Chapter 1

Pulled from the river, the young fighter Talos struggled to breathe. Weak in body, mind, and soul, visions of recent events flashed through his mind. He remembered the battle against the Demonlord army, his comrades falling one by one before the invading army, and the deafening power of the Demon General whose name he never learned. A snake-like demon with multiple arms flung him off the cliff with a swing of her blade. The last thing he remembered was falling off the cliff, unable to save his comrades, his village, or his wife. All of it blurred into the depths of the water as he sank into the river.

“Grandfather, he is alive!”

“Praise the Goddess, another soul can be saved. Hurry, child. Bring him aboard the wagon”

Talos was lifted onto the wagon by the young boy and his grandfather. Opening his weak eyes, he saw the raging river carrying many dead bodies that floated downstream. He wallowed in despair as he came to realize that everything he knew and loved was gone. The grandfather and grandson silently headed for the refugee camp. Their search continued along the dark path illuminated only by the shine of the moon along the dirt road.

Many people who had evacuated from the borderlands had headed for the refugee camp as war engulfed the kingdom. The militia, formed from ragtag groups of adventurers, struggled to keep order and tend the casualties. The grandfather led his wagon that was pulled by a horse to an isolated corner to rest for the night.

“Thank you for saving me.”

“We were only doing what is right in these turmoil times. Rest up young lad, we all need this rest”

As dawn broke, Talos awoke to the morning light. His body was still sore from the injuries he sustained the previous night. He noticed that he was bandaged during his sleep to tend to his wounds. The injuries slowed him but it did not prevent him from moving around despite the protest from the healers. Feeling a bit of gratitude, Talos offered to go hunt for some meat, as many were busy tending to the wounded.

“How will you hunt without a weapon?” the young child pondered.

“My weapons are my fists.” He flexed his fists proudly to show off to the boy.

“Mister, are you strong?”

“Strong enough to hunt a few beasts. I should go now or else I will be too famished to hunt even a hare.” Getting up, Talos jumped on the wagons and made his way through the crowd on top of the wagons.

“That’s amazing”

“That lad…”

Soon enough he came back asking for their help with the wagon to carry back the beast he had hunted. They arrived with the wagon an hour later only to be surprised by the beast that was hunted by Talos. The sight of the boar on the ground surprised the grandfather enough that he stumbled backward. It wasn’t only the boar that Talos hunted but also a few fawns and fowls.

“Looks like the camp will have some good news this morning,” the grandfather said, stroking his beard. “Though I doubt my little wagon can carry this much back”

“We will figure something out,” Zeek said, feeling accomplished.

He hauled the animals onto the wagon and pushed from behind to support the weight. The camp was amazed by the boar and the other animals that were hunted for the camp. They were delighted since food was becoming a problem but at least the meat could last until aid arrived. They would still ration the meat where possible to conserve the amount of meat but not have it spoiled. Soup with small chunks of meat and wild vegetables was served to everyone to warm their weathered bodies.

Around the campfire, Talos learned about the war that broke out. The Demonlord invaded from the North after decades of peace after the ceasefire was put in place. It was only after the succession of the new Demonlord did the talk of war spread. After a year of negotiations, the invasion began, spreading to the Eastland of the Dragonewts, to the Westland, home to the Dwarven Mountains and Elven Forest. The sudden march of the Demon Army caught the Human Kingdom by surprise as it evaded detection of the Kingdom Scouts and raided lands behind the kingdom defenses.

Learning more about the invading army would require more information than the adventurers currently had and the capital to the south would be where he could learn more about the Demon General he is looking for. Learning what he could, he felt that he should retreat for the day to rest.

He entered the rest area where the elderly grandfather and his spirited grandson rested. Both were unable to do much to aid the camp but are able to transport people they found back to the camp. Seeing the dispirited young warrior, the old man couldn’t help but be curious about his background.

“Young lad, where are you from?”

Looking up at the old man, he answered, “From a village up in the mountains.”

“Ah… one of the martial tribes along the northern border mountains.”
“You know of us?”

“Well, you don’t get to my age without learning a few things about the world. There are few places in the world where humans could punch a beast the way you did. Not even beastmen could deliver such devastating blows.”

“Our village didn’t even have a name”

“Many villages don’t have names. Just locations of landmarks where the village lies”

“What do you plan to do now?” The young boy said inquisitively.

“I was supposed to go on a pilgrimage to train and earn money for my family, but now…” Talos fell silent, thinking about all that he lost.

“My apologies. The boy can be a little insensitive”

“No offense taken, I think I will go to the capital and earn money like I was supposed to. Perhaps I can learn more about the Demon that attacked my village.”

“What was the demon like?”

“It was a terrifying demon with a lower body like a snake and an upper body with six arms.”

“What? How can it have six arms, that’s crazy!”

“It did and it was terrifyingly fast. I barely survived as it blasted me off the cliff.”

“Mister, you’re amazing to have survived that”

“Well, I have you to thank for saving me”

“Gosh, mister!” The young boy gushed with excitement. They spent the rest of the evening talking about the different demons that he encountered and how he defeated a powerful demon.

“You don’t seem like the normal martial artist who pilgrimages through the lands. They’re often brutish and quick to start a fight”

“Well, I always have been a little different from the others in the village,” He thought back to his past, how he was an orphan, the villagers didn’t welcome him, and the girl who became his wife. Seeing that he was lost in thought, the grandfather said, “The day is getting late, how about we get some rest.”

“What!” the young boy said while pouting but went to lay out the bedding.

The next morning, Talos got ready to leave, and was met by the grandfather, grandson, and a few adventurers at the edge of the camp.

“I made a few packed lunches with the meat you hunted yesterday,” a motherly-looking woman said as she handed him a few leaf-wrapped meals.

“Thanks for everything.” He bowed in gratitude.

“My, what a polite young man!” the ladies giggled and whispered among themselves.

“I’ll be heading out now.” As they said their goodbyes, Talos walked off into the distance as the look on his face changed from a calm expression to one twisted with hatred.

“Demons, I swear I will take revenge on you. No matter how long it takes, I will come for you because you took away the chief, my comrades, my wife. I will make you pay for all the things you have taken from me. Just you wait, I will get strong enough to take my revenge.”