God-Forsaken Land.
Under the moonlight, this barren land was far from peaceful tonight.
Flames soared into the sky from a rare oasis in the desert.
Simple tents resembling yurts were gradually being reduced to ashes in the raging fire.
The corpses of beastkin lay scattered everywhere.
Under the scorching heat, the blood emitted a foul, sickening stench.
Their green skin gradually charred black under the roasting flames.
Amidst the sea of fire, two beastkin—one old, one young—were fleeing.
The young beastkin, his face covered in blood and grime, was filled with terror. He allowed himself to be dragged toward the edge of the oasis by the elderly beastkin like a walking corpse.
Roars and screams echoed behind them from time to time.
Those were the roars, growls, wails, and desperate struggles of his clansmen!
He couldn't help but look back, only to see a one-sided slaughter.
The elderly beastkin were killed on the spot, the young were captured, and those who resisted became ghosts beneath the swords.
They were just a group of pitiful people living in this wild, barren land.
They only wanted to live a peaceful life.
Why did these cruel people have to treat them this way?
They had clearly brought out their best food to entertain these merchants who had come from afar.
“Why! Our lives are already so difficult, so why must these people do this to us?”
“Is this the punishment of the gods?”
“If... if only I could become a powerful class-holder, if only I could obtain power, I would definitely change all of this!”
The young beastkin roared in his heart, but it was nothing more than powerless rage.
Facing these powerful class-holders, they could only flee in panic.
Unlike the humans who lived in comfortable environments,
these beastkin lived in this desolate desert. Even with hard work every day, it was difficult for them to even eat their fill,
let alone become powerful class-holders.
Thud.
While the young beastkin's mind raced, the old beastkin took a misstep and fell to the ground,
dragging the youth down with him.
“Ow...”
Clutching his waist, the old beastkin couldn't get up for a long time, only able to groan in pain.
“Grandpa, Grandpa, are you okay?”
The young beastkin quickly scrambled up and tried to help the old man, but he was pushed away.
“Cezar, leave me! Run!”
“No, Grandpa! We're leaving together!”
The young beastkin named Cezar wanted to help him up again, but the old beastkin roared:
“Run! Or neither of us will make it!!!”
Stunned by the shout, the boy hesitated for a moment. Then, gritting his teeth, he turned and ran forward as fast as his legs could carry him.
Tears welled from the corners of his eyes, falling into the wind and dampening the dry yellow sand.
Not long after he left, a series of hurried footsteps approached.
Several humans had caught up.
They surrounded the fallen old beastkin.
These people wore airtight iron armor covered in thick, sticky blood, making them look like iron cans.
They were armed to the teeth.
In their hands, they held spears, swords and shields, or broadswords gripped with both hands.
Leading the group was a very handsome blond man.
After seeing the beastkin collapsed on the ground, he clicked his tongue in displeasure.
“How is there only an old geezer left? No one would even want this kind of junk as a slave.”
“Boss Dane, I just saw a young beastkin running that way,” a subordinate nearby pointed in a direction.
“Huh? Then why aren't you chasing him! Letting him escape is a loss of my gold coins!” the blond man named Dane barked angrily.
“Understood, Boss. I'm on it.”
The subordinate quickly called over a few men, preparing to give chase.
However, the old beastkin grabbed Dane's ankle and cried out:
“You can't do this! We are compatriots!”
“Who's your compatriot!”
Dane kicked the old beastkin square in the face, knocking him backward.
He then drew the longsword from his waist, gripped it with both hands, and plunged it downward.
Squelch!
The blade easily pierced the frail body, and a stream of blood spilled uncontrollably from the old beastkin's mouth.
In his final moments, he reached out weakly, trying to grasp onto something.
Only to be met with another stab.
Squelch.
Releasing his grip on the sword, Dane pulled a white handkerchief from his storage ring and wiped the blood splattered on his hands with disgust.
“Tch, what a bunch of filthy, barbaric creatures.”
He turned his gaze to the others.
“What are you standing around for? Go chase him down!”
“Yes, Boss!”
With that, the hurried sound of footsteps echoed fitfully across the yellow sand.
...
Cezar stumbled and ran blindly.
His eyes were already flooded with tears, blurring the path ahead.
Just as he was about to climb a sand dune, Cezar's heart suddenly throbbed with a sharp pain.
It felt as if something incredibly precious had been lost forever.
Looking back under the bright desert moonlight, the path he had come from suddenly seemed so unfamiliar.
Only the raging fire burning in the distance proved that was indeed where he had come from.
Cezar suddenly rushed back like a madman.
But he ignored the fluid sand beneath his feet.
Like a tumbleweed, he rolled down the steep sand dune.
Tears mixed with sand, coating his entire face.
It was painful and agonizing, but it was not even a fraction of the pain in his heart.
Clang!
Cezar's body slammed into a pair of iron boots, forcing him to a sudden halt.
“Oho, look what we have here? A pile of fresh gold coins delivering itself right to us.”
The owner of the iron boots grabbed Cezar by his beast-hide clothing and hoisted him up.
By the moonlight, Cezar saw that this was a bearded human man.
Behind him followed a group of humans clad in iron armor.
They were laughing boisterously, as if they had just heard a hilarious joke.
“What did you do to my grandpa!” Cezar gritted his teeth and demanded.
“What did we do?” The bearded man turned to his companions and mocked, “He's asking what we did to that old green-skin!”
“Hahaha...”
The crowd burst into uproarious laughter, as if they had heard yet another hilarious joke.
Seeing the young beastkin's glare grow increasingly hostile, the bearded man pretended to be frightened, clearing his throat with a couple of coughs.
He said with a straight face, “We didn't do anything to him.”
“Is... is that so?” Cezar let out a long sigh of relief.
He had thought...
But the bearded man's next words made Cezar's heart nearly stop beating.
“But our boss killed him. Haha...”
Paying no heed to Cezar's stunned expression and vacant stare, the bearded man continued:
“You should have seen it, he died such a miserable death, calling out your name right until the very end!”
He said, putting on an exaggeratedly dramatic face.
“I... I... I'll kill you!!!!”
Cezar reached out like a madman and grabbed the bearded man's hair.
Before the other party could react, Cezar bit down hard on his ear.
“Aaaaaah!”
Screaming in pain, the bearded man threw Cezar away, clutching his bleeding ear as he cursed furiously,
“Fuck! You little beast! You're dead!!”
“Pah!”
Crashing onto the sandy ground, Cezar spat out the half of the ear in his mouth.
With a gaze that seemed ready to ignite, he glared fixedly at the large man charging at him with a broadsword raised.
Rate on N.U.
