Chapter 13

"Seems like the humans aren't coming out after all."

In response to the young warrior standing beside him, Gajeta deliberately raised his voice to answer.

"Hmph! Cowards! The adults may have said all sorts of things, but where is the need to fear such cowards?!"

Voices of agreement rose from those around him.

As Shemul had guessed, Gajeta, seeing that Garam was hesitant to start the battle, had deemed him a coward, gathered a group of young supporters, and launched an attack on the humans on his own.

Without the permission of the chieftain Garam, leading everyone to challenge the humans to a battle was, of course, a serious act of defiance.

If he did this, he would surely lose his status as a warrior.

In Zoan, where brave warriors are revered, losing one's status as a warrior is the greatest disgrace. Even if one's life is not taken, the scorn of those around would be unbearable, and one would eventually be forced to leave the village. In this harsh environment, it would be impossible to live alone outside the village, which is tantamount to a death sentence.

But, Gajeta thought.

If he could take the village that the adults had failed to take many times, the adults would not be able to punish him. No, more than that, they would have to respect him, who had been looked down upon as a young man.

This was the perfect opportunity to show up the adults who had always called them "youngsters."

"Come on, beat the drums of attack! Scatter the humans and reclaim our village!"

"Roarrrrrr!!"

The beat of the drums echoed through the mountains.

With the sound of the drums, about twenty Zoans ran down the mountain slope on all fours.

◆◇◆◇◆

"Who beat the war drums?!"

The sound of the war drums had thrown the hidden village into chaos.

Thinking that the humans had attacked, the warriors grabbed their weapons and rushed out of the tents, while the female warriors tried to lead the elders and children deeper into the mountains for safety. In the confusion, tents were trampled, and children began to cry.

Garam shouted to calm the commotion.

"Be still, my fellow Zoans!!"

The panicked Zoans regained their composure at his loud voice.

"Chieftain, the sound of the drums is not near the hidden village."

The one who spoke was a red-haired Zoan standing to Garam's right. He was Garguz, the right-hand man of the previous chieftain, Garam's father, and the first to support Garam as the new chieftain after Garguz's death. His name was Gurkaka.

In the harsh natural environment, the chieftain of the Zoans is chosen based on ability rather than bloodline. Gurkaka's bravery and the skills he had demonstrated in supporting the previous chieftain were recognized by many of his fellow Zoans. If he had wished, he could have become the chieftain himself, but he chose to remain in his current position, saying, "I prefer supporting the chieftain rather than being the chieftain."

"The sound of the drums is near the village."

When Garam considered the possibility of drums being beaten near the village, which was now under human control, the first face that came to mind was Gajeta's. Garam looked around and confirmed that Gajeta was not there.

"What happened to Gajeta?!"

"He is being searched for now."

It seemed that Gurkaka had already considered this possibility.

After a while, a young warrior was brought to Garam by an adult warrior. The young warrior, who seemed to have something to hide, was acting suspiciously. Gurkaka shouted at him.

"What happened to Gajeta?! If you know anything, tell the chieftain everything!"

The young warrior, who had given up, answered with a face that looked like he was about to cry.

"He said he was going to reclaim the village and took everyone with him... I told him it was wrong to do it without the chieftain's permission and didn't go with them."

"Why did you keep quiet about it?! Keeping quiet is the same as being involved!"

The young warrior, who was cowering in fear at the red-haired Gurkaka's anger, replied.

"Gajeta told me not to tell anyone..."

Hearing this, Garam ran off. Gurkaka, who was calling out to Garam, shouted back without stopping.

"Gurkaka! You, Rakaraka, and Mujina, along with the female warriors, guard the hideout! The humans might attack!"

"What will you do, Chieftain?!"

"I will bring Gajeta back! Warriors, follow me!"

◆◇◆◇◆

With Gajeta leading, the young Zoan warriors ran down the mountain slope on all fours.

Originally a people of the plains, the Zoans were not good at running on slopes. Their running ability was best displayed when they ran on all fours. However, because their legs were longer than their arms, they were not good at running down slopes.

However, even so, they were still Zoan warriors. They skillfully avoided fallen trees and stumps and ran straight toward the village, like raptors diving for prey.

The human soldiers, who were waiting to intercept them, drew their bows at the command of their commander and fired a volley of arrows.

The sound of dozens of arrows slicing through the air, "swish!" was more like the sound of air being pierced.

"Scatter!"

At Gajeta's command, the Zoan warriors jumped to the side. Immediately after, countless arrows pierced the slope.

"Kyaa!"

Two Zoans, who couldn't avoid the arrows, were hit in the shoulder and leg and tumbled down the slope, rolling with rocks and dirt. Their comrades, who tried to help them, were hit by another volley of arrows and became like pinned insects.

"You foul beasts who scavenge in the filth!"

Enraged Zoan warriors rammed into the wooden fence set up on the slope with their shoulders. The fence, which had been hit by the momentum of their run down the slope, creaked and fell.

"Now! Fire your arrows!!"

However, the Zoans, who had stopped to knock down the fence, were hit by a third volley of arrows. Three more fell, but the young warriors continued to charge bravely to knock down the next fence.

But, with their momentum stopped, Gajeta and the others could not easily knock down the next fence, and they became easy targets.

"Gajeta! If we keep this up...!"

While cutting away the arrows with his machete, Gajeta tried to break through the next fence, but it was difficult. One of the warriors who had finally reached the fence and was about to cut the ropes tying the fence posts and crossbeams with his machete was hit by a volley of arrows and fell backward without even a scream.

Gajeta, cutting away the arrows, gritted his teeth.

If we fight them head-on, those humans are no match for us! Without even engaging in sword combat, we shouldn't lose to these cowards who use bows and arrows from behind a fence!

However, in reality, there were still two fences between Gajeta and the human soldiers, and his machete was not long enough to reach them.

"You cowards! Come and fight me!"

Gajeta screamed, but the human response was another volley of arrows.

◆◇◆◇◆

"Stupid Gajeta!"

As his fellow Zoans fell one after another, Shemul shouted in anger.

He wanted to rush to their aid immediately, but he couldn't leave the blue horse in the mountains. Besides, even if he rushed there now, it wouldn't make a difference, and it wouldn't change anything.

If Gajeta were here, he would punch him in the face, grab him by the collar, and drag him before the chieftain, but the anger and frustration were almost overwhelming.

Next to Shemul, the blue horse frowned at the one-sided slaughter of the Zoans.

"Why did he do something so reckless...?"

"Exactly! To start a battle without knowing their own immaturity!!"

Shemul, who looked as if he had no outlet for his frustration, agreed with the blue horse's mutter.

However, the blue horse felt a sense of dissonance with Shemul's words.

He felt a fatal discrepancy between himself and Shemul.

"Damn! Another fellow...!"

Shemul, who didn't seem to notice this, was staring intently at the battle of his fellow Zoans.

◆◇◆◇◆

Garam and the warriors who had rushed to the scene were speechless at the worst situation they had ever imagined. On the slope cut into the mountain below, the bodies of young warriors lay scattered, and only a few were still alive.

Even so, the young warriors were still trying to knock down the fence, but to Garam and the others, it looked reckless.

"Beat the retreat drums!"

At Garam's command, the drummer hurriedly beat the retreat drums.

"Thud thud thud! Thud thud thud!"

One of the young warriors turned around at the sound of the drums.

"Gajeta! The chieftain and the others have come to help!"

Ignoring the excited voice of his comrade, Gajeta tried to push forward.

"Gajeta, Gajeta! It's the retreat drums!"

The young warriors were already retreating. They knew that if they continued, they would be wiped out before they could knock down the fence. However, since Gajeta had not ordered a retreat, they had been unable to retreat. The arrival of the retreat drums was a blessing to them.

However, Gajeta shook off the pleading gaze of his comrades and shouted.

"Can we retreat here? Don't give up! Knock down the fence! Kill the humans!!"

At this point, Gajeta was no different from a spoiled child.

If they retreated now, Gajeta would lose his status as a warrior. More than that, with so many casualties, he would either have his hands cut off and be exiled or be left in the plains to be eaten by wolves.

For Gajeta, who had dreamed of becoming the strongest warrior in the "Clan of Fangs," this was unacceptable.

"Those fools! Do they intend to be wiped out?!"

Seeing that the young warriors were not retreating, the adult warriors shouted in anger.

Garam felt the same way. If they wanted to die so much, let them die! But as the chieftain, he could not abandon his fellow Zoans, even if they had committed such a foolish act.

"Keep beating the retreat drums! The remaining warriors, follow me! We will bring those fools back!"

With Garam leading, the adult warriors ran down the slope on all fours.

"Raise your voices!"

The warriors raised their voices in unison. The human soldiers, who had noticed the Zoan reinforcements, began to rain arrows on Garam and the others.

"You, keep the humans' attention on you!"

Saying this, Garam ran down the slope alone. The soldiers, who noticed Garam, aimed their arrows at him, but the arrows did not reach Garam, who skillfully dodged left and right on the unstable slope.

When Garam reached the young warriors, he shouted at them.

"You fools! Retreat, retreat now!"

At the chieftain's command, everyone except Gajeta began to retreat. Gajeta tried to hold them back, but no one was listening to him anymore.

"If you want to die, die on your own! Don't drag everyone else in!"

Garam, coldly saying this to Gajeta, who still refused to retreat, took the rear of the retreating young warriors, cutting away the arrows and retreating up the mountain. Gajeta, left alone, let out a roar of frustration and finally retreated.

In this battle, the humans lost only arrows and one fence. However, most of the arrows were recovered after the Zoans retreated, and the fence was repaired by sunset, so they lost nothing in substance.

On the other hand, the Zoans lost many young warriors who would have been the future of the clan, and it would take years to fill the gap.

To anyone, it was clear that the Zoans had suffered a great defeat.

The Zoans, who retreated to the hideout with many casualties, all had their faces twisted with humiliation at the victorious cries of the human soldiers they could hear from behind.

◆◇◆◇◆

"Damn, damn..."

Shemul, like the retreating fellow Zoans, was trembling with humiliation at the victorious cries of the humans.

Shemul was a warrior. He and his fellow Zoans were prepared to fight and die. He did not hate the humans for this.

However, what was happening there was not the treatment of the bodies of brave warriors who had died in battle.

In front of him, the human soldiers were holding up the bodies of the fallen Zoans as if they were trophies from a hunt, moving their arms like puppets and laughing at their ridiculousness. Some were not satisfied with just kicking the bodies and were urinating on them.

"You foul beasts who scavenge in the filth! You beasts!"

What could he say to the blue horse, who was also human? He could only look at Shemul's trembling shoulders in silence.

After some time, Shemul, who had finally suppressed his passion, said to the blue horse, who had silently watched over him, "I'm sorry."

"Perhaps to the humans, we Zoans are nothing more than animals with a bit more intelligence."

Shemul's words rang true. From the blue horse's perspective, the way the humans treated the Zoan bodies was like the treatment of hunted prey.

Shemul turned to the blue horse and looked him straight in the eye.

"Soma, I owe you a great debt and have sworn to repay it. But I am a warrior of the 'Clan of Fangs.' I cannot turn my back on my fellow Zoans when they are preparing to fight with all their might. I may lose my life without fulfilling my promise to you. If that happens, you may hate me for my incompetence."

Soma was taken aback. In a world he still didn't understand, if he lost Shemul's protection, how could he live?

However, understanding Shemul's situation, he couldn't cling to him in an undignified manner. He mustered his remaining pride and smiled.

"Given all you've done for me, I can't hate you."

"…! I'm sorry."

Shemul forced a smile and a bright voice.

"Nothing, it's not like we've lost. This time, it was a few who acted rashly, but next time, all the clan's warriors will fight together. The strongest warrior, 'Fierce Fang,' will easily break through such a fence!"

At Shemul's words, Soma thought, "Huh?"

He had felt this before, but there was something different about Shemul's thinking.

His chest felt uneasy.

What is it, something is wrong.

"Shemul, could it be that...?"

Soma hesitated to speak.

Was it right to say this? Soma, who still didn't understand this world well, couldn't judge whether it was right to say it.

Moreover, if he said it, he would be involved in the war between the Zoans and the humans.

For Soma, a child from modern Japan, war and killing were only things in the world of fiction. The idea of being directly involved in such things filled him with an overwhelming sense of rejection.

"What's wrong, Soma?"

So, when Shemul asked, Soma could only answer, "Nothing."