The sound of weapons clashing against each other reverberated inside the White Forest.
A horde of Goblins attacked them in the middle of the night. Fortunately, the Warriors of the Allied Tribes were ready for them.
Amidst the chaos that spread in the surroundings, a young man brandished his trident and pierced the chest of a goblin that had lunged at him with the intention to kill.
With a roar of anger and defiance, Ethan pulled back his trident and swung it toward another goblin who had managed to break past the defensive lines of the Allied Tribes.
His face was grim as he pierced the head of the fallen goblin with his trident, which was now soaked with blood.
“Kill or be killed,” Ethan muttered as if it was a Mantra that kept him sane. “Kill or be killed!”
His breathing was ragged, and he was doing his best to fight the fear that was threatening to take over his body. His bloodshot eyes locked onto his next target before thrusting his trident forward.
Due to his increased strength, the Sea God’s Trident managed to reap the life of the goblin with two strikes.
One at the chest, and another on its head.
The Sea God’s Trident had two abilities.
The first one was a passive ability that gave its wielder a strength boost that was as powerful as Magna Amplifico.
The other one was also a passive ability that allowed its wielder to have a clear head and maintain calm even in the face of adversity.
Unfortunately, the second ability didn’t activate, forcing Ethan to fight the enemies while containing the fear that was welling up inside his heart and mind.
Before his other half went into hibernation, the latter made sure to tamper with the Sea God’s Trident and temporarily disable its second ability.
He wanted Ethan to not depend on things that affected his state of mind. If he overly relied on the Sea God’s Trident passive mind-calming ability, then what would happen to him if he had to fight without the Trident?
Wouldn’t he be crippled in more ways than one?
Ethan’s other half wanted the young man to develop a will so strong that it could overcome the traumas he’d have to face.
His hand trembled as he ended the life of another Goblin in front of him. Ethan only killed three of them, and yet, he was already very close to reaching his limit.
Lily, standing not far from him, used her wand to freeze the Goblins that tried to sneak attack the teenage boy from the side.
There were two small Ice Foxes beside her that were doing their best to protect their Mistress from the monsters that targeted her.
“You can do it, Ethan,” Lily stated. “I’m here with you.”
Ethan nodded as he took a defensive stance to block the attack of another Goblin who had tried to sneak inside the wagon where Grandma Ria and Jenna were staying.
When they entered the forest, the Wagon of the Head Shaman had traveled alongside the Wagon of Great Chieftain Adrian to give Ethan and Lily additional protection just in case monsters were to attack them on their journey.
Some of the elite warriors of each Tribe were gathered to become Ethan’s personal guards to ensure his safety.
However, due to the sheer number of the enemy, a few monsters were bound to break past their formation, and these monsters were the ones that Ethan was fighting against.
In order for Ethan to overcome his fear, Lily had given him a few rules that would allow him to kill when necessary.
The first rule was to kill or be killed.
The second rule was that he was allowed to kill someone if it was self-defense.
The third one was that he should never take the life of others without reason.
And last but not the least, he should never kill anyone, including monsters and beasts for sport.
Lily understood that she needed to give Ethan a push in the right direction by using “morals” as an anchor.
It was very easy to lose your humanity when faced with difficult choices, especially on the battlefield.
Lily didn’t want Ethan to end up as a cold and heartless killer who wouldn’t bat an eye whenever he took the lives of others.
She didn’t want him to become a killing machine that wouldn’t hesitate to kill the innocent if they annoyed him.
The young lady had seen people who were forced to fight due to necessity. Some of them had their minds broken and went down the wrong path. 𝚘𝓥𝓁xt.𝗇𝓔t
Truth be told, she could have asked Ethan to hide inside the wagon while the warriors protected him.
However, she didn’t do this for one simple reason.
The longer someone endured or ignored a trauma, the deeper it would take root inside their heart and subconscious mind.
This was why those who suffered from incidents like car accidents were advised to drive a car again as soon as possible.
If they didn’t, they would feel chills just by holding the steering wheel and suffer from panic attacks if a lot of time had passed.
Although it was difficult, the sooner someone overcame their trauma, the better.
Ethan also understood that he couldn’t run away forever. So despite the fact that his body was trembling all over and that fear was taking over his senses, he still fought.
With every thrust, he would roar in order to disperse the fear in his heart.
Every time he swung his trident, he would shout.
He already knew how to fight due to his training.
Fighting a goblin one-on-one wasn’t a difficult task for him, so he fought with everything he had while trembling all over.
The Elite Warriors like Rex, who were assigned to guard him were also paying close attention to him. If something unexpected happened, they wouldn’t hesitate to lend their hands to help.
However, it seemed like their help wasn’t needed with Lily there to support her “husband”, impaling the Goblins with Ice Shards and turning the rest into Ice Statues.
The battle lasted for nearly an hour before the Goblins retreated.
Dozens of warriors had died, but hundreds of Goblins had perished in turn.
This outcome was already good since the losses weren’t that big. However, losses were still losses.
Ethan stood with his eyes closed, taking deep breaths in order to calm his senses.
He was still feeling lightheaded and a little nauseous, but he endured it and used his trident as a support to keep him standing.
Lily approached him and lightly patted his shoulder.
“You did well,” Lily said. “Are you hurt somewhere?”
Ethan opened his eyes and looked at the young beauty, whose green eyes were looking at him with concern.
“Just some minor scratches,” Ethan replied. “Nothing too serious.”
Lily nodded and held his hand.
“No matter how small the injury, we should still treat it properly,” Lily held Ethan’s hand and pulled him towards Safiya’s Wagon. “Goblins don’t clean their weapons. Even if you only sustain shallow wounds from their weapons, there is a high chance that the wound will get infected.”
Ethan didn’t resist and allowed Lily to take him back inside the Wagon under the watchful eyes of his bodyguards.
What they didn’t know was that high up on a tree, a one-eyed Crimson Bat had watched the battle from start to finish.
When the battle ended, it flew towards the sky, heading Northeast where its Master was waiting for its report.
However, before it could even get far, a white raven descended from the sky and used its claws to cut the bat in half.
The Bat wasn’t even able to utter its final screech before its body crashed towards the ground, never to be seen or heard from again.
The White Raven circled the area to make sure that there were no other spies present to observe its Master.
Only after it was sure that the coast was clear did it descend onto a tree branch to stand vigil.
As his Master’s Spirit Guide, it was his duty to deal with the minor threats that targeted his Master.
For now, he would keep his presence a secret and observe the handsome young man from a distance.
Truth be told, he was sad to see Ethan forced to mature in this manner.
Even so, he understood that his Master also couldn’t remain innocent and ignorant of the world forever.
Dantalion was certain that the moment the handsome young man returned to the present, not only would he be stronger than before, but he would also understand what it meant to make tough choices in life.