN. (^__>)