Chapter 14 The Dead breeder.

The part that made Paul happy was a big patch of a rare ingredient called Mana carrot.

He had no idea why it was called that since it looked more like radish but that did not change the fact that they were rare and precious.

What terrified him on the other hand was over a dozen humans lying around that area and most likely dead judging from their unnatural positions and to top it all off there were at least half a dozen Blood rabbits that were also most likely dead.

He decided to investigate this as it was almost certainly not the case of the humans and rabbits killing each other.

Paul informed the girls of his discovery and instructed them to stay a the edge of the forest just in case something unexpected happened when he was investigating.

-What the hell did all that?

Paul asked once he saw the bodies with his own eyes.

Both humans and rabbits were massacred and the only common thing about it was the wound on every corps.

It looked like they were impaled by something and it left the holes the size of Paul's fist in them.

He carefully looked around as he was prepared to be ambushed at any time but judging from the dead people's attire and equipment, whatever killed them would also make short work of him.

He counted fifteen humans in total of which twelve were most likely mercenaries and the other three were two young misses and a young master from wealthy families.

 When he saw everything, Paul managed to deduce what happened here but he still had no idea what killed them.

Judging by the layout of the bodies, the mercenaries tried to protect their clients and make an opportunity for them to escape into the river as that was the direction the three young people were running when they were killed.

When he was thinking about it he heard a faint voice coming from one of the mercenaries.

-Kill me.

The words were but a whisper as the woman was barely holding on to life.

Paul immediately rushed in her direction to see if he could help her.

Her wounds were severe and she was pierced through her stomach but this could still be healed using magic.

However, once he prepared to cast the spell, the woman's arm stopped him by grabbing his forearm.

-Don't bother, you can't save me, just kill me and burn my body along with my comrades.

She said with difficulty.

-What happened here?

-Dead Breeder.

The woman answered and spat some blood from her mouth.

Paul went pale once he heard this name.

If this beast was responsible for this massacre then he had no way to help this woman and could only end her suffering.

-I invoke the custom…

She tried to say something more but again the blood gushed from her mouth.

-I accept and by the custom, you shall rest in peace.

Paul knew what she meant, she was invoking the custom of mercy and burial.

According to this custom if you accepted it then all the worldly possessions of the dead rightfully belonged to you as a payment for making sure that the body or bodies would be buried with dignity or burned if there was something wrong with them.

The woman smiled at him when he took her sword and infused it with his Qi.

She closed her eyes and still had a smile on her face when the sword came down splitting her head in two.

This was a hard thing for Paul to do but he knew that the alternative for this woman was far worse.

Also, he accepted her invocation of the custom and this was one of only a few costumes that were respected by any intelligent races as even orcs and goblins respected it.

After killing the woman he stored her body and started collecting the bodies and equipment that was on the ground.

After a few minutes, he got them all, not only the humans but the rabbit corpses as well since they also had to be burned.

The last thing he collected was the ingredients as he wasn't going to just leave them here.

Once he was done Paul returned to the girls.

They had never seen him in such a state and were a little afraid of him when they saw what he did to the woman.

-Master, why did you kill that person?

Maya gathered her courage and asked the question.

-Because this was the only way to end her suffering and she also invoked the mercy and burial custom.

Hearing his answer both girls gasped in shock.

They knew of this custom and were taught that if someone from any race invoked it then they were responsible for burying them and if they were injured they were also responsible for ending their suffering.

-Then, are we going to bury them here?

Mia asked.

-No, we have to burn them and then we can bury their ashes.

Paul said with a serious voice.

This was his first time killing a person and also his first time to bury someone.

-Mia was there a patch of dry grass on our way here?

Paul asked a moment later once he managed to collect his thoughts.

-Yes master, but why would you need that?

The girl asked not understanding what he was planning.

-We have to go back to the camp and you will have to lead the way so that we will go back the same way we came here.

Can you do that?

Paul asked the girl.

-Yes, master.

She confirmed and stopped asking questions as it was not the best time for that.

-Then let's go, we need to leave this place as soon as possible.

The girls did not like the hint of fear in his voice.

They knew that if he was afraid of something then they should be terrified of whatever that thing was.

Maya led the way the best she could and as far as Paul could tell they had retraced their way here almost perfectly.

When they were halfway to the camp they entered a field of long dry grass that stretched for around seven hundred meters in the direction they were going but it stretched for over two kilometers from the river bank into the forest.

Once they were on the other side, Paul checked the directions of the wind, and when he was sure that it was blowing from the direction of the camp he shot seven mini fireballs into the dry grass, creating a wall of fire that swept across the grass field.

Both sisters were shocked by his actions but decided that it was not the right time to ask about it.

Once they were back at their camp Paul breathed a sigh of relief. 

It wasn't like they were perfectly safe here but a few kilometers of forest and a burnt patch of grass should keep them safe for a while.

-Master why did you burn down that grass?

Mia asked the question that she wanted to ask earlier.

-To mask our scent.

Paul explained.

-The woman that I killed told me that they were attacked by a Dead breeder.

He added, hoping that it would explain his actions to the girls.

-What is a Dead breeder?

Both girls asked at the same time.

-It's a spider beast and a very powerful one at that.

The person that I killed was at least in the second stage of Qi cultivation and her companions were most likely the same if not even higher and they were killed without any way to defend themselves.

As for the grass that I burnt, it was to stop this beast from finding us by our scent since it can follow its target by its smell.

Paul started to explain the situation to them.

-Then why did you kill the woman, master?

Mia asked.

-To save her from suffering a fate much worse than a quick death.

The dead breeder is called that for a reason it leaves its eggs inside the corpses and sometimes also living victims and once those eggs hatch then the small spiders will eat the flesh of the body they are in, no matter if it's dead or alive.

Both girls shivered when they tried to imagine what it would be like and they agreed that a quick death was a preferable option.

-But master, couldn't you have removed the eggs from her body?

Mia asked, knowing that he could do many things with magic.

-No, once the eggs are planted there is no way to remove them without killing the victim if they are still alive.

The only way to stop the spiders from hatching is to burn them with the body or drown the body in water since the spiders can't swim.

-Then what will we do with the bodies?

Maya asked.

-We will burn them once we are ready for it and also the day we burn the bodies will be the day we will leave this place since the smell of the burning flesh might attract the beast here and we won't stand a chance if it finds us.

Paul explained the situation to them.

-For now, go cultivate, I need some time to prepare some things, but remember to tell me once you feel the energy entering your body.

He reminded them before leaving for the river bank.