[New Quest - Beast Hunt.
Bands of Beast have been spotted in the Thorns forest near Red Heart City. Over time, these groups could pose a threat to your city. Eliminate them before they stand a chance.
Rewards - +100 Wealth and above (depends on contribution), +10 Nation Points
Penalty - Monster attack may damage your city.]
"Beasts?" His face lit up with excitement.
Finally, the opportunity had presented itself.
~~~~~
Within the Castle's war room. Ryan peeked at those seated across the round table. He the Ruler, the Chancellor, the Head Strategist, and the Defense Commander.
There were guards standing behind them, watching the four of them discuss about their newest predicament.
"Lord Liam" Rictor called the simple clothed fellow on the other end of the table after giving the lad a cold stare.
"How many beasts did your scouts report?"
The Strategist stared back at him before responding, "A broad number of them. Around forty to fifty in some locations, and above a hundred in others."
"That many?!" Berny exclaimed while hitting the table with his fist.
"Sooner or later, we will have to build a watchtower in that location, or else we'll keep getting taken by surprise," He added.
The Chancellor looked at the soldier behind him and motioned him to move. The soldier stopped before the table, and an object thumped against its surface.
Seeing the stroke line in the middle made Ryan remember the teleportation device from before.
But this time, it was an horizontal mark, as opposed to the vertical one from before.
The soldier uttered two indecipherable words, which triggered a bunch of beams that combined to form a faint holographic image.
With time, the beams stabilized, displaying an outline of the city and its closest geographical features, which included the mountains to the south, the forests to the north, and the flatlands to the east and west.
Occasionally, it would glitch, but the full picture would reappear after a while.
Liam rose from his chair, pointing at a deep patch of forest trees positioned at the northwest of the fortified settlement.
Deep Forest, an expansive and wide patch of trees near the Capital city, was filled with strange beasts, elemental creatures, displaced individuals, and many more.
Occasionally, the Ridlockian army would hunt to acquire essence orbs and other materials, which would be transported to other settlements and sold to other nations, generating revenue for the kingdom.
"As per the usual movement, we have to destroy them before they grow into disturbances," Liam informed.
"And that's just one of these spots."
The light in the area he was pointing at dimmed, then a number of red dots appeared inside the forest.
After a while of pointing and talking, five to six spots within the forest were shown with a number of red dots.
"This is quite serious. How did these things appear?" Rictor said, holding his chin as he frowned at the number of identified danger zones.
"It's a wonder how his majesty got out of there alive," Berny commented, taking Ryan aback with his words.
'It seems that this is a relatively new situation to them. Maybe something's causing these beasts to appear around and sow discord?'
"It could be possible that there might be something attracting those numbers to our location," Liam explained.
"Or something that's aiding their numbers," said Berny.
"The thought of either of that is shivering," Rictor shook his head and pressed it against his palm as he sighed.
"Indeed," Liam agreed, rearing his head to look at Ryan, "Nevertheless, I believe it would be great for his majesty to see Ridlockia's army's prowess."
"The experience for many troops as well," Berny said before cracking his knuckles with his fists.
"Night is already approaching. Waiting till dawn might be more cost-efficient as we still are not aware of whether there might be more lurking behind those locations."
"The more reason we should exterminate them before then. What's the chance that those beasts won't go into a rampage and attack?" Berny refuted, "If there are forty to fifty till above a hundred for each band. By tomorrow, the enemy could morph into dangerous numbers and more troops will have to be dispatched for that cause."
"Each band might also contain a rare beast." The Defense Commander added.
To Ryan, who had read the book, Elemental beasts were categorized into the levels of Abnormal, Rare, Lord, General, King, Monarch, and Ancient.
However, the Mastery of their element was limited to the three realms pertaining to core users.
"Tonight, a red moon might appear, especially if it's turning full."
"Calm down, Lord Liam," said Rictor, "A red moon hasn't shown up in centuries. Let's not think too much about what might be a fable."
The Chancellor then dropped a suggestion, "We can send in the Skilled and Trained users to fight, that should keep things at a level in case the army encounters rare beasts."
"I agree, but what does his majesty think about this?" The Defense Commander said, turning the whole table to face Ryan.
Ryan raised his hands and smiled, "I have no objections."
~~~
In the dead of the night, the city gates opened wide as cavalry warriors flooded out of the settlement, their horses' hooves stampeding the grass.
"We return at dawn. Keep your eyes peeled!" Aria shouted, her voice reaching the ears of riders who were behind.
"Yes, Captain!" Those on her side affirmed.
Curious, she checked two other cavalry Captains, both males who, unlike her, said nothing to their crew.
"I wonder how they keep their morale." She thought.
The Council settled on dispatching seven camps, and a hundred and fifty soldiers for each of them. At least three hundred cavalry riders, seven hundred and fifty infantry, along with special forces and archers.
Behind Aria was the King, who checked his side, seeing Ian and Pierre at the back, riding with stoic faces.
Tonight, he could see the true colour of their abilities.
The first group of executioners was launched off into a flatland near the trees by Aria's unit.
"Stay safe," Aria advised as she reined in her horse. The other two cavalry groups had gone in different directions.
"Since we're here, there's nothing to stay safe from." Ryan thought as he watched the riders depart before facing the trees.
Under the moonlight's gaze, the trees looked daunting in appearance, their branches extending through the sky like the limbs of an asura.
He may have chosen the most dangerous zone to enter; nobody knew.
"Dear King. There's a snake underneath you." Ian mumbled from behind.
Ryan flinched for a second but immediately frowned as he looked at the fellow who had run away with a grin.
Before he could say anything, a voice spoke from behind, "Greetings, your highness."
He turned his back, spotting a soldier with a bow, "Who are you?" Ryan immediately queried the man.
"My full name is Bertam, Sir. I am a Field Captain lieutenant for archers in the field." The man responded.
"Oh. Quite a good name."
He swept his gaze to the taller female behind Bertam, who had short hair with a high top and low sides.
'Punk?'
She wielded a poleaxe.
"Who is she?"
"She is Bertha, my older sister. The Infantry Commander for this operation," Bertam answered.
Bertha lowered her head to greet with a grunt.
Before the Ruler could ask any further questions, he heard a loud shout from the front.
The Expedition group moved into the forest with torches in hand. An ominous silence hung in the air. Paranoid, Ryan scanned the shadows, imagining where an attack might strike next.
Up in the trees, springing from bushes, or maybe arrows flying from the sides.
According to Liam, the monsters they were fighting were most likely Abyssal apes. From the description, he certainly knew they weren't just your regular monkeys.
However, Liam had also confirmed that they were easy to kill. It didn't make sense to him, were they gorillas?
'Snap'
A soldier foot accidentally snapped a branch, and his fellow comrades with torches glared at him.
After spending an almost unknown amount of time being cautious, Ryan looked up and spotted the moon. Part of him then understood why Liam wanted them to deal with monsters in the morning.
He, on the other hand, was considering experience, or maybe he shouldn't have, because he was now being a wimp.
Another twig snapped, and the soldiers near the noise turned their lights to see the stupid fellow who had made another mistake.
However, what they saw caused their horrifying screams to alert the others.
Ryan and his crew, not too far off from the screaming region, were about to move before a heavy thud mixed with the noise of snapping twigs echoed from behind.
That day, he finally knew why Abyssal was put in front of their name.