A few minutes later…
Cloudhawk was seated at a dining room table, stuffing fruit and barbecued meat into his mouth.
The fort’s servant women kept bringing in plates, whispering to each other and eyeing the young man in shock. Watching him eat was like witnessing a wild beast gorging itself on a kill. This skinny guy had one hell of an appetite!
Up to this point, he’d eaten two bowls of meat and vegetable stew, three rolls of bread, six portions of barbecued meat, and eight clusters of berries. It was enough to satiate three grown and burly men. If he kept eating, the women suspected the boy’s stomach would explode.
Yet Hydra had let everyone know that he and the others with him were honored guests of the fort. Anything they wanted – including the women themselves – was to be offered until they were satisfied. Still, they suspected the kid might eat every scrap of food in the place.
“This is goddamn delicious! These guys sure know how to live.”
Cloudhawk took another gulp of soup and still felt like there was room to spare. Greenland Fort was lacking in spices, but it had more than enough food and water from the surrounding oasis. Because of the oasis, it had a veritable smorgasbord of food to offer, from mutant bird meat to lizard skillets, from common scourge hare jerky to wild boar meat. Then there was the plethora of fruits and vegetables found nowhere else in the Wastelands.
“You got anything else?”
Cloudhawk was like the ghost of a starved traveler reincarnated.
Even Cloudhawk could tell he was digesting this stuff ten times faster than what was normal. Whatever he put in his mouth hardly had time to pass through his stomach before it was absorbed and turned to energy. The sustenance spread through every cell in his body.
“Yes, right away…”
The housemaids brought in a plate of fruit and a large copper basin. When the basin’s lid was removed, a mouth-watering aroma filled the room. After the steam cleared, Cloudhawk was met with a sight he’d never before seen.
It had a large head, a long scale-encased body, and an open mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth.
Cloudhawk gaped at it. “What in holy hell is this? Where are its legs… it’s a python!”
One of the maidservants answered with a demure inflection. “Sir, this isn’t a snake. It’s a fish. Fish don’t have legs.”
What the fuck was a fish?
Water was a rarity in the Wastelands, much less any sort of aquatic creature. So when something this big that supposedly lived in water appeared before him, Cloudhawk had a hard time wrapping his head around it.
This fish belonged to a carnivorous species and was caught from the lakes peppered throughout the oasis. Ferocious as it looked, its meat was absolutely delicious. Even boiled in clear soup without condiments, it tasted nothing short of divine.
Cloudhawk had never seen anything like it, but he was a child of the Wastelands. His only concern was whether or not his food was poisonous. He’d slurp down ants, beetles, and worms with relish, so who was he to turn down cooked delicacies?
He dipped a wooden spoon in the soup and took a sip of that first. His eyes lit up. “Goddamn, this is incredible! I’ve never eaten something this good before.”
The maids secretly chuckled among themselves. “We’re just pleased you like it.”
He sighed emotively. “You got fruit, meat, this weird snake… I want to stay here forever.”
“Sir, this is called a fish.”
“Tch, leave him be!”
“These aren’t the only riches in Greenland Outpost.” One of the maids sashayed suggestively closer to him. She leaned down enough for the young lad to get a good eyeful of her chest. “If sir has had his fill, we’d be happy to… look after you. I think I know something you’ll like even better.”
These maids had been hand-picked and trained by Hydra. They were some of the most attractive women the wastelands had to offer. The scrawny kid wasn’t much to look at, but for him to be treated so well by the barbarous Hydra meant that there had to be more to him than met the eye. They saw him as an opportunity – if he liked them, maybe they’d get lucky and Hydra would present them as gifts.
But Cloudhawk was transfixed by the delicious fish-thing they’d given him and hardly noticed her. “Yeah, right, fine,” he muttered absently.
Their faces lit up.
Hydra had several hundred women he called his own. He was the kind of man who took pleasure in hurting others, and all of the girls were frightened by what he was capable of. This boy could be their chance of liberation from that brute!
“Cloudhawk!”
The shout was cold, full of rage and indignation. The women turned their heads and gasped when they saw the woman wearing the ferocious demon mask stomping their way. They shuffled back and dropped their eyes.
Cloudhawk blinked, stunned. Damn, the Queen recovered fast! But why was she so mad…
67 Tested
The Bloodsoaked Queen looked like she was recovering well. The way she stomped forward made her look like she could stride right through an iron wall. The women trembled in fear and surprise, for the aura pouring from this woman was even more intense and threatening than Hydra’s.
Cloudhawk quickly spoke up. “You got here just in time! You gotta try this.”
The Queen glared through her mask at Hydra’s maidservants. “Get out, now!”
The women immediately left, feeling as though they’d just been pardoned from the death penalty. “Yes, of course. Right away!”
Cloudhawk watched the exchange with confused surprise, and not a little displeasure. “Hey! What are you doing? What’s with the attitude? They didn’t do anything to offend you. Why’d you snap at ‘em?”
She glared daggers at him. “Have some dignity. If you want to go to the holy lands, become a citizen of the city – if you want to be a demon hunter, then you mustn’t consort with these sordid wastelands women.”
“Who the hell wants to live in the wastelands? Who wants to be someone’s slave? Do you think anyone here has a choice?” Cloudhawk hated seeing the Queen treat his fellow wastelanders with such disdain. Her sense of superiority didn’t come from anything other than being lucky enough to be born somewhere else. He had come to know the Queen, and through their trials, they’d become closer so he was frank with her. “We don’t get to decide where we’re born – not like your high-and-mighty gods. Lemme tell you, if you’d been born in the wastelands, you’d be no better than the rest of us!”
“Shut your mouth!”
Cloudhawk could say what he pleased, all except any word against her god. Blasphemy was a sure way to incite her rage.
“All I’m saying is life dealt us different hands. Maybe what Mantis said was true. Even if I get to where you came from, I’ll never be like you.” Cloudhawk couldn’t understand what was wrong with this woman. He knew nothing he said was going to change her mind – it was like beating his head against a wall – so he wasn’t going to fuss. “There’s all this good food in front of us. I’m not gonna busy my mouth fighting with you!”
This child, the Queen fumed. His manners are getting worse by the day!
She wanted to beat him so badly, her teeth itched!
However, after a moment’s thought, she had to admit that her reaction had been a tad overblown. He was a wastelander, after all. Why was she so upset? Without another word, she pulled the mask off her face.
Cloudhawk couldn’t help but steal a peek.
No matter how many times he saw it, the Queen’s face was a blessing to the eyes. Beauty like hers just didn’t exist in the Wastelands. Thankfully, the maids had left. Otherwise, seeing her might shame them into never showing their faces again.
“Is the food serviceable?” The Queen partook in a spoonful of fish soup, only to spit it out. She sniffed disparagingly. Her voice took on that familiar, petulant scornfulness. “The wastelands are the wastelands. Even the lowest caste of commoners from the Elysian lands eats food ten times better th
an this.”
Cloudhawk kept his thoughts to himself. Eat it or don’t. Why sneer at what we got?
“For some, self-control is in short supply – they cave at the slightest temptation and abandon their dreams. These people will never achieve greatness and will never succeed.”
Who the hell is she preaching to? Cloudhawk kept eating.
The Queen felt both awkward and angry. He wasn’t actually being tempted by the joys of this place, was he? She didn’t know when, but the Queen had started to see Cloudhawk differently. He wasn’t like the others – he might have what it takes to walk the path of the demon hunter… or at least be useful.
But wastelanders were wastelanders. You couldn’t convince a dog to stop eating shit, and slinging mud at a wall wasn’t going to make it stronger.
Neither of them said anything more. They just busied themselves eating.
Cloudhawk ate until he could hardly walk and the Queen had her fill as well. As they picked at the last bits, they heard footsteps approaching. From the sound, they could tell one was large and walked with a purposeful stride. The second set sounded like steel boots, but the tone it made ringing against the ground made them sound homemade. Clearly, it was Leonine and Hydra.
The Bloodsoaked Queen slipped her mask back over her face.
“The two of you come out for a moment. We need to make a plan.”
Hydra noted that the Queen was recovering faster than he’d anticipated and it put him more at ease. With someone as strong as her helping him, victory was all but certain.
In the Great Hall…
Mantis was already seated within when they arrived.
Hydra faced the four of them and shared what he knew. “Those fucking mutants were always suspicious of me, and now that you’ve ‘gone missing’ they’re on my ass like stink on shit. We’re out of time. We have to act before they do – let me introduce you to some people.”
He clapped his hands.
Cloudhawk watched as eight people walked into the hall. They were all roughly the same in build and bearing. Though he couldn’t sense anything right away, Cloudhawk could tell these men were first-class wastelands warriors. All of them were at least comparable to Leonine.
“These eight warriors are the best of the best here in Greenland Outpost. They’re my handpicked bodyguards and will be splitting up into two groups to help you fight. Once the mutants are dealt with, we’ll have a shot at the man who commands them.” Hydra waved his hands as he spoke. “Snaketooth, Artemis – introduce yourselves.”
One of the men with long straight hair stepped forward. His eyes were wide and slender, sharply outlined, with a keen gaze. He had a somber air about him. “I am Snaketooth and I’m responsible for the other three in Team One.”
“And I am Artemis [1], leader of the remaining three on Team Two.” This one was actually a woman, somewhat more petite than the others. She had clean, short-cut hair and was clad in leather armor that constrained her chest, upon which the tattoo of a red rose was visible. Her thin waist splayed out into large buttocks, and she held herself with an alluring posture. All in all, she was an attractive wastelander woman. “Such a shame the demon hunter is a woman… I was planning on seeing what a hunter was like in the sack.”
Her voice was lilting and seductive, like the purr of a feral cat.
The Bloodsoaked Queen stared at her with frigid eyes. Her harsh voice croaked through the mask. “I wouldn’t mind burning the tongue out of that filthy mouth.”
For emphasis, she slowly raised her hands and rested the Burning Angels against the wooden table. An intangible energy invisible to the naked eye surged through the furniture and in an instant, it had become a charred ruin. The remains clattered to the ground.
Everyone gaped at her, utterly shocked. None of the wastelanders could understand what they’d just witnessed. Even the coquettish and bold Artemis broke into a cold sweat. If a single touch from that woman didn’t kill her, it’d at least leave her permanently crippled.
The Queen, in contrast, was completely casual. She’d made sure her prestige was apparent to everyone gathered.
After a brief moment, Hydra gathered everyone’s attention with a cough. “So everyone’s met. Now it’s time for the plan – are there any concerns before we begin?”
“I have one.” The man with long hair, parted in the middle and falling to his shoulders, cast his eyes towards Cloudhawk. “It’s an important mission. Why is this mangy rat scampering along?”
Everyone’s eyes landed on Cloudhawk.
He was only a kid, maybe fifteen years old without any vigor to speak of. What’s more, because of his malnourished upbringing, he was little more than a stick. How could someone like that positively contribute to a mission this important?
Cloudhawk rose to his feet. “Who the fuck are you callin’ a mangy rat?!”
He hoped the Queen and Mantis would speak up, get his back. Neither of them said a word.
Shit, they still think I’m just getting in the way?
The long-haired one named Snaketooth was Hydra’s true brother. He only said what Hydra himself thought – the kid was too weak. He was useless. Hydra only kept him around because he saw how close he was to the demon hunter.
“Fine. If you’re not convinced, I’ll give you a chance to prove me wrong. Panther.” Snaketooth peered down his nose at Cloudhawk before glancing to a man at his side. A man with coal black skin stepped forward. “If you can go ten rounds with Panther, I’ll take back what I said. You can come on the mission.”
In reality, Cloudhawk wasn’t thrilled to be participating in such a dangerous mission. But anger swelled up in him, stoked by the snide looks from all sides and the fact that his companions still saw him as garbage. No one actually expected him to accept, but then… “Good! I’ll give it a shot!”
This kid is a fucking moron! He sure had a high opinion of himself despite clearly being nothing better than average.
The crew Hydra had put together were his best men. Compared to the fighters of Blackflag Outpost, they were no less impressive than Mad Dog, Slyfox, Grizzly, Mantis or Wulf. This was the level they stood at. How was Cloudhawk going to be any sort of match for one of them?
Cloudhawk sometimes was perhaps a little too courageous and didn’t think through consequences. Yet, the Queen and Mantis didn’t try to stop him. He could stand to be knocked down a peg or two.
Cloudhawk and Panther separated from the others and the young man pulled the exorcist rod from his waist. Panther was a compact black man about five feet and a handful of inches tall– roughly the same height as the fifteen year old he planned to pummel. Black clothing covered almost everything, including his face. For weapons, he produced two sai that’d been tucked into his waist.
These weapons were about two feet long and were impressively sharp – deadly, in fact. One could guess Panther’s fighting style based on the tools he’d chosen.
Leonine’s weapon was a two handed saber, designed for a heavy and powerful strike. It was strong but demanded a lot of energy to wield and required dramatic sweeping movements. Panther’s weapons were compact three-pronged daggers, which alluded to his style being more focused on speed and agility. For Cloudhawk, he was more troublesome than a heavy hitter.
He didn’t think too much about it. He dropped into a battle stance and called out a challenge. “Bring it on!”
Panther looked back scornfully. He rushed forward as fast as a whip. Faster than Cloudhawk could blink, the small man appeared on his left, jabbing at him with his sai in a reverse grip. It all happened too quickly. This guy had to be just as fast as Blackflag Outpost’s late elite commander Wulf!
Mantis lifted his hand, ready to throw one of his flying knives.
Anyone could tell, even without thinking, that Cloudhawk couldn’t cope with attacks this fast. But then the unthinkable happened as Cloudhawk brought his bladed exorcist rod around in a counter attack from below.
Panther could drive his sai into Clo
udhawk’s neck, but the kid’s attack was just as fast and just as vicious. If he committed to the attack, the momentum would cause him to fall right on the staff head where it would impale his belly. The end result would be a trade of a life for a life.
No choice.
Panther redirected his weapons, bringing them down on the exorcist rod. As the two struggled against each other, their weapons emitted ear-piercing screeches. One sai kept Cloudhawk’s staff out of the way, while Panther whipped his second dagger around right for the center of his opponent’s chest.
“Fuck – off!”
Cloudhawk’s eyes were red. A dreadful power welled up within him, infusing him with strength. He wrenched his staff free from Panther’s firm control.
Panther staggered back. The attack aimed for Cloudhawk’s chest only managed to leave behind a shallow gash. Meanwhile the kid’s sudden rush of strength had thrown him off balance, so he stumbled away a few paces.
Contrary to what everyone expected, this kid’s reaction time, speed, and strength were pretty good!
Panther was angry, ashamed of being shown up by this brat. He was ready to attack again when, before he could take a step, Cloudhawk wrapped himself in his cloak… and vanished.
1. Her name is 丽 – beautiful – but she’s also a badass. Grecian goddess of the hunt seemed fitting
68 Operation Fiendslayer
Cloudhawk had silently vanished like a drop of dew in the morning sun. Something so supernatural as disappearing into thin air wasn’t something typical humans were capable of – did this mean this kid was also a demon hunter?
Hydra, Snaketooth, and Artemis were absolutely shocked. Were their eyes deceiving them?
Leonine had witnessed Cloudhawk kill a man with a single blow when they first met. The scoundrel had been no weakling, but was nonetheless broken in half. He’d known there was something special, but he figured it was the staff he used and thought nothing more of it. Now, he thought this had to be the legendary power of the demon hunters he was seeing. This unremarkable kid was wielding the power of that holy order. It was almost unbelievable.
The Wastelander Page 50
