Chapter 94. Dropped
The Huntsmen of Yukihasa had no names. They gave them up when they were inducted into the fold. The ruthless Huntsmen training and conditioning wiped away their identities and individual sense of selves, leaving behind only obedient, cohesive units loyal only to the Emperor. Less soldiers and more tools to be wielded by His Divine Grace.
And what incredibly useful tools they were. Out of all the elite special forces units in the world, from Luminarche’s Royal Sentinels to Valaria’s Valkyries to Alass’s Guardians, it was universally agreed upon that Yukihasa’s Huntsmen were by far the most skilled and most dangerous. They specialized in assassination, corruption, intelligence, and sabotage, and outside of select independent organizations, they were undoubtedly the best at what they did.
Such an immense reputation came at a heavy cost. The training required to become a Huntsman was inhumanly brutal, with a fatality rate of one in four. For five gruesome years, aspiring Huntsmen were put through what could only be described as hell. It yielded fruitful results, though. The Huntsmen weren’t regarded as bogeymen. They were the ones you sent to hunt down the bogeymen.
Though these days, they mostly hunted down civilians, refugees, and deserters.
Not the most glamorous of jobs, but they had their orders and so they did what had to be done. In the past, whenever Yukihasa had undergone one of its numerous civil conflicts, foreign countries tended to always take that as a cue to interfere, whether by sending aid and resources to the revolutionaries or straight up attempting to invade Yukihasa while it was weak. After a few centuries of this, Yukihasa had wised up and its imperial government began to implement standard information blackouts whenever internal conflict erupted.
The borders were completely closed down, unbelievably complex barriers were erected around the entire nation, all outsiders were to be killed on sight, and anyone who attempted to escape Yukihasa was to be hunted down and made an example of.
Huntsman Lizard-2, Huntsman Lion-4, and Huntsman Tiger-3 were responsible for monitoring and maintaining the Luminarche-Yukihasa border. Approximately five minutes ago, they received notice from central command that the detection barrier surrounding the entire mainland – known locally as the Curtain – had sensed people crossing Zone 3 Section 23A. The Huntsmen had immediately mobilized into action, setting out to hunt them down.
As per usual, they easily tracked down the escapees. These particular ones made it a bit farther than most; they’d even reached the border wall. Huntsman Lion-4 didn’t know where they’d gotten the horse from, but he made a mental note to investigate later. If some farmer or stable boy had assisted their escape, even indirectly, then they must be punished accordingly.
He didn’t like executing escapees in front of Luminarchan witnesses. He didn’t feel shame or guilt for his actions, but his professional assassin nature simply balked at the idea of being seen in action. He had to remind himself that this wasn’t some covert operation but rather a routine wartime mission.
It was surprising to see a High Priestess in the audience, though. Huntsman Lion-4 had recognized her immediately; Huntsmen were required to know all the notable individuals in the world. High Priestess Anastasia of the Holy Church of the Goddess… What was she doing at the Durlistle border wall?
Well. No matter. Huntsman Lion-4 felt no fear; he knew that she wouldn’t do anything. If she stepped over the line, if she even tried spitting at them, then that very act would be taken as a declaration of war.
A war that Luminarche could not afford to fight.
While Yukihasa had been embroiled in civil war for the past decade, it couldn’t really be called an all-out war. The Resistance, bands of revolutionaries who opposed the imperial government, didn’t have enough numbers for a large standing army. Instead, most of the conflicts that occurred were guerilla warfare, small battles on the countless tiny islands that dotted the eastern seas.
Luminarche, on the other hand, had pissed off Arcedia, the homeland of vampires, just five years ago. Now that had been a proper war. Even though they ultimately reigned victorious over the vampires, Luminarche had sustained far too much damage during the war, enough such that if Yukihasa and Luminarche went to war right now, there was a good chance Luminarche would lose.
And even if Luminarche somehow clawed their way to victory, they would still be weakened enough that Valaria or Alass could then easily invade them. Granted, Yukihasa might also get invaded… But that was alright. Yukihasa was used to it. And besides, nobody was ever able to hold Yukihasa for long. Maintaining control over the hundreds of islands was hard enough for the native imperial government; a foreign government attempting to assert control had no chance.
The same principle held true for all the other countries as well. Consequently, the other three great nations all respected Yukihasa’s sovereignty and didn’t interfere at all with its internal affairs. Well, outside of its clandestine covert operations, of course – but that was normal and acceptable.
As such, Huntsman Lion-4 was fully confident that High Priestess Anastasia wouldn’t do anything, even as he and his two comrades slaughtered all the refugees.
He didn’t expect it was the boy by her side that he should’ve been worried about.
Huntsman Lion-4 didn’t recognize him. A young man, no older than twenty, with messy black hair, grey eyes, and aristocratic features. He didn’t look overly remarkable, and indeed Huntsman Lion-4 thought him to just be another run-of-the-mill Luminarche noble adventurer.
He was quickly proven wrong when the adventurer had used some sort of skill to force him and his comrades to their knees. An insult of the highest degree. Some sort of atmospheric pressure alteration skill? Or perhaps a gravity attack?
It didn’t matter. As Huntsmen, they had faced far worse in the past. The boy was strong, that much was certain, but he was still young, and as such he was inexperienced.
Indeed, the boy had turned around, exposing his back. Was it pride that had him do that? Or just pure stupidity? He was a noble from Luminarche, so either was a distinct possibility.
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Whatever the case, Huntsman Lion-4 had instantly pounced on the opportunity. He refused to take the insult lying down. Before anyone could react, he’d driven his knife into the boy’s back, through the gap between his ribs and piercing his heart. The magic coating his knife had allowed him to bypass the enchantments embedded into the cloak.
A beautiful kill. It just went to show that raw power itself wasn’t enough. Perhaps inside an academy for nobles, with all their stifling rules and customs, the boy was considered to be very strong. But out here in the real world?
He was very dead–
Then, the boy turned over to look at Huntsman Lion-4 and gave him a ferocious, bloodthirsty grin.
“Thanks for that.”
Huntsman Lion-4 stared at him blankly for a second. Why wasn’t the boy dying? Some sort of battle continuation skill?
Almost automatically, he twisted the knife still piercing the boy’s heart.
Just to be safe, he also activated several additional skills.
[Poison Embrace]
[Needle Expansion]
[Heat Implosion]
Poison streamed into the boy’s body, followed by a hundred needles that spiked outward, piercing all his internal organs. Then, the needles exploded in a burst of heat, boiling his internal organs.
The boy should’ve died three times over.
Instead, his smile only widened. He seemed almost amused by Huntsman Lion-4’s attempt.
Huntsman Lion-4 stared at him incredulously. Despite all his training, despite all his conditioning, he felt an emotion he thought he’d long ago discarded flash through him.
It was fear.
Next to him, his two comrades, Lizard-2 and Tiger-3 were also staring at the boy. They were frozen in place, unsure of what to do.
Then, the boy spoke again.
“Hey Anastasia,” he called, somehow speaking in a clear voice despite how his lungs should’ve been charbroiled. “This means I have political justification to act now, right?”
High Priestess Anastasia regarded him for a moment. Then, she gave a long-suffering sigh. “Yeah,” she said. “Feel free to go wild, Levi.”
Levi.
Levi Ironwood?
The former heir of House Ironwood?
Huntsman Lion-4 felt disbelief surge through him. That was who this boy was?!
No, that didn’t matter. The three Huntsmen exploded into action. Huntsman Lion-4 let go of his knife and swiped his hand across the air. Twelve knives materialized in a row in front of him, and he grabbed every one and plunged them into Levi’s assorted vital points. His arteries, veins, organs were all struck.
A spear of water shot forth from Lizard-2’s hand and pierced into Levi’s stomach. The water immediately formed a whirlpool inside and began scrambling his insides.
Simultaneously, Tiger-3 threw three fine needles that struck Levi in the neck, injecting three different types of specialized poisons: one to paralyze him, one to blind and deafen him, and one to turn his blood to acid. Dark purple streaks immediately began spreading through Levi’s skin where the poisons were injected, resembling a spiderweb.
All of this occurred in less than a second. The three Huntsmen leaped back to observe the aftermath.
After this, there was no way Levi was still alive…
Levi Ironwood grinned at them, blood streaming from his numerous wounds and ugly purple veins propagating through his body.
Then, before their very eyes, all his wounds began healing. Multicolored sparks of magic came to life, leaping from wound to wound and mending them together. The needles and knives fell out and clattered to the ground as the purple lines receded until there wasn’t even a dark dot left, the poisons having been completely neutralized.
“Is that the best you can do?”
Huntsman Lion-4 swallowed. The fear within him intensified. His heart started to beat faster and sweat trickled down the side of his face.
In that moment, he realized that he might have miscalculated.
“It’s fine,” he said, as much trying to convince himself as to convince his two comrades. “He must be some healer or tank type. His offensive capabilities are most likely inferior – that’s why he hasn’t attacked yet.”
Levi laughed. “By all means, please, believe that if it makes you feel better. It’ll make the next few seconds all the more enjoyable.”
Huntsman Lion-4 frowned. “Next few seconds?”
Levi nodded. “Here, watch this.”
He raised his hand, palm faced upward. His eyes narrowed in concentration, and a small ball of flames burst to life on the surface of his palm, dancing hypnotically.
It should be nothing more than a parlor trick. A low-level skill.
So then why did Huntsman Lion-4 suddenly feel his back break out in cold sweat?
Then, Levi tossed the ball of flames into the air.
Night became day.
Huntsman Lion-4’s eyes widened as the flames roared into a terrible inferno, its color turning from a warm orange to an angry crimson. His skin blistered from the sheer proximity to the heat. The air dried out, all the moisture instantly vaporizing, as what little grass that managed to grow in this rocky field burst into flames.
Only a mage of the highest tier could produce such flames. Huntsman Lion-4 almost couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched the inferno spread until it covered the sky above them, a literal cloud of flames.
The three Huntsmen tensed up, preparing to counter the skill–
“Oh yeah, by the way, that was just a distraction,” a voice said from behind them.
Lizard-2 went down first. His kneecaps and elbows exploded, shards of bone flying everywhere. Before he could even cry out in pain, chains of blackened steel wrapped around him.
Tiger-3 swore in an egregious display of unprofessionalism and tried to evade. He failed to do so. He glanced down, and the reason became clear when he realized that thin stone spikes had speared up through the ground, into his feet, and up his legs, literally grounding him in place. He passed out from the shock.
That left Lion-4 for last. He lashed out wildly with his knife, trying to cut off the top of Levi’s head, skull and brain and all. His blade struck Levi’s temple with a sound like an echoing gong. A small azure magical barrier shimmered briefly before fading away.
“Here,” Levi said, holding something out to him.
Lion-4 looked down.
For a second, he couldn’t register what he was seeing. What was that small, lumpy, dark reddish-purple object in Levi’s hand…?
His anatomy lessons kicked in, and he blinked.
“A spleen?”
Levi beamed at him happily. “You dropped this.”
It was only then that Lion-4 noticed the hole in his abdomen. The pain quickly followed.
An elite Huntsmen squad, wiped out by a single boy. Humiliating.
He felt almost relieved when his world finally went dark.