Walking towards the Line, the natural defense of our village, I once again stood still and gaze upon the gentle slopes. Reminding me of the brutal battle took place days ago, I gathered myself and walked further down. Standing on the middle of the slight decline, and here I thought it'll be a tranquil night after all this.

I've discovered prey.

Amidst the serene darkness, gentle winds bristled the plants while various incests roared in their sanctuary down in the marshes. Pairs of gleaming, green eyes lit up the dark spaces within the marsh. Without keen eyes like those that I've developed throughout my live, it will be impossible to spot such a miniscule detail. Of course, those were no doubt the eyes of stray warthogs.

Oversized boars that have almost no natural predators, fierce and territorial, with abundant shrubbery as food source, breeds like rabbits. They are definitely the infestation of the marshes. Of course, rarely would they survive if they settled in the illustrious forest beyond the marshes, all kinds of fierce creatures and abominations are waiting for such weak prey with delightful jaws.

Yes, an adult warthog could cause trouble to an entire squad of soldiers, are considered 'weak prey' to the beasts that lurk within the forests.

Snap back to reality, I could see a few warthogs grazing at the edge of the marsh, pacing to and forth in a designated area.

*

Slowly, I made my way down into the marshes and hid myself in a dense shrub. Positioning myself to face the wind flow in opposite, they won't be able to catch a scent of me. Inspecting closer, the prey numbered 4. 2 fully grown adults, 1 elderly and 1 juvenile.

The adults have big builds and sharp, curvy tusks, as I'd imagine. The elder warthog had flabbier skin and its head is hunched down, displaying its weariness as it ages. Meanwhile, the juvenile warthog is about half the size of a full fledged adult, with noticeably smaller tusks, that hadn't shown any curves yet. They are just minding their own business, grazing on the vegetation, stocking itself up so it could return to the den and breed more mini impalers. And repeat the cycle again and again. Live, breed, die, repeat.. something of that sort.

*

Soon, they gave up on grazing and moved towards another area near my position, so they could graze on the slightly longer grass on this side.

Patiently, I waited for them to approach. Biding my time..

The elderly warthog was strolling around with particular leisure, it walked ahead of the pack, straying further from the parents and child. It then slumped over and leaned on the ground, definitely enjoying the moment. While the rest clumped together and continued munching, yet to fill their appetite.

This is it!

I leapt up, brandishing Aegis, and ran straight towards the elder warthog.

(thud thud thud)

Hearing the footsteps, the pack tensed up and stood frozen, examining my sudden appearance. Especially the elder warthog, it clumsily stood itself up, and raised it's head up to match Aegis.

"HYAAH!" I roared.

(CLAAAAANG)

I charged towards it with Aegis in hand, completely ramming Aegis into its face. Without even a sound, it crumpled down onto the ground, with legs stretched and all. One of its tusk had shaterred and poured all over the ground.

"HUP!"

(swish)

Within a breath, my right hand that held Estoc flipped downwards, and stabbed it into the warthog's skull.

(spuuuuurt)

Pulling out Estoc, the spot that the tip of my blade shoved in, had left a deep wound. Bodily fluids and blood spurted out of the freshly penetrated hole, giving me a sense of pleasure. [ :^) ]

Needless to say, it's an instant kill.

"Nyiiiii!!" Another warthog squeals, angered by my actions.

Resetting my battle stance, I spread my footing, braced Estoc for a thrust and gently held Aegis in front of me.

(thump thump thump thump)

It's charging towards me, like any good warthog would do. With the trial before, I would not fear its consequences if dealt with perfectly. One often fears most that the tusks impale the body, or its weight throws off the person and tramples them alive. But with the toughness of Aegis, I think it could just halt a charge in its track.

Welp, no results if I were to just speculate, time to test the theory.

(Thud)

Raising Aegis high, I slammed it down onto the ground, its stake like bottom pinned down, allowing it to stand on its own. Clutching the handle tight, I hunkered myself down to lean on the shield, providing support.

(CLAAAAANG)

Owh.. The impact numbed my shield-arm, what monstrous strength.. Luckily, Aegis held as I expected. At least from my side, I see no dents or damage forming in the inner side. Raising my head to peek foward, that warthog is trotting backwards, with its body slumped over. Its head swaying unpredictably, obviously indicating that it's disoriented due to the impact.

"Not expecting that huh? HAH!"

Releasing grip on Aegis, my free hand held Estoc. With both arms, I raised Estoc above my shoulders and struck down, like nailling a stake onto the surface.

(Splaaat)

The disoriented porky had looked everywhere with its hazy eyes, anywhere but above. As the cranium(top of skull) of its massive head is facing me directly, I rammed Estoc in with one clean motion. The satisfying vibration that resonated after the strike tells me that the blade pierced its head entirely, and struck itself into the ground.

Sharing the same fate as the previous victim, its legs wobbled briefly before crumbling, with its head still firmly impaled to the soft grasses below. After that, I pulled out Estoc. Blood spurted out of its snouts and mouth, flowing along the terrain, which stained the lower edges of Aegis that's right in front of it.

"I'm not done yet~!"

Leaving Aegis as is, firmly stuck on the ground, I broke off into a full sprint towards the last adult warthog and its (pig)hoglet. The adult is shielding the hoglet by standing in front of it. Being so adamant on staying by its side, it must be the mother, huh?

"Ryiiiih!!" The mother roared.

Being paces away from it, I can spare no luxury to allow it continue venting its anger. I halted suddenly, while lifting Estoc with my sword-arm, like a javelin. Using the momentum built up by sprinting just now, I arched my torso and braced myself to launch Estoc.

"Haaaph!"

(Shiiiiiiing)

(Thud)

Estoc flew, and hit it dead centre between its eyes. It slouched its body to the side before toppling over, while leaving a weak moan.

"guuuh..." Those were its last words, I suppose.

To be honest, I'm just paces away from it, and warthog's heads are massive in proportion to its body, so it's not exactly an extraordinary feat. Being that close, I could just tuck Estoc between my arms and unleash a full thrust can't I? I could, but I tried this new method as a way to improve my fighting style( to look cool while doing it).

"Huuuuuh~" I tried to pull Estoc out, but it's stuck deeper than imagined.

(thud)

Oh, there's a minor annoyance that's bothering my left leg.

(thud thud)

"Ah stop~"

Looking down, I see the hoglet 'resting' itself on my left shin. Retracting itself by a few paces to charge towards my leg again and again, its trying to deal impact with its massive size and strength. The hoglet, which never had a chance to receive proper education, is ramming its forehead onto my left iron greave. Instead of its tusks, that's still developing.

Seeing its bravery in its actions to enact revenge, while trying to smash my left shin definitely brings a tear to my eye.

(thud)

"Piss off~"

Raising my left leg, I casually flailed around the hoglet, causing it to trot backwards in panic.

"Huuup!" Mustering my strength, I reclaimed Estoc.

(SPLAAAT)

"Guh! Fuck!" I moaned in disgust.

Upon removing Estoc, a torrent of blood spew forth from its third eye, showering my face and body with its contents. Wiping my face to regain vision, an assaulting stench filled my nose as I tried to inhale.

Damn, I'll have to shower right after this.. Well fuck that thing! Not literally though....

Turning my gaze to face the courageous hoglet, a smirk rose between my cheeks.

"heheheh..." I laughed.

The hoglet stood still while being oddly silent. Its eyes are staring at me and legs shaky. It's probably petrified now by this point.. well then, allow me to resolve your troubles.

Holding Estoc with both hands, I raised it above my waist, while extending it fowards in an angled manner, same as before when I've used my longsword. Such, is the basic stance of swordsmanship.

Only by using both hands, only then would one bring out the maximum potential of the sword.

Like a chevalier accepting a duel, I showed my willingness in graceful action. Though, I'm wearing ragtag armour compared to full plate knights, and my enemy is forcefully submitted into this contest of arms.

Then, I leapt off my feet.

"Hup! Hah! Hyah!" I sliced and diced.

With exceptional balance of the Estoc, I kept my strikes at length, where only the tip of the blade would come in contact. The results are inferior compared to the deep slices gauged by a typical longsword, but superior in balance and accuracy, which determines the flow of a swordfight.

With every swing, it drew blood. Wounds opened on the hoglet's hide, some deep, some shallow. Tiny streaks of blood splashed everytime I moved, scattering it towards the vegetation all around us.

"Ryaaa~~.. Ryaaaa..." The hoglet moaned again and again with decreasing strength.

After toying with it for minutes, no spot on the hoglet is left unbloodied. I suppose it's time to conclude this target practice...

Dealing an angled strike from low to high, one of the hoglet's rear foot detached and was bashed away into a distance. Before the hoglet loses balance, I curved the blade trajectory to utilise its momentum force, and executed an overhead slash.

(Swish)

A clean strike indeed. The head of the hoglet was severed from its body, bouncing off into the ground while the torso crumpled without a sound.

After all the warthogs are dealt with, I picked up Aegis, that's still firmly stuck on the ground, that was also puddled with blood. Blood drips along the bottom edges of Aegis, returning them to the puddle below.

"Damn.. That's hard to wash off.." I grumbled to myself.

Without sparing another glance, I walked towards the hoglet's corpse.

It's body, mangled and battered, its flesh eviscerated in every possible way, starts to make my stomach churn.

"Dang, did I overdid it?" Disgusted by my own actions, I questioned myself.

I probably did, don't I? No hogs deserve such cruelty...

"Nah, it's for my training in handling Estoc.." I muttered.

Well~yeah. Probably...

*

Before leaving the scene, I walked towards the destroyed lump of flesh that was once a warthog.

"Messere.." I spoke to the poor, tormented corpse.

With Estoc sheathed, I place my sword-arm on my stomach, then gave a curt bow. (90 degree bow to signify respect)

"Thank you for the lesson." I concluded the duel.