In the distant reaches of the Elven Kind, there was a place . At first sight, you might think it was a town, composed of countless buildings, stretching across the border of a vast forest . There was even a wall erected, to keep the residents of the forest where they belonged . However, at a closer look, you'd soon notice that there wasn't a single civilian in sight . There were only soldiers . In truth, this was one of the most important military outposts in the empire, holding a large amount of soldiers .

In one of the watchtowers, overlooking the woods, two soldiers lazed in their seats, as their smoky eyes looked towards the forest . One of the soldiers looked like he was half asleep .

"Ah, this sucks," the more awake soldier said, as he straightened up his seat, stretching out his arms . His sudden comment jolted the other soldier, who looked confused for a second, while he regained his bearings .

"Huh?" He asked, his voice correctly portraying his laziness . The other soldier sighed, as he poured himself a cup of water .

"How long have we been here, now? Fifteen years? Dammit, I've spent my career out here, but nothing ever happens! How will I ever advance like this! There's no hope for any meaningful promotions, and I haven't leveled up in who knows how long . Man, I wish we were still sending extermination squads into the forest," the soldier complained .

"What, so you could lose your life inside there, like the countless others? That dungeon isn't something the likes of us can mess with . As long as it remains as quiet as it is, I'm happy," the lazy soldier remarked .

"Yeah, well, most of us aren't like you . We didn't join the army to laze around in a tower all day . Most people join the army for the adventure, the fighting, and the training," the other soldier said, his eyes gaining a new look in them, as he fantasized about what could have been .

"Maybe, but I didn't even want to join the army in the first place . For some reason, my d.a.m.n family developed a tradition of sending their sons into the army . Ha, I bet they weren't counting on me being sent down here . We can't leave before achieving something, but down here, I'll never achieve anything, so I can just laze around for the rest of my career, and get paid for it . It suits me perfectly," the soldier said .

"If you say so . Wait, shy is the water rippling?" The other soldier said as he looked into the water in his cup .

"Maybe an earthquake is coming?" The lazy soldier said as he peeked over the table, looking into the cup . Indeed, the water was rippling . However, soon, the rippling grew even more significant, and accompanying it, were loud, thumping sounds, originating from the forest .

"What's going on?" The more alert of the soldiers said, as his head jerked towards the outside . At firsts glance, he didn't see anything, but soon, he started noticing a lot of out of place shapes underneath all the foliage .

"Oh, s.h.i.+t," the soldier said .

"What is it?" The other soldier said, as he, too, turned to look outside . A moment pa.s.sed .

"Oh, s.h.i.+t," he said .

"We have to alert the others! Let's go!" The diligent soldier said as he rushed down the tower . The two soldiers made it outside but were interrupted by the loud sounds from outside the walls . They had already made it to the walls . The two guards turned towards the wall, panicking . But their panic was cut short, as they saw their last sight . A rain of arrows peered over the walls .