Cthulhu Fantasy : I Am The Great Old One

"Let's go! Let's go!"    

The angry shouts of the warriors came from the sky. The fierce wind that was created by their wings whipped Puja and the other slave soldiers.    

Puja barely managed to stabilize his body with the wooden spear in his hand. He quickly limped and followed the group of slave soldiers.    

Those Wings people were too lazy to curse. If they fell behind again, they would be stabbed.    

Puja did not want his head to be cut off by the soldiers' blades.    

Puja's luck was very bad. Originally, he had crippled his legs. Recruiting troops was not his problem at all. However, just as he felt that it was none of his business and wanted to escape, he was stopped by the soldiers who came to recruit soldiers.    

"You! What are you doing!? Why haven't I seen you before!? "    

It was impossible for a warrior to have seen Puja before. After all, Puja had been taken away by Archduke Tepisan's eldest son as a servant a few years ago. But when Puja wanted to reveal his identity to avoid being conscripted, the warrior gave him the answer that was a large knife placed on his neck.    

"Puja from the Floating City Library? Wasn't he accidentally killed by the second young master a few days ago? Who exactly are you? "    

Puja really wanted to say that he didn't die but only broke his leg. But the warrior didn't believe that Puja would have such good luck. He also didn't want to give Puja the chance to prove himself in Floating City. To the warrior, at least in the eyes of the nobles above, Puja was already dead. As for what the living thing was... It didn't matter. In any case, it wouldn't live long after being thrown into the slave army.    

The warrior was very clear that the slave soldiers were only tools prepared to delay the terrestrial species. Not to mention that this slave of unknown origin had a crippled leg, even if he really lost an arm or a leg, it wouldn't be a problem.    

Thus, after the soldier in charge of conscription had a meal with the local tax officer and the landlords, Puja's hometown saved a young man. The soldier was filled with his backpack, and Puja was brought to the battlefield.    

Puja, who had fought in the Floating City's library before, had some knowledge. At least, he was a little stronger than his peers who were beaten by the soldiers around him but were still looking forward to getting their recognition. He knew that the so-called promotion to nobility was bullsh * t. The slave soldiers who could not even eat a full meal on a daily basis could not survive on the battlefield, but even if they knew about it, he could not do anything about it.    

If he ran, his head would be chopped off and he would be killed by the enemy on the battlefield. The only difference between Puja and his peers was that he knew that he was already dead.    

Ah, that's right. There was another difference. Only he was a cripple.    

As the group moved forward, Puja quickly entered a forest. The trees blocked the strong wind that was stirred up by the wings, which also gave Puja a sense of security. However, this did not mean that he dared to use this opportunity to escape.    

When he was a servant in Floating City, Puja had seen the scenes of the soldiers practicing, such as how to fight with terrestrial species, or how to fight with other people with wings. Although he could not learn those martial skills due to his physical condition, it did not mean that he could not see the lethality of those martial skills.    

However, just as Puja was following the group forward, a miserable howl came from the group of slave soldiers.    

"Don't kill me! I don't want to die! I don't want to... "    

- -kacha.    

A cold light flashed, and the miserable howl stopped abruptly. A winged soldier flew up, grabbed a huge head, and circled around the heads of the slave soldiers.    

"You will die if you run away!"    

The warrior with wings shouted three times, then dropped his head and flew back into the sky.    

You will die if you run away. Puja was very clear about this. Even if his legs weren't crippled, he didn't have the confidence to dodge the soldiers' blades. What's more, he was already crippled.    

This wasn't a good time to escape. The men flying in the sky were all staring at this place. However, in order to survive, Puja had to wait for an opportunity. An opportunity that was enough for him to escape. An opportunity that no one would notice.    

"Charge! Quickly charge! We'll die if we turn back! "    

This...    

Looking at the valley wall that faintly appeared in the forest not far away, Puja was dumbstruck.    

They had arrived just like that?    

Puja turned his head and looked at the soldiers' shining blades. He swallowed hard.    

He had no chance.    

"Cripple! Hurry and charge!"    

A warrior in the air had a dark expression on his face as he pointed his broadsword at Puja's neck.    

"Do you want to die?"    

Glancing at the group of heads of the slaves who were running away, Puja turned his head and rushed towards the valley not far away.    

He would die even if he went to the front line. He would also die when he turned back. Puja did not know how to choose. Under the instinct of survival, he only wanted to live a little longer. Even if it was just a few...    

Puja saw light.    

Puja lost consciousness.    

————————    

The prawns of Exploration Team were woken up by the explosion.    

In fact, these prawns didn't believe that the forward base would be attacked. After all, most of the defensive facilities were on the surface. Anyone with some common sense could tell how difficult this base was. As for those who could bypass or even ignore those defensive facilities... if such an existence wanted to attack them... No matter how well they repaired their defenses, it would be useless.    

"It can't be that kind of bird again..."    

In the small plaza in the middle of the valley, a prawn person tiredly gestured with his limbs at another prawn person.    

"What's the matter with the creatures on this planet? Can't we have a good rest early in the morning?"    

"It doesn't look like one." Another shrimp man identified the voice. "It sounds like a group."    

"A group?"    

A prawn man who had just come over froze for a moment.    

"What's wrong with these birds? They all fell ill?"    

"Maybe those birds know if they are sick or not..." A shrimp man moved his limbs. "Forget it. Let's go and take a look first."    

"Okay."    

The shrimp people nodded. Then, they opened the secret door on the valley wall, passed through the rippling rock wall, and stepped out of the forward base.    

And after that...    

"Hello."    

A shrimp man poked his comrade beside him.    

"These are not beasts, but intelligent creatures, right?"    

"They should be right..."    

Some shrimp people raised their limbs in a daze and pointed at a sharp blade shining with cold light on the ground.    

"Look at this. The handle was suitable for the claws of these birds, and the blade was sharp. From the looks of it, it seems to be used to wrap around the neck and cut the head. It could use tools, and it also had a certain level of metallurgy. These birds should be civilized creatures."    

" That's right... "    

The shrimp people stared blankly at the corpses everywhere.    

"They're all dead..."    

"Wait!"    

A shrimp man raised his leg.    

"These are also civilized creatures!"    

"Eh?"    

The shrimp people looked in that direction.    

The corpse that appeared in their line of sight didn't have any feathers or wings. Its four limbs were short and thick and powerful. Its waist was covered with a layer of cloth that did not look like much, and it held a wooden spear in its hand. As for his face... the shrimp people thought of a creature called a hippocampus in Mother Star.    

However, the face of the corpse was even more dumbfounded.    

It knew how to use tools and wear clothes. This was also a symbol of civilization. Although this hippogryph creature seemed to be a level lower than those birds, there was no doubt that it was also an intelligent creature.    

"What should we do?"    

Some shrimp people drew their appendages.    

"There are two types of intelligent creatures on this planet, which one should we contact first?"    

"Which one should we contact first..."    

A shrimp person pondered for a moment.    

"Actually, it's not that easy to choose. This kind of bird should have a higher level of civilization, and the smarter ones should have more, so it should be faster to teach it. As for the other type... Wait a minute! Look over there!"    

A shrimp man hurriedly rushed towards the terrestrial species that looked like a corpse.    

"There's still hope!"    

The prawn man excitedly drew his legs.    

"This creature was just a few steps away from entering the defensive circle, and now it was only knocked out by the explosion, not dead!"    

"It's not dead?"    

The shrimp people looked at the hippogryph creature in surprise, then they looked at each other.    

They knew there was danger here, so they didn't come in. This was much smarter than those birds that came to die. Teaching this creature was much easier than teaching those stupid birds to fly over and commit suicide.    

As for this creature's cultural level, it might not be high... It was fine, since everything had to be learned from the beginning.    

Looking at the hippo-like creature, the shrimp people all nodded their heads.    

That's it.