Chapter 19: Cedar Creek
1123 Words
Evelyn found that Luther was a no-nonsense kind of person. She was disappointed by this but knowing that he was able to overcome the fat man and his pig, it would not be easy to trick him.
"This is the Cedar Creek, two miles away from Coldhaven."
Luther lowered his head to think. Cedar Creek. He had heard of it, but it didn't matter. He just needed to stock up on food and medicine.
It'd be great to find some weapons here too. A village like this probably didn’t have any firearms, but his ax was broken. He prodded further, "Are there any weapons here? Guns, knives, whatever. An ax would be fine, just not a wood cutting ax.”
Evelyn shook her head.
Of course, a small village like this wouldn’t have guns. No gangsters in the area. There were all just ordinary farmers. Their most powerful weapons were probably sickles.
Luther was disappointed at this realization.
"I ... I have a good sword."
A quiet voice came from the door.
An old man stepped inside. He wore a gray suit. He looked to be about sixty. Maybe he was the village chief or something.
As the old man came in, he rushed towards Luther with an exciting look. Luther squinted coldly and raised a cloud of frozen vapor around himself. The old man shivered and stopped in his tracks.
But the vapor still couldn't cool the old man's excitement. He thanked Luther in a low voice, "Young man, thank you for saving our village. Thank you very much."
Luther didn't care much for the man’s gratitude. He only wanted the sword. He replied calmly, "Where is the sword?"
"I'm the village chief here, you can call me David." As the cold air dispersed, David stepped closer to Luther, but he stopped there. He knew Luther wasn't an ordinary person and he didn’t want to scare him or make him feel uneasy. He stood politely a few feet away and said, "My family has lived here for a hundred years. My father was a blacksmith..."
Luther had become interested now. David’s ancestors were craftsmen. They used to be blacksmiths for a royal family, specializing in forging weapons for their generals. In all, they were made up of thirty-six men, each man with a different specialty.
At that time, they were dubbed The Thirty-Six Ironmongers. The name was poor, but the weapons they forged were extraordinary.
His ancestors were experts in sword-crafting. Then there was a war. The Thirty-Six Ironmongers were chosen by the invaders as terms for their withdrawal. Naturally, they refused to do things for them. But the king agreed to this trade.
After hearing the news, they ran away that night, and most of the ones who were caught were killed.
It just so happened that David’s ancestors had a good relationship with a general. With the help of that general, he escaped successfully. Later, he hid in a small village. As he got older, he crafted a sword he called Hunter. It has been kept as a family heirloom ever since.
After sharing all of this, David took a deep breath, "Today you saved our village, and your sister has assured us that you are someone we can trust. The sword is useless to me. I’d like to give that treasure to a real hero. It's really my pleasure. Thank you for what you’ve done."
Luther followed David out of the bedroom. There were a dozen villagers in the living room, leaning against the walls and resting on the couch. Their eyes looked empty.
This empty sight was a common one during the early days of doomsday. Most of them had lost their way and were now afraid of everything they don’t know or understand.
However, they were all so lucky. Cedar Creek was outside Coldhaven. There were only a hundred more people in the area. When doomsday came, Hugo had his mutant pigs clean up most of the zombies and saved the village from a major outbreak.
Without an Erazer to protect them, the people could only hope to escape.
The zombies in the village had completely been killed off. If they were properly guarded, a small base could be established here to keep them safe.
However, Luther didn't plan on staying here. First was the lack of resources, and the other was the poor location. He knew that a real base could never exist for long outside the wilderness.
At the beginning, without enough food, zombies would instinctively gather together, then spread out to search for more victims. A wild mountain village became the place where they passed the most.
To build a secure base, a protective circle needs to be formed around the city and then slowly spread to give the city more space.
Luther's goal was to create a medium-sized sanctuary.
The sight of Luther woke the people in the living room. They looked at him in awe and fear.
David smiled and said, "Don't be afraid. This is Luther. He saved us."
Even so, they were still afraid. David was a little embarrassed. In the corner of his eye, he saw Luther. He seemed calm, which relieved the chief.
After hearing David’s account, Luther knew the reason why these people were gathered here. They feared that there would be danger from outside.
According to the chief, this town was the safest place for miles.
But Luther didn't think so. On doomsday, to live by means of others was only delaying death. To take the situation of yesterday as an example, he was tired and slept deeply. If there was any danger, he could not have protected these people. This only makes the people of this village a burden for him.
"Come on. Let me see this sword."
Constance, David and Luther went directly to a house. Evelyn also wanted to see what the sword looked like, so she followed. Luther didn't stop her.
They entered a cellar with David. As David came out, he carried a long wooden box in his hand.
He unlocked it, and they could see a sword covered in a thin layer of dust. Luther was shocked, taking out the sword and scabbard.
He blew on it and the dust flew away. This was the sword.
The hilt of the sword seemed to be made of antelope horns. The scabbard and the hilt were tightly wrapped with a gold wire, creating the effect of beautiful decoration.
The sword was about forty inches long. It was a typical broadsword.
Luther unsheathed it, giving a pleasant sound from the blade.
With the reflection of blue light, a cold light shined against the wall of the cellar.
Luther slashed forward, and the blade sliced through the air, leaving a sound of the air being cut through.
"This is a good sword. I like it."
Luther remarked with a smirk.
David nodded in relief. He felt pride for the sword that his ancestor forged. The two women looked at the sword with wide eyes.
- Writer
