Chapter 28
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All 60 of the mercenaries inside the cave ran out in panic as breathing in black smoke from a fire in an enclosed space was extremely dangerous. Little did they know, everything they just experienced was all in their heads and a surprise was waiting for them outside.
"They're still disoriented! Charge!" Braum, who was leading the troop, shouted to everyone.
"WHOAAAAAH!!!" The Vathrian knights let out an amazing war shout that pierced the ear of the confused mercenaries.
"W-what!" A mercenary noticed a small squad of knights waiting for them.
"Shit! Who are they!" Another mercenary said.
The Vathrian soldiers were wearing extremely intricate and beautiful silver armors imbued with pulsing white lines of lights throughout the armors. The lights were like fireflies living inside the armors that shines on and off within intervals of a few seconds. The swords of the Vathrians were also expertly crafted and looked as if it could pierce anything. On the knights' non-dominant hand lays a square shield with engravings on them.
The Vathrian soldiers charged ahead. All 30 soldiers brought by Braum were knights. The long-distance duty was handled by the 20 elves. The 20 elves also nocked on their bows and arrows and started shooting.
"Agh!" A mercenary was shot in the neck by an extremely accurate shot by an elf.
"Elves! They're here! But those are humans as well!!!!"A mercenary screamed as he noticed the knights were not elves but rather their own kind.
"Traitors! Why are you helping the elves!" A mercenary screamed.
The Vathrian knights were diciplined and did not engage in conversations mid-battle. They ignored the mercenaries' shouts and started attacking. The massacre began.
The Vathrian knights were all extremely skilled with the use of their swords and shields. They are able to parry any attacks that come their way and then stab the enemies directly. Unlike the noble knights of kingdoms that use flashy movements, these knights made up of commoners did not waste any movements and would rather kill the enemies quickly rather than honorably. What use was honor in the face of the evil forces, this was the principal the Vathrian army used.
"Shit! Fuck!" A mercenary in the back of the line was shaking in fear.
"I didn't sign up for this! Fuck! It was supposed to be just the elves!" A mercenary screamed.
After 40 mercenaries were killed, leaving 20 left, and no casualties in the Vathrian and elven side, the remaining mercenaries started to make a run for it.
"Aaah! Report to the boss! Run!" A mercenary shouted. All the mercenaries ran in different directions. They were panicking but at the same time, it seemed they have practiced such scenario before as none of them ran together and sought to confuse the enemies.
No Vathrian knights gave chase. They just stood their ground.
"A-are we not chasing them?" An elven woman asked Braum.
"We are. Grant." Braum turned to Grant next to him.
"Yes." Grant closed his eye. "My agents are now giving chase." Grant muttered.
--
"Renna!!!!" Amier screamed and ran to hug his sister.
"Brother!!!" Renna, who was freed of her cage also ran to her brother.
They both hugged each other and cried.
"I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." Amier repeated over and over again while hugging his sister.
"Brother...I was so scared but I knew you would come rescue me..." Renna closed her eyes.
After hugging for a few minutes, Amier let go of Renna and drag her to King Adrian.
"T-this is the Vathrian King, He was the one who rescued you." It seemed Amier's heart was full of gratitude and almost forgot his resentment for humans.
"H-he did?" Renna looked at the person in front of him. Renna previously liked the humans when she was last speaking to Amier but after being kidnapped like that, she was also now catious of them. But after hearing that the human king rescued her, her minds started clearing up again.
King Adrian was standing upright with a regal aura. His fresh haircut and grey suit made him look like a true gentleman.
"Hello there. I'm glad you're safe" King Adrian said while smiling.
Suddenly, Renna ran to hug King Adrian. "Thank you for saving me." Renna said. Renna was of course still a kid so she was shorter than King Adrian.
King Adrian smiled and patted the head of Renna. After a while, she let go of her grip.
"I would like to thank you for rescuing my sister again....you see...our father is gone and our mother is enslaved somewhere in the human kingdoms...Renna was the only family I have...If I lost her...I..." Amier was on the verge of tears.
"Do not be thankful. It is my duty as the ruler of this land to protect its inhabitants...which includes the elves. If this kingdom grows...I will be able to rescue your mother as well." King Adrian replied.
"Really? you'll do that? I miss mother so much!" Renna said while smiling brightly.
"I will. I promise." King Adrian patted Renna's head again.
Amier looked at his sister being patted while smiling. "It seems I was wrong about the Vathrians...some humans are—"
Suddenly, a flash of darkness pierced through Amier's neck.
"Ugh!" Amier noticed something stabbed his neck and he gurgled in pain. He could see that it seemed to be an arrow. But it was not a normal arrow. The arrow was fully black in color and exuded a moving dark aura around it.
Renna, who was smiling, turned back to see her brother. Immediately her face contorted. "Brother!!!!!!" As she screamed, her brother fell to the ground. He was still alive, but barely. She ran to his side.
"We're under attack! Protect the King!" Braum shouted. Within a few seconds, all of the Vathrian knights formed a perimeter around King Adrian with their shields up. They formed a wall.
King Adrian was shocked. He was in direct line of sight to see what happened to Amier. He witnessed everything happening, from Amier being pierced by the arrow to Renna smiling in front of him. His mind started racing. 'Who attacked us!?' King Adrian thought.
Grant was also confused. His perimeter detection magic was top notch but he didn't notice the attack. The agents would've noticed but they were all away chasing the runaway mercenaries.
The elves were also alerted and readied their bows and arrows. They stood on the sides of the Vathrian knights, showing their trust.
"12 o'clock!" Braum shouted. Right in front of them, from the darkness of the forest, the stepping sounds of a horse could be heard. When it approached them, a white horse was revealed with a man sitting on top of it. The man was quite handsome with thick, long hair that covered his ears and shoulders. He was wearing leather clothing that exposed his biceps and the fur of a black animal was present on his shoulder. The hair of the man was also as black as King Adrian's. The man was wearing all black yet he is riding a white horse.
"Such a touching reunion. The love of a family still remains even with such a disgusting species." The man's voice was low and pleasing to the ears.
The elves did not even waste any time to answer and fired all their arrows. But when the arrows approached the man, a layer of black aura in the air around him blocked their arrows.
The man raised his hand and something odd happened. Black orbs started to exit the bodies of the dead mercenaries and gathered around his arm.
"I see. Some strange humans are helping the elves...you don't seem like you're from any kingdoms I recognize as well...After hearing one of my scouts reporting that there were some human activities in elven territory...yet the elves did not mind? Quite odd....I thought. I might as well kidnap one of them to see if the humans would help them...and you did....I sacrificed some of my men to test your powers...and now I see you're quite powerful." The man went on a monologue.
None of the Vathrian moved as Braum did not order them to. As for why Braum did not move as well, he knew this man was not someone simple and moving the knights away might endanger the King.
"Name yourself!" Braum shouted.
"My name is Slaven...the head of the Red Dragon mercenary troupe." Slaven answered.
"Why are you attacking us! You're breaking the treaty!" One elven soldier shouted to ask as well.
"The treaty does not apply to us....and we are hear to enslaved all of your kind. Every single one of them." Slaven replied.
"What?" The elves were surprised to hear it. There were many attempts to capture some of them but no efforts were made by the humans so far to completely subdue the elven tribe in this territory.
"Enough with the talks." Surprisingly, Slaven also pulled out a bow and arrow from his back. But when he pulled on the nock, One of the black orbs in his hand shapeshifted into an arrow. He shot one arrow.
The arrow was not visible in the air. There were not even any sounds. The arrow was only visible when it hit the target. And weirdly enough, Slaven's aim and where the final target hits is different. He was aiming straight to the front but...
"Agh!" Another elven soldier was struck by the arrow.
"Shit! Cover him!" An elven soldier shouted and some elves pulled the injured elf back.
"It's useless. If you're hit, you're dead." Slaven replied. Slaven then suddenly kicked his reins and his white horse started running forward.
Braum was shocked. "Ready your swords!" Braum shouted.
All the Vathrian knights who formed a wall put their swords in front of their shields, forming a spike-like pattern.
Braum, who did not engage in battle before, pulled out his sword. His black armor with golden engravings were very eye-catching. He started to exude his battle aura. 'Shit. I'm not in my prime anymore... But I must protect the King' Braum thought.
While Slaven was riding his horse, the elves continued their barrage of arrows but every one of them was blocked by the dark aura.
When Slaven was near the wall of shields, he jumped from the horse into the air. The white horse also did a 180 and ran inside the forest again. While in the air, 5 black arrows formed together in Slaven's bow and he shot them.
"Agh!"
"Ugh!"
Five Vathrian knights were hit by his arrows. None of the arrows bounced off the armor. Instead, Slaven hit the small opening between the helmet and the armor.
Five Vathrian knights were down.
Before Slaven even landed, Braum did a short teleportation in mid-air in front of Slaven.
"Ooh?" Slaven was surprised.
Braum's eyes were very fierce. He struck Slaven.
"Ugh!" Slaven was hit and he was flying backwards. But he suddenly did a somersault mid-air and landed.
"That hurt." Slaven muttered.
Braum did not waste any time, he did a short teleporation again in front of the just-landed Slaven and swing his majestic sword again.
But the sword hit nothing, the figure of Slaven dissolved as the sword hit him.
"W-what!" Braum was surprised. He was quite used to the enemies having any tricks like this but his battle experience would tell him if the person was a fake or not. He did not detect anything.
Braum looked back. Slaven was near King Adrian who was still stupefied. It was a matter of split seconds, Braum did not have time to even teleport again to the King's side.
King Adrian, who's mind was racing, finally noticed Slaven coming towards him.
'What do I do!?' King Adrian's brain was on full alert. He could die.
'Should I use the ethereal sword?' King Adrian thought. The Royal Etheral Sword was a magical sword passed down through the royal lineage. It was the same sword that activated the magical runes within the castle that teleported Vathria to this new world. It was also a sword to be used in combat and had the special ability to cut through any creature's soul. The problem was...
'I could only sustain the sword for around ten seconds...it's not complete' King Adrian thought.
All of this was happening within split seconds. King Adrian's brain was special and could think very fast.
King Adrian pulled his arm forward and a transparent sword formed in his hand.
Slaven, who was charging towards the King, raised his eyebrows at the sight. He did not took any step further and started to nock his arrows.
Before Slaven was finished, King Adrian charged forward. He was not as fast as Braum but it was enough as Slaven was busy nocking his bow. King Adrian slashed his sword. Slaven was even faster as he took a step back right away so it did not hit him.
"Huh....you missed." Slaven said.
"Shit!" King Adrian muttered.
But Slaven started looking down at his hand...he could not feel one of his fingers..
"What!?" Slaven said.
King Adrian smiled. 'So it did hit him. Barely'. he thought.
Slaven started to touch one of his fingers that he could not move at all.
"What did you do..." Slaven said while staring at the King.
"I cut through your soul. You will not be able to feel that part ever again." King Adrian said while smiling.
Slaven looked down at one of his fingers again. Luckily for him, it was not the finger he used to fire the bow.
While Slaven was distracted, Braum already teleported behind him and slashed his sword powerfully.
"Ugh!" Slaven was hit....but it was another shadow puppet.
"Shit!" Braum said again.
Slaven revealed himself again near the entrance of the forest, where his white horse was waiting for him.
"That's enough for today...we shall meet again." Slaven got on his horse and rode away into the forest. Oddly enough, after a few seconds, the sounds of the steps his horse was making disappeared.
"Agents! Pull of the search of the runaways! Come here right this instance!" Grant shouted while closing his eyes. Grant was a powerful man...but not in head on battles like this.
"Fuck! Who was that!" A Vathrian soldier shouted.
King Adrian looked around.
The victims were five Vathrian knights, a single elven soldier, and.....
King Adrian found the sight of a crying girl on top of a dead body of an elven man. Renna was crying as she found that Amier had passed away.
"Brother!!! Brother!!!! Brother!!!!! Don't leave me!!!! We were going to see mother again!!!! The King would help us!!!" She screamed while crying. She did not see the battle at all, rather focusing on her dead brother.
King Adrian's face contorted with sadness. He then saw that five of his knights were down in the ground as well.
"Fuck...Johnson is dead...how am I supposed to tell his wife and children..." A soldier muttered while seeing a dead body of a knight.
The elves were also busy with one of their dead soldiers.
"How could this have happened..." King Adrian muttered while looking at the gloomy sight.
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All 60 of the mercenaries inside the cave ran out in panic as breathing in black smoke from a fire in an enclosed space was extremely dangerous. Little did they know, everything they just experienced was all in their heads and a surprise was waiting for them outside.
"They're still disoriented! Charge!" Braum, who was leading the troop, shouted to everyone.
"WHOAAAAAH!!!" The Vathrian knights let out an amazing war shout that pierced the ear of the confused mercenaries.
"W-what!" A mercenary noticed a small squad of knights waiting for them.
"Shit! Who are they!" Another mercenary said.
The Vathrian soldiers were wearing extremely intricate and beautiful silver armors imbued with pulsing white lines of lights throughout the armors. The lights were like fireflies living inside the armors that shines on and off within intervals of a few seconds. The swords of the Vathrians were also expertly crafted and looked as if it could pierce anything. On the knights' non-dominant hand lays a square shield with engravings on them.
The Vathrian soldiers charged ahead. All 30 soldiers brought by Braum were knights. The long-distance duty was handled by the 20 elves. The 20 elves also nocked on their bows and arrows and started shooting.
"Agh!" A mercenary was shot in the neck by an extremely accurate shot by an elf.
"Elves! They're here! But those are humans as well!!!!"A mercenary screamed as he noticed the knights were not elves but rather their own kind.
"Traitors! Why are you helping the elves!" A mercenary screamed.
The Vathrian knights were diciplined and did not engage in conversations mid-battle. They ignored the mercenaries' shouts and started attacking. The massacre began.
The Vathrian knights were all extremely skilled with the use of their swords and shields. They are able to parry any attacks that come their way and then stab the enemies directly. Unlike the noble knights of kingdoms that use flashy movements, these knights made up of commoners did not waste any movements and would rather kill the enemies quickly rather than honorably. What use was honor in the face of the evil forces, this was the principal the Vathrian army used.
"Shit! Fuck!" A mercenary in the back of the line was shaking in fear.
"I didn't sign up for this! Fuck! It was supposed to be just the elves!" A mercenary screamed.
After 40 mercenaries were killed, leaving 20 left, and no casualties in the Vathrian and elven side, the remaining mercenaries started to make a run for it.
"Aaah! Report to the boss! Run!" A mercenary shouted. All the mercenaries ran in different directions. They were panicking but at the same time, it seemed they have practiced such scenario before as none of them ran together and sought to confuse the enemies.
No Vathrian knights gave chase. They just stood their ground.
"A-are we not chasing them?" An elven woman asked Braum.
"We are. Grant." Braum turned to Grant next to him.
"Yes." Grant closed his eye. "My agents are now giving chase." Grant muttered.
--
"Renna!!!!" Amier screamed and ran to hug his sister.
"Brother!!!" Renna, who was freed of her cage also ran to her brother.
They both hugged each other and cried.
"I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." Amier repeated over and over again while hugging his sister.
"Brother...I was so scared but I knew you would come rescue me..." Renna closed her eyes.
After hugging for a few minutes, Amier let go of Renna and drag her to King Adrian.
"T-this is the Vathrian King, He was the one who rescued you." It seemed Amier's heart was full of gratitude and almost forgot his resentment for humans.
"H-he did?" Renna looked at the person in front of him. Renna previously liked the humans when she was last speaking to Amier but after being kidnapped like that, she was also now catious of them. But after hearing that the human king rescued her, her minds started clearing up again.
King Adrian was standing upright with a regal aura. His fresh haircut and grey suit made him look like a true gentleman.
"Hello there. I'm glad you're safe" King Adrian said while smiling.
Suddenly, Renna ran to hug King Adrian. "Thank you for saving me." Renna said. Renna was of course still a kid so she was shorter than King Adrian.
King Adrian smiled and patted the head of Renna. After a while, she let go of her grip.
"I would like to thank you for rescuing my sister again....you see...our father is gone and our mother is enslaved somewhere in the human kingdoms...Renna was the only family I have...If I lost her...I..." Amier was on the verge of tears.
"Do not be thankful. It is my duty as the ruler of this land to protect its inhabitants...which includes the elves. If this kingdom grows...I will be able to rescue your mother as well." King Adrian replied.
"Really? you'll do that? I miss mother so much!" Renna said while smiling brightly.
"I will. I promise." King Adrian patted Renna's head again.
Amier looked at his sister being patted while smiling. "It seems I was wrong about the Vathrians...some humans are—"
Suddenly, a flash of darkness pierced through Amier's neck.
"Ugh!" Amier noticed something stabbed his neck and he gurgled in pain. He could see that it seemed to be an arrow. But it was not a normal arrow. The arrow was fully black in color and exuded a moving dark aura around it.
Renna, who was smiling, turned back to see her brother. Immediately her face contorted. "Brother!!!!!!" As she screamed, her brother fell to the ground. He was still alive, but barely. She ran to his side.
"We're under attack! Protect the King!" Braum shouted. Within a few seconds, all of the Vathrian knights formed a perimeter around King Adrian with their shields up. They formed a wall.
King Adrian was shocked. He was in direct line of sight to see what happened to Amier. He witnessed everything happening, from Amier being pierced by the arrow to Renna smiling in front of him. His mind started racing. 'Who attacked us!?' King Adrian thought.
Grant was also confused. His perimeter detection magic was top notch but he didn't notice the attack. The agents would've noticed but they were all away chasing the runaway mercenaries.
The elves were also alerted and readied their bows and arrows. They stood on the sides of the Vathrian knights, showing their trust.
"12 o'clock!" Braum shouted. Right in front of them, from the darkness of the forest, the stepping sounds of a horse could be heard. When it approached them, a white horse was revealed with a man sitting on top of it. The man was quite handsome with thick, long hair that covered his ears and shoulders. He was wearing leather clothing that exposed his biceps and the fur of a black animal was present on his shoulder. The hair of the man was also as black as King Adrian's. The man was wearing all black yet he is riding a white horse.
"Such a touching reunion. The love of a family still remains even with such a disgusting species." The man's voice was low and pleasing to the ears.
The elves did not even waste any time to answer and fired all their arrows. But when the arrows approached the man, a layer of black aura in the air around him blocked their arrows.
The man raised his hand and something odd happened. Black orbs started to exit the bodies of the dead mercenaries and gathered around his arm.
"I see. Some strange humans are helping the elves...you don't seem like you're from any kingdoms I recognize as well...After hearing one of my scouts reporting that there were some human activities in elven territory...yet the elves did not mind? Quite odd....I thought. I might as well kidnap one of them to see if the humans would help them...and you did....I sacrificed some of my men to test your powers...and now I see you're quite powerful." The man went on a monologue.
None of the Vathrian moved as Braum did not order them to. As for why Braum did not move as well, he knew this man was not someone simple and moving the knights away might endanger the King.
"Name yourself!" Braum shouted.
"My name is Slaven...the head of the Red Dragon mercenary troupe." Slaven answered.
"Why are you attacking us! You're breaking the treaty!" One elven soldier shouted to ask as well.
"The treaty does not apply to us....and we are hear to enslaved all of your kind. Every single one of them." Slaven replied.
"What?" The elves were surprised to hear it. There were many attempts to capture some of them but no efforts were made by the humans so far to completely subdue the elven tribe in this territory.
"Enough with the talks." Surprisingly, Slaven also pulled out a bow and arrow from his back. But when he pulled on the nock, One of the black orbs in his hand shapeshifted into an arrow. He shot one arrow.
The arrow was not visible in the air. There were not even any sounds. The arrow was only visible when it hit the target. And weirdly enough, Slaven's aim and where the final target hits is different. He was aiming straight to the front but...
"Agh!" Another elven soldier was struck by the arrow.
"Shit! Cover him!" An elven soldier shouted and some elves pulled the injured elf back.
"It's useless. If you're hit, you're dead." Slaven replied. Slaven then suddenly kicked his reins and his white horse started running forward.
Braum was shocked. "Ready your swords!" Braum shouted.
All the Vathrian knights who formed a wall put their swords in front of their shields, forming a spike-like pattern.
Braum, who did not engage in battle before, pulled out his sword. His black armor with golden engravings were very eye-catching. He started to exude his battle aura. 'Shit. I'm not in my prime anymore... But I must protect the King' Braum thought.
While Slaven was riding his horse, the elves continued their barrage of arrows but every one of them was blocked by the dark aura.
When Slaven was near the wall of shields, he jumped from the horse into the air. The white horse also did a 180 and ran inside the forest again. While in the air, 5 black arrows formed together in Slaven's bow and he shot them.
"Agh!"
"Ugh!"
Five Vathrian knights were hit by his arrows. None of the arrows bounced off the armor. Instead, Slaven hit the small opening between the helmet and the armor.
Five Vathrian knights were down.
Before Slaven even landed, Braum did a short teleportation in mid-air in front of Slaven.
"Ooh?" Slaven was surprised.
Braum's eyes were very fierce. He struck Slaven.
"Ugh!" Slaven was hit and he was flying backwards. But he suddenly did a somersault mid-air and landed.
"That hurt." Slaven muttered.
Braum did not waste any time, he did a short teleporation again in front of the just-landed Slaven and swing his majestic sword again.
But the sword hit nothing, the figure of Slaven dissolved as the sword hit him.
"W-what!" Braum was surprised. He was quite used to the enemies having any tricks like this but his battle experience would tell him if the person was a fake or not. He did not detect anything.
Braum looked back. Slaven was near King Adrian who was still stupefied. It was a matter of split seconds, Braum did not have time to even teleport again to the King's side.
King Adrian, who's mind was racing, finally noticed Slaven coming towards him.
'What do I do!?' King Adrian's brain was on full alert. He could die.
'Should I use the ethereal sword?' King Adrian thought. The Royal Etheral Sword was a magical sword passed down through the royal lineage. It was the same sword that activated the magical runes within the castle that teleported Vathria to this new world. It was also a sword to be used in combat and had the special ability to cut through any creature's soul. The problem was...
'I could only sustain the sword for around ten seconds...it's not complete' King Adrian thought.
All of this was happening within split seconds. King Adrian's brain was special and could think very fast.
King Adrian pulled his arm forward and a transparent sword formed in his hand.
Slaven, who was charging towards the King, raised his eyebrows at the sight. He did not took any step further and started to nock his arrows.
Before Slaven was finished, King Adrian charged forward. He was not as fast as Braum but it was enough as Slaven was busy nocking his bow. King Adrian slashed his sword. Slaven was even faster as he took a step back right away so it did not hit him.
"Huh....you missed." Slaven said.
"Shit!" King Adrian muttered.
But Slaven started looking down at his hand...he could not feel one of his fingers..
"What!?" Slaven said.
King Adrian smiled. 'So it did hit him. Barely'. he thought.
Slaven started to touch one of his fingers that he could not move at all.
"What did you do..." Slaven said while staring at the King.
"I cut through your soul. You will not be able to feel that part ever again." King Adrian said while smiling.
Slaven looked down at one of his fingers again. Luckily for him, it was not the finger he used to fire the bow.
While Slaven was distracted, Braum already teleported behind him and slashed his sword powerfully.
"Ugh!" Slaven was hit....but it was another shadow puppet.
"Shit!" Braum said again.
Slaven revealed himself again near the entrance of the forest, where his white horse was waiting for him.
"That's enough for today...we shall meet again." Slaven got on his horse and rode away into the forest. Oddly enough, after a few seconds, the sounds of the steps his horse was making disappeared.
"Agents! Pull of the search of the runaways! Come here right this instance!" Grant shouted while closing his eyes. Grant was a powerful man...but not in head on battles like this.
"Fuck! Who was that!" A Vathrian soldier shouted.
King Adrian looked around.
The victims were five Vathrian knights, a single elven soldier, and.....
King Adrian found the sight of a crying girl on top of a dead body of an elven man. Renna was crying as she found that Amier had passed away.
"Brother!!! Brother!!!! Brother!!!!! Don't leave me!!!! We were going to see mother again!!!! The King would help us!!!" She screamed while crying. She did not see the battle at all, rather focusing on her dead brother.
King Adrian's face contorted with sadness. He then saw that five of his knights were down in the ground as well.
"Fuck...Johnson is dead...how am I supposed to tell his wife and children..." A soldier muttered while seeing a dead body of a knight.
The elves were also busy with one of their dead soldiers.
"How could this have happened..." King Adrian muttered while looking at the gloomy sight.
All 60 of the mercenaries inside the cave ran out in panic as breathing in black smoke from a fire in an enclosed space was extremely dangerous. Little did they know, everything they just experienced was all in their heads and a surprise was waiting for them outside."They're still disoriented! Charge!" Braum, who was leading the troop, shouted to everyone."WHOAAAAAH!!!" The Vathrian knights let out an amazing war shout that pierced the ear of the confused mercenaries."W-what!" A mercenary noticed a small squad of knights waiting for them."Shit! Who are they!" Another mercenary said.The Vathrian soldiers were wearing extremely intricate and beautiful silver armors imbued with pulsing white lines of lights throughout the armors. The lights were like fireflies living inside the armors that shines on and off within intervals of a few seconds. The swords of the Vathrians were also expertly crafted and looked as if it could pierce anything. On the knights' non-dominant hand lays a square shield with engravings on them.The Vathrian soldiers charged ahead. All 30 soldiers brought by Braum were knights. The long-distance duty was handled by the 20 elves. The 20 elves also nocked on their bows and arrows and started shooting."Agh!" A mercenary was shot in the neck by an extremely accurate shot by an elf."Elves! They're here! But those are humans as well!!!!"A mercenary screamed as he noticed the knights were not elves but rather their own kind."Traitors! Why are you helping the elves!" A mercenary screamed.The Vathrian knights were diciplined and did not engage in conversations mid-battle. They ignored the mercenaries' shouts and started attacking. The massacre began.The Vathrian knights were all extremely skilled with the use of their swords and shields. They are able to parry any attacks that come their way and then stab the enemies directly. Unlike the noble knights of kingdoms that use flashy movements, these knights made up of commoners did not waste any movements and would rather kill the enemies quickly rather than honorably. What use was honor in the face of the evil forces, this was the principal the Vathrian army used."Shit! Fuck!" A mercenary in the back of the line was shaking in fear."I didn't sign up for this! Fuck! It was supposed to be just the elves!" A mercenary screamed.After 40 mercenaries were killed, leaving 20 left, and no casualties in the Vathrian and elven side, the remaining mercenaries started to make a run for it."Aaah! Report to the boss! Run!" A mercenary shouted. All the mercenaries ran in different directions. They were panicking but at the same time, it seemed they have practiced such scenario before as none of them ran together and sought to confuse the enemies.No Vathrian knights gave chase. They just stood their ground."A-are we not chasing them?" An elven woman asked Braum."We are. Grant." Braum turned to Grant next to him."Yes." Grant closed his eye. "My agents are now giving chase." Grant muttered.--"Renna!!!!" Amier screamed and ran to hug his sister."Brother!!!" Renna, who was freed of her cage also ran to her brother.They both hugged each other and cried."I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." Amier repeated over and over again while hugging his sister."Brother...I was so scared but I knew you would come rescue me..." Renna closed her eyes.After hugging for a few minutes, Amier let go of Renna and drag her to King Adrian."T-this is the Vathrian King, He was the one who rescued you." It seemed Amier's heart was full of gratitude and almost forgot his resentment for humans."H-he did?" Renna looked at the person in front of him. Renna previously liked the humans when she was last speaking to Amier but after being kidnapped like that, she was also now catious of them. But after hearing that the human king rescued her, her minds started clearing up again.King Adrian was standing upright with a regal aura. His fresh haircut and grey suit made him look like a true gentleman."Hello there. I'm glad you're safe" King Adrian said while smiling.Suddenly, Renna ran to hug King Adrian. "Thank you for saving me." Renna said. Renna was of course still a kid so she was shorter than King Adrian.King Adrian smiled and patted the head of Renna. After a while, she let go of her grip."I would like to thank you for rescuing my sister again....you see...our father is gone and our mother is enslaved somewhere in the human kingdoms...Renna was the only family I have...If I lost her...I..." Amier was on the verge of tears."Do not be thankful. It is my duty as the ruler of this land to protect its inhabitants...which includes the elves. If this kingdom grows...I will be able to rescue your mother as well." King Adrian replied."Really? you'll do that? I miss mother so much!" Renna said while smiling brightly."I will. I promise." King Adrian patted Renna's head again.Amier looked at his sister being patted while smiling. "It seems I was wrong about the Vathrians...some humans are"Suddenly, a flash of darkness pierced through Amier's neck."Ugh!" Amier noticed something stabbed his neck and he gurgled in pain. He could see that it seemed to be an arrow. But it was not a normal arrow. The arrow was fully black in color and exuded a moving dark aura around it.Renna, who was smiling, turned back to see her brother. Immediately her face contorted. "Brother!!!!!!" As she screamed, her brother fell to the ground. He was still alive, but barely. She ran to his side."We're under attack! Protect the King!" Braum shouted. Within a few seconds, all of the Vathrian knights formed a perimeter around King Adrian with their shields up. They formed a wall.King Adrian was shocked. He was in direct line of sight to see what happened to Amier. He witnessed everything happening, from Amier being pierced by the arrow to Renna smiling in front of him. His mind started racing. 'Who attacked us!?' King Adrian thought.Grant was also confused. His perimeter detection magic was top notch but he didn't notice the attack. The agents would've noticed but they were all away chasing the runaway mercenaries.The elves were also alerted and readied their bows and arrows. They stood on the sides of the Vathrian knights, showing their trust."12 o'clock!" Braum shouted. Right in front of them, from the darkness of the forest, the stepping sounds of a horse could be heard. When it approached them, a white horse was revealed with a man sitting on top of it. The man was quite handsome with thick, long hair that covered his ears and shoulders. He was wearing leather clothing that exposed his biceps and the fur of a black animal was present on his shoulder. The hair of the man was also as black as King Adrian's. The man was wearing all black yet he is riding a white horse."Such a touching reunion. The love of a family still remains even with such a disgusting species." The man's voice was low and pleasing to the ears.The elves did not even waste any time to answer and fired all their arrows. But when the arrows approached the man, a layer of black aura in the air around him blocked their arrows.The man raised his hand and something odd happened. Black orbs started to exit the bodies of the dead mercenaries and gathered around his arm."I see. Some strange humans are helping the elves...you don't seem like you're from any kingdoms I recognize as well...After hearing one of my scouts reporting that there were some human activities in elven territory...yet the elves did not mind? Quite odd....I thought. I might as well kidnap one of them to see if the humans would help them...and you did....I sacrificed some of my men to test your powers...and now I see you're quite powerful." The man went on a monologue.None of the Vathrian moved as Braum did not order them to. As for why Braum did not move as well, he knew this man was not someone simple and moving the knights away might endanger the King."Name yourself!" Braum shouted."My name is Slaven...the head of the Red Dragon mercenary troupe." Slaven answered."Why are you attacking us! You're breaking the treaty!" One elven soldier shouted to ask as well."The treaty does not apply to us....and we are hear to enslaved all of your kind. Every single one of them." Slaven replied."What?" The elves were surprised to hear it. There were many attempts to capture some of them but no efforts were made by the humans so far to completely subdue the elven tribe in this territory."Enough with the talks." Surprisingly, Slaven also pulled out a bow and arrow from his back. But when he pulled on the nock, One of the black orbs in his hand shapeshifted into an arrow. He shot one arrow.The arrow was not visible in the air. There were not even any sounds. The arrow was only visible when it hit the target. And weirdly enough, Slaven's aim and where the final target hits is different. He was aiming straight to the front but..."Agh!" Another elven soldier was struck by the arrow."Shit! Cover him!" An elven soldier shouted and some elves pulled the injured elf back."It's useless. If you're hit, you're dead." Slaven replied. Slaven then suddenly kicked his reins and his white horse started running forward.Braum was shocked. "Ready your swords!" Braum shouted.All the Vathrian knights who formed a wall put their swords in front of their shields, forming a spike-like pattern.Braum, who did not engage in battle before, pulled out his sword. His black armor with golden engravings were very eye-catching. He started to exude his battle aura. 'Shit. I'm not in my prime anymore... But I must protect the King' Braum thought.While Slaven was riding his horse, the elves continued their barrage of arrows but every one of them was blocked by the dark aura.When Slaven was near the wall of shields, he jumped from the horse into the air. The white horse also did a 180 and ran inside the forest again. While in the air, 5 black arrows formed together in Slaven's bow and he shot them."Agh!""Ugh!"Five Vathrian knights were hit by his arrows. None of the arrows bounced off the armor. Instead, Slaven hit the small opening between the helmet and the armor.Five Vathrian knights were down.Before Slaven even landed, Braum did a short teleportation in mid-air in front of Slaven."Ooh?" Slaven was surprised.Braum's eyes were very fierce. He struck Slaven."Ugh!" Slaven was hit and he was flying backwards. But he suddenly did a somersault mid-air and landed."That hurt." Slaven muttered.Braum did not waste any time, he did a short teleporation again in front of the just-landed Slaven and swing his majestic sword again.But the sword hit nothing, the figure of Slaven dissolved as the sword hit him."W-what!" Braum was surprised. He was quite used to the enemies having any tricks like this but his battle experience would tell him if the person was a fake or not. He did not detect anything.Braum looked back. Slaven was near King Adrian who was still stupefied. It was a matter of split seconds, Braum did not have time to even teleport again to the King's side.King Adrian, who's mind was racing, finally noticed Slaven coming towards him.'What do I do!?' King Adrian's brain was on full alert. He could die.'Should I use the ethereal sword?' King Adrian thought. The Royal Etheral Sword was a magical sword passed down through the royal lineage. It was the same sword that activated the magical runes within the castle that teleported Vathria to this new world. It was also a sword to be used in combat and had the special ability to cut through any creature's soul. The problem was...'I could only sustain the sword for around ten seconds...it's not complete' King Adrian thought.All of this was happening within split seconds. King Adrian's brain was special and could think very fast.King Adrian pulled his arm forward and a transparent sword formed in his hand.Slaven, who was charging towards the King, raised his eyebrows at the sight. He did not took any step further and started to nock his arrows.Before Slaven was finished, King Adrian charged forward. He was not as fast as Braum but it was enough as Slaven was busy nocking his bow. King Adrian slashed his sword. Slaven was even faster as he took a step back right away so it did not hit him."Huh....you missed." Slaven said."Shit!" King Adrian muttered.But Slaven started looking down at his hand...he could not feel one of his fingers.."What!?" Slaven said.King Adrian smiled. 'So it did hit him. Barely'. he thought.Slaven started to touch one of his fingers that he could not move at all."What did you do..." Slaven said while staring at the King."I cut through your soul. You will not be able to feel that part ever again." King Adrian said while smiling.Slaven looked down at one of his fingers again. Luckily for him, it was not the finger he used to fire the bow.While Slaven was distracted, Braum already teleported behind him and slashed his sword powerfully."Ugh!" Slaven was hit....but it was another shadow puppet."Shit!" Braum said again.Slaven revealed himself again near the entrance of the forest, where his white horse was waiting for him."That's enough for today...we shall meet again." Slaven got on his horse and rode away into the forest. Oddly enough, after a few seconds, the sounds of the steps his horse was making disappeared."Agents! Pull of the search of the runaways! Come here right this instance!" Grant shouted while closing his eyes. Grant was a powerful man...but not in head on battles like this."Fuck! Who was that!" A Vathrian soldier shouted.King Adrian looked around.The victims were five Vathrian knights, a single elven soldier, and.....King Adrian found the sight of a crying girl on top of a dead body of an elven man. Renna was crying as she found that Amier had passed away."Brother!!! Brother!!!! Brother!!!!! Don't leave me!!!! We were going to see mother again!!!! The King would help us!!!" She screamed while crying. She did not see the battle at all, rather focusing on her dead brother.King Adrian's face contorted with sadness. He then saw that five of his knights were down in the ground as well."Fuck...Johnson is dead...how am I supposed to tell his wife and children..." A soldier muttered while seeing a dead body of a knight.The elves were also busy with one of their dead soldiers."How could this have happened..." King Adrian muttered while looking at the gloomy sight.
