The Sword of The Past: 4 (Patreon)

No time to rest

Bread, butter, salt, ham, eggs, cheese, that all it took to make a magnificent sandwich to fill me with energy to continue training. So after my lunch, I picked the stone sword again. Lifting it above my head and let it fall in a straight line downward. I repeated it a dozen more times before my arms, shoulders, and back strained too much.

For two weeks, I did the same. It started to show results. My arms became definitely stronger than before. I learned how to control my origin energy with the Saint’s teachings to strengthen and harden my muscles.

‘Good, now you can at least handle the sword.’

‘You call that handling? Hah, every kid could do the same. This isn’t even basics.’

The Heavenly Demon’s words were true. I could only swing it in one direction. Any man or woman with a little training would be able to dodge it. But I was still happy because I didn’t need to fight humans. The best job is to hunt a beast as a hunter, and they aren’t that smart. A beast would charge at you from the front without thinking, and I could take care of it easily with this sword.

Everything just went right these past two weeks. Markus has left hor a job, so I was left alone. I had money to spend on myself. Even training had become fun when I started to see improvement in my body. But nothing good can last forever. After buying myself a set of armor, I wasn’t left with much money, so I needed to do some jobs.

Still, I didn’t feel an urgency as before. It felt relieving to do as you wanted, even if it was only for a little time. But now, I needed to get back to work. This time I didn’t take something dangerous or risky. A simple job of hunting some savage beast was just fine with me.

To make sure that the roads are safe, the association encourages hunters to hunt any noticed beast. The Iron town isn’t far from the Endless forest where countless beasts reside. There were dozen or so forts that stood between the Iron town and the Endless forest. Still, many beasts manage to wander near the town.

I took this kind of job many times. The most common beasts are iron wolves and fire foxes. They make the most trouble for people around Iron town. Taking the job of hunting a pack of Iron wolves was fine with me. And seven thousand orens was good enough reward for me.

…

While traveling toward the village that had requested the job of hunting Iron wolves, I noticed how good camping equipment I bought was. The backpack fitted a whole tent and sleeping back in it. The campfire kit was so convenient that I could light a fire in mere minutes. Then there was the stove. It was never easier to boil water and cook something.

Tomorrow I would reach the little farmer village and start the hunt. But before I could go to sleep for tonight, I had to do some exercises. Hundred push-ups with the stone sword on my back, two hundred sit-ups, and so on. There was no time to rest if I wanted to get freedom back and pay back what I owned.

…

Once I reached the village, I could see unease in people. No children were playing outside, and all farmers had pitchforks with themselves. They probably wanted to protect themselves. It was understandable.

“Sir, are you are the hunter who came to help us?”

One of the villagers asked after seeing me. I was wearing a mail shirt with iron gauntlets and hardened leather pants with iron boots. On my back was a stone greatsword that definitely no ordinary man would have. So it wasn’t hard to notice me.

“Yes, where should I go to get more information about the wolves?”

“The elder is the one you are looking for, sir. I can lead you to him.”

“Very well, then let’s go.”

The man who led me was called Willis. He told me what he knew about the wolves. From what Willis has said, it seems that the wolves moved in packs. They would break in the barns at night and, after taking a sheep or a cow, would drag them into the darkness of the night. He has not seen the wolves himself, but it is hard not to know what is going on in this kind of small village.

Willis led me two stories houses in the center of the village and told me that the elder lived there. After knocking on the door, I was greeted by my middle-aged lady with a kind smile. After explaining who I was, she let me into the house. The elder I was looking for was sitting by a fireplace; next to him was a middle-aged man.

“So you are the hunter the association sends us? You don’t look like a capable one.”

“Father, please, he’s there to help.”

“Help? What a brat like him can do?”

“Association doesn’t send anyone. The hunters came of their own volition. I am the best you will get, for the reward you offered. To tell the truth, it is a job for a party. Still, no party would move for this little of reward, so you will have me, or you can wait till you don’t have any more livestock to offer to the wolves, and they then start going in your homes seeking food.”

I didn’t care how people looked at me, but that didn’t mean that I would just let anyone talk down on me. After explaining the situation, the elder let his son do the talking. Ivar was more pleasant to speak with than his father.

“There are at least seven wolves. They move together. At first, we tried to hunt them ourselves, but arrows just bounced off their hide. We were lucky that they had no interest in us.”

“I see. From which direction do the wolves come from?”

“From north-west, as far as we could tell.”

“Has anyone tried to track their dwelling?”

“No, nobody was brave enough to follow them.”

“At which time do they usually appear?”

“Before midnight, at midnight, they are gone. We hear the howling before they come.”

“And do they come in every night?”

“No, every third night.”

“When was the last time they attacked?”

“The day before yesterday.”

“So they most likely will come tomorrow?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I see, so I have time to prepare.”

I had by this time most of the information I needed. It would be reckless to fight the wolves straightforwardly. I needed a plan. I thought about how to trap the wolves in the barn or something along these lines. Then the elder spoke again.

“What with that sword? Are you really going to hunt the Iron wolves with a stone sword?”

“There is a reason that they are called Iron wolves. Even a steel sword wouldn’t be able to make a cut on them. It is better to use a blunt weapon. So there is no problem with my sword. Now, I want to know where I will rest for tonight.”

“We have an extra room for you prepared.”

The middle-aged lady told me and led me into the room. She even brought some food for me to eat as I looked around the room. I noticed that it was in use not a long time ago. The dresser even had some clothes inside.

“To whom this room belonged?”

“It was my son’s before he decided to leave for an army, a foolish boy. But with the sightings of a group of undead moving around, and now Iron wolves attacking, it feels like he chose right to leave.”

I wouldn’t say that joining the army was a smart move. The army didn’t provide any benefits for people joining. The only thing they had going for them was that talented men who had achieved great feats could become honorary nobles.

I personally didn’t like being ordered around, so I never even thought of joining an army. They were better organizations to join, as the Association of Hunters or mercenary guild. If you are talented with magic, the Sky Palace is always looking for new magicians. The army isn’t appealing for anyone else who isn’t a patriot.

…

The following day I explored the little village. I looked around the surrounding area, questioned other villages if they saw something or knew anything about the wolves. As the evening fell, I started to prepare my trap.

With the permission of the elder, I took a cow and tied it in the barn. I made a cut on the cow so the blood would attract the wolves. It was better to fight the wolves in an enclosed area, where they wouldn’t move easily.

Still, it wasn’t enough, so I took the planks from the barn’s floor and dug a hole. I made wooden spikes and placed them in the hole, covering the hole with hay afterward. There were only two weaknesses of Iron wolf. Its snout was like any other wolf’s or dog’s, and its belly wasn’t protected by the hide hard as iron.

‘Why are you preparing so much? Just fight them and be done with it.’

“I prepared because I don’t want to die. I am not strong enough, Heavenly Demon.”

‘Don’t listen to him, son. He knew fighting in his life and nothing else. For every battle, you should prepare yourself and what you are doing is commendable.’

“If only you could be that nice, Heavenly Demon.”

‘In the times when I lived, being nice would result in my death.’

“Aren’t you basically dead anyway?”

‘Think what you want, but I have the hights of power where no mortal could kill me.’

“Yeah, yeah. Well, it doesn’t matter to me as long as you keep quiet.”

After a little chat with my companions, I climbed above the barn’s entrance and waited. It didn’t take long, as soon enough, I heard the howling of the wolves. There wasn’t even time for me to take a short rest.

I heard the snarling before I heard their footsteps. One, two, three, and then the rest of the wolves leaped inside the barn. I held my breath. I believed that they hadn’t smelled me because of the overpowering smell of blood. But it didn’t mean that they couldn’t hear me.

At first, the wolves were vigilant, looking at the bound cow. They gave it a sniff and then moved forward. Three wolves moved for the cow simultaneously, and all these three fell to the trap. Even if they didn’t die, they couldn’t get out of there.

Before the rest of the wolves could comprehend what happened, I jumped on the one who was farthest away from the cow. The wolf didn’t let out a sound before the stone sword crushed its head. With this one dead, there were three left to take care of.

Before I could raise my sword, one of the wolves leaped at me. Using origin energy to strengthen my arm, I let it bite me. Once the wolf had his teeth in my arm, I slammed it to the ground. I blocked the second one with the stone sword before pushing the sword’s tip into the belly of the one who bit me.

Two wolves were left. Both of them snarled at me, but only one was preparing to attack me. The other one was looking way out. I lifted the stone sword above my head and waited. The wolf seeing me open launched itself at me. With a swift swing, I crushed its head.

Before I could prepare for another swing, the last wolf jumped to my side and started to run for the exit. With all my strength, I swung the stone sword and hit its legs. The wolf stumbled but still ran away.

I chased it. The wolf didn’t run fast with its injured leg, so I could keep up with it. After about ten minutes of running, I was led to a small cavern. The wolf turned to me and snarled. This was probably their habitation.

I was pretty tired, from that short fight to running. Now I had little of my strength left. Still, I needed to finish it. Letting go of the prey isn’t something that a hunter would do. Using my origin energy, I strengthened my arms and rushed at the wolf.

The wolf seeing no way out, jumped at me. With the weight of the stone sword, I pushed it to the ground. It snarled at me and tried to bite, but I quickly drove my dagger to its belly and ended its suffering.

After the fight was over, I stood up and cleaned the blood on me. Now I only needed to finish the one impaled in the hole under the barn, and it will be over. But as I started to walk back, I heard a yip from behind me. With curiosity winning over me, I went to investigate.

It was a pup, still having its eyes closed. Looking at it for a moment, I seized it and put my dagger to its neck. I held the dagger to its neck for a couple of moments, but I couldn’t do it. It still had its eyes closed.

There wasn’t a reason for me to kill it, but if I just left it alone, the pup wouldn’t survive anyway. There wasn’t a difference between ending it now or letting nature take care of it. As it yipped at me, I just let out a sigh.

‘What the holdup, just kill it already.’

‘I have to agree on this one with the Heavenly Demon. If you leave it alone, it will die or grow to attack others.’

‘Wait, I changed my mind. Leave the pup alone. What kind of a monster are you to kill an innocent life like this.’

“There isn’t another choice. I will have to take it with me.”

‘If that what you think is the right thing to do.’

‘No, let it grow to attack others.’

I didn’t listen to the Heavenly Demon and lifted the pup closer to my eyes. It was weird that he was the only pup, but the mother probably had complications. That would explain why the pack stayed in one place for this long. Now it was up to me, who killed the pup’s whole family, to take care of it.

“Your name will be Guts because my guts say that I shouldn’t kill you.”

The pup yipped at me and walked back to the barn with Guts in my hand. It was a good thing that the pup still had its eyes closed. I wouldn’t want for it to see me killing more of its family. What kind of messed up situation I was.