The Demon King's Paladin

Chapter 104. 1st Hunt

Bright and early, Sarah, Anna and I arrived at the north gate of Paradise to find a familiar face.

" Good morning, Lord Drake! Lady Sarah! Lady Anna!"

Ruby was standing right next to 2 Flameskins and the 1 Iceskin we were expecting.

" Ruby, what are you doing here?"

" Grandpa Rodrick told me about your plans for today! I thought you might want to have some extra help! I would go myself, but I have to help with directing the rest of the demons who want to move here. By the next time you guys go hunting, I'll be able to go hunting to!"

Ruby spoke excitedly. I saw no reason to deny her so, our party went from 4 to 6.

" Nice to meet you! I'm Flare Flameskin!"

" Nice to meet you! I am Skitz Flameskin!"

Both Flameskin's introduced themselves to us. Following them was the one Iceskin.

" I am Edmon Iceskin! A pleasure to be of service!"

" I'm Matthew Drake. Behind me are my wives, Sarah Drake and Anna Drake. Please, take care of us. I'm assuming you've all been informed that my wives and I are using this hunting trip as a training exercise as well as an opportunity to grow familiar with the Rose Swamps. Having said that, please instruct us when you feel our traversal is wrong, Edmon. On top of that, Flare, Skitz, I hope you can you point out if we make a misstep while fighting these monsters to the north."

" Yes Sir!"

With our introductions out of the way, we began traveling north on foot. Horses wouldn't work because of how unstable the dirt roads are. Because of the swamps, most of the roads are muddy, which causes many horses to slip and fall. Considering that we were heading into the swampy areas north of the town, on foot was the best option. as well as the clothes we were wearing. Since it was the hottest month of the summer season, we were dressed pretty lightly. You would almost think we were heading to the beach, when in reality we would be fighting both in the water and on land when we could find it. This meant armor was out of the question and lightning magic had to be carefully considered as well. We were told that the best way to gain the attention of the monsters was to travel deeply into the swamp area, so that's what we did.

" I wish we had access to ice magic."

Sarah spoke as she waded through the swamp water.

" I apologize Lady Drake."

Edmon apologized as he spoke with a wry smile. From what I understand Edmon's job class was Hunter, so he had no access to magic. I felt bad, but there was really nothing I could say in the moment. All 6 of us walked slowly through land and water for around 3 hours.

" Around here is where we should set up our base camp."

Edmon spoke when we arrived at a decent chunk of dry land. The land seemed almost like an island in the swamp. It was a patch of dry land in the middle of a lake of water, the horizon was full of thick bushes and trees. I could feel the eyes of the monsters focusing on the interlopers in their territory. However, we had our own eyes.

" I'm seeing a big group of those alligators to the northeast of our current location. West has yellow crabs the size of carriages buried under the mud in the water, to the east are a group of what looks like apes with blue fur. South has fish with razor sharp teeth following our trail. Finally, north has what seems to be man sized squirrels eating fresh corpses of some of those monkeys I mentioned."

" Thank you, Anna. So, what sounds like more fun? I think those fish could cause some problems if we don't handle it now."

" Those are steel-jawed piranha, they're known to be good for stews and their smoked meat is delicious."