Move 4: Cruelness

"And I would like to say, thank you, My Lord. If not for the medicine you gave me and stopped the bleeding, I would die of blood loss." Michael said while bowing his head and putting his right arm on his left chest.

"I just did what had to be done, so no need to thank me," Oli replied.

"But still… Aside from the Baron, you are the second Noble who helps a commoner like me. You are not like the other Nobles." Michael.

'This guy thinks that I am a Noble, but thinking about it, there is less explanation if he thinks that way.' Oli thought internally.

"But it may sound rude, My Lord, but what are you doing here in the Vedrain Kingdom? A poor and weak Kingdom above all?" Michael asks.

Oli was stunned at the sudden question, and it took him a few minutes before he came up with some stupid excuse.

"I-I was actually on a journey. I came from a faraway place that has a law that if a man reaches a certain age, he needs to travel by himself and achieve greater success before he comes back. And here I am now." Oli answered.

"A faraway place… Oh! So you are doing your Noble Oblige! That explains why the banda–growwll!" Michael couldn't continue as his stomach began to growl.

"Hahahaha, it seems that your stomach was begging you to eat something."

Oli said, then he opened his bag, took out two sandwiches, and gave it to Michael.

Michael looked at Oli, then at the sandwich with a confused expression on his face. This is the first time he sees that kind of food. And the packaging was new to him. But even if that was the case, he still took it.

Oli notices the look on Michael's face and assumes that this is the first he encounters a sandwich, so he showed to Michael how to open the plastic wrapped around the sandwich.

And the moment Michael bites the sandwich, he suddenly drops his shoulders, relaxes his face, and savors the taste! This was the first time he taste this kind of food! To Michael, this is a new world for him!

"Hmmm~!"

Michael could not contain his voice. And the way he chewed the piece of sandwich in his mouth, he didn't want to swallow it! He wants to savor it! But everything has an end, and the time for consuming it comes! Then he immediately ate the remaining sandwiches.

Oli looked at Michael as if he was some kind of crazy man that tasted a sandwich for the first time.

'Well… Maybe, he was too hungry. That is why Michael acted that way.' Oli thought.

"Here. Drink some water." Oli said, then gave Michael a bottle of water.

Again, Michael was bewildered at the appearance of bottled water. And same goes for the sandwich. So Oli showed Michael how to open the bottle of water.

"Puwaaa! T-this the first time I have drank this kind of pure water! And this water skin! It was quite weird but easy to use.t" Michael mumbled.

While Michael was mumbling to himself, Oli was looking at the burned-down village in the distance.

"If the villagers got lucky, they would survive. But if they were not, they are lying cold right now. Hiding in the forest is the best way the villagers had if they wanted to survive." Michael explained.

"Follow me, My Lord. Let's go to the village. The Creadians were now gone, so it was safe, for now." Michael added.

***

The Leefside village is a village surrounded by thick forests in the North, East, and South. But there was a sea located on the Westside of the village.

Based on Michael's explanation, the village was initially large and had a population of over five thousand. But it became a small village, and the population shrank because of the attacks of the soldiers from the Credia Empire.

All the houses were made from light materials such as logs and straws, so they effortlessly got destroyed and burned.

After the continuous attacks of the Credia Empire, what remained now in the village were the bodies of the dead villagers, and ashes from the burned down houses.

Oli covered his nose when he smelled the decaying body of the villagers.

"Now and then, this is what remains at the village after the Credians soldiers attack our village," Michael said while having an expression that he was accustomed to this kind of scene.

Luckily, they were outside the village, so Oli didn't see the appearance of the dead bodies. If so, he would surely vomit on the spot.

"The Credia Empire… Why did they attack the village?" Oli asked, but somehow, Oli felt that he heard the name Credia Empire from somewhere.

"It was a worthless reason, My Lord, but the Credians were all zealots. They believe that their race was chosen by the heavens to lead all humanity.

But for us, they were all barbarians. They wanted to murder their own kind! They wanted to dominate all the Empire and Kingdoms! The Emperor of Credia Empire wanted all of humanity to bow after him and recognize him as one and only true ruler of all the intelligent beings here on Chronos!" Michael strongly said.

'So, they do all of this because of their ideology,' Oli thought internally.

"The Holy Theocracy, Confederation, and the Credia Empire were all the same! Instead of focusing their attention on how to eradicate or prevent the Demons from coming out from the Demon Continent, those three preferred to focus on their own desire and goal!

And what's more, their enemy was just like them, a human! Fucking bastards!" Michael added.

Oli just listened to Michael and didn't utter a single word. After a few minutes, when Oli saw Michael calm down, he asked a question.

"You said earlier that we were in the Vedrain Kingdom, right? Then why didn't the King do anything about your situation?" Oli.

Michael sighed before answering, "Our King, Zion Malik Von Vedrain, died in battle 3 three years ago. He died in the war against our neighboring Kingdom, the Solon Kingdom. Our current King, the nephew of the previous King, abandons us and goes to another Kingdom to satisfy himself with alcohol and women while only focusing on guarding the Capital and leaving all the villages and towns on their own.

The same goes for the higher Nobles and their families. They locked themselves in the Capital and left their territory.

That is why we become an easy target for anyone who wants to harm us." Michael said.

Rustle Rustle

The two stopped talking when they heard a rustling sound on their back. They immediately looked back and readied themselves. But they instantly hushed down when they saw that it was the surviving villagers.

"C-Captain Michael…" A old man that was wearing ragged clothes said. He was at the front of the group. And it was clear that he was leading them.

"Zion. You guys can come out now. Credians were now gone. It was now safe." Michael said to them.

Then the group gradually came out from the bushes one after another. Oli looked at them. He estimated that they were not exceeding at least a hundred. The group was composed of adults and children, but the number of children and women was much higher than men.

And looking at their appearance, it was obvious that they did everything they could do to survive. Some were full of bruises and mud, and their body was wet, but overall, they all struggled to survive.

"My Lord, they were the villagers who ran and hid in the forest," Michael explained.

Oli just nodded his head for an answer. And the group started to walk towards the village.

"What were they doing? Why were they coming to the village?" Oli asked while looking at the villagers that were walking towards the village.

"Some of them were separated from their families. Though the forest is a bit vast, all the villagers here were accustomed to navigating their way in the forest, so if they don't see their family or friend in the forest, it only means one thing... Either they were captured or killed.

They were going back to the village to find the bodies of those close to them and bury them." Michael explained.

"I would assume that this happens every time, then why don't you go to other places? Seek shelter at the other Kingdoms or any other safe place?" Oli.

"Hahahaha, My Lord, I wished that there was such a safe place here, but there is none. In a chaotic time like this, it was a blessing when you can still open your eyes tomorrow.

The strong would prevail while the weak would succumb.

And going to the other Kingdoms was not an option. When the King of that Kingdom learned that we illegally went on his territory, he would command some of his soldiers to hunt us and execute us on the spot.

There is nothing we can do but remain here. We would fight or resist if we could. Run and hide if we can't.

The only thing we could do was curse our King and the Nobles who abandoned us while waiting for our time to die." Michael said.

Oli felt that there was a pain in every word Michael spoke.

"My Lord, I would excuse myself for a time being. I would help the villagers bury the bodies of the deceased. I will get you after we finish, but if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me." Michael said while bowing his head.

"You don't need to get my permission. Just help your fellow villagers, Michael." Oli said.

Oli thought that he would discover something significant here, but it was the opposite. The first thing Oli saw and learned about this world was…

The cruelness.