Chapter 14
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Chapter 14: Oath
That thing lifted its head.
It actually didn’t have a head, only a protrusion flashing red light, said to be specially designed by the authorities for this group of big-headed soldiers, with no practical use. Some fools mistook it for a devil and tried to destroy it against orders, ending up being disciplined by military law, and even affecting these more expensive devices than a whole battalion. Such foolish acts were not uncommon, so the equipment department had to change its appearance, claiming it was a mixed-blood hunting dog, a symbol of conquering demonic forces.
Although the sergeant felt that this thing didn’t look anything like a hunting dog, he had to admit it was a good idea. After all, for ordinary soldiers who had never heard of a "machine" in their lives, explaining what a Red Setter is was too much effort.
The Red Setter raised its head, its neck pointing in a direction, its "eyes" glowing bright red. It had undergone a recent upgrade, making its detection range more precise and lower.
In other words, hybrids that look more like humans would also appear on its hunting list.
The upgrade was only a matter of these past two days, and the sergeant had some words about the inappropriate timing. Some time ago, garrisons all over received the task of exterminating the Hybrids. Something must have happened as the sergeant thought it wasn’t necessary for him, a low-ranking officer, to think much about it. He was pleased to have the opportunity to get rid of the cancer on the Angaso wilderness. The camp that housed escapees, hybrids, and all sorts of trash had been a nuisance for officers for a long time. He always thought it was a disgrace for such things to appear in any officer’s residence. But what could be done? Campaigning costs money, and superiors thought it wasn’t profitable to traverse the cold wilderness and battle the weather, terrain, beasts, and those poor outlaws. They hadn’t caused trouble, so turning a blind eye was deemed okay. The sergeant was helpless until new orders were issued.
They were granted permission and enough supplies, so completing the remaining tasks was a piece of cake. They killed some hybrids, burned down the camp, but unfortunately, most residents vanished like rabbits on their heels. The officer had the soldiers hang the heads of the deceased and captives on the flagpole, but those dishonorable vermin had no intention of revenge and none showed up.
The camp was wiped out by the sergeant, but that wasn’t enough. He knew these mixed breeds were like rats, destroying one nest wouldn’t stop them from coming back. Only by killing all the big rats and drowning all the young rats could the rat problem be truly eliminated, stopping these cursed aliens from the abyss from contaminating human space and resources. He led the whole army in pursuit, but at this crucial moment, the higher-ups unexpectedly summoned Red Setter back, saying it was time for an upgrade.
It was a damn good time, they should have returned triumphant with the heads of the escapees captured, but Red Setter’s absence allowed the group to slip away right under their noses. To make matters worse, one squad was completely lost, as if they had vanished into thin air. The sergeant arrived at the signal release point five minutes after receiving the fireworks signal, but there wasn’t even a body there. The ground was empty, except for some bloodstains in certain places.
"We are hunting cannibals, they devoured an entire squad!"
This rumor spread widely in the army, forcing officers to forcefully stop it. The sergeant was unfairly blamed simply because he was closest to the scene at that time, being the first witness. His colleagues looked at him with suspicion, as if he had been mistaken in letting the enemy escape and missing the bodies.
The officer was quite angry, which is why he was here, leading his immediate team in searching the wilderness at three in the morning. That’s why the light of victory shone on him, Red Setter’s eyes suddenly gleaming in the wilderness, announcing the sudden appearance of the enemies who had vanished.
"All troops, move out at full speed!" he exclaimed excitedly.
The chase took less than an hour, and the encounter ended even faster. The dwarves ahead were terrified at the sight of torches, clearly not expecting to be exposed so soon – they had been outside of Red Setter’s search range before. None of them looked not human in the slightest, most likely thinking they were safe.
The tough ones had fallen in the first assault, while the cunning ones understood not to travel in groups. The creatures in front of them were weak and foolish, and the sergeant couldn’t believe they had managed to escape the previous pursuit. He didn’t order the crossbows to fire in unison, saving them for more serious situations, not to be wasted on these people. They took little effort and faced little resistance before easily surrounding all of them.
The soldiers herded the captured prey into a circle, and the officer demanded from these shivering refugees, "Where are your companions?"
No one is speaking.
"Not admitting it? Your accomplices killed brave soldiers, hid you, no one will believe you did it on your own!" The officer scolded harshly, "Confess quickly, I will give you a merciful death!"
He heard a sob, a child started crying. His mother hurriedly covered his mouth, the sergeant ordered to remove that hand. He hoped to hear some confession, but the child just cried, crying until starting to hiccup. It seemed the mother’s action was not out of bravery or loyalty, just fear of attracting their attention with crying.
The sergeant started feeling bored, though it was still summer, the early mornings in the Angaso wilderness were quite cold. He needed to take some prisoners back for severe interrogation, there were enough people here.
He commanded, "Leave ten, kill the rest."
The soldiers drew their weapons.
The surrounded misfits started screaming, becoming very noisy again. Many soldiers had a cruel glint in their eyes, these people working late into the night were all waiting for this, slaughtering Hybrids was always a popular way to let off steam, making people happy and heroes. The sergeant turned blandly towards his horse, uninterested in this noisy feast, just hoping to quickly return and pour himself a drink.
This turn saved his eyes.
The sergeant heard a scream, coming from his soldiers. His head suddenly hurt, as if something cut through his cap and hair, slicing all the way down to his scalp. What weapon was this? "Find cover!" he shouted, hearing the sound of the fierce wind mixed with screams.
The horse galloped away, the sergeant luckily found a tree to hide behind. He pulled out something attacking him from the back of his head, a piece of oak leaf?!
He reluctantly looked back, the neat formation was in disarray, many people were holding their faces and screaming in pain, running around like startled horses. There were no enemies in the distance, but a strong wind brought a large number of sharp-edged tree leaves.
The captives were unharmed, they had just been forced to squat down, besides this group of short people were not as tall as adult men. The wind-blown leaves came very cunningly, just at a height enough to attack the soldiers but able to avoid the short stature of the captives. Some clever short people took the opportunity to escape with their families, the sergeant frowned and loudly ordered the soldiers to lie down.
"Lie down! Shields up!" he shouted, shield-bearers raised their shields in front. Some soldiers who ran blindly were knocked unconscious and fell to the ground, while others reorganized the formation. The leaf blades indeed caused some damage, but not as powerful as a volley of arrows, as long as they concentrated and crouched down, they could evade. They quickly straightened their lines, the sergeant squinted and looked towards where the leaves were coming from, feeling excited once again.
There was a shadow of a large tree, another Hybrid, this time a big one. Such unusual Hybrids were rare these days, its corpse would be sent to the capital for exhibition, earning the sergeant a heavyweight medal for his military career.
"Look! There is a living monster ahead!" he exclaimed loudly, "It’s just a tree, it’s not that powerful! The wind can’t stay this strong forever!"
As if echoing his words, the leaves were indeed not as dense as before.
"Soldiers, are you afraid? We have torches and crossbows in our hands, we are the masters of all beings, the only rulers of Aryan!" the sergeant said, pleased to see the soldiers’ morale rising, "Come on, let’s burn down that monster tree, cut off the dead branches, and chop off all the dwarfs’ heads! For our ancestors and comrades who shed blood for Aryan!"
"For Aryan!"
The soldiers shouted loudly together, some of them holding sharp blades and torches, some raising shields, some bending down as they slowly approached the oak tree.
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Marion jumped up.
She jumped up as if to run away – if she hadn’t turned around and seen the ghost floating beside her, she might have already rushed out of the dungeon. The Worgen girl clenched her teeth tightly, her body tense, clearly entering battle mode.
Tasha could see the ground directly through the watchtower, but to let others see, she had to use a type of magic similar to projection. It consumed a lot of magic power, but it was definitely worth it.
In the projection, Marion saw a massacre about to begin.
She couldn’t stay put at all, wanting to rush over to help, but as she came face to face with the ghost, she realized that her ownership had already belonged to someone else. "Please let me help them!" Marion blurted out, "I beg you, please allow me…"
"Why?" Tasha asked.
"They’re about to be killed! It’s just a matter of time!" Marion kept looking back, "Grandpa Oak’s leaves are running out, he can’t leave now!"
"But, what does it have to do with me?" said Tasha.
Marion’s expression was blank.
"I saved you, welcomed you, let them leave without a word. The first is because of a contract, the second is out of kindness. You should understand that kindness is not unlimited," Tasha said gently. "Since they chose to leave, what does their fate have to do with me? And you, my covenantor, do you plan to change the course of the war by yourself? If you succeed, it does me no good. If you fail, I lose valuable assets, not to mention the cost of healing you. Why should I put you in danger for unrelated beings?"
"I can give you my soul…"
"You have already given it to me, don’t you know?" Tasha looked at her with almost pity in her eyes.
Marion may not know or remember, this poor child had never understood the contract. The Worgen girl was speechless, Tasha could almost hear her mind spinning fast, trying to figure out what bargaining chips she still had, but she had nothing left, just as Tasha expected.
Tasha felt like she was bullying a child, but she was determined to get something.
The last leaf fell down.
Marion took a deep breath, she seemed to have made a decision, yet also looked like she had given up caring. She showed a mix of despair and hope in her eyes, as if a flame was lit in her green eyes, capable of burning everything down.
"If you save them… they will stay, I will persuade them, or watch over them," she said, "You will have my soul and my unwavering loyalty, even if you ask me to strike the Worgen God with a blade, I will not hesitate for a second."
Marion kneeled down, her small sharp knife pierced her hand, completing the highest vow among the Worgen. She breathed quickly, feeling her shoulder slump, heart pounding, now she truly, sold everything to the demon.
She really had nothing left.
"I accept," the ghost said, soft light shining in Marion’s palm, healing the fresh wounds. The demon’s whisper was gentle as an angel, she said, "And I will safeguard you until I turn to dust."