Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 279

“An evacuation? Isn’t that a bit of a stretch?”

An Elder asked.

“I don’t think so Elder. We are up against an Overflow that is dangerous enough to destroy a major city. I think this is the most viable option”

But Samoa disagreed. He didn’t think his suggestion was over the top. This was a threat the village wasn’t equipped to face. It was true that they possessed several Predators, and that 15 of these Predators were fearsome Tigers directly under the command of the Village Head; but it wasn’t enough.

If one was to count every single Predator at the village’s disposal, there would be 24. 15 of them were Tigers, and fell directly under the jurisdiction of the Village Head. The other 9 were under the jurisdiction of the Elders. But they weren’t Tigers. The 9 under the Elders were Cheetahs, Snakes and Mongooses. It was only by becoming a Tiger that one would fall under the command of the Village Head. Cheetahs, Snakes and Mongooses weren’t as fearsome as Tigers, but they were a powerful force to reckon with. Having a large number of Predators was a characteristic of a large and prosperous city. But this small village was blessed with such a force. It was a force that was good enough to take down smaller cities and contend with the larger cities. Normally, a force like this would be capable of withstanding anything, but the Overflow that threatened them wasn’t part of what their force could handle.

For the large cities, handling an Overflow of this magnitude would be difficult. So usually cities that were affiliated with each other banded together to overcome such dangerous Overflows. After all, a Pseudo Legendary Magical Beast wasn’t a threat to scoff at and ignore. However, this village was isolated and didn’t have any allies. The Predators weren’t omnipresent. They could be everywhere at once. Even if they were able to keep the Mythic Class Magical Beasts at bay, the High, Middle, and Low Classes would still be a threat for the rest of the village’s fighting force. Not to mention the Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast that would be leading the charge. In a situation like this, where there were no allies to turn to and one’s strength was insufficient, running away which in this case was an evacuation, was the only way.

“Samoa is right. The only logical decision we can take right now is to evacuate” Village Head Fan agreed with Samoa.

The Elders had nothing else to say. It seemed evacuating was the only way. They had somber looks on their faces. They loved their village and they had lived here for so long. They didn’t want to leave, but it seemed that they had no choice. After all, what made the village what it was, was the people who populated it. If these people died, there would be no village to love even if the structures still stood. On the other hand, if they evacuated they would preserve the lives of the villagers and could start all over. With the kind of force they possessed, this wasn’t difficult.

“But the question is where can we go to,” Village Head Fan suddenly stated.

“What do you mean Head Fan,” one of the Elders asked. He had just come to terms with the fact that they would have to leave the village. But Village Head Fan’s words hinted at something else.

“Frowning Tiger,” Village Head Fan didn’t answer the Elder’s question. Rather, he tossed the question over to Frowning Tiger who had been quiet for some time now. Everyone turned their attention to Frowning Tiger. Samoa who was standing behind the Tiger watched him with eyes filled with curiosity. It seemed that something stood in the way of their evacuation.

“Very well, Village Head Fan,” Frowning Tiger bowed slightly.

“A few days ago a few Tigers were dispatched by Village Head Fan to Iris City,” Frowning Tiger started his briefing. Iris City was the city closest to the Village. Although it was described as the city closest to the village, since the village was quite close to an Enchanted Forest and pretty isolated from civilization, Iris City was actually quite far from the village. Even Tigers took three full days to travel to Iris City at full speed with minimum breaks. That was how far the place was. But it was the closest city to the village so that was where they traded. It was easy to be attacked by bandits on the way so it was advisable to go with a strong force.

“Village Head Fan was feeling unsettled and felt that it was because something big was happening in Iris City. We left on his orders to investigate.”

The Elders looked surprised by the information. From their expressions Samoa could tell that Village Head Fan didn’t tell anyone about dispatching some of the Tigers. But on second thought, he didn’t need to. These were Tigers under his command. He could send them to their deaths and he still wouldn’t have to give account to anyone.

Village Head Fan had a strange ability. It couldn’t really be called an ability. It was more like a sixth sense. He always grew uneasy whenever something strange was happening. His intuition hadn’t failed him yet. So hearing that his intuition was pointing at Iris City, instead of the Enchanted Forest where a threat was looming, meant that Iris City was probably in a worse position than the village. The Elders couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to Iris City that was worse than a Pseudo Legendary Magical Beast mediated Overflow?

“Village Head Fan’s intuition was right again. I wish it wasn’t, but it was. When we got to the city, it had been completely destroyed. There was no human life spared in Iris City”

Frowning Tiger’s words terrified the Elders, and Samoa who was behind him was just as scared. How was that possible? He finally understood why Village Head Samoa said what he said. If the village was to evacuate, they would only be able to take enough to last them at most two weeks. Their best bet would be to make it to Iris City before their food and water run out. They weren’t as fast as the Tigers, and they weren’t small in number either, so they wouldn’t be able to do what the Tigers did and get there in just 3 days. But maybe 2 weeks was a feasible estimate for such a large scale evacuation. They would be able to set camp at the city whilst planning their next move. It was only by getting to Iris City that they would be safe. The number of villagers wasn’t large, but it wasn’t going to be easy to find a new place to live.

So once they got to Iris City, they would have to send several scouts to check the lands around to find a suitable settlement. Preferably somewhere close to Iris City so they could build whist still getting supplies from the city. At least that was how Samoa had thought it out. But reality was cruel. The only place they could evacuate to was destroyed. Without supplies from Iris City it would be reckless and stupid to leave the village. It would be the same as going to one’s death. Not to mention that it was possible that they could also share Iris City’s fate and fall to whatever was strong enough to massacre a city.

“Iris City was a strong city. It had a force of 27 Predators, of which 12 were Tigers,” Frowning Tiger continued. His words highlighted just how abnormal this village was. A large city like Iris City had 27 Predators of which 12 were Tigers. Yet this small village was comparable to it, possessing 24 Predators, of which 15 were Tigers.

“A force strong enough to handle 27 Predators isn’t one we can handle. We are caught between a rock and a hard place. We have no option but to brave the Overflow” Village Head Fan gave his verdict.

A threat they didn’t know anything about and couldn’t prepare for. And a threat they knew about and could try their best to prepare for. It was no brainer which was the better choice. Village Head Fan had made a decision, and no one had any objections to it. They would stay.

And they would fight!