Sniff- Sniff-
"Smell anything?"
Sniff- Sniff-
"Yes, Commander." The Soldier, whose head resembled that of a dog or a Kobold's, brought its snout closer to the ground. "It smells... It smells..."
"Hurry it up." Ani, the Orcish Fiend cracked her knuckles. "All of you, stay sharp." She ordered as she turned around.
"YES, COMMANDER!" The nine other standing Soldiers shouted.
Each was from a different Race, and each held different Weapons.
Swords, Daggers, Axes, Hammers, Spears, and more.
"We're hunting this fucker, no matter what."
"It smells... It smells..." The kneeling Soldier muttered as he sniffed around.
Ani's eyebrow twitched.
"What's taking you so long, HUH?" The Orcish Fiend groaned as she roughly stepped on the Soldier's head, sticking it to the ground.
Despite his best efforts to keep it in, a faint and soft moan escaped the Soldier's mouth.
The Commander's eyebrow twitched again and she exerted even more pressure than before.
The Soldier immediately started apologizing frantically as it felt like his skull was about to burst.
'Lucky...'
'Lucky...'
'Wish that was me...'
"Get to work you lazy fucks." Ani ordered as she threw a deadly glare at the Soldiers who had been watching the scene.
"Yes, Commander!" The Soldiers shouted as they scattered.
The Kobold-like Monster struggled to extend its index finger towards a certain direction.
"That way?"
The Soldier did his best to nod despite the pressure exerted against his skull.
"Looks like you can do it when forced." The Commander muttered before stepping off and walking away.
'Forced...'
'Forced...'
'Forced...'
"Get moving."
The Soldiers immediately straightened up.
Woof-
While the sound it emitted might seem on the cuter side, it was rather deceiving.
The Orcish Fiend walked towards its Mount.
Ani lay her hands on each side of its head.
"Let's go get'em." The Commander whispered as her forehead gently came into contact with the Great Golden Jackal's forehead.
Woof-
"Let's do it, Commander!"
"We'll make them pay!"
"We'll teach them what it means to mess with..."
The Soldiers shouted as they got on their Mounts. All Great Black-backed Jackals.
"Fuck teaching them a lesson. The one who beat Lin..." Ani muttered as she got on her Mount's back. "I need to see it for myself."
The Soldiers turned silent for a couple of seconds, before erupting in cheers.
The cheers didn't fail to make the Commander chuckle.
The Great Golden Jackal was the only female Mount. Just like Ani was the only female in the group.
"Shut up, idiots."
Mounted, it didn't take long for them to reach the Goblin Village where Mark, Elisa, and Krista had stayed a handful of days prior.
"Should uh..." A Soldier muttered as he rubbed his chin after catching up to the Commander who had been leading the group. "Should we make a stop?"
'The son of a bitch...'
'He dared...'
'Passing us like that...'
Ani gently tapped her Mounts side.
"Are you the one doing the running?"
"I, uh... No but-"
"Then shut the fuck up before I knock you out." The Commander tapped the Mount again, and the Great Golden Jackal continued its march.
Gulp-
'Knock me out...'
'Lucky son of a bitch...'
'When was the last time I got knocked out by...'
'I'd like to get knocked by the Commander's-'
The Great Golden Jackal increased its pace, and so did the Great Black-backed Jackals that the former was leading.
A handful of seconds passed before,
"Tsk."
The Commander clicked her tongue after a bit, sighed, and tapped her Mount, which made the latter come to a stop.
'Why are we stopping?'
'This the Commander is about to...?'
'I'd like the Commander to...'
Ani crossed her arms and remained seated on the Great Golden Jackal for a bit.
'I've been thinking about them as a group, but that's because I don't believe Lin could lose in a 1-on-1... Winning against him was impossible for me, not even once. Then is the thing he was after General-Grade? I doubt it. Lin wouldn't have been sent then. The General is too lazy to find out anything. The fact that he told me about Lin's death is already out of character... If one person beat him, then it must have been using some kind of dirty trick. Argh, no... I've tried plenty of tricks against him, but he sees through them all with those creepy eyes of his. Let's think about this a bit more...'
"Boa." Ani called out.
"Commander?"
"Sniff around the village. In the huts. Find out whatever you can."
"Yes, Commander." The Kobold-like Monster dismounted and got to work.
'Wish I had that kind of sense of smell...'
'Getting on all fours in front of the Commander...!'
'Lucky he gets talked to often-'
"All of you jerkoffs go look around for clues too."
The Soldiers dismounted as fast as they could and rushed into the different huts, obeying their Commander's order.
'She called us...'
'She said...'
Ani sighed and scratched her head. Her annoyance was obvious on her face.
'I'm guessing the mission was given by the Lord. The Lord sensed something entering Sloth and sent Lin. Why...? Was it sensed due to its strength, or something else...? In first place, sending Lin is weird. His strength isn't anything incredible. His weapon use isn't bad, but with his strength, it's... Oh. Getting Lin to do it... It wasn't a mission to kill, was it?'
The Commander thought for a bit longer, and her lips curled up.
"Getting me involved changes things though." She whispered as she pumped her fists.n0veLUsb.c0M
"Commander!" Boa suddenly shouted.
"What is it?" Ani asked as the Soldier came running.
"That hut, I can tell. They stayed in there. A couple of hours at least, perhaps at night."
"They...? Are you sure?"
"Without a doubt, Commander. I can smell... Corruption, but also some kind of... Feline smell. I could find hairs too. White, or ashen. Probably from a Feline with a white fur-"
The Soldier's words were interrupted as the Commander lay a hand on his head and brought him closer.
