Chapter 52: 52 Did you order that volley of arrows?
"~Aunghh~"
*Plak~*Plak*Plak*
"~Aghh~Umhh~!"
*Slurp!*
"~So long~"
*Gulp*
"~I luv thish~"
"Oi! The fuck is wrong with you all?" Mark's face was dark as he kept tossing the pasta in the pan while cooking some Spaghetti. He looked at the women in the table slurping the pasta he just cooked while saying some misleading things.
"Stop doing that or the guards and maids outside would think too much on what we are doing here." Mark then put the pasta on a plate and took a fork to eat. He sometimes cooked for himself but he thought it was good to give some treats to his subordinates from time to time. He just did not think that their reactions would be this extreme.
"*Slurp* But my-*gulp*- Lord, your dish is an eye opener for us*Slurp*. Your skills are equal if not better-*Gulp*- with the royal chefs." said the widowed Lady who Mark learned to be Janice Bisset. She was a commoner who got married to a Knight who had a small plot of land nearby Castle Rachard.
"Do not speak with your mouth full, that is so unbecoming of a Lady." Mark said as he looked at the Vampires weirdly. He thought that they might not be able to eat the food which he forgot but they seem okay and even able to taste it. The results of his observation from the various test he did with their blood made Mark realize that the Elixir of Life has something more to it that it seems.
The Lahmians were still Humans when he used DNA test but there are just small differences like how their bodies age slowly and they produce way less fatigue hormones thus has more endurance. There was that unstable element which makes their cells hypersensitive to UV rays and other things. They feed on blood due to their bodies needing a higher form of energy source which was the plasma in blood.
(A/N: I'm using Bullsh*t-no-jutsu here so don't mind me. It's an AU anyways so I'm changing some stuff in canon lore of Warhammer fantasy.)
They still can eat and emit even a small amount of warmth like humans thus the infiltration of vampires were made easy in various mortal kingdoms. There were more tests he wanted to do but that will be for later. Soon he finished eating and stood up to do the dishes but Melissa beat him to it, he didn't mind as he went back to the carriage to take a small nap.
But before he could he saw his omnitrix light up again, it was about thirty minutes since it deactivated and it made Mark skeptical. He did not remember such small details in the Ben 10 tv show so he was not sure if the time for recharging was erratic an not uniform. Sometimes Mark only needed to wait for five minutes before it was recharged but there were also times where it took 10 or 20 minutes to recharge.
Mark shrugged and went back to the carriage to put the horse back in for the meantime along with the shadows before putting the carriage back in his inventory. He was ten left alone again in the middle of the road after midnight facing the cold winds. He was about to turn the dial of the watch when he instantly felt the hairs behind his neck rise.
*Swoosh!!!*
Mark instantly ducked and rolled forward to avoid a pair of large claws grabbing unto him. Mark felt the sharp claws almost grab his neck which made him shiver at how close he is to death. He looked up and saw a silhouette in the air of a large winged creature in the skies, it was then Mark realized the moon is not Manslieb(Normal moon). It was Morslieb(Chaos Moon) that hangs upon the dark night sky, Mark now realized why the caravans he passed through earlier were heavily guarded.
He took out a Long bow almost as tall as he is as he could handle the draw weight easily. He then took out some normal arrows and stabbed them in the ground as well as some armor piercing arrows and a few tranq arrows. He was not sure what creature it was as he still watched it circle the sky but from the foul smell that it left behind meant it was most likely a chaos tainted being.
He watched as the creature circled around the slight greenish night sky and Mark was able to deduce that it was not a feathered one but something more like a bat-like wings. Giant Bats? No, it was something else. It was a six-limbed creature, a dragon perhaps? Might be but it did not breathe fire at him the first chance it got. Soon the creature swooped down and Mark realized what eh was up against.
"Shit!!" Mark pulled an armor piercing arrow and drew instantly as the creature closed in. It did not seem to take him seriously as he could see various arrows pierced on its rotting flesh as well as various wounds festering which meant it does not care for pain. Mark released the arrow which made a hissing sound in the wind flying towards the abomination of a bat and a stag.
Mark then rolled away as the creature was destabilized in its flight, Mark did not aim for the head as it would be blocked by the horns of the creature. Instead he aimed for the joint on its right wing thus making the creature lose its ability to fly for a moment. He watched as the being rolled on the ground giving out a deathly shriek that gave chills to every living being nearby.
"Damn, to think I'd face a Preyton on my way here." Mark did not know his early stunt of running past the forest of Arden caught the attention of this malevolent being. A Preyton, a quadruped being with a body of a stag in front and hind quarters with feet of a black eagle as well as wings of a large bat. This was an abomination that made many knights try to kill but was killed instead due to the creature's cunning behavior.
Mark ran back to the arrows and drew two normal ones as he started raining shot after shot to the creature. But it seems that it was not that effective as It stood up and charged at Mark with horns trying to impale him. Mark drew a tranq arrow hoping it would slow down the creature, after shooting two he dodged to the side as he was almost skewered by the sharp dark horns of the Preyton.
*SKRAAAAAA!!!*
It wailed as it tried to charge again only for Mark to change weapons and took out two shields. One to throw like a Frisbee and another to block the incoming horns towards is guts. The shield hit a forelimb which made it lose balance thus tripping in front of Mark yet is did not relent as the creature showed ferocity even with limbs going out of commission. Mark was able to block the charge and used the momentum to gain distance from the Preyton.
"F*ck this luck of mine. Thankfully I was able to put the horses away or else things would be really hard." Even with a super soldier level of strength he still found it hard to block that charge. He then took out a spear in his inventory and went on the defensive but he saw the creature adjust its limbs to recover the damage done.
"Damn that's cheating!" Mark was angry as he saw that but as he was about to try and transform he saw a few lights in the horizon. The creature also saw this and its red glowing eyes full of bloodlust shone, it had first thought Mark was easy prey when it followed the scent here but it found that he was a hard prey to catch. Frustrated at the failed hunt it turned its attention to easier prey, it was similar to its past playthings so it changed targets.
Preyton were beings said to have been made by Bray Shamans by corrupting a Great Stag thus it lost its noble and elegant bearing replaced by cruelty and bloodlust for the living. It charged towards the caravan that was about a league away which made Mark curse as he followed the beast to stop it.
"God damn it!!" Mark ran for about 70 kms/h on foot even when fully decked with armor. He barely kept up with the beast but he was thankful that its wings were not fixed yet due to an arrow lodge on its joints.
"Fuck I've got to warn them!" Mark then used his ring of fire throwing out two fire balls to the side of the creature which made it stagger for a bit but still kept running towards the Caravan. So he used another to make the situation known to the unsuspecting group of people.
Thankfully the explosion was enough to make the group in front stop and look at the source of the fire, the Preyton realized this so it let out a terror inducing shriek.
[In the Caravan]
"My Lady there is something in front of us." said a guard as he reported towards a beautifully decorated carriage. He looked middle aged and was looking around at the mercenaries they hired contemptuously.
"Is it Bandits?" answered a soft mellow voice inside.
"I don't think so my Lady, but it would mostly be some hedge wizards seeing that magic earlier." answered the guard arrogantly as he knew the one inside the carriage was a better spell caster.
"Is that so, stop the caravan. We will not have part of thi-"
*SHRIEEEKKK!!!*
Everybody in the caravan paused as chills went up their spine hearing the deathly scream.
"Everybody in positions!! That includes you louts, get in line!!" shouted the guard besides the carriage. The mercenaries looked coldly at this pompous fellow, it was like this since they left Altdorf. Ordering them around like they were his servants, they should file a complaint to their guild once this is over.
The hurriedly went into position as they saw another explosion that made them look at the one in front carefully. Soon they were able to see the thing that caused such fear inducing scream.
"P-p-preyton!!!" screamed a mercenary on the side as he paled and turned around to run away. The other guards were also shaken as they saw something that induced nightmares even to the bravest of knights.
"Hold your ground!! It is useless to run away, better to kill the creature before it kills us!! Arrows Knock!! Loose!!" said the guard as he signaled for the archers behind them.
"B-but sir! There is someone there!" said a mercenary archer said as he noticed the fire explosion was caused by magic.
"Just shoot or I'll execute you all!!" said the guard, the other mercenaries turned cold as they felt that this guy was pushing it. They were just hired to protect them but that does not give this asshole the right to execute them. But some shot nonetheless as they were scared of the creature in front, they then saw the beast get hit but a shout made the others stop on their tracks.
"Motherf*cker!! Who shot the arrows!!"
[Mark's POV]
"Motherf*cker!! Who shot the arrows!!" I shouted as soon as the arrows reached me, I was just about ten meter behind the beast as I was almost hit by the volley. I was just slashing the beast on its sides with the spear to slow it down but this is what I get?
"So much for warning these f*cktards!!" Mark cursed as he aimed his spear towards the back of the Preyton which was distracted by the volley and threw it with all my strength. I could see it bury deep within the back of the skull of the beast but it still trashed around.
Thankfully the tranq arrow seemed to have taken effect or else I would have a hard time running after the beast. I took a deep breath as I jumped at the back of the beast and swung my shield to hit the butt of the spear with a swing bearing the full force of a peak Human.
*Thud!!*
As soon As I hit it the spear buried deeper and went out the mouth of the beast. The beast instantly died as it stopped running but the momentum was still there as it slid forward for a few meters stopping a bit in front of the mercenaries with shield on front. Mark was standing at the back with black blood all over his armor looking like a man coming out of the battlefield.
He looked around as he held his shield and saw the chocked faces of the people in front. He could see they were mercenaries so he did not focus on them, he then saw another group on the back with better armors and uniformed attires. But they were also shaken and that left with the guy besides the carriage looking at him like he was beneath him. Mark got ticked off at that stare but he still asked calmly.
"Oi, did you order that volley of arrows?"
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