《Stranded in a Strange World(Dropped)》


 Chapter 1: The Rearguards Sacrifice

    "Shit!" Varin cursed as an arrow pierced his shoulder.


    Inaris and I quickly stepped in front of him, allowing him a bit of breathing room as we took the brunt of the attack, Inaris shielding Varin from the arrows with his wallshield. I prevented anything from getting close, slashing arrows out of the air and cutting down any savages that dared to get close.


    I shouted, "These fuckers just don''t know when to give up, do they?"


    Inaris grunted, "They''re savages, they don''t know any better."


    I didn''t have time to respond as an irritatingly agile brute continued to dodge my attacks while stabbing at me. Finally, I managed to kill him, splitting his chest open with a horizontal slash. We continued to retreat, the savages picking off more and more of our comrades. The scout division couldn''t respond, we didn''t have long range combat ability and it didn''t help that we were retreating as well. These things were persistent though, managing to kill about two fifths of the five hundred man division that came through here, each one of us hardened veterans of at least five battles.


    But with the constant swarm of arrows that came from every nook and cranny in the forest, we just weren''t able to defend ourselves properly. Of course, for every one of us they killed, we killed three but these things were endless, a neverending tide of humanoids that growled and screeched. Finally, the Gate was in sight though I didn''t dare look, if I looked away now, it would mean death. Varin alerted me that it was there, since he was still recovering from the arrow wound,


    "Hey, Torvus! The Gate is in sight!"


    "Okay! But hell, I don''t know how we are gonna get through without these things securing a hold at the Gate!" I shouted in reply.


    "We''re going to have to stay behind as sacrifices." grunted Inaris, knocking aside five goblins with a bash from his shield.


    None of us were able to speak after, the horde suddenly swelled forth and we were too busy defending ourselves. The Gate began to slowly close but none of us were tempted to dart through, as soldiers of Morsad, we do not hold such useless desires as the need to survive. We will die if it is for our country. So I wasn¡¯t troubled that we would die here, we had allowed our division to escape and report to command and sooner or later, our army would return and conquer this world. That would be more than enough revenge for me.


    But when a club thumped on my armor, I jolted back to reality, cutting down the savage that dared to attack me.


    I shouted, ¡°For the Emperor!¡±


    The echoing shouts of my comrades also followed, ¡°For the Emperor!¡±


    We began to push back, our morale boosted but we only managed a few steps from the Gate, our flagging strength now only enough to stand and attack. We soon backed up to the Gate so that nothing could attack us from behind and continued our doomed stand. Already, Varin had succumbed to exhaustion and sat against the Gate, breathing hard. Inaris was soon to follow, it must have been taxing for him to continually bash these creatures aside with his great shield. He too sat down, placing his shield in front of him and Varin to protect them both.


    I continued to fight, a single strike for a single savage, perhaps two. But soon I too was too exhausted and I fell to my knees, my armor oppressively heavy and my sword might as well have been a tree trunk. But I just drew my dagger, holding it out in front of me. A savage dared to creep up but I stabbed it in the eye, kicking the corpse away. My breathing was ragged, my throat dry and beginning to hurt. I dared to glance to the side and saw the other four just like us, Adaris, Izlir, Aran and Deryl. They too were exhausted, Adaris and Aran were both like Inaris, their shields too big to lift anymore but Deryl and Izlir were similar to me, fatigued and unable to wield our swords.


    The creatures simply stood there, watching us. Then they closed in, me managing to kill a few more before I was just too tired to do anything else. I was too tired to even cuss, the next few moments becoming a blur as I struggled to keep myself awake. But eventually I succumbed, so tired was I that I didn¡¯t even dream.


    Eventually, I awoke, finding myself stripped of my armor and in a cage of wood. My comrades were in separate cages, Izlir and Adaris already awake. They acknowledged my presence with a nod but gestured that if we speak, we would be beaten. I nodded in understanding and remained silent, studying our surroundings. It was what you would expect from a primitive society, mud huts and more of these humanoids that wandered with loincloths. There were children as well, though they were naked.


    Some children stopped in front of the cages, poking at Varin and Inaris who were sleeping while keeping their distance from me as when they poked a stick through, I grabbed it viciously and pulled it out of their grasp. Some adults came with spears, directing them at me but I merely spat the stick away and glared at them. The adults just told the kids not to bother me in a strange guttural language and then returned to their huts, the kids beginning to throw rocks. I merely caught them and placed them in a pile, the kids finally leaving me alone.


    For the next few days, it was bearable, food came three times a day and though of poor quality, wasn¡¯t worse than the army rations so it was alright. Entertainment came in the form of children trying to poke fun at us though they soon learned that we weren¡¯t like their other prisoners. But we were each moved by a group of four, lifting up our cage on poles and leading us to a large cage where a few other prisoners were kept. Some of them looked human and all seemed to be female. We got in without trouble, mostly glad for the open space. Once inside, we grouped together and began to talk about ways to get out, ignoring the spear jabs from the guards as we were able to easily grab and snap them.


    We could get out of the cage now but there was still a horde out there, we couldn¡¯t afford another battle like that. I suppose that we¡¯ll either wait for a chance to arrive or until Varin is healed. All of us were wounded but his was the most serious. But the humanoids were providing us with medicine of sorts, for whatever reason, they want us to be in more or less good shape. The human women tried to speak with us but their language was foreign to us and we spoke in our language to demonstrate that we couldn¡¯t understand them. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    So we were were separate, the women and the men, keeping to our sides of the cage. In order to pass the time, we began to exercise, using the top bars of the cage to do pullups and we did pushups with another sitting on top, having competitions on who could do the most pushups or do the most weight. We constantly pushed ourselves day after day, for a monotonous exercise is even more boring than sitting still. After at least two months, Varin¡¯s shoulder had recovered enough for him to use it and he gingerly began to exercise with it, the rest of us helping him.


    But a few of my comrades, Aran, Deryl and Adaris and were casting glances at the women and the women were glancing back at them. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they would be fucking in the next few days.


    I made no effort to stop them other than saying to my comrades, ¡°Remember our duty as soldiers of Morsad, we must give up our humanity. We are soldiers, to succumb to lust is what humans do, not soldiers.¡±


    They nodded but continued to stare at the women, I just snorted and separated myself from them, Varin, Izlir and Inaris doing the same. We all had a competition of who could hold the pushup position the longest, it being close but I and Izlir tied in the end, Inaris was just too big and Varin still had a recuperating shoulder. We all had good fun, Varin assuring me that he would win once his shoulder fully recuperated. Inaris just rumbled in that laughter of his.


    Night came and we slept, still keeping our watch system though now between the four of us. The other three had succumbed to their desires and began to fuck the women, though the women seemed to want it too. Their moans and the sound of slapping flesh filled the night air, making it quite hard to sleep. Also, it happened to be a full moon that night so we were able to see everything in a silver light, quite ironic, the light of the maiden goddess shines upon an orgy.


    I found this to be hilarious, sharing it with the others who laughed as well. Really, to be amused by such things, I need to kill again. I could tell the others needed it as well, to feel the exhilaration of war, to have the adrenaline pump in your veins, the feeling of your sword cutting through flesh and jarring to a stop at the bones and the warmth of blood, be it yours or the enemy¡¯s. It was addicting, that feeling. It was the one time in one¡¯s life that one feels truly alive. I looked up into the night sky, longing to feel the exhilaration of combat, drifting off. Some time later, I was woken up, it was my turn to keep watch.


    I yawned tiredly and sat up, settling down as comfortably as I could get and looked up at the moon, roughly calculating when two hours would pass. The orgy had ended some time ago and I could hear the satisfied breathing of six people. I just snorted and paid them no more heed, watching the sleeping goblin guards, listening to the sounds of sleeping people and looking at anything that moved. I then saw a body stir on the other side of the cage, it was one of the women. This one hadn¡¯t participated in the orgy and I passed it off as moving in one¡¯s sleep.


    But I was soon aware of a different breathing pattern, someone was awake and it was most likely that woman. But I had no reason to ask why, I didn¡¯t even know how so as long as she didn¡¯t cause trouble, I¡¯ll just leave her alone. I stretched briefly to relieve a cramp and yawned, settling down again and watching. Once two hours passed, I shook Inaris awake and he took up watch with no problem. I settled down once more and went to sleep, my thoughts giving way to the darkness of sleep.


    I woke once more, years of waking up at this exact time has taught my body to do it flawlessly without fail, no matter how tired I was. But I wasn¡¯t tired and upon waking, yawned and stretched. Adaris, Aran and Deryl were waking up drowsily, clutching the women they had slept with. They began to avidly explain the details of their night, us four not interested but listening politely. I just said,


    ¡°Yeah yeah, you had sex. But that still doesn¡¯t compare with the exhilaration of combat, nothing does. That is when you feel truly alive. That is the only meaning of life to a soldier, to risk his life in battle.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to disagree, sex is awesome, you should try it some time.¡± Aran tried to convince me.


    I just shook my head and looked around the camp once more, eyeing the humanoid that held my sword. I stood up to my full height and gripped the bars of the cage, staring at my sword. The need to kill was bubbling ever stronger and I looked away from the sword, taking a few breaths to calm myself down. I sighed and muttered,


    ¡°Who am I kidding?¡±


    So saying, I made a fist and punched the wooden pole, shattering it with ease. I shattered another one and ripping a hole big enough for me, I slipped through, meeting the first savage with a jab to the chin, knocking it out. I took a hold of its spear and quickly stabbed it, facing the the other guards that quickly came. I killed them all with ease and sprinted for the one that had my sword, throwing my spear just before I got there, impaling the creature in the chest. As it gurgled on the ground, I swiftly grabbed my blade and decapitated the thing, facing the other goblins.


    I roared a thunderous battlecry and proceeded to slaughter them, not the exhausted retreating soldier I was before. I had time to recuperate and was in tip top shape, each slash form my sword separating torsos from hips. I laughed out loud as the creatures were slaughtered before me, these things are so weak! It¡¯s only their sheer numbers that make them a force to be reckoned with. I had learned by now not to waste strength, I only used a minimal amount of energy to kill, no longer cutting them in half but slicing off their heads and stabbing their skull and chest.


    By now, my comrades had joined me, though Aran, Adaris and Deryl remained by the cage, protecting the women. I snorted again, these guys were becoming more and more like heroes instead of soldiers. We set about slaughtering them, killing females, children and males alike, none were spared. Pretty soon, all were running away and we explored the empty village, soon finding our armor and gear. I claimed my set, feeling a whole lot safer now because of the familiar weight. We returned to the cage with the other¡¯s sets of armor and gear, handing it over. They seemed like their older selves now that they¡¯ve shed some blood.


    But they were still compassionate as they asked if we could continue to protect the women. I didn¡¯t want to do it but finally caved in, saying,


    ¡°If they slow us down in any way, I¡¯ll kill them myself.¡±


    They nodded and began to help the women out of the cage, gesturing that they follow us and we¡¯ll protect them. We began to walk, the women talking with the three that saved them, apparently teaching them their language. This would be important so all of us joined in on the conversation. The women were slightly apprehensive but soon warmed up, though they still preferred Aran, Adaris and Deryl. But today was productive, we were beginning to learn the language and I didn¡¯t mind it if we had to go a bit slower because of it.


    The women seemed to want to go in a particular direction and since we had no knowledge of the topography, we just trusted their instincts, we should be able to communicate well enough by the time we reach civilization. A few weeks passed and by then, we had a rough understanding of the language which should suffice for all interactions. With our newfound knowledge, we spoke with the women, discovering that they were women captured from various small hamlets and villages, though one was apparently of regal birth.


    She was the one that I noticed awake during the night, perhaps she was lamenting her position. She said that there would be a substantial reward for her return and asked us to escort her, seeing as we were what she called adventurers. Hearing that, I laughed, saying,


    ¡°To compare us, the soldiers of Morsad to adventurers! How hilarious! But no matter, we have been separated from our army but we have not received any orders to refuse you help. We will escort you, do not worry.¡±

 Chapter 2: To Civilization

    She seemed surprised and a bit angry but I didn¡¯t care, she won¡¯t be able to do anything to me, at least while we were in the woods. As the day turned to night, we stopped and me and Varin went hunting, discarding our armor and creeping along noiselessly through the forest. We split up and soon returned an hour later, me with two of what looked to be a rabbit and Varin with a strange bird, almost like a chicken. No matter, as long as it was meat, it was edible. I started a fire and using one of the goblins¡ªthose creatures that captured us¡ªspears, we began to cook the meat after preparing the animals to be cooked.


    We distributed the meat equally and dug in, soon finishing our share. The women appeared to be still hungry so I made a mental note to hunt more, it wouldn¡¯t do to have unsatisfied soldiers¡­ and peasants. Nobles look down on them but they are nothing to laugh at if they band together, Morsad nearly fell a few times because of such revolts. But time and time again, the soldiers of Morsad proved themselves to their country and suppressed the revolutionaries. I remembered slaughtering many of the insurgents, cruel but necessary. Their families were not spared either, that would only allow hatred to fester and to birth an even larger revolt.


    A few more weeks passed and finally, we were out of the forest, grass plains stretching out to the horizon while the ominous shadows of the woods were at our backs. The women seemed glad to have left the woods but I and my comrades were worried, how were we gonna get food now? That was soon solved, there were great herds of these strange creatures that resembled cows with the hair of bears. But with such a large number of them, it would be a pain in the ass to hunt them. We¡¯d have to pick off stragglers or those that wander too far from the rest.


    We continued on our way, Inaris, Aran and Adaris forging on ahead, their large frames flattening the grass so that it would be easier for the rest of us to pass through. I and Izlir were behind them while Deryn and Varin following up behind the women. We continued to march, following the direction of the woman, finally stumbling upon a road on our third day on the plains. The women chattered excitedly, apparently if we followed it, we¡¯d soon stumbleupon a small city and there, we would finally be safe.


    I didn¡¯t think too much of it, it just meant that we would part ways and me and my comrades would be able to find more information about this strange world. By now, we were able to speak quite fluently so language shouldn¡¯t be a problem. If all else fails, we can just say that we are foreigners of a distant country, though we¡¯d have to be vague. I yawned tiredly as we stopped, my belly demanding food. I and Varin went off road, our armor off and keeping low to the ground, hunting the creatures that the women identified as buffalo.


    I kept my sword, its large size ideal against fighting these things, for one thing, I could use the flat of the blade to either block or stun the animal. It would be hard trying to conceal it but I wouldn¡¯t part with it willingly, either it stays with me or I stay with it. But Varin¡¯s spear would be more useful in this situation, to do as little damage as possible to the flesh but still able to kill the creature. I would only be defending him and to help him carry the body back. As we neared the herd, we began to look for easy prey, finally singling out a loner that grazed some ways from the herd. Varin inched closer and closer until he was about twenty feet away from the creature, tensing himself, preemptively aiming so as to not waste time.


    In one swift movement, he stood and threw at the same time, the spear flying through the air and hitting the beast in the side. It lowed in surprise, galloping away. The herd began to flee in the opposite direction but we didn¡¯t care, it was this one that we were after. We began to walk leisurely after it, following the trail of destruction and blood that it left behind it. After an hour, finally, we found it, huffing painfully as it struggled to keep moving.


    I wasted no time and decapitated it, gutting the buffalo and ridding it of its organs. We buried the organs and I sliced it in half with my great sword, the blade cutting through bone and flesh alike. We each took a half and began to head back, positioning it so that the hide of the creature was on our back so that the blood didn¡¯t drip on us. We had no difficulty spotting our comrades, they had started a fire. I was slightly bewildered as to how but upon arriving, it seems that the women used the shit of the buffalo as fuel, the shit being made up of the flammable parts of the plant that the creature couldn¡¯t eat.


    No matter, it meant that we could cook the creature instead of eating it raw. We also saved the hide, though it being split in half was a boon, it allowed for two weakest of the five women to have greater chances of survival. But as it was becoming dark and the herd of buffalo were now long gone, we couldn¡¯t procure anymore hide.


    But it should be alright, the women should be able to survive and if necessary, Aran and the other two who fucked could warm them up. But it should be fine, though if they do fuck, it would also fuck up with the watch rotation. Out here, we would have to be more so on the watch, the light of our fire could be seen for miles, there may be people who don¡¯t have such good will towards us.


    I had watch at midnight so I didn¡¯t waste what time I had to nap, later being woken up by Izlir. As he went to sleep, I began watch, settling down in a comfortable sitting position and not moving, regulating my breathing to match those that slept around me. My ears became sensitive as they always do and I strained to hear anything, careful not to expend all of my focus, needing it to last an hour. Suddenly, I heard a gasp and I swiftly drew my dagger, turning to the source of the noise, slowly relaxing when I saw that it was one of the women.


    She had a panicked look on her face, a look I had seen on many a soldier, especially when the Twentieth Scout Division encountered a dragon. I knew what to do but was unsure if I should do so but her gasping was fucking with my concentration so I made my way to her, grabbing her by the shoulders, staring into her eyes. I just stared into her eyes, her panicked eyes calming down as they focused on mine.


    Once she was calm, I stood and returned to my watch, saying, ¡°Go to sleep. We march in the morning.¡± She followed my advice and was soon asleep, her breathing slowing gradually until it blended with the breathing of the others. I remained on watch till the hour was up, waking Varin to take over, dozing off as Varin remained vigilant.


    I did not wake till early in the morning, my comrades waking up in sync. I breakfasted on what meat was left over, leaving enough for the women. Once the sun peaked its head above the horizon, we woke the women, giving them the rest of the meat to eat. Once they finished, we packed up what was left and continued on our way, keeping a slow pace so that the women could keep up.


    When the sun was high in the sky, I was warned by Varin who was bringing up the back that a caravan was approaching. After a quick discussion, it was decided that we would ask them to lend us a ride, it was for the women. So we waited by the side of the road until the caravan pulled to a stop near us. The women asked for a ride, saying that we were their escorts for the time being but were in need of faster modes of travel.


    With more leisure time, we had the women teach us the letters of the language, the noblewoman being the only one of real help as she was the only one with sufficient education. The other women were taught as well, though we had a better grasp as we already knew the letters of our language. But it still took three months of learning, all through which we continued to travel, most of the women having been dropped off in nearby churches, only the noblewoman stayed with us.


    Then one day, as she was teaching us some more words, the carriage rumbled to a stop and I heard the screams of men and horses, an attack. I leapt onto the ground from the carriage, drawing my sword and ran toward the source of the noise, appointing Izlir to guard the woman. He wasn¡¯t too happy about it but his two short swords would be better for combat in the wagon. I and the rest of us got into formation and marched toward the battle, Aran with Deryl and Inaris with Varin. Adaris and I weren¡¯t partners so we couldn¡¯t fight with each other so I just said that he should do what he thought best.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    He grunted and went to work, his axe making short work of the enemies before him. I got to work, cutting down enemies with a single strike. They were not skilled, merely bandits, men who were down on their luck so tried their hand in thievery. But they did not run after a few were dead, either they were desperate or fearful of something more dangerous than us. It soon proved to be the latter as a booming voice shouted,


    ¡°Pathetic! Have you not killed the merchants yet!?¡±


    A woman stepped out onto the battlefield, a strange sight for me and my comrades, women were useless in battle, their weak strength and the fact that enemy soldiers tend to be a lot more harsh towards them meaning that if they were on the battlefield, their nation was desperate indeed. But this one, I sensed that her strength was on par with that of the harem guards, women trained from an early age to protect the king¡¯s harem.


    They are far more skilled than most soldiers and I have yet to fight one, though Adaris fought one in order to win the right to fuck her. He was almost castrated as a result. It was amusing to the rest of us but that made us think of their strength. Adaris was no normal warrior. We were all once part of anti-magic units, that was why we were part of the rearguard. Our bodies were magically enhanced to defeat mages, our equipment made to repel magic like wax does water.


    We were faster than the normal soldier and our stamina was infinitely greater, by all rights, Adaris should have won but he failed. I got the same sort of vibe from this woman, that she was far stronger than she looked. I decided to take no chances and told the others that I would fight her. Out of all of us, I was the most experienced when it came to killing mages, partly because of my strength, speed and uncanny adaptability.


    I walked toward her, slashing aside any who dared to step up to me. Quite soon, I was ten feet away from her, a trail of corpses in my wake. I hefted my blade on my shoulder, saying,


    ¡°I suppose it would be too much to ask for you to leave.¡±


    She chuckled, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m already so close to taking the caravan, why stop now?¡±


    ¡°Good point.¡± I say as I charged.


    The woman blocked my blade with swords of her own, sabers which were held out in an x so that they caught my blade. Still maintaining pressure on her swords, I stabbed forward with the dagger I had, the woman slipping away gracefully and my sword biting deep into the ground. Instantly, she attacked and I parried with my dagger, using both pommel and blade to block. As I blocked, I raised my sword once more and began my assault, using its broader surface to block while I continued to push closer with my dagger.


    She grinned, ¡°Not bad, how much did they hire you for?¡±


    I replied, ¡°I¡¯m just traveling with them, but if you are inviting me, I¡¯ll have to refuse.¡±


    She pretended to lament, ¡°Oh why is it the good men always refuse?¡±


    I didn¡¯t reply, only attacking faster. My dagger quickly flicked out, a barrage of jabs which she masterfully blocked. After doing this for a minute, I quickly sheathed the dagger and gripped my sword two-handed, swinging with all the speed I could muster, the woman dodging the strikes or deflecting them with her blade. But soon enough, one of her blades broke, unable to withstand the constant barrage of my attacks.


    I gave her no reprieve, continuing to slash away as my comrades kept any enemies away from us. I then began to duel-wield, taking out my dagger once more and did many combos with jabs and slashes, stabbing quickly with the dagger and slashing away with the sword. She managed quite well with only a single blade and I also threw in kicks and often tried to ram her with my shoulder but she was too elusive.


    But she was able to get in a few knicks here, though they didn¡¯t pierce my armor, though more of her powerful strikes may leave some good bruises. She managed to knick my cheek as well but in return, I used the flat of my blade to bat her aside, my attack managing to catch her though most of the energy was absorbed by her blade. We continued this dangerous dance of ours, neither of us gaining the upper hand and it soon became clear that it would be a battle of attrition.


    But if this was a battle of attrition, then I would win, my stamina would be far greater than hers and I could probably keep up this fight all day if necessary. Finally, she retreated, breathing hard. I was about to chase her when I noticed the crossbow men who were aimed at me, prepared to fire. WIth my attention away from her, it allowed her to take a moment¡¯s respite and have her remaining men surround her. She grinned,


    ¡°It was a fun dance while it lasted, but I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to die now.¡±


    She made a fist with her right hand and the crossbows twanged as a dozen quarrels made their way toward me. I simply used the flat of my blade to get as much surface area as possible and batted them away, missing a few but my dagger took care of them. While they reloaded, I charged, slashing once to get rid of the men guarding them and another slash to kill them, cutting through all of them as I used more strength than usual.


    She still had a grin on her face as she looked at me, asking, ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to join me?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°I already serve my emperor, I will not betray him.¡±


    She shrugged, ¡°Very well, then goodbye. You¡¯ve won this round but I¡¯ll be back.¡±


    They retreated off into the distance and I watched them go, waiting until they were out of sight before returning my attention to our dead and wounded. There were five wounded and three dead of ours, there were thirteen dead bandits and five more soon to join them. The other wounded were taken by the bandits. We gave the five a proper burial and dragged the corpses of the bandits far off road so that the smell wouldn¡¯t disturb future travelers.


    We then continued on our way, people looking at me and my comrades with awe, respect, and a slight amount of fear. I liked that they feared us, it would make them less likely to try and kill us though the opposite was just as likely. But, no matter, if they turn on us they will be killed, if they don¡¯t then I¡¯ll leave them alone.


    After that, there were no more major incidents, there were some large creatures called ogres that attacked but I and my comrades easily dealt with them. Then, after three months traveling with the caravan, we finally arrived at Carthen, the city which the noblewoman¡¯s family was located. We parted ways from the caravan there and said our goodbyes to the other women, escorting the noblewoman to her clan¡¯s mansion, our armor attracting many curious glances.


    Finally, we stood before the gates to her home and we had slight trouble trying to get through, the guards were adamant of blocking our passage. But after the noblewoman introduced herself and showed them a silver and sapphire rosary, things changed.


    ¡°Ah, Lady Atherton! Forgive us!¡±


    They quickly let us in and we escorted her to the front door, where she knocked and waited. Soon, an old maid opened the door, her eyes suspicious when seeing me and my comrades but turning to shock and relief once her eyes settled upon the noblewoman.


    She gasped, ¡°Esmeralda!¡±


    Turning from us, she called back in the house, ¡°The young Lady has returned! Master!¡±


    She shuffled back into the house, leaving us standing there awkwardly for a few more moments until the master of the house appeared, ignoring us and hugging his daughter. He withdrew after a few moments and began to question his daughter about her time in her disappearance, rage appearing on his face as he heard the injustices that were piled upon her. But upon mentioning that we were her saviors, he turned a kind eye to us and bowed deeply,


    ¡°You have my greatest thanks for saving my daughter. There is a reward for bringing her back, I will get a servant to fetch it immediately.¡±


    I bowed my head slightly, ¡°Please do.¡±


    He seemed surprised at my thick accent and I explained, ¡°Me and my comrades are¡­ foreigners I think is how you say it.¡±


    He seemed to muse on what we said, finally saying, ¡°Well, foreigners or not, you saved my daughter and that¡¯s all that matters. Please, come in. It would be rude of me not to serve you some food after what you have done for my family.¡±

 Chapter 3: Becoming an Adventurer

    He then sniffed and with an embarrassed face said, ¡°Ah, the food will take awhile to prepare. Why don¡¯t you wash up? I¡¯ll replace your clothes with some clean ones.¡±


    I bowed my head, ¡°Of course, we understand. Besides, it¡¯s not like we like the smell of sweat either.¡±


    He smiled and he had a servant lead us to the baths, where we freed ourselves from our armor and stripped off our clothes. Doing so revealed the many scars that covered our bodies, a testament to the countless battles we survived and won in the name of our country. Mine were more numerous than the others, I had outlived several battalions, each one of them on the frontlines and did not know the meaning of retreat.


    I too did not know the meaning of retreat and yet I alone survived. I survived because I knew better than to save those that were doomed, to become attached to someone and to risk your life for them. That was useless, you must only risk your life for your country, for the singular purpose of a soldier is to fight and die for his country, nothing more, nothing less.


    I left the clothing room and headed toward the waiting bath, not hesitating to let the hot water envelop me. I breathed a sigh of relief, it has been long since I could relax, though my dagger and sword were within reach. My comrades joining me, silent but all enjoying the bliss of the hot bath. Once I was clean, I got out, my hair washed and my body refreshed.


    When I went to redress, I found my armor neatly stacked and a pile of clean folded clothes that awaited me. I pulled them on and donned my armor once more, sheathing my dagger and sword. I briefly checked the armor for the crystal chest piece, really the most important thing of the entire armor for it was what allowed for the armor to regenerate if you fed it some iron.


    Of course, I didn¡¯t know how it worked, only that this armor was the result of the great technology that Morsad either researched itself or took from the nations it conquered. The same was with my blades and that of my comrades¡¯, as long as there was good steel or iron around, we could keep our armor as good as it was the day it came off the forge. It was slightly worn but not in dire need of repair. I could go on a few more months of rough fighting.


    I waited for the others to finish their bath, a servant soon appearing to guide us to the dining room. We followed the maid a short distance through a few hallways, entering the dining hall that had an obviously long table. It was laden with opulent foods, the simplest being three cooked birds covered in an unknown honey-colored sauce that glistened invitingly.


    The smell was also quite enticing, simply a mixture of smells that got my mouth salivating and my stomach grumble impatiently. Hmph, it seems my stomach needs more training but as of now, I had no reason to refuse such foods. I¡¯ll have to take it slow, it wouldn¡¯t do to be killed while drunk.


    The master invited us to sit and we did so, taking off our helmets, doing so to be polite. We set them on the ground and bowed our heads to the master. He invited us to eat, saying,


    ¡°Please, eat.¡±


    I did so first, not because I was hungry but because I was the only one in the group with a full poison immunity, I checked to see if it was poison. Luckily, it seemed like there was not and at my nod, the others dug in, though slowing down so as to be respectful to our host. I ate as well, stopping once I was full, though all of us combined cleared at least three fourths of the food on the table. When the master asked if we wanted seconds, we shook our heads, me saying,


    ¡°It is not wise to overfill on stomachs in the army, it just leads to unnecessary discomfort.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°I understand.¡±


    I stood, as well as my comrades, ¡°We thank you for your hospitality but it is time for us to go. By the way, do you know of any good jobs for men like us? We are in need of money in this country of yours.¡±


    He mused, ¡°Well, you could try becoming adventurers, guilds are in constant need of new men and the jobs requested of them are often in need of those who know how to fight. I could help you get in one but I cannot help you further.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I understand, but if you can do what you have said, it will be more than enough.¡±


    He then had a servant bring up an envelope, a paper, pen and ink. He then wrote a letter, sealing it with wax and his ring, handing it to us. He then dispatched a servant to lead us to the guild he mentioned, the Hallowfall. We promptly left, the servant guiding us to the guild with no problems. I turned the letter over and waited for the guild master to appear, soon greeted with the sight of a scarred man who wore haphazard armor which on closer inspection was far more useful than it appeared.


    Flanking him were two adventurers, one in a similar getup and the other in full silver armor. The guildmaster inspected us, finally saying,


    ¡°What are you, soldiers?¡±


    I nod, ¡°Yes, we were part of an expeditionary unit of the empire of Morsad, a place very far away. For the longest time, we thought that Morsad was the only place of civilization but new discoveries prompted the Emperor to order expeditions. Unfortunately, my unit was attacked by goblins and me and my comrades were part of the rearguard. We are now stranded here and are in need of a job, at least until we can find a way to return.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Very well, but we don¡¯t just accept anyone, we are going to have to test you.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Of course, what is our test?¡±


    ¡°To fight against me.¡± He grinned, hefting a battleaxe that I just now noticed.


    This man was skilled, not just anyone could slip an axe through my senses. I grinned at the challenge and stood to accept it, drawing my blade. I raised it one handed and held the point diagonal, its point toward the ground. I kept my left hand on my dagger, the man noticing it. I then took a step forward, keeping a slow, rhythmic pace, the grin fading, replaced by an impassive face.


    He mirrored my movements, walking forward until we were but inches from each other. I stared up into his eyes and they stared down at me, each trying to find a moment of weakness to exploit. Then in a sudden flash of movement, there was a clash of steel, a cloud of dust and the sound of ringing metal filling the air. We were now ten feet apart, standing still until the dust settled. The moment when the last dust mote fell upon the ground, I struck, swinging my sword one handed, spinning to add to momentum. He blocked each with hardly any trouble, beginning his counterattack once my momentum had gone.


    I went on the defensive, outlasting his momentum and returning with great fervor, wanting to see how far I could push him. I then gripped my sword two-handed and slashed away with even greater fervor, the sword moving at twice the speed from before. It began to get faster and faster and I poured more strength into my arms and wrist, analyzing every movement of his and configuring my attack to counter it.


    But my momentum soon faded and I had to block a cleaving strike, using this chance while he gripped his axe with two hands to reach for my dagger and stab fiercely. He dropped his axe and leapt away, drawing two long daggers and continued the battle, my dagger clashing against his and his blades blocking my sword.


    Eventually, I did a downward slash, cleaving toward his head. He blocked it with both of his swords and in an instant, my dagger was at his throat. He grinned,


    ¡°Not bad, though I feel things would have been far different on the battlefield.¡±


    I grinned, ¡°Not really, on the battlefield, I could kick your balls, gouge out your eyes and do anything that would make me win. I¡¯m a soldier, not a hero and a soldier must do anything necessary to win.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    He matched my grin, ¡°I like you, I think you and me are gonna be great pals.¡±


    I bowed my head, ¡°I hope so as well.¡±


    He tested the rest of my comrades, each of them fighting the guildmaster to a draw. We were all accepted in the guild, becoming bronze level adventurers. We immediately went to accept a quest, as we were in need of money for better food, luxurious items and a place to stay while we still had food to fuel our bodies.


    It was rather easy, we just had to hunt down twenty goblins and bring back something to prove that we killed them. We went out to hunt, each of us deciding to kill three, me doing four. We brought back their ears as proof we killed them, gathering their poor equipment as well.


    It only took a day and we returned with their ears, the guild master grinning wildly. He seemed to accept money from another guild member, it seems that we were the source of a bet. It doesn¡¯t matter as long as it doesn¡¯t concern us directly. We got some money, a single gold coin, I recognized it as such as I questioned the noblewoman intensely on this subject while we escorted her.


    Bronze coins are the lowest form of currency, silver being next and gold being highest. Similarly, Bronze is the lowest rank for adventurers, Silver is intermediate, and Gold is highly skilled. There are further levels, such as Emerald, Diamond, Obsidian, and Adamantite¡ª-in that order.


    We continued to go on quests, hunting on the go and taking turns sleeping. We continued to do quests until we had fourteen gold coins. With two gold coins each, we chose what to buy, though I didn¡¯t buy, choosing to hunt and sleep in the great outdoors. Similarly, my comrades didn¡¯t really spend much, sleeping in the outdoors with me but using the money to eat cooked food and delectable snacks.


    We were promoted to Gold very quickly, as we soon proved our skill by taking down tougher and tougher monsters. We stayed at that level, there was a reason why it was known as Gold. It was the perfect level of adventurer for someone who just needed money, all the quests available were at least the price of five gold or above. We gained a lot of gold, now able to afford a few rooms for us to live in with comfort.


    We were able to eat more luxurious foods but I only did it after a big quest, hunting most of the time. The others spent a bit more money on their own pleasures, becoming dangerously more human as the days went by. But they were still merciless on the battlefield so I had no complaints, though I did warn them not to go too far, otherwise they would be charged with mutiny and I would have to kill them.


    I began to spend more and more time in the outdoors, forgetting about my room and completely forgoing the pleasures of civilization, though I still hoarded my gold. I still needed it to buy high quality metals in which to repair my armor with. Those cost quite a lot so I never was in danger of overflowing on gold. I began to go out alone more often, soloing quests that were easy and keeping the gold for myself as I did all the work. I still did large quests with the others, having them split it between themselves as I already had enough gold from my solos.


    They accepted this with no problems, though Inaris began to join my on my solo quests, turning it into duos. I didn¡¯t mind, I just knew that I could count on Inaris. Some time later, there was some trouble in North Shire, a region that was obviously north of here and the Hallowfall Guild was requested to help. The trouble appeared to be an increase of monsters that overwhelmed the stationed garrison and there was word of S-class monsters appearing in the area. As we were one of the few group adventurers, we were called up and with no reason to refuse, we accepted.


    But I had one condition and I was not afraid to bring this up with the guildmaster, saying, ¡°Sir, I and my comrades will participate if we fight under our own command. Primarily I will be leading. I have never served under any other than the Emperor and I do not intend to, because of his current absence, I will fight for you but on my own terms.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Very well, besides I think I trust you soldiers to be better at battle than I am.¡±


    I nodded and turned to my comrades, who all looked up to me. It was all agreed upon that I would be leader, seeing as I was the one who survived the most battles. Besides, it was about time that order was returned, my men were becoming too human. I barked,


    ¡°Well, you heard me, you all are under my command! No more vacation! We are soldiers of Morsad and though we are stranded, we must be ready to return at a moment¡¯s notice!¡±


    They all nodded grimly, play time was over. I began an intense training regimen while the guildmaster continued with his preparations, participating in them myself, pushing them to their limit as well as my own. We completely stopped with quests, me often dueling all of them at once and more often than not I won against them.


    We fought without armor and weapons, just good old hand-to-hand combat, leaving a few broken bones and sizeable bruises. Our magically-modified bodies would be able to heal our broken bones in a week but since we didn¡¯t have enough time, we used some of our money on medical care, having them healed in an instant and once more, we were training.


    We moved on to fighting with our armor on on the second half of the day, the sound of metal fiercely clanging against metal filling the air. But for all the effort that we poured forth, not a sound emerged from our lips. The Morsadian Empire¡¯s soldiers were very formidable because they were like an army unlike any other. Instead of intimidating the enemy with roars, we intimidated them with silence, charging without warning and killing in silence.


    The only sounds that would fill the air was the sound of clashing metal and the screams of dying enemies, never our own men. The generals never spoke either, communicating to squad commanders with telepathic crystals while the squads had no need to speak to one another to understand how to work together. I possessed such a crystal but it only works if the recipient also had one. I checked it regularly, the Morsadian Army may go through the gate and the General will issue an order to all squad commanders, meaning me as well.


    Five days passed with intense training and finally, we were ready to march to North Shire. We didn¡¯t stop training though, I insisted we keep on our practise bouts. Finally, on our third day on the road, I stopped the training, instead setting up watches and assigning duos to go out hunting.


    The guildmaster commented on my work, ¡°I see you are quite capable as a commander, I was right to place my trust in you.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°They are soldiers, they know how to follow orders. I am their commander, I know how to give orders.¡±


    He said, ¡°I notice that you don¡¯t have a partner, why?¡±


    I replied, ¡°I have outlived three units, each and everyone I had a partner who would only fail me in the end. So I decided to dispense with it, partners are in my experience useless and it is redundant to continue to try when it would just fail anyways.¡±


    He said, ¡°You haven¡¯t found the right one.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°If you are suggesting an intimate relationship, I¡¯ll have to stop you there. A soldier must not have any weaknesses that could be used to turn him against his country such as family. If a soldier has no relationships, such as a wife and children, he cannot be blackmailed. One¡¯s parents do not count, one must give up the ideals of family once one joins the army.¡±


    He was silent, looking up into the darkening sky.


    He then shrugged and said, ¡°I was like you once kiddo, then I met the love of my life. Don¡¯t give up so early.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°That is because of your humanity, a soldier¡ªat least a soldier of Morsad¡ªmust give up his humanity.¡±


    He shrugged and walked off while I returned to keeping watch, Inaris coming up, saying, ¡°Torvus, me and Varin have returned from hunting, we both brought back a deer each.¡±


    I nodded and jerked my thumb toward the pile of logs, ¡°Take it there, the fire was going to start anyways.¡±


    They nodded and headed toward the fire while I didn¡¯t move from my position, peering into the dark shadows of the forest. I was increasingly more and more on guard as we neared the Northern Shire, the influx of monsters will surely flow here. Sure enough, during this night, there were a few instances but I took care of them with my squad, killing them in utter silence.


    It was mostly small fry, goblins and the like though there were a few trolls and ogres. These were killed without trouble, the ogres died with a simple decapitation and though the trolls could survive their head being cut off, as it seems they can still control their body with it detached, they couldn¡¯t survive their body being cut in half vertically. For a brief moment, I allowed a slightest bit of pride to fill my mind, we had taken care of the incidents without the camp waking up. But just as I let it fill my mind, I quashed it immediately.


    It would do no good for it to stay in my mind. Hmm, most distressing, I am becoming more and more humans. I will have to cleanse myself in battle, I need to face the exhilaration of a battle to the death. I was then relieved by Izlir so I turned in, closing my eyes and entering the oblivion of sleep. I woke up just as the sun¡¯s golden glow was beginning to color the darkness of the night, my comrades doing the same.


    We began to clean ourselves from the monster blood, the dried brown stuff looking very disgusting. We all took off our armor and began to wash them with water, the camp waking up around us. They were rather surprised to see the corpses of dead trolls, ogres and goblins, shocked even. I just said,


    ¡°We didn¡¯t want to disturb your sleep so we killed them as quietly as we could.¡±


    The guildmaster was equally shocked but got over it quicker than most, his raucous laughter filling the air,


    ¡°Ha ha ha! Killed them as quiet as possible! Man, you guys are hilarious!¡±


    He calmed down a short while later, saying, ¡°Keep up the good work and I appreciate your concern of our need of sleep.¡±


    He said this with a very serious face, though some adventurers were smirking in the background. I ignored them, as long as they didn¡¯t confront me on anything, I would not confront them either. This continued for three more days until we finally arrived. We didn¡¯t rush into action as expected, instead resting for the day as to go now would only waste precious daylight.


    The village gladly accepted us, the villagers gladly accepting our large force. I looked over the village and saw signs of attack, clawed doorways, broken fences and stains of brown blood everywhere. The villagers, mainly the men seemed to be wounded, though there seemed to be women who were wounded as well. In the windows of houses, I saw the eyes of children, shining brilliantly as they watched us.


    Most lingered on me and my comrades as we were the ones with any proper armor on, not whatever these adventurers slapped together. The children soon grew brave enough to venture out, heading toward me and my comrades. I ignored them, allowing them to curiously tap my armor but forcibly grabbed them if they tried to touch my sword or tried to climb me.


    I decided to keep watch first, anything to get the children off of me and my men were of like mind. We kept watch, taking one hour turns as usual. The children had gone to sleep earlier, which was good, it meant no longer wasting time dealing with them. Once more, there were monsters that prowled in the night but after I killed a few, they stopped coming. It seems that they finally noticed that there was something at the village that didn¡¯t make it worth to raid anymore so they stayed away.


    The watch was still held, just in case the monsters grew brave or were stronger than the average small fry. Sure enough, some stronger monsters came but they were all defeated. Of course as quietly as possible, the guildmaster approved of our work and we had no intention of slacking.


    Morning came with the sight and smell of dead monsters. Of course, it was in the surroundings of the village but nonetheless, it was quickly noticed. The guildmaster once more applauded our work and set about setting up squads, leaving me and my squad as is. We prepared to march out but before we did that, the village made us breakfast, saying that a feast would be in order once our job was complete. They had complete faith in us after seeing how me and my squad took care of the monsters.


    We ate quickly and were once more prepared to march. I and my squad headed out first, first telling the guildmaster so that he was aware. We then headed out, cutting down monsters with no remorse and heading for the nest.

 Chapter 4: Finally, I can Kill Again

    It had been a few hours since we charged for the nest, these monsters were really spread out. I had long since ordered my men to split into duos and fan out, me by myself. I would be able to manage just fine, it¡¯s not like there was an army of dragons that I had to fight. I had to once though and that was the one time I nearly died. I would have had no problems if I did die though, in my opinion, the most honorable way to die is at the claws of a dragon.


    But enough of the past, I had a job to do and that was to rid this village of the nest of monsters. Another hour later, I was beginning to have some serious doubts of this mission. If the monsters¡¯ population was greater than what I¡¯ve seen before, this nest might actually be multiple nests or one large nest. It may be too difficult to defeat, like facing a weed barehanded except this weed somehow managed to stay alive for a century and has been growing non stop since its birth.


    To some it may be manageable but to most it is an impossibility. But I am one of the few who could manage such a feat and I wasn¡¯t going to turn away from such a challenge, it has been long since I pushed myself to the limit. So with a grim face, I charged forward, I only grin if it¡¯s a battle of little importance and even then, the grin was habitual. It was back when I was a youth, still young in the army and full of emotions. Of course, it was beaten out of me, well, as well as one could beat out emotions.


    I still had the damn things but I was better at controlling them, in fact, I haven¡¯t lost control of them for over three decades, ever since the conquest of the Morsadian Empire began. But the job in front of me did not need emotions, only needing the cold cruel persona of the soldier I¡¯m supposed to be. So I only focused on killing with the efficiency, soon arriving upon a cave from which the monsters seemed to be pouring from.


    Without hesitation, I dove in, leaving a trail of corpses in my wake. Once more I was covered in blood, like I normally was after a battle. Just like when my unit was forced to retreat, but of course, it had been day three of constant fighting, no rest whatsoever. Even my stamina was low at that point, I just thank whatever god it is that had the goblins to spare us. That or their idiocy, if I was them, I would not have let us live, especially since we murdered at least hundreds if not thousands of their kin.


    These things were the same I suppose, but that wouldn¡¯t matter, I was on the attack and this time, my stamina wasn¡¯t running low either. The absence of company was also welcome, it meant that I didn¡¯t have to worry about keeping at their pace. So in complete and utter silence on my part, I exterminated everything that crossed me, going ever deeper and deeper into the maze of tunnels.


    On my way, my nose noticed a strange scent that was not of fresh blood, sweat, metal and other things. It caught my interest as this was something I didn¡¯t expect to smell in a battle, but then again, this was the home of the monsters. I began to follow it to its source, the flow of monsters becoming increasingly more and more thick until I was basically hacking away at a wall of flesh, bones and metal.


    But I managed to push through and into a large cavity with an assortment of goblins, trolls, ogres and female humans alike in one huge orgy. But, only the female¡¯s pussy was used, it seems that this orgy was not for pleasure but simply to reproduce, though pleasure was most likely another reason for it. The scent I had been smelling was the smell of cum, which in and of itself was not pleasant to smell. I had smelled such things before but not because I was a participant.


    No, I more than once had to¡­ purge religions that believed that orgies were a way of connecting with their god. Needless to say, when we purged them, it was mostly when they were in an orgy. I also saw many other women with their bellies bloated left to the side, where goblins walked by, occasionally prodding one before moving on. I also saw the ¡°joyous¡± occasion of a woman giving birth, although it was anything but.


    Ten little goblins spewed forth from her vagina and a goblin walked over to inspect the babies. It selected the strongest ones before killing any that were defective. But I had no time to continue witnessing such a sight, I only had to kill these things. So without another thought, I charged forth, my silent nature enabling me to go unnoticed by the goblins until I was right on top of them. Five were already headless by the time the goblins were aware but that didn¡¯t help them in the slightest, all were killed within the chamber except for some women that weren¡¯t in the vicinity of a monster.


    Upon seeing me, their broken eyes shined with hope, a hope that finally they would be released from this hell. They did not ask to be freed, they only wanted to die quickly and painlessly. I made their hope a reality, asking them only to remain still. I then decapitated them quickly, doing the same with all the women, crushing whatever monster babies that came forth from their corpses.


    The few monsters that dared to enter the chamber saw my ruthless actions and were silent. I turned toward them and they all fell on their asses before scrambling away. To them I was merely a powerful predator, one that did not leave anything alive. Keeping to that persona, I charged, slaughtering the retreating monsters and killing their braver kin.


    I came across three more orgy chambers and I emptied each of life, finally stopping at the fourth chamber to take a moment to rest. I was a bit tired, hacking away nonstop for an unknown amount of time is quite tiring. That and the fact that I now had to protect someone, the only woman that wanted to live. It seems that she was a new arrival and hadn¡¯t had the chance to give birth to any goblins yet, though her belly seemed to be a bit larger than normal.


    I told her so and she pleaded with tears in her eyes, ¡°Please, I¡¯ll do anything, just let me live.¡±


    I said, ¡°Your child must die. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have the time to deal with it so you¡¯ll have to drink this.¡±


    It was a poison, fatal upon drinking all of its contents. All soldiers are required to have one, so that in the event of capture you may die having served the Emperor. I took off my helmet and used it as a makeshift bowl, adding monster blood to dilute the poison. Of course, I didn¡¯t add all of it, only a small drop. This should be passed down onto the baby which, being a baby would die.


    Of course, this would make her sick as well so I¡¯d have to carry her while fending off a horde of monsters. I decided to wait awhile, the monsters now extremely hesitant to face me in battle. The woman was unconscious, as she was when she first drank the poison. Even diluted to such an extent, it was deadly stuff. But this should kill the baby and she¡¯d still be alive.


    Once I was sufficiently rested, I hefted her limp body over my shoulder and began the slaughter once more, retracing my steps out this time, it would be better to drop her off with the guild forces.


    So fighting my way back out the cave system, I just had to follow the trail of corpses I left, I was soon back out into fresh air. I didn¡¯t stop to appreciate it though, continuing to fight my way back until I heard sounds of shouting men. I then made my way there, scything down swathes of enemies that had yet to realize that there was an enemy at their backs. The guild forces soon stopped fighting at my appearance for I was quite literally dripping with blood.


    I handed the woman over, saying, ¡°I saved her from one of the breeding caverns, she was the only one that wanted to be saved. The others wished for a clean death and I granted it to them. She has drunk some poison in order to kill the goblin child within her so she is sick for now. Treat her well.¡±


    I then turned, charging back into the sea of monsters, cutting a path through once more. I was amazed at the population of these monsters, just how many of them were there? This was an army that could rival the size of a punitary force, which has easily over three thousand men. Of course, a punitary force would crush something like this, as the force was trained to deal with uprisings with more than ten thousand people. But this time, I met with Inaris and Varin in the cave system and we decided to stick together, that way someone had a chance to rest while to fended off monsters from both sides of the tunnel.


    Since the production of the monsters was stopped, all that was left was to kill the rest or to scatter the rest by killing the leader. Eventually, we stumbled upon another breeding cavern and we emptied it of life, offering to save those that wished it but all wanted to die. So we granted their wish, bringing the gift of death with our blades.


    After god knows how many hours, the only thing that was a monster was a corpse. I was surprised to see that it was still daylight but was told later that a day had passed. No wonder I was so damn tired, but I still had strength in me, just a mere day¡¯s worth of fighting wasn¡¯t enough to drive me to unconsciousness.


    Anyways, as I was cleaning my armor later at the village, the guildmaster appeared, his face grim. He asked,


    ¡°Do you know what happened to the women in the breeding caverns?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yes, I killed them.¡±


    He shouted angrily, ¡°Why!?¡±


    I looked up at him and said, ¡°Because they wanted it. They were used by the goblins for god knows how long in the caves, giving birth to more and more monsters which would kill more humans. They would never recover from their mental wounds to fit back in society. The best thing to do for them was to release them.¡±


    He growled, ¡°That gives you no right to take their lives!¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    I retorted, ¡°And you don¡¯t have the right to force them to live. I merely did as they asked, what you would have done would have gone against their will. Don¡¯t try to force your ideals upon others, keep them to yourself or don¡¯t have any at all.¡±


    He seemed to calm down after a few moments before saying, ¡°Yeah, I understand. It¡¯s just, I had a sister who was taken by the goblins, I know it¡¯s useless but I keep on thinking that she could be found again.¡±


    I bowed my head in a form of condolence. After remaining in silence for a few moments, he seemed to have been struck by an epiphany,


    ¡°By the way, your name is Torvus, right?¡±


    A bit surprised at this sudden change of topic, I nodded and he said, ¡°Good, your name was mentioned in the letter but I never got to find out if it was real, you know, with you and your squad going out on missions so much. Then this thing popped up and it kinda slipped my mind. By the way, I¡¯m Ferlin Stonefist, sorry I haven¡¯t introduced myself.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°I was never a social guy, partly my fault for not asking.¡±


    Honestly, I could have cared less about learning his name but I filed it later for later use, I suppose a business relationship would be alright. Anyways, I returned to cleaning my armor once he left, making sure that every bit of blood and gore was washed off. Once finished, I grabbed a clean bucket and began to clean my clothes, not minding that I was nude in public. Once that was done, I wrung them as dry as possible and pulled them on, this time washing my hair next as it was simply matted with blood and other shit.


    Once that was done, I put on my armor and remained sitting. I breathed a sigh of relief, during battle having blood splashed on you is invigorating, having it dry on you is a different matter. The others cleaned up similarly and we all sat in a circle, talking of our exploits. They too encountered many other breeding caverns and they all brought death, whether it was a gift or a punishment.


    But none of them encountered one who wanted to be saved, which was why they were curious to meet such a woman. She had to be strong willed and soldiers respect such a thing, even if it is our enemies, no, especially then. To fight regardless of how useless it is to do so requires a mind that is not prone to emotions. A person capable of doing so has rightfully gained my respect.


    There had been a few and to each, I offered to put in a good word for them in the Empire, for the Empire only wanted to control territory, not necessarily its people. Of course, the new laws that would be introduced will affect the people but ultimately for the better. After all, the Morsadian Empire has lasted for thirteen generations of emperors, it meant that something was working.


    But all refused, exactly as I had expected them to. Needless to say, I killed them though I gave them a quick death, it was the least I could do to pay my respects to a proud and great warrior. It was a shame, their skills would have greatly benefited the Empire but if they so readily accepted the offer, my respect would have disappeared in an instant.


    I would have had the men tortured and the women raped before their service to the Empire began, not out of cruelty. It was necessary in order to create a new persona while the old one was destroyed. To break their old self and create them anew. I personally witnessed the breaking of many, watching as their souls were broken by torturers and then reforged under the careful tutelage of the harem guards and elite soldiers.


    I refused the offer to teach them, that simply wasn¡¯t my thing. I just existed to kill and die for my country, nothing more, nothing less. I was roused from these thoughts when something touched my face. Focusing once more on the real world, I noticed the arm of a child, the hand of which was on my face. I looked at the face of the child in question, a small boy whose large black eyes stared intelligently.


    It didn¡¯t speak and I didn¡¯t either, merely gently taking its hand away. I then stood, walking off into the forest. I noticed that it had toddled off and I breathed a sigh of relief, at least I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with it.


    But as I sat by a tree, away from the festivities, a person came up, make that two. I placed a hand on my dagger, for these footsteps didn¡¯t belong to my men. I then heard a feminine voice call out,


    ¡°Sir Adventurer! Sir Adventurer! You are missing the feast!¡±


    I sighed and raised my voice, ¡°I know, I don¡¯t want to be there.¡±


    The voice began to get louder as she approached me, asking, ¡°Why?¡±


    I answered, ¡°I¡¯m not much of a social person. You best go back to the festival, you¡¯re missing out on it as well.¡±


    She said, ¡°Oh I already had enough. Besides, I¡¯m not that social either.¡±


    The girl sat besides me and I noticed the kid from before, this girl was his big sister? No matter, I don¡¯t plan on getting close to people.


    I said, ¡°It¡¯s still best you leave. I¡¯m on watch and it is highly likely there are still monsters on the loose.¡±


    She said, ¡°I believe that you are strong enough to protect me.¡±


    I sighed but said nothing, making sure to keep an eye on her. There was a possibility that she was a shapeshifter and may try to kill me. But she didn¡¯t try anything, though that didn¡¯t mean I was going to let my guard down. Finally, she stood and bowed her head,


    ¡°Well, thank you for letting me sit with you.¡±


    I replied, ¡°It is not my place to control where one sits.¡±


    She giggled and left, the kid staring at me for a few more moments before toddling after her. Well at least she was gone, though I¡¯d wager this wouldn¡¯t be the last I saw of her. Something about her was off, like an illusion. Most likely she was a mage masquerading as a villager or something else. But as long as she did not mean me any harm nor my men, I will not act. Besides, if I did kill her now, her disappearance will be thoroughly investigated.


    I did join in later, though when much of the activity died down. I then ate some food that happened to be left over, the others having already had their fill and sharing their stories with other adventurers. Again, disturbingly more human that should be acceptable but these are strange times, we¡¯d be insane to not adapt.


    But I am not sure what to do, sure this life was good but that was for humans, not soldiers. A soldier belongs on the battlefield, risking his life for his country, not stuck doing countless errands for people. My comrades noticed my discomfort and Inaris said,


    ¡°Hey Torvus, I know you want to rejoin the army but hell, this life ain¡¯t so bad.¡±


    I said, ¡°Well, I suppose. I¡¯d still rather be on the battlefield, that is where I truly belong. I¡¯m sure you all know that.¡±


    They all nodded, all saying in unison, ¡°It¡¯s our home too.¡±


    We then laughed, surprising a few adventurers nearby, recounting old tales of battles long past. Of course, they all wanted to hear the one about the dragon. I managed to avoid the topic for some time now but here, without the excuse of the army behind me I was forced to tell it.


    It wasn¡¯t a story I was fond of telling, for as long as I lived, I had revered dragons. Their might, their wisdom, and of course their magnificence was to me, the pinnacle one should try to attain. That is why I, for the first time in my military career, hesitated when I received the order to kill the dragons. But that didn¡¯t last long, the soldier in me crushed my naivety and I did my duty. I killed one dragon, I had no choice. I was the last of my unit and I could not allow myself to retreat. So I killed it and took its scales and bones as a part of my armament.


    In fact, I used all of it, for this dragon was mine by right. All of my armor and weapons could change into it, all I had to do was activate the secondary phase on my crystal. Of course, I only used it as a show of ultimate respect towards my opponent, meaning that I either recognized his skill as a formidable warrior or simply honoring his death. I may be a ruthless soldier but even I show my respect to those that stay true to their ideals.


    I only used my dragon armament nine times, seven of those with great warriors, the other two times were defeating two other dragons. All were powerful in their own right and each gained my respect. I remembered them, though not their names. What is a name but something we the living use to identify another. I¡¯d rather remember them by their deeds and appearance for those will last far longer than language.


    I wondered briefly if there was an afterlife and if there was, what would all those that I had killed be doing. Would they be looking down on me or would they be enjoying their respective heavens and hells? I laughed at myself at this rare moment of philosophy, directing my mind elsewhere. Well whatever they¡¯re doing, it doesn¡¯t concern me as long as I¡¯m alive.


    And I will make sure to stay alive for as long as I can, it wouldn¡¯t do me any good to die now.


    With a start of self-realization, I muttered, ¡°Getting sidetracked am I? Damn, I really am losing my touch.¡±


    Inaris heard me say something but unable to discern anything asked, ¡°What?¡±


    I said, ¡°Ah, nothing. Just musing to myself.¡±


    I then stood and excused myself, ¡°I¡¯m taking first watch, I need a while to clear my mind.¡±


    The all nodded and murmured their acknowledgement and I walked off, heading to a place that had a fairly wide view and sat myself down. I breathed out, my mind clearing along with it. I began to focus my mind on everything and nothing, my eyes seeing everything but focusing on nothing. I noticed every movement whether it was the leaves of a tree falling, a tree branch moving in the wind or some animal that stalked the night. But I didn¡¯t focus on these things, waiting for when an enemy would appear.


    I breathed in and swiftly focused on something that was moving that was neither a moving tree branch or an animal. I grabbed the hilt of my dagger, ready to kill when I recognized that girl from before. I hardly relaxed, what was she doing out here? Luckily, she didn¡¯t notice me and for once, I was thankful for the dark grey armor.


    She walked off into the forest and I followed, keeping silent as always. It was hard to keep silent in a full suit of armor but at the distance I kept, it was alright to make some sound here and there. I continued to follow her, my dagger in hand and my ears listening for any sign of something following me. I continued to follow her to a moonlit glade, the blades of grass silver in the light of the moon.


    She stood in the middle, waiting and I waited as well, as still as a statue. Some time passed and neither of us moved, I was confident she didn¡¯t notice me but then again, there was something off about this girl. Perhaps she was a mage and already knew I was following her. In that case¡­


    I activated the dagger core, changing it to its dragonblade form, the dagger growing noticeable in length and the blade pure black, the hilt and pommel gilded with intricate gold plates. I gripped it tightly and continued to wait, something changing when the moon was high over head, midnight. Something appeared, a white furred creature which appeared out of nowhere.


    It sniffed the air and looked right at me, growling. Seeing no point in disguising myself, I sheathed the dagger and stepped out with my sword in hand, prepared to fight. The girl whipped around, surprised to see me. But just as the creature was about to attack, she shouted,


    ¡°No! Stop!¡±


    The creature¡¯s fur settled down, though it still growled menacingly. In reply, I directed my sword to the ground, though I didn¡¯t let go of it.


    I then asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

 Chapter 5: Returning to the Guild

    She retorted with another question, ¡°Why did you follow me?¡±


    I replied, ¡°There was something off about you, something I couldn¡¯t put a finger on. So when I saw you wander off, naturally I grew suspicious and decided to confirm them.¡±


    She giggled once more, ¡°Yeah, I would have done the same in your position. But I suggest you leave, the Lord of the Forest does not like your presence. It thanks you for ridding it of of the pests but it senses something off about you.¡±


    I stood resolute and said, ¡°I do not obey orders that have not come from the Emperor.¡±


    She sighed and seemed to relay some information to the creature which growled at me one last time before finally accepting my presence. In response, I sheathed my sword and walked over, stopping when I was right in front of it. I stared into its silver eyes, the two of us bowing simultaneously in acknowledgement of each other¡¯s strength. After satisfying that this thing was no danger, I merely warned the girl,


    ¡°You better not try anything. I will kill you without hesitation.¡±


    I then turned and walked away, it is best not to tangle myself in something such as this. I just hope that this will be left behind me, though if I¡¯m right about my suspicions, this won¡¯t end here.


    Of course, my comrade on watch was curious as to where I had gone to which I explained all that befell me. He was curious but also apprehensive, magic users were one of the reasons why the Morsadian Army suffered many losses and also why we had to go through such torturous training.


    For anti-magic units were required to have artificial modification to their body, a process that isn¡¯t just painful, it is harrowing to the point that my broken body has lost the ability to feel anything that isn¡¯t horrendously painful. For instance, I can no longer feel the tenderness of silk, the warmth of the sun, or the cool of night. I can only feel the extremes which is why I love battle, for it is now the only thing that allows me to feel alive.


    Anyways, I told him to be careful and went to sleep with the others. I slept without too much trouble, knowing that my comrade would be able to take care of anything that dared to wander near.


    Once more, I did not dream, waking up from the dark void at the same time I always did. I stood up and stretched, the girl from before appearing from behind a tree. The others drew the swords the moment they saw her but I motioned them to stand down, asking,


    ¡°What is it girl?¡±


    She grinned innocently and asked, ¡°Can¡¯t I visit a friend?¡±


    I said, ¡°You are certainly not my friend and I cannot imagine who among my comrades would be your friend mage.¡±


    I added that last part coldly, I disliked mages at best and outright killed them at worst.


    She frowned and said, ¡°Discrimination is bad.¡±


    I snorted, ¡°Discrimination is a part of nature, it will never be stopped. Whether it be race, intelligence, strength or just how well of you are from birth, it will always exist.¡±


    She frowned even more, ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡±


    I said, ¡°I just speak the truth and the truth will always be there, even if you refuse to accept it. It is best to accept it kid, to fight the truth as others have done will only result in innocent but misinformed people uprising and then slaughtered by the punitary force. I¡¯ve killed hundreds if not thousands of innocents because of people like you.¡±


    She then crossed her arms above her chest and said, ¡°You will forever be alone if you are like that. Women will avoid you like the plague.¡±


    I snorted dismissively, ¡°A soldier has no need of women to comfort him. Besides, this body of mine was broken because of the modifications done to it. I doubt I would be able to feel the pleasure of sex.¡±


    Deciding that it was time to get to business, I commanded, ¡°Now tell me why are you here.¡±


    She pouted but said, ¡°I just wanted to tell you on behalf of the Lord of the Forest to thank you. He is grateful that you rid his forest of a pestilence and the fact that you left us alone once your duty was done.¡±


    I asked, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    She shook her head, saying, ¡°I also wanted to thank you for saving this village, though I must say you are too different from what I expected.¡±


    I said, ¡°Whatever kid, I¡¯m a soldier and soldiers aren¡¯t heroes.¡±


    She countered, ¡°But they have to protect citizens, like heroes.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°The main difference between us soldiers and heroes is that unlike them, we are prepared to do anything for our country, to defend it by any means necessary. Heroes will always try to protect life, not their country. If there is a single innocent in a castle of enemies, they will ask to storm the castle at the loss of countless lives. Us soldiers will simply bombard the place till it is razed to the ground.¡±


    She was silent, though she seemed to be seething on the inside.


    I smirked and said, ¡°Remember kid, don¡¯t try to preach your ideals to others, they only lead to the deaths of many.¡±


    I then turned and told my men to prepare to march, it was time that we returned to Hallowfall. The guildmaster was already preparing for our return, nodding at us briefly before returning to making preparations. We helped out as well, loading up the wagons that were used to bring the equipment needed for this quest.


    Rewards would later be distributed at the guild so everyone was in a hurry to return. Once more we resumed marching and an uneventful four days passed, finally returning to the guild. There, I was surprised that the noblewoman from before, Lady Atherton I believe, had sent in a letter for me. It seems that she wanted to thank me personally and officially but since she was busy reuniting and me always away on quests, there never was a chance for her to show her gratitude.


    Personally, I would have gotten along fine without her thanks, in fact I had almost forgotten her. But, it is not wise to say, ¡°fuck off¡± to a noble family, that would most likely result in me and my men being chased out of the city. I¡¯d rather avoid that for rather obvious reasons so I went to meet her, waiting at the designated place as described in the letter.


    Soon she arrived, four armed escorts accompanying her. But with a wave of her hand, they surrounded an area around the fountain, allowing us to speak in relative privacy. She first bowed deeply, saying,


    ¡°I am deeply grateful for the help and kindness you have extended to me, how may I repay you?¡±


    I politely refused, ¡°I have no need of your gratitude, you have already repaid me by teaching me of your world.¡±


    She jerked her head up, asking, ¡°Surely there must be something I could do?¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°I have no need for money for it will not help me on the battlefield. Gifts can not get better than the one you have already given me, the knowledge of this world¡¯s currency and language.¡±


    She almost said something but instead blushed deeply, whispering something unintelligible. I asked,


    ¡°Did you say something?¡±


    She blushed even further and in a small voice offered, ¡°I could give you my body.¡±


    I was silent, wondering how I could phrase it so that it wouldn¡¯t offend her guards. Finally, I said,


    ¡°Lady Atherton, I believe I told you I am a soldier. I don¡¯t know how soldiers are in your nation but in mine, we are not permitted to indulge in a woman¡¯s body. Though I am no longer in my nation, I will not disobey the Emperor¡¯s decree.¡±


    She was still blushing but remained silent. When a few moments of silence passed, I took my leave, bowing my head slightly,


    ¡°It is best you forget about me, Lady Atherton, for you do not know me. I have slaughtered many with this sword, ordered the burnings of countless innocent villages, had women and children put at the forefront of battle to serve as human shields and more, all on the orders of the Emperor. One such as I does not create life, I merely destroy it.¡±


    I turned and took my leave, the escorts making no effort to stop me. Really, I never thought that I¡¯d have to deal with something like this, though seeing as I¡¯m the one that saved her from that hell, it¡¯s not surprising. But they are a pain to deal with, unless she is killed but that is hardly a good solution in this sort of situation. I¡¯ll just have to hope it blows over quietly.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    But of course, all I said wasn¡¯t just lies to drive her away, it was all the truth. I watched many villages burn under my orders and even now, I do not feel a morsel of guilt or regret. They were enemies of the Empire and my duty was to eliminate such enemies.


    After all the first unit I was a part of, the Forty-Fourth Legion, was infamous as one of the most ruthless and cruel legions in all of the Morsadian Army. We carried out the dirty work of the Empire, though it was ultimately destroyed in the Battle of Ash, fire mages raining eternal flames which continue to burn to this day, unless they have been put out.


    My unit was wiped out because of those flames except me, something like fire would not be enough to kill me. But it was a victory for the Empire nonetheless, for because of the Forty-Fourth Legion¡¯s sacrifice, it allowed the Thirtieth Legion to flank the enemy and wipe them out.


    I didn¡¯t enjoy my time with the Forty-Fourth Legion but I never hated either, it was merely an experience. But I am grateful to it, it was what allowed me to be the soldier I am today. I was able to control my emotions and to kill without mercy. Now I could look in the face of a child and kill him without guilt for that child will grow to be an enemy to the Empire, perhaps an enemy which would be too strong to defeat.


    One must be cruelly efficient for the sake of safety. After all, caution is not needed when the problem is eliminated permanently. Cruel but necessary, some would call it a necessary evil but I would like to disagree. Good and evil are relative, who are we to decide what is good and evil? We rely upon religion to decide that, different religions coming up with various reasons to crusade against each other, all in the name of ¡°Good¡±.


    Of course, I do not hate religion, I am a member of one, the Clergy of Reality. We worship Reality, we¡¯d like to think that it¡¯s a god but in truth, we just don¡¯t know. The tenet of my religion is the concept of Reality, that when we die, we do not know what happens. We must simply live our life¡¯s purpose, which the core of is to reproduce.


    But it is not limited to that, it may just be to fulfill your desires in life. Even murderers are allowed to murder, though once they are caught, they are then discommunicated. They failed in their purpose and thus a Fallen. The Fallen are to be hunted down, to bring whatever it is that is after death be it nothingness or an afterlife.


    It was partly because of the Clergy that I do not pursue other things that will not help fulfill my purpose, to do my duty as a soldier until I die. I am not afraid if they were to deem me as a Fallen, I would then proceed to destroy the Clergy of Reality and continue on with my life. I am confident I could do so, in fact I know it. The Clergy isn¡¯t really well known and all the members know one another well as well as where everyone lives.


    This is a requirement so everyone can participate in the cleansing of the Fallen. But the Fallen can hunt the Clergy, in fact it is encouraged, for if they kill more than five, they are cleansed of their Fallen status and can resume the pursuit of their purpose as a member once more with access to funds and all that other shit.


    So if I was able to kill them back, I would be cleansed. So no matter what I did, I would be able to fulfill my purpose. But I wouldn¡¯t be hunted by the Clergy, I will never shirk from my path to fulfillment.


    A sudden disturbance roused me from my thoughts and I looked to see the cause, seeing and hearing a man loudly ringing a bell, the cause of the disturbance. He was also shouting, I guess this world¡¯s equivalent to a town crier.


    But my ears perked at the contents of what the town crier was saying,


    ¡°The Hallowed Arena shall open once more four months from now! It is advised that those who wish to participate register at the Hallowfall Guild today! Hallowfall guild members will be given free access but that shall be the extent of their privilege! The prizes for the tournament are a sword of adamant, a set of armor of mithril and a shield of oricalcum! There are monetary rewards of ten thousand gold for first place, seven thousand five hundred gold for second and five thousand for third! The Hallowed Arena hopes you participate and wishes you the best of luck!¡±


    I was curious to be sure, perhaps even slightly intrigued. I mean, in the army, I never had a chance to fight against others of similar or higher strength. Even the match that Adaris had with the harem guard was a secret, if they had been caught, they would have been forced to fight to the death and the winner then demoted to the lowest possible rank.


    I wanted to participate and from the looks of it, so did my men. We accepted the knowledge that we¡¯d have to fight each other sooner or later and promised that we would not hold back on each other¡¯s account. We vowed this and took off on our own to train. It would not do to train with potential enemies.


    We had no trouble registering for the tournament, the cost for entering free because of our service in the guild. The guild master merely chuckled, saying,


    ¡°I look forward to your exploits in the Hallow Arena. I can¡¯t wait for those useless sods to start shaking in their boots when one of your skill appears.¡±


    He burst into evil laughter and in answer, I merely smiled, ¡°Believe me, I do not intend to lose to some useless sods Ferlin.¡±


    He laughed further, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and guided me to the bar, challenging me to a drinking contest. Of course I accepted, I do not back down from any challenge. I ended up winning many drinks later, the guildmaster a mighty drinker in his own right. But I am hardly affected by the alcohol, my mind rules my body with an ironfist and alcohol is not enough to overcome its defenses.


    Of course, seeing my constitution, a few other adventurers decided to try their hand, betting a single gold piece if they beat me. Of course, I continued to beat them again and again, finally stopping because I needed to empty my bladder. But I was soon at it again, beginning to feel slightly tipsy when eleven barrels disappeared in our gullets and twenty adventurers including the guildmaster lay on the ground dead drunk.


    By this time, my impressive fortitude had dissuaded any from trying to even compete with my drinking ability so I decided to stop, heading out to the forest to clear my head and begin training. I headed out deep into the forest where I was sure that no one would follow me. I then decided to step things up and use my dragon blade, the unnerving lack of weight not as disturbing as it once was.


    It had been at least a year since I had last touched and I sensed a tad bit of discontent emanate from the sword. How could it not? It was the best weapon in my arsenal but I refused to use it. Considering that it was a dragon, it surely must be furious with me for refusing to use it. It must be an affront to its honor.


    I activated and then drew my dagger, also activating the armor. I felt almost naked in this armament, for there was no weight at all, almost as if I was clad in an illusion. But I knew that despite the lack of weight, these weapons were immensely sharp and could cut through a cliff from end to end with no trouble at all. In fact, if I put my mind to it, I could fell the whole of this forest with a single slash to each tree.


    But enough of thoughts, now is merely to get used to and memorize my movements in such armament and how to maximise my performance. I tried a slash, mine had been fast before with my regular sword but now, it was almost like an instant. Even my eyes, trained to see the movements of lightning that spews forth from the hands of a mage with ease couldn¡¯t see it and I almost forgot to stop myself. It wasn¡¯t too hard when I focused, though my body still instinctively tried to let the weight of the sword and gravity help bring it to a stop.


    But soon enough, I had gotten the hang of it, my movements noticeably more faster than with my previous armor. The sheer weightlessness of the armor and weapons was the reason for this, as unnerving as it was. But I soon got used to it, I¡¯d be a poor soldier if I couldn¡¯t adapt.


    Pretty soon, I was dashing all over the place, silent as always and cutting down imaginary enemies. Finally I was done and as I looked behind me, I saw countless leaves, leaves that have been cut in half. I whistled in appreciation and spoke to the blade,


    ¡°Forgive me for not using you before. It is just that there was no one worthy enough.¡±


    It may have been my imagination but for a briefest of moments, I felt the blade vibrate and a satisfied hum fill the air. I chuckled at myself, a sword that was alive, who would believe it? But still, it is best to assume that it is alive, for it never hurts to have a sentient sword which thinks highly of you. But for the moment, I returned to my usual armor and weapons, breathing a sigh of relief as I felt the familiar weight once more. But even though I was relieved, I could not help but feel cramped and held back. It was the first time I had used the dragon¡¯s regalia fully aware of its effects, most of the time I was too immersed in battle to notice.


    I smirked at myself, really, it seems I¡¯ve over indulged by training in this armor. But I resigned myself to these constraints. It was necessary, after all my dragon regalia would be my trump card, that or a magnificent way to bring an end to the final battle. I briefly returned to the guild to inform them that I would be away training which they understood.


    Once that was taken care of, I went even deeper into the forest, so deep in fact that the trees here were thicker than houses and they simply towered above me, perhaps to the height of mountains. Of course there were dangers along the way, dangers that would kill even highly skilled and veteran adventurers but with my dragon regalia, it was no problem.


    Just one slash and they were dead, they couldn¡¯t dodge and to my knowledge, there was no material that could stop my blade. I met various unknown creatures while I journeyed, strange lizard humanoids, what appeared to be reverse minotaurs, with goat¡¯s legs but a man¡¯s body, unearthly beautiful humanoids with long pointed ears, peaceful miniature people with insect wings, and creatures with a horse¡¯s lower body and a man¡¯s chest.


    These were but a sample of what I saw, many others for whom words could not describe. Most appeared to be docile, though the lizardmen and the horsemen were particularly aggressive. But they were all slain and soon, I was left alone. There were plenty non-hostile animals as well, though they were almost infuriatingly difficult to hunt.


    It seems that they were enhanced by magic, increasing their speed, toughness of their hides or their strength. Of course, the tough hides and strength was of no worry to me, it was those insanely fast rabbits that aggravating. But I soon got the hang of it, throwing my dagger with a speed that was far greater than theirs.


    At first I missed quite a few times but I soon grew to be proficient at it, able to hit a target a hundred feet away at the exact point where I wanted to hit it. So my source of food was taken care of and with a source of food established, I could now focus on my training without any distractions. I had no need of shelter, instead braving the elements as I had been forced to long ago back when I had joined the army. Those were some miserable days, but of course, now I embrace the rain or the hot sun.


    But here, there was no sun, only perpetual twilight during the day because of the great leaves on even greater trees that blocked out the sun. Night was true darkness, one hardly able to see because of the feeble light that filters through the leaves, not that I needed to see to train. I rigorously trained my, wearing my old armor to attain the same level of speed I have with my dragon regalia, pushing my muscles until I physically couldn¡¯t hold my sword anymore.


    But after a month, I¡¯ve been keeping track of time by scratching lines on a tree, I finally was able to lose sight of my sword when I swung it. Really it is nothing too impressive. I was already fast before, I was just pushing myself the last few miles of the thousand mile journey. Of course, I spent another two weeks reinforcing it so that I was truly that fast. The next two weeks were spent training in my dragon regalia armor, more often than not ending up smashing into trees or tripping up because of how fast I was.

 Chapter 6: The Tournament

    When the two weeks were up, I was not satisfied with my level of mastery over my speed. I couldn¡¯t figure out just why I kept tripping, how tree roots seemingly appeared out of nowhere as I ran. I suspected that these trees were somehow sentient and were fucking with my efforts, which made me want to take my sword against these trees.


    I resisted the effort to do so though, if I killed one, then the others would definitely kill me and no matter how fast I was, I couldn¡¯t get out of the forest fast enough before they caught me. So I took a day off, just thinking about how to get better. Eventually, I dozed off, the problem still on my mind. Surprisingly, for the first time I dreamed, though it wasn¡¯t really a dream. It was more like my mind, now freed from the stress of taking care of the body began to use all of its resources to focus on this one problem.


    After what seemed to be an instant, I awoke with the answer, that my vision was too focused. My sight was trained to notice everything on the battlefield which was useful but in this situation detrimental. I focused too much, ignoring things that would normally be of little consequence, such as tree roots. With this knowledge now within my mind, I then spent the next two days and nights trying to keep my vision from focusing on anything in particular.


    It was slightly disorientating as my vision split into two and then back into one. Eventually, I found a middle ground, I was able to see everything without focusing on it but not so much that my eyes began to drift apart. Once more, I tried to go at full speed, succeeding for a bit until my eyes focused and I failed to notice another tree root. But what I briefly saw confirmed my suspicions about the trees fucking with me for I saw a root appear from the ground.


    I grinned inwardly, if this was a challenge then I will accept it. I decided to sprint back, once more keeping my gaze focused on everything yet nothing. This time I succeeded and I began to sprint for longer and longer distances, bobbing and weaving as if dodging invisible projectiles.


    After another two days, I was satisfied with my performance, at least I wasn¡¯t tripping up anymore but if I was going to get any better than I was now, I¡¯d have to go to the tried-and-true forge of battle.


    I left the clearing afterward, making sure to clean up all signs of my stay, even the tree which I had scratched the lines signifying the passage of days. I just took a dagger and carefully shaved the tree¡¯s bark until the surface was level with the depth I had scratched into the tree. In time the bark would grow back, making it seem as if it was never marred.


    I then sprinted back toward the guild, running for an extra three days before stopping to sleep. Once I had a quick hunt and breakfast, I was back to sprinting, reaching the guild in a mere two weeks, half the time it took for me to travel to that reclusive clearing.


    I had arrived a bit early for the tournament but it shouldn¡¯t be of too much trouble, being early was better than late. Izlir and Inaris were already at the guildhall, Varin and the others still out training. But they all arrived the next day, albeit at different times but we were together again. Since it was the day before the tournament, I gave them free leave, seeing as I was the commander.


    Not surprising really, I had already proved my strength and as the one with most experience, it was automatically up to me. If we were still in the army, I would have refused such a position but in the situation we were in now, I had no choice but to take command. I just found it to be irritating, for the higher you go up in rank, the less you get to properly face enemies on the battlefield.


    Besides, the battlefield did not care what rank you were, all had an equal chance to die, whether it be honorably or by being stabbed in the back. I¡¯ve seen many men die that way, hell, I¡¯ve even stabbed some in the back. It was a choice I had to make, either take the chance to end the battle quickly for my nation¡¯s victory or take a risky duel that would end in more lives lost. I simply took the option that was less risky for the sake of my nation.


    Hmm, it seems that drinking gets me thinking about unnecessary things, better stop that. I shouldn¡¯t even be drinking, my commander would have my ass for that. With a bit of regret, I placed the mug down, I will resist my desires, no matter how tempting. Instead I just waited, trying to do that thing I did before in the forest, to focus on everything yet nothing.


    I tried to maintain it for the remainder of the day, seeing everything in my field of vision move as clearly as if I had been focusing on it. I¡¯ll have to hone down this ability as much as I can for this day, its real test will come in combat. Though not real combat, duels were nothing but fake combat. There is no danger, only a fear of what you imagine what would have happened if you were on the battlefield.


    I may even lose because of these restrictions, after all there will probably be some rules about avoiding dismemberment and the like. Of course, that would leave a bad taste in my mouth but such was the rules of duels, made by people who are too afraid of the outcome. People know what they are getting into when they signed up for the tournament, if they didn¡¯t then they are at the height of folly. A tournament is where you risk your life and limb, it is not some place for some cowards to run free.


    The day soon passed, time passes quickly when you aren¡¯t focused and I retired to bed. I woke, refreshed at the same time as always, going off to buy some food. I had no time to hunt today and for now, money-bought food would be best. I stopped by the tavern and ordered some meat, bread and a pint of ale. I finished the lot rather quickly, first eating the bread, then the meat and then downing the ale in one go.


    With a rather astonished barkeep, I paid for the meal and walked out, asking for directions to the Hallowed Arena. Thanking the person who helped me, I went on my way, walking through the gate of the Arena, displaying my guild badge to the guards. They let me in and I immediately went to the registration line, waiting for quite awhile before it was my turn. I confirmed that my registration was indeed ready and acquired a schedule for the fights, it would magically update as the tournament progressed.


    I would be the fifth fight today so I decided to watch, once more practicing on focusing on everything. I didn¡¯t just do this to watch the fights, it was also to pass time, my name soon being called up as a participant. I stood and walked to the edge of the balcony, jumping off and into the arena. The announcer was shocked and asked that if I was Torvus. I nodded and after a few more speechless moments, she returned to announcing, casting some nervous glances my way,


    ¡°Aaaand our other contestant! Matthew Pendragon!!!! A promising knight that may have a future as a royal guard! This is his first time in the Hallowed Arena so folks, why don¡¯t you give him a nice big welcome!¡±


    The crowd burst into applause and cheers, the knight bowing and waving, a idiotic grin on his face. I decided to end this without my sword, this boy was not worthy of the blade. We soon stood across from each other, Matthew having bowed as the rules dictated we show respect to our opponent. I refused to bow however, my only excuse being,


    ¡°I only show respect to those that have earned it. So far this boy has yet to do so.¡±


    The crowd booed and the boy merely glared. When the match started with the announcer/referee a safe distance away, the boy charged forward, an angry battlecry issuing from his lips. I just stepped forward, opening my palm and thrusting forward at the same time. It hit him squarely in the chest, knocking the boy out of the arena, the wall opposite now possessing a handsome crater. I snorted,


    ¡°A future in the royal guard my ass. A royal guard has to keep his calm at all times.¡±


    I walked off the arena, the announcer shouting excitedly, ¡°Torvus just instantly knocked Matthew out of the Arena! It seems that he purposely pissed him off to take advantage of his anger! A shame for Matthew but this is his first time! Once he comes back, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be wiser and do far better! Anyways, Torvus seems to be no amateur at this game even though it is also his first time here! But he couldn¡¯t call himself a Gold Adventurer if he lost this round!¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    If this was the best of the competitors, then I will most likely never use my sword or my dragon regalia. I sighed, I had my hopes up for this, but then again, he was a first timer. It would be foolish to assume that all were on his level of skill.


    I didn¡¯t have another match for the day so I decided to watch the rest of the match, analyzing the fighting styles of my potential opponents. Once more, really just to pass the time, I focused on everything, noticing the man that was stuffing various bits of food in his mouth while at the same time looking to see the two opponents clash fiercely.


    I was glad when the last match was over, I was really tired of seeing the various things that people did that they thought others wouldn¡¯t notice. Really, the humans of this world are disgusting, though I suppose that could be applied to the humans of my world. But it is not of my concern, the Empire of Morsad only wishes to rule as much territory as possible, not with the disgusting habits of its citizens.


    I really cannot wait to return, but it seems that for now, Morsad has deemed this world to be useless to it. But I will wait for my orders, even if it means that I will die here of old age. I have pledged my allegiance to the Emperor and until he has dismissed me, I shall not bow down to another.


    It seems that my comrades have yet to do their turn as there are many applicants, so many in fact that in order for everyone to get their turn, one has to wait two weeks. SO with two weeks to kill, I did quests in the spare time,completing so many with such great speed that I was promoted to Diamond Rank. The guildmaster was quite impressed, though if I was in the army, this would only be considered mediocre.


    The elite bodyguards of the Emperor were much more able than I. Even with my dragon regalia, I doubt I¡¯d be able to fight for twenty seconds. After all, I only specialize in taking down anything vaguely related to magic such as mages, magical creatures and the like. I only managed to kill the dragon because it was already exhausted killing the rest of my division, four hundred men. Of course, it was still powerful but not so much that it could kill me.


    But there were many things that were far more powerful than dragons. These are called the Blest, those who¡¯ve received the blessing of either a god or a devil. Heroes were one such blest that would be beyond me, for they are not just magical, they were blessed by the gods. A mere mortal such as myself has no hope in standing up against them.


    Would there be such warriors in this tournament? I would be glad for the chance to go all out, it has been long since I¡¯ve last fought an opponent with my life on the line. I have heard of dragons here, perhaps I¡¯ll fight one. All on my lonesome, just to see if I am truly worthy of the title, ¡°Dragon Slayer¡±. I shook myself out of these thoughts, really now, I must be losing it. Worrying, I really need to return to the army, I¡¯m not sure for how much longer I can retain such tight control over my mind.


    But still¡­ I¡¯d really like to fight a dragon. To feel the exhilaration of the adrenaline pumping through your veins, to feel the heat of dragonfire, to witness the sight of its glittering, deadly magnificence as it roars thunderously¡­ how can one not wish to see it? I want to feel alive, I NEED to feel alive. Otherwise I¡¯ll simply become a regular human again, trying to achieve that ultimate feeling through sex and the other pleasures of life.


    And by fuck will I do my best to prevent that. I am a fucking soldier and a soldier follows orders. My last order was to reconnoiter this world and that is exactly what I shall do. It may seem as if¡¯ I¡¯ve been fucking around but all the quests I¡¯ve been doing were all over the place and I took my time to memorize special details about them.


    For instance, the Emerald Vale is the perfect place to set the first stepping stone in the Morsadian Conquest. It¡¯s sleepy garrison would hardly be able to put up enough resistance to keep our forces occupied until reinforcements arrived and our forces can solidify as generals and their elite bodyguards arrive. From there, Morsadian forces will be able to move on to Lord¡¯s Hill, a good place to set up a fort and will most likely serve as the headquarters of the commanding generals and the like.


    I can just imagine just how easily this world could be conquered, my hand unconsciously grasping the hilt of my sword in anticipation. Realizing what I was doing, I let go of the hilt and then looked up into the sky, turning my attention to my comm crystal. It was dull, as it had been for the entirety I have been here. I looked at it, half expecting it to light up and the voice of my commanding officer to order me to return at once.


    I wished that it would happen but other than remaining dull, it did nothing. I sighed and pocketed it, no use in waiting for something that won¡¯t come for awhile. Right now I was in the guild tavern, mulling over these thoughts over a particularly delectable dish of meat. I reminded myself to order this meal every once in awhile and continued to think, that is until someone deliberately sat next to me.


    I turned my head slightly to see who it was, seeing a woman that I¡¯ve seen a few times in the guild, an obsidian rank I think. I decided to pay more attention to her, after all she was of higher rank. I turned back to my food, asking,


    ¡°What does an obsidian rank want with me?¡±


    She said, ¡°Well it¡¯s not every day someone rises to the rank of diamond in a few months. I¡¯m here to scout you out, hopefully to become a part of my team.¡±


    I first took a bite of meat, savoring the flavor before swallowing it.


    I then said, ¡°Sorry, already have a team.¡±


    She replied, ¡°They can join us as well.¡±


    I finally turned to face her, asking, ¡°Why should we? More people just means less cohesiveness as a whole unless you¡¯re in the fucking army. I don¡¯t think you guys are an army so I¡¯d prefer to stay with my group of seven.¡±


    I returned my attention to the meat, though the girl didn¡¯t give up.


    She said, ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s not every day I make an offer like this. You¡¯ll be famous, you can get all the money and women you want.¡±


    I chuckled, a grin on my face that didn¡¯t reach my eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not like other men, I don¡¯t desire women or money, what I want is to feel alive, to feel the adrenaline galvanize you with energy, to meet Death in the face and say, ¡®Not today you fucker.¡¯, and to feel the sublime feeling of victory. Can you give me that?¡±


    I turned to face her at that last part, dead serious. When she was silent, I sighed and finished the last bit of meat. I paid for the meal and left, the woman calling back at me,


    ¡°You¡¯ll regret this!¡±


    I said continuing to walk, ¡°I don¡¯t feel such useless things such as regret.¡±


    I don¡¯t know what her purpose was approaching me like that but it was most likely not for my benefit. Even if it was, I¡¯d still distrust it with every fiber in my being, someone never offers you help without some sort of reward afterward, whether it be monetary or just a feeling of satisfaction of helping someone.


    But I suspect that this woman didn¡¯t help me out of the goodness of her heart, perhaps it has something to do with the tournament, trying to make me give up so that I wouldn¡¯t hurt a member of their team that may be participating. That or they just want to leech off my strength, being to weak to do anything by themselves. Too many possibilities that would not end with me benefitting, it was best for me to refuse.


    I decided to take on a few more quests, it wouldn¡¯t hurt and besides, I still had a few more days to kill. The quests were nothing of note, mostly just thinning out the local monster population or the occasional rescue of some person who was kidnapped by either monsters or bandits. These weren¡¯t even Gold level quests but I didn¡¯t want to take on a quest that could potentially last for months.


    I checked on my schedule once the week was up, seeing that my fight would be three days from now. I shrugged and took on a few more quests, though this time I noticed that there was someone watching me. I was pretty sure that it was a member of that woman¡¯s group, perhaps they were trying to analyze my fighting style. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t matter, I wouldn¡¯t use my sword until forced.


    Monsters were more worthy of my blade because unlike humans, they will continue to fight even though they are filled with fear. It is very rare for a monster to run from you, it will finish its fight with you even though it is horribly outmatched. It is the only thing that they know to do and I respect them for that. To not know the meaning of retreat, to fight on even though your life is forfeit and to defy one¡¯s fate, they are really simple creatures.


    Humans do not understand them, they are simply pests to them, pests that wield weapons and could kill them. Humans are woefully ignorant about the lifestyle of these monsters, no, not ignorant, they purposefully close their eyes. Humans and monsters really aren¡¯t that different, they both have families and both desire to expand their territory and to become the most powerful.


    It is just that humanity has gained the favor of the gods, using powers that aren¡¯t theirs to rule over all else. But I am thankful for such things, after all, the Empire of Morsad would have never been established and I would not have had the chance to slay a dragon. I would not have seen all that I have seen if not for the Emperor, the greatest warrior of all.

 Chapter 7: Honor is Foolishness

    I arrived back a day early, wanting to see some more of my competitors. I shook my head at the foolishness I saw happening in the matches, warriors giving another time to stand up before continuing the fight. How could they be so idiotic? Really, I mean they are fucking stupid. You do that on the battlefield you¡¯ll just get fucked over. Honor has no place on the battlefield, it is either kill or be killed.


    If they are going to expect such stupidity from me, I suppose they¡¯ll be disappointed. Rule One of a soldier, once the enemy¡¯s guard has broken you continue to attack until either your momentum fails or he is dead. I didn¡¯t want to see such mistakes being made so I left, repairing my equipment, buying ingots of magically enhanced steel to feed to the equipment cores.


    I headed to the tavern, entering my room to begin the repairs. I re-donned my armor once it was all repaired, the dents smoothened out and the dull surface now a shining mirror. Well, not a mirror but still far shinier than before. Settling myself in the familiar weight, I did a few stretches before heading out once more, deciding that a hunt was in order.


    But on the way out, the woman from before blocked me with a several of her friends. I knew where this was going to go so I didn¡¯t bother listening, I just punched the nearest one with my gauntleted hand, burying it in his gut. I didn¡¯t stop moving, building up more momentum and smashing my fist into the next man¡¯s temple, knocking him out instantly. I whipped around and slapped the woman in the face, knocking her ten feet to the side. I then continued the spin and swept the legs of another out from under him, swiftly stomping on his stomach.


    The next one was already running but I believe in a ¡°don¡¯t let any enemy get away¡± policy so I chased him down, kicking him in the back. I made sure that he had a broken spine and the others weren¡¯t free of injury either. At least three would have broken ribs and all would have bruises. I briefly inspect my gauntlet, hissing in disgust as I saw a new dent, though it was very tiny.


    I guess I¡¯ll just have to live with it, I was going to go hunting anyways. I headed out, the knowledge that I¡¯d probably be ambushed floating around in my mind. It didn¡¯t worry me, what worried me was how I was going to hide the bodies. I suppose I¡¯ll have to find some high level monsters and then have them deal with it. That or just kill them and admit to it. I¡¯m fine with either one but the latter option would be more troublesome.


    As I wondered about this, something whistled through the air but I paid it no heed, an arrow bouncing off my head an instant later. I sighed, drawing my blade and sprinting towards the area where the arrow came from, impaling the archer with my sword. Breaking brush could be heard and I whipped around, slashing horizontally with my blade and cutting three men in half, their guts spilling all over the forest floor. Meanwhile the now dead archer had been flung some ways to the side, her body torn from the waist up.


    Seeing more armed people, I fell upon them, killing men and women alike without remorse. I finally stood still, the corpses of twenty men and women behind me. I sheathed my blade again, I¡¯ll have to wash it later. I headed deeper into the forest, my mind free of worry. They had given me the excuse I needed, the excuse of self defense. I was now in a fairly good mood and I went hunting, taking down a bear with my bare hands. Literally as I deactivated the armor cores so that I faced the bear with my body alone.


    It was quite a challenging fight but enjoyable, especially when I stood over the corpse of the bear in victory. But it came at a price, I was covered in scratches and bruises and I also gained a few broken ribs as well as a fractured forearm. I clicked my tongue in self-chastisement, I have to be more careful, my next match is tomorrow. I suppose I¡¯ll have to splurge on a healing potion. But first, this bear needs to be cooked.


    I hefted it onto my shoulder and headed to a nearby clearing, dropping it unceremoniously to the ground, a large ¡°thud¡± filling the clearing. I set about clearing some debris away from the future fire pit, gathering dried wood for the fire, and dried leaves and grass for tinder. Once all the materials were ready, I grabbed my sword and a flint, smashing the flint into the sword¡¯s side, directing the sparks at the tinder. Once it caught fire, I carefully tended to it before adding the smaller sticks, the fire soon greedily devouring the fuel.


    As the fire roared away, I began to prepare the bear, having already bled it immediately after the fight. Using its hide as a table, I was able to separate most of the flesh from the tendons and bones. Using its unbroken ribs as spits to hold up the meat, I made a stand out of its humerus and tibia with its femurs tied together set across them. I then balanced the spits on the horizontal femurs and occasionally turned the meat so that it would cook evenly.


    Once it was done, I dug in, tearing off large chunks of meat and chewing them down with great gusto. Once I finished, I picked up the next three that I had prepared while I ate, doing so until almost a fourth of the meat was eaten. Wrapping up the rest in the bear hide, I doused the fire with dirt and headed back. I sold the meat to the butcher and the hide to a tanner, doing an extra quest before I slept.


    After gathering the herbs and turning them in, I headed back into the forest, sleeping ack at the clearing. I wasn¡¯t afraid, I should be able to wake up if something dares to step in the clearing. I awoke without much trouble, though I did find my dagger in my hand with some blood on it. I guess something came up on me in the night and my instincts lashed out. Whatever, that just means my body can defend itself while I¡¯m unconscious.


    Having forgotten to buy a healing potion the day before, I returned and bought one, healing the half-healed injuries. As electricity rushed through my veins, I felt my wounds close and my bones re-connect. I did a few movements to make sure that everything was in working order before returning the empty potion bottle and headed to the arena.


    After a few matches I stood once more on the arena, my opponent opposite from me. This time it was a woman, not something that you see that often. At her sides were twin sabers, one which radiated icy cold and the other fiery heat. Hmm, troublesome but not impossible to defeat.  The announcer did her usual routine, first announcing the name of the woman,


    ¡°In one corner is Syndra Aephine! An elf from the forest, her looks may be deceiving but under that beautiful mask lies a cold blooded killer with inhuman strength and speed!¡±


    She continued, ¡°And in the other corner is Torvus! He boasts enormous strength, knocking out his first opponent clear out of the arena!¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    We stood opposite of each other as the announcer reviewed the rules and finally asked us to bow. Once we had finished bowing, I drew my sword, it seems that today would be the day when I will use my sword. I waited, my sword held out toward the ground.


    I kept my eyes focused on everything in my field of vision, wondering where she¡¯d attack. I was surprised to see her disappear but I was able to see her blade, the icy one which was directed towards my face. I swiftly blocked, spinning to absorb the force and then elbowed the air where she was previously. It seems that she had left before my attack could connect.


    For awhile there was silence as she moved beyond my perception. I just stood there, my ears straining to hear any sort of sound, to give me any hint as to her location. I whipped around as soon as I heard a the tap of a shoe hitting stone, my blade meeting hers. I quickly jabbed with my fist, connecting with air once more. Once more she was gone and I waited, this time spinning non stop when I heard the sound, my sword slashing around me in a huge circle.


    I saw for a brief moment as she frantically slowed to avoid my attack and at the moment, I struck, charging forward and raining down attacks from all sides. She continued to retreat, unable to run lest my blade cut her in half. I didn¡¯t let up, slashing away with what seemed to be reckless abandon but was actually swift, calculated strikes. Each strike was made to keep her from running for at least a few moments longer.


    I succeeded, though she began to attack ferociously as she saw how near she was to the edge of the arena. I didn¡¯t let up, finally knocking her out with one last strike. But I wasn¡¯t done yet, I had to make sure that she was out. So as she was already falling, I opened my palm and thrusted forward, hitting her in the stomach and knocking her into the opposite wall. I couldn¡¯t just trust my last strike to get her out. With that insane speed, she would have made it back onto the arena and it would have been a stalemate.


    As she lay there panting heavily, I just turned and left, the voice of the announcer declaring my victory,


    ¡°Aaaand Torvus has won yet again! Against an elf no less! Just how strong is this man?! He stood up against an elven swordswoman and a talented young knight and won! Not many can claim to have done so much!¡±


    I sighed, I could do without the showboating, I didn¡¯t like unnecessary attention. The rest of my comrades met me at the entrance to the arena, congratulating me on my win. I wished them good luck on their fights, saying,


    ¡°I expect that it is one of us that wins this tournament, I will not settle for anything else.¡±


    They all nodded and I said, ¡°Let us win this for the Emperor, so that all may know the might of Morsad.¡±


    The rest murmured, ¡°For the Emperor and the might of Morsad.¡±


    We then headed back to the tavern, getting a table and telling tales of our fights in the arena. Most of us haven¡¯t seen each other fight as we were training or doing quests. Laughter filled the air as we soldiers became human at least temporarily. Even me, I suppose that this world has had its effects on me, which is worrying to say the least. But I suppose to indulge every once in awhile isn¡¯t so bad.


    As we talked, a shadow fell upon our table. We all look to the source, instinctively grabbing our weapons. It was the elf from my fight, with four other elves, two male and two female. I took a swig of ale and asked,


    ¡°Well, what is it you want from me?¡±


    The male elf stepped forward, murder on his face but Syndra stopped him.


    She then bowed, ¡°Forgive him, he is angry at your treatment of me.¡±


    I snorted and took another swig, ¡°The way of this world is not kind or caring. Battle doesn¡¯t care for honor. I have been raised to fight the way of the battlefield and I will not change my actions now. You were merely an enemy and I treated you as one. An enemy does not deserve mercy, only to be killed so that he may not threaten you in the future.¡±


    The male elf seemed ready to burst and I said, ¡°You are not yet my enemy but should you attack I shall not hesitate to kill. It will be in self defense, it shall not be my fault.¡±


    Syndra hurriedly said, ¡°We did not come here to be enemies, rather we want to be allies. You see, your strength is rare among your kind, we¡¯d like to be allies to avoid future conflict.¡±


    I thought about it and discussed it with my comrades in our home tongue, eliciting curious stares from the elves. We finally agreed to ally ourselves with the elves, they were a strong race and it wouldn¡¯t hurt. Besides it would also provide a good chance to find about their people¡¯s strengths and weaknesses. I stood and shook hands with Syndra, saying,


    ¡°I hope we do not have cause to fight one another.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°I do as well.¡±


    I then looked back at the empty spaces at the table and the excess money we had.


    After a quick check with my comrades, I offered, ¡°Well we recently struck a lot of money, would you like to eat with us?¡±


    They accepted and we ordered more food, allowing them to choose. They ordered a vegetarian meal, making unpleasant faces as we ate meat but didn¡¯t say anything. It must have been a cultural thing, strange but not of significance. We talked of our various exploits, sharing special moments in quests and the like. I also got in another drinking contest with that male elf, I ended up winning again, though I was beginning to lose the feeling in my fingers.


    I was still pretty clear-minded while he was dead drunk. I looked at the pyramid of ale pints and sighed, I really must have gone overboard.


    I didn¡¯t dare go into another drinking contest and luckily none was offered. Though, Syndra was very curious as to the language I spoke. I tiptoed around the question, saying that I was from a country far away and that I was temporarily stranded in this land. She asked some more questions but I firmly stated that I wasn¡¯t going to answer anymore. She stopped and we ate in silence.


    Finally, she asked, ¡°Just how were you raised to think such thoughts?¡±


    I replied, ¡°I am a soldier of my country, for thirty years I have been in countless battles and wars and before that I trained in the harshest conditions imaginable, all in the effort to be as useful as I could to my nation. That is what leads me to believe what I believe, for those who show mercy are killed without remorse, those who show honor are stabbed in the back. I learned to discard such useless things for the battlefield does not care. The strong rule and the weak die.¡±


    She argued, ¡°But there are those who would repay such kindness.¡±


    I shrugged, ¡°The number of those are far fewer than those who would stab you in the back. Better to be careful and kill a few innocents than to show mercy to all and die by the one you saved.¡±


    She said, ¡°But killing innocents is¡­¡±


    When she fell silent, I spoke, ¡°I do not regret killing innocents, it is their fault for not knowing how the battlefield would treat them. The battlefield does not care if you are innocent or not, all who step in will eventually die in its embrace and innocents are no exception.¡±


    She gave me a sad look, saying, ¡°You live a sad life, what of your family?¡±


    I chuckled, though it didn¡¯t reach my eyes, ¡°I gave up the idea of family long ago. I am a soldier, not a human. Love, hate, envy, these things are meaningless to me. All that matters is the sword in my hand, the will of the Emperor and the immediate death of his enemies.¡±


    I then stood, saying, ¡°Well, it was¡­ nice, I guess you would say. I¡¯d say I¡¯d hope to do this again but¡­¡±


    I gestured to my drunk comrades and the drunk elves, ¡°This has been quite the disaster.¡±

 Chapter 8: Whos the Better Swordsman?

    After another cycle of fights, I once again checked my schedule to see who I¡¯d fight against, not surprised to see Izlir¡¯s name next to mine. It was bound to happen some time soon and I was pleased that it was Izlir. I had long since wondered if his swordsmanship was better than mine, at least, technique-wise.


    When the day came, we stood before each other, our blades drawn. We drew them before the announcer could begin the fight begin. The tips of the blades pointed up to the sky as we saluted to one another. We bowed our heads and muttered in Morsadian,


    ¡°We Serve the Emperor.¡±


    We then sheathed our blades and stood across from each other, waiting for the announcer to begin the fight. A bit surprised and unsure what to do, the announcer promptly started the fight and in an instant, I and Izlir were at the center of the arena, our blades locked as we strove to overcome the other. A fierce grin covered Izlir¡¯s face while mine was as impassive as ever. Just as quickly, our blades parted and we soon stood apart from one another once again, this time Izlir having drawn both of his blades and I with my dagger in my other hand.


    Once more we clashed, this time our primary blades locked while our secondaries clashed fiercely, a series of jabs and small slashes. When I stabbed, he blocked and when he countered, I deflected. Once more we retreated but were soon locked in combat, this time my sword breaking through his defense of one sword, forcing him backward. I charged forwards, my sword cleaving through the air in huge sweeping strikes while my dagger darted forward like lightning.


    He defended elegantly, his swords though slower than my daggers strikes were always placed in the proper place to intercept and the twin blades would form an x to catch my larger sword. He eclipsed each move with perfection and grace and I could not help but admire his technique. He truly was a greater swordsman, but he still lacked experience. Like right now, he was too busy focused on defense and not countering my attacks. But he should be able to adapt, after all, he had fought me before, he knew my fighting style to an extent.


    He soon came to the same conclusion that I had come to, his eyes now searching for gaps in my attack which he could exploit. He soon found one, the fact that my sword could be deflected at a certain angle. That angle soon came and as he deflected, he slipped his other blade through my defense, forcing me to retreat. As I retreated, I tapped the two blade cores of my weapons together, mass flowing out from my greatsword to my dagger, equalizing the mass of both swords until I too had dual blades like Izlir.


    He grinned at my choice and charged, his blades silver crescents as they slashed through the air towards me. I blocked each with my blades and retaliated, raining blows on him from all sides but he casually deflected them, beginning his counterattack. It was my turn to defend and I did so to the best of my abilities, fending off his graceful attacks which flowed constantly like a river. I stood my ground, our blades simply a flurry of metal as they clashed, morsadian steel ringing in the air.


    But I was soon able to break through his attack, having outlasted his momentum and I began to build up my own, forcing him back with my greater strength and speed. Indeed, he was a remarkable warrior, if his strength and speed matched my own, I doubt I¡¯d be able to defeat him with my morsadian armor. If he continued to grow, he would soon end up as a general¡¯s elite guard and from there, the Emperor¡¯s Imperial Elite. I must say that his skill is far better than mine but as warriors, I am far superior.


    Warriors did not mean just skill, it meant being able to react to your enemy¡¯s attack with one of your own, taking advantage of any gaps in their defenses. It was not to get into a predictable pattern, each action though with purpose must be completely reactive. Once on the attack, it is simply to keep them from countering and keeping the offensive until they fall or until you lose momentum. Momentum was essential in attack, it allowed one to transfer power form the first attack to the second, building up more and more energy until it peaks and then decreases.


    A truly good warrior could increase the length of time it takes to reach the peak, something that it essential to battle, to ensure that once you¡¯ve gained momentum that it lasts long enough until your enemy is dead. This same concept I applied now, my attacks targeting his weakest blade and preventing him from gaining momentum. Of course, it takes skill to do so, not technique but an iron grip over your body. It does not move without your consent, it does not even breath if you don¡¯t allow it.


    Mind over body, that is something needed in all warriors, to continue to fight even though your body is covered in wounds both inconsequential and fatal. But soon, my momentum peaked and with one last slash, I managed to break his guard and I rammed him with my shoulder, knocking him back. He retained his footing and I charged once more, intending on gaining more momentum but he negated my momentum by absorbing it as he blocked and took a step back.


    I was impressed, it took quite some skill to pull that off without failing. I immediately disengaged, to continue to fight without momentum would be suicide. I prepared my defenses and once more our blades met. We continued our dance to the death, though I did return to my greatsword and dagger combo, but this time I did without the dagger. I wielded my sword with two hands and slashed with great power and speed, Izlir forced to retreat lest his blades snap from the pressure.


    Once more, we withdrew to opposite sides of the arena, Izlir brandishing his blade and I transferring the mass of my right dual blade onto the core crystal of my left gauntlet, thickening it so that it could act as a shield. Holding out the reinforced gauntlet out before me, I transferred the remaining sword to my right hand, held at my side. We both tensed and darted forward, though this time, I knocked his first strike aside with my shield arm and slashed with my blade. He deflected it easily but I wasn¡¯t done yet, spinning on my toes and curling my hands into a fist, I used the heel of my hand and hammered it into his shoulder. He stumbled but remained standing, grunting under the attack.


    He swiped, hitting my shield arm, jarring it with a good amount of force. Oh boy, I was going to have some bruises tonight. But that¡¯s fine, if I fell from some measly bruises I would have to kill myself out of shame. But with my reinforced left side, I rammed him with my shoulder once more, knocking him back and I charged once more, my left hand opened and I thrusted with my palm, hitting him in the gut. I then shoved with all my strength, launching him out of the arena.


    I shook my left arm, my hand limp as it swished through the air. I then breathed out and bowed, Izlir climbing out of the arena. He stood up once more and bowed as well, a huge grin on his face. He then said,


    ¡°You bastard, I only know how to duel with dual swords!¡±


    I said, ¡°I concede that you are the better swordsman but I am the better warrior. One must adapt to any situation, no matter how strange.¡±


    He retorted, ¡°But you never change weapons while fighting monsters.¡±


    I replied, ¡°Believe it or not, a large sword is rather effective at cutting them in half.¡±


    He inquired, ¡°Then why the dagger?¡±


    I answered, ¡°To deal with those skilled enough to avoid my sword.¡±


    I then left the arena, Izlir following behind. By now, I¡¯ve tuned out that annoying announcer¡¯s voice, really, did she need to announce every move we make? Anyways, I bought some ingots of high quality steel, this one far superior to that of Morsadian steel. He accepted the gift and immediately used it to make a second set of dual blades. Like me, he¡¯ll be able to switch out his regular blades with the enhanced ones.


    Izlir, he¡¯ll be one of the greatest soldiers I would have fought beside. It is good that he is in the service of the Emperor, it would bring me no pleasure to kill him. I soon took a quest afterwards, I really needed to be doing something, just sitting around wouldn¡¯t be helping me. Once more I plunged into the depths of the forest, the hunt for forest trolls beginning. I needed to kill fifty of them, a pitiful number but should be able to relieve my bloodthirst, really, that fight with Izlir really got it going.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    But fifty wasn¡¯t enough, merely an appetizer, I went on to hunt more, eventually stumbling on a goblin horde. I fell upon them, my sword cutting down five at a time, my dagger killing with each stab. But still this was not enough, after leaving an empty goblin nest, I stumbled off to find another target, my blood boiling as one commanding thought resounded throughout my mind, Kill! Let blood flow and corpses fall! Kill or be killed! Slaughter! Eviscerate!


    Before I knew it, I stood atop a mountain of corpses, another goblin horde. Yet the bodies of other monsters were mixed in, a few trolls, a few undead skeletons and a few of the depraved tree people. I took a seat on top of the mountain and breathed out, my bloodlust finally sated. I¡¯ll have to clean my armor thoroughly after this, it was simply caked in dried blood. I sighed, I should probably return to the trolls and collect their left ears as proof I killed them.


    I stumbled down the hill of bodies and began to follow the trail of blood and corpses back. I soon discovered the original trolls I had killed and took their ears, most of the thickest dried blood having fallen off. I still had a big job of cleaning though, but it was a long time coming. Storing the ears away, I made my way back to the guild, turning in the ears, ignoring the stares that people directed my way. The quest master did raise an eyebrow at my state but did her job well, counting the ears and giving me my payment.


    I then turned and walked out of the guild, heading to a pool deep in the forest in which to clean myself off. A few buckets won¡¯t do shit against the dried blood, it needed to be fully submerged in water. I arrived at the pool without any trouble and there, I stripped myself of my armor and clothing, washing the clothing first. Even though I washed it as best I could, it was still slightly stained with the color of red. I didn¡¯t mind, as long as it did its work I didn¡¯t care.


    Replacing the wet clothes, I turned my attention to my armor, first scrubbing the helmet clean of all impurities before moving on to the gauntlets and shin guards. Then the thigh guards came next and after that, the shoulder guards. Soon came my chestplate¡¯s turn to be cleaned. I took extra care on this one as it had the insignia of the Morsadian Empire, an ant¡¯s head complete with antenna and mandibles. A strange sign to be sure but if you think about it, not so strange.


    Ants possess great empires, controlling massive amounts of territory for things their size. They protect insects that provide sustenance to them, claiming more of said insects from other ant empires. The soldier ants show utter loyalty to their queen who in turn produces more ants to either be workers or soldiers. Sure there are mighty creatures such as the spider but even it cannot stand up to the might of thousands of ants who bite fearlessly, doing all that they can to damage their enemy, even if it is naught but a scratch.


    Like the ants, I as a soldier have pledged utter loyalty to the Emperor. He treats all of his citizens like his children, he is our father. His generosity attracts more ¡°ants¡± to his empire and conquered are treated as citizens immediately. Of course, Morsad is not exactly like an ant hill but it is very much similar. Of course, having an ant for an insignia is often seen as being weak but let those who think such thoughts wallow in their ignorance. It is better that they do so, so when they attack you, they are not aware of the true strength you possess.


    But I will do my best for the Emperor, even though I am separated from him. I will wait for as long as necessary, even if I am too old when the comm crystal activates, I will still march out to meet my brethren. No matter how old I am, even if the old Emperor is dead, I will meet them, it is my duty and the only meaning I have as a soldier.


    Once all my armor was clean, I donned it, sliding my left gauntlet over a heat-scarred arm, a memento from the dragon. In fact, the entirety of my left side was burned, save my face. I managed to shield it with the body of a dead comrade, the corpse and the helmet providing just enough protection to prevent serious burns, so my face was able to heal without too bad of a scarring. Of course, I was still burned, though nothing as bad as my left side. The feeling of molten metal on your skin is¡­ harrowing to say the least.


    It was the first time I felt such pain before, I do believe that moment was the one of the few moments I ever screamed in agony. I remember it well, after all, it was one of the most exciting moments of my life. There I was, standing before the dragon, the corpses of my battalion around me. It was wounded, one of its eyes gouged out by a spear and a projectile the size of a log in its side, Morsad¡¯s ballistae.


    But we only managed off one shot before the dragon destroyed it and from there, countless were slaughtered. But I stood, casting away the burned remnants of a fellow soldier¡¯s body which had shielded me. I fell on my right knee, screaming my throat raw as the pain fell upon me in waves, getting worse with each gust of wind. Somehow, when pain barely receded bearable levels, I still wasn¡¯t dead. Instead, the dragon was still before me, its leaking wound adding to a pool of blood.


    It seems it had succumbed to its injuries, though it was still conscious. Its one remaining eye glared at me balefully, though not with anger. It was curious, and with what little strength it had left, it spoke, its voice booming in my mind,


    ¡°I have never witnessed a mortal survive mine flames, even though shielded by the bodies of their comrades. What art thou?¡±


    I replied through gritted teeth, ¡°I¡¯m a soldier. I kill the enemies of the Empire of die trying.¡±


    ¡°What admirable loyalty to thine country, but why art thou so loyal?¡± the dragon asked.


    I replied, ¡°That is the purpose of a soldier. A soldier-¡± I winced as the pain suddenly intensified, ¡°A soldier is not a human, simply a sword or a shield.¡± I hissed out air through my gritted teeth, enduring the pain.


    The dragon snorted, ¡°I see that surviving my flames did come at a great cost.¡±


    I winced, ¡°If course, it was the flames of a dragon.¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°Yes, thou art right. But¡­ it is time for this talk to end. One of us must die and I am too weak to survive. Thou have earned the right to slay me. No need to drag this out, I do not need a warrior¡¯s death. It has been to long of a life, even for a dragon.¡±


    I was silent, then I stood, the armor now fused with my skin in the intense heat. It was obviously painful but enough time had passed where it had cooled enough so that the pain didn¡¯t knock me out. I leaned on my sword like one does with a crutch and limped over to the dragon, its one remaining eye regarding me with gratitude. That was the first time I met an opponent who was glad that I was taking their life and it shocked me. I stood still before him, my body frozen.


    This was a dragon, this was a creature that was uncomparable in the heavens¡­ and here I was, an insignificant soldier about to take its life. It was then that I shed a single tear, the one and only tear that I have ever shed in the army. I truly did not want to kill him and it greatly saddened me to do so. But, I was a soldier and I wasn¡¯t going to let some emotions rule me. So with my heart hardened and a look of relief in the dragon¡¯s eyes, I raised my sword and plunged it deep into its remaining eye.


    The dragon died immediately, my sword penetrating deep into its brain. I stumbled backwards onto the battlefield, now devoid of all life except for me. I sighed and then looked at its corpse, glittering black scales and golden claws. He truly was a magnificent sight to behold. But not even my respect for such a creature could stop me from reaping from the rewards of battle and I began to absorb the raw materials to create new weapons and armor for myself. When I was done, all that was left of the mighty creature was its meat.


    Of course, I helped myself to it as well, after all I needed strength to return and energy to heal from my wounds. I managed to take off my armor by deactivating the core crystals but that didn¡¯t stop my burned skin from tearing at its absence. It was a miracle that I didn¡¯t die, though I did have to spend an entire month recuperating just to have at least half of my wounds healed so that when I moved my body, it didn¡¯t break the countless scabs that formed.


    Once I was able to move, I returned to Morsad, leaving behind the battlefield that had now become a home to scavengers of all kinds. I had eaten most of the salvageable dragon meat so that no other creature would desecrate his remains, I had a right to them as his slayer. That did not mean that others could dine upon his flesh as well. Upon returning alone, I was interrogated intensely on the happenings of the battle. I left nothing out except for my conversation with the dragon, that fact did not need to be known.


    Of course, when asked to display the new armor I got, I did so, the general inspecting it to make sure that it was truly of dragon origin. Once he had satisfied himself that all that I said was true, he re-assigned me to a scouting battalion, for the scouts were often the ones who first see combat and though there was a need for sneakiness, there was also a need for high skill in combat.


    Out of nostalgia, I activated my sword core to turn into my dragon blade, the black and gold sword glinting in the fading light of the sun. I blinked, I had spent too much time here, it is time for me to return. Really, to lose myself in my memories, not very soldier-like at all. I stood, my armor and clothing dry by this point and headed back to the guild, changing my sword back to steel. I wondered once more if a worthy opponent would arrive, after all, it has been too long since my dragon blade has faced combat. Once again, it may have been my imagination but my sword seemed to quiver ever so slightly, as if it was anticipating such a battle with a worthy opponent. I laughed at myself for thinking such a thing, after all, blades aren¡¯t sentient.

 Chapter 9: The Enmity of a Dragonkin

    Excitement flowed filled my body as I imagined my fight with the dragonkin, my new opponent. If he was anything like a dragon, then I could expect a great fight from one such as him. I¡¯ve seen pictures of him, a noble creature, strong lizard-like creatures like the Saurians I once fought against in one of Morsad¡¯s many conquests. If he¡¯s anything like a saurian, he will possess superior strength, speed and reflexes to that of a human If the Saurians were unified under one banner, they would not have fallen to the ten legions that were sent to conquer it.


    But being dragonkin means that he must have some other abilities, things that no Saurian would possess. I was excited, it was rare that I got the chance to fight such an opponent without having to kill them as quickly as possible. To kill is easy, to enjoy a fight is much harder. But now, I could enjoy this fight for as long as I want, to balance on the edge of life and death, to look in the face of Death and refuse to take his hand.


    With great difficulty, I suppressed my excitement, now was not the time. Fight now I have to be calm, it would do no good to appear insane to those around me. I headed to the arena, a little early for my fight but being early doesn¡¯t hurt. I continued on my way, stoic though beneath, I could hardly contain my excitement. Finally, a worthy fight, one where I could use my dragon regalia. I briefly wondered if it would offend my opponent but then shrugged it off, it would not matter in the slightest, it would only serve to enrage him and make the fight more enjoyable.


    Yes¡­ something enjoyable, something that is lacking in my life. But of course, satisfaction comes in other ways as well, even for me. Simply serving my Emperor is alright as well, for it was he who brought meaning to my life, he who accepted me as who I am. Though not personally, he allowed me to live this life with my abnormal self and still be useful. Even if I am a pawn, it does not matter, for I would do anything for him, the Father of Morsad.


    I soon pushed these thoughts out of my mind when I arrived at the arena, it at most ten minutes early and I had managed to restrain my excitement to tolerable levels. Barely calm, I made my way to the arena and stood in the circle of stone, awaiting my opponent. The stands were already filled with anxious spectators, their muttering flowing into a sea of sound that brushed gently upon my ears. As I stood, I involuntarily began to see everything without focusing, noticing everything that moved in my periphery.


    Finally, he arrived and just as I had expected, looks similar to a saurian but with more larger, dragon-like scales and a more pronounced dragon-snout. But there was something else that he had that the saurians did not, he had two pairs of arms, one set underneath the other and all four were equipped with a set of four claws fingers. Altogether he looked dignified, magnificent just like a dragon would look. He does not ask, he commands. He gave me a glance and then paid me no mind, just like the dragon I had fought before. That¡¯ll soon change but not now. The element of surprise is rather valuable in my opinion, to lose it just to show have your opponent re-evaluate you is the height of foolishness.


    We stood before each other, the dragonkin obviously bored, seeming to think that this fight was already won. I¡¯m not entirely sure what to think of it, that means either he is very confident in his superhuman abilities or there is some other trump card that he possesses. Hmm, do I change into my dragon regalia now or do I test the waters? My mind began to whir with potential situations that I may face in battle and of possible ways to counter them.


    I was soon roused from these thoughts as the announcer¡¯s voice filled the air, declaring the beginning of the fight.I barely had any time to raise my sword to block a strike from the dragonkin, my sword cracking under the immense strength. Finally! A worthy opponent! Before it could break, I retreated, switching to my dragon regalia, its black and gold surface glinting in the sunlight. The dragonkin¡¯s eyes widened and he hissed,


    ¡°Dragonsssssslayer!¡±


    He retreated to the other side of the arena and glared at me.


    He growled, ¡°How did you ssslay a dragon?¡±


    I just grinned widely and charged in swinging my blade, nicking his top right forearm. He hissed in surprise but wasn¡¯t able to do anything else, too busy dodging my other strikes. I still got some nicks here and there but he was able to escape before I could finish him off. I gave chase but not in time, he was able to draw his weapons, four crescent blades made of dragonbone. With them he was able to defend against my sword strikes with ease while counter attacking with the other two.


    He soon out-defended my momentum and we were at a standstill, exchanging blows and receiving them. I changed to my dragonbone gauntlets, those crescent blades were too small for my swords to be effective in close combat. We exchanged blows, going at speeds too fast for the announcer to see, evident by her obviously ignorant commentary. But soon, my speed was outclassed and I was on the retreat, making the smallest movements possible in order to defend his attacks. He revealed his teeth and hissed with hatred,


    ¡°You ssshall pay for desssecrating the corpssse of a dragon! One sssuch asss you doesssn¡¯t dessserve to live!¡±


    I grunted, ¡°I slew the dragon, its scales and bones were mine by right of victory.¡±


    He didn¡¯t reply, only attacking more ferociously, forcing me to leap backwards and chang from my gauntlets to dual swords. With them, I began to keep him at a distance, his blades unable to reach me and my defense too perfect for him to close the distance. He growled but I paid that no heed, jabbing and slashing away with calculated abandon. He hissed in frustration, his reptilian eyes glaring at me with anger. But no defense is perfect forever and soon, I slipped up and he took full advantage, closing in with quick powerful strikes. He grabbed my swords with two of his arms and began to pummel my chest with the remaining two with enough force to kill a lesser man.


    But my armor held and although I had gained a few broken ribs, I was able to switch to my shield and sword, allowing me to escape his grasp. With the wider surface area of my hexagonal buckler, I was able to catch all of his strikes with ease though doing broke my left arm and shoulder. With my left arm dangling uselessly, I retreated, desperately parrying his strikes, barely able to outlast his momentum. I then began a counterattack, hacking away furiously with my sword, forcing him on the retreat. Each strike was with the intent to kill, for if I didn¡¯t I would be the one dead. But that filled me with excitement, this was what I had been looking for! I had longed for a fight to the death and now, fate has given me this chance!


    I took advantage of his retreat, charging with my left side, it was already shattered so it was expendable. But he was prepared and met my charge with one of his own, using his armored shoulder to ram into my shield. We were both momentarily stunned but I got the better of the attack as my arm was already broken. But he was able to recover faster and as I prepared to attack, he lunged and hit me in the ribs, breaking a few. I grunted and slashed with my good arm, getting a good slice across his chest, though it wasn¡¯t as deep as I¡¯d like. He retreated briefly, muttering in a strange language and his wound close up.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I couldn¡¯t allow him to continue healing so I charged, this time changing to my greatsword and swinging with all my might, the dragonkin forced to stop chanting and defend my attack. He took the strikes with ease, a testament to his race¡¯s strength but as my strikes were so quick, he didn¡¯t have time to counterattack. Soon he managed to disrupt my momentum and as I stumbled back, he charged forward, tackling me and shoving me to the other side of the arena. Five my ribs were broken in that one attack and my arms were terribly bruised, without this armor I would surely be dead. But that was all part of the fun, the ultimate gamble of life and death.


    As I get up, he growled, ¡°Die disssgusssting human!¡±


    He then took a breath and breathed incandescent fire, the heat cooking me in my armor. I was able to deflect the flames with the surface of my sword but the heat was nothing to laugh at. In response, I charged forward, using the flat of my sword as a shield and rammed him with my good shoulder. As he stumbled back, I slashed down with my sword and I felt it cut through something, unusual but then again, his scales were stronger than most materials. When the flames ceased, I saw blood on my sword, dragonblood. I then saw the dragonkin, still on his feet though missing two of his arms. I didn¡¯t let my guard down and I charged, slashing away with my sword.


    My excitement had peaked, I was no longer able to control it as voices in my head thundered, ¡°KILL! LET BLOOD SPILL! HE MUST DIE!¡±


    He dodged to one side but wasn¡¯t fast enough to dodge the next, losing another arm. He hissed but I swiped his legs out from under him with a swift kick but he was able to scramble away, though I sliced off his tail. Yes, now he will die but not before I make him helpless, make him realize that there would be nothing that would prevent his death. I walked after him slowly, purposefully, catching up to him as his body grew sluggish with blood loss. I stood above him and slashing horizontally, cutting off both of his legs from the knee down. As he wriggled on the ground, I turned him over with my foot and pointed my sword down upon him.


    I said, my voice filled with bloodlust, ¡°Your sentence is death.¡±


    I raised my sword and slashed downward, only for it to suddenly glance off to one side and bury itself deep into the ground. I frowned and prepared to strike again, though the announcer¡¯s voice brought me back,


    ¡°Torvus! Stop immediately or forfeit the match!¡±


    I stopped, sheathing my sword. I glared down upon the dragonkin who glared right back at me.


    He hissed, ¡°I will not forget! You ssshall die for what you¡¯ve done!¡±


    I said, ¡°Next time you shall die. You are lucky that I do not have orders to kill you.¡±


    He growled, ¡°There will be more of my kin next time!¡±


    I smirked, ¡°I am part of the Morsadian Army, we have killed countless dragons and saurians, your people will be conquered as well if the Emperor decrees it. Thank Fortune lizard, thank Fortune that the Emperor does not yet know of your pathetic existence.¡±


    He growled one last time before succumbing to the blood loss and falling unconscious. Medics hurriedly rushed out and placed him on a stretcher, rushing him to the Healing Chamber. A fifth medic arrived and gathered his limbs and rushed back, leaving the arena empty except for me and lots of blood. I inspected my broken shoulder, arm and my basically shattered abdomen. I needed healing too, but I should probably leave now.


    I then turned towards the exit and walked out, the audience silent. Once out of the sight of the audience, I fell to one knee, coughing up blood. It seems that at least one of my broken ribs had pierced a lung. Perhaps I would die¡­ NO!!! I will not die unless the Emperor commands it! I managed to stand once more and headed to the Healing Chamber, most of the healers focusing on the dragonkin. But when I arrived, one separated from the group to tend to me, though I could sense her fear and disdain.


    But she healed me well, resetting my bones and healing them just enough so that they would be able to stand to the normal rigours of the day. She also managed to heal my pierced lung and once I felt good enough to move, I stood. I placed a gold coin on a table and left, heading to the guild to rest. Once I arrived, I was congratulated on my win but not bothered too much, I sensed a change in the guild¡¯s feelings towards me. My comrades congratulated me as well and gave me some space.


    I fell onto my bed, deactivating my core crystals and fell asleep, this time my sleep unplagued by dreams. Before, my sleep would be filled with dreams of bloodshed and fights to the death but now that it had been sated, my sleep was as it should be. But it would only grow again and once that happened, I¡¯d have to find another way to satiate its thirst.


    Once again, I woke just at the crack of dawn, my body aching with pain. But as a soldier, I¡¯ve faced greater pain before so I stood, I better avoid fighting for awhile, my bones may have been reset but they weren¡¯t fully healed. I grunted as the weight of morsadian steel weighed down on my left shoulder, it was still kind of tender. I stood, stretching as best I could without breaking my bones again.


    I needed to eat and not this city food, I needed meat, real meat. I headed out, Inaris and Varin accompanying me, saying that they too wanted to eat. I didn¡¯t stop them, it would be better this way with the state I was in. We spread out in the forest to hunt, this time when I stumbled upon a bear, I used my sword to kill it as quickly as possible. My right side luckily could bear the weight of the bear without too much trouble so I brought it back to the agreed meeting sight, setting it down and bleeding it, hanging the corpse from a tree. Inaris returned with another bear and Varin with a boar.


    They began to bleed the corpse as well, silence filling the clearing until I stood, my corpse having finished bleeding first. I cut it down and gutted it, burying the guts and then skinning it. I then separated the edible meat from its skeleton, eating it raw. After eating a fourth of the bear, I stopped to make a fire and cook the rest. Inaris and Varin were doing the same and three hours later, we had finished eating, only bones and the hide of the creatures left.


    I headed to a nearby stream and cleaned the blood off of my face and weapons, grabbing my sword when I heard screaming and something crack branches from a different direction than the clearing. I prepared to kill, only to find someone burst from the forest with his hands up.


    He shouted, ¡°Wait! Wait! Please, help me! There are goblins after me!¡±


    There was more movement in the brush behind him and I gestured for him to hurry and cross the stream. He rushed to comply and I walked over, pointing my sword at him once he crossed. There was confusion on his face but I said nothing, saying,


    ¡°Inaris, check the other bank.¡±


    Inaris grunted in reply and waded across, indeed finding three goblins which he killed with ease. I then took the point of my sword away from the man, satisfied that he was telling the truth, if only a part of it. But I didn¡¯t care what he was doing out here unless it had something to do with me so I just jerked my thumb back towards the city,


    ¡°You should head back.¡±


    He thanked me and hurried off. I forgot all about him and began to trace his passage through the forest back, if there were three goblins, there was a nest and it¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve fought alongside Varin and Inaris. We found the nest and after blocking off all the exits, we attacked, not letting a single one escape. Soon, all were dead as well as the captured women who were used as breeders. Well, except for three. They were captured recently and have yet to give birth to a goblin, though their bloated bellies was worrisome. But it should be taken care of at the nearest church so we escorted them there, it would be best to get them out of our hands as soon as possible.


    They thanked us again and again and I left it to Inaris and Varin to speak with them. I didn¡¯t want to talk with them right now, I don''t want to make any relationships with these people, better to leave a fading impression. I have to remind myself that these people will be enemies, and once they become enemies, I cannot afford them any mercy.

 Chapter 10: The Finals

    The dragonkin was my last opponent in the elimination rounds, from here on out, it will be the finals. There will be a total of four rounds, the first set to decide the betters, the second the select the best among the betters and the last to decide the ultimate winner. There were eight of us remaining, Deryl, me, Inaris and five other unknowns, though two are from the Hallowfall Guild. I assumed that at least one of them was the leader of the group that woman was a part of, the one that tried to recruit me. It was not a bad assumption, he was an obsidian rank adventurer and she claimed to have been part of a group of obsidian adventurers.


    But no matter, he will be defeated if he and I fight, I will make sure of it. All will be defeated before me, or I will die trying. A soldier of Morsad does not know defeat, only victory and sacrifice. His death is not in vain for he knows that his comrades will carry on the duty that he has died trying to do and sooner or later, the enemy would be conquered.


    The matches went by rather quickly as everyone¡¯s trump cards were revealed and they did not hesitate in using them immediately, often resulting in a quick match. The crowd was not satisfied but bets were going at an all time high and the winners bragged while the losers grumbled. It soon came for my match, my opponent, a fellow Hallowfall adventurer. He certainly seemed to be a candidate for being the leader of the woman¡¯s group but I could not be sure. All I did know was that he would be defeated. He was an obsidian rank just like the other, at least, I think he is. His badge was not revealed but his strength was similar to that of the obsidian rank.


    The announcer once more announced, ¡°Aaaaaand now we¡¯ve come to a most exciting match! The Dragonslayer Torvus versus last year¡¯s champion Arvis the Gravekeeper! Of course, Arvis is a great warrior, having attained Adamant Rank as an adventurer! But Torvus possesses the skill to kill a dragon! This will be so exciting, I can¡¯t tell who would win!¡±


    Hmm, Adamant Rank, I cannot underestimate him. We stood before each other, sizing up one another. I decided that I couldn¡¯t beat him with my morsadian armor so I switched to my dragon regalia. Once again, we were told by the announcer to bow and after we did, he asked,


    ¡°How much?¡±


    I asked for clarification, ¡°How much of what?¡±


    He said, ¡°How much for the armor, how much money?¡±


    I smiled, though it didn¡¯t reach my eyes, ¡°No price, this armor will help the Emperor in his noble cause and I cannot give it to the enemy.¡±


    He shrugged, ¡°Then I will take it from your corpse.¡±


    I smirked, ¡°Go ahead and try, the armor of Morsad cannot be activated without the Emperor¡¯s personal blessing.¡±


    He grinned, ¡°I will take on that challenge. I will find this emperor of yours and I will make him give me his blessing.¡±


    I tightened my grip on my sword, my voice cold as ice, ¡°You do not know the gravity of what you say. Recant and you will leave this fight whole.¡±


    He grinned, ¡°Not gonna happen.¡±


    ¡°Very well, then prepare to lose your limbs.¡± I said as I raised my sword.


    The announcer signaled the beginning of the fight and I charged forward, swinging my blade. He raised his sword lazily to block and my sword was stopped by it. I drew my dagger and began to stab, forcing him to retreat and I took advantage, gaining more ground. But his speed rivaled mine so as he retreated, I took the time to switch to dual greatswords, two swords that were one and a half yards in length and five inches wide. Though they were as light as air to me, they would not feel so light to the enemy. I began to hammer away at his defenses, metal clashing and screaming as they met with hasty fury.


    He had a grin on his face, ¡°Ha, looks like you actually do have some skill.¡±


    I did not reply, though bloodlust was beginning to build once again. This time, I made no effort to stop it, this man had dared to defile his majesty and for that, his life is forfeit. My movements became more quick and erratic though I did not lose myself entirely in my madness. Rather I joined it, using it to fuel my body and attack instinctively while I focused on defense.


    My bloodlust carried my momentum quite far but as all things do, it ran out. Immediately suppressing my bloodlust, I focused solely on defense, waiting for the right moment to appear. My twin greatswords were able to easily block his attacks, the combined surface area of the swords and the speed at which I wielded them made for a nearly impenetrable defense.


    But I was not idle, I was beginning to push back, building up my momentum for another push. I began another push, this time changing my right sword to a battleaxe that packed a lot more power than my greatsword. I used it primarily for offense, parrying with my remaining greatsword. I spun for maximum effect when I attacked, beginning to put small dents into his sword. His face was serious now, gone was the shit-eating grin. He then chanted something and a sudden light filled the arena and my attacks were suddenly broken. I immediately retreated, changing my axe back to a greatsword and my other greatsword into a hexagonal shield.


    I prepared myself to receive a blow, fairly surprised when I felt like I was hit by a fucking mountain. I grunted as I slid back a full three feet, but it wasn¡¯t as bad as when I had fought the Dragonkin, my arm wasn¡¯t totally shattered. But I probably shouldn¡¯t get hit by an attack like that again. I switched back to dual greatswords, standing my ground as my opponent was surrounded by a lightning blue aura. Electricity arched from his body every now and then, scorching the ground where it touched.


    In the face of this new opponent, my bloodlust grew to even greater heights and I charged in with reckless abandon, this time letting my instincts decide how to attack. He calmly deflected each of my attacks with lightning speed and my bloodlust, sensing an impending attack, dodged, just barely avoiding a strike. But I used the dodge to my advantage, getting in a good strike that managed to penetrate his armor and stab deep into his side.


    He barely even flinched and then swung his blade at me again, forcing me to let go of my greatsword. Before I did so, I had it turn back into its core form so that he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it. He grinned slightly when I let go but that quickly fell when the weapon disappeared, replaced by a crystal. As he stared down at it, I charged forward, gripping my greatsword with two hands and attacking at twice the power and speed.


    He began to take me a bit more seriously, seeming to have to use more energy to defend against my attacks. Seeing as my sword wasn¡¯t getting through, I temporarily withdrew to rebuild momentum and to replace my greatsword with a mace, a meter long staff that, besides the handle, was four inches in diameter covered in uniform pyramidal spikes. This actually had some weight to it, despite being made of dragonbone, meaning that this had some formidable weight to back an attack.


    I attacked once more, this time putting a sizeable dent in his sword, though it appeared to mend itself as lightning suddenly collected at the dent. But I continued to swing, each of my two-handed strikes possessing enough power to blast through a tree trunk. But sadly, such a weapon is only sub-par at defense and after my momentum ran out, I was forced to retreat quickly otherwise I would face the full wrath of his electric blades. Luckily my dragonbone armor was not conductive otherwise I knew I would have died from electrocution a long time ago.


    Even so, I felt the hair on my body rise each time I deflected a strike, though the electricity wasn¡¯t fatal, it was still hella uncomfortable to feel. But I managed to shove him back once his momentum ran out and in a quick motion, I changed to a warhammer, even heavier than my mace. This time, instead of blocking, he retreated, it seems that he knew that if he were to take it head on he would be the one to lose.


    I didn¡¯t give chase though, the weight of the hammer made it so that if i were to commit to a full on assault, I would not be able to defend myself neither would I be able to attack fast enough to keep them from attacking. I had to be careful, I couldn¡¯t just swing with reckless abandon. This time, I fully suppressed my bloodlust, it would only be a distraction. He noticed the sudden change and prepared to fight as well, this would end in a single strike.


    For a brief moment, all was silent and then we charged simultaneously. I saw his attack but I made no move to deflect it, that would take up valuable time spent preparing for my attack. I just moved slightly so that it wasn¡¯t fatal and then I made my attack, swinging at his legs just as his sword pierced my dragonbone armor and dug deep into my lower abdomen. But his wounds were more serious as I shattered both of his legs with my attack.


    As his body fell to the ground, I made short work of his arms, crushing both with the warhammer. My bloodlust rose once more and I looked down on him, my warhammer poised above his spine,


    ¡°Do you recant?¡±


    To his credit, he didn¡¯t ask for forgiveness or beg for his life. He just closed his eyes, the lightning aura fading before disappearing completely.


    I raised the warhammer and slammed it down, breaking his spine. He did not scream, his face grimacing before he settled down. I then returned the warhammer back into my sword and I walked out of the arena, heading to the Healing Room where I patched myself up on my own, leaving some coins to pay for the items that I used. First I poured an entire bottle of healing potion on the wound, removing my armor to do so. It hurt like a bitch as it fizzed before evaporating away, leaving the wound clean and a lot smaller than what it had been. But it wasn¡¯t closed all the way yet and since I didn¡¯t want to use another potion, I grabbed a suture and some thread and stitched my wound shut. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    I had some other bruises but not as bad as when I had fought the Dragonkin, seriously, his punches were like cannonfire. I saw Arvis arrive, carried on a stretcher and the healers all rushed to his side. I decided that I better not distract the healers so I stood and left. But before I did so, I repaired my armor, none of the dragonbone was lost in the strike, all the core needed was energy to seal up the opening. So I placed my hand on it and felt energy siphon out of my body.


    The armor repaired itself and I activated the core again, my chest covered once more in armor. It was still slightly painful to move but nothing to serious. None of my organs were hit, at least I don¡¯t think. The fact I¡¯m still standing is a good sign that the wound wasn¡¯t fatal.


    I returned to the guild hall to rest, I¡¯d probably be back in combat tomorrow. I was right, the finals were moving at a much faster pace than the previous rounds and once more, I stood in the arena. I didn¡¯t care to listen to the name of my opponent, I didn¡¯t focus on a drawn out fight, just one that was quick so I could return to resting my body. I went all out from the start as I charged, using my mace to swipe my opponents legs out from under him and then kicking him off the side of the arena.


    Of course, it resulted in my win though the crowd booed at the result. I was still in my morsadian armor, I needed some weight behind my attacks. I was rather surprised that I was able to get off such a win but then I saw the look of fear in my opponent¡¯s eyes. It seems that he didn¡¯t want to end up like my two previous opponents. I didn¡¯t care, that just meant another day for rest. I walked out of the arena, my wound aching. I just hope that the last round would be this easy.


    My remaining comrades were eliminated in yesterday¡¯s and today¡¯s rounds, Inaris being the last. They did pretty well considering that this was a duel. If it was in battle, we would have been the victors a long time ago. I rested again, taking a healing potion as I wanted to be in the best condition for the fight ahead. I knew that this last opponent would try her hardest to win, after all, whoever won this fight won the tournament.


    The day passed and I slept, waking up for an hour to take watch before going to sleep again, replaced by Varin.  I woke early, checking that all my equipment was in good shape. I couldn¡¯t have it fuck me over because I overlooked something. Once I was satisfied that everything was in working order, I headed back out to the arena. I didn¡¯t know too much about this new opponent of mine other than that she was able to defeat Deryl with ease. This made her at least as strong as a harem guard and I didn¡¯t fancy my odds.


    But, a soldier of Morsad does not know the meaning of fear, he pushes on even if it means death. I will fight, even if I will lose. Finally, once more, I stood on the arena for hopefully the last time. I stood still, a statue clad in iron while the stadium slowly filled with spectators. My opponent was running late but I guessed that she was merely waiting, analyzing my reaction to her absence. In truth, I did not really care, remaining as still as a statue.


    But just as the announcer was about to call out my win by default, she arrived. Once she did, I felt something strangely familiar, something I haven¡¯t felt since I participated in the conquest of demon-infested lands. This was the presence of a demon, and judging from the gender and figure of it, a succubus. Of course, Deryl didn¡¯t sense it as he had never seen a succubus before, he was a relatively new soldier in the army. In fact, all succubi are experts at disguising themselves, even against veterans such as myself. The only reason I was able to discern that she was a succubus was the nearly irresistible feeling of lust that arose when I saw her. Nearly but not quite. No human woman would have been able to make me feel this way, or any female in fact.


    What was she doing here? Perhaps she was the source of the imps, but then again, why would she risk herself? She must be a servant to some higher demon. But if this demon knows of Morsad, then our passage home would be complete. It would be able to open the Gate and I would be able to make my report and rejoin the army. But, perhaps this was a demon that had yet to accept the Emperor¡¯s enlightenment. This was entirely plausible and instead of a way back home, I would have found myself a powerful enemy.


    But it¡¯s not like I could hide my identity, after all, the sigil of Morsad is emblazoned upon my chestplate. I waited to see any sort of reaction but I saw none. Finally, I decided to make the first move.


    I said in a low voice, ¡°What is a succubus doing here.¡±


    A small smile spread across her face, ¡°Oh, a worthy opponent!¡±


    I was confused with this reaction. This reaction was either some very good acting or she genuinely had no idea who I was. Perhaps there were other races of demons other than the one we conquered. Hmm, interesting. I¡¯ll have to put this in my report, such a possibility cannot go unexplored. But right now, I absolutely cannot let my bloodlust get the better of me. Lust in any form could be used as a weapon against me with this type of opponent. I must keep my mind empty, only think of how to defeat her.


    The persona of a soldier took over, one filled with no mercy, no desire, nothing at all except the knowledge of killing one¡¯s opponent. I remembered the orders from fifteen years ago to subjugate the demons and used it as a reason to defeat her. I followed orders through to the end, this was no different. An ant separated from the colony is still an ant. It may not receive any orders from the queen but neither is it free. It will forever remain loyal to the queen until its death.


    I am determined to match the loyalty of the ant. After all, man, one of the most superior races of the living should at least be able to imitate the proficiency of an ant, considered to be one of the most weakest of all creatures. I imagined myself to be an ant, the only thing filling my mind was my endless loyalty to the Emperor and his will that the demons be placed under his dominion. This demon shall know enlightenment and I will be the one to bring it to her.


    I did not reply to her attempts at getting me to talk. An ant does not listen to enemies, it only kills them. I paid no attention to the announcer, whatever name this demon was known as, it wasn¡¯t her real name. I didn¡¯t need to know her name anyways, all I had to do was defeat her. Perhaps an interrogation would be in order, to find out how many other demons that were not yet subjugated there were. If there was only one, then it would be to find the rest of the unenlightened.


    All I heard from the announcer was the beginning of the fight and yet the two of us remained standing still. By now, I was sure that the succubus had figured out that my armor was resistant to any magic that she could throw and that my mind would not succumb to her seduction. This left her to overpower me in combat and seeing as she was able to do so with Deryl quite easily, I could not underestimate her.


    She finally said, ¡°That crest, it seems¡­ familiar.¡±


    Her tone said it all, she did know who I was.


    I said, ¡°So there were some who weren¡¯t part of the subjugation then.¡±


    She hissed, ¡°Subjugation?!¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yes, the Emperor I serve commanded that all sentient races be placed under his dominion. That included the demons. War began and ended in seven years, your people put up a great fight, far greater than any other race except for the angels and dragons. But they were unable to withstand the countless legions under Morsad¡¯s banner and they too became a part of the empire.¡±


    She growled, ¡°The Devil will not bow to any mortal!¡±


    I bowed my head, ¡°Satan, the Lord of all Demons has promised his unwavering loyalty to the Emperor when the Emperor defeated him in one-on-one combat. The Emperor is a god among men, his power is far greater than what I possess and his generals are each powerful in their own right.¡±


    She growled, ¡°Silence, mortal!¡±


    I raised my sword, ¡°Only the Emperor commands me.¡±


    She then darted forward, ¡°Then die!¡±


    I blocked, using my dagger to parry against her rapier. That was one weapon I did not possess, it lacked both slashing and piercing power when it came to highly armored opponents so I never used it. Such a flimsy weapon had no place on the battlefield. But on an arena with rules¡­ there was a chance for her to win. If she were to go for my eyes or the chinks in my armor she was perfectly able to do so. I had to be careful. I switched to dual daggers, judging that mobility was what I needed most.


    I was correct. For she was able to wield her blade with inhuman speed, far faster than mine. I was barely able to see it and it was only because my daggers were so light that I was able to manage the movement necessary to block her attacks. Finally, I managed to outlast her momentum and I launched a counterattack, though she was able to dodge just fine. That speed of hers, I needed to cripple it.


    Thus I didn¡¯t keep up my momentum and waited for her to attack again, this time looking to see how I would be able to strike her legs. A moment presented itself and like a striking snake, I jabbed with as much speed I could muster, burying the blade deep into her thigh. But she didn¡¯t scream rather she dropped her rapier and wrapped her arms around me, burying my face in her rather voluptuous breasts. Was she planning on suffocating me?


    Hmm, or is she trying to seduce me? Well whatever she is trying to accomplish, I cannot let her do so. I twisted the dagger that was buried in her thigh, tearing flesh but she made no reaction. So instead I sheathed my daggers and placed my hands on her abdomen, shoving with all my might. But demons aren¡¯t weak, even succubi. They possessed inhuman strength, especially in their legs. Of course it was to entrap their victim once the victim had entered her so that they wouldn¡¯t escape as she sucked the life out of him.


    But since I didn¡¯t like where this was going, I went to more drastic measures, I drew a dagger, this one enchanted with holy magic and stabbed it into her side. Being a demon, she had no organs to speak so I couldn¡¯t fatally wound her but holy magic is poison to demons and I hoped that the pain would prove enough to loosen her grasp. I was correct and I managed to pull away, the demoness hissing as she fell on one knee, grabbing her wounded side.


    But she grinned, and I wondered why? Had I been poisoned? I then decided that it was best to end this match once and for all so I charged once more, intending to ram her and knock her off the arena. But she dodged and quickly killing my momentum, I turned to face her only for her to grab my face and kiss me. Her tongue attempted to penetrate the defenses of my mouth my but my lips refused to open and I stabbed her once more. I really didn¡¯t like what she was doing, not only because of her attempts at seduction but because I just couldn¡¯t understand why she was doing it.


    I decided to get rid of my daggers and equipped to holy armor, this way she would face some pain if she were to continue her strange attacks.But she was hardly fazed at all and she darted forward once more, attempting to plant another kiss but my hand blocked it just in time. I then replied with a punch to the stomach, her flesh burning as it came into contact with the metal but she only grinned, once more grabbing me in her embrace.


    She breathed heavily as she looked at me and said, ¡°Why won¡¯t you accept my love?¡±


    I growled, ¡°Enough succubus, this is supposed to be a fight.¡±


    She pouted and leaned in for a kiss but I refused to give in, headbutting her instead. Of course, being a demon, her face came out fine after it and I grabbed her arms, trying to pry her off me. I failed and I remained there, thinking of a way to get out of this. Finally, I decided to use something that I had seen a fellow soldier do in a wrestling match. I grabbed her around the waist and the lifted her and arched my back backwards, smashing her head into the ground.


    This caused her to let go and I escaped, not wasting any time. I grabbed her body and unceremoniously threw it out of the arena, I really didn¡¯t want to deal with this anymore. This was rather unexpected, I had wanted a proper fight but all I got was this¡­ shameful display. How insulting, if this wasn¡¯t a duel she would be dead.

 Not a chapter, just telling you Im ending this story

    Well guys, this story isn''t doing so well compared with my other story the Father of All</a>. So I''ve been debating, do I drop this one and continue with the Father of All? Just so you know, it may not be dropped forever, perhaps I''ll return to this one later but that is unlikely. I mean, I''m really on fire with the Father of All story, that''s where all my inspiration is going currently. But to focus on that story and then to abruptly change my train of thought to fit this story is kind of hurting. Kinda... well... it is my fault for starting two stories but the concept of the Father of All was just too juicy to ignore and I was afraid if I didn''t write it down immediately, it would disappear.


    And if I end up dropping it, I''m sorry guys. Just so you aren''t too sad, I''ll give you a summary of the rest of the story. Very brief but at least you''ll know how things went down.


    Well, Torvus would remain as an adventurer for a few more months, fighting monsters and going on quests and the like. But the longer he and his men remained, the more they grew to be human. Eventually, only Torvus remained loyal to Morsad. The rest were dishonorably discharged by him, forced to dig out their armor cores from their bodies and surrendering all ties to Morsad. Then, three days later, he recieved the command to return to the Gate, the invasion had begun. He leaves the guild and rejoins the army, offering his loyalty to the commander of the Army, the 2nd Empress of Morsad. He fights on the frontlines and end up killing his former guildmaster and much of the guild members. The rest of his comrades are killed by his hands as well as they held arms against Morsad. The conquest of the world began and Morsadian forces slowly spread throughout the world, conquering all of the human nations without problems. The non-human races put up more of a fight but they were conquered without trouble. Once the conquest has ended, he is offered a promotion to become one of the Emperor''s personal guard. He refuses, he is a soldier and he belongs on the battlefield. Later, after five more conquests of worlds, he dies, once more holding the rear of Morsad''s scout forces as they retreat. He is not as lucky this time and falls, but not before ensuring that the Gate has closed. His sacrifice would not be in vain and later, Morsad returns in full force and conquers that world and goes on to conquer much more, eventually conquering all of the known universe. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.