Hunting (Ch.10)

~ Hunting is now to most of us a game, whose relish seems based upon some mystic remembrance, in the blood of ancient days when to hunter as well as hunted, it was a matter of life and death.~

-Will Durant

I raised a fist to halt my army, even as I steered Reo to a slow trot, we had been riding for 21 days now, only stopping for short meal breaks and a little rest, in those 21 days of riding, we had received four messenger birds from fort Argon reporting of four attacks from the bandits, our soldiers fought well but their casualties were rising steadily, they needed back up as soon as possible, it was why we were going at such a stressful pace, but I could see my soldiers were getting tired, I couldn't keep pushing them, they'd need to be in full strength to fight, we had left civilization completely after five days of riding, we took the forest routes created specially for moving an army,so we didn't interfere with the citizens of the villages, towns or fortresses on the way.

"We can't keep going on like this, this General can see your fatigue, we need to rest, there's a large clearing within the forest north of here, set up camp, we'll take a two day break from riding." I told them, and I could hear sighs of relief as they began dismounting their beasts, the captains led their units towards the direction I had given them while my Generals gathered around me.

"I do not know if I am the only one tired of dried food, I need real food." I complained to them and they laughed, they were my most trusted men, with them I could relax and be myself.

"The forest west of here has much life, we should be able to have a good hunt, Caid has been itching for a kill." Bjorn said, referring to his level 8 black bear, Reo growled in agreement and I chuckled, nodding for Bjorn to lead the way, he grinned even as Caid charged of in a fast pace, how he could maintain his balance on the carefree beast, I didn't know. I chuckled before Reo darted after Caid, the rest of my Generals and their beasts close behind.

Arriving to the area he spoke off, I gave the order to spread out.

"Let your beasts have their fill, we meet back at camp in four hours." I ordered, they bowed in acceptance of my order before riding off in different directions, all except Ryuu who always stayed at my side.

Reo moved quietly through the forest, heading towards the deepest parts,the heart of the thick forest, his paws barely making a sound as he moved, his ears twitched ever so often showing his predator instincts had taken over, he came to a halt suddenly and I grinned as I caught sight of two extremely fat looking white deers, the exact ones he knew I preferred, the oblivious animals were busy grazing, not even taking notice of the grinning warrior atop a deadly huge tiger some distance from them, Ryuu also came to a halt besides me, the spotted skin of his leopard Dran immediately changing hues to blend in with the greenery around us, this attribute in his beast never ceased to amaze me, much to Reo's displeasure...he was one jealous tiger.

I grabbed my bow from it's holster, pulling out two arrows and positioning them, I drew the string back, tilting my hand slightly as I aimed for the deers head, I let go and both arrows flew to both of the deers, lodging their selves deeply into the space right between their eyes, the eyes of the deers widened but they were unable to let out even a sound as they died instantly.

"Go have fun Ryuu, Dran looks displeased, I shall await you right here... I have Reo with me." I assured him and he pondered for a bit before nodding and riding off with Dran.

I got off Reo's back, heading to a huge tree, I stepped back slightly, gathering my internal energy before leaping up from branch to branch, once at the top, I sat on a branch, leaning my head against the tree and shutting my eyes, I didn't see the point in hunting some more when those two deers was more than enough for me and about a hundred men, if not more, the deers were that large, there was no need to kill more than what was necessary for our sustenance, besides the presence of our beasts would ensure that forest life here would be severely depleted before the two days stop was over.

"Go have your fill Reo." I instructed, chuckling as the impatient tiger darted off, I watched from the tall tree as Reo ferociously tore into a wild pig, ripping out it's innards, I rolled my eyes at the grotesque sight, even as he dragged the carcass of the animal behind him till he got back to where I was, laying down at the base of the tree as he munched on his kill, I shut my eyes deciding to catch some much needed sleep as I awaited my Kaitsja.

My eyes fluttered open at the sound of silent footsteps, I caught sight of Ryuu pulling the dead white deers to strap them to Reo, a huge wild boar with Ryuu's arrow lodged in it's head was strapped to Dran who lazily licked his bloodied paws, his maws were bloodied as well and his tongue flicked out to clean himself.

I jumped down from the tree, landing in a crouch even as Ryuu finished his work, I looked up to the sky, measuring the position of the sun, there was still an hour left out of the four hours I had given my Generals, I moved away from Reo, deciding a walk back would do my aching muscles some good, riding so much for almost a month took its toll on the thigh muscles, I wasn't worried about predators being attracted to our kill, there wasn't a predator daring enough to take a chance with a level 10 blue winged tiger King.

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I nodded at my Generals, rolling my eyes at the number of kills they had returned with, it seemed the azure elite would be having a feast tonight, there was already a huge fire at the center of the clearing, atop which a wild pig was being roasted, Bjorn moved to retrieve my kills and Ryuu's before taking them to be skinned.

I moved to my tent, Annia was already within setting things up properly, she bowed to me as I entered. I took off my sword holster bearing my favourite twin katana ice blades which was my weapon of choice, they were a gift from my honored father made from enchanted Ice from the ice mountains, the blades would never melt and they were the perfect weapons to channel my destructive Ice energy, I placed it along with the other weapons on my body on my table, I took off my outer combat clothing, leaving on the form fitting inner clothing before taking a seat before my table, studying the map laid out on it, the tent was an enchanted one, as such, once dismantled it folded itself into a box with everything within, and would still possess them whenever it was put up again.

Reo lazily strolled in, letting out a yawn that showed his blood caked canines, I frowned at the sight, requesting for a wet rag and a brush from Annia, she brought it to me and I took my time polishing my tiger's canines to their former glittering glory, and cleaning up his bloodied fur before brushing them down, by the time I was done, the lazy beast was fast asleep and I smiled adoringly as I stroked his fur, my love for my beast was a well known fact and thankfully the love was reciprocated.

I turned my attention back to the map laid out before me, moving a land mark to the point we were, studying the distance from the capital of Dragra to the point we where currently located, our tireless efforts had proven fruitful, we had covered impressive distance and would be able to complete our journey on the scheduled time or even sooner, my only fear was how fort Argon would fare till our arrival.

"Do you think they will be able to last?" Aquila who had entered with Ryuu behind me asked, I sighed as her question mirrored what I already had in mind.

"In all honesty... I do not know minu usaldus, I cannot predict the force of the bandits, for mere bandits they seem too precise and skilled, I do not know what to think as of yet... I can only have faith in the warriors of Argon, they are warriors of Dalagh and warriors of Dalagh do not fall so easily." I replied in a firm tone and she nodded in agreement to my words.

I reached for the fourth message sent by the presiding general of fort Argon, going through it once again, I couldn't hope we arrived before the next attack, we still had to travel for at least a month, the reality of the situation was quite depressing, however it couldn't be helped.

"General, it is Bjorn." A voice called from outside my tent.

"Come in." I replied, granting him the permission he sought, he came in with Svend at his side.

"Your meal is prepared, we hoped you would join us by the bonfire for a little while, Bjorn has finally agreed to delight us with a tale from the northern plains, join us...Yes?." Svend asked hopefully, I smiled, nodding in acceptance as I stood to my feet and grabbed a coat, pulling it over myself.

"It will be quite a tale, I would not miss it for anything." I replied, chuckling at Bjorn's embarrassed expression, the huge man was originally from the northern plains of the north continent, a place I had only ever heard of in tales, Arauth was also a northern man, their huge build was a tell tale sign of their ancestry.

I followed them out to the bonfire, the warriors all stood up and bowed in acknowledgement of my presence, I gave them a nod before taking a seat on the furs set out over the logs for me, I rolled my eyes at their pampering when I noticed only my part of the log had a heap of furs laid out, I didn't say anything though, instead taking a seat and awaiting the start of Bjorn's tale.