Hey guys sorry for the ssssssuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuppppppppppppppeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate release but recently i started working on a different story. It just was a sudden decision and wasn't planned. It kinda sorta just happened?? Anyway sorry about that. And releases might be a little random since I have my mid-semester tests coming up. Anyway Enjoy!

“Easy, we just kill the five beast kings.”

This sentence rang throughout the hollow. Frostsickle and Ghostblade stared in shock, their eyes blank from fright. Ryu looked at Firesword in curiosity, because he did not comprehend what the 5 beast kings were. Firesword just sat there patiently waiting for the first question.

“Are you insane!!!!” “You can’t be serious.” Frostsickle and Ghostblade began to speak simultaneously. Firesword sat there as he listened to their rants. Then he interrupted them by holding up his palm, “Relax first you two. Seriously, why do you two get so excited so easily?”

Hearing this line Frostsickle and Ghostblade were stunned. Firesword said something so irresponsible and crazy and they were not even allowed to react? What kind of logic did Firesword follow? Ignoring both of them, Firesword looked to Ryu and asked, “Why are you so calm? You haven’t even asked me a single question.”

Ryu smiled in embarrassment, “Well, I don’t even know what the 5 beast kings are so I can’t ask any questions.”

Hearing this Firesword laughed, “Hahaha, I suspected that you wouldn’t know but I thought that you would at least ask me what they were.”

Ryu said, “Well isn’t it better to listen than to interrupt without knowing the details? At least that’s what my mom said whenever I kept asking questions.”

Firesword nodded his head, “Indeed that is a good principle. Alright listen up, That means you two too.”

Hearing that the last sentence was directed towards them, Frostsickle and Ghostblade looked seriously at Firesword.

After making sure that the two were paying attention, Firesword continued, “Currently there are 5 powerful magical beasts, each with their own territory. We refer to these 5 magical beasts as 5 beast kings.The 5 beast kings are from weakest to strongest, the Illusionary Butterfly Queen, the Silver Horned Deer King, the Jade Lynx, the Copperbacked Gorilla Leader and the Twin Horned Salamander. Although these are the rankings, remember this is only the ranking for their personal power. The Silver Horned Deer King rules over a large herd of other Silver Horned Deer and can trample over the Jade Lynx. These Beast kings rule over territory towards the North East. This is because that is the direction towards the next region in the outer rim. The pool of water that I was talking about is in the middle of all 5 of the Beast King’s territories. That is why we have to defeat the beast kings.”

Ryu sat there digesting everything he heard and remembering the order of the beast king’s personal power. Meanwhile Ghostblade looked at Firesword and asked a question, “Why now? Why do you want to attack them now of all time?”

Firesword smiled gently as he looked up at ceiling, “That is because I am getting older. Maybe in a few more years I will no longer be able to help keep our villages safe. And because aside from you two there are no more talented children in this generation, after I pass away you two may not be able to hold on against those 5 beast kings. Especially since there was another Leader born to the Copperbacked Gorilla leader and another Silver Horned Deer King was born. In addition that Twin Horned Salamander is trying to mutate into a Triple Horned Salamander. If it does successfully then it will break into the next rank and we won’t be able to hold on for sure.”

Ghostblade asked another question, “Then why haven’t we attacked before now? And why haven’t you told us till now?”

Firesword smiled in exasperation, “If I had told you before now, you two would have rushed ahead without listening to me and attacked without any regards to your safety. That’s why I haven’t told you until now. And as for why I mentioned it now? It’s because we have a chance. With Ryu here, the four of us have a high chance of winning.”

Frostsickle frowned, “So you didn’t have any faith in us?”

Firesword said back, “Faith huh? I have a lot of faith in you two. However, you two brats are still immature. You do not think ahead.”

“I think that you are exaggerating what we would do.” Ghostblade looked at Firesword with a hint of anger in her eyes.

“Hahaha, you think you can fool me Ghostblade? You are even more reckless and stubborn than that brat. You would have been the first even running ahead of Frostsickle.” Firesword laughed and pointed towards Frostsickle comparing him with her.

Ghostblade just snorted and looked away. Interrupting this conversation, Ryu asked, “Ummm, I don’t mean to interrupt but why are you saying this now. Earlier you said that you mentioned killing the beast kings because of me. What does that mean?”

Firesword grinned and replied, “That’s because with you I am confident that we can kill the beast kings if we fight them one at a time. The four of us should be able to defeat them. This is also because you are strong enough to be on par with the three of us.”

Ryu scratched his head embarrassedly, “I am not as strong as you three. You are overestimating my power.”

Firesword just grinned and said nothing. As Ryu also did not say anything, the room was filled with silence. Unable to stand this silence, Frostsickle shouted out in exasperation, “ Why isn’t anyone talkiiiiiinnng? I want to know what comes next!!!!!!! Stop acting like everyone knows what’s going to happen!!”

Hearing this Firesword smiled, “Ha, I was wondering how long it would take you to shout out. Hahaha, looks like you still can’t be patient. This is why I call you a brat. Anyway, I propose that in 2 days, we meet up here and set out to finish the task of killing all the beast kings. Is that alright with you Ryu?”

Ryu looked like he was hesitating so Firesword nonchalantly said, “Remember Ryu, the quicker we finish this, the sooner you might be able to go home.”

Reminded of his family, Ryu’s eyes brightened, “Alright, I will go with you. I will be ready in two days. So you are coming her right?”

Firesword smiled now that Ryu had agreed, “Yup we will be here in two days. Then we will set off and finish off those beast kings.”

After saying this, Firesword held out his hand to Ryu. Seeing this, Ryu also held out his hand and both man and goblin shook hands. Having both agreed, Firesword took the other two and left. Once outside, Frostsickle turned towards Firesword and frowned, “Alright spill it old man. Both you and I know that, that kid is not as strong as us. Why were you so nice to him. You were acting so nice that it even seemed like you were sucking up to him, like he was your boss or something.”

Ghostblade also nodded, “I noticed this too. I would also like an explanation.”

Firesword sighed, “I have been fighting strong creatures longer than both of you have been alive. So I know when I am facing something that is unbeatable and can kill me in one move.”

Ghostblade’s expression turned serious, “Surely you are joking. That boy can not possibly possess that much power. Plus I am sensitive to any dangerous situations but I did not notice anything.”

Frostsickle also snorted and said, “Yeah exactly what my future wife said.”

Ghostblade hit Frostsickle in the face with the hilt of her short sword and sent him flying. Firesword grabbed him in midair before he flew too far. Firesword sighed, “I’m going to ignore that. Continuing on your actual question, what you sense is killing intent. And you have trained yourself to notice it if it is directed specifically towards you alone.”

Ghostblade frowned, “What are you saying?”

Frostsickle also looked at Firesword in confusion.

Firesword asked the both of them, “What did you two notice when we entered this area?”

Frostsickle answered first, “Well, It seemed like a sudden chill was in the air even though its pretty sunny and the temp--- …….. !!!!!!! No way! How can that be??”

Hearing this, Ghostblade seemed to notice what Frostsickle meant and her eyes opened extremely wide and she stared at Firesword in shock. Ghostblade stuttered, “H-H-How is that possible!!!!!”

Firesword nodded, “Indeed, it is exactly what you are thinking about. There was an entire ‘domain’ of killing intent around this area. That is why no formidable magical beast is around here.”

Ghostblade couldn’t believe this, “How is that possible, that kid can’t have such killing intent. It’s just not possible!”

Firesword said, “Well you guys got one thing right. It was not the boy who was unleashing the killing intent.”

“ ”THEN WHO ELSE COULD IT BE!!!!!!!!!” “

Firesword just smiled, “Who else but the bird?”