The group of three walked back to the village with Caspian carrying one Bloodmaw corpse at a time. They move as fast as they could to gather the bodies before any more Bloodmaws could attack. In the end, they managed to do the four-round trips without having to suffer from an attack. They dropped the bodies just behind the village gates, as different guards were watching them.

“We are lucky that none of them went to attack us while we were moving the bodies,” Balin said happily.

“Actually, I think with how many of them got killed, we should have at least a small respite,” Edward announced.

“Why are you saying that?” Caspian asked him.

“Well, we killed the group of five that attacked the village, we killed the one we hunted, and then this other group of three that went after you. While I stayed behind to give you some time, in total seven of them went after me.”

“Seven!! How the hell did you manage to escape?” Balin interrupted him.

“I was lucky, I encountered a lot more dangerous monster, some kind of wyrm. I managed to make myself unnoticed and to escape while they were fighting each other.” Edward answered modestly.

Caspian and Balin whistled when they heard that.

“I didn’t know a wyrm was living in this forest, but somehow, I’m not that surprised, there are beasts that are better left alone. We should always remember not to get carried away nor to get blinded by our powers, humans only occupy a small part of this world. The wilds are called like that for a reason.” Caspian explained.

“Yes, so that means that at least sixteen Bloodmaws have been killed in a relatively short time. I know there are a lot of them in the ruins, but their number isn’t infinite, besides it should take some time to spread out from the ruins. So, I think we should be okay for the time being.” Edward finished what he was trying to explain. He did take notice of Caspian’s warning, but that didn’t deter him from his wish to explore the wilds. There was something both exciting and poetic to being able to discover and roam in a landscape untouched by mankind.

“That’s good to hear because I seriously need some sleep. I didn’t manage to have proper rest since that last attack on Agripin.” Caspian complained.

“So, to whom should we give those Bloodmaws?” Edward asked.

“Let Wallace use them. He has done a good job until now. I think he deserved it. And if our plan works, there will be more to come. Every guard will get the opportunity to breach through to the awaken rank.” Balin told them with a smile on his face.

“I’m fine with that.” Caspian supported this decision.

As they were discussing with each other, a group of villagers led by Carlson came over. They looked particularly disgruntled.

Carlson addressed them aggressively. “Behold as those madmen provoked the monsters more every day. They dare to hunt them and bring the corpses to our village no less! Who do you think the monsters will kill when they discover their kind has been slaughtered? Us, they will destroy us while those sinners who brought them here in the first place will flee, forsaking us behind!”

Caspian frowned, Carlson had always been a sore point to deal with, but he had never talked this boldly before. “Enough! We are doing our best to save this very village and to solve this situation. You have no right to berate us. Besides the wall is dangerous right now, this is no place for civilians. You should all go back to your homes.”

Carlson was undaunted and continued his litany. “I say, we should offer those sinners to the beasts to appease them. Let them know we stand by their side and that they have no need to hurt us. Only the sinners are at fault!”

Caspian was appalled in front of such a statement. “Have you gone completely mad?!” was his only response.

Edward sighed to himself. “Even in another world, there is still this kind of people…They are really a plague.” “Let me handle them, I’m used to this type of people.” He told Caspian before moving in front. “Let me ask you, if a murderer kills one of your relatives, what will you do? Will you fight it, or will you give one of your children to assuage his anger? Because it looks a lot like you are choosing the second option.”

“I-.”

“Tutut, I know, you are not that stupid.” Edward cut him before he could speak again. “You don’t actually believe that feeding those monsters with innocent people will achieve anything, it’s only a front page. You know that once the beasts have gotten free food, they will come back. And this is exactly what you desire. You are only using people’s fear for your own ends. You will say something like ‘Oh no those monsters are attacking us again because there are still sinners among our rank, and not at all because I’m feeding them.’ And then anyone who speaks against you or whom you don’t like will be designed as a sinner and thrown as a sacrifice. You will be like a god, designing who is right or who is wrong, while you are out of reach. You saw those big frightening monsters attacking the village, and your first thought was that it is the perfect occasion to get rid of the people you don’t like and to take over, even if it meant sacrificing half of the village for it. Pieces of shit like you really disgust me.” Edward spat on the floor.

“But you made two big mistakes. You see, those monsters are not like the other beasts from the forest. They won’t stop because they are fed, they didn’t hesitate to attack us when they saw the village, not even knowing our capabilities. Even in front of overwhelming chances, those monsters keep attacking. Don’t think you can call them by throwing them a sacrifice or two. Your second mistake is to think that we will be unable to handle the situation and that you would be able to use people as their fear increases. We are already capable of killing those monsters and we are using them to make everyone stronger. And that doesn’t go well with you, does it? How can you take over if the situation is handled perfectly?” Edward finished his tirade, he was usually easygoing, but on some issues, he had so much repressed anger that he couldn’t help but let it out.

Carlson was destabilized by such a violent retort. He was expecting only meek complaints from the guards since they couldn’t decently harm civilians. He couldn’t foresee that Edward would see right through him. He still continued with his attitude as he couldn’t go back at this point, it would be admitting that Edward was right. He did lose a lot of his vehemence though.

“This is complete nonsense, how could you say such things?” he said trying to regain his confidence.

“Seriously, you should just jail and gag him at this point before he can spread his ridiculous beliefs with the other villagers,” Edward told Caspian, completely ignoring Carlson.

Seeing as Caspian was seriously considering Edward’s opinion, Carlson could only leave in defeat with a hateful glare. However, the look of the villager coming with him had changed from indignation to doubt. After what Edward had told, they could see what Carlson’s interest would be to behave in such a way. The fact that there were four of those monsters’ corpses in front of the guards also helps to decrease their fear about the situation.

Balin and Caspian looked at Edward impressed by his demeanor.

“Wow, I seriously wasn’t expecting that from you. I’ve never seen Carlson leaving so defeated before.” Balin said, admiration seeping through his voice.

“I needed it, I feel a lot better now,” Edward answered, happy now that he had let out his anger.

“Do you really think he would go this far? He tried to impose his bigot views before, but this... to indirectly murder people only to gain power. It is a whole another level.” Caspian asked.

“Yes, those kinds of people only care about themselves and they are shameless beyond your imagination. As I see it, you only have two options, stop him immediately, even if this means he will play as a victim to appeal to people. Or you can make sure that everybody knows his choice is to throw innocent people to those monsters and show them that you are handling this situation perfectly. Once this is over, they will remember who did what, and who to trust.” Edward told him, more serious than usual.

“I see…I don’t want to incarcerate him right now. People will only say that I’m trying to silence him. But at the same time, if he is really ready to go this far, he is as much a danger to this community that the monsters outside. I will let the people decide what to do with him, once this is over. We should focus on dealing with the Bloodmaws first.”

Now that the situation was calmer, Wallace was able to absorb the power from the Bloodmaw’s blood, the bodies had been inscribed with a durability rune, but there was still no time to lose. They hadn’t yet tested how long the power could be preserved, and the monsters were still losing blood from their injuries.

He wasn’t able to use his aura yet, Edward was an exception to being able to control his aura while still at the quiescent level. So, Wallace had to do it the old fashion way, gathering the blood in several bowls before washing his body with it. With as many as four Bloodmaws bodies before him, he was able to repeat the process several times.

“So much strength is flowing through me, is this really alright if I take all of this for myself? Shouldn’t the other guards get some too?” Wallace asked them.

“No, it is better this way. The sooner we get another awaken, the better, we have to focus everything on one person to get faster results. The more numerous we are, the easier it will be to hunt for more Bloodmaws. The cycle will become easier each time until we are able to hold on against those beasts without a problem. Don’t worry, the other guards will get their turn too.” Caspian answered his interrogations.

Suddenly Wallace shivered as Edward could see his aura visibly surge. Wallace regained his balance with wide eyes. “What the heck is this? Is this how you see the world as awakens?” He asked looking at them in shock now that he was able to see auras with his naked eyes.

“You will need some training about aura control, I will help you with that. You will soon understand why people say that awakens have eyes behind their back. What you see is our aura. By mastering it, you expand your perception, harvest power from felled beast without having to bath into their blood, and more importantly, you will be able to go past Bloodmaw’s hide to wound them.” Balin explained with a grin.

Wallace had to consume the power of three Bloodmaws to become an awaken, the other one could be left for another guard. He wasn’t ready to face a Bloodmaw yet, but even without aura mastery, he would still be able to delay such a monster without getting killed. The first step of the plan had been implemented, things would become easier from now on. The more awaken they had, the faster they would be able to grow other awakens.