My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 34: Trojan Horse

The door to the Hunters Guild was banged open forcefully causing everyone present to turn their attention towards it. Standing there was a man who donned black metal armour with a silvery trim. It had overlapping plates on the chest piece and the greaves were solid looking with black hide visible near the joints to allow greater movement.

The knees had viscious looking spikes upon them and the forearms had hooked spikes. A black coat with red spots rested over the top. It had clearly been altered to remove the sleeves.

The hood was pulled up but beneath it the man was wearing a light metal helm with cheekguards that matched in colour to the rest. Where the mouth should be visible there was a crimson cloth face mask covering up to the facial features from below the golden eyes that stared out hungrily.

The man rested the pommel of the malicious looking halberd he carried on the floor. As he stood there the air inside the guild felt like it was getting colder. The oppressive feeling emanating from the man was suffocating to the point of making them feel sick.

'A demon has come. We're all going to die!' was the thought that ran through the mind of several hunters present.

Seemingly approving of the response the man approached the desk. The thud of his boots giving off the feeling that death was approaching.

"It's been awhile, Ben."

Ben gasped in shock. The voice and that unique coat had dredged up his memories.

"It can't be! Kace?" Ben asked feeling overwhelmed.

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Fuck me! I thought you were dead!"

"Haha, only almost. But that doesn't matter much." Kace replied heartily, "Ah, I need to update my guild card and see what you have contract wise."

"Y-Yeah, sure thing." Ben stammered still in disbelief as he pulled out the Godite tablet.

Placing his hand on the tablet he waited for a few seconds as it recorded his new status. With the help of [Chameleon] of course. Ben glanced at the new information and whistled.

"You ain't ordinary are you kid? You've been away awhile but this growth is impressive. Not just that but you even gained a class? Apart from those freak heroes very few normal folks achieve that."

As Ben chatted away he updated the guild card that Kace handed to him. Taken a glance at it he noticed he had only been promoted by a single rank to 'E'. Raising his eyebrow at Ben prompted the man to respond.

"Ah, it's not like you're not capable of more it's just that it's as far as I can promote you without you completing more contracts." Ben said.

"I see." Kace replied coldly.

"Ah! Please take a look at these contracts!"

Kace glanced at several pieces of paper that Ben laid out before him. Though only one of them was actually of any interest him. This particular contract was for scouts for the Hero force that was roaming the mountain. 'Hm, the pays not bad I guess but I'm not here for that anyway.'

"I'll come back another time." Kace replied as he turned his back.

With one last look around the hall he left. He had not failed to notice Conner and Yasmin eyeballing him hard from the shadow of some big guy that was sitting with them. 'It took us two weeks to get the army here without anyone noticing. I can't waste it by settling old scores.'

As he walked around town people either moved out of his way or admired his gear. Though the admirers were usually further away. It was at this point a guy blocked his path. The man in question was just a mob character. Basic looking with iron armour covering him. The mercenary guild badge displayed proudly on his chest.

"Hey! You dented my armour! You better pay up!" the man said.

Kace eyed the man's armour that was full of dents and scrapes. This was obviously a shake down. 'Like I'd put up with that.'

Faster than the man could follow Kace backhanded the guy stunning him. Before he could recover Kace did it again. With wide eyes the man looked horrified. Every time he attempted to open his mouth to say something he was met with another brutal backhand.

On the verge of tears and sporting a bloody face the man finally learnt his lesson. When he did not try to talk then Kace would not hurt him. Therefore he simply kept silent.

Flashing a sneer at the man Kace walked on. Well aware that there were others from the Mercenary Guild hidden around the place watching him. He had a feeling that this had been a test to see if they could recruit him. He thought it highly unlikely that they realised who he was because if they had he would definitely be surrounded right now.

Not wanting to get caught up in anything unnecessary he ducked into an alley. Quickly losing his tail. 'I need to hide out somewhere until nightfall.' he thought as he wandered around. It took a lot of searching before he found a secluded spot near the town walls. 'Thus will do nicely.'

He hunkered down and patiently rested until nightfall. When he had arrived in town he had first confirmed that all the heroes were definitely up on the mountain. This was crucial to the plan. Since they'd only be dealing with more normal humans then their superior numbers should mean few casualties when the assault began.

His only concern was if he met Gregory again. Although he should be a normal human and not a hero Kace felt it was highly likely that he possessed a class. 'There'll likely be others among the Mercenaries and who knows what's hiding in the Mages Association.'

He was not too concerned with the Hunters though. They were definitely the weakest group that was based in this town. Well that was his own impression anyway.

When the sky had turned as dark as it would for the night he silently made his way towards the stairs that led up to the controls for the town gate. The mechanism had a counterbalance weight system to allow the rapid closing of the gates. The gates could then be winched open or closed using this system.

'Not like we're going to use it though.' he thought with a wide grin.

Not bothering to hide himself anymore he was spotted as he neared the top of the stairs. There were ten guards on the wall and all of them eyed him suspiciously.

"You there! Halt!" the guard captain yelled.

Not wanting for too much of a fuss to alert the town Kace used [Stampede]. Instantly closing the distance between himself and the captain. With a thrust he drove the spear tip on his halberd directly through the captain's eyeball.

This move caused him to enter combat with the whole group. When their information popped up Kace sighed. Every single one of them was only Level 1. This was going to be a slaughter.

Before anyone else could react he swept the halberd in a large, wide semi circular movement. Pleased with the weapons performance as it easily cut down another six guards.

The remaining three attempted to rush him. He parried their blades with the heavy shaft of his weapon. Feeling completely at ease with the flow of battle he drove the pommel of the halberd into the gut of one of his assailants. Causing him to fall to the ground breathless.

As another lunged at him he side stepped the thrust and replied by driving his spiked knee into the man's chest. He felt the man's bones as they pushed aside and snapped as the spikes pierced his lung.

As the man coughed and spluttered the sole remaining guard thought he should flee. Dropping his weapon he turned to run. However his knees suddenly buckled beneath him. Kace had figured out his aura was something that would only affect people if he wanted it to and right now he did.

The man was turning hysterical as the fear drove itself further into his mind the closer Kace approached. Raising the Halberd high and with a swift diagonal slice the man's head went flying. Blood rushed from his severed neck.

The other two who were still on the ground were in a similar hysterical state. Having been caught in the area of his aura. Without much care Kace picked up the one who had his lung punctured by the throat. Making his breathing even more difficult.

With a cold look in his eyes he tossed the man over the wall. Letting the fall break his neck. The last one had not suffered any injuries bar having the wind knocked out of him. Kace wanted to end this quickly so he drove the spear tip through the man's heart. Ending his suffering.

Taking his time he walked over the brazier that was burning wood to give the guards some heat. Impairing one of the burning logs on his halberd he raised it high and waved it.

A minute or two later there were many horrifying cries ringing out from the darkness. The earth trembled beneath the many feet of the Goblin Kings army. They were shouting in revelry as they charged at the sleeping, unassuming town.

'Let's get this party started." Kace thought as he watched the oncoming horde.

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