Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

Chapter 66  Exterminating the Hunting Teams

The battle came to a swift conclusion, lasting only a few minutes. Henry's side emerged unscathed and untouched by the enemy's attacks, suffering not a single loss. It was a one-sided massacre, with the enemy unable to pose any real challenge, a display of their dominance. This result could be credited to multiple factors, but the most important ones were time, surprise, and teamwork, which made the army move like a sharp arrow that easily pierced through the enemy's lines.

Henry understood that the surprise element would only work once. He knew that the next time Luak's soldiers left the camp to go hunting, they would be much more prepared to face off the dangers. With this in mind, Henry decided to make the most of this timing, he had already mapped out and memorized the location of the six teams that left the campsite.

"Move!" – Henry swiftly led his soldiers to charge towards their next prey, leaving the enemy's lifeless bodies on the cold ground as evidence of their strength and presence on this land.

The sound of their footsteps was being muffled by the never-ending snow under their feet as they navigated through the grey trees with easy while maintaining the formation. The enemy's positions clearly etched in Henry's mind guided their path, ensuring the maximum efficiency of the plan.

It didn't take long before another of Luak's hunting groups appeared in front of Henry's death squad. The muffling snow coupled with the soldier's silent march, enabled them to successfully get closer to the enemies without drawing their attention, a crucial part of the plan, since they couldn't allow them to run away. Henry's piercing eyes gleamed with killing intent as he swiftly assessed the surroundings, identifying that those were the only opposing soldiers. Furthermore, he was able to clearly distinguish the easiest path to destroy their will to fight and any potential struggle. Everything was fine.

"Charge!"- Henry's booming command reverberated, drawing the attention of Luak's hunting team, who immediately surveyed the surroundings, trying to identify the source of the voice. The king led the charge, being the first one to appear from behind the trees, his figure turning into a blur as he charged towards the first victim. At that moment, a hideous black wave seemed to flood the horizon, as a horde of bandits came out from behind the trees, sprinting towards Luak's soldiers. "Bandits! Bandits! Bandits!" –They screamed as they unconsciously took a step back, their hands and knees trembling.

These people were mostly farmers and normal hunters who lived in the countryside of Luak. They had no experience and no training in wielding weapons, while also being extremely unprepared to face off the dangers of the war. Furthermore, bandits were also a great plague in their communities, which made them even more fearful. They understood the nature of bandits more than the soldiers themselves. There were no experienced captain or soldiers to lead a counterattack, since all of them were back in the campsite.

Henry carved a path on the snow, moving with great precision and speed, his every motion exuding a deep killing intent, akin to a volcano eruption. He had already discarded those naïve ideals from his time on Earth, understanding that in this unforgiving realm there was no room for half-measures. If he couldn't control his enemies, he had to extinguish their lives, fully eradicate them. There was no space for mercy. It was either him or them.

With decisiveness, Henry kicked the ground and swung his sword. Lika a bold of lighting, his sword arced through the air with blinding speed, leaving his first prey without a chance to raise his own weapon in defense. He could only watch in disbelief as the gleaming sword slashed at him, its lethal edge making his sword spin, severing his head. Henry didn't stop, his movements resembling a fluid and lethal symphony as he transitioned from one foe to the other, smearing his sword in blood as he left a pile of corpses behind him. His sword danced through this slaughterhouse, killing his enemies with unparalleled skill, like a whirlwind.

Those enemies who successfully disappeared from his view, Henry left to his capable squad as he pressed forwards. With enough between each killing, Henry cast a brief glance backwards, analyzing the actions and the individual skill of his team, with the most eye-catching people being Leier, Zahra and Grok, who easily overpowered their enemies.

Leier's daggers danced in her hands as she delivered precise and swift attacks, leaving her enemies unable to react. She seamlessly blended with the surroundings for a brief moment, creating enough space for her blurring blades to pierce the hearts and slice the throats of her enemies. With each motion, a lifeless body fell to the ground, making her look like the silent harbinger of death.

Beside her, Zahra sprinted forward, unleashing a barrage of arrows upon the enemies, which seemed to defy the gravity and soar through the air, successfully finding the hearts of the enemies. She easily moved through the snowy battlefield, jumping over the falling bodies as she ended one life after the other.

On the other hand, Grok seemed to have regained his confidence as the battlefield reignited his barbarian blood. He activated his Tribal Tattoo and directly closed in the lines of enemies, not caring about their attacks. He swung his axe with explosive brutality, cutting off his enemies' limps with a single and powerful attack that seemed to make the air tremble. There was no elegance or finesse, only pure savagery.

The rest of the team moved as a pack of wolves, teaming up and rapidly finishing the enemies, not leaving them enough room to breath or stage a counterattack. They swiftly killed their enemies and when a single strike proved to be insufficient, they left it for the next team members to finish the job. They only had to rapidly incapacitate the foe and then get to the next one. They were a testament to the wrath and pride of Stahl.

Again, the battle was concluded without a single casualty on Henry's side, a true massacre that left a trail of blood. However, amidst the aftermath, one survivor desperately fled the battlefield, stumbling repeatedly. He struggled to dodge the vines on the ground and maintain his balance on the snowy terrain. A ghastly injure was on his back.

Grok, unable to contain his sadistic tendencies, was about to give chase, eager to witness the man's reaction. He wanted to see how fast such a man could run. However, a calm voice swiftly halted his actions as a piercing gaze landed on him. "Stop! We are proceeding to the next target."- Henry commanded, bringing the barbarian to the present importance of the mission. Timing was an essential tool for this mission, he couldn't allow the barbarian to indulge himself in such a foolish action.

"Move!" Henry bellowed, leading his team forward in pursuit of their next victims.

It took only an hour for Luak's other teams to face the same fate. They were incapable of posing a genuine threat, being swiftly eliminated, without a sound being leaker to warn the others.

-x-

Zuna had hurried to the scene upon receiving word of a bandits' attack on her hunting team. She stood in the middle of the forest, analyzing the gruesome aftermath of the battle. There were no bodies of enemies, meaning that they were extremely strong. The footsteps on the snow were rapidly being covered by the gentle falling snow, making it impossible to count their number.

"Damn!" – She cursed and as she was about to give orders, a desperate and scared scream reverberated through the forest.

"Demons! They're demons! This land is cursed!" A bleeding man emerged from behind a tree, while trying to stop the flow of blood from his arm with his remaining hand. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

At the sight of Zuna and her team, the man didn't hesitate and continued running. The image of a figure clad in black, swinging a sword and leaving a trail of blood and human's head, haunted his mind. He didn't want to stay here. He wanted to go back home. Driven by this desire, he kept running.

"Get him!" - Zuna's command reached the few soldiers and captain behind her, who swiftly moved into action and took down the man, forcing him to stay still.

Zuna had to understand their numbers and everything that happened to her hunting teams. After losing them, she would have to probably mobilize more and new soldiers, which would result in delays on her plans. It would only get dangerous.

There were even a few rumors that Aritreia had already organized their armies and was about to enter Stahl's territory, aiming at the Cold Iron Mines and to exterminate her life and the position occupied by Luak. Zuna knew that she couldn't count on Henry's help, since there were not sufficient soldiers in that dumb man's hand. She had to speed up things. Zuna had to understand their numbers and everything that happened to her hunting teams. After losing them, she would have to probably mobilize more and new soldiers, which would result in delays on her plans. It would only get dangerous.

There were even a few rumors that Aritreia had already organized their armies and was about to enter Stahl's territory, aiming at the Cold Iron Mines and to exterminate her life and the position occupied by Luak. Zuna knew that she couldn't count on Henry's help, since there were not sufficient soldiers in that dumb man's hand. She had to speed up things.