Whip!
"Ugh…!" Ramon groaned as the lightning of the lash zapped his skin even as it tore into his skin, making blood to drop out.
"13…," The punisher of the Brenden family counted.
At this moment, Ramon had both his hands tied behind his back even as he knelt, exposing his bare back to receive his punishment.
His step siblings smirked as he was punished.
Whip!
He groaned again in pain.
"14…," The punisher counted.
Whip!
"15…," He counted.
A beautiful blonde-haired woman grabbed the onlooking patriarch's arm the next moment as she cried. "Please, it's enough!"
"He's your son!"
"He's just 5 years old!"
"He's still just a child!"
"Please it's enough!"
"Flog me instead!" She cried.
The patriarch had a cold look on his face throughout. "He is my son and as my son, he is obligated to learn the ways of the Brenden family".
"It is my duty as his father to discipline and train him".
"It is a failure on my part if my son takes that dead vulgar old man as his role model, I can't allow that". His eyes gleamed. "My son's destiny is to become a powerful astral warrior serving in the courts of the Lightning Manor".
"His destiny is to fight and execute astral travelers, not become one of them".
His eyes became colder. "Flog him!"
"Understood, patriarch!" The punisher raised the lash again high even as Ramon's mom grabbed her mouth while wailing in pain at the sight of her son.
Hearing his mom's wailing voice, Ramon could not help but feel guilty.
Before the lash landed, he turned his head to look at her and forced a smile amid his pain. "Mom, don't worry, I don't even feel a thi…!"
Whip!
"Waaah…! It's painful!" Ramon cried out in pain.
"…!" The patriarch's eyes twitched.
"16," The punisher counted.
Whip!
The pain was becoming unbearable.
Ramon felt an urge to cry out like any other child would have done by now, but instead he bit his lips as he thought back to that unforgettable moment.
"Fight, evolve, become the strongest, then get to the end of the world to get my ultimate treasure".
"This is my test".
'This is the Emperor's test,' He ground his teeth. 'Even in death, he didn't cry, the future King of astral travelers can't cry!'
Whip!
This time, the lash tore a chunk of flesh from his back as Ramon twisted in pain in his position, he could no longer hold it back.
With tears pouring down his eyes, he opened his mouth wide.
"Waaaaah…!"
"Waaaah…!" He wailed loudly.
Whip!
"20," The punisher counted.
The patriarch finally went closer as he looked down at his son. "Ramon, say you're sorry, apologize".
"Waaaah…!"
"Say you're sorry and I'll lift your punishment".
"Waahhh…!"
His eyes twitched again, he sighed. "Continue".
Whip!
Ramon wailed loudly until his 24 strokes punishment was over.
The patriarch asked him to apologize again but the stubborn brat refused, only sniffing and dragging his snot even as he wiped his tears.
In the end, Ramon was sentenced to serve his full punishment.
After 2 hours of rest and treatment for him to recover from the injuries he sustained from the lashes, 3 guards of the Brenden family finally escorted the young master Ramon to the nearby Swamp Forest where he was abandoned.
It was up to him to find his way out of the dangerous forest.
And Ramon was forbidden to come back home until 3 days later.
…
Plop!
"Ouch…!"
Ramon glared at the 3 guards who dropped him angrily even as his back itched in pain due to his healing injuries. In the end, he only pouted since he knew how loyal they were to the patriarch.
This time, he was truly screwed.
The Swamp Forest was a big forest that spanned across 3 towns and several villages, it was known and widely feared for its terrifying beasts.
Against normal beasts, Ramon was not scared since he killed a wild dog with a sharp tipped stick that invaded the patriarch's farm when he was just 4.
His only fear was his knowledge of astral beasts.
Till today, despite disturbing the patriarch countless times to teach him, the patriarch refused and Ramon only had basic knowledge about astral energy.
The patriarch instead gave him a test. "If you're so curious to know about astral energy and astral beasts, go read the books in the library".
Yet, this was Ramon's weakness.
He hated reading, he rather preferred something being explained to him than going to read about it. Reading was such a pain.
Thinking of pain, he thought of his mom. 'How dare the patriarch make mom cry? I'll make him cry one day!'
Thinking about that angrily, he finally paid attention to his surroundings.
The ground of the Swamp Forest was mostly muddy with tall trees extending all the way into the skies, water filled other parts of this large swamp.
Looking at the tall trees, Ramon got an idea.
"Hehe," He chuckled, feeling smart all of a sudden. "I can just spend 3 days on top a tree, no beast will see me".
"So easy".
15 minutes later, his stomach growled in protest.
"…" Ramon was speechless.
"I'm hungry!"
This was not the manor though; no servant answered him to bring him food.
With wide opened eyes, Ramon finally realized the situation that he was in. He didn't think about it for long though, the priority now was getting food.
Climbing down from the tree, he snuck around the forest, silently searching for food. For a 5-year-old though, this was a crazy herculean task.
Rustle!
Ramon's keen ears caught the sound first.
Crawling on all fours, he hid behind a tree and peeked, then his eyes widened.
As soon as he looked, the beast looked at him also.
"…!" Ramon felt his heart stop.
For the first time, he did not feel mischievous, Ramon felt only fear.
"Grrr!" The beast growled.
Ramon now stared at a Porcupine.
Not any Porcupine either, a giant 3-meter-long Porcupine who now glared at Ramon with red eyes filled with pure rage like a mother who lost her young ones.
The long sharp quills of the Porcupine briefly twitched.
BOOM!
The quills were launched at terrifying speeds.
The last thought Ramon had was, 'I'm not the one who did it!'
Ramon didn't know what happened next, he just felt lightweighted all of a sudden before he heard an accusing voice reverberate.
"Bonkers! What on earth is a kid doing here? You lazy freeloader! I thought you said you scouted the area".
"I did boss, I swear on my penis that I saw no one a few seconds ago".
"Bonkers! Shut up! A kid is here!"
Feeling dizzy, Ramon raised his head and saw a face that he would never forget in a long time. The pure white hair captured his curiosity.
What followed next was unforgettable to him.
"Gather round! Let's kill the beast!"