Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 277

“That’s impossible,” one of the Elders stood up and exclaimed. His face was full of fear, implying that it wasn’t that he didn’t find the information credible, but he didn’t want it to be.

Several elders echoed his sentiment. Sweat formed on their foreheads as they tried to deny Samoa’s words. They didn’t want to believe it was true. They would rather Samoa say it was just a joke than to accept this as the truth. They would be so relieved if he was just joking around that they wouldn’t even punish him. But they weren’t going to get what they wanted. Samoa’s face was full of pain. His eyes were filled with unwillingness, and just like the elders he wished the information was false. He would accept any punishment for it to be. But it wasn’t. He had seen the evidence for himself. Three of his comrades had died because of this evidence, so there was no way his hopes would be met.

The murmuring and rejection from the elders continued for a while. Samoa had his head down and didn’t say anything else. He had the lowest status here, so he didn’t really have any authority to speak without being asked to. Frowning Tiger had a deeper frown than usual as his sharp brain tried to come up with a countermeasure. He didn’t know whether Samoa was right or not. For him to be able to tell how accurate Samoa’s deduction was, he had to hear what happened in the Enchanted Forest. But he still had to think of ways to counteract the incoming threat just in case.

Village Head Fan had a serious look on his face. He rubbed his chin and closed his eyes. It was the sign that he was in deep thought. After a while, he opened his eyes and lifted his hands, signaling that the noise should stop. And it died down immediately, showing how much power he had over the elders.

Village Head Fan raised his head. His expression solemn, he looked into Samoa’s eyes as though trying to find any fault in it. Finally he sighed and asked,

“Are you certain?”

Samoa gave a wry smile and nodded, “I am, Village Head.” In front of the elders he didn’t address Village Head Fan by his name. So he just addressed his guardian by his title.

“We can’t just take his word for it, Village Head. He is just one person. We must send in more people and find out if his findings are correct.”

One of the agitated elders proposed. Several others agreed with. They shared in this plan because they still had a tiny bit of hope that the information was false.

“Have we not taking only his word for it all this time? When had we ever sent another?” Village Head Fan’s tone was cold and left no room for argument.

But the truth of words alone was enough to silence the crowd of scared elders. It was indeed true. Every time the Scouting Party returned, their report was accepted without any argument. And the one who delivered this report was always Samoa. The reason why they never doubted their words was simple. The Enchanted Forest Scouting Party was the best in the village. It was because they were the best that they scouted the Enchanted Forest, and not just any regular forest around. That kind of work was left for the other Scouting Parties. The skill of the Enchanted Forest Scouting Party was so good that they were miles ahead of the others. And that was all due to Samoa. His reasoning and judgement, coupled with his uncanny ability to observe every tiny detail, especially the one that average people missed, earned him the trust of the elders. In their fear they doubted his judgement, but the Village Head was right. When had they never listened to him?

“Tell me why you reached this conclusion Samoa,” Village Head Fan waved his hand and ordered.

“Yes, Village Head Sir,” Samoa quickly replied. He cleared his throat and started,

“A week ago, after our mission we found no anomalies. In fact, we handed in our report, and it was full of good news. The Magical Beast population was below average, meaning that we had no need to worry for a long time.”

Samoa’s words caused several elders to nod in response. It was true what he said. That was why today’s report had been so far outside their expectations.

“But it was different today. Not only did the numbers suddenly increase, they increased by 300%! We knew that if this could happen in a weak, then next week would present numbers that signify an increase of at least 900%!”

Samoa’s words caused the elders to feel a chill down their spine. 900%! That was 9 times the current Magical Beast population. The Enchanted Forest was large enough. If it were to be an increase of 100%, or even 200%, that would be a difficult task. But they would be able to handle it. 300% was beyond their limit, much less 900%

“We decided to return immediately and let the Elders know of our findings. That was when we run into it – The Giant Black Mamba. If our great elders would kindly recall our report months ago, when we stated that we came across a nest of dead Giant Rats, you would be able to tell where the mamba factors in.”

The elders nodded, signifying that they hadn’t forgotten. After all, the Giant Rat King’s urine had been presented to the village, and was distributed to several Scouting Parties to make their jobs easier. It was an incredible find, and the Enchanted Forest Scouting Party had been rewarded massively for it.

“We were so happy with our gains that we didn’t stop to think about what was happening,” Samoa had a bitter smile on his face as he spoke.

As he and Frowning Tiger walked back to the village, he started to categorically analyse every strange thing that had happened in the past half year. He refused to believe that the threat of an Overflow, which could usually be spotted at least a month back so preparations could be made, had appeared from nowhere. There must have been something he had missed. That’s when he realised his error. It started from 2 months ago, and as the top analyst of the team he should have seen it. If he had, his friends wouldn’t have died.

“What do you mean,” one of the Elder’s noticed that Samoa was trying to say that the signs of an Overflow were from two months ago? And that the first sign was the dead Giant Rats. The Village Head noticed it too. But what they didn’t get was how the two were connected.

“Think about it, Village Head Sir, and kind Elders: which kind of creatures could lay waste to a nest of Giant Rats for sport, and not bother to take any trophies? Which Magical Beasts could disregard the favorite snacks of Giant Snake Mambas, and go on a killing spree, giving the member of the Giant Black Mamba race no face, and scorning its revenge?” Samoa asked.

“A Mythic Level Magical Beast. And one that could easily crush Giant Black Mambas” Frowning Tiger was the one to answer. Village Head Fan furrowed his brows, seemingly reaching the same conclusion. As for the elders, Joe’s father seemed much brighter than his son. He looked enlightened even before Frowning Tiger gave the answer. The other elders quickly caught on.

“Right. Giant Black Mambas are arrogant. They are lazy, but they aren’t pushovers. They even go against weaker Mythic Class Magical Beasts when their pride is threatened. But they are no match against true Mythic Class Magical Beasts. So the only creature that can disregard it so is a Mythic Class Magical Beast.”

“I finally figured it out after Joe and I were attacked by the Giant Black Mamba. It had been toiling with our team all along. None of us expected this. Why was that?”

“Stop with the questions boy and get to the heart of the matter,” an impatient elder chided.

“My apologies,” Samoa immediately apologized.

“Because Giant Black Mambas don’t play with their prey. They are predators that go in straight for the kill and waste no time with their prey. They are too lazy for that”

Samoa was surprised by Frowning Tiger’s rich knowledge. This was something only seasoned scouts knew. The behavioral patterns of the rare Giant Black Mamba wasn’t easy to figure out. Yet Frowning Tiger knew about it.

“Sir Frowning Tiger is right. It isn’t within the behavior of the Giant Black Mambas to play with their food. So why did it toy with my team so? The answer is simple really.”

“It was venting”

“Venting,” Village Head Fan asked? His expression though, was that of someone who already knew what was happening. It was more like he only asked so that Samoa would elaborate on the issue for the benefit of some of the Elders who had no idea about Magical Beast behavior.

“Yes, Village Head Sir. When we were chased by the Giant Black Mamba, a situation that should never have occurred in the first place since it was much faster than us and only happened because it was venting, we were forced to enter the inner region”

When Samoa stated that they were forced to enter the inner region, the atmosphere of the meeting room grew somber. Everyone here knew what kind of monsters lay beyond the outer region. The beasts that ruled the inner region were powerful Mythic Class Magical Beasts. High Class Magical Beasts could be found in troves, and the High Class Magical Beasts that populated the inner region were the cream of the crop.

The Giant Black Mamba was good enough to live in the inner region, but because of its like for Giant Rat meat, it remained in the outer region. Luckily for most scouts, it rarely left its habitat and so as long as one avoided its home, one would be safe.

“It was there Joe and I lost our other comrades. They gave their lives so that we could escape”

Samoa sighed in pain. It wasn’t easy to forget the sacrifices of his friends.

“They died for a just cause. They would be remembered by everyone in the village. We would make sure of that” One of the Elders swore solemnly.

The others, the Village Head included, murmured their approval of what their colleague said, their voices filled with sincerity. Samoa knew from their expressions that they weren’t just making things up. They truly meant every word they said. Truly, being in the village was a good thing. If it were the city, these words would have been nothing but a political gimmick, and even if their words were translated into action, there would be no sentiment. But in the village where everyone knew each other, it was hard to forget those who had been lost.

“The Ceremonial Fire would burn for them always,” Village Head Fan nodded his head and vowed.

“Thank you Village Head Sir,” Samoa uttered with gratitude as he struggled to hold back his tears.