The progress on both construction and food production during the two weeks we had planned to wait was startling. Apparently, the powers of the land included the rapid growth of crops. The hunters had stocked the cold room well. As such, we began our March. We decided to only take five extra warriors, rather than the ten of the previous mission.

  The trip was relatively uneventful, a few beasts proved annoying enough to kill, and so our food lasted longer as we ate what we killed. Perhaps the largest issue was being practically eaten ourselves, bugs swarmed us at night, since we couldn't afford the risk of making a fire. We did kill ten Lizardmen along the way, but for a month's travel, that was practically nothing.

  I was well and truly tired of travelling by the time we arrived on the far side of the Grasslands. There we found our target, the furthest settlement of the Lizardmen. It was full dark by the time we arrived, and all of us snuck up on various guards. The ten of us managed to silence them all, shortly after they had left their fires. Once the standing guard was no longer standing, we all took our time to silently remove the remaining guards in their sleep.

  This time, the Headman's Hut was shut tight. My sword cut the bindings on the door, and it swung silently open. Jenna took the lead and silently crept to the Headman as he snored loudly. Her mace rose and fell quickly with a mighty strike, and the room went silent. I gestured for her to slit the throat just to be safe. She had just done so when a rustling alerted us to another person in the room. Looking to where we heard the sound, we found two women, one human, one Lizardwoman.

  I sighed in relief. "Thank goodness, we thought that we missed one of the Lizardmen. Come on out, you two, let's free the rest of the women from the Sanctum. There's going to be pandemonium in the morning. We hadn't made any noise, and thus even the lightest slave sleepers hadn't woken. There would be screams as people woke to find death everywhere." Their eyes widened in shock, followed by smiles on their faces.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  It was pitiful how easily we had taken out yet another settlement of Lizard Freaks. Four cleared without so much as a cry of alarm. We bedded down beside the guard fires, taking turns on watch. I felt uneasy, there seemed too few guards in this village. Not long after dawn, the screams started. I kept myself focused outward, away from the village, and lucky I had. Forty Lizardmen came storming into sight.

  "To battle!" I cried, and the Lizardmen froze at the sight of me, with my steel greatsword held casually to my side. My forces, few in number, were ruthless. Our overwhelming victory did not come free this time. Two of our fighters were injured, though lightly. It would further slow our travel. "Damn! I knew it was too easy. Bind their wounds and prepare to move. I think fire will suit to eliminate this village, I knew there were too few guards here."

  We managed to corral everyone and acquire the Lizardwomen's eggs. We remove everything of use from the village, and set it ablaze with all the corpses scattered around in a more natural spread than they had been in. Some of the Lizardwomen took turns aiding our injured until the inevitable happened. Two more bonds formed to the surprise of the women involved, of both species.

  The journey back was nowhere near as pleasant as it had been on the way out. Still, we killed all the Lizardmen that assailed us. Nearly eighty in total. "Thisss isss not asss much a sssurprissse asss it might otherwisssse be, my love. Thisss isss the time of the great hunt. Thessse onesss are not from the ssssame ssssettlement. We sssshould be fine otherwissse."

  Our journey became quite harrowing, but the number of Lizardmen kills was well worth it, and boded well for continued offenses. Dragging our weary bones into the Castle, we could count a hundred kills just on the journey. Marta took charge of the newest refugees, and we all gratefully fell into our beds. The welts on our bodies were swollen and irritated. Itching didn't begin to describe how fierce the feeling was.

  Nearly two whole days passed before any of us were ready to haul ourselves out of our beds. Then we feasted.