The second warrior squinted, looking around.
"Yeah… smells like wet dog." He answered, his whiskers twitching.
"Quit slacking. We're in the forest. Everything here smells like a wet dog." The third warrior frowned.
The others chuckled at his grumbling, though their sharp eyes swept the woods once more.
Thran's group dared not move. Every breath felt like it might betray them. Even Loid, who had been snickering earlier, bit his lips as he held his breath.
Thran and the rest lay low, keeping their presence concealed.
Each one of them knew even a moment's carelessness could give their position away.
Hence, they stood in their place holding their breath while following the enemy's movements.
"Why do we even need to patrol this place?"
One of the Leo-kin warriors grumbled.
"Yeah, it's just a waste of time. The elves have been taken captive. There isn't a single elf left here…. I would rather head to a bar and have a drink…" The second warrior agreed.
The third warrior, who seemed the wisest of them all, frowned.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he expressed his frustration, "You lot care about booze and nailing. If the commander heard you right now, he'd have tossed the two of you to the slave pit alongside elves."
Upon hearing the mention of the commander, the two of them looked at each other before bursting into laughter.
"The commander, you say?"
"I bet he's defiling some elves in his tent right now… Hahaha…"
Though the commander of the troop was known for his strictness, he was equally lecherous. Hence, when he heard them criticize the commander, the third warrior couldn't bring himself to respond.
He became speechless as he swallowed his urge to fight back.
While the two of them kept snickering around, he continued to look around. However, the frustration from being unable to answer was evident on his face.
"I hope you two would get impaled while you are nailing women…" He scoffed under his breath.
While the two of them continued to slack off, he worked diligently. He believed he'd be able to attain a higher position with his work ethic.
Hence, while others fooled around, he worked.
He performed every task with utmost diligence without complaining. But even so, he couldn't help but loathe those who didn't take their role seriously.
He disliked people like them.
While patrolling around, he was getting near where Thran and the rest had hidden. Valen was already grabbing his sword, preparing to launch an attack.
'Is this it?'
Even Thran couldn't help but feel anxious.
Even if they decide to change their position, their movement will give them away. Hence, it was better to remain put and hope he wouldn't spot them.
With that being said, the group couldn't lower its guard.
The closer the third warrior got to them, the more they felt their pounding. Dread took hold of some of them while others prepared to attack.
If they were found, it was better to silence these people here before things escalated.
'Do we have no other choice?' Thran clutched his knuckles, a sharp claw sticking out of them.
He appeared rather hesitant.
He wanted to avoid creating a commotion as much as he could.
Their mission was just to scout; it wasn't to engage in combat.
Engaging in combat would disrupt their mission and create unnecessary trouble. This would delay their mission even further, and who knows if they could even escape alive.
Hence, he wanted to avoid commotions and variables as much as possible.
But it seemed like he couldn't avoid the trouble even if he wished. The Leo-kin warrior was already close to them. Just a flick of the bush and their position would be revealed.
However, just as the Leo-kin flicked the bush, he was called.
"Lex, let's leave now."
Lex turned around to answer, missing the intruders before him.
Thran rejoiced.
However, the delight didn't last long as the next moment, he saw a hand flying.
"Shit!" He cussed under his breath, his eyes bloodshot.
The thing that he had feared the most happened: Valen couldn't contain his emotion.
Swinging his sword, he chopped the hand of the Leo-kin warrior named Lex. The cut was clean, and he easily sliced through his bones and tendons.
Feeling a sudden sensation, Lex turned around only to find an eerie gleam of sword streaking past his eyes.
His eyes dilated in panic.
"Ah—"
However, before he could even finish his sentence, the sword penetrated deep into his throat, leaving him unable to produce a sound.
"Enemies!"
The other Leo-kin warriors became alert upon sensing the change. They reached out for their weapon.
Valen pulled the sword from Lex's neck, kicking Lex's corpse hard.
Just as the corpse plopped down, Valen's appearance was revealed. The green robe he wore was smeared with streaks of fresh blood. His disheveled blond hair fluttered with the wind as he stood where he had killed the Leo-kin warrior.
Under the silvery glow of the moon, his pupils that held the depth of the ocean shimmered with ominous intensity like a tsunami razing forth.
Killing intent flashed through his cold pupils before he launched into their direction.
"ELVES!"
The two Leo-kin warriors panicked for a brief moment upon seeing his appearance.
It had been a long time since a rogue Elf was last seen.
But now, here he was standing before them with a gaze that screamed revenge and hatred.
Though the sudden sight of the elf caught them off guard, it didn't take long for them to recompose.
Their lips curled as their eyes revealed amusement.
"Great… You came to find your death, huh?" One of them smiled haughtily as he taunted Valen.
"You could have just remained hidden. You could have even run away. But what can we do? There's no treatment for foolishness…" The other warrior sighed.
Clank!
"No, Lee, you're wrong."
The first Leo-kin warrior easily parried the strike of Valen. While doing so, he even chatted without breaking a sweat.
"There is a treatment for foolishness…" He said as he met Valen's sword head-on. Then, with a sudden change of footsteps, he thrust his sword forward, forcing him into defense, "DEATH!"