Chapter 58: The Monster’s Lair

“What sound are you talking about?”

A Wolhanseong soldier asked, looking puzzled.

Was I mistaken?

My doubt cleared when the sound of footsteps came again.

“Someone go check outside the cave.”

“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

A soldier asked, somewhat insolently. Come to think of it, Wolhanseong soldiers disliked me. Even if some had warmed up after I beat them, not all were friendly. Some still shunned me.

No choice then.

“As a prince, I order you. Go outside and check for anything unusual.”

Silence fell, followed by the sound of footsteps.

“Got it?”

“Y-Yes, Your Highness.”

They’re really something. Acting high and mighty. Don’t they know to check their surroundings before acting? If I went to the Lord of Wolhanseong and reported this, they’d be sent back to the capital without using their conscription rights. What are they thinking?

If that happened, they’d curse me. Call me a mad prince doing mad things. They might say I came to help but left, mocking the north. King Bonhyeon would have me marked, and I’d be completely sidelined.

The north would suffer too. Monsters would keep coming, but with conscription rights unchanged, they couldn’t muster a full draft. Even borrowing troops from nobles would scatter at King Bonhyeon’s command. They’d spend money without fighting.

Hmm. Could King Bonhyeon want that?

If he planned it, it’d be a scheme to take out both me and Wolhanseong.

Meanwhile, Hondon ignored my argument with the soldiers, focused on smashing eggs. Each time he struck with his sword, whitish, sticky liquid oozed from the broken shells.

He seemed to enjoy it. There’s always someone above the rest, and above them, someone enjoying it. I’d never beat Hondon at egg-smashing.

Inside the shells were half-formed monsters.

They were far from fully grown.

In the dark, I could tell they weren’t the same as the monster corpse the Lord of Wolhanseong showed me.

“Hey, Deokbong.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Maybe because I argued with the soldiers, Deokbong answered more tensely.

How does someone so timid survive? I’m no doctor, but isn’t a big liver good for something?

“Have you seen those?”

“The monsters?”

“Yeah.”

Deokbong bowed his head.

“I’ve never seen them.”

“Not once?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Thwack. Hondon kicked an egg. The liquid and unborn monster inside splattered with a squelch. Deokbong flinched, stepping back. The torch flickered, shadows dancing wildly.

“Strange.”

Hondon was really enjoying himself. Tirelessly breaking eggs, who knows how many.

“You said you roamed these mountains for years, Deokbong? Not just herbs, but looking for monsters.”

“Ten years, Your Highness.”

Ten years. No madman would call that short. I’m not that mad.

“Never saw these in ten years. Strange. And they’re found the first time I come here.”

Deokbong blinked.

I pointed at him.

“You’re not lying, right?”

“I swear to the heavens, it’s no lie. I, Deokbong, would never lie to Your Highness.”

He answered with a tearful expression. It seemed sincere.

“I swear on the heavens, my parents, not a shred of a lie.”

I wanted to believe him, but the situation was odd.

If he wasn’t lying, the answer might be that the monsters—parents of these eggs—migrated here.

What a bad time.

Just then, a scream rang out.

“Aaagh!”

My hair stood on end. I looked up.

“What’s happening?”

No answer came. The sound of swords drawn, thunderous footsteps, and another sharp scream.

“Aaagh!”

Screams are always harsh.

I shouted urgently.

“What’s going on?”

A bad feeling. A gut instinct.

“I’m asking!”

Cold sweat ran down my back. A roar echoed. Even carefree Hondon sensed something, turning to me.

“Your Highness…”

Deokbong, pale, called me. I couldn’t answer. He must want to know what’s happening above.

I knew the answer. What was happening, I knew.

Deokbong knew. Hondon knew.

No need to share my judgment.

I shouted to the party above.

“Answer!”

The rope they’d lowered dangled in the air.

“Respond!”

No answer. Just screams, clashing metal and flesh, eerie wails, sobbing. Having lived by the sword, I knew what those intermittent cries meant.

Thud. The rope, caught somewhere above, fell.

I was fine, but my spine chilled.

With a monster’s roar, a crack of breaking bones sounded.

“Aaagh!”

No way.

Between screams, Hondon quietly despaired. Stopping his egg-smashing, he turned. His eyes weren’t on me but on the fallen rope.

Without it, we couldn’t get out. But more pressing was whether the others were safe. Could they defeat the monsters?

The growing stench of blood fueled grim thoughts.

“This place…”

It was a nest.

Their nest. Their lair.

Maybe I knew when I saw the eggs.

I stepped back instinctively. A monster fell from the hole in the ceiling.

It held someone’s arm in its mouth. Blood dripped from the severed end, flesh dangling. The bird-like monster hit the ground, twitching as if its legs were injured. It looked like a seizure. Then, it raised its head and charged me.

It thrust its beak. Blood coated it—no, drenched it. Bits of flesh clung to it.

In a flash, the faces of those I camped with last night raced through my mind.

Whose arm was that…

No time to dwell.

Thwack! I swung my sheathed sword, striking its beak. It cracked. The monster shook its head, screeching in pain.

What a loud cry. It pierced my ears.

“Your Highness…”

Deokbong screamed in terror. I drew my sword and sliced off the monster’s head. Blood arced, and with a thud, its head rolled away. The arm it held fell beside it. Blood splattered the ground.

A foul stench spread. If my stomach were weaker, I’d have vomited. Deokbong covered his mouth, retching.

The monster was much bigger than the eggs. Bird-like, but its wings were comically small for its size. Good thing they couldn’t fly. If they could, it’d be a disaster. Imagining them over Wolhanseong’s skies was horrifying.

“Eek…”

Even beheaded, it twitched. For terrified Deokbong, I cut it into pieces, ensuring it was dead. I kept my sword ready for more.

“Calm down. It’s not that threatening. You saw.”

I said that to soothe Deokbong, but it wasn’t true. It fell ten feet, stunned, letting me behead it. Facing it unharmed wouldn’t have been easy.

Its height made its head hard to reach. For someone small like me, cutting it was tough. Multiple monsters would be worse.

And the party above faced who-knows-how-many.

There’d be injuries. Deaths… I hoped not. Damn it…

“Your Highness.”

Deokbong spoke cautiously, still terrified.

“They’re… escaping.”

“Who?”

I asked, then realized. I couldn’t not know. It hit my ears clearly.

“Yes…”

“The Grand Prince?”

“Run!”

“If you don’t want to die, get out!”

The party above was fleeing. Betrayal stung. Were there dead? How many injured? The thought mocked me.

I felt empty.

“Haha.”