Early in the morning, as the sun slowly arose on the horizon, two figures could be seen heading towards the east of the DachenSettlement.
One of them was 5'8' tall', had black hair and handsome features but his complexion was sickly pale and he was a lot thinner compared to the other guy who stood six feet tall with a lean but evidently powerful physique.
The thin one was Dan while the other guy was Eric. After having breakfast, they didn't waste any time, bid Silvie and Julie farewell and left the house.
While walking, Eric glanced at Dan, who was holding the Iron Blade with one hand, and said, "Put it on your shoulder or you'll tire out before reaching the forest."
Dan glanced at Eric, who had the similar blade on his right shoulder, a quiver of arrows on his back and had a bow in his left hand.
Nodding, he hefted the 20-pound-blade onto his shoulder, instantly feeling relief in his hand.
Eric noticed Dan had a grim look on his face and sighed inwardly before saying, "Try to relax a little. Everything will be alright."
'Hm?' Dan paused for a moment upon hearing this and looked at him. Seeing he was looking at him with a concerned look in his eyes, he realized despite trying to remain calm, he had become a little too tense.
"I'll try to do that." He said, exhaling a long breath.
"Mm." Eric nodded and said, "We are going to hunt on the periphery of the forest, so we won't encounter any beast that we can't safely handle."
"Why don't those powerful beasts approach our settlement?" Dan asked, curious.
Though it was rumoured that they didn't dare come near the settlement because several seasoned hunters are always on watch, he didn't believe that because just one beast had almost killed his father, who was best among the seasoned hunters. And from what he had gathered throughout years, there were many such beasts residing deeper into the forests.
Eric stood walking, and turned around, looking at the cold and desolate settlement, complicated emotions flashing in his eyes.
"There are some things only we hunters are aware of. Since you have already decided to become one, I'll tell you, though like many others in the settlement, you might have already guessed some of these." Eric said and the air around us became heavy.
"This place where we now live was once a prosperous urban colony, comparable to the size of a small town. There was a city just five miles away in the south and dozens of colonies of various sizes lay between the two."
"...I see." Dan muttered. A few years ago, Eric's father, Jonathan, who was also a hunter, had died in the forest. When Eric's family got this news, he was at their house and it hit him hard.
When he returned home, he was crying and sobbing in sadness and in fear. He felt that since even Johnathan, a powerful hunter, had died, they could die anytime too.
At that time, his father had consoled him, saying 'nothing such would happen.' Maybe to give him hope, he had also told him that there was a city not too far away from their settlement and the city's people would come soon to rescue us all.
As for why he hadn't told him about the colonies between the city and their settlement, he didn't need to think much about it. He hadn't done that because he would have questioned since these settlements weren't far, why he hadn't seen anyone from them yet.
He looked at their gloomy settlement and was having a hard time imagining it as a prosperous place because ever since he could remember, it was always gloomy like today where people put on fake smiles to hide their fears and to not scare the clueless children.
Eric knew what Dan was thinking because not long after his father died, he was standing in Dan's place and heard this fantastical tale.
"Not only that, there were two towns, one in the north and the other in the east." He continued, pointing toward the east forest, "If that town hasn't fallen, it should be just two or three miles from here, just beyond this damned forest."
Dan noticed that as he said this, his eyes glowed with hope.
"What's the deepest someone has gone?" He asked,
Eric's expression fell at the question.
"Barely 400 Meters." He answered in a low voice.
Dan's brows furrowed in response. "Does that mean my father encountered that powerful beast within 400 meters and uncle Johnathan also died within 400? How can this be possible? If there are powerful beasts within 400 meters…"
"Why haven't they attacked our settlement yet?" Eric completed Dan's question.
Dan nodded.
"It's because of our settlement's sacred temple." Eric said and before Dan could ask anything, he continued, "Well, not because of the temple itself but because of what's inside it."
"What is it?" Dan asked, extremely curious.
What could be in the temple that scare those beasts that could kill groups of seasoned hunters with ease?
Eric's answer surprised him.
"A Lord Beast's remains."
"A beast's remains?" Dan asked.
Eric nodded and told him, "Beasts are very territorial and would fight anyone who dares to intrude upon their territory. This is especially true for the more powerful beasts. No other beast dares to enter their territory because a battle to death is sure to occur if they do.
Based on the beasts' strengths, our ancestors have categorized the beasts into three categories—Ordinary Beasts, Dire Beasts and Lord Beasts.
Ordinary Beasts are normal animals that do not pose much of a threat to hunters. They are the ones we usually hunt and everyone in the settlement eats.
The Dire Beasts are a lot more powerful than the Ordinary Beasts and pose a serious threat to the hunters. It's these Dire Beasts that usually kill hunters. Very rarely can hunters succeed in killing one of them. And if they want to hunt one, the hunters have to do it in groups. Uncle Jack was injured in a battle against a Dire Beast a week ago."
'Dire Beasts…' Dan thought, a cold glint flashing in his mind.
After a pause, Eric continued, "Last are the Lord Beasts. They are called such because they are lords among the beasts. Not only are they a lot stronger than the Dire Beasts, they can also control them."
Dan paled upon hearing the last part. Seeing this, Eric heavily nodded, confirming Dan's fears, "That's right. Unlike other beasts, the Lord Beasts are intelligent."
As if this wasn't already bad enough, he added, "Moreover, the only reason they are 'Last' is because no one has encountered stronger beasts than the Lord Beasts."
Dan became silent, his heart racing. He understood what he left unspoken and the reason why there was always a heavy feeling in the settlement despite the fact no beast had attacked it and there were hunters to protect them.
The presence of Lord Beasts. They were the true danger their settlement was facing.
While The Lord Beast's remains in the sacred temple could keep the ordinary and Dire Beasts away, the same wasn't true for the other Lord Beasts. After all, they were on the same level and wouldn't fear each other much.
He then became curious about something.
Why hadn't the Lord Beasts attacked until now?