Chapter 37: 16. starting the path to ember (3)

“Young Master.” Tor placed a steaming bowl of rabbit stew with a cup of tea on the table. Leko hummed a thanks before freezing.

“Tor.” The chef turned to Leko, “you didn’t make the other's food like ours, right?”

Tor didn’t cook for anyone else except Leko and his servants. It’s been that way for the last three months. Leko’s eyes flicked from the curious-looking guards to Tor. The chef shook his head and Leko sighed. He dismissed Tor and ignored the guard's eyes on him.

“Young Master, is there something wrong with the food?” Zerin probed. His hands hesitated over his own stew.

“Tor mixes poison with our meals and drinks for training,” Leko explained while eating.

A choking sound dragged his attention to Ran, who clutched at her throat. Leko’s eyes snap to Tor, who frowned and shook his head.

“What's wrong?” He asked the guards as Lio thumped her on the back with his fist while she struggled with heaving breaths.

“Wrong pipe,” she choked out.

“Eat slower. There’s more food. You don’t need to rush.” He frowned at the woman. Shaking his head, he looked at the swaying trees that stood at the far edge of the clearing they were camping in. His eyes trailed to the little figures that scaled up and down the bark. Leko’s eyes flicked to the setting sun. He sighed and placed the food down next to him.

“Lance,” Leko called the captain to him. When he stood at his side, Leko continued with a far lower voice. “There are a few dozen Buthas in the trees. Make sure everyone knows.”

The captain flicked his eyes to the trees in the far distance before analyzing Leko’s face. Leko raised a brow at the man, who bowed and made rounds by each of the people in the party.

Buthas were goblin-like monsters with sharp claws and even sharper teeth. Leko kept his face carefully blank. The monsters loved blood. They drank it, bathed in it, and dyed their clothes in it. Their favorite blood was naturally human blood. The critters were weak alone but if they caught you by surprise and in a horde. They could be fatal.

The party spread out in groups of two. Leko watched them from his seat. Kurio and Faier stood behind him. Buni and Tor paired together and roamed the area in front of Leko. He wanted to snort at the formation. His servants wanted to keep him safe. Leko appreciated it but it was a stupid move. They were leaving too many holes for the Buthas to get through. Were they relying on the knights? Possibly, Leko wouldn’t accept that.

“Buni, Tor split up northwest and northeast, Kurio, Faier between them.”

He wasn’t even going to waste his breath on the others. They’d hesitate when following his orders, and a hesitation in battle was a life-threatening mistake. Having the four of his servant at the front should be enough. He’d back them up from behind.

As the sun set completely, and darkness settled, Leko waited. The others fidgeted in the silence. The knights shot him doubtful glances. Leko kept his eyes on the spots between the trees that were a few shades too dark. He pulled the crossbow that Kurio had placed behind him to the front and loaded it up. Buthas could see in the dark, but they couldn’t see far. With the distance between them and the trees, Leko had no need to worry that they would notice what he was doing.

He aimed at one of the moving dark spots. The wind whispered as the arrow broke through. It shot straight for Leko’s target. A screech vibrated through the once silent clearing. In an instant, the area sprang to life. The small monsters dashed from the trees. Leko reloaded and shot down Butha after Butha as quick as he drew in breaths of air. He watched each arrow hit its target. He watched the little things fall and others climbed over the dead ones. Some ripped the arrows from the dead bodies and threw them with sharp accuracy at the party. Leko grinned as he shot one arrow that was flying at Faier straight out of the air.

Crossbow has leveled up.

Butha killed 20 EXP gained.

Butha killed 20 EXP gained.

Butha killed 20 EXP gained.

Leveled up.

Crossbow leveled up.

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He dismissed all the notifications.

‘Stop all notifications until after the battle’

Notifications have been blocked as Hunter Leko can not multitask.

Leko threw an insulted look at the last notification before focusing on the monsters.

---

Her whip circled the neck of one of the monsters. She pulled her hand back and ripped the head off. She lashed out with her whip again. It cut through the torso of another Butha. A soft thud sounded next to her. Faier glanced at a Butha with an arrow through its skull. She smiled and breathed a silent thank you to her young master as she continued tearing through the bodies. Faier made sure to flick her attention to her friends as they fought. Grabbing at any stray Buthas that might sneak up to them when she could.

---

Leko frowned at the depleting arrows. His gaze jumped up and moved from one person to the next. There were a few scratches, but no injuries looked fatal. He watched Ran taunt and play with the Buthas instead of outright killing them. He aimed for the Butha that jumped at her throat. Ran froze as the arrow skimmed past her cheek. She spun and stared at the Butha that lay dead on the floor. Another thud had her spin to the front and see the Butha she’d been taunting dead right by her feet. Ran looked up and locked eyes with Leko’s chilly stare. She stumbled back and tripped over the body behind her. Ran landed with a harsh thud against the floor.

“What are you doing?” Lance hissed as he grabbed her and dragged her up. He cut down a pair of Buthas that tried to grab them. Ran stumbled and stabbed a Butha that slashed at her calf. Her knee buckled, but she ignored the bloody gash.

Leko watched them out of the corner of his eye for a few more seconds. He lowered the weapon as the rest of the party killed off the last remaining Buthas.

‘Show me the notifications’

He flinched at the piled notifications. Leko glanced through them with a small, satisfied hum. He’d leveled up from this small skirmish. He’d killed thirty-seven of the Buthas which gave him an extra seven hundred and forty experience points. His Crossbow skill leveled up four times, leaving him at a whopping level seventy-five.

‘Thanks, system’

A ping sounded in response. Leko hummed and raised a brow. After a few minutes of silence, he brushed it off.

“Kurio,” the butler's attention snapped to Leko, “injuries?”

“Myself nor my sister have any. Buni seemed to get a scratch and Tor has none. The knights have a few cuts from the claws, but thankfully, no bites.”

“There are potions in my bag. Give them to the knights and one for Buni if he wants it. When you’re done, please fetch my arrows.”

Kurio bowed and did as he was told. Leko allowed everyone to settle before he walked to the knights. Kurio glanced at him. He started picking up the arrows closer to the group of knights. Kurio’s eyes bore into the group. They looked up and quieted their chattering when they noticed Leko walking toward them. Leko had his firm gaze on Ran. Her eyes stayed level with the ground that she picked at with her fingers.

“This isn’t a game.” Ran flinched and clenched her fists. She pulled her hands to her chest but kept her gaze down. “You aren’t all-powerful. You aren’t powerful at all. Look at you, you’re scratched up and bloody, yet the servants have no injuries bar a single cut.” Leko wanted to send them back. He didn’t need them, but the Duke would be furious at both him and them. “If you want to play, pack your things and go. If you do it again while traveling with me, I’ll send you back myself and make sure they revoked your title of knight. We don’t need kids playing at being knights.” He turned his attention from the shaking girl to the rest of them. Leko kept his voice even. He did not let a single bit of his annoyance bleed through. “Lance, you may be the captain, but you bow to me, you listen to me. I don’t care if any of you don’t like me, don’t trust me, and don’t want to be around me. You will stop second-guessing my orders. I did not ask for you to be here, and neither do I want you here. From now on, if anyone of you questions me, I will send you back to Hosyn. Am I understood?”

The knights bowed their heads and muttered agreements. Leko scanned their reluctant faces. He shoved his annoyance into the deepest part of his mind and stared them down. Lio was the first to look away. The other knights followed and glanced away from Leko’s gaze.

“Young Master, the fight has energized this humble butler. A nice game of hide-and-seek will help get rid of the excess energy.” Buni’s scary sweet voice had Leko blanching. He turned to the smiling butler and contemplated running. A dark, malevolent aura surrounded the man. “Come now, master,” Buni dragged out. “We’ve all had a nice workout. How about yours?”

Leko bolted. The cackling of the devil struck a cord of unholy fear into his heart. Despite this, Leko couldn’t fight off the small twitch of his lips completely.

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