The Last Hero

Chapter Four

They were unaware of the destination they were going to and all they knew was that they needed to get far from this kingdom. Tristan would most probably put a bounty on their heads so they knew that if they wanted to avoid any further danger, they needed to be quick.

Caden walked deeper and deeper into the Dark Forest hoping that his destination would be a joyous one. He hoped that he did not have to properly hurt any innocents along the way. That is the one thing his consciousness held onto.

To give Katherine credit, although she was uncomfortable with the long walk, she kept on. Without whining or complaining she carried on following Caden.

However, their good fortune was not to last forever. It had to run out sooner or later. They came upon an overturned carriage that was set alight as shouts could be heard from within. Laughter boomed around the burning carriage that caught Caden's attention.

He found seven strongly built men to the left of the carriage. They were dressed in the normal tempered leather armour that most bandits and thieves wore. Two of the men held a young girl each. Both of the girls seemed to be of beastmen descent as their furry pointed ears pressed back upon their heads.

They were both shouting and pleading to be let go as they watched the carriage burn.

The closest girl was larger than the other in both height and weight. She has to be either an older sister or the mother. Caden thought to himself softly. He knew what these men had in store and he knew that if he wanted to avoid unnecessary danger he would not get involved. But he had to. He knew that he had to save the second girl. She looked to be only eight or maybe nine years old.

Both the beastgirls seemed to be wolf or large dog in nature as their long furry tails were tucked between their legs. Both wore a one piece dress that was plain to the eyes of Katherine yet it was elegant to the eyes of Caden. It was elegant within its simplicity. The larger girl's dress was dark blue while the shorter one was pale red. Her face streaming with tears.

It was strange though that the appearance of the little beastgirl was a mix of human and beast. She had the ears and tail of the beast yet the body of a human. She must be a mixed breed. The mother on the other hand was covered in fur from head to toe with a set of well-endowed breasts. Both had a golden shine to their fur.

Caden was thinking of a strategy when the unthinkable happened. One of the large men to his left unsheathed his sword quickly and plunged it into the chest of the larger woman. It was quick and caught Caden off guard. He stared at the larger beastwoman as she slowly fell to the ground limply and lifeless.

The smaller beastgirl crying for her mother. So it was her mother. Caden's subconscious concluded.

Caden quickly unsheathed his obsidian short sword and lunged forward. He needed to end this quickly in hopes to keep both Katherine and the beastgirl safe.

He thrust his sword into the closest bandit as it cut through his chest swiftly and with ease. As he pulled the sword free he kicked the lifeless body forward into the man that previously held the older beastwoman.

He twisted his body left to avoid an arrow shooting for his chest. He ran with great speed towards the archer on the far end of the group. He dodged two more arrows coming for his head as he twisted to his left once more, bringing his left leg up and around connecting it to the head of the archer, snapping his neck instantly.

He refocused on the remaining five men as he equipped another short sword in his left hand. This one was at least half the size of his obsidian sword and honestly could be called a dagger rather than a sword.

It was silver in colour with a bright red gem in either side of the small hilt. Katherine immediately remembered the dagger from when she gifted it to him before he went off to fight the Demon King. Why would he keep it?