《Art of War》
Remains of Ashes
~Prologue~
-Remains of Ashes-
The day the invasion begun is remembered by everyone. The Ayakashi''s destroyed everything in their path. The humans stood defenseless against the elite Tengu army. The attack of the ayakashis was then retaliated in Mithran tha is situated in the central of the Human territory. Mithran is protected by the Human''s elites, the Grimm army. However, they are only used to guard important places as they are scarce so it is rare to see them sent out for missions. The Humans mobilised their army to reconquer their territories, starting from Vernat.
Meanwhile, in Brightcloak''s destroyed remains A bounty hunter is scavenging the ruins of the citadel. He heard a cry coming from below. He lifted the boulders from where the cry came. He found a baby unhurt by the burning hot sand and pointy rocks, placed in a basket Ivo Cliff, the bounty hunter decided to adopt the kid and train him. He decided to name the child the name that was written on the basket, Harutora Ryousuke.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
The war continued for four years, the Humans reclaimed their lands and both sides decided to break a truce because there were too many casualties. During those years, Ryousuke grew up with other children in Kald village. His stepbrothers and stepsisters treated him nicely, especially Susan Cliff, which is the same age as he is.
Although the Humans made an alliance with the six armies, who consists of the Ayakashis, the Orcs, the Elves, the Dwarves, the Undead and the Humans themselves, the Dragons, hiding, unsatisfied by the others. These intelligent gigantic, fire breathing reptiles plotted an extermination. The extermination of the other lifeforms.
~Note~
Leroy- Well, if there''s anyone that reads this, please give me your opinion. This is the first novel i''ve written, and it''ll be great if you could help me improve. I''ll try to add more chapters at least once a month.
Chapter 1- part 1- The past, The future and now
Ten years has passed since the Alliance was made, Ryousuke grew up into a smart and fine looking teen. He mastered the way of he sword and spears at the age of 10.He is also trying to master the skills of archery while aiming to be a weapon master. He is also known in the village for taming ferocious beasts. The time has also come for Ryousuke to know the truth. Ivo told him about his past, when he found him, where he found him and how he found him. Ivo told him every details about it.
Ryousuke asked his guardians for permission to find his origins, his blood. They slightly hesitated before giving him permission as they thought of him as their own kin. He packed his clothes and rode his sabretooth after he bid the villagers farewell. Without him knowing, Alice, his neighbour that has a crush on him followed him quietly.
It took him a few days to reach Brightcloak, the city that was once surrounded by light. His sabretooth was killed a dragon hatchling in a battle. It wasn''t much for him but apparently it was too much for his mount. He was lucky he met an elf that showed him a shorter route to his destination. The city was rebuilt but it is still far from its former glory.
Ryousuke searched forthe adventurer''s guildto look for a bounty. He needs it as his journey''s expenses is running out. He slayed a rage of orcs and was rewarded 50 silver. ( 1 gold= 100 silver, 1 silver= 100 bronze.) By then, dusk was approaching so he bought some supplies and went out tothe city''s outskirts. He just pitched a tent at the edge of the forest so he can easily go back and forth to the city.
He was worried as he hasn''t collected any firewood. He conjured a fire to burn leaves as a temporary campfire. He pondered about what to do as the forest is much more dangerous in the night. He went into the tent and ate some rations to calm his mind. Out of the blue, something moved outside of the tent and dropped something nearby. Ryousuke cautiously took out his sword and went outside. He was surprised when there was a stackof lumber nearby.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Killed by curiosity, he went searching around for anything suspicious. He found nothing but was later startled by movements made by his tent. He saw the silhoutte of a curvy woman from outside. His right hand was already on the hilt of his sword to prepare for the worse.
"I miss you Ryou-san~~~" was what he heard before being pushed down by a woman in red. Her silver hair matches her dark red robe that was hiding her fair skin. "You left me alone in the village without telling me anything..." She said while pouting her lips. She sat on his stomach with her hands on his shoulders.
"Umm, sorry?! Do I really need you by my side?" He was quite annoyed by her for being there. He had planned carefuly and erased his tracks to prevent anyone from trailing him, especially her. "How did you find me anyway? I made sure there was notracks left from my journey..."
"Tehehe... I used magic to find you. Besides, I can ask thespirits to tellme where you went~" She boasted while pressing down her chest on his''. Her H cup breasts were starting to make him flustered. She went down to kiss him when she noticed he was blushing.
"Can''t you just go home, Alice... You don''t need to be here if you''re just trying to bother me..." He muttered as he turned her upside down. He stood up and dustedhis clothes before sighing. Alice stood up and tilted her head before fading away. He didn''t care much as she is a full-fledged magician and she knows how to protect herself. He decided to just retire for the night after adding lumber into the campfire.
The moon is now at the peak of Twin Mountains in Brightcloak. A rare phenomenon is happening. The portal to the underworld has opened, and something has came through. It was confused but it tried to blend in. At the same time, a pack of moon wolves were waiting to assault it as the creature seemed weak. They were hiding in the shadows of the night. Then, they howled.
Chapter 1- part 2- The past, The future and now
Ryousuke instantly woke up from his sleep as soon as the wolves howled. His instinct to hunt rose drastically. He recognises the howl of Moon Wolves and immediately took his equipment. He decapitated a deer nearby and took its meat as bait.
Finding wolf tracks was not very difficult for Ryousuke as the Moon shone brightly that night. Right at this moment, he was completely possessed by his hunting instinct. Moon Wolves are animals that migrate every fortnight and their tracks are almost impossible to be detected.
Ryousuke spotted a wolf uphill. He was going to shoot it with an arrow when the wolf was burnt to ashes from an unknown fire. The blue flame shone vividly and was instantly extinguished after completely burning the canine. Ryousuke, horrified by the brialliant flame quickly smeared the dragon''s blood he extracted before to completely get rid of his smell.
The creature, unaware of what is coming tried to sleep. It was tired from the journey of travellng across worlds. It laid down on the grass and instantly dozed off.
Ryousuke took out a saddle he brought and tied it to the creature resembling a horse. His dead mount could not be revived so he might as well tame the creature as his mount. He tied it without any difficulties. The creature not knowing anything snored all night.
Ryousuke took the oppurtunity to think of what he would do next. He had tamed a lot of animals before but he is unfamiliar with this ''creature''. It resembles a horse but it has a demonic trait, ''The Cursed Ligne''.
By dawn, Ryousuke had packed all of his belongings and is waiting patiently for the creature to wake up. Instead of doing nothing, he began to cook breakfast. Unnoticing the changes of the horse as time passed, it was turning human-like.
Teshealor''s border was breeched by a phalanx of winged armored gargantuans. the gargantuans, consisting of two lines, Defenders and Lancers are opposing a group of Dwarven Mechs.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Keselth, a knight ranked Draconian dragon was ordered by his superiors to invade Teshealor. the knight was taking cover behind the line of Defenders with the other Lancers. He was waiting for the mechs to cease fire. As soon as it went silent, he barked orders.
"Lancers, Mort Pluie formation."
The Lancers raised their their lances and concentrated their Mana on their weapons. Mana projectiles started raining down from the sky. This is one of the dragon''s well-known devastating attacks.
Five Draconian dragon squadrons were sent to conquer Teshealor. The squadrons were reduced to three after midnight. By dawn, the dragon''s conquest for Teshealor succeeded, taking all survivors as hostage. It will be their stepping stone for their plans.
The sounds of eggs sizzling woke the creature. By now, it completely looks like a female human. ''She'' is armored in pitch black armor from head to toe. Only the helmet has lines of crimson. Hair flowing from her helmet, she drew out her saber.
It sliced through thin air and... clashed with an oval barrier. The barrier dispersed and is quickly replaced by a trident, grabbed by Ryousuke and was swung, trapping the saber between its blades.
"Who dares to interrupt me cooking?" He slightly coughed before continuing, "Identify yourself."
Ryousuke heard the sound of a sword sheathed, and was surprised when he saw the face of a female behind him. No, he was more surprised to watch her fully armored and her inhumane strength earlier.
"Wha... what are you looking at?" she asked while blushing. She had already removed her helmet, She produced and artful smile. "Anyway, the name is Alma Deutscher."
Alma reached out her hand for a handshake but was completely ignored. Ryousuke by now, was starting to enjoy his breakfast, scrambled eggs. Her stomach growled and all she could do is gulp down her saliva. He took a slice of bread for himself before taking another slice and offered it to her.
As she was starving, she gobbled the bread heartily. She even licked her hands for the leftover breadcrumbs. In one glance, she resembles a cat somehow.
"Tell me more about yourself and why did you attack me." He paused for a while before continuing. "Make it short."
"Okay... I''m not really keen on telling my story to anyone. But well, even though we just met you look like a reliable person..." The girl sat on a tree stump and sighed deeply.
Chapter 1- part 3- The past, The future and now
"Father... what should we do..?". Sounds of blades clashing echoed throughout the village. The blood of parents trying to protect their children painted the ground red.
"Alma, run and keep on living." Amadeus Deutscher whispered to his only daughter as he unsheathed his sword, Black Lotus, in dark flames. He invoke the spell and pushed her into the middle of the pentagram. "Survive and restore our tribe''s glory".
Alma was in the middle of a familiar forest the next moment she opened her eyes. She immediately started to run when she heard a lot of twigs snapping and leaves rustling. There were still pursuers coming for her. The infiltrators had their troops surround the village with no reserves. Even though she had escaped the encirclement with her father''s help, the pursuers easily detected her. Tears were still flowing down her cheeks as she ran with all her heart. She prayed for help from the goddess of the Underworld as she took her beast form to escape from them. It wasn''t much of use as they were on mounts and are still approaching with high speed. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
It was then, a glowing portal opened up and she stared at it. She was reluclant at first but she bet all of her chances as they were hot on her heels. She closed her eyes and jumped into the portal hoping it would save her instead of bringing more harm.
She was enveloped in a warm feeling before tumbling on unfamiliar high ground. The portal disappeared and she was relieved that none came after her from the portal. She was cautious of her surroundings as she sensed danger approaching. She just snorted as she could not talk when she is in her Night Mare form.
A few beasts came in formation to pressure her. Alma stopped worrying as she could measure their strength and they were inferior in both power and skills. She conjured the flames of purgatory to purge them. They were burnt to cinders instantly. She did not use the flames towards her pursuers as they were skilled and greater in numbers. It also consumes a lot of mana and it will exhaust her unnecessarily.
The Night Mare neighed as if yawning. She laid down on the ground and closed her eyes as she felt safe. She can''t sense any presence nearby and assumed it will be safe until dawn. Unknown to her, Ryousuke is observing her actions in a bush nearby.
Chapter 2- Plans and a new comrade(?) - Part One
It was noon when Alma finished her story and Ryousuke stifled a yawn. He didn''t get much sleep the night before and was extremely sleepy. He started to slowly walk towards Brightcloak. Alma was still happily humming the to herself as if the loss of her tribe didn''t bother her. Though she stopped when she saw him leaving.
"Wait, take me with you!" She pleaded while teary eyed. He pondered for a while before sighing. Despite his cold attitude towards others, he wanted someone to talk to. And he really needed someone to take watch when he''s asleep. He could''ve asked one of his step brothers but he doesn''t want to trouble the Cliffs anymore. Alice on the other hand... He doesn''t really want to think about it.
"Perhaps I can bring you, but with the condition you don''t get in my way or I''ll just leave you alone." He paused briefly before staring into her eyes. "And you need to earn your meals." Alma started to tremble while looking downwards. She then suddenly grabbed both of his shoulders and saying thank you. Ryousuke just pushed away her hands and stood up.
He left her cheering behind him while thinking of her when she attacked him. Her behaviour right now was completely different than the coldness he felt earlier. As if this is another person replacing her. He can''t even sense the dark-ish atmosphere she emitted when they fought.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
"Hey! Wait for me!" She ran towards him in heavy armour. It made a lot of noise and Ryousuke winced a lot. "Can''t you not make any sound?!" He held the bridge of his nose as his head started to hurt. Alma just stuck her tongue out at him before the armor dissipated into thin air. He just sighed and refrained asking her about it.
They continued walking in silence for a while before she asked him. "Aren''t you curious about what I did just now?" Although the town was just right ahead, he stopped and made a fake cough. "I''m not much of a talker so I''d prefer if you stop talking about unimportant things. Unless you want to seperate from me right this instant." He was looking at her with a made up smile and his eyebrows are clearly twitching.
"Hmph..." She pouted in protest before nodding. Ryousuke went through the inspection gate while Alma trailed behind him. As the city is still understaffed, the guards stationed are just to look out for monsters and shut the gates if something went out of control. Their destination was The Adventurers'' Guild, currently the only place with decent management.