The feeling in my right arm disappeared. My heart skipped a beat.

What did he — My arm?!

However, before I could begin mourning over it, my eye shook. A pain akin to being pierced by countless needles filled my skin while beneath it, an even deeper sensation of something having snapped in two blinded my senses, making me wish that the sensation hadn’t returned.

“Aaargh!!!” A shrill scream escaped my mouth.

Chuckling, Burt asked, “Does it feel good?”

Although I heard his words, I couldn’t respond. My mind was starting to go blank and I could barely keep my eyes open.

“You brat! Answer me! Did it feel good?”

Burt’s shout filled with rage echoed in my ears. Before I could turn my head towards him, an impact from my side turned me over, soon after which I lost feeling in my left leg. My pupils constricted as the same feeling permeated through my leg.

“Okay. *Huff*… *Huff*… I’ll be a good man and ask again. Did it feel good?”

My body, trembling in agony till a moment ago, went stiff as a log at his voice. My lips quivered as I forced them open to answer.

However, before I could reply, another impact to my stomach rolled me over. My heart shuddered as the sensation in my right leg vanished before turning into tides of pain smashing against me.

My teeth dug into my lower lip as an unfamiliar salty yet metallic taste irrigated my parched tongue. The taste cleared my mind as I focused my vision forward, only to see a disgusting smile plastered on the face of the man. My heart sank as I realised he had lifted me off the ground.

A chill ran down my spine as I felt the palm of my left-hand touch against a cold, hard surface. A second later, his hand grabbed my left shoulder. I closed my eye, gritting my teeth for what was about to happen.

*Snap*

My shoulder burst into pain as my already laboured breath grew heavier. My voice choked in my mouth, making me unable to scream. I wanted nothing more than to have blacked out. But for some reason, I hadn’t.

“Brat, listen closely,” Burt said in a beep and sombre voice. “Even though your mother died at our hands, it wasn’t our fault. It was that wrench’s fault for knowing too much. And even more so, for giving birth to a bastard like you.”

He kicked hard at my chest again, causing me to slam into a tree with a bang. My vision gradually blackened as the accursed dream replayed itself over and over. A strange sense of relief flooded my heart at this realisation.

This is all about to end. Maybe this was just my punishment. Punishment I needed to suffer through to be able to beg for forgiveness.

While my mind kept coaxing me into relief, another strange sensation which was burning me from within started to flood my innards.

“Commander…” A hesitant soldier spoke up, “That kid’s about to die. Even if it’s nothing, he could have some informa—”

“He was dead when we came here. We don’t know who or what killed him. As for information, does it look like this moron would have any?” Burt cut the soldier off as he rebutted.

Another soldier tried to speak up, “But commander…”

“Pity? Compassion? Warriors don’t need that. We just need to know how to kill.” Without half-a-shred of consideration, Burt rebutted, “We are the people born in war, born for war, and born to wage war. If you ever let yourself get soft, you’ll only hurt yourself.”

His gaze silently wandered to his hand, becoming full of scornful contempt before turning a few degrees colder as madness melted onto his expression. With a face full of a sneer, he said, “Don’t think that we can have a normal life. Even if you try to get off and start a family, you’ll only end up burning your house and killing the woman you took as your wife on the second day. Although the bitch who decided to be with a bastard like any of you must already be someone deserving to die.”

Only thing you can do somewhat well is fight. So don’t hope for anything more than that. Besides, once you taste the blood on a battlefield, your body can never go back to living without it. You’ll long for it. Even going as far as to beg, all just to go back to the place you left for the so-called peaceful life so you can kill even a person more! Hahaha hahahahaha hahahahahaha!”

As if he found his own joke the funniest thing ever, his laughter filled with madness echoed out. At the same time, the sounds of his footsteps came closer to me.

A cold sensation penetrated my chin as it cleared up my blurring consciousness.

“What? Wanting to faint to get out of this situation? Haha, nice try. But you were a second too late.” My gaze met his, causing my heart to feel a chill. Burt continued, “Let’s change the subject and come back to what we were talking about. You know, kid. I really like what you did.”

“You dragged that woman down, and even became the reason she ended up drinking that Water from Spring of whatever thing. It was so funny that I can still laugh at it to this day! Just how desperate was she to save you that she fell for such an obvious trap?”

So, in a way, we can say that you’re the one who killed her. So I, as a kind and noble person that I am, am purging a sinful bastard like you. And at the same time, am giving you the grace of the overlords for helping us clean this earth of that—”

I looked up at the face of the man kicking me around as intense rage and hatred clouded my eyes. My fingers dug trenches within the ground till I couldn’t feel any warmth within my fingertips.

“What? What you brat? Looking at me like that? You got an issue with me? Get up and fight it over!”

He immediately got up as a fierce kick landed at the left of my head. Sound of buzzing as if thousands of bees were flying around blooded my ears. Bandage wrapping over my left eye-socket got loose and slid down a little, no longer able to contain what lay beneath, causing a small rivulet to gush down my left cheek.

Burt’s eyes went wide as he lost his composure for a moment. Indignant rage as well as disgust flashed through his face as he raised his leg once again.

A red glow of light flashed through the forest, gradually sauntering towards the group. Burt’s expression distorted as a green light formed around his hand. His arm swung out, causing the tree my back pressed against to crack from impact as I flew back, crashing onto another tree, barely holding on.

Someone at the back of the group of men shouted, “Captain, someone’s comi—”