The bandit was detained and sent to jail. Bret soon met up with Kisa and Lisa. He turned back to the general. "May I ask your name?" he asked.
"No need to be so formal," the general replied. "My name is Zack."
"General Zack, thanks for taking us in," Bret said.
"Now, come with me, let's talk about your placings," General Zack said.
"But what about the training phase?" Lisa asked. "Doesn't everyone have to go through it to become Imperial soldiers?"
General Zack laughed. "You are already using Imperial techniques. Plus, the combination you made was better than any strategy for Imperial soldiers of your rank. Now let's talk about your placings."
"Okay," Bret said. General Zack looked through some documents. "Here it is. Fiscel Village."
"Yes, we would be grateful to serve in the Imperial Army," Kisa said. Bret, Kisa, and Lisa all bowed. General Zack thought to himself, "Most people would complain about starting in a village. These kids seem very well-mannered."
"Tomorrow, wait for a carriage at the waterfall," General Zack said. "It will take you to Fiscel Village."
"General Zack, can I ask you something?" Bret asked.
"Sure, what do you want to ask?"
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the tournament?" Bret said.
"There are many ideologies within the Imperial Army," General Zack explained. "My ideology differs a bit from others. I believe that instead of looking for powerful people, we should look for good people. There used to be a good balance between these two viewpoints, but recently, the scales have shifted. Whatever it is, you are currently not in a position to know about these talks."
"Thank you again, General Zack," Bret said.
General Zack smiled. "I hope you achieve what you are looking for." As Bret, Kisa, and Lisa walked away, he watched them from his window. "I will keep supporting you, children. Fulfill your dreams." On his table were the papers for Fiscel Village, with a warning: "Unusual beasts roaming; death of 5 people."
The next day, Bret, Kisa, and Lisa took the carriage and left for Fiscel Village. Three months later, they arrived. The village didn't look prosperous; some houses were even destroyed. They went to the guards, and one of them, a middle-aged man, looked at them. "Hey, why are you kids here? I suggest you leave. There are signs of a powerful beast here."
"We are here on important business," Bret said. The middle-aged guard and a young guard looked at each other, and Kisa showed them the papers. After reading them, the young guard burst out in anger. "How dare they send children here? Don't they know how dangerous it is?"
The middle-aged guard said, "Don't worry. Kids have to fight when they reach above 10. Okay, kids, from now on, you are guards. Here are the keys for your room." He pointed to some buildings and gave them the keys. The young guard said, "Get dressed up; we will discuss the situation after you come back."
"Okay, Kisa, Lisa, let's go," Bret said.
"Yes," Kisa and Lisa said in unison.
After they got dressed, they came out. "Yes, we are ready. Can you tell us what is happening?" Bret asked.
The middle-aged guard said, "My name is Dell." The young guard said, "My name is Fin."
"There is a beast roaming in the woods," Dell explained. "It comes out, destroys houses, and eats people."
"What does it look like?" Lisa asked.
"We don't know," Dell said. "However, it is definitely a magical beast and a bird type, so no one is safe here."
"So it is fast," Kisa noted.
"Kisa, Lisa, can you strike it with your arrows?" Bret asked.
"We are still new at archery," Kisa said. "Striking a fast beast with archery would be difficult."
"We would need to make it slow," Lisa added.
"Hey Fin," Dell said. "Don't you know wind magic?"
"Yeah, we could use wind magic," Fin said, "but I need to chant incantations. I can't use chantless magic."
"What magic can you use?" Bret asked.
"Wind Wave, Wind Dome, and Wind Slices," Fin replied.
"If only we knew from where and when the beast would come," Dell sighed.
"You said it destroys houses and takes people, right?" Bret asked.
"Yes, why?" Dell said.
"I have an idea," Bret said. "Dell, where does the beast come from most frequently?"
"It comes from the North," Dell replied.
Bret began giving orders. "Dell, you will stand at the North side. I will stand West. Fin will stand East, and Lisa will stand West."
"What about me?" Kisa asked.
Bret smiled. "You will stand at the top of a building at the center. Your job is to fire arrows at the beast's wings."
"Not bad, kid," Dell thought.
"Do you think you can manage, Kisa?" Lisa asked.
"Yes, I will manage," Kisa said.
Dell, Bret, Lisa, and Fin stood at their positions and waited. After five hours, Bret saw a black blur near him. "Everyone!" Bret yelled. Dell, Fin, and Bret quickly started running. The beast destroyed a building, but the brief pause gave Kisa the chance to fire an arrow. The arrow hit the beast's feet, and the beast growled, stopping and flying irregularly. It looked like a winged lion. Kisa clicked her tongue. "I wasn't able to cripple its flight," she muttered.
However, the temporary stop allowed Bret to catch up. He jumped from a nearby cart to a building's roof. The beast, seeing him, tried to escape, but another arrow came, this time from Lisa. The beast sensed it and dodged. But then Bret jumped and caught its legs. Another arrow came, this one from Lisa, and struck the beast's body. The beast let out a huge howl and started flying higher and higher. Lisa and Kisa attacked again, but their attacks didn't reach. Bret climbed on top of the beast and pulled its hair. "Let's see who would win," he said. He took out his sword and started slashing the beast's body. The beast, after being attacked, reinforced its body with magic. Bret saw the reinforced hide. "Don't think this will help you," he said.
Dell yelled, "Kisa, Lisa, get to a higher ground! Fin, follow me!"
"Okay!" Fin, Kisa, and Lisa said. As Kisa and Lisa went to higher ground, Dell and Fin tried to stay right below the beast. Bret slashed the beast's wings, and it began to fall. As Bret and the beast fell, Bret was in front of its claws. The beast attacked with its claws, cutting Bret's body, but Bret kept slashing. The beast seemed to have a regeneration ability, but Bret kept attacking. "Don't think you can win!" he shouted.
As Bret was falling into an alley, Kisa and Lisa shot arrows that dug deep into the building walls. Bret caught the arrow stuck in a wall, halting his fall.
"You did well, kid. Time to rest up," Dell said.
"After this one strike," Bret replied, even though blood was leaking from his body. He jumped onto the alley's wall, then from one wall to another, and finally slashed the beast's body. He landed on the ground first. "It reinforced its hide. Attack at its weak spot!" he yelled.
Fin and Dell jumped from one wall of the alley to another. "Don't worry, kid. We have experience," Fin said. Dell was faster than Fin and quickly went to the top of the beast. Fin, who was behind the beast, used his sword and pierced the wound Bret had created. "The beast's hide really is strong," he muttered. Dell used his sword to slash the wound on top of the beast. "Beast, now repent for your sins," he said.
Kisa and Lisa quickly came running. "Are you okay, Bret?" Kisa asked.
"Bret, are you fine?" Lisa said. There were deep claw cuts on Bret's body, and blood was pouring out.
"I am fine," Bret said.
suddenly, the beast fell on the ground with a thud it It was going to die, so it tried to kill Bret. It rushed at Bret; however, Lisa and Kisa started firing arrows at it, and Bret charged at it. The beast clawed at Bret's stomach, and Bret coughed up blood up but pressed forward. Bret used his sword and pierced the beast's head. At the same time, Fin and Dell attacked from above and pierced the beast's head as well. The light finally disappeared from the beast's eyes.
Dell and Fin landed on the ground. "You are not fine. These claw cuts are deep. Time to take you to a doctor," they said. As Bret was carried to a doctor, he was happy that he was finally protecting something with his friends.