Chapter 47

Chapter 47

The group had run into trouble while escorting the family of three back to the community. Drew's aerial scouts alerted him before they came across it thankfully. They had time to prepare, but even with that advantage, it was still shocking. It turned out that the wild hogs in the area were much more difficult to defeat now that they'd mutated into beasts. There was only one of them, but it was enough to make the group hesitate slightly before attacking it. For one, it was the size of a small car, and two, it had another set of tusks and a layer of pointed spines across its spine. What had once been considered a dangerous pest in the area, was now a major threat due to The System.

Seeing any animal the size of a sedan. was enough to make someone look at it with awe and caution, and that was before The System. They could definitely take it down, there was no question about that. No, it was more of a question of how many injuries would they sustain in the process, and how something so large was so close to their home base. Jon stayed with the family to protect them from any wandering critters as the rest of the group advanced to the enemy. They came upon it as it was rummaging through the ditches on the side of the road, likely looking for roots, tubers, and other sources of food.

Drew took the initiative and cast [Corrupting Contagion] as soon as he saw it. Chances were high that the oversized hog would notice the group quickly, and he didn't want to lose the chance to stack several of his abilities before it had a chance to react to his group. He quickly followed up with [Agony], and then began to cast [Death Toll]. The second damage over time spell swiftly went to work, and the beast's attention was no longer on finding food, but on figuring out why it was suddenly starting to feel pain. It cast its head about looking for the source of the new feeling and spotted Drew's group right as a screaming skull came flying towards it.

The skull tore into the hog's side before exploding in a firework show, and the beast squealed in pain and fury. Whatever The System had done to the animal, it had far tougher skin now, as the [Death Toll] only took out a sizeable chunk of flesh rather than completely killing the critter. But Drew did not have time to consider any further ramifications and the beast charged the group. Drew readied his sword and dodge-rolled off the side just in time. For something so large, it was fast. Very fast. He took advantage of the hog continuing past him and swung the sword to hamstring its back left leg.

He felt the blade slice through the tough flesh like it wasn't even there, but that was only due to his immense strength and the quality of the weapon in question. The next time the beast went to put pressure on the injured leg, its body couldn't balance and it fell to the ground squealing loudly. The ground shook slightly as the creature hit the road and continued to slide while struggling to get back up. Kyle and Jez were already on the pig by the time Drew made it there, and Daniel was not far behind.

"It’s got some kind of regeneration!" Jez yelled to the group.

"What!?" Drew yelled back, having trouble hearing his companion over the movements of the pig.

"It's healing fast!" Jez replied.

"That's because you're poking it with a stick!" Kyle said to Jez.

It was able to heal wounds that quickly? That was not good news, the thing was the size of a small Toyota, with tough skin, and now it could heal fast. It was going to be a race against time. Drew plunged his sword into the creature's back, trying to sever its spine. The weapon slid easily through the flesh, but it hit the bone like a brick wall. Fuck. This was not going to be easy. He was barely able to retrieve his weapon before the hog stood back up, its back leg already looking visibly better. Black spots had begun to show up on its body, but they were growing very, very slowly. His corruption spell was having difficulty due to the pig's regen. Not good.

The beast threw its head from side to side, and Drew felt the impact from being hit. He flew backwards and hit a nearby tree, snapping it in half like it was a twig. The force of the impact caused Drew to cough up blood, and it took a moment for him to gather his bearings. That one hit had taken out almost a quarter of his health! His finger shot forth as he ran to reengage the beast, and a skull went screaming towards his target. If he couldn't cut through the spine, he'd try to blow it away! Another explosion rocked the pig as the skill exploded, taking another large chunk of its flesh in the process. But it failed to penetrate the spine. Damnit.

Time to try something else.

"Jez! Try to get its lungs or heart between the ribs with your spear!" Drew called out.

His group was busy dodging the creature's attacks, it was so big, his companions were having to use a lot of their energy to avoid getting hit just due to the sheer distances involved.

"I'll try mate! The thing is going bloody batshit bananas!" His companion yelled back.

Drew reapplied both damage over time spells as he went to hamstring the beast again. With its attention focused on the other three people at the moment, Drew was able to get to both left legs and slice them up before hauling ass out of the way as the pig collapsed to the ground. He circled around to the other side and did the same thing to the remaining legs. Hopefully that would buy them some time. Its legs were kicking and its body was squirming on the road, but it was unable to find a purchase due to the condition of its legs. Drew ran back around to the back and began to spam [Death Toll] at the same part of the spine he had injured previously.

The damage over time abilities were working, but only enough to prevent the beast from healing its other wounds. Jez and Kyle climbed atop the beast, with Jez thrusting his spear in between the pig's ribs, trying to pierce its lungs or heart. Kyle was busy launching into a full-blown attack with his axe, hefting and smashing down his axe near the stomach region, most likely in an attempt to disembowel it. Through Drew's mental connection, he could feel Daniel interrupting any attempt from the beast to heal its legs, he dodged deftly between the kicking extremities and shredded them to ribbons each time it looked like the healing was going to overcome the damage.

Drew threw skulls until a three-foot section of spinal area was left without any nearby flesh. It wasn't normal bone, that was for sure, because the skulls were doing very little damage to the bone itself. He was the highest level out of everyone at his property. He had, in his opinion, very powerful titles and an almost over-powered profession, and yet he still couldn't do fuck all about the bone. He switched up strategies again, it was time to try one of his newer abilities.

He activated his [Baleful Strike], and brought the sword down upon the spinal cord again. A ghostly apparition that mirrored his own sword formed, hovering in mid-air. The moment he struck the spinal column, the mirror swiftly followed suit. While he was still unable to power past the toughened bone, the mirrored strike certainly had an effect. The ghostly blade slide through everything, the bone, and all the meat laying behind it, and as the mirrored blade pulled back, it dragged a small fog-like cloud with it. The cloud was sucked up via his main blade and funneled to the lantern at his hip. The pig went apeshit the moment the cloud was pulled from it, squealing in more pain than either corruption or agony had caused it thus far.

If he couldn't destroy the bone and prevent its movements, the next best thing was to rely on his teammates while he continued using his new skill. Drew sent out a mental command to Scolder, who he had kept in reserves and scouting nearby for signs of any more combatants. The coyote came leaping in from the forest to attack the pig's ass. The more damage he could put on the beast, the better. He needed to overwhelm its regen, while slowly tearing apart its soul.

The mirrored blade went to work, copying his every attack, with each strike slowly tearing apart the creature's soul and funneling it to his lantern. Regen was able to heal a lot of injuries, and very quickly at times, but it couldn't do jack-shit for healing a soul, nor could it keep up with the body slowing starting to fall apart from the stress of soul loss. The pig eventually stilled as the damage accumulated, but Drew continued striking it. A threat this big couldn't be allowed to live, even as an empty shell, as it would become a source of experience for something else out in the wilds.

Eventually, he landed a final strike and his notification icon lit up. The mirror blade pulled back, with the last piece of its soul squealing as it was torn from the body, before being sucked into his sword and finally pulled into the lantern. The lantern itself lit up, a blue flame now in place and tiny blue flakes began pulling together to form the creature's soul.

You have slain [Neo Daeodon (Grade - E)] - lvl 27
Experience earned

No wonder they had such a hard time killing the fucking thing, it was an E Grade beast! To top that, it was even higher level than he was... just how many other beasts and monsters had that thing killed to level up and evolve in such a short amount of time? Or, did The System start it off near E Grade to begin with? Better yet, how did it even have a soul for him to damage and tear apart? He would need to ask The Lady at some point.

Drew sent out an acknowledgement to Jon to bring the family to the main group now that the danger had passed, and sent Scolder back out into the woods to continue scouting for anymore unwelcome guests. Actually... wouldn't an oversized murder pig be an excellent form of defense? Hmmm, yes, yes it would. Drew began the ritual to raise the beast as a construct. He was going to leave the flesh as it was. It would end up smelling, but since he was raising it immediately, it should reduce the effect greatly.

The family of three made it to the main group before Drew had finished with his ritual, and the soulflames filled them in on the fight and their future ally. The father was left gaping as the undead slowly stood up, and his daughter cowered behind him.

"Your wife can ride our new friend back if she'd like." Drew offered casually.

"No...no thank you..." She replied.

"Suit yourself." Drew shrugged.

The pig lowered itself and Drew climbed atop it as the group proceeded back to the community. Hmmm, something this big and scary deserved a name... but what to name it? It was a wild pig... it was massively oversized... it wasn't good looking at all... and it probably ate everything in sight. That kinda sounded like his ex...ohhhhh. Bingo! Its name would now be Stevie! Amber would get a kick out of that. He chuckled to himself while riding the giant hog into town. Yes, it was a perfect name in every respect, it even looked like her a bit! Fourteen years later, and one would expect Drew to have matured enough to not automatically think of his ex-girlfriend when riding a pig, but one would be very, very wrong.

In fact, it was even better than his ex now that he thought about it. It wouldn't eat all his food since it was dead, he wouldn't have to sleep with it... shiver, and unlike his ex, this pig would be a useful member of society! He never claimed to be perfect, him being a bit petty and immature wouldn't be the end of the world.

He rode that pig onto his property, head held high. It was still one hundred percent better than riding a stupid Dicken. He eventually dismounted, having had his fun, and walked the family to the outdoor cooking area to show them to the food. He had already sent a crow ahead of the group to fetch a healer when they'd been making their way back, so one of them was standing by to take the mother off her husband's hands and set immediately to work healing the wounded leg.

"You're certain that you're okay with us staying here?" The father asked.

"As long as you're not a dick, and you contribute around here then I have no issues at all." Drew replied casually.

The man shoveled food in his mouth like it was the first hot meal he'd had in weeks. The daughter followed suit, barely paying attention to the conversation or her surroundings.

"And... what do you mean by contribute exactly?" The man asked cautiously.

"Everyone pitches in around here in their own way. I do not know what class you have, or if you've picked up a profession yet, but there's always work to be done. Houses need to be built, a new field needs to be plowed and seeded, and then tended to, then there's security and hunting parties. We also have craftsmen who are just beginning their professions. A couple are blacksmiths who oversee making tools, constructions materials, armor, and weapons. We have a leatherworker who is starting to produce saddles for mounts and lighter weight armor, we have a fletcher working with the blacksmith to make arrows. Oh, and a couple of alchemists who are working on trying to create health potions right now."

"Interesting... and these hunting parties and the security forces... what exactly do they do?"

"Well, the first thing they do is train. You can see we have a large training field off that way. We all just finished a three-week boot camp. Then they go out and level and kill monsters and beasts. Any usable meat or materials are brought back to be processed. They also scavenge the nearby houses and farms for equipment, food, clothing, and toys for the kiddos. Once they've leveled up enough, it’s pretty much their choice on what they do. Some stay here and protect the non-combatants as they work, staying in those watchtowers, or the lighthouse over there. Others continue to go out and hunt together to become stronger."

"What about people?" The man asked slowly.

"People? I just told you what all the people do. Are you feeling alright, should I call for another healer?" Drew asked.

"Uh... no, I mean... what do you do when you find other people?"

"Ohhhhh. We usually leave them alone, but offer them a place to stay should they desire it. But it's been several weeks since we've found anyone. This far out, not many folks survived when the original hordes of monsters came."

"So... you don't kill them?" He said in a low voice.

"The people? No, we've only had one incident with some troublemakers that refused to leave the property. Why would we kill them?"

"What...uh, happened with the trouble makers?"

"Ah, I told them they weren't welcome here, and two of them pulled out their guns and tried to shoot me."

"Yet, you're still standing here."

"Yes, yes I am. They were around eighteen or nineteen years-old, and it was the first or second day of The Descent. They had modern rifles that wouldn't work anymore."

"Were they killed?"

"Yup. They intended to end my life because I wouldn't let them stay here. Both of them pulled the trigger and the guns clicked."

"I see. So, you're the only one who has ended a human life here?"

"Yup. It wasn't fun, and not something I'm keen to do again, but it wasn't something I could abide or forgive. Knowing my luck, it would come back to bite me in the ass down the line, or possibly endanger the other people living here. Why do you ask?"

"The town..."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"The council... they started killing people. For experience." He answered grimly.

"They took Ms. Fluffy!" The daughter practically screamed.

The father nodded his head.

"Uhhhhh... what?" Drew asked, visibly confused.

"When shit hit the fan, they gathered everyone up for security. They had town meetings to make plans. Then the monsters came. Oversized and mutated animals. Small green men with weapons, walking lizards that wore clothing. They swarmed the town, killing many people. They broke into houses, and dragged people out before murdering them. We all fought back, most of us had guns that still worked, revolvers, lever actions, that sort of stuff. We pushed the monsters back, but the damage had been done."

Drew nodded as he listened to the man's story.

"That's when everything changed. We tore down some of the old buildings and abandoned homes, we created barricades to limit access to the town. We kept the older folks and kids in the center of town, as the adults patrolled and went out to hunt. The council came to us, and many other families. They wanted our pets. Our dogs, our cats, even the rabbits and guinea pigs. They said it was a necessary sacrifice to ensure the safety and security of the town."

Drew felt a rock hit the pit of his stomach as he continued to listen.

"They took them, and used them for experience points to level people up. Those of us who refused... we were beaten, and my daughter lost her best friend. An Australian shepherd puppy we'd just gotten her before all hell broke loose. We never saw her again..."

The father had tears in his eyes as he recalled the events of the last several weeks, and his daughter was crying next to him, sobbing quietly into her father’s arms as he held her tightly.

"I see." Drew said.

Drew could not find the words to say anything else.

"Then...then people started to go missing. A couple at first, an elderly person here or there. Then a couple more. People began asking questions, the security forces didn't seem to be investigating the disappearances, and the council gave us the run around on how they were looking into it. That's when the old people were left alone, and the people that had been asking questions and voicing concerns slowly started disappearing. Meanwhile, every time people saw the council members, they had gained more levels. More levels than anyone else, yet without completing more patrols or hunts than anyone else. It was just one or two levels at first, but then it was five, and then ten."

This...this did not sound good.

"All the people who had been vocal about the missing people, anyone who complained about the lack of response from the council or security forces, they simply vanished without a trace. I took my family, and we ran. We snuck out at night, and slowly made our way to where you found us. We ran into a hunting party... they killed my elderly mother for refusing to go back to town. We managed to escape, but not before my wife took a sledgehammer to the leg. I killed that son of a bitch that hurt her and killed my mom, and we ran like hell. I carried my wife. Those little green bastards attacked the hunting party and distracted them, and that's the only reason we're still alive."

Drew looked at the man, and his crying daughter who was shaking as her father finished the story. Drew would not stand for this. Killing pets... that was bad, wrong. The pit of his stomach lurched to hear how they killed their family friends... but killing people too? For experience? Because they voiced concerns? Those people weren't even human anymore. They were worse than the monsters and beasts. Beasts did everything on instinct, and the monsters spawned in from high mana concentrations and were wild. People though? People had to make a conscious decision.

"Are there any innocents left?" Drew asked slowly, with a low voice in an attempt to control his rage.

The man nodded his head.

"Yes. There are many families left. But we couldn't... I could not risk... I didn't tell them that we were leaving. I could not put my family at risk by anyone else knowing. A larger group, it would have been too noticeable. I was afraid we... I thought we might get hunted down and killed if we were in a slower moving and larger group."

"I see. You made the right call." Drew said.

Drew sat there, letting his emotions and thoughts brew as he processed the information he had been given. The father eventually wiped his tears, and those of his daughter and tried to coax her into eating more of the meat and bread leftovers. There were innocents still left in town, and they were being slowly killed for experience... the council and the town militia obviously knew about it, and were either staying quiet to keep their heads low, or were guilty partners in the crimes. Meanwhile, the town was being kept under lock and key by people that were a major threat. Murderers, power-hungry murderers.

What would happen once all the dissenters and innocents were killed? Would they be satisfied with killing monsters and beasts, or... or would they start scouting other towns and areas for survivors? Even worse, they had hunting parties out right now. Hunting parties that were more than willing to kill other humans for no reason other than experience. Wait... he had hunting parties out right now too...

"Thank you for your time. Enjoy the food, and take the time to look around. Your family will be safe here, at least from other people. Ask around to find the shelter, or anything you might need. I must take my leave, please excuse me." Drew said.

He stood from the table where they had been sitting and swiftly went to the lighthouse to find the security guard working there. He climbed the stairs to the top of the tower and found the man circling the top while watching the watchtowers.

"Sir!" The man saluted.

"How many times do I have to tell ya'll. I'm not a general, you don't need to salute me."

"Right."

"Lower the purple flag. From this moment on, we are on lockdown. No one leaves the community, even in a group. When people get back, double the guards on the towers, and those near the non-combatants."

"Yes Sir! Are we expecting an attack, Sir?"

"I hope not. I just got back from rescuing some people that were stranded in the woods. The nearby town has been killing pets and people for experience points. Let all the other guards know. No one from the town is to be welcomed here without my express permission. Understood?"

"Yes... Sir."

Drew left the man standing there, and sent out commands to the nearby crows. They were to find all his hunting parties, and alert him once they found them. The rest of the crows were sent out to a wide-area search pattern to look for any and all beasts, monsters, and any humans not from the community.