The banners were raised—held high by rows of soldiers as they advanced. Soldiers of Talvan and Deryal marched in unison, part of the same units, following the same formation. Their armor was distinctive, their weapons strapped visibly to their waists, and their heavy footsteps could be heard from far away as they marched across the green fields toward the borders of Yarum.
"When will we split up?" asked one of the knights riding on horseback.
"We won't. That was just a ruse. When Talvan's troops attack the borders far from the palace, they'll assume all of Talvan's forces are over there. But they'll be shocked when they see them with us too. That's when Yarum will realize it's up against a powerful alliance," replied a dark-skinned knight.
"And if they do? What do we gain?"
"Maybe they'll surrender," the dark-skinned knight answered as he brought his horse to a stop.
A light cloud of dust rose. He turned back to the army behind him, then unsheathed his long sword with force and raised it high. That moment signaled something serious—every soldier there understood their commander was about to shout something important. His gaze turned sharp, his expression serious, and then he opened his mouth and said: "Listen up, soldiers! The goal of this assault is to show Yarum's weakness and push them to surrender. So whatever you do—don't lose!"
"Never! Victory is ours this time!" the soldiers replied in unison.
Then the commander kicked off with his horse, galloping ahead. The army followed, charging with ferocity, weapons in hand—spears, swords, hammers, axes, all kinds—charging powerfully toward the enemy. The spark of excitement hadn't faded; it had only intensified with every step forward. This was the army that would soon reach the borders of Yarum—an army injected with pure adrenaline.
"There are more than two thousand of them, Sir Vinnel," said one of the scouts—a short man dressed in desert-like robes, with a light mustache. It was obvious he was one of the scouts.
"Two thousand? That's going to be a problem. You heard that, heroes?" Vinnel said as he turned to the three teenagers standing before him.
"So what? We'll crush them," Laos replied.
Everyone stood at the borders—even the soldiers were prepared and waiting for the enemy's arrival. But as more information trickled in, tension and worry began creeping into the soldiers' hearts. Unlike the fired-up forces of Deryal and Talvan, Yarum's men began to feel the pressure. Would this fear become a real obstacle for Yarum in this war, or was it just fleeting anxiety that could be cast aside with a firm grip on their weapons?
Vinnel continued organizing the troops along the borders, positioning the priests in the best possible locations. Some of the mages were stationed in the rear, a little away from the border, while others remained protecting the palace as usual. Everything was set—until the latest update on the enemy's approach arrived. While Vinnel was still busy with preparations, another scout came running up to him.
"Sir Vinnel... hah... hah... more than three hundred Talvan soldiers are heading toward the far borders!"
"Are you kidding me?! They're planning two attacks to mislead us?! Damn it!"
"What should we do now, sir? The enemy is approaching!" another knight called out suddenly.
"Laos, Tom, Stephanie—come here!" Vinnel shouted suddenly.
"Looks like this damn alliance is launching two attacks, not just one, so I need to split you up," Vinnel said.
God, what the hell is going on here? Why is the information getting to us so late?! The enemy's about to arrive, and now you're talking about splitting us up? What the fuck... I just hope he doesn't leave me alone. This war... it's escalating too fast. I never thought I'd experience something like this. I'm pretty sure Yavan wasn't this intense back when I lived there.
"Okay, how will we be split?" Tom asked, looking at Vinnel.
"First, you three will be divided. Tom and Stephanie will go handle Talvan's troops. Laos will stay here. But not yet—you'll wait for the reinforcements to arrive, then move out with the scout. We need to stop their advance on those poorly guarded borders, or we'll lose territory," Vinnel replied.
So I'll be staying here alone. Honestly, it's a good chance to stand out more—but I've got a bad feeling about this. Feels like a mistake. But what can we do? With two separate attacks happening, splitting up is the only choice. Or... no, there really is no other way. They're right.
"Good luck," Stephanie said suddenly.
"Thanks. Good luck to both of you, too."
Some time passed as they waited. Eventually, the sounds of footsteps echoed in the distance, and upon closer inspection, we could see raised banners trailing clouds of dust. They were getting closer. And behind us, the reinforcements had finally arrived from the capital. There were a lot of them—maybe around five hundred? They approached us, and Vinnel spoke with their commander. Okay, now the split will happen.
"The reinforcements—four hundred and fifty soldiers. They'll head out with the heroes Tom and Stephanie to stop Talvan's troops. Everyone else stays here. Now, move out!" Vinnel shouted. Four hundred and fifty? Damn, I was close.
"We traveled a long way by carriage. My soldiers need rest—we can't go on another long march," the reinforcement commander said.
"Can you tell me where we are right now?" Vinnel asked the man in front of him, voice cold.
"In the middle of a war."
"Then move your damn ass and get going," Vinnel whispered in his ear. Nah... that's wild.
With that, under Vinnel's command, the reinforcements left, setting out with Stephanie and Tom to intercept Talvan's troops. That left only me and the rest of the soldiers. The enemy army was closing in fast, their angry footsteps echoing from afar. This battle was going to be different from the last. Let's see what I can do in the middle of all this.
◆ ◆ ◆
Far from the Yarum soldiers stationed at the borders, and the others who had gone to stop Talvan, the alliance's troops were advancing aggressively toward their enemy. Leading them was a tall, dark-skinned knight, wearing a unique armor set adorned with a red cloak. He was charging ahead on his white horse, alone at the front, while the others marched behind him. Some were also on horseback, but none were keeping pace with him—at least, not until a certain moment.
"Sir Oxort, why did you change the plan?" asked one of the knights as he rode up to the dark-skinned rider.
"It's impossible to set up camp and attack at night without being exposed. Do you know how many scouts are around us right now, watching us closely?" Oxort replied with a serious look.
"No."
"More than fifty scouts... and don't forget that Yarum's strongest asset is their scouts. Their scouts have incredible abilities. Yarum even has a special academy for scout training. There's no way they'd rest until they've gathered all the intel they need before launching an attack."
They kept advancing, and after a long while, they neared the border. A volley of arrows was suddenly fired into the sky, heading straight toward them. But such a surface-level attack wouldn't threaten two kingdoms. At the last moment, a magical barrier formed, shielding the entire army. The arrows fell like feathers against the barrier, and the soldiers continued their march.
"Archers, fire more! Aim for their legs, not high!" Vinnel shouted.
"Watch this," said a young man with slightly long white hair and sharp blue eyes, staring at the advancing soldiers—Laos.
He held Astral Sword and waved it like a magic wand. His distinct armor gleamed from afar. His eyes were as clear as the sky, and he stood like a noble soldier. He gripped his long blue sword tightly, and in an instant, water formed around the blade's edge. Then, it launched forward as a massive water ball, speeding ahead so fast it left the archers below feeling a refreshing chill as it passed over them.
"Lumis!!" Oxort shouted, stopping his horse when he saw the enormous water ball rushing toward them.
"Rockann!!" cried a blue-haired mage, slamming his hand into the ground.
After chanting this midspell, a rocky wall burst up from the earth. When the water ball collided with it, both the ball and the wall dissipated, but it successfully protected the soldiers. They continued their advance, now with even more energy, swords raised high.
"That mage again," Laos muttered, shaking Astral Sword free of water droplets.
"Alright, soldiers! Time for the clash!!!" Vinnel yelled at the top of his lungs.
At that moment, the allied army crashed into the border, and Yarum's warriors clashed with them. The sounds of stabbing and horse screams echoed around. Blood sprayed into the air, and bodies fell to the ground. The clashing of swords rang out, sparks flying from the impacts. Soldiers fought side by side, feet planted firmly on the ground as they refused to give an inch.
"Fight with everything you've got!"
This... is insane! Look how many people are here. I can't see anything, and I can't even fight properly in this mess. I'm getting out of this spot. I started running through the crowd, striking down anyone wearing unfamiliar armor. I was starting to feel short of breath—it was cramped, and I'd never fought like this before. Humans are such a pain... monsters are way better.
After struggling through the swarm of soldiers, I finally found an open space. I took my stance and began casting various abilities at every enemy I could see—and yeah, I was taking them down. I mean, Astral Sword's attacks are seriously strong. If it can hurt a demonic dragon, it can obviously kill a human with ease.
"Fulgorius!" While I was attacking the soldiers, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck near me.
"What the fuck!" I shouted as I jumped in panic.
"I missed this time... remember me?" said that same mage with the glasses.
"Who could forget you? The guy who saved his friend and ran away... let's see where you'll run now."
Then he started throwing rocky balls at me. I thought they'd vanish if they touched Astral Sword, but the only thing that vanished was my fucking bones after I failed to block them all—ughhh, that hurt as fuck. Great, I've gotten so used to blocking nemesis that I forgot Astral Sword isn't effective against magic. So what the hell are you gonna do now, 'hero'?
I fired off a Ground Wave, and he blocked it with a barrier, as usual. But this time, he couldn't block all of it, so he took a strong hit. He got up quickly, though, and I dashed toward him with Astral Sword in hand. As I was closing in, he gave me a devilish grin—and that's when I knew I was in trouble. I stopped and jumped back, and right then, a sharp stone spike shot out of the ground. Oh my fucking god!! If I hadn't jumped back, I would've been dead.
"You've got good reflexes, but not good enough to grasp what's happening around you," said the mage as he adjusted his glasses.
"What?"
"Look around you."
When I looked around, I saw a horrifying sight. Most of the soldiers I could see were from Deryal and Talvan. Most of our soldiers were lying on the ground. What the fuck is going on?! Not even half an hour has passed—how did we lose this quickly? Did we...? What's happening?!!! How... how did it all fall apart so fast?
"Do you know why this happened?" the mage whispered.
"…"
"Because Yarum's victory depended on one thing only… you, the heroes. So without you—look at what happened."
"So you fucker, you were distracting me from them!!" I shouted as I ran toward him.
I launched a flurry of slashes. He dodged some, blocked others, and got hit by a few. He started bleeding, and it looked like his anger flared. Then he raised his hand and chanted some midspell. Large rocks began falling from the sky. I quickly reacted and shielded myself with a water ball I shot upward. But that four-eyed fucker cast another spell on me.
I felt something stab into my side—he fired a rock spike again, as usual. Ooohhhh, I'm gonna crash out. I grabbed Astral and started spamming any ability that came to mind at that mage. The poor guy couldn't keep up with the speed of what was happening, so he tried to defend himself with any barrier he could, but I broke through all of them. The pain from the bleeding was annoying, but I just wanted to kill this fucking bitch.
When the dust cloud finally settled, Glasses Guy reappeared. He was glowing with some kind of magic boost and bleeding from most parts of his body. Good—I fucked him. Now all I had to do was kill him. I took a few steps forward. Just one more ability and I could finish him... But suddenly, a group of warriors rushed at me. Damn it, they showed up at the worst possible moment. They stood between us to protect him, and I saw him retreating. Fuck you!
"Still not giving up? There aren't many of you left," one of them said.
"Shut the fuck up!" I screamed, launching a Ground Wave.
The wave blasted through and sent them flying. Then I started surveying the battlefield. Sure enough, we barely had any soldiers left. Damn it, we're definitely going to lose. We can't do anything like this… unless Thalesa's power hasn't run out yet. Then maybe I can kill a few more. But look at them—they're fighting with such ferocity and energy. It's like they're not even human, not like us.
"Laos, focus. You and I are the last hope in this battle," came a voice from behind.
It was Vinnel, parrying a sword swing from a knight built just like him—tall, and unlike the other knights, wearing a red robe. Was he the commander? Fine, I need to push myself harder. I might lose here, but at the very least, I have to survive. I can't imagine losing an arm or a leg. Losing two toes was already enough. I have to live—but... this feeling of defeat really sucks.
"Aaaghhh! Come at me, you bastards!!!"