The battle ended, and a green signal flare rose slowly into the air, marking the completion of the clearing operation.
Only then were the two captured adventurers helped out of their makeshift shelter.
They had suffered injuries of varying severity.
There were fresh wounds from the battle, as well as bruises and cuts from being beaten by the monsters after their capture.
The war between humans and monsters had raged for ten thousand years, and there had never been any conventions governing prisoners of war.
Falling into the hands of monsters usually meant becoming a slave with no hope of ever escaping.
Beatings and torture were commonplace when low-level monsters dealt with captives. This stemmed not only from their brutal, violent nature, but also from practical considerations.
First, they needed to make sure their captives couldn't fight back. Violence was also a common way of establishing dominance in the social hierarchies of low-level monster races. Inflicting physical torment was the most direct way to assert control, and it could also break a captive's will to resist through pain.
Of course, higher-level monsters often used more sophisticated methods to dominate their captives, such as intimidating them with their presence, bewitching them with magic, or eroding their minds.
So, it was fortunate, in a way, that the group had arrived in time. The monsters' "taming" process was still in its early stages.
What might have happened if they had arrived any later was hard to say.
Cathy, the Druid of the Iron Arm squad, stepped forward and draped clean coats over the two women.
She raised the multi-jointed staff decorated with holly branches in her hand. A rich aura of life became a soft green glow that flowed from its tip and gently enveloped the wounded women.
"Healing Spell!"
Under the soothing