My (Monster?) Hero Life

As the night wore on, the heroes and natives on guard duty became more relaxed. As far as they saw things, there was no way that they would be ambushed after the battle in the city. The only danger came from any natural fauna, and they were confident of spotting their approach from some distance. Their attitude was so relaxed that they did something that nobody on watch duty should ever do. They sat around their fires and looked directly into them!

Witnessing this act, Shadow grinned at their stupidity. 'Idiots, they've just made themselves night blind.' Since they were staring directly at a light source in a dark environment, it would take time for their vision to adjust to the low light levels when they looked away from the fire. This was the perfect opportunity for the Tu'Thrag to begin their assault.

Shadow had decided it was better to include a couple of other members of the tribe in the assault. The risks were too great of being discovered if only Lorget and himself were responsible. They spread out from each other, each of them headed for a different group. The plan was simple. They would wipe out the guards and leave it at that.

That way, when their bodies were discovered, the army would think that a pack of creatures had taken them by surprise. They would consider that the reason the pack did not advance into the camp would be because of their natural instincts, warning them that they could not overcome their forces. It would just look like an opportunistic hunt, especially since a properly planned assault would usually take advantage of the situation to press their attack.

Lorget was the first to receive an opportunity to deal an early blow to his group. One of the heroes had chosen that moment to distance himself from the group to relieve his bowels. As he squatted over the hole that he had dug with a satisfied expression on his face, he suddenly heard childish sobs coming from the darkness around him.

His eyesore still adjusting to the darkness, so he could not see very far clearly. To his horror, he only noticed the blood-stained dress and wide-brimmed hat when the sobbing girl was already too close to his position. The heroes mind spun as his first thoughts were to help this seemingly traumatised child.

However, as the figure steadily came closer, his mind finally hit on the real issue. How would a child even get all the way out here in the first place? His next thought was extremely apt for his situation as the glint of metal appeared in the child's hand. 'Oh shit! Caught with my pants down!' The small dagger was suddenly thrown by Lorget directly into the hero's eyeball and penetrated his brain. 

As the lifeless body slumped over, an even greater stench permeated the air as it let everything go at once. Lorget chuckled at the pathetic sight only to regret that action. He had to intake the air into his lungs during his laugh, which quickly made him gag with its foulness. 'Fucking heroes! Even in death, they're still trying to kill me!'

Lorget taking this opportunity also put some stress on the others to act sooner rather than later. Eventually, the guards would notice that their companion had not returned, and they would sound an alarm. Using the darkness as cover, the Tu'Thrag converged on their targets. Their ambush was quick and efficient. The guards never got the chance to call out at all as they were quickly put down.

They dragged the bodies away from their original positions to make the scene look more realistic by bringing them to the same location. This way, the blood trails would make it appear as if the imaginary creatures had dragged their prey away to eat them. Shadow and the others did not even hesitate to maul the deceased figures. Doing their best to replicate claw and bite marks.

It was challenging work ripping body parts off and separating flesh from bone. They tossed the spare materials that were the supposed eaten parts into the shadow realm to dispose of the evidence before carefully retreating. Now, all they had to do was wait and see what kind of reaction they would receive for their heinous deed.

They took up position on the ridge and waited. It seemed like nobody in the camp was willing to relieve their watchmen for whatever reason, as it was not until daybreak that their absence was finally noted. The encampment suddenly became boisterous as search groups were sent out to follow each trail.

It did not take long for all of them to converge on the supposed feasting area that the Tu'Thrag had set up during the night. Expressions of horror, disbelief and pity swept through the enemy ranks as they gazed at the pile of mutilated corpses. It was an extremely unpleasant way to go, especially for the one with his pants around his ankles and chunks missing from his arse. 

The smell from that body alone drowned out the stench of the others. The crowd soon turned to bicker over who would be responsible for burying the poor sods. Nobody wanted to get their hands dirty with this mess! In the end, they settled for cremating them by fire magic from a safe distance. The crowd hung their heads in a show of respect for the dead.

Shadow chuckled as he watched the whole procession. "It seems like they don't suspect a thing. Still, it will be harder to inflict any losses after this. They're bound to be more cautious!"

"What can we do then? Should we just focus on rescuing Lilly whenever her captor makes their appearance?" Lorget asked as he stared regretfully at the scene below. In all honesty, he was more interested in culling their enemies numbers than saving the dryad.

Shadow seemed to be lost in thought for a moment as he rubbed his chin. His gaze became sharp and cruel as a new idea began to take form in his wicked mind. "No, I have a better idea."