Chapter 20: We don’t have a torturer. Will a butcher do?

Telah, the woman who had attacked Kanan, was now standing in front of Verl as he held his spear in front of his body. It was made of bronze instead of stone, a premium material in their village.

Looking over Verl’s shoulder, Telah spotted the village’s warriors making their way toward her and frowned. She had expected to find the place drenched in their own blood, with people dying, others wailing in agony, and hundreds of graves being dug.

Instead, she saw the same thriving village as before.

"How’d you do it?" She asked

"Do what, Typhon Tribe scum?!"

"How did you cure the poison?"

"Heh, it was thanks to that boy you tried to kill."

Telah smiled, then her tattoos began to glow. "I thank you for giving me such vital information. Since I’ve failed my mission today, I shall take your head as an apology gift to our chief."

"Over my dead body."

"As you wish."

Telah disappeared from Verl’s sight and reappeared behind him. Her palm pulsed with green energy as she struck at his back, but the attack was stopped by a barrier surrounding him.

Quickly turning around, Verl lunged his spear at Telah’s head, but she transformed into a beam of light, narrowly avoiding the attack before kicking him square in the chest.

He tumbled several feet before rising, only to be kicked in the face. Then, Telah grabbed him by the hair and threw him into a large nearby rock.

"Garghh!" Verl groaned in pain upon being slammed into the rock.

"You’re weak."

"I’m not trying to fight you, fool! I’m just trying to stall you long enough for the warriors to arrive."

Telah turned around just in time to avoid her head being cleanly sliced off, her light form saving her life and allowing her to put some distance between her and the oncoming warriors.

"To me!" Telah shouted, and fifteen scouts shimmered into light around the warriors. "Hold them off; I have to report back to the chief. Our mission ended in failure."

"Yes, Warrior Telah. Our sacrifice shall be for the betterment of our tribe!" The scouts lunged at the warriors.

---

"Explain the situation, Warrior Jol." The chief arrived at the scene where the warriors were. There was a battle, and the land was scarred by multiple blessed individuals, blood staining the grass.

"It was an ambush, Chief, but we managed to prevail, albeit with bloodshed. Out of the twenty of us, some sustained minor injuries, five are heavily injured, and one is dead. We’ve killed five of them and captured ten for questioning."

The chief knelt beside the dead body and touched the man’s forehead. He said a silent prayer for his fallen tribesman, wishing him eternal glory in the afterlife.

"Does he have any family?"

"A daughter, Chief Solan. His mate fell ill some years ago and passed. She’s among those who will be blessed this winter. His mother and father are both alive as well."

Solan sighed heavily and stood up. "Carry his body back to the village and inform his daughter and parents of the news. Take care of her until the ceremony. The Typhon tribe will pay for their transgressions."

---

The chief brought the scouts into the village and led them to their prison cells. People watched from their huts as the Typhon tribesmen walked in a line with ropes tied around their wrists.

"Kill them!"

"Slaughter those bastards!"

"Go back to your filthy village, you Typhon dogs!"

The animosity between tribes was at an all-time high after the poison incident, so the villagers were not happy one bit to see their enemies setting foot on their land.

Waiting for everyone at the cells was Elder Warren, with a bronze sword gripped tightly in his hand.

"Chief Solan!"

The chief groaned in annoyance and threw up his hand. "Not now, Elder Warren. I have to deal with these prisoners."

"Prisoners?! We shouldn’t even be taking them as prisoners! They should be executed on the spot! Step aside! I’ll do it myself!"

"Enough! I’ll speak with you later."

"Chief, please don’t tell me you plan on letting them go once you’re done with them?"

"No. After getting what I want, they will die."

Elder Warren nodded and walked away, clearly angry but satisfied enough.

One Typhon tribesman laughed after hearing Solan and Warren banter. "Kekekeke! You won’t get anything out of––" His arm snapped under an unbearable pressure, and his smug voice was replaced with a gut-wrenching scream.

"You will only speak when spoken to. I shall only say that once, so keep it in your minds before your death."

Locking them up in their prison cells, Chief Solan grabbed a stool nearby and took a seat. He took one good look at all of them, then decided to ask the question everyone wanted to know.

"Why? What is your reason for attacking us unprovoked? You live near a forest, a river, and fertile land. There is no need for you to attack us over resources."

"Resources, hah, yeah, like we’re attacking you over something as trivial as that." One man spoke as he took a seat on the ground.

"Oh? So you’re not after our resources?"

Another man gripped the wooden bars with anger. "We’re not obligated to tell you, Nemean dogs!"

Solan blasted the man who spoke into the wall, breaking his nose, an arm, a leg, and knocking him out cold in an instant. He had told them not to speak unless spoken to, and he was in no mood to remind them.

"Tell me the reason why you’ve attacked us, and I’ll make your death swift and quick. That is a mercy I am willing to extend. However, the longer you refuse to answer, the more hurt you will be."

Solan stood up and opened the door. Walking inside was a tall, muscular man with tons of battle scars on his body and a bald head.

"Now, I’m a busy man, so I can’t always be here to listen to what you have to say, but Uloh here, he can get anything out of anyone. It’s funny; we don’t have a jailer or torturer role here in our village, but his role, Butcher, makes it seem as if we do. I wonder how long you all will last before breaking."