Chapter 714 - A Journey Filled With Suffering
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After having survived such an arduous childhood, Larzak had changed completely, his mind had become mature ahead of time, his body had grown strong and muscular, filled with the scars of the countless beasts he hunted and devoured, which even included cannibals of his own species that had once actively tried to hunt him, but he ended hunting and devouring them back. He had become an innate warrior, a powerful hunter that was also exceptional at magic, after having drank the mana core potions of countless beasts, his mana core rank had increased greatly and his magic was as powerful as his spear, made out of the incredibly tough bones of the Young Golden Lion Beast King which he had defeated.
He had become a new man, and had matured into a young adult. In those times he was ready to go back, he had become a ruthless hunter, but deep down he was still a gentle man, his parents had taught him well, and even after his brother ruthless beating him, he still remembered his words and his teachings of gentleness and empathy, he was going to use his strength to help his village despite having been thrown into the wilderness.
However, when he had come back to the village, what he found were ruins. The houses made of wood and hay were burned, blood, flesh, and bones were spread everywhere, and Larzak only found the aftermath of a massacre, it wasn't made by a beast, but by lizardmen of his same kin.
He moved around the town, resisting the tears of despair while trying to ignore the shredded and cut down corpses of his entire village's people, not even the children were spared as their little bodies were thrown around mercilessly, and they were eaten. This was the fault of the cannibals, a tribe of lizardmen that had become insane for food and had adapted cannibalism of other tribes as their way of surviving… he had confronted and eaten them back then, but he never thought that they would try to attack his village, especially when such strong fighters as his father and the chief were here… but when he walked into his house, what he found was a terrible sight.
"No… No…! Noooooo!!!"
Larzak screamed in agony as he saw with his very eyes what he was already imagining deep down, the shredded corpses of his mother, his brother, and the little sister that seemingly had been born when he had yet to come here, all of them spread over the house, eaten down and only with their heads filled with agony, bones, and inner guts left. An agonizing sight that only made Larzak roar in despair. His magic exploded in that moment, consuming everything within the village, as he lost consciousness…
Larzak in those times felt despair like he had never felt before, when he was thrown away he felt fear of the wild world outside, but he adapted to these challenges and overcame them, only to be greeted not with the loving family he had been thinking since he was thrown away, but with the leftovers of a bloody massacre. His mind felt shattered into pieces as his spirit began to fall apart, he felt like he was drowning in a sea of darkness, where not even his family would be able to rescue him from.
When he woke up from such a nightmare he found himself above his flattened house, the pain that woke him up was a jaguar biting his leg, he quickly fought for his life as he realized he couldn't simply lay here and despair forever, he had been surviving this entire time, working so hard for all the things he had accomplished, would he let such a tragedy kill his relentless survival spirit? He had to get his shit together and fight for his life.
He fought bravely, defeating the jaguar with his magic and his spear, piercing its head, and splattering over the floor ruthlessly. He made some medicinal herbs paste for his wounds and wrapped the wounds with some cloth he found around. Looking around the village, he put into the task of burying everyone that was left, even as the pieces they were left, their heads were in here as the cannibals didn't ate the heads of the people, perhaps because the last hints of guilt they felt didn't allowed them to eat the face of a person.
Larzak spent two days and two nights burying his people, without resting at all, he devoured the beasts lured by the odor of blood and flesh decomposing and prayed to the holy spirits his tribe believed to send the souls of these people, and his family, to the afterlife. Larzak looked into the distance, filled with grief but also an undying desire for revenge. He walked away from his village after making sure to have buried his people very deep so the scavenger monsters wouldn't be able to find their remains, and he explored the jungle.
Using the evidence left and his sharp sense of smell, alongside his magic, Larzak searched for the culprits for days and nights, using any trails left behind, on his way towards his destiny he encountered a small village of fishers, who lived out by fishing the small quantity of fish inside a river, where he met a mysterious girl with the ability to see through the future for small glimpses, she had welcomed him, as she had seen through the future and predicted his arrival… Larzak was left puzzled, but being able to finally see normal people for once made him happy.
His ability to speak had been deteriorated, but he was welcomed by these people that called him the "Destined Hero", according to the glimpses that this young lizardman woman saw into the future, he would be the one to defeat the Cannibals and free the tribes from their savagery, all while unifying the tribes and then fighting the beast kings for their territory…
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