BXBX NOVEL Chapter 161: Squad Leader Cedric
This is what Cedric's squad members thought as they ran for their lives, chased by the hellhounds.
They wanted to complain. They really do. This is just too cruel. Although it hadn't even been 30 minutes since they started, all of them had been bitten by the hell puppies and lost pieces of their flesh. Well, they grew them back right after (would've been nice to be informed of that before this torture began, but whatever), but it still hurts like a bitch.
Moreover, why threaten them with the hell puppies for being late if he would send the things after them anyway? Like, what's the point?
So they really wanted to whine and complain about this, but they can't. They really can't.
Not when they could see their Squad Leader wrestling with a fucking Cerberus.
Yes, the big one he called in before they ordered the rest to run for their lives is a massive Cerberus - a three-headed hound that's about 10 feet tall when it stands on all fours. Its skin was cracked and charred black, and looked tough too.
Its paws were bigger than a person and each of its heads did a unique thing; one head spits out magma (molten earth, lava is liquid fire), the second head spews out corrosive acids that could melt bones in milliseconds, and the third head breathes out sharp and corrupted gales.
The Cerberus was at least Tier 7 in strength, but make no mistake, if this thing went all out, even Tier 9s would have to be wary of it.
Yet Cedric, a puny Tier 4 Human, was wrestling with it.
But even though their fight looks tough and dangerous, in reality, they're just playing around. The Cerberus wasn't using any of it's heads to breathe out nasty shit. It's just pawing at Cedric, sending him flying or flattening him on the ground whenever he catches him.
The entire squad saw Cedric being toyed around by the puppy like he was some sort of a pesky fly. And this is the strongest person in their batch. Yes, he's not using his sword, just his fists, but that doesn't change things too much really. Because if Cedric were to use his sword, the Cerberus would escalate this play-fight, and that would endanger the entire squad.
Still, even after being beaten down and humiliated by the big three-headed puppy, not a groan or a lick of complaint escaped from their Leader's lips. Whenever he's thrown or smacked, he just gets up, dusts himself, and does it all over again.
His flesh wasn't being chewed by the big puppy, yes, but they'd heard several bones on his body crack or even downright shatter. The big puppy might be playing around but its strength was no joke. And if that could happen to Cedric's bones, one could only imagine what kind of abuse his organs go through.
Still, even with all of that, they've yet to hear him utter a grunt of pain whatsoever. He just stands right back up like he didn't just nearly die from the last attack.
Seriously, he's too hardcore. How was he even healing that quickly?
Ah, right. The mysterious healer.
It's because they could all see and hear this, that even though they wanted to complain so bad or quit to escape this torture, they can't. Not when Cedric himself endures far worse than they are experiencing.
'Y'all seem to be forgetting what I just told you.'
Everybody heard Cedric's voice in their heads. Strangely enough, they expected him to sound tired and whiny but he wasn't. His voice still carried dignity and aloofness worthy of becoming the #1. He spoke them using sound transmission so it's different, but still...
'You can fight back.' He continued as he wrestled with the Cerberus again. 'Those puppies can take a beating. The army made sure that they could take a beating.'
'I'm not making all of you do this to run away as fast as possible at the first sight of a real demon when we're out there. It's part of it, yes, but not the main thing.'
'You all have been facing your versions of Hell in Purgatory. I refuse to believe that all you do to pass your Hell Dives is to run until the timer's over if that even applies to you.'
'For what reason do you have those weapons out if you're not even using them? Fight back damn it! Fight back or at the very least, defend yourselves. Do it while running!'
It felt shameful to be reminded of such a simple thing in the middle of this torture. They've been consumed with panic and fear that Cedric's words just flew by their heads completely.
What's even more embarrassing is that Cedric had to remind them again while he himself was in the middle of a vexing and humbling experience. His hands should be full dealing with that big puppy but he still managed to leave a piece of his attention to watch over them.
Their pride as geniuses were stomped mercilessly in this place. So far, only Cedric had been proving his worth here, and in the army's eyes, it's not even that impressive.
The thought of this made them feel strangely indignant. They've been feeling this since the start of this mission but there's just too much going on that it keeps being pushed back at the back of their minds.
However, they have time now. And Cedric's words awoken their pride and their desire to retaliate. More specifically, he reminded them and gave them the chance to retaliate.
"Raaaggghh!"
#5 was the first one to release his rage. He attacked the hound assigned to him as it was about to tear another piece of his flesh. He stabbed it with his spear and continued running.
The others saw this and were inspired. They too began retaliating against the terrifying hell puppies in their own way.
But to their surprise however, their attacks did nothing. Sure they pierced the hounds' flesh, someone was even sure that he killed one, but it turns out that the puppies heal just as quickly as they do.
Their retaliation was nothing but a mere momentary injury to the puppies. It only slowed them down on their chase, not stopped it completely.
That's when they heard Cedric's voice echoing in their ears once more...
'Treat these puppies as sparring partners. They won't die easily and so are you. If you haven't noticed it yet, the hounds attack you at your most vulnerable spot. They could sense holes in your defense and use that against you.'
'If you have been bitten at the same spot over and over again, that's their way of telling you to fix that part of your defense because it's too obvious and could be exploited by anybody, even dumb hounds like them.'
'The hounds adjust their strength just within the level that you could handle. They are raised and trained that way. The army wouldn't keep literal demons in their yard for absolutely no reason when all they're about is killing them. Do you understand?'
Cedric's words were like church bells ringing in their ears, causing their minds to blank out in sheer shock and enlightenment. Because yeah, why haven't they thought about that?
Forget about the army using actual demons as tools, the fact that there is a demon chasing them right here and right now, and they never even questioned it, really made them doubt their intelligence.
They should've known that these little murder puppies were actual demons. God, they're officially called Hellhounds, and that term had been thrown here and there before! How did it not click on them before!?
Seriously, is there something within this place that's making them dumb?
'I'm making you run like hell to prepare you for the worst. When we're on the other side of this wall and shit hits the fan, I don't want any of you getting weak in the knees before we arrive at a safe zone.'
'Out there, once we move, we will never know when we could stop. There are more demons out there than any of us could imagine, and right now, your endurance sucks ass. We don't have much time so all I can do is to condition you this way.'
'I called the puppies here to help you fix the flaws on your defense. Nobody, not Instructor Orion, the Knight Captains, or even the Lord Commander of this entire battalion, expects any of us to kill real demons en masse.'
'As far as they are concerned, we are here to participate in a simple patrol mission. To us, it's a rite of passage since we've been exposed to the truth of the world. To the army's eyes, it's a nuisance since they have to look after a bunch of entitles and pompous brats like us.'
'You wanna kill real demons? Fine. But do that when you decide to volunteer for military service. Here, what we do is simple. Complete the patrol mission three times and return home, preferably intact and alive. My task as your Squad Leader is to increase your chance at survival, but I can't do everything.'
'Help yourselves too. I have no control over your body. Think and move. Preferably at the same time. Use every chance you get to increase your chances of surviving and put a little trust in me. That's all I ask.'