《Sanguine War Era》 Prologue A delicate thread separates war and peace between the 4 great Empires. The ''delicate thread'' was any information about the 4 Empires that circulates around 1 meagre Nation. The peace that the people experienced was nought but a mirage. Teiga Ura was one of the many reluctant enlistees from his home nation in the army of Verserius, one of the 4 great Empires which annexed Peacius, the land of information. He is a fox, a sword and a grimoire. Yet he is powerless in stopping the war from happening. Teiga is now determined to survive to the end of this war through any means necessary. With the aim of putting an end to the Crimson War.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Chapter 1: Losing is a new beginning Ominous clouds loomed above the land of information, lightning stretched across the sky with thunder making crackling sound. People were scattering around frantically for shelter in the tiny streets of Prosarea, one of the many shopping districts of Peacius. Shopkeepers were trying in desperation to prevent their goods from becoming soggy in the rain. Carts of fruits, vegetables, meat and anything that one can sell under the sun, were being pushed by the street vendors to a place safe from the invasion of rain. Peacians were running to shield themselves from the rain while a group of 3 adolescents surrounded their prey like wild hyenas. A freckled teenagers with two of his skinny partners. An escape from this tight situation would require a miracle from Cei, the god of mobility. ''''Teiga, Teiga, you want to know why we are in this familiar alley again?'''' said one of the freckled teenager with an evil grin written on his face. ''''Heh, as if you need to explain. To extort me of my money again of course. But my father will help me get my revenge on you. However, I''ll be really surprised if there were any other reas-'''', before Teiga could complete his sentence, a flying fist straight from the freckled teenager clobbered his face. The force from the impact from the punch knocked the 7 Sets old Teiga into the wall with a loud thud coming from his head. He slumped down onto the ground. Teiga was unable to take in what just happened, only aware that he was sitting down on the cobblestone ground and leaning against the wall. Upon hearing the ''thud'' and seeing Teiga slump down onto the ground, the bullies hesitated in preparing for another offensive. ''''Oh fuck, was my punch too hard?'''' said the freckled teenager as he turned his head gradually to his skinny counterparts, looking for confirmation. ''''I don''t know man.'''' replied the skinny counterparts as they shrugged in unison. Teiga lifted up his stick-like arm to touch the back of his head, trying to feel any possible bleeding. Feeling nothing, Teiga tried to get back up onto his feet but it was a futile effort as he dropped back onto the ground like a sack of potatoes. Seeing the moving Teiga, the bullies went on the offensive again, confident that he could withstand the impacts. With the freckled teenager dragging Teiga across the ground face down while his skinny counterparts kicked him in the abdomen, causing him to start coughing with a noticeable volume of blood. Kicks and punches were thrown at Teiga until he stopped flinching from the pain. Thinking that it was enough, the bullies wanted to achieve their main objective and the freckled teenager stretched his hand into the pocket of the fancy shirt that Teiga was wearing. Touching around in search of the money filled sachet. Once the hand has gotten a hold of the sachet, the bullies strolled out of the scene, leaving the debilitated child with sarcastic remarks.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Rain water soon came pouring down from the grey sky. As the rain water pelted the innocent looking face of Teiga, he slowly regained consciousness. He attempted to absorb all the information about the one-sided fight and realised that he lost to the bullies without much resistance, similar to a flying tree branch in a hurricane. The young boy laid on the ground as though seeking consolation from the cold and wet cobblestone floor. Receiving no response, droplets of tears formed a steady queue on his cheeks. He was not crying because of the needles of pain that stung him every now and then. But he was crying because of his weakness. Teiga was not able to savour triumph upon defeating the ''hungry hyenas'' but instead he got to savour the salty taste of rain water on the sturdy ground. ''''WHY!? Even though I am part of the renowned Ura clan, I was unable to even put up a proper fight against those bastards!'''' Teiga thought to himself while slamming his small fist into the ground; a slam so weak that not even a single ripple formed in the puddle of rain water. He tried his best to reflect on his past actions, choices and thoughts only to realise it was his own naivety that landed him in his current plight. Thinking that his family''s power was sufficient to defeat the bullies. The cold rain was falling from the sky as though trying to comfort the boy, trying to douse out the fire of hatred in him. However, the rain made the boy seem pathetic, lying on the ground with water-soaked nobleman clothes. This portrayed the very image of a failure of a nobleman in his young mind. That vivid image of failure soon spurred the now determined Teiga to make a vital decision; the decision to find the strength to fight, through the way of the Ura blade from his father, Levi Ura, the current clan head. Chapter 2: Training and the scent of war Drenched in rainwater, Teiga stood just outside of the main gate to his family''s mansion. The mansion towered over the beaten boy, seemingly intimidating him. Teiga used his dwarf size hand to comb back his hair, straighten his nobleman''s clothes. He swiped off any dirt or dust that was still clinging to him desperately. He did so in an attempt to look less disgraceful in front of his dignified father. The embarrassment of the Ura clan took in a breath of damp air from the environment that was just graced with the presence of salty rainwater from the now innocent looking baby blue sky. After multiple breaths to muster the courage to even enter the mansion''s compound, Teiga pushed open the main gate that has 2 silver rods bent into the shape of 2 lions holding up a long sword each. Just as he took the first step into the compound, the polished redwood door that leads into the mansion swung open. Levi stood behind the opened doors with a glare that can pierce through diamond. ''''Why do you look so beaten up?''''questioned Levi. ''''Those bullies got you again? You did not even attempt to fight back?'''' Those questions acted as an invincible barrier that prevented Teiga from uttering a single word of explanation to his current state. He thought to himself '''' What happened to the burning determination to learn the Ura blade? Was the determination only temporary?", yet again these reflective questions re-ignited the flames of determination in the 7 Sets old boy. He opened his mouth, "My father, will you-" "No! Do not even bother about learning it. You are only 7 Sets old. I doubt that so called determination of your''s is something noble. I can safely assume that you only want to defeat the bullies and nothing more.Pfft. What a childish cause." Finishing his rejection, Levi swiftly turned around as though trying hard to not see the failure of a son. Meanwhile, those words that his father spoke hit home in Teiga. He realised that he did not have a justifiable reason to learn the time-honored Ura blade. The boy tried to jerk back another oncoming queue of tears and tried to man up as much as possible before entering the mansion. Trudging into the mansion, he was greeted by a feminine witch otherwise known as Henestia Niphia, she had dimples on her face as she made a comforting smile to cheer up Teiga. She was the very embodiment of a doting mother, one who loves her son unconditionally yet strict with him. "Psst, Teiga. If your father doesn''t want to teach you the Ura blade, I can at least teach you basic magic to defend yourself or endure the fight. Do you want to learn it?" Teiga reviewed the offer and took in a lot of factors into consideration. Taking this offer as a consolation prize, he nodded his head slowly. "Alright! To celebrate your wise decision. I shall show you a tiny bit of magical performance." Henestia walked past her disappointed son onto the plain grass patch that separated the main gate from the mansion. She lifted up her porcelain white skin into the sky and gazed up at the sky. Chanting a series of magic codes, a teal coloured flame materialised on both of her palms. The witch began dancing around the grass patch and moved her hands like threads in the wind, elegantly. Spinning around gracefully, the flames also followed along behind the ballerina creating a distortedly beautiful flame trail that stalked her hand movements. As the finale of the performance, Henestia raised her hands towards Teiga and took in a deep breath. She exhaled as much air as possible blowing the flame at him. Trying to shield himself, he crossed both of his hands before his face and shut his eyes. Before he knew it, Teiga felt a warmth that a hand would produce when stroking his face. Feeling the familiar warmth, Teiga opened his eyes to see his mother smiling at him again. "My beloved Teiga, the blue flame that you laid your eyes upon is Mana. It is all around you but it is intangible," said Henestia. "However, when concentrated. The Mana particles come together to form the blue flames that you just felt. You will start to learn how to produce this flame tomorrow!" Teiga was too bewildered to say even a word of compliment, he was drunk on the performance that was displayed by the feminine witch. Henestia gave an innocent laughter and ushered Teiga back into the comfort of the mansion. *** The gentle sun climbed up from beyond the horizon in the East, painting the sky orange with a tint of blue. Peacius was gradually waking up from its peaceful slumber. Teiga was already up together with his mother, practising the manipulation of Mana particles. "Teiga, chant this with utmost sincerity whenever you want to concentrate Mana particles'''' said Henestia. "O plerus, incimbia cercum me. Now you try it." "O plerus, incimbia cercum me." On the ''me'', a blue spark formed on the small palm of Teiga. On his face, a gigantic smile soon broke all seriousness that was written across his face. "Mother, I did it! I did it!" exclaimed Teiga wildly. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "Yes, yes, my young boy. Now, to increase the size of the flame. Imagine the flames of Horis, the God of Sun. But bewar-" Before Henestia could say more, Teiga already chanted the magic code. A surge of needle prickling feeling dashed through him, his face winced in pain, he kneeled down on one knee but kept his hand upright towards the sky. Rather than a blue spark, blue unruly flames shot into the sky. A flame that is worlds apart from Henestia''s delicate one. Henestia gaped at the flames, expression of surprise was written all over her face. "Oh my Xanis, Teiga the blue flame you just produced..." "Y-y-es, my mo-ther?" replied the fatigued Teiga. "Only 1 in a billion people can produce Mana flame as powerful as that when they are only a child!" said Henestia eagerly. "Listen, practise Mana manipulation every day and I guarantee you that your flames can cover the entire Peacius!" Hearing that Teiga, fainted immediately from the excessive mana manipulation but with a satisfied beam on his pure face. *** After 6 Sets of honing his Mana manipulation... "Teiga! Have you finished wearing the red Coming Of Age silk tunic with the Ura cape?" yelled Levi as if anticipating a magnificent sight. "Yes, my father!" replied Teiga with confidence. Teiga stepped out of his grandeur room that has golden curtains draping from the ceiling to the carpeted floor and a canopy bed made of rosewood. The Ura cape slid across the ground while Teiga stride towards Levi, his eyes searching Levi''s face for a look of approval. When the clan head finally gave a contented nod, he breathed a sigh of relief hoping that it wouldn''t be like the rejection 6 Sets ago. "Let us head towards the ballroom where all the noblemen and noblewomen from across Peacius have gathered" suggested Levi. "I agree, my father" Father and son strolled towards the ballroom that was guarded by 2 four metres tall oak wood door with the Ura clan symbol that shows a viper coiled around a sword, carved into the 2 doors. 2 extra armoured swordsmen remained vigilant by the doors as if protecting the King who is in his chamber. Once they noticed Levi and Teiga approaching, they unsheathed their swords and held their blade in front of their helmets as a salute. Each of the guards grabbed the handle of the 2 doors and pulled it open. As the doors creaked open, light escaped into the corridor and claps soon followed thereafter. The father and son walked towards the opening of the door and swaggered into the ballroom that was filled with noblemen and noblewomen that wore golden chains, diamond rings, silky smooth dress and basically anything that a noble would wear to a formal ceremony. Sounds of claps thundered around the room as the two strolled with pride towards the stage where Henestia was waiting with the comforting smile that she wears all the time. Levi took a glass of grape wine from a waiter and proceeded up the stage. His bulky body was the very image of a strong fatherly figure and a clan head. His face displayed pride that outshines any other pride. "I thank you all, ladies and gentlemen for taking time off to attend the next clan head''s coming of age ceremony," Levi said with sincerity. "I shall not say much because the main spotlight of today, is Teiga Ura. He shall lead you guys in the toast." Levi signalled to Teiga with his fingers for him to walk up the stage and present a speech. Teiga then went ahead to get a glass of grape wine and went up onto the stage. His body was noticeably thinner than his father''s but his prideful aura was enunciated by the cape and body posture. "Again, as my father said, thank you all for attending my Coming of Age ceremony. I cannot thank you all enough using just words. I earnestly hope that the noblemen and noblewomen of Peacius continue to assist the Ura clan in its endeavour." presented Teiga without stuttering. "So let us continue with the toast" Teiga raised his wine glass up and the attendees followed suit. "Cheers to a forever more fruitful journey ahead with the Ura clan!" cheered Teiga as he lowered his glass wine towards his lips. *** On the same night of the coming of age ceremony of Teiga... "Your Majesty, Emperor Desion, great Emperor of Noct! Our spies have informed me that the Empire of Alantieus has discovered an infinite power source that our empire so desperately need to prosper!" informed the secretary of Desion. "CURSE THOSE INFIDELS!!! How dare they not share the information with the continent of Pacifia!" cursed Desion. "Inform our trustworthy ally of Empire of Persidius promptly. We need to steal that power source from that self-centered nation which deserves nothing but destruction." "Yes, my Emperor!" An evil grin soon spread across Desion''s face. Planning an invasion was nothing but peanuts for the Emperor of Noct who specialises in war strategy. Winds soon blew the scent of an impending sanguine war across the continent of Pacifia. Ravens'' crows were increasing as the peaceful days passed by unappreciated by the people of Pacifia. Each oblivious to the omens... Chapter 3: Preparation Empire Of Noct, 26th Day 5th Phase 1454th Set. "Your Majesty, Emperor Desion! Our ally Empire of Persidius has replied to us!" pronounced the secretary eagerly. "Heh, I see I see. What did they say?" replied Desion enthusiastically like a child anticipating a present from his parents. "They suggested us to prepare each of our armies for the invasion of Alantieus. Because the invasionwill trigger an all out war across the continent and we must be prepared for it." "Very well, we shall build up our army for 3 Sets. But tell Emperor Nelsin of Persidius that I propose that we conduct a meeting every 6 Phases for updates." "Acknowledged, your majesty. I shall inform the Information Branch in Peacius to relay the message to Persidius with a few of our elite soldiers guarding the informers." *** Ura Mansion, Prosarea, Peacius, 26th Day 5th Phase 1454th Set. "My son Teiga, I''ve seen to your drastic improvement in Mana manipulation. As a graduation gift, I shall teach you my original Mana manipulation spell." "Yes my mother, I am always willing to learn new things from you. Please guide me on the right path." "This original manipulation will help you ''slow down'' time around you by letting your brain absorb some mana," informed Henestia. "But take note, prolonged usage will damage you psychologically in a permanent sense!" Teiga nodded his head subserviently without any doubts about his mother''s words of warning. While Henestia walked onto the grass patch where she first introduced Mana manipulation to the then young and frail Teiga. "Teiga, throw anything at me. Do it as though you are trying to kill me." Henestia said with utmost confidence in her skills. "But mother.." "No ''buts'', only ''yes''." corrected Henestia with a stern look on her gentle face. "Yes, my mother." Teiga looked around him, surveying his surroundings for anything to throw at the feminine witch. Turning his head around, he shot his eyes onto a hand sized rock that was resting on the front porch of the mansion. He picked it up while contemplating the action of throwing it at his beloved mother, each finger wrapped around the rock with hesitation. The young nobleman stared down on the rock giving it a piercing stare warning it to not hit his mother. Teiga slowly added strength to his right arm that grasped the rock tightly as he pulled the catapult arm back to gain momentum when throwing the rock. With a swift movement of his upper body swinging forward followed by his arm, his arm flew forward and he released the choking rock at Henestia. As the rock pushed through the air, hurtling towards her, the feminine witch whispered under her breath another magic code. "Ad opprisus deh merobar." Her irises turned teal blue with a miniature mana flame burning passionately. Teiga looked at Henestia and blinked, at the moment he opened his eyes, she stood 1 feet away from her original position. The rock slept on the grass patch while the young man stood rooted to the ground in amazement. "By the heavens mother, your original spell is...SO COOL!" "Hmph. Of course, who am I? I am Henestia Niphia a great magic user." exclaimed Henestia proudly while swinging her braided hair to behind her back. "Mother, please teach me your excellent original mana manipulation technique!" "Alright alright. Now repeat after me. Ad opprisus deh merobar. Say this calmly." "Ad opprisus deh merobar." As his mouth pronounced the last syllabus of ''bar'', a wave of mana particles invaded the brown eyes of Teiga. Teal flames burned ferociously in the eyes, while his brain was encased in mana particles. With this much mana particles, the world around the young boy seemed to slow down by 10 times, a snail world basically. Within 20 seconds, Teiga felt 5 minutes of information being absorbed by his brain. Those information included trivial things such as the thickness of a single blade of grass beside the sleeping rock.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Now for the real test of whether you are capable of using this technique!" "I am always ready for any test you throw at me mother!" Henestia walked towards the sleeping rock and picked it up. The moment the adoring hands of her''s touched the snoozing rock, she flung the rock at the speed of sound. Noticing the movement of her hands, Teiga whispered the magic code under his breath and the flames re-ignited in his eyes. The rock that moved at the speed of sound is now sleeping again, but this time in the air. Calculating the direction at which the rock is flying in, Teiga moved his body in the opposite direction. What seemed to be normal speed in the eyes and brain of his, is actually 10 times faster in real life. But this technique only lasted for 50 seconds before the ferocious blue flames died out in his eyes, returning the brown colour to his irises. Everything fast forward back to their original speed in real time. "Ahahahaha, well done my little genius!" shouted Henestia as she stood 15 feet from Teiga. "You will definitely be an exemplary magic user!" "I will not disappoint you, my mother!" shouted Teiga in reply to his mother''s compliment and a smile formed on the innocent face. "By the way, I believe it is about time that you consult Levi about learning the Ura blade." The smile soon turned into a depressed look, the brown eyes looked to the ground for suggestions on what to do to deal with this situation. The pride posture of Teiga began to slouch into uncertainty. Noticing the dramatic change in facial expression, Henestia''s motherly qualities hurriedly expressed themselves. "Oh ignore what I just said. I was joking about the Ura blade. No need to rush. Okay?" comforted Henestia in an evermore gentle tone. Hearing the consolation from his mother, Teiga felt as though he disappointed her even though he just told her that he would not. Trying his best to muster up enough courage to make a promise to his mother that he will learn the Ura blade, Teiga closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. "No, my mother. For the past 6 sets, I have trained day after day in mana manipulation, I believe it is time." "If you say so... Don''t push yourself too hard alright? It is acceptable to quit, so don''t push yourself too hard." "I will not quit no matter what, as the next Ura clan head, I cannot allow myself such luxury." *** Later on into the day, at dinner time... In the dining room, a scrumptious feast was laid onto a long polished mahogany wood table; Charcoal-roasted whole chicken, alfredo chicken, beef with Espagnole sauce, raw lettuce with cherry tomato and lemon juice topping sat upon the leaves, fried salmon fillets and peach juice. Levi sat at the head on the table while Henestia and Teiga sat by his side. Butlers and maids stood behind them on alert mode, ready to entertain any requests made by the small family. Total silence was observed by the family during dinner time but Teiga decided to break this interminable silence. "My father, I want to and need to learn the Ura blade." "Why the sudden request?" replied Levi as he slides a slice of beef into his mouth. "I am already 13 Sets old, I must learn the Ura blade to pass it down to the next generation." said Teiga with a sincere look. "That''s it? You''d better have better rationales," mumbled Levi as he stuffs a piece of roasted chicken into his already full mouth. "Of course not. The Ura blade is for protecting those you love and help those in need. Not for a childish cause." "Hmm..kay. Aright. I''ll each u te Ura bade." said Levi as he tried to force those words out of his stuffed mouth. Teiga gave a dumbfounded look at Levi not expecting an acceptance. "Really, my father!?" "BUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I''ve been waiting for you to ask me. It is a tradition for a Ura clansman to learn Ura blade after their coming of age ceremony." exclaimed Levi with pieces of meat flying out due to his violent laughter. He raised up his hands to cover his mouth to prevent food wastage. Silence followed after the sentence that Levi said. Teiga finally understood why Levi rejected him 6 Sets ago, the reason was simple, "Oh the time is not ripe yet.". He felt like he was fooled by his stern father, who has never uttered a single joke in anyone''s face before. "Well, I still managed to learn mana manipulation in the past 6 Sets," Teiga thought to himself he gobble up 3 slices of beef in frustrated happiness. "By the way, we will start tomorrow." informed Levi with a slight tint of zeal. "Yes my father, I look forward to your lesson." *** Beino, Empire of Noct, 27th Day 5th Phase 1454th Set. A battalion of 100,000 armoured Noctian soldiers was in picture perfect battle formation on the plain fields of Beino, a plateau of never ending wild grass. These soldiers unsheathed each of their glinting silver long swords. 10,000 shiny swords were thrust towards the front in unison on the command of a muscular and daunting veteran general, General Kogher. He wore a glossy black full body armour with 2 dragon heads protruding at his shoulders, each head representing his unwavering authority in the army. To add on his general aura, his face displayed multiple scars from previous wars in Pacifia. But one particular scar stood out, the scar was the longest and deepest of them all, stretching from the top left of his head down to his left eye and finally to the right side of his jaw. Every scar represented a sound reason for him to be a general. And those scars are lessons that he learned such that he can now lead the 100,000 men battalion of Xenis, the strongest army in all of Noct, maybe even Pacifia. The preparation for a savage and long war has finally begun... Chapter 4: Horns of invasion. Ura Mansion, Prosarea, Peacius, 29th Day 5th Phase 1454th Set. Curved wooden katanas sliced through the humid air of the Ura Dojo. Sounds of wooden planks being stomped on echoed throughout the dojo. Two katanas'' edge met each other in a violent clash, minute splinters broke away from the body of the katanas. Wooden Katanas slid back to protect their masters, Teiga and Levi. Father and son had an intense stare off, bracing themselves for the next encounter. With the alert eyes like an owl except his eyes had unruly blue flames burning, Teiga scanned his father''s posture. Looking out for the slightest movement of a single muscle strand, while his father looked into his son''s soul. Trying to predict his son''s thoughts. Almost as though being choreographed, Levi moved his calve muscles and Teiga thought of striking his father on the right side of the waist. Both of them stomped their master legs onto the ground, given themselves a boost forward with their swords tracing behind them, waiting for their masters'' command. Another clash of the swords but this time, Levi pushed his own weight onto his sword, forcing Teiga to kneel down on one knee while his arms shook uncontrollably. His veins were showing themselves, trying to escape from the captivity of the skin. The father showed his son a condescending smile that attempted to persuade the other sword to give up. Upon given the condescending smile, the buff father loosened his tight grip on his sword. Seizing this opportunity, Teiga quickly pushed himself up and turned the tables around. Giving one portion of his remaining strength, the young teenager flicked his father''s sword out of his hands. The sword abandoned its master and laid on the wooden planks of the dojo. The last remaining sword rested beside the neck of Levi, trembling due to its thirst for blood. "Well done my son, I can''t believe you can beat me when you only just started yesterday," Levi said. "You are just going easy on me, my father. No way that I can beat you so easily," Teiga said as he panted for breath. "Nevermind that, what I''ve taught you up till now is just the basics of sword fighting." "Really!? So are you going to teach me some of the unique techniques of the Ura Blade?" questioned the inquisitive teenager. "No, the Ura Blade specialises in letting the user create their own move. I shall show you mine. Now step back." Levi walked towards his resting sword and picked it up apologetically. "Seems like the Ura Clan really respects their swords eh?" Teiga thought to himself. Now that the wooden sword is back with his rightful master, the master stood up right and held the sword in front of him with the left leg in front for stability. The ever watchful eyes closed and he took in a long and deep breath before bringing the sword to his cheeks. Opening his eyes, his jet black pupils constricted and focused on a crawling ant that was minding its own business but it was just its unlucky day. Before Teiga knew it, the wooden sword cut through the air seamlessly with a whistling sound and stopped just before striking the ant. "My father- What was- That?" asked Teiga, controlling his laughter. "Look at the ant," Teiga looked down on the ant only to see two ants. "Wait, those two black spots are not two ants. It is the sliced body of the ant!" exclaimed the dumbfounded teenager. "Not just that, look beyond the sliced ant," He squinted his eyes and tried his hardest to look beyond the "ants", only to see evident sword marks on the polished wooden planks. Teiga stood rooted to the floor, paralysed by the sight of the dents. The only thing that moved was the grey fluttering training robe that he wore. "Hmph, see this, my son? THIS, is my own move, Focused Strike," proclaimed Levi proudly. "Whenever I use this move, the target that I focus on will be the only one that gets sliced." "Wow... I will be able to come up with a move that can be just as strong as your''s or better?" "Of course! Just spend at least 2 years cultivating your own unique style and use it in actual combat," Levi says. "if you have any queries, just ask me. I''ll help you to the best of my abilities as your father and mentor." "Yes, my father! Trust me that I will come up with a technique that is peerless in terms of power!" *** Ura mansion, Prosarea, Peacius, 3rd Day 6th Phase 1454th Set. A weak wind blew around the completely closed dojo as Teiga mightily swung his wooden katana diagonally in the dry air. "This technique is still in its infancy, it needs MORE training," Teiga said to himself. "Well, my father did say it will take at least 2 years to have a combat ready technique." Sweat trickled down the tanned cheeks of Teiga, racing each other down the cheeks before dripping onto the wooden floor. As a droplet of sweat hit the ground, the sliding door to the inside of the dojo slid open and the feminine witch popped her head around the edge of the door. Slowly sneaking into the dojo, Henestia tiptoed behind the concentrated Teiga who is currently oblivious to his surroundings. "BUAH!"Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Upon hearing the greeting from his mother, Teiga swung his sword behind him and stopped before the edge of the sword hit Henestia in her stomach. Turning around to check who was the perpetrator of the surprise, the sword remained stable and aimed at her stomach. Once the sweaty teenager laid his sight upon his loving mother, the sword immediately fell to the ground together with the knees. "I''m am so terribly sorry, my mother! I''m sorry for raising my sword against you..." "Ahhhhh, I really don''t mind. I shouldn''t have surprised you while you are concentrated anyway," Henestia say. "Still I am sorr-" "Speak no more. I am here to bring you some refreshments for you to relax from your technique training." Henestia said as she raised her right hand to show a basket with fruits and a bottle of water packed into it. She then gestured to Teiga to stand up and take the basket from her. He reached out his sweaty hands to fetch over the basket from his mother. "Thank you so much, my mother, I will not let your kindness go to waste," Teiga said in reply to his mother''s kind actions. "One word of advice, my son. Focus a bit more on your surroundings, you were totally open," Henestia waved her son goodbye, gave him another warm smile and strolled out of the dojo, leaving behind a lingering smell of rose perfume that she wears now and then. Teiga sat down on the cooled wooden floor and placed his loyal sword beside him, awaiting his beckoning. He reached his hands into the basket and took out a crimson red apple and bit into the crunchy flesh of the apple. The sweetness of the flesh of the apple swept around in his mouth while the apple juice flowed into his throat. As refreshing as the taste of the apple is, but what was truly refreshing for him, was the consistent gentleness that Henestia always showered him with. With the last refreshing action of chugging down the bottle of water, he picked up the wooden sword again and restarted his practice session. Each time the sword swings through the air, the wind it generates grows in strength extremely slowly. So slow that no one will ever notice the change. Little did this young teenager knows that this technique that he calls his own will be used for the nearing war... *** Intae Fields, Empire of Alantieus, 5th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set. In this flat plateau of endless nothingness, a field away from a small trade city of Hemia that belongs to the Empire of Alantieus stood the 10,000 men strong Xenis. Each typical soldier was covered with dark grey armour that was impenetrable anywhere but the neck. A slit in their helmet allowed them to observe their surroundings. Spiky armoured joints that correspond to the human joints connected every piece of the full body armour. The smell of metal and sweat combined ravaged the battalion but the soldiers were all too used to the smell that it doesn''t bother them at all. The Lesser Commanders wore helmets that have navy blue horns while the Rear Generals wore helmets that have crimson red horns. The Lesser Commanders slowly guided their own platoons to form up with their commanding Rear General. Every company was in the shape of a rectangle, the Rear General rode his horse at the middle front of the company formation while the Lesser Commanders rode their horses directly behind the Rear General after forming up their own platoon. All the 100 companies had groups of Rear Generals and Lesser Commanders leading them into a wedge formation with Veteran General Kogher''s own men as the head. Dust rose up from all the marching of the well-disciplined battalion, no one dared to cough, no one dared to tear up from the dust. A jet black armour rode on a pure white armoured horse, the armour had wings forged into the helmet. A grey metal long sword sheath attached itself to the back of the jet black armour hid the noxious and barbarous long sword that Kogher used in all his previous battles, the Deathreaper. Once the stout Veteran General unsheathed his long sword, a large flag that bore the Xenis symbol, an eagle clenching its talons onto a long sword was raised above all the ranks of the 100,000 soldiers in the middle of the battle formation. Every soldier soon unsheathed their own swords not with doubts but with efficiency and bloodlust. "FOR THE GLORY OF NOCT!!! CHARGEEEEE!!!!" bellowed Kogher as he slowly but confidently pointed his sword towards the walled city of Hemia. A deafening long blow of the battle horns gave further permission for the 100,000 men to charge forward. They all remained in the steadfast formation, ready to encounter any opposing forces. But there were no apparent enemy formations. After all, it was a surprise attack planned by the Empires of Noct and Persidius. The only defence that Hemia have are the soldiers guarding the walls that separated the invading Noctians from the Alantiens. Reaching the 1-kilometre mark from the city walls, the battalion moved again briefly into a flat formation, ready to besiege the city. Shouts from the battalion boosted their own morale, their swords trained to the front but slanted slightly to avoid stabbing the person in front. The battalion''s flag remained high in the air, displaying its pride to the enemies, attempting to strike fear into the hearts of the defending opponents. Reaching the 500 metres mark from the city walls, the whole battalion came to a complete stop and the flanks slowly curved to surround the walls. Shields that were attached to the soldiers'' backs were taken out and covered each of the advancing soldiers'' heads. The shields formed a shelter that protected the Noctians from the shower of arrows from the defending Alantien soldiers. Gradually, the "shelter" curved even further to surround the walls. Now the formation was like the opened mouth of a serpent ready to devour its prey. Reaching just below the city walls, wooden ladders stood up and leaned against the towering walls of Hemia. Soldiers carrying shields climbed up the ladders while arrows rained down on them without rest but the climbers did not flinch one bit from the impact of the arrows hitting the shield. These climbers are the designated siege soldiers that will always be the vanguard in penetrating the defence of the enemy soldiers that lined the walls. While the vanguards scaled the walls, battering rams appeared beside Kogher. Robust soldiers pushed the rams head on into the reinforced wooden gates of Hemia, arrows struck the shield-less soldiers but as proud soldiers of Xenis, no one dared to fall in front of the watchful eyes of Kogher. The battering rams gained speed and slammed into the gates with the loud cracking of the gate accompanying the impact. Every ram left behind a deep depression in the gates, deep enough for a man to fit in. Archers marched towards the front of the formation and raised their bows up, aiming at the desperate enemies who ran around trying their best to defend against the strong invading force. "FIRE!" commanded Rear General Manx, the leader of the archer company. Brown arrows flew into the blue skies and arced back down towards the enemies. Every archer was confident in their skills in not hitting their own comrades, and their confidence was not in vain. As if by a miracle, the arrows only penetrated, stabbed and scratched the enemies. Not one arrow grazed the vanguard. Seeing that the wall defence has weakened significantly from the arrows, the vanguard increase their climbing speed and jumped onto the platforms of the walls. The pure brute strength of the vanguards forced the fear stricken enemies to retreat into the city. Leaving the walls totally undefended. Finally with one last ram, the gates finally gave in... This is the start of the Sanguine War Era. Update on posting schedule I am currently having my preliminary examinations so I will not be posting a new chapter too soon but I will try to post one by the end of this weekend. I am truly sorry for this inconvenience caused by me. By the way, I need all your reviews so that I can improve my English and story line. So please give me your honest reviews even if they are not specific to the point or bad.Oh yes, after the next chapter is posted, there will be a 100 days hiatus as my graduation examinations is around the corner, so please understand. Thank you guys for your support even if there are only 4 followers presently.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Chapter 4.5: Annexation Prosarea, Peacius, 29th Day 13th Phase 1456th Set. 6 days before Xenis laid siege to Hemia. "Motherfucker... This is exactly why I didn''t want to be an information broker!" whined the Noct-Persidius information broker, Kieurn as he sprinted through the dark and long back alleys of Prosarea shopping alley. 4 cloaked Verserien spies followed after him, 2 on each side of the roof of the alleys and 2 directly behind him. Each of their steps made no sounds as if they were levitating off the ground. Kieurn accidentally knocked over several crates that contained goods that were supposed to be sold the next day but this attempt was in futile. The cloaked pursuers leapt over every crate with ease, treating them like puddles of water. The brightly serene moon spectated the chase, enthusiastic to know whether the information broker will outrun the Verseriens. Kieurn darted his eyes nervously around the dark alley, straining his eyes to search every part of the alley for the key to escaping. But his night blindness condition failed him tonight, not knowing that a single cobblestone stood up like a sore thumb. He tripped over it and landed face first on the rough ground. The lesions that were inflicted on him are nothing compared to what he will be facing as the 4 spies pinned him to the ground with joint locks, forcefully stopping the information broker from moving any further. "Wow, what a fucking great way to get caught. Tripping over a damn stone," whispered Kieurn despondently to himself. *** Undisclosed place, Peacius, 29th Day 13th Phase 1456th Set. Directly after arresting the information broker, the spies brought him to a dilapidated shed in the middle of nowhere. Now even the previously enthusiastic moon hid behind clouds, trying its best to not witness the gore presented to it in the shed. Without the moonlight now, the only thing that lit up the shed was sparks from the sharpening of blades. The 4 spies circled a hysterical man who is strapped down to a wooden chair with rough ropes that grazed the skin of the victim even with the slightest fidget. Kieurn is no longer the information broker that he was just a few hours ago, exchanging information with contacts from the Empire of Noct and Persidius. His mind was filled with euphoria when he first heard that he was to act as a middle man for the communication between the royal courts of Noct and Persidius. However, that very same mind was now desolate of any emotion. Kieran''s skinny body was filled with lacerations from the slow and painful cuts that the spies applied on him. Crimson blood seeped out from every pore of his body in reaction to a minute amount of poison injected into him. Patches of skin hung off his muscles, almost like a freshly filleted fish with skin. "Now, if you tell us the information you are supposed to transmit to Persidius, we won''t harm your beloved family," threatened one of the spies as he pulled back his black hoodie, revealing a psychotic smile. "PLE-S DO-N''T. I WEL TEL Y-UO!" shouted Kieurn in agony while he coughed out clotted maroon blood. "Then please, tell us," said the sadistic spy as he leaned in towards the ear of Kieurn and sliding his sharpened dagger over the scarred face of his unfortunate target. The other 3 spies immediately took out their papers and dipped the tips of their bird feather quills in the fresh blood of their victim and placed the tips of the quill onto their own papers, ready to jot down every information. In order to hear the information clearly, the sadistic spy took out a clean handkerchief and wiped the inside and outside of the tortured information broker''s mouth. "I was supposed to inform a Persidian contact who will inform the Persidian royal court that the Alantian city of Hemia will be besieged by the 100,000 men strong battalion Xenis of Noct on 5th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set," Kieurn said reluctantly.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "And why is such a big army used to besiege a minor city?" questioned the sadist. "Emperor Desion stated that Xenis will be the vanguard for an all out invasion of Alantieus with Persidius being an ally. The Xenis will be holding ground in Hemia while Persidian and Noctian coalition forces arrive to assist in the invasion," The psychotic face of the spy turned into a poker face immediately hearing the last part of the information and immediately ordered the other spies to finish up their recording before they leave for the Empire of Verserius. Just before the sadist leaves the shed, he threw a dagger at the feet of Kieurn. Seeing the sudden movement, the information broker flinched and shuddered in fear but soon realised what the dagger was for. To escape from the binds. What an unexpected kind act from a sadist. *** Prosarea, Peacius, 2nd Day 1st Phase 1457th Set. News of the nation of Peacius being annexed by the Empire of Verserius spread around the nation like a wildfire. Each Peacian had a worried look on their face, everyone had mixed feelings about being annexed by the Empire of Verserius. Kieurn staggered through the streets, wondering if he should regret exposing the vital information to the 4 spies. He hung his head low and saw the newsletter that informed every one of the annexation.What happened? Why are we being annexed? What is going to become of us? How did this happen? Will we still be able to continue our daily lives? These questions asked by the people stung Kieurn, knowing that he is the cause of this annexation. "Everybody is to gather at the city hall for an announcement about this annexation at noon!" exclaimed Verserien soldiers who marched through the streets of Peacius as if it is their own country. The bystanders shot the soldiers with looks of despise, but the soldiers were disciplined enough to not bothered by such actions. The scorching sun slowly rose to the peak in the sky, unhindered by clouds. In front of the city hall was a crowd of anxious Peacians waiting for the Duke of Peacius, Leinov to clarify the situation to the people. When the city hall bell rang to signify that it is noon, the gates of the city hall opened and behind the gates stood Leinov and a middle-aged grinning Verserien ambassador with strict looking 4 armoured guards that held pikes and shields in their hands. Duke Leinov opened his mouth and presented a speech: I am sure that everyone has been informed that Peacius is being annexed by the Empire of Verserius. Peacian officials have also thought about this annexation day and night. But do not fret my people, this annexation is to keep us safe from any military threats, mainly an incoming war between the Noct-Persidius Coalition forces and Verserius-Alantieus Allied forces. Alantieus discovered an infinite power source years ago and kept the secret to itself and the royal court of Verserius. But somehow news leaked out to the Empire of Noct and Empire of Persidius 3 sets ago during the 1454th Set. Now the Coalition forces are planning to invade the Empire of Alantieus in 3 Days time. No doubt that the invasion will trigger an all out war between all 4 Empires and we will undoubtedly be caught up in this web. So the Empire of Verserius has kindly offered to annex us and protect us with their military forces in exchange for Peacian males aged between 14 and 40 be drafted into their military. The Empire of Verserius will also be increasing trade and business with us to make up for our losses, and the drafted males will be able to hold Peacian and Verserien citizenship after the war. To keep this short, the annexation of Peacius is for a better and safer future. I sincerely hope that all the Peacians out there will understand this. I will be signing the agreement with the Verserien ambassador now. Each government official took out their own unique feather quills and signed the agreement papers that sealed the annexation of the nation. Immediately after the signing, jeers and rocks greeted the 2 government officials. the 4 guards stood in front of the officials and slammed their shields down to block out the rocks. The party retreated into the city hall and closed the gates while the people expressed their fury by trying to knock down the city hall gates. WIth the papers signed, families are fated to be broken by the war and businesses are to be closed down. But these consequences are only the start. Within minutes of the signing, the flag of Verserius was lifted above the city hall. The flag was flaming red with a wyvern clutching to a blue shield. Such a foreign flag brought down the morale of Peacius to an all time low, people gave up on rioting knowing their efforts will be in vain and that it will indeed be better if they are protected by a stronger empire during a tumultuous era. Now the 15 Sets old Teiga who has only just started to formulate his own Ura technique is going to be drafted into the Verserien army. Chapter 5: Enlistment Prosarea, Peacius, 2nd Day 1st Phase 1457th Set. The walls of the training dojo shuddered as Teiga swung his wooden katana 180 degrees, generating strong winds that could easily blow down deeply rooted bamboos. Random black dents were starting to form on the wooden walls that surround the swordsman, it was as if the dojo contained a madman scratching the walls every second. Sweat from his arms trickled down the wooden katana, making the sword appear to be glistening. Sounds of heavy breathing echoed around the empty dojo while the afternoon sun turning the dojo into an oven. "I am getting closer to perfecting my own move. Just a little bit more..." mumbled Teiga to himself. WIth another deep breath, Teiga slid his right foot back while simultaneously bringing his wooden sword to his right hip. He tensed up his muscles to the point of nearly tearing his muscle strands. Eyes closed and all his senses concentrated on his surroundings. Teiga whispered the mana manipulation chant. "O plerus, incimbia cercum me." Blue flames engulfed the sword that Teiga gripped tightly. Feeling the limit of the amount of mana entering his body, pulses surged through the young man''s body. At the sound of a sweat droplet hitting the floor, Teiga swung the katana with ferocity and decisiveness. The wind generated carried the blue flames throughout the entire dojo before striking the walls with a deafening "BANG!". After the remaining flames dissipated, only blackened walls remained. What was once a brown varnished wall, is now black. The blue mana flames were supposed to be warm but with Teiga''s natural talent, it turned into an empowered mana flame. "Oh my Xanis. Teiga! What happened!?" exclaimed Henestia. "I heard a loud sound coming from the dojo and came to check." Henestia gaped at the blackened scene of the dojo, dumbfounded by a seemingly impossible scene unless the dojo burned down. Teiga slouched his broad shoulders and lowered the wooden katana. Seeing the sight of mana drained Teiga, Henestia decided to not chase him for answers. She gently ushered her beloved son back to the main building of the mansion before fetching a cup of cold water for Teiga to rehydrate himself. He proceeded to gulp down the cup of water in one shot. "Here, have a drink and take a short rest before bathing," Henestia lovingly suggested. "I am proud of you to be able to come up with such a powerful katana swing." "Thank you, my mother. I will not disappoint you in the future." "I know you won''t. You are my son after all." replied the proud mother. The sound of the main entrance doors swinging open and slamming the side walls reverberated through the mansion. Both mother and son jerked up in surprise at the sound of the doors. The precious moment between Henestia and Teiga was further ruined when Levi stomped into the drawing room of the mansion. Levi''s face wrinkled into a face of rage while his hands clenched into fists with an envelope in hand. Eyes burning with anger and hands shaking with fury. "Those damn Verseriens! Ordering us to do whatever they please!" roared Levi as he slammed himself onto the sofa. "Honey, what happened at the Information Brokers HQ?" questioned Henestia curiously. "The damn Verseriens are absorbing the HQ into their own empire''s intelligence unit. Now I have to work under those pigs!" Levi replied. The oblivious Teiga was utterly confused at the current situation as he did not know of the annexation of his homeland, Peacius. "My father, what in the world happened to make you so furious?" asked Teiga. WIthout saying a word, Levi reluctantly handed over the crumpled envelope to his son. On the envelope was the golden Verserien Military seal that sealed the envelope and Teiga''s name. Using a letter opener, Teiga slit opened the letter addressed to him. He read the letter carefully, word for word and line for line. On the letter, the sender wrote: To Teiga Ura of the renowned Ura clan, This letter is sent to you, with the aim of informing you of your enlistment into the Verserien Military. War has broken out across the continent of Pacifia when Noct and Persidius attacked Alantieus. Thus Noct will attack your homeland of Peacius soon. In order to protect Peacius, the Empire of Verserius has kindly decided to protect it and improve its prosperity. As per what Duke Leinov of Peacius has announced at the city hall on 2nd Day 1st Phase 1457th Set. All Peacian males aged between 14 to 40 will be enlisted into the Verserien Military. This is decided upon careful discussions between the Peacian government and the Royal Court of Verserius. Your enlistment is vital in ensuring the peace of the continent of Pacifia and the safety of your loved ones. All enlistees will be granted both Verserien and Peacian citizenship. Meaning that the enlistee can live in both Peacius and Verserius with the benefits of both nations after the war. You are hereby required to report to Prosarea City Hall on 5th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set for allocation/posting of military vocations. If you are absent from the enlistment process, your clan''s aristocrat status will be stripped away regardless of reason. The Empire of Verserius is looking forward to work with such a refined individual. Yours sincerely, Imperial Military Council of Verserius. Once Teiga had finished reading the letter, he soon realised what he was being dragged into. Even with all the attractive benefits of being an enlistee in the Imperial Military of Verserius, the young man knew that he had to go to battles and risk being killed by a stranger on an unfamiliar battlefield. Dying as an anonymous person, buried in a mass grave. No recognition whatsoever. Scenes of his parents crying over his death flashed in his mind. He imagined the last thing he sees before dying is a sword swung towards his neck. The very thought gave Teiga cold feet. He was stumped, sitting on the soft sofa, holding the dreadful letter in his trembling hands. Henestia placed her hands on her son''s shoulders and leaned in for a comforting hug that hoped to calm his son''s wavering heart. "We will discuss this later during dinner. Teiga, go take a bath and try your best to take this sudden news in," Levi said. Slowly, Teiga raised up from the sofa and stumbled a little. His face was as white as freshly fallen snow. Henestia wrapped her hand around her sullen son and assisted him to the bathroom. "Teiga, you have anything that you need help in, just call me. Okay?" Henestia said. "Alright..." replied Teiga as he took off his upper-half of his grey training robe to show a sweaty muscular back and arms with some minor scars from the continuous training in cultivating his own technique. As Henestia left the bathroom, Teiga took off the rest of his clothing and stepped into the warm water of the 10m wide large bathtub. The whole bathroom was foggy from the mist, foggy just like Teiga''s mind. Unsure of what to do now, should he run away or face reality. If he runs away, his family will face the consequence of his cowardice. But if he faces reality, he may die.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. In the corner of his mind, Teiga recalled what his father said to him when he was only 7 Sets old, that one needs the determination to learn the Ura blade. Now that he has learnt the Ura blade, it meant that he has the determination and he should show it in his actions. The young man solved his dilemma by further believing that he should have the determination to survive the war and live a fulfilling life with his loved ones till they die of old age. His belief will become the motivation Teiga relies on to survive the bloody war. A full moon silently floated up in the night sky with sparkling stars accompanying it. In the dining room of the mansion sat the family of 3, a solemn atmosphere filled the entire room. Even the butlers and maids were requested to leave the room. Despite having a scrumptious dinner laid out on the table in front of the family, no one moved their own silver utensils. At last, Teiga broke the silence. "My father and mother. I have decided that I will enlist into the Verserien military. I cannot risk the reputation of the prestigious Ura clan," Teiga said assertively. "Please respect my decision, don''t waver my thoughts with persuasion." "Very well. I will support your decision," Levi said. "Take care, my son. Come back from the battles alive. Remember there is still a home for you here." Meanwhile, tears welled up in Henestia''s alluring eyes. She quickly stood up from her seat and ran out of the dining room, trying to not let her husband and son see her crying. But as much effort she put into hiding her cries, her muffled cries could be heard from beyond the doors separating the hallway from the dining room. Teiga''s heart was pierced by feelings of guilt of letting his mother cry. He could remember clearly his mother smiling as she handed him a basket of fruits while he was training in the dojo. Now instead of the warm smile that he knows so familiarly, Henestia''s face is only wet from tears and red in colour. Knowing that this sight could shake his resolve, Teiga quickly reinforced his determination. Levi only sat at the end of the table with his hands interlocked with each other and his eyes closed, contemplating about his son leaving for an inevitable war. The Ura family is only one of the many families broken apart by the war. On that fateful night, numerous other families also began to prepare to say farewell to each other. Be it, peasants, merchants, scholars or aristocrats, all of them solemnly sat at their dinner table. *** Prosarea City Hall, Peacius,5th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set At the front city hall, several tents with armoured Verserien soldiers in them were set up to process the enlistees. Some tents were labelled, "14-20 Sets old", "21-30 Sets old" and "31-40 Sets Old". With a heavy heart, Teiga proceeded to queue up behind other enlistees at the "14-20 Sets old" tent. The queue moved so slowly that people were starting to act up and tried to go back on their decision of joining the Verserien military. Teiga saw people trying to run away from the queues but only to be stopped by groups of muscular Verserien soldiers who pushed them back to their own queues. There were people who squatted down with their hands on their heads mumbling their regrets, there were people who were crying tears of sorrow, there were people who just accepted their fate and went with the flow and there were people who were excited to enter the battlefields. The gathering square in front of the city hall was filled with emotions. Parents, siblings, grandparents, wives and friends stood at the side of the square looking hopelessly at the enlistees. Finally, after witnessing so many scenes of sadness, Teiga is finally at the front of the queue in the tent. In front of the young man was a table filled with papers with personal information of enlistees written on it. The Verserien soldier in charge of the tent browsed through the papers trying to find Teiga''s personal information. The soldier attending to Teiga had a strict and condescending look on his face, believing that soldiers of other nations or empires are inferior to the soldiers of Verserius. After an inefficient 3 minutes, the soldier finally found the correct paper and shoved the paper into Teiga''s face. "Hey you, get a damn needle at the corner of the table and prick yourself on the damn thumb. Then stamp your bloodied thumb on this blank spot on the damn paper," the soldier demanded emotionlessly while pointing to a blank space under all the personal information. "After doing so, slot this damn paper into the damn box behind me. Then proceed to collect a damn wooden sword you know how to use at the counter behind the damn tent." "Yes, sir." replied the surprised Teiga. After finishing the confirmation process, Teiga walked behind the tent to see different types of wooden swords stacked on top of makeshift shelves. Standing behind the counter was a soldier who looked like he couldn''t care less about other people. "What kind of sword do you use?" asked the soldier tiredly. "A katana," replied Teiga with pride. "Okay..." the soldier said as he nodded and proceeded to draw a katana from the shelves. "Here, take this and proceed to the circular arena where you will *yawn* tested for your abilities by battling with a Verserien soldier. Just follow this cobblestone path and you will see it," ordered the soldier. "Yes, sir." Holding the wooden katana, Teiga walked towards the circular arena with anticipation. His face was brimming with excitement, he couldn''t wait to face off with another opponent other than his father, especially a professional soldier. Reaching the circular arena, the eager young man saw a panel of 4 judges who wore armours different from a typical foot soldier of Verserius. Teiga thought to himself "The judges are definitely commanders or higher. I need to prove myself. I can''t disgrace the Ura blade!". Before Teiga took another step into the arena, one of the judges shouted at him to stop and introduce himself. "I am Teiga Ura of the Ura clan. The successor to Levi Ura of the next head of the Ura clan!" exclaimed Teiga proudly. "Hoh? A member of the swordsman clan? We are looking forward to your sparring session," one of the judges said. "Hah! No one is able to match my swords skills. Even a member of a famous swordsman clan" boasted a Verserien soldier who stepped out from behind the judges. Teiga''s sparring partner had a muscular build and held a wooden long sword that the soldier placed on his shoulder. The soldier''s face was filled with the look of triumph and a grin stretched across his freckled face, clearly believing that he can win Teiga. The judges then signalled both the soldier and Teiga to enter the arena. The floor of the arena was filled with sand and dust, the sunlight shone directly down on the two men. With each step of the two men, dust was lifted up and footprints were imprinted on the sand. The soldier walked 3 steps before stopping and letting the tip of the sword touch the ground while Teiga walked 4 metres away from the soldier before stopping and shifting the wooden katana to the right side of his hip. Slowly both opponents got into their ready stance. Teiga slid his right foot back and the soldier brought up his long sword to the side of his face and trained his eyes on the young man. "Both of you are allowed to use magic in this spar. But no deadly intents are allowed. The winner will be decided if someone steps outside the arena or faints. That''s all. You all may start if you are ready." declared one of the judges. "PREPARE TO BE HUMILIATED, BOY!" insulted the Verserien soldier. Hearing the insult, Teiga closed his eyes and began to focus on the surroundings. The Verserien soldier took one step forward and began to charge towards the concentrating man. Sensing hostility in his surroundings, Teiga started to whisper the mana manipulation chant. "O plerus, incimbia cercum me." As practised, the whole wooden katana was engulfed in blue flames. Despite knowing that his move has not yet been perfected. Teiga still tensed up every single muscle in his body and gripped the katana firmly. Everything around the mana manipulator slowed down in his mind as mana surged through his body. Sensing that the limit of the mana entering the body, and trying his best to reduce the temperature of the flames, Teiga swung his katana tenaciously, diagonally in the direction of the charging soldier. The swinging of the blade threw wind that carried the blue flames at the soldier. Realising that the flames were about to reach him, the soldier tried in desperation to dodge the oncoming flame but his efforts were hardly enough to dodge the wide area of blue flames. The flames pulverized the wooden long sword and slammed into the unsuspecting before dispersing into thin air. Immediately after the flames completely disappeared, only Teiga was left barely standing after draining his mana while the soldier laid on the ground unconscious in a humiliating manner. The panel of judges stared at the scene in disbelief, all of their mouth wide opened and eyes shooting looks of surprise at the enlistee and the soldier. The judges recovered their composure after a while and started to whisper to each other anxiously. "We have seen the rather fast battle. I must say, we are very impressed. You just defeated one of the most seasoned soldiers in our military forces. He went through countless battles. And you defeated him within a minute! Anyways, we will announce your vocation tomorrow. So please proceed to the military encampment at the plain fields just outside of Prosarea. We have assigned tents to you and provided you with clothes. Everything is taken care of," announced another judge. Teiga immediately felt energetic after hearing that he has defeated a seasoned soldier within a minute. Before leaving the arena, he carried the unconscious soldier back to the judges and left for the military encampment. "I thank you, judges for providing me with a chance to present my own abilities," Teiga said as he bowed down to the judges. After expressing his gratitude the judges and leaving the unconscious Verserien soldier. Teiga left the arena for the encampment. From this day onwards, Teiga will officially be a soldier fighting in the war. Leaving his parents will not be the worst thing he will be experiencing... Chapter 6: Introduction to the battalion Plateaus of Haui, outside of Prosarea, Peacius, 5th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set As Teiga trudged along the dirt path that led to the Verserien encampment. He constantly replayed the memory of the adrenaline-inducing fight between the soldier and himself. Only to continuously feel that the fight was too biased. "How is it possible that an experienced soldier of the Empire of Verserius, a military power, could fall so easily to me?" Teiga mumbled to himself, with his shoulders slowly slouching down to show doubt in his own abilities. Beads of sweat formed steady streams along the young enlistee''s semi-muscular body. Forcing his tunic to stick to his body like a wet towel to a wall. Surrounding the dirt path were crop fields that grew corns, cabbages, wheat and some orchards further out. Undulating green hills lined themselves in the distance. Farmers wearing brown rough woollen shirts were hard at work, starting to plough the ground for this Set''s crops. Some already have wrinkles on their tanned faces. While their beautiful wives began to start preparing lunch for their husbands and children, just like Henestia. Their jovial children with vibrant smiles were running around so light-heartedly while malevolent soldiers ran around the battlefields so intensely. Teiga looked up to the sky to see an azure blue roof with white puffy clouds that drifted around all so peacefully above a chaos-ridden land together with the blindingly bright sun being shy and hiding behind clouds occasionally. He thought to himself, "Why did I make the decision to enlist so fast? I don''t want to end the fulfilling life with my parents so fast. Did I make the wrong choice?". Before the reflecting adolescent could reach a satisfying conclusion to his questions, he spotted a pair of maroon flags with a golden wyvern holding a fireball, fluttering around in the cooling breeze on 2 wooden poles guarding a temporary wooden gate. Right under the poles stood another 2 lightly-armoured Verserien soldiers with the same wyvern forged into their armours but they each had a peculiar magic circle on their cheeks. They slowly shifted their attention to the approaching enlistee and gave a wary stare into his pupils. Their spears lowered and ready to pierce through any form of danger. One of the soldiers dispassionately said, "Teiga Ura, member of the Ura swordsmen clan. Identity confirmed." The other soldier then said, "Teiga Ura, you are hereby required to be part of the 10th Vanguard Platoon. Please proceed to the green tent with the number 9 label on top." Right after the two soulless soldiers finished their sentences, a red tattoo of an "X" and a pike in the middle of the "X" burnt itself onto the back of Teiga''s right palm. "ARRRGHHH" screamed the marked soldier as he nearly fell onto 1 knee, holding his right hand tight. Behind Teiga, the two spears lightly jabbed him. Signalling him to start moving to his new destination. Humiliating stares were given to the blushed Teiga as he dragged himself to his assigned tent. He slowly stroked the back of his right palm, trying to feel the surface of the tattoo but only to realise that it was his skin pigment that has changed. "What the hell..." whispered Teiga. Trying to get his mind off the new addition to his skin, Teiga raised his head and surveyed the encampment and took a deep breath. The whole encampment smells of sweat, metal and dirty clothing. Different coloured tents were rooted to the barren ground, yellow, green, red and many more coloured tents. It was as though there was a festival here with the buffet of colours. The reality was different, however. Right in the middle of the encampment was a rectangular arena cordoned off with rough ropes and different flags that bore different designs. There were flags that bore only swords and shields but some had mythical creatures on it. "Must be the company banners of this battalion." Teiga thought to himself. But what was most interesting was the spar taking place in the arena. Dust rosed, yellowish-orange sparks flew in all directions, sounds of steel swords grinding against each other and armour clanging against one another. Two infantrymen fought each other with a new found passion. 1 soldier dual wielded medium range swords while the other swung a longsword. As one of the soldiers swung down his longsword with such force as an asteroid would. His opponent deftly crossed both of his swords into an X and withstood the longsword. The longsword forced its opponent onto 1 knee and shook the two medium swords. Within a blink of an eye, the supposedly pinned down soldier slid out of his trapped position all while blocking the longsword. With one strong stomp onto the ground, the soldier lifted himself up above the swordsman. He then casually tried to place his beloved partner on the scarred neck of his opponent. In one swift movement of his right hand that also had the same tattoo as Teiga, the losing swordsman held the bulky longsword with his left hand and grabbed the dual-wielder. And with much tenacity, he slammed him into the dirt. The impact of the slam swept up a cloud worth of dust and hindered the audience''s vision. Out of the blue sky, a "black silhouette" of a muscular man the size of Teiga leapt into the dust. Once the dust has settled, the ongoing fight seemed to have been frozen in time. The now vertical dual-wielder was just 10cm away from being humiliated while the swordsman''s shuddering right hand was stopped by just 1 finger of the black silhouette. Both the soldiers started to sweat profusely with a nervous grin slowly revealing themselves on each of their faces. The "black silhouette" was a man wearing a black cape with golden epaulettes and red laces by its sides. On the epaulettes were 5 red stars sewn onto each of them. His black hair was scruffy, while on his face were a pair of eyes that pierced into the souls of the two soldiers.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it "Oh shit, got to go man. I don''t want to stay here." or words to the same effect were said as the audience swiftly dispersed. Teiga was utterly confused at the situation and stood rooted to the ground while Verserien soldiers brushed past him in urgency. Before he could turn heel to follow the rest of the soldiers that fled the arena. The caped man closed his eyes, gave a suspicious smile and held each of the two soldiers in his white-gloved hands. He then threw both soldiers with visible strength in Teiga''s direction. Winds generated by the throw caused the banners to flutter furiously, resembling the emotion of the caped man. The "lifeless bodies" of the soldiers flew past the dumbfounded enlistee. Once they were 20 metres away from the arena, the still-flying "bodies" sprung up with life and started to place their legs onto the ground before fleeing the scene. "So, apparently you are the first of the many enlistees that stepped into my encampment eh?" asked the man wearing the black cape. "W-w-what? I-I-I th-th-oug-ht th-there w-ere p-p-p-eople in-fro-nt o-f m-e-e?" Teiga nervously asked in reply. The man burst out in laughter and said "Uhhheeuuhhhh, I guessed they ran away eh? No need to be so nervous boy. I am just an average battalion general with the name of Tailun Maverus. Head of the Maverus family." "WHAT!" the startled soldier blurted out. "AHAHAHAHAH, DON''T NEED TO BE SO RESERVED WITH ME..." said Tailun as he slowly lowered his volume nearing the end of the sentence. From his hips, he unsheathed two katanas from their lacquered wooden scabbards at the speed of light. As though by instinct, Teiga immediately activated his mana manipulation without saying the chant. The mana manipulator''s eyes glowed blue while the general''s eyes glowed yellow. Tailun threw one of his katana with its hilt facing Teiga. Acknowledging that the Veteran General desires to fight not spar with him, the young soldier grabbed hold of the katana and spread the mana flame across the sword. Slowly both fighters placed their katanas in their individual ready position, scanning their opponents with care. Suddenly, Tailun plunged his katana into the ground. In accordance with the general''s plan, Teiga assumed that he is unguarded and made a mad dash towards the "unguarded" general. Within 2 metres from the general, the dashing swordsman immediately stopped when he realised that the katana that was plunged into the ground was a magic ritual. A magic ritual that will send flames in the direction that the blade is facing. In this case, the blade was facing Teiga. The flames surged towards the unsuspecting soldier in the shape of a roaring lion. In defence, the Ura clan member swung his katana to release the blue mana flames against the burning red flames. When the two flames met, they exploded in a flurry of blue and red with a tint of purple flames. From the middle of the explosion, the general flew towards the now defenceless Teiga and brushed away the flames. Again, another silhouette except for this time it was white, leapt between the two fighters. Effectively stopping it. "Aww man. You just had to step in again eh? Hachi eh?" complained Tailun as he reluctantly sheathed his katana and signalled Teiga to return his. "Veteran General Tailun, I can''t let you be a hypocrite. Now let''s get back to official business." said the white caped man stoically. "We will continue this next time, boy!" screamed Tailun as he gets dragged away by the white caped man with a black ponytail. "What was that..." questioned Teiga inquisitively as he returned to his original goal, to head to the green tent with the label of the number 9. Once he reached the outside of the tent, he looked at the it, trying to confirm whether is it the one he belonged to. After confirming that it is the tent, Teiga pulled apart the entrance only to see another guy changing out of his armour into a tunic. It was an immediate awkward silence, as the changing guy stared at Teiga, vice versa. The guy then returned to changing and said,"Pull back the damn entrance. Can''t you see that I am changing out to this damn tunic?" "Oh right..." replied Teiga as he gently pulled back the entrance. "Wait a minute, were you the one that processed me back at the city hall?" "So what if I was the damn processor. And yes I met you at the damn tent." "Oh no, just surprised at the coincidence..." said Teiga as he tried to get rid of the awkwardness experienced previously but failed miserably. "I''m going out now, take care of this damn tent, will you? And your bed is to the left and back of the tent, there''s an instruction leaflet on it." said the processor as he wore his leather boots and walked out of the tent. Teiga nodded and walked towards his assigned bed and picked up the leaflet. On the leaflet, it wrote: To the enlistee reading this, You are to report the next morning at 6.00am at the arena in the middle of the encampment for a welcome briefing by the Veteran General of this Battalion. You are required to report in light-armour that you can get from the armoury right beside the arena. Do take a shower tonight as you are required to attend a welcome feast in the canteen by the Vanguard company tent section. Anyone who does not attend the briefing or the feast will be met with severe punishment by the Veteran General himself. Additionally, you are given 3 tunics, 1 belt and 3 pairs of trousers for your daily wear. They are stored under your bed. If you were to continue wearing your current garments after today, you will also face severe consequences. Now, you are free to roam around the encampment throughout the day until the feast begins but you must follow these set of rules: 1. Be disciplined at all times. 2. Never ostracize anyone. 3. Never disrespect anyone. 4. Always be attentive to your surroundings. 5. Only spar with other soldiers when authorised. These rules are in place by the protocol of the Imperial Military Council of Verserius, our own battalion''s set of rules will be briefed tomorrow. May you overcome all challenges, The Battalion of Heizen Administrative Council. Upon reading the leaflet, Teiga now feels that he is forever with the Verserien army until the end of the war. Where there is no turning back, only facing the present is allowed. Chapter 7: The Final Feast Heizen''s encampment, Plateaus of Haui, Peacius, 5th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set Teiga walked out of the tent and looked up at the sky to see an orange canvas with flocks of birds flying overhead back to their own nests. "Ahhh, it is almost time for the feast and I have not showered yet." thought Teiga as he hastily went back in to pick up his given garments. Before making a move to the showering area. Reaching the showering area, the scene presented to him was in stark contrast to that of the main camp. Soldiers who had fierce, depressed, scared, stress or anxious faces were all now smiling and laughing while sitting naked in a depression in the ground filled with warm grey herbal water. Other soldiers were just pouring buckets of water over themselves while wearing only loincloths and talking leisurely to their fellow men. It was as though the showering area was a city public bath where people of different standings could break the invincible barriers and communicate with each other. The sight was so familiar that a reminiscent smile appeared on Teiga''s face that had droplets of sweat rolling down his smooth cheeks and forehead. From behind him, a large hand threw itself onto Teiga''s shoulder. By instinct, Teiga tried to reach for his wooden katana that always used to hang beside his hip but grabbed a muscular thigh instead. Realising that the person who had his hand on his shoulders bears no hostility. The young man looked up to see a towering figure with defined muscle curvatures that wrapped around his body. "Heh, are you into men or something?" jokingly asked the towering figure as he began to lean in towards Teiga. "Erh, no. Whenever someone grabs me or surprises me. I have the reflex to unsheathe my sword at that person. By the way, I am Teiga Ura." Teiga replied with an embarrassed face. "Oh well, welcome to the showering area where all the Verserien soldiers and new enlistees can throw away their background. I am Hanco Juin, the person who was thrown by the Veteran General and your platoon mate. Pleased to meet you." "So you''re the person who fought with the dual-wielding guy. Why were you sparring with him anyway?" Teiga asked inquisitively as he unknowingly opened himself to his platoon mate. "Let''s go wash ourselves first with the buckets and relax in the bath before I tell you," suggested Hanco with a slight tint of happiness in his tone. "Oh yeah, remember to put your change of clothes in one of the wooden buckets given over there by the side of the bath." After changing into the loincloth given in the bucket, Teiga walked awkwardly towards his waiting platoon mate. He looked down to avoid any eye contact with other soldiers and noticed that the ground his sandals were stepping on was totally barren which led him to think back on what he saw in the main camp. There were no signs of plant life anywhere. From what he had learnt in his home tutoring sessions, the Plateaus of Haui were supposed to be brimming with life. Now, Teiga''s face turned into one filled with curiosity and suspicion. He shook it off immediately by trying to think that the battalion made it barren to make way for the encampment. But deep in his heart, he knows that that was not the case. "Let''s go then!" said Hanco as he wrapped his hand around Teiga again and guided him to the washing point. That gesture brought the doubtful man back to reality again. Soon, yellowish-orange torch lamps were being lit up as Teiga and Hanco sat in the warm bath with mist rising up continuously into the now violet sky that had a crescent moon hanging lazily from a passing cloud. Immediately after the torch lamps were lit, the sound of a battle horn reverberated through the encampment for 10 seconds and some soldiers in the bath jerked up simultaneously. They proceeded to get out of the bath and change into their tunics and trousers before running towards the canteen. "What''s going on? A drill?" Teiga asked nervously hoping that it wasn''t an enemy attack. "AHAHAHAH. No, my friend. That horn specifically called for those soldiers to prepare for the feast." reassured Hanco. "I see, I see. Now, is it okay to tell me about the spar?" said the young man as he stroked his chest gently to calm himself down. Hanco then proceeded to spew out everything about the spar. With some parts, his face was as red as a tomato while other parts he was just laughing out loud and slamming the water. "So, long story short. That dual-wielding guy called Trius Kevn insulted our vanguard platoon because he is jealous of us?" "In essence, yes," said Hanco with a sigh of relief following the sentence. It was as though he placed down a huge boulder after walking a long distance with it. "Feels good to let out my side of the story. Now we should probably get out of this bath and get ready for the feast. Those soldiers prepare the food fast." Teiga nodded in agreement and got out of the bath in unison with Hanco. Large ripples formed around the overly muscular man and swayed Teiga who only had a medium build. Regaining his stability, the young man waded through the opaque grey bath water and walked promptly towards his bucket and changed into the tunic that had a totally different texture from the ones that he wore at home. The soldiers'' tunic and trousers were brown, rough and thin while Teiga''s usual tunic and trousers were silky smooth with a multitude of colours and thickness. Noticing that the other buckets also had the same garments, he felt more comfortable wearing it knowing that it is the same for others. However, for Hanco, the clothes were binding his giant body and on the verge of ripping apart with just the slightest movement of a muscle. Yet Hanco moved just as he normally did without any sign of discomfort. "Come on, let''s go back to our own tents and meet back in the canteen. It is almost time." insisted Hanco as he made his move first. Teiga followed along in the giant''s shadow and realised that they actually belonged in the same tent when they both stopped together in front of green tent 9. "AHAHAHAH. What a coincidence Teiga! I sleep at the front and right of the tent. Have you met the guy who keeps saying damn?" "Oh yes, I have met that guy. Don''t know if I can get along with him though." "You will. I am sure of it. Then what about the guy who sleeps here." said Hanco as he pointed to the temporary bed at the front and left of the tent. "No... At least not yet." "Heh, you will soon. At the feast." Ending the conversation, both soldiers returned to their temporary beds that were made of feathers and hay wrapped in a thin layer of cloth. They started to pack their own belongings with a small torch in the middle of the tent providing them with only the bare minimum of light. Upon arranging both their own things, they walked back out only to see a never-ending line of despondent, dismal and dispirited new enlistees making their way to the showering area guarded by multiple clones of the gatekeepers that Teiga saw earlier on. Some of the new enlistees were crying for their parents, some only slouched down with their belongings dragging along the ground while some were already struggling to walk. But each of them had a common appearance, a tattoo on the back of their right hand. It would seem that they were beaten into submission before being forced to enter the encampment.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "What the hell..." mumbled Teiga, stupefied by the appearance of once happy and carefree teenagers or once satisfied adults being treated as seen by his eyes. "I supposed that they were rounded up by the golems. They really shouldn''t have ran away," said Hanco, it was as if he knew that Teiga wanted an answer to the scene. "The golems are the things with the magic circles on their cheeks." When Hanco said "things", it struck Teiga that the Verserien army has an army of lifeless soldiers that never betrays, never disobeys and never needs any supplies except a constant flow of mana. These golems could easily replace actual soldiers and win almost every battle. "Does this mean that this army has a lot of golems?" questioned Teiga worriedly. "No, the golems that you see are the total number of them that Verserius have. It is only available to Heizen because of a mage," replied Hanco. "A mage... Who is that mage to be able to create this many golems and sustain it himself? Maybe the barren fields have something to do with the mage? Maybe I can ask him to teach me more spells? Maybe..." thought the young man. Lost in thought, Teiga was not aware that he was being dragged to the canteen by the collar by Hanco. The bustling canteen pulled Teiga''s soul back to the encampment. The canteen was open air with more than 20 long wooden tables and benches made of planks. Verserien soldiers were already beginning to take their seats orderly, sitting down table by table once their own table had been filled. In their sitting positions, each soldier placed their hands on their laps and sat upright. On the tables were dull utensils and nearly broken dishes that laid orderly in front of every hungrily disciplined soldier. At the end of the canteen was a completely different table. It was only big enough to sit 4 people and it had a red cloth covering it, with shiny and clean utensils and dishes on it. Behind that table were flag poles that hung the different company banners. In the canteen, the aroma of freshly cooked delicacies swathed the area. Teiga could faintly hear the rumbling of some soldiers'' stomach as he walked towards an empty table with Hanco, his new found friend. Finally, when the pair found an empty spot in one of the many tables, Hanco stood at attention while Teiga just followed suit, waiting for the table to be filled. When the table has been filled up, every soldier of the table sat down together and in an upright manner. At last, every table except the small one has been filled. Even though it was supposed to be a feast, everyone in the canteen was extremely tensed and no one made a noise. Not even the rumbling of the stomach could be heard anymore. All that Teiga could hear was the sound of the crickets and the flapping of the banners in the gentle wind that occasionally blows through the canteen. The sky was a black canvas that seemingly had small holes punched through it. The crescent moon shone down on the torch lit canteen serenely, anticipating the arrival of Veteran General Tailun Maverus. With a loud and quick blow of the battle horn, everyone stood up again quickly and placed their right hands on their chest. Even the new enlistees who seemed extremely reluctant to come to this encampment also stood up in unison when they saw other soldiers doing it. Suddenly, Teiga hands trembled in fear and some cold sweat broke out on his face as if searching for a better safe haven. A fierce and draconian aura swept through the canteen like a tsunami. Even the muscular Hanco also started to tremble. Accompanying the aura was the sound of boots walking along the line of soldiers towards the small table. It would seem that everyone dared not to look at the source of the sound, even those facing the group of people did not turn their eyes to look at them. The whole canteen was now filled with statues. After a while, the sound of boots died down but the sound of a group of people sitting down could be heard. "At ease! Sit!" shouted an unknown person. The voice was deep and filled with strictness. Hearing the command, every soldier sat down quickly without doubt. Now, with the command of "at ease", every soldier gradually resumed their conversations before coming to the canteen and soon the canteen was filled with noise. Teiga took this chance to look at the mysterious group of people who could silence the whole battalion without saying a word. In his eyes, Teiga saw a side of Tailun that he did not see in the fight, he was laughing so hard that his eyes closed when a cloaked figure beside him whispered to Tailun something. This sight made Tailun seem like he was around 28 Sets old. With one movement of Tailun''s mouth, the cloaked figure pulled back the purple cloak to reveal a feminine face that pleasantly surprised Teiga. Her hair was silver in colour and looks like it was so smooth that water will just slide down with no resistance. Her pupils were brown in colour and filled with warmth, it was almost comparable to Henestia''s eyes. From her appearance, she would appear to be around 25 Sets old. "Psssh, she''s the mage that controls the golems," whispered Hanco to Teiga''s ears. "You don''t want to mess with her." "Wow, I thought that the mage was a male. Didn''t expect the mage to be female." By the side of Tailun, was the same man that stopped the fight between Teiga and the Veteran General. His hair was navy blue and still tied in a ponytail. The calm looking man took a sip of wine from the grail provided and started to ponder about something. On a closer look, the man with the ponytail seemed to be in his early 20s, like the mage. "The man with the ponytail is a visiting Veteran General called Devius Hitoshima from the battalion of Vaex, the sister battalion of Heizen," said Hanco. "Apparently, he has urgent news for Tailun that''s why he is making a visit here by himself. I don''t know about the news though." "Hmmmm..." By the side of Devius, sat a relatively skinny man who seemed to be aged around 30 Sets. He sat down beside him silently as though Tailun was the one helping him to say anything. As skinny as he was, he had eyes that could seemingly kill anyone with a stare. The skinny man scanned the whole canteen looking for any abnormalities but to no avail. Finishing his scan, he closed his eyes and seemingly started to meditate. Again, like an encyclopedia, Hanco introduced the skinny man. Hanco said to Teiga that that man''s name is Yiun, he is in-charge of the battalion''s administration and logistics. "You sure know a lot about them don''t you?" said Teiga jokingly. "No, it is basic knowledge for every soldier here. There''s more that you do not know about them..." replied Hanco with a somewhat sly smile on his face. With a ring of a bell, soldiers that got out of the bath earlier started to serve the delicacies prepared. Every table was filled completely with freshly cooked dishes from different regions of the continent of Pacifia. Whole raw tuna was served at every long table, 5 baked seasoned turkeys for every long table, 4 woks worth of stir-fried noodles with mixed vegetables and soy sauce for every long table, 1 small plate of pickled mixed vegetables and a bowl of pearl rice for every soldier, there was even a kebab grill for every 2 tables with layered pork meat... Whereas for the small table, they also had the same dishes but on a smaller scale. Everyone was drinking beer, wine or any other alcoholic drinks. Alcoholic drinks were distributed so commonly in the canteen now such that it would seem that alcohol is the staple drink for the battalion. "Hey, Hanco. Where''s our last tent mate?" "Oh yes, him. He is sitting right in front of us now," replied Hanco kindly. Teiga then turned his eyes to their front and saw a man roughly the same size as he was. He has brown hair that was spikey and a small mole by the side of his left eye. Noticing that Teiga was observing him, the man promptly introduced himself after swallowing a handful of food. "Nice to meet you Teiga Ura. I am your tent and platoon mate, Baverus Courage," greeted Baverus as he reached out to pat Teiga on the head. "We will be fighting alongside each other soon and between each other sooner." "What?!" said the startled Teiga just as he started to trust Baverus. "Calm down, he is your assigned partner for training," reassured Hanco as he let out a short laughter. The trio then started to laugh together like three idiots who played a prank on someone. Everyone was having the time of their life, some were already drunk and stumbling about. The group of important people were also chatting with each other and laughing. All these make the war seem redundant and non-existent yet the reality was that the first battle was just around the corner. Clashing of swords, shields, and armour will soon replace the clanging of metal cups. Chapter 8: Battle Is Nigh Heizen''s encampment, Plateaus of Haui, Peacius, 5th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set Drunken soldiers with flushed faces were slowly stumbling back to their own tents with some support from their sober tent mates. Some were mumbling inaudible stuff while others were screaming and shouting as if they were cheering for the arrival of their Emperor. Gradually, the canteen was left with the group sitting at the small table and Teiga''s tent mates. The group was still enjoying their meal, Tailun was chomping down of the lavish dinner, Devius was savouring the layered pork meat with his eyes closed, Yiun was just scanning the table for the next thing to eat while the mage was just sipping red wine from a silver grail. "Shouldn''t we go already, guys?" questioned Teiga nervously. "Whaaaa? *HIC* De nait ish sill yung *HIC*" replied Hanco drunkenly while he swayed his head around like it was desperately trying to balance itself on the neck. "Yes, I believe it is time for us to go if Hanco is already drunk," supported Baverus while he deftly attempts to carry the now-sleeping guy who kept saying "damn". "Teiga, go and guide Hanco back to our tent." "Right." Baverus made his move first out of the canteen as if he was trying hard to escape from something while Teiga struggled to get a hold of Hanco and stabilise him. Just when he managed to stabilise the drunken mass of muscles and turned to the exit of the canteen. A deep and sharp gaze shot into the backs of the last two soldiers in the canteen. Hanco was immediately sobered up and pushed the rooted Teiga along out of the canteen, it was as if their roles were switched. As he was being gently pushed out of the canteen, the young soldier subtly turned his head back to find out where did the gaze come from. He only turned his head enough such that the person who shot the gaze will not notice Teiga turning his head and enough for his eyes to look at the culprit using his peripheral vision. The eyes of the curious soldier met with the fully opened eyes of Tailun who usually only have small eyes such that it looks like his eyes were closed the whole time. "Look forward to the next day, Teiga!" shouted Tailun as he lifted up his golden grail to sip some red wine. The young soldier quickly turned back his head and walked briskly out of the canteen with Hanco to avoid another fight with Tailun. The two soldiers sluggishly walked back to their tent. The flames of the torch lamps were flickering with orange cinders jumping out of the lamps. As they walked past tents, they could hear loud snoring, people whispering, praying or just soldiers gambling. Teiga raised his head to look forward and realised that the path from the canteen to his tent leads straight out of the camp. At the end of the path, the black silhouette of distant hills bit into the starry sky. The moon was absent that night, making the environment darker than usual. "Hanco, what is the name of the guy who keeps saying damn?" asked Teiga out of the blue. "His name is Deirus Karvun. Don''t know why he keeps saying damn though. Maybe he has some story behind it?" Again, awkwardness befalls both of them as Hanco tried to stay sober while Teiga was contemplating whether his tent mate needs any form of support while walking. Arriving at their tent salvaged the situation as both of them quickly entered to see both Deirus and Baverus already asleep before going into deep slumber themselves. *** Heizen''s encampment, Plateaus of Haui, Peacius, 5th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set. The deep orange morning sun quietly levitated up beyond the hills with little to no sound of wildlife interrupting the serenity of Haui. Even the usual sound of crickets couldn''t be heard in the night. Everything was as quiet as a burial ground. At the middle of the encampment, a fully armoured soldier climbed up a wooden watchtower with a large battle horn the size of a tent sitting at the top. Along with the horn were neatly arranged hand-held flag poles with different coloured flags. There were fully black, red, blue, green flags... The soldier made a robotic step forward towards the battle horn, took a deep breath and blew into the horn. A sharp and loud sound that lasted for exactly 10 seconds reverberated through the encampment. Next, the soldier took a green flag and unrolled it before placing it into a flag holder by the side of the horn. Soon, soldiers wearing light armour ran out of their tents towards the arena where the watchtower stands. Teiga was among the stampede of soldiers rushing towards the arena, the sound of armours hitting each other was almost as loud as the horn. The once deserted path that Teiga and Hanco took from the canteen back to their tent was now filled with soldiers marching uniformly towards the arena. Soldiers also consistently marched out of their tents to blend into the marching soldiers. It was as though the march had a fixed sequence of soldiers joining the march from their own tents. "Wow, this is amazing..." mumbled Teiga to himself as he marched together with the battalion.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "This is what you can expect to do whenever there''s an assembly. Next time, I won''t be guiding you on what to do like this morning," said Hanco upon hearing what Teiga said. "Right." At the end of the path, the marching battalion split up into their respective companies and started to form up. Teiga just cluelessly followed his tent mates into their positions while he constantly looked around the arena, wondering if he was in the wrong position. His heart beating faster and harder, becoming nervous. At the front of the arena was the watchtower that stood at the height of 20 metres. The clueless young man could not see what or who was at the bottom of the structure as Hanco stood in front of him, the muscular man unintentionally allowed him to see only the upper-half of the watchtower. The fully armoured soldier soon climbed down the watchtower. From Teiga''s view, it seems as though the soldier was climbing down onto Hanco''s broad shoulders. After the soldier disappeared from view for a few seconds, a black-caped man leapt up onto the tower while a cloaked figure and a scrawny man levitated up to the top of the watchtower. Teiga squinted his eyes and attempted to use mana to empower his vision. He realised that the black-caped man was Tailun, the cloaked figure was the female mage and the scrawny man was Yiun. The Veteran General stood up after landing in a squatting position while the two levitating aides just stepped onto the temporary wooden tower. The female mage pulled back her cloak and chanted some muffled magic chants.Finishing the chant, every soldier in the arena perked up. Teiga could hear everything in high definition. Even the flapping of the Verserien flags at the entrance of the encampment could be heard. "Irisia must have cast some sort of enhancement spell on the whole battalion..." thought the intrigued young soldier. "Welcome to the Battalion of Heizen, new enlistees. My name is Tailun Maverus, Veteran General of this battalion. Head of the Maverus family. This woman on my left is Irisia Aureas, the finest mage of Verserius. This man on my right is Yiun, a leading strategist, admin and logistics head of Heizen," said Tailun with the volume of someone speaking directly into Teiga''s ears. "Enlistees, I will keep my opening speech short. Never be afraid of the battlefields. For your homeland needs your courage. If you ever feel like you are in the dark, seek the light in your heart, not others. My instincts are telling me that you all have potential that Heizen needs in order win this war. Nothing in this world can stop us from our goals! Nothing in this world can be the tripping stone for us! For the superiority of Heizen!" With the last sentence, the whole arena broke out in a war cry with Verserien soldiers clenching their right hand and slamming it into the middle of their chest plate. Proudly showing their tattoos to the front. The new enlistees, including Teiga, went along with the soldiers but did it in an unsure manner. With everyone placing their right hands on their chest, Tailun shouted "WU-AH!" and the battalion echoed after him. The whole arena rattled with the motivated shout and the morale of the troops immediately shot up. However, Teiga''s mind was not with the battalion throughout the short speech. He was thinking about becoming Irisia''s apprentice in magic training after hearing that she was the best mage of Verserius. The more he thinks about it, the more Teiga smiled brightly. "Now that I am away from my mother. I have to find someone new to train me in magic. Irisia is the perfect master for me!" thought Teiga optimistically. As if she sensed what Teiga was thinking, Irisia shot him a death stare from the depths of her brown eyes. Giving a clear rejection of his idea. The optimistic smile quickly turned into a nervous smile as a gust of wind blew over the arena. Letting the silver hair of Irisia''s fly around chaotically. The scene was as though Teiga was under complete control of the mage. The superior being looking down on the inferior one. Trying to get his mind off his recently shot-down magic training plans, he turned his envied gaze to Yiun who looks much smarter than he was at the feast. The scrawny man was now wearing a grey robe with a golden belt around his waist. Unlike the plain attire he was wearing last night. A circular framed spectacle now rests in front of his eyes. Quickly noticing that someone was looking at him, Yiun turned his eyes to look at Teiga. The young soldier who wanted to get his mind of the rejection now faces a judgemental stare from the strategist. The skinny man then lifted his right hand up and adjusted his glasses, as if to show off his intellectual level. Meanwhile, Tailun just smiles tactfully as if he planned for the exchange of looks. "Now, for another purpose of this assembly. Our sister battalion of Vaex has informed us that the Empire of Noct is going to launch an attack today on our empire''s ally, the Empire of Alantieus. It is evident that Heizen will soon go into battle as soon as in a few days. The attacking battalion is just 3 days march away from here. I am expecting that we will be mobilised soon to defend Peacius at its border with the Empire of Noct. The Battalion of Vaex will be together with us as we face our first victim, the Battalion of Xenis." informed Tailun with a confident look on his face. The rising sun behind him compliments the situation extremely well. The silhouette of the three was awe-inspiring. Further raising the morale of the soldiers. It would seem as though what Tailun said was true from the soldiers, that this battalion is invincible. "Let''s start the main event for today, shall we? The Vanguard companies will train at the northern outskirt of the camp. The artillery and archer companies will train at the eastern outskirt of the camp. The magician companies will train at the western outskirt of the camp. The cavalry companies will train at the southern outskirt of the camp. Rear Generals, get going now!" ordered Tailun as his two aides took their leave to attend to their respective roles. Irisia will be joining the magician company while Tailun and Yiun will be in the main tent planning for the battalion''s offensive. Hearing the Veteran General''s order clearly, the Rear Generals of each company stomped their right leg simultaneously and signalled their own company to proceed to the training grounds. The arena broke into 4 parts that left for their separate training grounds. From a bird''s eye, it would look as though a cube container filled with water had 1 hole at each compass direction side leaked out water from the holes at a uniform rate. It was extremely satisfying to observe the companies leaving the arena in a synchronised manner. But a question lies unanswered, will a disciplined battalion truly be able to stand against all odds? Or will it fall? Only the first battle can answer the question... Chapter 9: Final Night Hemia (Occupied), Empire of Alantieus, 6th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set Once a bustling small trade city powered by a small fraction of the infinite power source. Is now but an empty shell of its past prosperity. The once towering walls of immovable stone are now crumbling under its own weight. Streets now littered with blood, carnage, rubble and... The grand Mayor''s Mansion with white marble outlook, perfectly tiled rooftop, polished windows and velvet purple curtains. Was now grey in colour, windows shattered, curtains ripped apart and roof with holes. Black smoke billowed from all around the city, the screams of people could still be heard at every corner of the city. Some laid beside the corpse of their loved ones. Some were just staring at the sky as if looking for answers or help in the heavens, only to see an endless blue. Crows were circling about the city''s sky instead of the usual doves. The smell of rotting meat was beginning to diffuse through the once sweet-smelling city. Yet, the cause of this destruction was not to be seen anywhere in the plundered city. *** Luteun Fields, near the border between the Empire of Alantieus and Peacius, 6th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set The sound of metal boots marching on a dirt path formed by continuous movement on the path rang out into the distant Alantien farmers. All the farmers could do was look at the passing battalion in fear of the future and contempt for the foreign military force. The soldiers of Xenis paid no attention to the looks they were getting. Still fully clad in battle armour, they followed tirelessly behind their charismatic Veteran General, Kogher Bajer. The leader rode on a horse that wore silver chainmail on its border with a black mask on its head. Even with such weight on its back, the horse showed no signs of fatigue. Behind the Veteran General were several Rear Generals carrying their own company banners on their backs while they rode on unarmoured horses. Following behind the banner group was a stream of Noctian soldiers marching in sync with each other. The different company marked different companies in the marching contingent. First, were the swift cavalry companies. Second, were the fierce infantry companies. Third, were the precise archer companies. Forth, the artillery and siege companies. Lastly, the ever-ready resource companies. Presently, the Battalion of Xenis was marching to form up with the Empire of Persidius'' battalion of Sesar at the border between Peacius and Empire of Alantieus. The border was a day march away from Heizen''s encampment... *** Heizen''s encampment, Plateaus of Haui, Peacius, 6th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set "OIE, YOU NEW TWATS," shouted a seemingly familiar Verserien soldier, to Teiga''s memories. "GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE AND FORM UP!" "Hey, Teiga. You better get going, man. He is our company''s Rear General," suggested Hanco. "I''ll be training with other soldiers if you need any help." Teiga nodded and proceeded to join the group of new enlistees heading over to the guy shouting. "IF I DON''T SEE A PROPER FORMATION IN FRONT OF ME IN 10 SECONDS. Y''ALL FUCKERS CAN BE THE FIRST TO FIGHT THE ENEMIES!" "10!" All the new enlistees were stunned. "9!" All the new enlistees were starting to process what he just shouted. "8!" All the new enlistees made the realisation that he meant what he said. "7!" All the new enlistees with a panicked look on their faces made a mad dash towards the Rear General. "6!" All the new enlistees started to form up properly in neat rows and columns. "5!" All the new enlistees except for Teiga were in formation. "4!" Teiga realises why the person shouting looked so familiar, the shouting guy was the soldier he sparred with at the enlisting area. "3!" Teiga also realises he was the only one not in formation. "2!" Teiga realises he fucked up. "1!" Teiga made a desperate attempt to get into the formation but fails spectacularly. "I''ve never tried this before but if I want to make it there in a second I have to charge my legs with mana." thought Teiga. Because he was rushing, the young soldier channelled a tad too much mana into his legs and leapt forward and upwards with such force that he landed further away behind the Rear General than he expected to be. "Fuck..." mumbled Teiga as he closed his eyes and attempted to hide his face by looking and bending down. "NICE TRY YOU PIECE OF SHIT! YOU ARE GOING TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO FIGHT THE ENEMY TOMORROW! NOW GET BACK HERE. I AM GOING TO START TRAINING." Teiga quickly jogged back to the formation and joined the ranks. Surprisingly, no enlistees were judging the failed attempt at getting into the formation of the young soldier. All the enlistees had a stern look on their faces when the previous day, all they had were their own belongings and a worried look. How much can be changed with a single short speech by Tailun? "LISTEN UP YOU FRESH MEATS, I AM REAR GENERAL ZECH FRANDIS. AND YOU HEARD IT, WE ARE FIGHTING OUR FIRST BATTLE TOMORROW. WE WILL BE FIGHTING THE BATTALION OF XENIS AND BATTALION OF SESAR. A COALITION BETWEEN THE EMPIRE OF NOCT AND PERSIDIUS. DUE TO THE LACK OF TIME, I''LL ONLY TELL YOU GUYS THE BASICS AND MOST IMPORTANT SKILLS A SOLDIER OF HEIZEN SHOULD ENCOMPASS. FROM THEN ON, YOU GUYS WILL PRACTISE BY YOURSELF." The enlistees didn''t even need to be told to listen up because the Rear General''s voice was already loud to enough to be heard from the opposite training ground of the cavalries. Even the horses were startled and started to run amok before being calmed down by their riders. "NOW, I SHALL TELL YOU THE VITAL PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY AND WHERE TO STRIKE. FIRST, THE NECK IS WHERE WE GO FOR USUALLY BUT THE ENEMIES WE ARE FACING HAVE THEIR''S PROTECTED WELL BY CHAINMAIL AND STEEL PLATES. SO, WE GO FOR THE NEXT TARGET. THE MIDDLE OF THE CHEST, WHERE THE HEART IS. THEIR CHEST PLATE IS THINNER THAN OUR''S. SO IT SHOULD BE EASIER TO PIERCE THROUGH. THESE TWO ARE THE MAIN VITAL PARTS EVERY SOLDIER ON THE CONTINENT OF PACIFIA WILL GO FOR. BE CAREFUL THAT. NEXT, IF YOU FAIL TO STRIKE ANY OF THE TWO VITAL PARTS. YOU GO FOR INCAPACITATIONS. STRIKE THE ENEMIES AT THEIR JOINTS WHERE THEIR ARMOUR IS AT THEIR WEAKEST. WITHOUT THEIR JOINTS, THEY CAN''T MOVE. THE FIRST JOINTS YOU GO FOR SHOULD BE THE ONES IN THEIR ARMS. NEXT, THE ONES AT THEIR LEGS. WITHOUT THEIR ARMS, THEIR LEGS ARE ALMOST USELESS EXCEPT FOR KICKS AND RUNNING. BUT WITH THEIR ARMS, THEY CAN STILL KILL YOU. UNDERSTAND THAT?" The question was redundant cause his fierce face already signalled to the enlistees that they should already understand. "NEXT, AS A SOLDIER OF HEIZEN. YOU NEED TO KNOW THE SIGNALS. BE IT FLAGS, HORNS OR SMOKE. WE DON''T USUALLY USE SMOKE CAUSE IT IS HARD TO SEE SOMETIMES. GREEN FLAGS: IT MEANS TO GET IN BATTLE FORMATION ON THE BATTLEFIELD AS BRIEFED. IF SHOWN IN THE ENCAMPMENT, IT MEANS FORM UP AT THE ARENA. BLACK FLAGS: CHARGE TOWARDS THE TARGETED ENEMY COMPANY AS ASSIGNED, IN FORMATION. RED FLAGS: PREPARE YOURSELF FOR CHARGING ENEMIES. BLUE FLAGS: RETREAT THE FUCK OUT OF THE BATTLEFIELD WHILE THE REAR GUARD COMPANY HOLDS OUT. YELLOW FLAGS: BATTLE IS OVER AND WE WON. WHITE FLAGS: THE WORST AND MOST UNCOMMON FLAG. IT MEANS WE LOST THE BATTLE. YOU TWATS MUST BE WONDERING HOW IS A BATTLE DECLARED OVER." But the enlistees were not wondering about that. They have full confidence in Tailun and his aides. "TO WIN A BATTLE. WE CAN ROUTE THE ENEMY AND DESTROY THEIR MORALE, MAKE THEM RETREAT LIKE PUSSIES. WE CAN KILL OR TAKE THEIR VETERAN GENERAL HOSTAGE, WHICH IS INCREDIBLY HARD. SO WE TRY HARD FOR MAKING THEM RETREAT. NOW, FOR THE HORNS. A SHARP 10 SECONDS HORN: TO GET INTO BATTLE FORMATION. THIS IS USUALLY ACCOMPANIED BY THE GREEN FLAGS. A DEEP 10 SECONDS HORN: CHARGE TOWARDS THE TARGETED ENEMY COMPANY. A SHARP 5 SECONDS HORN: TO GET PREPARED FOR CHARGING ENEMIES. A DEEP 2 SECONDS HORN: GET THE FUCK OUT IMMEDIATELY WHILE REAR GUARDS HOLD OUT. A SHARP 20 SECONDS HORN: WE WON THE BATTLE. A SHARP 2 SECONDS HORN: WE LOST THE BATTLE. ALL IN ALL, THE COLOURED FLAGS ARE USUALLY ACCOMPANIED BY THE BATTLE HORNS CAUSE SOME OF YOU BLIND FUCKS CAN''T SEE FOR SHIT! NOW, THESE ARE THE BASICS. GET TRAINING WITH YOUR PARTNERS!" shouted Zech as he pointed to the Verserien soldiers sparring with each other using wooden swords. Even with all the profanities and insults spat out by Zech, the enlistees remained unwavering. Occasionally, when he was shouting, droplets of saliva flew out of his mouth like a boulder launched from a catapult. With the order given by the spitting Rear General, the enlistees split out from their formation and went to consult their Verserien training partners. "Teiga Ura, over here!" shouted Baverus as he waved his wooden sword in the air like a flag carrier waving his company''s flag proudly in a parade. He was the only one being rowdy on a serious training ground. Trying to stop that embarrassment of a training partner, Teiga dashed to him. "What were you thinking, Baverus?!" questioned Teiga as he forced the barbarian''s hands down. "I thought what Zech said was true and that you guys can''t see for shit. Heh," replied Baverus jokingly as he lowered his wooden sword to his sides. He then took out another wooden sword attached to his back and handed it over to Teiga who was face-palming himself. "Just joking man. Here''s your training sword, a wooden gladius." The young soldier took hold of the sword in a relieved manner and was surprised by how light the sword was. Even though the sword looked thick and heavy, the actual weight was something of the opposite. It felt like a wooden twig instead! Teiga immediately tried some sword movements and manoeuvres to get a feel of fighting with the sword but still felt uncomfortable with it. "You will get used to it when we spar with each other. Don''t worry..." comforted Baverus as he leapt at his unsuspecting partner who was still looking at the gladius. "Boom, you''re dead," whispered the initiator of the spar as he leaned into Teiga''s ear with his wooden sword resting on his prey''s shoulders and aimed at his neck. "What the..." "That''s one for me! You will not survive the first battle at this rate if you are going to be one of the front liners. In fact, many of the enlistees here won''t..." "..." Teiga was speechless at the reality that was presented to him in verbal form and that he lost the spar in a second. "...Let us start over again..." said Teiga as he prepared the gladius like he prepares his katana, readied by the side of his face. It was such an awkward stance with a gladius and the young soldier did not realise it.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "Very well," replied Baverus as he channelled energy to his limbs, readying himself for the next leap. The awkward soldier was on the defensive while the cheerful predator was on the offensive. With one contraction of his limbs, the predator launched himself forward towards his prey with greater force than the first one. The intent to kill was evident with the edge of his gladius heading for in between Teiga''s neck and chest. The sword was ready to switch between the two targets and confirm a kill within a blink of an eye. Before Baverus contracted his limbs, Teiga was already channelling mana into his whole body. Enhancing every physical ability he has. The young soldier rooted himself to the ground while keeping his arms flexible enough to defend against any offensive actions by his training partner. Noticing the contraction of the limbs. The young soldier started to channel mana into his wooden sword. When the predator was just within reach of his prey, the prey swung his mana-charged sword up like a fist doing an upper-cut. Sensing an oncoming sword, the predator quickly swung his sword perpendicular to Teiga''s sword in an attempt to deflect the attack. As the two swords clashed in a fierce burst of blue flames that had a blast radius of 5 metres. The wind generated by the violent clash blew up an enormous amount of dust around them and obscured the vision of the whole training ground. "WOI! WHO THE FUCK CREATED THIS DUST CLOUD?!" screamed a familiar voice. Both of them were immersed in their fight such that they couldn''t hear Zech shouting. Taking advantage of the dust cloud, Baverus quickly stomped his master leg on the ground again to launch himself forward more and make a dash to the left side of Teiga who''s sword was on the right side. The predator changed his forehand grip to a backhand grip of the sword to "slice" his prey''s neck. Unexpectedly, the prey turned his body 180 degrees and the two swords were on collision path again. The scraping sound of wooden swords was loud due to the force directed at each other by the sparring partners. Wooden pieces of their swords fell off as if it was the dwindling health bar of the sword. Baverus landed behind Teiga with each of their backs facing each other. Still using the backhand grip of the sword, the predator stood back up and faced his prey with a satisfied smile. Holding a sword perpendicular to the ground, the young soldier also stood back up and turned to face his opponent with a wide smile on his face. "Very well done, Teiga. But we are hardly near the end of training. Can you endure it?" "You''re asking a stupid question Baverus," replied Teiga wiping off beads of sweat from his face. The spars between Teiga and Baverus ended in draws after draws. A countless number of clashes between them could be heard across the training ground. The dry dirt ground was moist with sweat from the fighters. Throughout the training, the predator skillfully dodged Teiga''s swift strikes through side steps, bending or leaping. While the young soldier absorbed every strike from the predator without flinching as would a shield. Occasionally, every soldier was able to hear Zech screaming about at different soldiers but not at the duo fighting violently. Other Rear Generals were training their respective companies in mass sword drill sessions while the men shouting the timings in unison. While some of Heizen''s infantries were sparring with each other without breaks. Only breaks in their equipment were occurring. The whole training ground was alive with energy pouring out of the soldiers locking swords with each other. It would seem that they were all trying to get pumped up for the battle just a day''s march away from them. *** Hills of Maricu, border between Empire of Alantieus and Peacius, 6th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set While Battalion of Heizen was training. "I shall only say this once, my soldiers of Vaex. Tonight, we sleep well behind this hill. Tomorrow, we fight well in front of this hill on the field," exclaimed Devius as he pointed his unsheathed silver longsword at one of the major hills of Maricu. After stating his expectations, Devius nodded to one of his four aides. "Soldiers, we shall set up temporary camp here for us and Heizen. Hasten the set-up and remember to write down your final words to your families and hand them to the resource company," ordered Seon Courage while holding a paper in his hands that stated the plans for the day. Upon hearing their orders, every soldier quickly tended to their roles: pitching tents, setting up temporary defence mechanisms, constructing temporary armouries and building up a food station. Within 1 hour and the combined efforts of the battalion, we large camp was set up. But it was small enough to be obscured by the major hill in front. "Veteran General Devius, emergency report!" shouted a scout of Vaex as he ran into the main tent and knelt down in front of Devius. "Speak." "Yes. The enemy battalions of Sesar and Xenis have arrived behind the other major hill opposite to ours . They have begun to set up their own camps. A battle can be expected tomorrow." informed the scout as he placed his right hand on his chest to present his loyalty. "Acknowledged. You may take your leave. Inform the soldiers to be prepared for the battle. Especially their last words." ordered Devius as he nodded his head and turned to a map of the Hills of Maricu that had strategic notes scribbled about on it. "Yes, my lord." said the scout as he stood back up and left the tent promptly. Devius then took a glance at the map for a while before walking towards a medium-sized sand table. The table was a representation of the battlefield with carved wooden pieces representing different companies. Both friendly and enemy forces were placed carefully on the table by another one of Devius'' aides. To a pair of normal eyes, the table would look like a playground for children. But in reality, it meant the success or failure of the battalion. "Don''t you guys need to write your final words to your families as well?" questioned Devius as he glanced at each of his 4 aides. "We need no final words, my lord. Actions do speak louder than words," said Seon as he smiled confidently while the other aides just nodded their heads in agreement. "No wonder you guys are my aides," replied Devius who had a relieved look on his face. "Now, let us summarise our plans..." No one knew what the elite five of Vaex were discussing in the main tent but everyone knew that the next day could be their last. As such, the scribbling sound on papers could be heard from every occupied tent in the temporary camp. The sound of prayers and sharpening of swords could also be heard accompanying the scribbling. Even with all these downtrodden sounds, the morale of the Battalion of Vaex remained at its peak. As the sun set lazily to the west of the camp and sky dyed pale orange with tints of violet clouds hanging around. The fully armoured Battalion of Heizen marched proudly towards the temporary camp. The sound of steel armour banging against each other could be heard from the battalion in the tents. The smell of steel was evident from the number of steel armours the soldiers were wearing. The dangling chainmail was creating sprinkling sounds.Curious about the sound and smell, the soldiers of Vaex rushed out of their tents to find answers for their senses. They saw the setting sunlight reflecting off the armours and made the marching battalion seem as though it was a river of lava flowing towards the camp without stopping. "I see that they have arrived..." said Devius with passion burning in his eyes. "Of course we have arrived," shouted Tailun as he leapt from his horse towards the middle of the camp where the main tent stood. Tailun was wearing an armour that had golden steel tiger heads at the shoulders with them brandishing their canines. The body plate was forged into a muscular look with the abs and chest carefully sculpted into the armour. His helmet was a silver lion head with its mouth wide open to show Tailun''s face. Its mane was made of red silk threads precisely stuck into the helmet and led down to the Veteran General''s neck. The joints on the golden steel sleeves had hooks facing down while the joints at the golden leg armour had hooks facing up. Finally, covering the hands were gauntlets in the shape of a flying oriental dragon. "As usual, the captivating armour," said Devius sarcastically. "It is beautiful, you piece of fuck," rebutted Tailun with a frown on his face. "Nevermind that. Let''s get to business," replied Devius trying to deviate from the conversation and guided Tailun to the sand table. In a minute, Irisia and Yiun entered the tent unimpressed as their leader left them to guide the soldiers to their accommodations. "I would really prefer if you didn''t leave us like that, Veteran General Tailun," said Irisia with a fierce look on her face. "Yes, it is really unbecoming of you, Lord Tailun..." supported Yiun as he adjusts his spectacles. "Aheheheh... Nevermind that. We have more important business to handle~" Irisia and Yiun proceeded to the sand table reluctantly when they realised their words were not taken into serious consideration by Tailun. Meanwhile, at the soldiers'' sleeping area. "Wow, this sure is small. Especially with us wearing these armours," said Teiga surprised at the size of the tent that his 3 tent mates and he have to sleep in. The tent was 2 times smaller than their previous one and Hanco himself would take up half of the tent. "This is the life of a soldier, Teiga," said Baverus as he threw his belongings onto the tent floor. "Damn it, have to sleep in this damn type of tent again..." complained Deirus. "Ahahahaha... Sorry in advance guys," apologised Hanco knowing that he is going to take up a lot of the tent space. "It is just one night, we should be able to endure it..." encouraged Teiga who was being unsure about his new sleeping environment after sleeping in a comfortable environment for years. "But the real problem is our final words..." "The three of us have no need for that! Pffft," proudly exclaimed Baverus as he threw his arms across Deirus shoulders but struggled with Hanco''s broad shoulders. "We already said what needs to be said to our loved ones. No turning back." "Maybe I shouldn''t write one as well," the young soldier said feeling a little more inspired by his tent mates. "If I have any last words, I should say it face to face with them instead." "It''s up to you, man. We are just stating our opinions," reaffirmed Hanco as he gave a slightly worried look at his newest tent mate. "It is getting damn late. Let''s just grab something to eat and turn in already," complained Deirus again. Everyone agreed and proceed to the temporary canteen. As the 4 fully armoured soldiers walked leisurely towards the canteen, every tent was lit orange in colour by the candles. Faint shadows of soldiers in the tent could be seen on the tent fabric. Frantic writing together with soft sniffles was common along the path towards the canteen. "What a good way to end the day," said Baverus sarcastically as he smiles at Teiga as if trying to find amusement in Teiga when the young soldier heard the feeling of regret through actions of fellow soldiers. As expected, Teiga had a worried look on his face. "What should I be feeling about tomorrow being my very first battle? What if I die tomorrow?" thought Teiga to himself. He was very obviously stressed. "Hey, my man. Don''t dwell too much on a particular subject. It is bad for you," comforted Hanco while he gave a slightly comforting smile. The supposedly comforting phrase was not of any assistance to Teiga''s current state of mind. "Oi, damn kid. You are dulling the damn mood," Deirus pointed out to Teiga. Realising that he was really ruining the mood further, the young soldier snapped back into reality. Just as he got back to reality, the 4 soldiers reached the canteen. The canteen was surprisingly crowded. A majority being soldiers drinking alcohol to escape from reality. "Let''s just grab 2 meat buns each. We shouldn''t stuff ourselves the night before a battle," suggest Baverus with a serious look on his face. Everyone''s facial expression was changing at the snap of a finger. From laughter to cries. Upon receiving each of their meat buns. The tent mates stood by the side of the canteen to avoid blocking the traffic. And started wolfing down their own buns before waiting for the others to finish. Once their snacks were finished, the 4 soldiers retreated back to their tents. On the way back to the tent, Teiga noticed a large tree sitting atop the major hill and felt comforted by its black silhouette with its leaves swaying back and forth in the gentle breeze. "You guys go ahead back to the tent. I kind of want to spend the night by myself," said Teiga as he continued to gaze at the lonely tree. "Sure, make sure you get sufficient rest then," said Hanco while the other 2 tent mates walked on without realising Teiga was deviating from them. After informing his tent mates that he was going to be alone for the night, Teiga walked calmly towards the tree. Eventually leaving the protection of the camp and began to ascend the hill onward to the tree. The young soldier stood under the tree for a while reflecting on his decisions before sitting down back against the tree trunk. To the young soldier''s left was the camp and to the right was the battlefield and the major hill that his enemies lurk behind. The sky was cloudless, the air was cooling from the constant breeze that blew through the land randomly. Stars twinkled incessantly as if looking for attention from the mortal souls on the ground. The landscape was totally different from that of Haui. The fields were covered with swaying carefree wild grass that reached the knee and random taut boulders strewn over the battlefield. Energetic yellow fireflies danced on the fields while the crickets played their songs. The scene was so ever relaxing to Teiga as he admired the field between the two major hills. In order to achieve maximum comfort, Teiga tried his best to think of his helmet as a pillow and unbuckled his katana in its sheath. Placed it in between his thighs and let it lean against his torso. Gradually, he faded away with the breeze. *** Hills of Maricu, border between Empire of Alantieus and Peacius, 7th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set A repetitive sharp 10 seconds long horn blew throughout the temporary encampment with green flags placed on top of the major hill. Teiga was jolted awake by the horns and woke up to see Tailun and Devius standing in front of him under the tree. His eyes widened to take in what he was seeing. Two Veteran Generals riding proudly on their armoured horses in front of him. Their bodies were fully armoured with black capes fluttering behind them. "You finally awake, boy?" asked Tailun as he looked forward at the opposing forces who were already in tight formation. "YES, MY LORD!" shouted Teiga as he desperately tried to regain composure. Once he regained composure, Teiga looked behind the two Veteran Generals only to see the Battalion of Heizen and Vaex were also in their respective company formations. "Then get the fuck to your company," ordered Devius as he gave Teiga a side stare. "YES, MY LOR-" "Don''t forget that you are one of the front liners!" Tailun butting in with an excited smile. It was with that reminder that Teiga remembered what Zech said the previous day. Upon remembering his position, he dashed back to his company, the tenth vanguard company of Heizen, the Pike. In the tight company formation, an empty position was obvious in the front row. The empty spot was screaming for Teiga to get into formation. In which the young soldier swiftly responded to and got into the formation. "Hey, here you go. Your javelin. Buckle it to your back strap. It is for ranged attacks if we are ordered to throw it," said Baverus in the most relaxed manner he ever expressed. Grabbing hold of the javelin and buckling it to his back, Teiga looked around him and saw similar javelins buckled to each of his company mates who were staring ahead at the Battalion of Sesar and Xenis. "We are in the same platoon but Hanco and Deirus are in another," informed Baverus. "Our platoon is at the very front and one of the 10 platoons that form this current formation. You remember the briefing yesterday, right? The one before we marched off to this camp." "Of course, as if I could forget about that briefing..." The battalions stood steadfast on top of their own hills in silence. There was no breeze blowing through the field. The sky was still violet in colour but orange specks began to appear in the skies as the sun rose up reluctantly. No birds dared to fly across the field except for the messenger eagles deployed by the Rear Generals to communicate with each other. Stars were trying to hide from the hellish scene that was going to be presented in the fields. The moon quickly lowered itself down beyond the western hills. Soon, the slight glimmer of steel armours could be seen by the naked eyes of the soldiers on both sides of the field. No one uttered a single word. The horses kept quiet and focused on the field. The smell of metal was getting stronger with each passing second. The horn blowers were already taking deep breaths. The signalers were readying the coloured flags. The Rear Generals dug their company flags into the soil before mounting their own horses. Metallic scales on the armours of the soldiers were rattling with excitement while the chainmail underneath shook with anxiety. Finally, the first yellow sun rays hit the field. That was when all hell broke loose... Chapter 10: First Blood Unknown room, Ura Mansion, Prosarea, Peacius, 6th Day 1st Phase 1457th Set A day before the battle. "I did not expect this at all! The annexation and my son being conscripted!" shouted Levi Ura with his face burning red. "I still haven''t finished teaching him the Ura blade! Now, my plan has been thwarted!" The clan head stood in a windowless room that had a cobblestone wall and wooden floor. All around him were towering wooden shelves that held on to the countless number of secret documents and information about the empires. Flickering candles sat on top of the shelves in candle holders that provided the minimum amount of light in the room to read. "I am terribly sorry, my lord. I couldn''t escape from the Verserien spies due to my inabilities. Please, let me atone for my mistakes." said Kieurn who still have scars from the torture conducted by the spies previously. "Nevermind, I still have plenty of use for you. Even though we cannot benefit as much as us not being annexed, "said Levi as he lowered his volume and started to go deep into thought. "My lord, are we still allowed to trade information between empires then?" "The trading will no longer be the same. If we have to trade Verserien information with their enemies. We have to do it with utmost secrecy. It will be risky..." replied Levi with slight annoyance in his tone. "We will continue trading enemy information with the Empire of Verserius and Alantieus. We have to play safe first." "Yes, my lord. Shall we resume our mission?" "Yes, with the highest efficiency." *** Hill of Maricu, border between Empire of Alantieus and Peacius, 7th Day 1st Phase 1457th Green flags forced alive the steel armours near me. Each rattling with bloodlust and excitement. Every comrade that I have, move steadily and quickly into their respective positions. That is when I got up from my slumber to join the ranks. As I make my way to my position, I see the cavalries riding in behind the Vanguard Companies with their halberds and sheathed gladius by their right side of their hips. The sophisticated magicians, precise archers and brutal artilleries all stood ready to shower the enemies with a barrage of hostility. Across the field, far away from me. The Battalion of Xenis and Sesar march forward steadily with their cavalries leading the way and the infantries following directly behind. Slowly down the hill that they stood on. When they reach the midpoint of the hill, I notice a small glimmer of light emanating from a soldier in black armour. It is his unsheathed sword. Followed by another soldier in silver armour. It is clear to me that they are the Veteran Generals of the two battalions, for they raised their swords first before their soldiers. All of a sudden, a wave of white sparks sweep across the opposing hill as my enemies raise their swords. My heart starts to beat faster, knowing that it is only a matter of time that I cross swords in a battle to the death with someone that I did not know. As though by instinct, I immediately check the flags for instructions. They are all red. The sharp sound of five seconds horn blasts across the formation. I could feel my helmet vibrating while my scaly armour shook slightly. I sense that the smell of sweat is getting heavier. Almost as heavy as the shield that I unbuckled and slammed into the ground. From behind, the second row of soldiers took out their spears and thrust them into slits between the shields. I feel a sense of security with the bulky shield in front of me and spears greeting the incoming forces. Yet, I held onto the shield with my life, fearing death. With that fear in mind, I feel that my senses were sharpening themselves. Especially my hearing, for I can only see the back of my shield. Starting with the unsheathing of swords at the back of the Vanguards. "That must be the javelin signal from the Rear Generals", I thought. From the back where the Rear Generals rode on their horses, to the front just before the spear bearers. I can hear javelins being unbuckled and the shifting of the legs and arms into the posture for javelin throwing. It was a short-lived silence before whistling noises flew overhead with elongated shadows gliding across the fields. I tilt my head up and saw a flurry of javelins slicing through the air like eagles closing in on their prey. Seeing the sight of flying javelins ignited a burning curiosity of wanting to know what will happen when the javelins come down. I adjust my body to allow my eyes to look above the shield. I can only see the enemy cavalries charging towards me while the javelins strike down whoever was behind them. My heart skips a beat. I realise that I am one of the first to face the cavalries. With that realisation, my feet could feel that the ground was rumbling from the hooves of the charging horses. But the enemy cavalries suddenly split up in the middle and went in opposite directions of each other while dragging their polearms behind to create a thick dust cloud. A wave of temporary relief washed over me, knowing that they changed their objectives to covering their injured infantries. I am able to hear faint screams of pain and desperation from within the dust cloud. It is evident to me that nobody in the enemy infantries was safe from the onslaught of javelins. I shudder from the screams and the thought of me getting struck down by a javelin. Following a sequence, from the two side ends of the Vanguard companies war cries echo around with hooves striking the ground with force. "It is our turn," I thought to myself as I remembered the briefing by Yiun. I turned my head to the side and witnessed the charging friendly cavalries with soldiers leaning forward on their horses and carrying their halberds parallel to the ground. The sight reminded me of horse races except this was a violent cause. At the tip of the charge were heavily armoured Rear Generals of the Cavalries, ready to smash themselves into enemy lines. Slowly the charge became thicker at the back with the light cavalries. With the front being thin and back being thick, I soon understood that they were attempting to pierce through the enemies'' defence. I was gradually becoming anxiously motivated instead of relieved. I wanted to place my hands on the handle of my katana and unsheath it. The urge was nagging at me yet I have to wait patiently behind the shield. I took a peek at the enemy cavalries and saw that they were circling around to counter our charging cavalries. "It is almost time". As stated by Yiun, the two charging cavalries split further into four charging cavalries. With the two outer most deviating to meet the returning enemies. All in order to buy time for the main force. "FINALLY IT IS TIME," I screamed in my heart. I checked the flags again to find confirmation for me to charge. The red flags were changed to black. Deep ten seconds horn reverberates through the Battalions of Heizen and Vaex. I swiftly retract my shield and buckled it to my back while the soldier behind me retracts his spear and attaches it to his back. My blood rushes to every part of my body as I brace myself for a charge. My muscles are becoming increasingly hot.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Without any obstruction, I can finally charge forward. Every Verserien soldiers unsheath their swords, the sound of friction between the scabbard and the blade gives me goosebumps underneath the long sleeve tunic and scaly torso armour. My blood rush grows stronger each moment as my comrades all around gave a loud war cry. Then, everyone made a mad dash for the enemies. All around me, the company flags flutter against the winds. My katana trailing behind me like a loyal servant. In front of me, the dust cloud grew closer towards me. By the side, the main cavalries charge into the dust cloud and the secondary cavalries fought intensely with the enemy cavalries. The enemy cavalries are desperate to get back to their infantries but their efforts were to no avail. As I got closer to the dust cloud, I began to notice faint silhouettes of javelins and enemy soldiers. Some were struggling to move while some stood motionless just like the javelins. Most of them are just lying on the ground. It is then that a strong gust of wind blew away the dust cloud to reveal a gory sight. Javelins skewered some soldiers, pinning them to the ground while they stand motionless. The javelins became their grave markers. Blood spurted out of the entry point of the javelin. There is one distinctive soldier who stood hunched back but with no signs of life. But as I charge closer, I saw something unbelievable. The javelin struck him in the head and went through his body and exited before digging into the dirt. My stomach started to turn about and I forced my eyes away from the scene but I couldn''t. Something was forcing me to take in the sight. I wanted to vomit so badly, but I pushed down the contents forcefully. I did not want to drag down people behind me. Thus, I force myself to look forward at oncoming forces to shift my attention. Enemy flags lie defeated on the ground with pools of blood staining them. As I charge further into enemy lines, I see soldiers stumbling about, some with javelins stuck in them. Some supporting their fellow soldiers. At that moment, we ran even faster. For we know that we need to kill off any enemies to survive. I know that it is the same for the enemies but I couldn''t care less. I readied my katana to slice through anyone in my way. My consciousness faded into the deep ends of my mind while my violent side takes over with strength. I feel that I was no longer myself. I raise my sword and swung it into the neck of a hostile soldier. Beheading him in one slice. I did not want to vomit like just now. Without a head, the neck gushed out an endless amount of blood. The blood threw itself onto my face. The strong smell of blood and the way it trickled down my face woke me up again. I realise how quickly I was becoming indifferent to killing people even though it is my first kill. Now, as I am conscious. I feel like vomiting again. I wasn''t able to hold it in and let it all out. The process of beheading the soldier is carving itself into my mind. The way my sword cut through his neck effortlesslyand the head being flicked off by my sword. While I reflected on my action, an enemy charged at me with his longsword. His sword is shaking yet it is clearly going for my heart. I look up from the sword to see tears rolling down his cheeks. He seems to be of the same age as me. His face tugged at my heart for some reason I couldn''t understand. Right then, Baverus leapt to my side and flung his sword at the oncoming sword. Knocking away the hostile sword. Upon disarming the enemy soldier, he forces his own sword into the poor soldier''s heart before removing his sword and slashing his neck. Baverus'' sword was already red instead of a dull silver colour. I stand rooted to the ground, aware of how many people Baverus has killed that painted his sword red. "WAKE THE FUCK UP, TEIGA. THE ENEMIES AREN''T GOING TO WAIT FOR YOU," shouts Baverus in my face as he turns back to fight more soldiers. The burning urge to fight is suddenly doused by blood spilling across the battleground. What Baverus said hardly made it to my mind. "Why? How can I just kill someone without emotions? I was naive to believe that a battle would be easy..." I drop my katana to the ground and grab my own face. But my hands slid off my face as the beheaded man''s blood lubricated my face. Tears of despair created a stream on my bloodied face. But I was knocked back into reality by huge hands wiping my face clean of blood. I turned my head to see a smiling Hanco. "Don''t worry, I believe you will survive this. Because you are strong. You can get used to it," comforts Hanco. Even though his words sounded so typical, it is really comforting in a desperate situation. Other Verserien soldiers charge on ahead while I try my best to regain composure. "I''ll be here to guard you until you are able to fight again," said Hanco as he raises his longsword to fight off any Sesar or Xenis soldiers. His swings are so powerful that one swing is able to push back numerous charging soldiers. As I stand behind Hanco, his colossal shadow covered me. Providing me with a safe haven, even for a while. I attempt to wipe off any tears that are on my face and pick up my sword. I did not realise that I was shivering with fear. Hanco swung his sword again, creating a strong blast wave that pushes me back a few steps. The wave jolted me back to reality finally but it wasn''t enough to make me be able to fight properly. "I am okay now, Hanco..." I mumbled, trying to regain full composure but the sight of the beheaded man still haunts me. "Very well. Let us go," replies Hanco as he continues to swing his sword to clear a path. Even with the consolation of my burly comrade, the image is something that will stay with me for life. I stumble forward with Hanco guiding me. I notice that he is preventing me from raising my sword by clearing away any incoming soldiers. I immediately feel like a burden to him. Just as I feel incompetent, the sky turns darker with arrows plummeting towards me. "Those arrows are not friendly," whispers an unknown voice inside my mind... Movement of this novel to a new one. After a really long period of hiatus and deliberation, I have decided that this novel has to be revised and re-written as Re: Sanguine War Era. Please do go read that one instead of this one as I''ll no longer be updating this one. The newer novel will have more backstories and developments. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Some insights about the revised novel; more character developments, more explanations, less awkward story progress and hopefully more quality contents. The new novel will be updated once every month to fit my schedule. Thank you for your kind understanding!