《King of Another World》


 I Wanted to be an Overpowered Hero!

    I would say my life flashed before my eyes as I fell from the airplane, but that would be a lie; my life is much too boring for it to have any meaning to me. My name is James Young, an 18-year old virgin who wastes his time every day locked in his room, playing video games, reading comic books, and watching anime. I''m a disappointment to my extremely wealthy family - my father started an oil business when he was fifteen, and my mother comes from a long line of influential aristocrats. Meanwhile, I''m eighteen, and I''ve never earned a dollar. I''ve also never had a girlfriend (unless dating sims count).


    I was flying on my private jet to Japan, so I could waste a thousand bucks buying anime figurines in Akihabara when my sad, wasted life was suddenly cut short. Basically, our engines busted, and we began to fall. Panicking, I grabbed what my hysterical mind decided was an unopened parachute and jumped out the "EMERGENCY EXIT" door. Halfway down, I realized what I thought the unopened parachute was, in fact, my backpack with my $5,000 gaming PC inside.


    Hey, at least I can die with all my video games.


    The ground was getting closer¡­ closer¡­ closer¡­


    ¡°I never got to buy my anime figurines¡± was my last thought before I crashed into the ground.


    ***


    I came to in a shining, golden room. I stood up and looked around: The room was rather plain, with a single table and chair in the middle. On the chair sat a woman. She had long, white hair and ethereal, multicolored eyes. "James Young," she said as she stood up ¡ª she was at least six feet tall, wearing a seemingly white dress that shimmered with a thousand colors when taking a closer look. What made her truly majestic, however, was the tiny, elegant feathers on her back that formed together a pair of giant wings. "Age eighteen. Died from falling out of an airplane," she continued.


    "W-where am I?" I muttered.


    Wait, didn''t I just die? Who is this saintly woman with wings?


    "Who are you?" I asked cautiously.


    The woman rolled her eyes. "Why are humans so stupid? You''re in a type of Limbo, I guess... a space between the living world and the Afterlife. I''m Uriel, Archangel of Wisdom, one of the Seven Archangels. I tend to all the deaths that happen on Wednesdays."


    My head hurt as the information Uriel gave me kept swimming in my head.


    Uriel sighed. "Well, you just died and now you choose where to go next."


    "Aren''t I supposed to go directly to Heaven?"


    "Well, yes, however, not everyone wants to go to Heaven nowadays, so God implemented a new system that gives the souls of the deceased a choice. You have three options: One, go directly to Heaven and spend all of the eternity in infinite bliss with everyone who ever died; two, reincarnate in your world again and receive a second chance at life."


    "I''ll go to Heaven-"


    "Who taught you manners?" Uriel scoffed condescendingly. "Didn''t I say there were three choices? The third choice is to reincarnate again, but in a different world ¡ª a ''Fantasy World'' in your perception".Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    I was about to say, "I don''t care, I''ll take Heaven," before stopping to think about the third choice. Sure, Heaven is the epitome of a happy ending, but I''ll always be me: a nerd, a virgin, and a shut-in disappointment. If I were to reincarnate in a fantasy world... then I''d reincarnate as a hero! Probably an overpowered one at that. I''d be adept at magic, and I''d make my amazing harem. I can live a fulfilling life in a fantasy world, then proceed to Heaven when I become bored.


    "I''ll take the third option, please," I said.


    "Great!" Uriel smiled elegantly then snapped her fingers. A cup appeared in her hand, and she handed it to me. "Now, choose one."


    I looked into the cup, and I saw a sea of tiny pieces of paper.


    "What am I supposed to do?" I asked puzzledly.


    "Well, you see, we can''t have everyone be an overpowered hero," Uriel laughed. "So, you choose a piece of paper and it will decide who you will be in the next life!"


    Shit. This isn''t good... I might not reincarnate as a hero at all! But... if I look at it this way, this is very cliche. A shut-in dies in a laughable accident, then chooses to get reincarnated in a fantasy world. According to all the laws of light novels and anime, I would become an overpowered hero! Destiny has decided that I will become a handsome prodigy in my next life.


    "Fantasy harem, here I come!!!" I hollered, grabbing one of the pieces of paper. As soon as I did, the cup disappeared, leaving me with the tiny piece of paper. Opening it up, I read the messy handwriting:


    Generic Mountain Orc.


    I stared blankly at the piece of paper that just decided the race and occupation in my next life. Uriel was laughing: "Ha ha ha! Generic Mountain Orc! You''re going to be reincarnated as a fucking Generic Mountain Orc! Ha ha ha!"


    Disbelief turned into panic. Panic turned into hysteria. Hysteria turned into my inner shut-in going into overdrive mode. Uriel is one of those hard-to-play Tsunderes, the insane part of my brain told me. Come on, I have this girl in the bag. I''ve played a thousand dating sims and you are a dating master. Surely I can handle this situation.


    Yes, I''ll blow her away with my awesomeness. Time to convince Uriel I deserve to be an overpowered hero with my smooth moves...


    "PLEASE!!!!!" I begged, throwing myself to her feet - if I had any dignity before, it''s all gone now. "DON''T MAKE ME CANNON FODDER! I''M BEGGING YOU, I''LL DO ANYTHING!!!"


    Uriel looked stunned for a moment. "Um, James-"


    "I''ll be your slave!" I begged. "I''ll do anything. I''ll, I''ll... I''ll lick your feet! Just please please please don''t make me a generic mountain orc!!!"


    Uriel sighed. "When have humans fallen so low?" I could hear the pity in her voice. "Listen, I can''t make you anything other than an orc-"


    No, no, no, no, NO! This is bad. Very bad. If I spend my next life as an orc, it''ll be worse than being an 18-year old virgin-


    "However, I can do something else for you." My face lit up. "Well... don''t tell anyone, but..." Uriel kneeled down and touched my head.


    My body suddenly filled with warmth. My senses exploded. I couldn''t feel my body as a feeling of ecstasy came over me.


    "W-what did you do?" I asked.


    "Well... I felt kinda guilty... so you can keep all the memories of your past life."


    I couldn''t believe my ears. Sure, I would rather just become an awesome knight, but with my eighteen years of fantasy gaming knowledge... I could take over the world!


    "THANK YOU!" I sobbed as I jumped up and embraced Uriel.


    "Ew... EW! Filthy human, what the fuck are you doing?!" Uriel screamed as she pushed me away and sighed. "Seriously, you better not take my wish for granted... I''ve never given this ability to anyone else ever before, so-"


    "Uriel, you''re the best!" I beamed. "Thank you so much! You''re the kindest person I ever knew!"


    "...That''s the first time anyone has ever said that to me."


    The floor opened up beneath me, and I began to fall. I smiled and waved at a bemused Uriel, before thinking. In most games I''ve played, Orcs live to around fifty, and mature when they''re ten. With my knowledge... forty years would be enough time to take over the world.


    I wanted to be an overpowered hero but becoming an orc mastermind isn''t so bad either.

 Training is Hard... and Painful

    Well, Ithoughtbeing an orc mastermind would be pretty cool... I thought that I would be an extremely gifted swordsman, easily taking over my entire kingdom, then declaring war on the rest of the world.


    How did I end up facing an ogre with a wooden sword???


    "Alright, punks, here are the rules," an old goblin, short, scrawny, and limping, spat. "This is a training duel. Yer both using wooden weapons, so we shouldn''t have any serious injuries. Remember, however, that killing is strictly prohibited. Anything else is fine - hell, take an arm if you want," he cackled. "The winner is decided when the other yields or is unable to fight anymore. Ready... begin!"


    The giant looming over me was at least eight feet tall, extremely buff, with an ugly, green face. He snarled, holding a giant wooden club as tall as myself with both hands. I closed my eyes to blink for a second, and the next moment my head exploded with pain. Coughing out blood, I stumbled around blindly, dropping my sword. Around me, a small crowd of other trainees jeered.


    I was nine, nearly considered an adult. As an orc, I was the weakest of the Greenskins - goblins were faster, trolls were tougher, and ogres were stronger. I never knew my father, and my mother apparently died at childbirth. Like the rest of the orphans of the Mountain Kingdoms, I was drafted into the military, trained in the ways of the sword from an early age.


    But even for an orc, I was small and weak.


    "Run while you can, runt!" One of the other cadets laughed. I was a little under six feet tall - a scrawny little thing. A runt among the Greenskins.


    When I could finally see again, my sword was a few meters away. Standing between me and my weapon was the ogre, smiling a toothy grin.


    I need to stop losing. I was the only one among the orphans who had never won a training battle. Each time I would be beaten senseless, bruises and cuts across my body. Today... today was the day I would stop being a runt. I would show them I was worth something. With a yell, I charged forward... only to have the wind knocked out of me once again. The club slammed into my chest, sending me flying backwards.


    I thought my Training Arc was when I would realize the true potential inside of me. All I''ve realized is that it sucks to be nearly beaten to death each day. The ogre advanced, dragging his club behind him. I managed to get up, but my legs were weak and I felt like I was about to puke.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    As the club slammed down, I darted to the right, avoiding it just in time. Knowing I had little time, I sprinted to my sword, only to have my back explode in pain; the ogre had turned around and kicked me, propelling my head into the dirt. My ears were ringing as I spit out the blood and debris from my mouth, but I heard the loudthumpsas the ogre moved forward.


    Get up. Get up. GET UP!


    My entire body felt like it was on fire. As I barely managed to stand up, I saw next to me my wooden sword. "Hey, runt!" The ogre snarled. I grabbed my weapon and turned around, my head spinning. My vision was blurry, and every movement hurt. "Say yer prayers. I won''t be taking your life, but you can expect a few broken bones."


    The other trainees laughed. I can''t take this anymore. I wasn''t meant to be treated like trash. "I''m... not a... runt..." I muttered.


    "What was that?" The ogre looked like a smear of green in my eyes.


    "I''m not a runt!" With the last of my strength, I charged forward just as the ogre raised his club again for the finishing blow.Come on. You''ve played a thousand fighting games. It''s all about the timing.Just as the club was about to slam into my face I jumped forward and did a summersault, before turning around and, using all my energy, slammed my sword into his wrist.


    "Argh!" More from surprise than from actual pain, the ogre stumbled backwards and dropped his club. This was my chance... if I did not act now, I would lose. I would be a runt forever.


    Dropping my sword, I scrambled to the giant club. I poured all my strength into my arms, grabbing the wooden cudgel with both hands like a battering ram. My arms were screaming in pain. My hands were red and full of splinters. But... I would not lose. Not again.


    The ogre roared as it looked towards me. With a yell, I sprinted forwards, slamming the club into his stomach. His yell turned into a squeal of pain as he fell backwards, tripping over himself. "Yield!" He screamed in fear. "Yield!"


    The small crowd was silent. I had won. I won! "I''m going to take over the world," I declared before my mind went blank.


    ***


    Well, the runt had finally done some good.


    I watched as Larek, the weakest of the orphans, fell into the dirt, unconscious... but victorious. He was finally fed up with losing, and he defeated his enemy using sheer willpower. "Larek is the winner!" I announced, limping around - I was nearly fifty years old, one of the oldest goblins in the entirety of the Mountain Kingdoms... once, I was a legendary swordsman. Now I was nothing but a forgotten legend, a magnificent statue that crumbled to dust.


    Larek... he was weak. Short. He liked to complain and didn''t eat a lot, and always said nonsensical things about taking over the world. He was a foolish runt, but... I promised his mother I would see to it that he grew up to become a warrior.


    Sharog... today, your son earned his first victory.

 Learning About the World and Getting Beat up by a Goblin

    I opened my eyes to find myself staring at a run-down, wooden roof.


    What just happened? Why was I sleeping? Slowly, I began to remember: The ogre beating me up with his club. Me grabbing my sword and dodging around before making him fall. I must''ve looked so awesome.


    "Why the fuck are you smiling?" A cranky, old voice suddenly said to my right. I turned around, and sighed. Glitsnab. The old goblin mentor that took care of us orphans. Well, "took care" might be a nice way to put it - he worked us children half to death, and entertained himself by making us fight each other with wooden weapons.


    Normally, I''d be scared half to death just by looking at him, but today I felt great. I just defeated an ogre with his own weapon. "Did you see me?" I asked excitedly. "How I grabbed the ogre''s weapon, how I-"


    "Shut the fuck up," he spat. "I don''t wanna hear your delusions of grandeur." He got up and sighed, pacing around the cramped room that was our orphans'' bedroom. "Well, you did win your first victory. That''s something to be proud of."


    I beamed. It was rare that Glitsnab ever complimented anyone.


    "Still," he snapped. "You''re still the weakest compared to the others. You''re still a runt. The other orphans are gonna be workin'' in the fields for a few more hours... you need training if you''re ever gonna amount to anything."


    I groaned. "Training? You mean swinging a sword around? I''ve done enough of that, mind you-" I froze as the left side of my face suddenly flared up in pain. Glitsnab stood next to me, contempt in his eyes.


    "Did I tell you to speak? Piece of shit." Glitsnab lowered the hand that just snapped me, before pacing around the room again. "Strength doesn''t mean anything. You more than anyone should know that - it wasn''t your strength that won you that battle, was it? Knowledge can break a thousand swords."


    Of course I''d hear that from a goblin. They''re known for their cunning and their speed, using dirty tricks instead of raw power to win battles. "Well, what are we gonna do then?"


    "How much do you know about this world?"


    Nothing since you never tell us anything,I thought, but even I knew a few tales from this world. "The world was once ruled by malevolent spirits that called themselves gods," I recited. "They fought amongst each other, making the sky itself tear apart and rain blood. When they were weak, five heroes known as the Godslayers destroyed all of them save one, Aramaxum, Mother of Evil, who retreated into the Endless Ocean."


    I stopped, and Glitsnab snorted. "That''s it? You only know the Tale of Creation? Even a baby could tell me more. Well, it seems I have much to teach you about this world, runt."


    ***


    Currently, the known world, a supercontinent called Anoth along with a few small islands, is divided into five "kingdoms".


    The largest is the Aubrerid Empire, taking up nearly half of Anoth. Once just a tiny city, the Aubrerid Empire grew due to one man: Serden Brightheart, Conqueror of Kings, destroyed every single kingdom that stood in his way, conquering and pillaging. When he died, the Aubrerid Empire was the greatest kingdom in Anoth. Due to corruption and foolish leaders, however, the Empire consists mostly of slums full of the poor. Only their first city, Aubrerid, remains a rich and wealthy metropolis.


    Long ago, there were many elven kingdoms that dotted the landscape of Anoth. After Serden''s death, however, they combined as one to defeat the Aubrerid Empire. After ten years of war, a small chunk of the Empire ceded to the Alliance of Fenlar, as the coalition was called. The newly created empire named themselves the States of Fenlar. They take up about a quarter of Anoth, along with a few of its islands.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    In the remaining quarter of Anoth is two kingdoms locked in seemingly eternal war with each other. On one side is the Mountain Kingdoms, five nations united under one king. Once the Greenskins nearly took over all of Anoth, but they lost much of their territory to the Aubrerid Empire, and a failed campaign against Fenlar forced them to retreat to a group of mountains. Since then they have expanded, but an adversary stands in their way: The Dwarf Cities, underground cities recently united by Kraznim the Unyielding. For fifty years the Mountain Kingdoms and the Dwarf Cities have been fighting, causing thousands of deaths and amounting to nothing.


    The final "kingdom" is known as the Wildlands, an archipelago full of all manner of monsters and savage creatures. According to legend, when Aramaxum, the Mother of Evil, retreated into the Endless Ocean, she left a host of her monsters to control a few islands. The Godslayers deemed the monsters too weak to cause any trouble, but they soon grew in strength until the only thing keeping them from controlling Anoth was a few hundred miles of water.


    All this and more I taught to Sharog''s son. I taught him politics, society, and military tactics. If he was going to be a warrior, this information would be vital. When I was still young, I liked to travel across Anoth. I shared all the knowledge I learned from my journeys to the young orc. He wasn''t even ten yet, but he knew more about the world than many nobles.


    Sharog... my first and best apprentice. She was the first orphan I had adopted, always trying her best, a voracious reader of books and a master swordsman. She learned all that she could from me, and even went to teach me a few things.In the end, however, death reigns above all. She left to join the military, making a name for herself. She was known as the Elfslayer, soon surpassing myself. I got jealous, and we had an argument that led to her leaving. We never spoke again.


    Nine years ago, I received news that Sharogwas with child. It had been over ten years since we last saw each other after the bitter argument, but we rejoiced like old friends. I was the only one that sat next to her as she lay dying after giving birth to Larek. "Glitsnab," she laughed. "No matter how many times I say it, the name still sounds strange on my tongue."


    "You''re not dying today," I comforted her.


    Ignoring me, she continued: "Promise me something, Glitsnab... my son. Make sure he grows up to become a warrior. I have a feeling... he will surpass us both."


    "You''re not dying, Sharog-"


    "Promise me."


    I paused, letting the tears fall freely from my face. "...I promise."


    She smiled, closed her eyes, and never spoke again.


    Larek was a runt. Weak, small, whiney, and strange. He was nothing like his mother... but I promised he would grow up to become a warrior. I''ve broken many promises before, but I''m not breaking this one.


    ***


    My body ached all over as I held the steel sword. Glitsnab, looking as old and cantankerous as ever, glared at me contemptuously while holding a wooden one. "I told you not to hold back," he laughed.


    "I''m not." I lunged forwards with my sword, trying to cut the goblin''s stomach, but he sidestepped and slammed his weapon into my arm. Ouch. Another bruise.


    It''s been nearly a year since Glitsnab began to train me. Three months ago, he told me I would also have to sharpen my fighting skills. The goblin was a merciless mentor: Each day I would be beaten until I could hardly move. I would shamble to bed, before waking up the next day and starting over.


    "Even if you tried, you could never cut me," Glitsnab chuckled, as he moved forward, fast as lightning. Before I knew it, I had been disarmed and one of my teeth had been knocked out. With a sudden rage I charged at my mentor, but he only jumped into the air and slammed the back of my head with his cudgel.


    I collapsed to the ground, defeated. "Ugn..." It was so frustrating, the feeling of not making any progress.


    There was a pause, before Glitsnab suddenly announced: "Tomorrow... you''re going to have a training battle again."


    I rolled my eyes. "I know. I''ve been having training battles with you forever-"


    "Not with me. With one of your peers."


    One of my peers? "You mean... the orphans?" I haven''t seen the orphans since my training began. I had been trained in secret... sometimes I''ve wondered how the others were doing. Now I''d meet them again.


    Glitsnab nodded. "Let''s see how much progress you''ve made over the past year."


    I groaned. Great. The memory of the ogre slamming his club into my head was still ingrained in my memory. Three months of training... I feel like I hadn''t improved at all. The cycle of humiliation and defeat was about to begin once again.

 My Real Adventure Begins

    Well then. After spending three months getting beaten up by an old goblin, I¡¯m gonna get beat up by a buff orc.


    ¡°Larek and Garul,¡± Glitsnab announced, ¡°prepare to fight.¡±


    The other trainees snickered and laughed as I shambled around with a wooden sword. Garul¡­ he was the strongest of us orphans. A giant of an orc, over seven feet tall and with bulging muscles. They say he¡¯s a bastard of the Mountain King himself¡­ and it was a fact that he had never suffered defeat. ¡°Well, Larek,¡± the orc snorted, holding a sword in each hand. ¡°It¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve seen you.¡±


    ¡°Likewise,¡± I replied, but I was trembling. Was Glitsnab retarded?? Or did he just want to see me suffer a bit more?


    ¡°How many bruises you want?¡± Garul sneered, making the others laugh. ¡°You¡¯re as short as always, runt.¡±


    ¡°All right, cut yer useless chatter and start fighting,¡± Glitsnab snapped.


    There was no way I was gonna win¡­ but I can¡¯t just give up. I quickly assumed a defensive position, my sword balanced in the middle of my body so I could deflect any incoming attacks. Garul snorted and began to advance, both of his swords swinging around at his sides.


    Clumsy. Garul was clumsy, I thought to myself. He wasn¡¯t standing straight, his arms were nonchalant and relaxed¡­ was this truly the orphan who had never lost in a fight? Suddenly, he charged, both of his swords swinging upwards.


    It was as if the world had suddenly slowed down. As his left sword was brought upwards, I jumped back and slammed my own weapon into his wrist. His right sword was aimed at my head, but the swing was clumsy and shaky. I instinctively ducked, his blade swinging over my head. With a cry Garul dropped his left sword, and before he could react I slammed my blade into his head like a club.


    Dazed but still conscious, Garul swung his remaining sword around in confusion. I dodged it easily, before hitting him on the forehead again. Dodge. Slam. Duck. Slam. Parry. Slam. Finally, I smashed my sword¡¯s hilt into his stomach. He coughed and roared, before collapsing, unconscious.


    ...What?? Did I just¡­ defeat Garul? The other cadets stood there, perplexed. Only Glitsnab wasn¡¯t surprised, smiling his crooked grin. All the turmoil, all the horrible training¡­ all the pain, the aching, the bruises and broken bones¡­ it had all paid off. I could fight. I could win. I wasn¡¯t a runt anymore - I was a warrior.


    I roared, daring any of the trainees to challenge me - they instinctively backed away. I had won. I wasn¡¯t the butt of everyone¡¯s jokes again. Finally, I could begin taking over the world.


    ***


    Sharog¡¯s son was truly a fighter.


    I had taught him everything I knew, and it seems that he had finally become a warrior. Garul, the lowborn scum that the other orphans seemed to worship, was nothing more than child¡¯s play for the son of Sharog. I would teach him more. He wasn¡¯t talented, but talent was nothing compared to hard work. I would teach him until he surpassed me, and finally, his own mother¡­


    The clear blow of a horn cut through my thoughts. As I turned around, my heart skipped a beat. No. Not now. It was much too early¡­


    The Greenskins covered in armor on giant black horses were all too familiar - soldiers from the Mountain Guard. The nearest one, a young ogre, smiled. ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t Glafirpul the Magnificent.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°I go by Glitsnab now,¡± I said in a soft, guarded whisper.


    The ogre laughed, jumping off his horse. ¡°A military legend names himself ¡®Glitsnab¡¯ after retiring, and begins to raise orphans. Truly the world is a clever joke.¡±


    I raised my eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯ve never met you in my life¡­ but I am old. Forgive me if I have forgotten your face, erm¡­¡±


    ¡°The name¡¯s Libnawg, the youngest Sergeant Major to have graced the Mountain Guard.¡± The ogre mockingly bowed, smiling. ¡°And no, I¡¯ve never met you either. You left the Guard four years before I was born, after all. You were my idols, someone I always strived to be. Now that I see you in person, however¡­ it seems that all heroes were romanticised.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t have said it better myself,¡± I muttered, before spitting near Libnawg¡¯s feet. ¡°Now, why are you here again?¡±


    Libnawg¡¯s face suddenly turned grim. ¡°The war with Fenlar ain¡¯t going well. We¡¯re here to recruit some soldiers.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t have any.¡±


    ¡°Listen, Glitsnab,¡± Libnawg sneered, ¡°whether they join or not isn¡¯t up to you. The Mountain King himself ordered us to search these lands for any potential recruits¡­ and it seems we¡¯ve found a few right here.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give two shits who ordered you, if you try to take any of them I¡¯ll slit your throat.¡± As I mouthed the threat my hand reached for my knife.


    ¡°You¡¯re old, Glitsnab,¡± the ogre laughed as he signaled the four other soldiers. ¡°Perhaps in your prime you could take us all on¡­ but not today.¡±


    It was true. I could probably buy the orphans some time, but there was no way I could win against give members of the Mountain Guard¡­


    ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t know who the hell you are, but tell the Mountain King that I¡¯m about to replace him!¡±


    Why did this have to happen??!?!


    The young orc, Larek, advanced on Libnawg, who was nearly twice his size. ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± The ogre grunted.


    ¡°The name¡¯s Larek, and I¡¯m gonna be the next king of the Mountain Kingdoms!¡± The orc smiled.


    Damn all that teenage impulse. ¡°Stay back, Larek!¡± I warned. ¡°He¡¯s nothing like Garul, you won¡¯t stand a chance against him¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, if the boy wants a fight, he¡¯s got one,¡± Libnawg laughed, grabbing a small tree nearby and tearing it from the ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry to your mommy once I¡¯ve beaten your ass,¡± Larek spat, holding his wooden sword in a defensive position.


    The ogre slammed his makeshift cudgel down, but Larek darted to the right and jumped forward, attempting to cut his leg. Libdawg only laughed and swung his club around masterfully, missing Larek¡¯s head by a millimeter. The orc continued to dart around, barely avoiding the ogre¡¯s attacks. ¡°Interesting,¡± Libdawg growled as he slammed the tree around. ¡°You got some fight in you, kid.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re better than I thought,¡± Larek gasped as he darted around. He was getting tired¡­ there was no way he would survive much longer. I had to interfere, or he would be dead!


    ¡°Well, it would be a shame to kill someone with so much talent,¡± the ogre grunted. ¡°What about this, kid: If you join the Mountain Guard, I¡¯ll let the others go.¡±


    NO, I thought, but Larek paused. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I swear on the Mountain King himself that I won¡¯t hurt any of the other orphans¡­ or the old goblin.¡± Libdawg smiled.


    ¡°...Deal.¡±


    Libdawg laughed and slammed Larek on the back of the head with his club. The young orc¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, before he collapsed. ¡°We can¡¯t have him causing any trouble,¡± he muttered, as he grabbed the boy.


    ¡°You can¡¯t take him,¡± I said desperately. ¡°He¡¯s Sharog¡¯s son.¡±


    ¡°Sharog, huh? The one that died ten years ago? So this is her child, hmm?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and if you take him I swear I will kill you.¡±


    ¡°Since when did you care about Sharog the Unbreakable?¡± Libdawg snorted. ¡°I heard she hated you¡­ anyway, if you lay a hand on him or me, I¡¯ll kill you and the rest of the orphans. There¡¯s nothing you can do, old man.¡±


    I fell to my knees as the group began to leave. It was true. I was old and weak, a shadow of who I once was. There was nothing I could do¡­


    I¡¯m sorry, Sharog.

 Calm Before the Storm

    The Mountain Guard.


    The armed forces of the Mountain Kingdoms, led by the General Major. Over two million strong, they¡¯re known for recruiting criminals and orphans into their ranks, whipping them into elite warriors.


    This was not my original plan, but joining the Mountain Guard has its benefits: The General Major is one of the most influential figures in the Mountain Kingdoms, second only to the Mountain King himself. Technically, after a monarch¡¯s death the Crown passes down to the eldest child, but dynasties are short and rare. Assassinations, bribery, blackmail, and rebellions are easier ways to get the Crown, after all.


    If I manage to become the General Major of the Mountain Guard, starting a rebellion would be easy. The Mountain Guard far outnumbers the miniscule Royal Guard of the Mountain King; most likely the king would surrender the Crown to me with as little bloodshed as possible.


    I sat fantasizing about the future in the small cage. I was interrupted from my thoughts when a giant hand banged on the iron bars of my cell. It was the ogre that had got me into this predicament: Libnawg. ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± he yelled. ¡°Prepare to be recruited into the ranks of the Mountain Guard!¡±


    My eyes darted around. All around me, other greenskins were also in small cages. Some were no more than children, others dirty, filthy creatures with murderous intent shining in their eyes. ¡°Why do you need so many?¡± I asked the ogre. ¡°I bet half of us here can¡¯t even hold a sword properly¡­¡±


    Libnawg laughed cruelly. ¡°Well, survival of the fittest, after all.¡±


    I suddenly felt like vomiting. ¡°S-survival of the fittest? W-what do you mean-¡±


    ¡°What do you think I mean?¡± He snarled. ¡°A death tournament. Out of every sixteen of you, only one will actually join the Mountain Guard. The rest¡­ well¡­ crows need to be fed, after all.¡±


    I felt dizzy as Libnawg laughed. One in sixteen¡­ each of us had to fight four one-on-one duels. Not the training matches Glitsnab enjoyed¡­ real weapons. Losing a battle meant death. I had never killed before, and I never planned to. And yet¡­ I would have to kill four others today just to survive.


    This was how life worked in the Mountain Kingdoms, I realized. Every day you survive is paid for with blood. You either kill, or you are killed. It was a cruel game of death: The winners reap the rewards, and the others are left to die.


    ¡°Well, boy, choose yer weapon,¡± The orc with an eyepatch grunted. ¡°It¡¯s gonna be yer best friend for the rest of your life.¡±


    I looked around the small room. Each wall was covered with an assortment of weapons. Long, thin knives. Shiny steel swords and gigantic axes. Slings, bows, even shurikens and nunchucks. The weapon I chose would be the weapon I would use for the rest of my life. It would be the one that would take the lives of tens, if not hundreds¡­


    I searched through the thousands of blades, but none of them seemed to tickle my fancy. I swung a short sword around, but it was too light for me. Ranged weapons weren¡¯t my thing. I tried to pick up a greataxe and ended up nearly chopping off my feet. The axe fell and slammed into the ground, a millimeter away from my toes. Yelling in surprise, I jumped backwards and promptly slammed into a rack of longswords that collapsed onto the ground.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Hey! Boy!¡± The blacksmith yelled. ¡°Watch it, will ya! Those swords are expensive!¡±


    I muttered a ¡°sorry¡± before beginning to pick up the swords. Suddenly, one of them caught my eye: The blade was about three feet tall, forged of nothing but common steel. However¡­ when it fell off the rack, it slammed through the wooden ground. Walking towards it in wonder, looking at its hilt protruding upwards, it seemed as if it were¡­


    ¡°Excalibur,¡± I breathed, drawing the sword from the ground as if it were the Sword in the Stone.


    Okay, looking back on it, I¡¯ll admit I was pretty stupid. In most legends the Sword in the Stone and Excalibur usually aren¡¯t even connected, but it just felt so damn cool to draw the sword from the ground. Holding the longsword with both weapons, I felt like a king. ¡°Well, kid, is that the weapon yer gonna chose?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I smiled. ¡°Excalibur¡­ a sword forged for kings.¡±


    The blacksmith laughed. ¡°That sword was forged for nobody but cannon fodder like yourself. Excalibur¡­ what a strange name. Well, you will carry that sword to victory tomorrow, or you will carry it to your grave.¡±


    ***


    Dressing up as an orc isn¡¯t as hard as it seems.


    Orc women were usually a head taller than me, but greenskin runts aren¡¯t that rare. An elf dressing up as an orc to infiltrate greenskin society, on the other hand, is. There was no way they would suspect me, I told myself as I painted myself green. I fashioned my hair into a bun before putting on a golden suit of armor from one of the many orcs I slew in the past.


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t you look lovely.¡± I turned around to see a man chuckle. He was rather tall, with messy, brown hair that matched his eyes.


    I pouted. ¡°Why is it that I have to dress up like a greenskin while you go on more guerilla attacks?¡±


    ¡°The Oligarchy commands it,¡± the man smiled as he embraced me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ if we obey them, our dream will come true.¡±


    I felt the tears begin to spring up in my eyes. ¡°When I told you I wanted to get married and raise a family with you¡­ I never thought we would go so far.¡±


    ¡°Inarel¡­ I would kill everyone in the entire world if it meant being with you.¡± Felein touched my face gently with his hand.


    Forbidden love. Social stigma. Taboo. Elf and Human, society decreed, could never make love to or marry one another. Too much happened between the two races for them to accept each other¡­ besides, elves often lived thousands of years. Any elf-human couple was doomed to end in tragedy.


    And yet I fell in love with a human. Qeshu¡¯naly, they call them in my tongue. Lowborn scum. Imperfect creatures that shouldn¡¯t even touch us godlike, near-immortal beings. I knew our relationship would end in tragic disaster, but I didn¡¯t care. Elf-human relationships were punishable by death, so we swore that if worse came to worse we could commit double suicide.


    ¡°We leave this world together,¡± I whispered softly to him.


    ¡°We leave this world as one,¡± Felein finished, before kissing me.


    His lips were so warm and so sweet¡­ yet it was bitter. Like everything else in this world. We were both excellent warriors, and soon we attracted unwanted attention from the government. The Oligarchy of Fenlar discovered our relationship. As we were both legendary soldiers they were reluctant to execute us¡­ so they gave us a proposal.


    Serve as their dogs. Obey their every order. If we became their slaves for ten years, they would reward us with permission to marry.


    To be with him for the rest of my life¡­ to raise his children with him, that was all I wanted. I would do anything for that dream to come true¡­


    ¡°Well, what do they plan on making you do now?¡± Felein asked.


    I sighed. The task they gave me was near-impossible¡­ but if I wanted my dream with Felein to come true, I would have to do anything.


    ¡°I am to assassinate the General Major of the Mountain Kingdoms.¡±

 One Out of Sixteen - Part One

    Larek


    I stepped into the giant arena, as large as a football stadium. Holding Excalibur with both hands, I looked around: Thousands of greenskins were cheering and screaming for the fight to begin. On the highest chair sat a goblin, aged but not as old as Glitsnab. He was in full armor save a helmet; the General Major of the Mountain Guard, Stamzirm the Manipulator. He would be the one to officially welcome today¡¯s one survivor into the Mountain Guard.


    My target was also a goblin, nothing but a child. He snarled at me, holding a knife in each hand, but I could see the fear in his eyes. It was a shame I had to draw the blood of such a young child¡­ but if I didn¡¯t it would be me who would die. The horn blew, and the battle began.


    I didn¡¯t give the kid a chance to react. ¡°Argh!!¡± With a yell, I charged forward and swung with Excalibur. The goblin halfheartedly blocked with his knife, which was instantly knocked out of his hand. Before he could respond I swung my sword towards his neck.


    Wait¡­ what was I doing?!? Murdering children? The goblin closed his eyes, giving up hope. I couldn¡¯t kill an innocent child¡­ with all my strength, I pulled back my sword.


    As I did, the goblin¡¯s eyes snapped open, and with a snarl lunged. The next second my left hand exploded in pain¡­ pain fiercer than anything I¡¯ve ever felt before. The goblin¡¯s knife was embedded in my arm, as streams of blood flew out freely. My vision was red, and an inexplicable fury began to take over my body. Before I knew what I was doing, I ripped out the knife from my arm with a roar and grabbed the goblin by the throat. With my vision red, I cut at the greenskin¡¯s stomach furiously.


    When I awoke from my crazed fervor, I was covered in the goblin¡¯s blood, still holding the child¡¯s knife. My victim lay on the ground, his eyes still wide in surprise. His chest was cut open, his intestines sprawled a few feet away from him. The crowd was silent for a moment before they began cheering.


    Shaking, I dropped to my knees. I just¡­ killed¡­ a child¡­ I disemboweled him, I ripped out his intestines¡­


    I retched, but there was nothing in my stomach to regurgitate. It was all I could do to not scream. This was the way life worked in the Mountain Guard. How many more children would I have to kill to take over the world?


    I watched on in horror as two orcs descended into the arena and dragged the goblin away, as if he were nothing more than trash.


    Inarel


    Greenskins truly are stupid, I thought as I entered the coliseum. Although I¡¯ll admit I am a master of disguise, dressing up as an orc is no easy task. My horrible accent when speaking Orkish didn¡¯t help much either.


    Somehow, I managed to fool them. I managed to infiltrate the Mountain Kingdoms. Now¡­ my eyes scanned the giant crowd before me. In the middle of the stadium was an orc, shorter than most, who had just slain his opponent. He looked like he was going to barf as he slowly shambled out of the stadium. Poor guy¡­ he didn¡¯t have the stomach of a warrior. Chances are he¡¯ll be dead before this night ends.


    Finally, I spotted my target: The old goblin in armor, Stamzirm the Manipulator, General Major of the Mountain Guard. His death, if everything goes as planned, will cause the Mountain Guard to split in two¡­ giving Fenlar and opening to attack. If I killed that goblin, the Mountain Kingdoms would run red with the blood of innocents¡­ but it was all worth it, as long as I could be together with Felein.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    But there was no way I could kill him right now. Two guards holding giant shields protected him. My aim was perfect to the millimeter as far as 100 meters away, and I could consistently hit my target as far away as five times that distance. However, even my arrows could not penetrate steel shields. The two guards would have to die if the General Major was to.


    I sprinted towards where the General Major was, bumping into a few spectators while doing so. ¡°Hey!¡± I yelled with my horrible Orkish to one of the two guards. He turned towards me and raised his eyebrows. ¡°There¡¯s been an incident,¡± I lied. ¡°I saw a few smugglers bringing weapons into the spectators¡¯ zone¡­ I didn¡¯t know what to do, but¡­¡±


    The guard sighed, said a few words to his companion, before walking towards me. ¡°Well, lead the way,¡± he muttered condescendingly.


    Five minutes later, the guard was getting anxious. ¡°Well, where are the smugglers?¡± He asked puzzledly.


    I smiled. ¡°There aren¡¯t any smugglers, sir. Only weapons.¡±


    The orc was bewildered and nervous. ¡°What do you mean, only weapons? Where are the weap-¡±


    He gasped in pain as I shoved a dagger into his gut. Around, us the spectators noticed nothing - I excelled at assassinations without drawing attention. ¡°Right here, sir. The weapon¡¯s in your chest,¡± I whispered mockingly, before stabbing again and again.


    The guard attempted to scream, but I covered his mouth with my hand, and he instead began to cough out his blood. Shame I had to get my hands covered in the gross stuff. I let the orc drop to the ground before running off. A few seconds later, a scream erupted from the crowd. Then another.


    Louder, I urged. Scream louder, and attract some ¡°unwanted¡± attention. Soon the second guard will come, and then my job will be done.


    Larek


    I didn¡¯t want to kill any more children. Hell, I didn¡¯t want to kill anyone. I didn¡¯t sign up for this. Why didn¡¯t I chose Heaven over this shitty world?!? I looked at Excalibur, still clean from any blood. Why did it have to end up like this¡­ why did I have to be reincarnated as an orc?


    Soon I was pushed back into the arena. My enemy this time was a warty troll with no teeth. He was no child, I knew. No, he was a criminal. The worst of the worst, left to rot in the dungeons, chosen by the Mountain Guard out of desperation.


    I heard screams erupt from the crowd, but I ignored them. Some incident had occurred, but so what? I didn¡¯t want to kill the creature in front of me, but if I didn¡¯t it would be my intestines lying on the ground.


    The heroes in the stories I¡¯ve read have killed, haven¡¯t they? How did they stomach it? They did it to save the world¡­ but me killing wouldn¡¯t save anyone. No, my only motivation was my avarice, my greed for power, my craving to rule the world.


    I could at least do some good in the world once I¡¯m king¡­ if I¡¯m ever king. I will make this world better, I promised myself. It was the least I could do to pay for my killings. ¡°Sorry,¡± I muttered to the troll as it grabbed his bloody greataxe. There would be challenges in the future, I realized. I was weak and scrawny, and although I have received a little training from Glitsnab I was little more than a mediocre soldier. I would taste defeat again and again in the future¡­ but maybe the greatest challenge of all was facing the fact that perhaps I wasn¡¯t the good guy. Even if I planned to do good, I would have to kill so many for that good to come to fruition.


    The world was suddenly thrown into slow-motion as the troll¡¯s axe zoomed over my head. Using both of my hands, I swung Excalibur upwards, cutting off the troll¡¯s right hand. As his blood poured over me, I ran forwards, jumped up, and swung my sword at my opponent¡¯s neck.


    I was no knight. I was a misguided, spoiled brat. I was no hero, just a villain who tried to emulate one. My promises meant nothing. The path I planned to forge would make the world a better place, but the path was covered in blood. I wasn¡¯t a king, just a killer believing he was doing things for the greater good.


    I roared, picking up the severed head of my enemy. The crowd went wild, chanting and cheering. My journey of killing and conquering wasn¡¯t going to end today - on the contrary, today was the day it would begin.

 One out of Sixteen - Part Two

    Larek


    My next opponent was an ogre. He was nearly as tall as Libnawg, his crusty skin a light brown shade. He spun a ten-foot spear around with his right hand as he roared at me. He had brown leather armor that covered his entire body except for his bulging stomach. That was my target.


    The next second, the spear was zooming towards my face. I shifted to the left and dragged Excalibur across the lance as I ran forwards, not letting it move. The last second I swung my sword towards his stomach.


    If I thought this ogre was anything like my earlier opponents, I was sorely mistaken. As soon as I moved my sword the wooden shaft of the spear slammed into my jaw. I fell forwards, stunned, as I spat out a tooth. Painful memories of my first training battle victory instantly came back. Me being beaten up, my bones broken, bruises all across my body.


    I quickly scrambled up and held Excalibur with both hands. If I was to defeat this ogre, I would have to go on the defensive. My sword followed his spear as he slowly lumbered towards me. When he swung his spear forwards, I parried with Excalibur and lunged towards his stomach.


    He jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding my sword. I cursed, ducking as his javelin zoomed over my head. He was seemingly invincible, dodging and blocking my every thrust and jab. I would have to keep dueling, until I found an opening¡­


    There. His guard dropped for one moment, allowing me to charge forwards. I got him. I had won. He had messed up, and it had cost his life¡­


    The horrible pain shot through my left arm as the spear slammed into it. His apparent mistake was nothing more than a trap¡­ I felt my warm blood fly out of the wound. Grimacing, I span to free myself from the spear before jumping backwards.


    My right hand wouldn''t be working anytime soon. My opponent was perfectly fine - better than ever, by the looks of it. Remember what Glitsnab taught you, I told myself. He would have handled this situation perfectly.


    The pain in my right hand made it hard to concentrate. The blood loss didn¡¯t help either. The ogre smiled, his fangs making his ugly face look all the more terrifying. This wasn¡¯t a mindless brute¡­ he was a true warrior.


    I dragged Excalibur across the ground with my left arm, which screamed in pain. With all my strength I pulled the sword off the ground to parry a stab from the ogre. The force of the attack forced me to slowly retreat. Finally, I let my arms drop, giving in to death¡­ which is what I needed my opponent to believe.


    I saw the triumph in the ogre¡¯s eyes as he recklessly swung his spear towards where my face was. ¡°Have a taste of your own medicine,¡± I snarled, as I dodged and sliced his wooden spear in half. Before he realized what I was doing, I rushed forwards, both hands holding Excalibur. My right arm was half-numb and getting weaker by the second, but I managed to shove the blade through the ogre¡¯s stomach. The sword sliced through his flesh like butter, and the ogre gasped as I pulled it out. Guts and blood poured out of the wound as the ogre fell onto the ground.


    My right arm was useless, and my second last battle was a near-defeat. How hard would my final battle be?


    Inarel


    The second guard went down easy.


    When he came to investigate what was going on, an arrow through the throat killed him easily. He gasped for air and choked for a few seconds before collapsing.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The screams were deafening, but the cheers from the rest of the arena were louder. The General Major was alone¡­ finally. Climbing up to the back of the stadium to get a good vantage point, I closed one eye and grabbed an arrow from my quiver. I notched it, aiming for the goblin¡¯s tiny head¡­


    ¡°Hey! What the fuck do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Before I knew it, an orc tackled me, knocking the wind out of me. I dropped my weapons and fell down the coliseum.


    Shit. Shit. SHIT! I crashed into the middle of the arena, bruises all over me. I drew my hidden knife and slit the throat of the orc that attacked me, but not before everyone gasped. My clever makeup had fallen off. I was no longer an elf in disguise. I was out in the open, surrounded by several thousand enemies. ¡°What do we have here?¡± The General Major chuckled as he sat on his seat of honor. ¡°A spy?¡±


    Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. I grabbed my sling, and picked up a large rock on the ground. ¡°Shut your ugly mouth, greenskin,¡± I muttered as I span the rock around and around in my sling before releasing it. The rock flew into the air, everyone¡¯s eyes on it, before slamming into the General Major¡¯s ugly skull.


    Bits of his fractured skull spilt everywhere as the goblin collapsed, screaming in pain. My mission was complete¡­ but now I had to survive. Like a single entity the greenskins began to descend on me, clutching ale cups and broken plates as makeshift weapons as they ran down to the middle of the stadium.


    I sighed, grabbing an arrow from my quiver. Today was going to be a long day.


    Larek


    I was definitely gonna lose this last battle.


    My left arm stung a bit from where the goblin stabbed it in my first duel. In my fit of rage the pain seemed to have disappeared, but now, a few hours later, it was starting to hurt again. I could barely move my right arm, which had stopped bleeding but was pretty much useless. My opponent was another orc, a foot taller than me. He held a scimitar in each hand skillfully; a trained killer.


    I continued to drag Excalibur on the ground using only my left hand, but as the pain got worse I realized soon I wouldn¡¯t even be able to hold the longsword. My opponent circled around me, his eyes darting around, looking for my vital organs to aim for. This battle would end quickly, and if I were lucky, it would end rather painlessly for me.


    It was then when everything went to shit.


    I saw the orc tense up, about to strike. I prepared myself¡­ just as a figure slammed into the ground next to me. No, two figures - fighting. One, who seemed to be a rather short female orc, grabbed the other one and slit his throat.


    The victor stood up, and I gasped. She wasn¡¯t an orc at all, but a humanoid.


    Judging by her long, pointy years, blonde hair, and the demeanor of a very wise and deep person, I guessed she was an elf. But what the fuck was an elf doing in the Mountain Kingdoms???


    The elf in question grabbed a rock a few feet away, put it in a sling, and spun the sling around, glaring at the small goblin who was the General Major. She planned to assassinate the second most powerful greenskin in the Mountain Kingdoms¡­ I ran forwards to stop her, but it was too late. The rock snapped out of the sling and flew through the air, seemingly in slow-motion. I watched helplessly as the rock slammed into the General Major¡¯s head.


    There was a deathly silence, before the crowd went wild - literally. The greenskins descended on the assassin, no longer party spectators but war-bred beasts in a murderous rage. A sudden anger coursed through me as I stopped feeling the pain in my right arm. I turned to face my former opponent with the two scimitars, but he was now my ally. Together, we charged towards the elf assassin.


    I don¡¯t remember much of what happened later. I just know that the next moment I tripped over myself, and my rage was over. Instead, a horrible, neverending pain flared up in my right leg. As I twisted back to look at it, two arrows were imbedded into my ankle, which was bleeding out fast.


    To my left the orc with the scimitars collapsed, at least ten arrows in his chest. Around me other greenskins suffered the same fate, slowly dying while covered in arrows.


    One person did this?! How could anyone be so overpowered?! The elf in question was retreating, her quiver looking as full as ever as she mercilessly shot down anyone who came too close. I began to black out as the woman escaped through the giant gates, leaving piles of greenskin corpses in her wake.


    This world isn¡¯t fair. At all.

 Old Friends

    Larek


    Things only got worse from then.


    Usually the new General Major is someone chosen by the last one. If the deceased General Major neglected to name an heir, the rank goes down to his eldest child.


    Here¡¯s the problem: The General Major who was assassinated by the elf had two children - twins. Minor bickering turned to death threats and minor skirmishes, until a civil war broke out. Even the Mountain King wasn¡¯t able to keep the peace as brother waged war against brother.


    Meanwhile, the States of Fenlar conveniently launched their military campaign - a crusade of sorts - against the Mountain Kingdom at the exact same time the civil war started. The Andirltan Faction wars against the Dijurobul Faction while Fenlar¡¯s armies slaughter thousands. The conflict is tearing the Mountain Kingdom apart from the inside.


    It¡¯s been three months since the fighting began. Over twenty thousand greenskins from each faction have been killed - and over five times that many are injured. Fenlar has sustained only minor losses, with less than a thousand recorded deaths from both greenskin factions.


    I haven¡¯t joined a side in the conflict yet - it¡¯s hard enough getting by every day without worrying about wars and battles. The Mountain Guard has basically collapsed, with most of the soldiers deserting, leaving the rest to kill each other.


    All this¡­ turning the Mountain Kingdoms into a living Hell¡­ was all done by one person. It was obviously all a plot hatched by the States of Fenlar to topple the Mountain Kingdoms, but we were too busy killing each other to reunite and defeat the true enemy.


    I ran across the small town, a loaf of bread in my left hand - my breakfast for the next week, maybe longer. Behind me ran two guards, cursing. Beggar¡¯s Haven, a town well named, was my new home¡­ for now. It was occupied by the Dijurobuls, who seemed to be doing better in the war right now. However, they were cruel - killing the weak and using the strong as slaves to power their empire.


    I never received the training Mountain Guard recruits were offered, but surviving for three months in a warzone was training enough. Nothing like experiencing war firsthand for one to understand it.


    I could hear the footsteps behind me get louder, catching up. At the last second I turned around and parried an axe blow with my right hand, holding my trusty sword. The two guards were both trolls¡­ unfortunate. Trolls were the hardest to kill out of the four types of Greenskins, their regenerative ability allowing them to stop bleeding in minutes. Wait a few hours and they could grow back a new arm.


    The troll in front who had just attacked me held a bloody war axe. The blood was fresh and running freely down the weapon, which had probably decapitated some innocent creature a few minutes ago. The other one was a few meters behind, holding a double-sided spear.


    Well, this would be a long fight. I was bound to win, with the trolls being nothing more than common guards probably forced into the military from the masses, but I might suffer a few injuries. I stared down the troll in front of me and tensed up, ready to fight.


    ¡°Need some help?¡±


    Why did that voice sound so familiar? As I paused for a moment, an arrow zoomed past my right ear and slammed into the troll¡¯s chest. I looked behind me to find a tall orc holding a longbow.


    The memories rushed back. Garul¡­ the strongest of Glitsnab¡¯s orphans, the one I defeated. Once he was a monster, someone I feared, my worst enemy. As he smiled, I knew that circumstances had changed. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in awhile,¡± I said nonchalantly.


    ¡°A lot of crazy stuff happened.¡± Garul nocked another arrow and fired it at the troll¡¯s arm as it raised up to attack me. The guard yelled in pain and fell backwards. ¡°Shortly after you left news reached us that the General Major had been assassinated. A few days later conflict broke out, with his two sons each claiming to be his heir. After that we went into hiding, and Glitsnab began to properly train us.¡±


    ¡°How did you know to find me?¡± I tossed the loaf of bread to Garul, who caught it with his free hand. I grabbed Excalibur with both of my hands and with a swing decapitated the troll. The second one spun his spear around, suddenly uncertain.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Garul laughed as he threw the loaf of bread in the air. In a split second he grabbed another arrow and fired it at our last enemy before catching the bread again. The arrow zoomed forward and slammed into the troll¡¯s neck with a shink. ¡°It was just a coincidence that I saw you running from those two bastards. Well, Glitsnab misses you, you know. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be overjoyed once you come back.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    I smiled as I charged forwards and stabbed my sword through the troll¡¯s stomach. Glitsnab¡­ it¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve seen the old goblin. I was a warrior now, but apparently Glitsnab was a legend - Glafirpul the Magnificent. He could train me more until I was truly an elite - and with the help of him and the other orphans, I could finally stop this horrible war.


    Serim


    Well, hello there. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all gonna hate me, but I don¡¯t care. After all, what do the feelings of the common people matter to people like me?


    I¡¯m the eldest son of Dirron Mertyns, Serim. I was born an aristocrat¡­ but I plan to die a king.


    The Brightheart Dynasty¡­ never wavering, ruling the Aubrerid Empire for over three thousand years. Their distinctive silver hair that is found nowhere else has found itself on the throne for seemingly forever¡­ until now. I¡¯m a Viscount, one of the more influential aristocrats, but nothing compared to the King of Aubrerid. I wanted to become king - I wanted to be the first non-Brightheart to sit on that golden throne.


    The current king, King Liram Brightheart, has three daughters and two sons. I married his youngest daughter to secure my place on the throne. The eldest is already married, and the second one is too cunning. The youngest, barely seventeen, is naive and foolish. She¡¯s also beautiful, like a frail white flower, but I do not love her. She¡¯s just another pawn, another piece of my grand scheme. Even though I¡¯m seven years older than her I stole her heart with lavish presents and promises. I managed to get her father¡¯s permission after I promised something - to win back Ashait.


    Ashait¡­ once a province of the Aubrerid Empire, it surrendered to the States of Fenlar to stop the Fenlar-Aubrerid War. Ever since then it has become a diplomatic issue between Fenlar and Aubrerid. Although it belongs to Fenlar many of its officials hail from Aubrerid - my own younger brother is the general of its armies. Winning it back would be easy - let my brother cause a revolt, leading to a civil war. Aubrerid would support the war in favor of the rebels, and by the end Ashait would once again be ours.


    I hear a knock on the door. Finally¡­ I open the door to reveal a man covered with a cloak. ¡°Serim Mertyns?¡± He whispered, and I nodded. ¡°Well, who¡¯s your target?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°Jaddon Brightheart, the older of King Liram¡¯s two brothers.¡±


    The assassin paused. ¡°You want me to assassinate the King¡¯s older brother?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯d pay you well, of course.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care how much money you hand me, I will not risk my life to-¡±


    ¡°Three thousand Rina.¡± I smiled as the assassin paused. The Rina was the most valuable of coins, being made of pure gold. Three thousand Ria was a large chunk of my treasury, but I needed Jaddon dead.


    ¡°All right,¡± the assassin relented. ¡°May I ask why you want Jaddon Brightheart dead?¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say I have an insatiable desire for power¡­ something only the golden throne of Aubrerid could satisfy.¡±


    The cloaked figure looked at me as if I were mad. ¡°So¡­ Marcyl Brightheart¡¯s poisoning, that was-¡±


    ¡°Yes, I poisoned the King¡¯s other brother,¡± I waved impatiently. ¡°Now I need this one dead. Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t make any promises.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t need promises. I need results.¡±


    Larek


    Ouch.


    I tasted blood in my mouth as I reeled in shock after the old goblin snapped me. ¡°Are you fucking stupid?!¡± He yelled. ¡°What were you thinking three months ago?! Trying to play the hero?! Let me tell you, there are no such things as heroes-¡±


    ¡°I know, I know.¡± Maybe coming here was a mistake. The refuge cleverly disguised as a bankrupt tavern was where Glitsnab and the remaining orphans lived - nine were left. Two were killed by the guards, three more were captured and sold into slavery, and one deserted. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, ok?¡±


    ¡°Sorry doesn¡¯t mean shit,¡± Glitsnab spat. ¡°How have you been surviving so long?¡±


    ¡°I know how to fight, you know.¡±


    Glitsnab laughed as he let me in. ¡°Fight, my ass,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°Say, Glitsnab,¡± I paused.


    ¡°What is it?¡± The old goblin grumbled.


    ¡°I want this war to stop.¡±


    The goblin paused before snorting. ¡°Who doesn¡¯t? This war is a big pile of bullshit, you know.¡±


    ¡°No, I want to be the one to stop this war.¡± I braced myself for Glitsnab¡¯s sharp retort.


    ¡°And how are you gonna accomplish that?¡±


    ¡°...I want to become the new General Major.¡±


    Glitsnab closed his eyes as if deep in thought. ¡°New General Major, huh,¡± he muttered. ¡°Well, normally I¡¯d say it¡¯s unfeasible, but with this situation it¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± My eyes lit up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be getting ahead of yourself, runt. You¡¯re gonna need to reunite this entire Kingdom if you¡¯re gonna become the General Major. How the hell are you gonna do that?¡±


    I took a deep breath. This was the most important part. ¡°Glitsnab¡­ I need your help. And the other orphans. I need you guys to help me reunite the Mountain Kingdoms.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    The silence was unbearable and unbelievably awkward. Finally, just as I was about to walk away, Glitsnab muttered: ¡°Sharog, your son is a fool.¡±


    Sharog? ¡°Um, Glitsnab¡­¡±


    ¡°All right, all right!¡± The goblin yelled. ¡°Fuck you, Sharog, wherever you are. Because you went and died I have to put up with this little piece of shit.¡± Glitsnab sighed. ¡°All right. I¡¯ll help you¡­ or rather, I¡¯ll see what you can accomplish. If you can liberate this town from Dijurobul rule, I¡¯ll consider it.¡±


    All right. Finally. I wanted to jump and scream. The first town I would add to my kingdom¡­ Beggar¡¯s Haven.

 First Victory

    Larek


    ¡°Listen Larek,¡± Garul started. I could hear the suppressed frustration in his voice. ¡°I hold you in the highest respect¡­ you¡¯ve been my idol ever since you defeated me¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡± I laughed as I passed out another slice of bread to the sea of peasants in front of me.


    ¡°But why the hell are we giving our hard-earned food to people on the streets?!¡±


    His face looked as red as a tomato as he passed a cucumber to an orc child with shaking hands. ¡°I want to conquer Beggar¡¯s Street with as little bloodshed as possible. Besides, we have eleven fighters, most of them children, whereas this town houses two garrisons, each with over a hundred warriors. There¡¯s no way we can win a one-on-one fight with them.¡±


    ¡°So your plan is to recruit the common people to our cause?¡± Garul seemed perplexed as he handed out more food.


    ¡°Well¡­ kinda.¡± I grinned as I explained: ¡°All we have to do is show that we would be better rulers than the Dijurobul Faction. When they realize a few protests and riots will break out¡­ as soon as the fighting begins we lead the people to victory.¡±


    ¡°A lot of people are still gonna die, you know,¡± Garul sighed. As he did, I heard the faint sound of metal boots.


    ¡°Hey, what the fuck is goin¡¯ on here?!¡± A gruff voice yelled, and murmurs began to spring up around the crowd.


    ¡°Well, here we go,¡± I smiled, and turned to Garul. ¡°Call the others. If we¡¯re lucky this crowd will fight in our favor.¡± Garul sighed and muttered something under his breath before disappearing into the crowd.


    ¡°What the Hell do you think yer doing?¡± A unit of two dozen soldiers on patrol, led by an ogre Sergeant pushed through the crowd.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m helping feed the people,¡± I claimed innocently. ¡°People are starving, you know. They need food to survi-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that bullshit,¡± the ogre spat. ¡°What are you trying to do, start a rebellion?¡±


    Mutters began in the crowd. Whispers of ¡°who do they think they are¡± and ¡°to Hell with it, we should start a rebellion¡± were easily heard.


    In the sea of people I saw Garul, Glitsnab and the other orphans looking inconspicuous. Well, here goes nothing. ¡°The Dijurobul Faction does nothing for its people!¡± I yelled. ¡°Look at them¡­ famished, abused, forced to work. I will not stand for this no longer.¡± The murmurs around the crowd got louder and louder, so I continued: ¡°Citizens of the Mountain Kingdoms: I will save you! I will protect you, and ensure that you each have a chance at life. I am Larek, son of Sharog, and I will lead you!¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Cheers erupted in the crowd as the people raised fists in zeal. The ogre sighed. ¡°Shoot an arrow through that bastard¡¯s skull,¡± he commanded a goblin next to him, who nodded. The soldier grabbed his longbow, nocked an arrow and fired


    The arrow spun towards me. I would have to concentrate¡­ the projectile zoomed forwards, faster and faster¡­ at the last second, I shifted to my right and grabbed the shaft of the arrow with both of my hands.


    I could feel my hands bleeding as the arrow suddenly halted, but I didn¡¯t care. I held up the arrow to show the crowd. ¡°My people, if this is the best that our enemies can do, we will crush them!¡±


    The crowd suddenly sprang into action, descending on the confused unit of soldiers. I jumped forwards just as Glitsnab drew Excalibur and threw it into the air. I caught it midair with both hands and sliced the ogre Sergeant in half with it as I landed. My act seemed to embolden the people even more, who began to beat at the soldiers relentlessly with their fists, pieces of wood, and stones on the ground. ¡°For Larek!¡± They roared. ¡°Our new King!¡±


    You can win a battle as a ruthless general, sending in troops to die, but people fight better for a cause they believe in. Today, the people of Beggar¡¯s Street believed in me.


    Serim


    ¡°Have you heard?¡±


    ¡°The King¡¯s brother¡­ he died yesterday night, didn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°In his bed, along with his wife. Someone stuck a knife through both of them.¡±


    ¡°The King¡¯s other brother was poisoned a while ago, wasn¡¯t he? Do you think it was the same person?¡±


    I smiled as I rode on my carriage towards the Royal Castle. Let the common folk gossip and wonder. They are nothing more than sheep blindly following their rulers. And once I am their ruler¡­ they will be mine.


    It was very unlikely that I would ever sit on the golden throne of Aubrerid. The King¡¯s two sons were the next two heirs, then his daughters. Finally his two brothers, his nephew, his sons¡¯ wives, his eldest daughter¡¯s husband, and then me. His brothers were dead, and so was his nephew - my doing, of course. My next target was to be the husband of his daughter - killing one of his children would be near-impossible at this point, but he did not care much for his son-in-law.


    ¡°My Lord,¡± I kneeled down and kissed King Liram Brightheart of Aubrerid¡¯s hand as I entered the Royal Castle. ¡°You summoned me.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± boomed the King. ¡°I have received word from Resse.¡±


    ¡°My brother?¡± My eyes lit up. The plan to liberate Ashait was going faster than expected.


    The King nodded. ¡°He says he will start the rebellion two weeks from now. Although he has mustered a formidable force, he required assistance. Will you be able to lead, say, ten thousand men to come to his aid.¡±


    ¡°Of course, but¡­¡± I pretended to be in deep thought. ¡°Would it be possible for Tarden Heavenheart to join me?¡±


    ¡°My eldest daughter¡¯s spouse?¡± The King seemed slightly perturbed.


    ¡°I heard he¡¯s an excellent warrior,¡± I explained, ¡°and he might help in the liberation of Ashait.¡±


    The King looked relieved. ¡°All right. Can you leave tomorrow morning?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± I bowed before leaving the Royal Castle smiling. Tarden Heavenheart¡­ true, he was a legendary knight, but even knights wouldn¡¯t survive a few knives in their chest.

 Murder

    Larek


    ¡°Larek.¡± The envoy looked at me contemptuously. ¡°So you¡¯re the one that¡¯s started all the riots?¡±


    The armored orc on a black horse in front of me was an emissary from the Dijurobul Faction. Behind him was a small army of at least a thousand armored warriors. It was around midnight when the army arrived. Fortunately, our spies alerted us days ago. ¡°Yes,¡± I said, trying to stay calm. ¡°I am proposing that the Dijurobul Faction releases its claim from this town.¡±


    The orc sorted. ¡°And we have to listen to you because¡­?¡±


    ¡°There are four thousand archers behind me,¡± I said, smiling, ¡°and all of them burning with hatred and fury towards you and your people. Sure, the armor will protect your men, but how will they survive four thousand flaming arrows raining down on them every five seconds?¡±


    ¡°You have no such army,¡± the envoy laughed, but I could tell he was uncertain. ¡°I will give you one last chance to surrender. If you do¡­ we will consider sparing you.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I will give you one last chance to release this town,¡± I said as I raised my right hand. As I did, flames began to light up in the mountains surrounding the town. The warriors muttered in confusion as more and more fires lit up. ¡°If you don¡¯t, you will have to die.¡±


    I faced the envoy, who slowly spoke, voice shaking: ¡°L-lies. W-we won¡¯t-¡±


    I let my arm slowly fall to my side. As it did, a cascade of arrows suddenly rained down on the right side of the opposing army. Screams and yells of pain erupted as warriors fell down, wounded and dying. ¡°That was only a warning!¡± I raised my voice over the screams. ¡°If you do not call your army to retreat and come with me to officially release Beggar¡¯s Street from Dijurobul rule, I will be forced to eliminate to all.¡±


    I could see the fear in the emissary¡¯s eyes as he considered the ultimatum. He turned around, defeated. ¡°Retreat back to Dijurobul territory,¡± he ordered the soldiers, ¡°and save as many of the wounded as you can.¡±


    The army slowly began to retreat, and the envoy turned around again. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll need some parchment, two quills and a bottle of ink.¡± I smiled as, one-by-one, the fires blinked out.


    ¡°How did you manage to gather four thousand archers?¡± The orc asked, perplexed. ¡°I thought this town had little more than 2,000 inhabitants, most of them women and children¡­¡±


    ¡°I never had four thousand archers,¡± I said. It didn¡¯t matter that I was revealing my secret - in fact, it was all part of my plan. ¡°I hardly had a hundred. I just had the village light a few thousand fires around the mountains. If you hadn¡¯t surrendered then, we would¡¯ve lost.¡±


    Serim


    ¡°You summoned me?¡±


    Tarden Heavenheart, the legendary knight known as Tarden the Bridgekeeper, stood in front of me. Fortunately, he was not in his armor yet - it¡¯s hard to kill someone when they¡¯re covered in steel. ¡°Tarden,¡± I smiled. ¡°As you know, skirmishes in Ashait have already begun between the elf and rebel forces. Tomorrow we are to charge into the province and lead the rebel forces to victory under the Aubrerid flag.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Tarden nodded. ¡°Is there anything you need me to do?¡±


    ¡°Well, actually, there is.¡± I stood up and walked towards the door of the cabin that was built a few days ago.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± Tarden looked awfully vulnerable without his armor as we entered the forest. ¡°What is this place.¡±


    ¡°The place where you die.¡± As quick as lightning, I drew my knife and charged towards Tarden.


    Instead of slicing through flesh my knife was met with metal. ¡°Serim, what is the meaning of this?!¡± Tarden was confused, but he held his longsword in both hands, blocking my knife.


    I jumped backwards. Truly his reflexes were excellent - this really was the legendary Bridgekeeper. I lunged again and again, but the knight continued to block and parry successfully. ¡°Tarden¡­ poor Tarden, unfortunately I have to kill you.¡±


    ¡°I do not understand,¡± the knight said candidly as he suddenly jumped forwards. I ducked just in time, and his longsword sliced off a few of my hairs as it zoomed over me. Seeing a chance, I scrambled forwards and stabbed his right leg.


    With a yell Tarden tripped and fell. ¡°Well, I want to be King, and you stand in my way.¡± As I tried to cut at the knight¡¯s heart his longsword still blocked it. This one wouldn¡¯t die easily, but he would die in the end nevertheless.


    ¡°They¡­ won¡¯t¡­ bow to you¡­¡± With a grunt, Tarden threw me backwards and got up, limping. ¡°A monster like you¡­ isn¡¯t fit to be King.¡±


    ¡°A man like you who stands in my way isn¡¯t fit to live,¡± I said simply as I swung and slashed at the tenacious knight. I felt his sword dig into my arm, but I pressed forwards until my knife slammed into the right side of his chest.


    Tarden suddenly relaxed. ¡°No¡­¡± He groaned. ¡°I will¡­ never¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± I spat as I held my knife with two hands and stabbed it through the knight¡¯s neck. He squirmed and coughed as blood spurted out of his throat. As I pulled my blade out, he fell to the grassy ground, blood spurting out everywhere.


    Breathing heavily, I turned the man around and stuck the knife into his chest. Then I began to run out of the forest, shouting ¡°Murder, murder! Tarden Brightheart¡¯s been


    The elves will be blamed, obviously. The angry warriors would slaughter innocent women and children when they ride to battle tomorrow¡­ the more bloodshed, the better. The less to resist my rule once I sit on the throne.


    Larek


    ¡°Well, the preliminaries have ended,¡± I sighed as I sat with my council.


    We numbered twelve in total: Me, Glitsnab, Garul, the eight other orphans and Raginsab, the village elder of Beggar¡¯s Street. ¡°The Dijurobul Faction will certainly take this as an invitation to war,¡± Glitsnab grumbled.


    ¡°However¡­ I believe we have time to prepare. They have Andirltan and Fenlar to deal with.¡± I smiled. ¡°Sure, we will face resistance, but not anything major for a while. I say we should expand our territory. Once Dijurobul sees us as an actual threat, hopefully we will be powerful enough to oppose them.¡±


    ¡°You know what I say we do?¡± Garul snarled. ¡°Ally with the Andirltan Faction. An enemy of an enemy is a friend. With their help we wouldn¡¯t be decimated in days.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we put this to a vote,¡± Glitsnab stood up. ¡°All save me must vote. Those who wish for us to conquer as much as possible, raise your hand.¡± I raised my hand, and so did five others, but my heart sank - it wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°And those who wish for us to ally with the Andirltan Faction, raise your hand.¡± Six hands were raised. ¡°Well, the council has decided,¡± Glitsnab decreed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just hope the Andirltan won¡¯t send an army as an ambassador,¡± I sighed as the council cheered.

 Goblinsbane

    Larek


    Tensions were growing higher and higher. Most of the Fenlar forces had unexpectedly retreated, leaving the two Greenskin factions to fight amongst themselves. Already thousands had been killed, but things were only going to get worse. From the way things were going, it seemed a bloodfest was about to begin.


    The Mountain Kingdoms War was reaching its climax. It was as if the Dijurobul and the Andirltan Factions were playing a game of chess - both of them carefully making moves, unwilling to take huge risks. However¡­ battles were becoming more and more decisive, and soon it was obvious that a clear winner would emerge from the war.


    I stood looking down on the giant valley full of thousands of enemy warriors. I had three thousand archers at my command - my job in this battle was to cause enough confusion for Andirltan¡¯s main forces to assure our victory.


    Two weeks since our alliance with Andirltan had been forged¡­ one of the best decisions we have ever made. Six other small nations, including ours, had promised to yield their territory to the Andirltan Faction once the Mountain Kingdoms War ended. In return, they give us reinforcements - we received two thousand foot soldiers and three thousand archers to aid us in our battles.


    ¡°Ready¡­¡± I said slowly. The archers lit their arrows on fire and prepared to fire. Wait¡­ wait¡­ finally I saw Andirltan¡¯s forces begin to gather north of our enemy. ¡°Fire!¡±


    Three thousand flaming arrows soared into the sky and began to fall down towards the Dijurobul forces. Five seconds later, another round of arrows were fired. As they did two armies of soldiers smashed into each other far below us, throwing everything into chaos and pandemonium.


    ¡°Soldiers!¡± I yelled. My two thousand infantry warriors, armed with simple steel armor and holding axes and halberds in their hands, prepared to fight in the front lines. A hundred of them threw ropes down the cliff and tied them to nearby rocks and trees. Grabbing the rope, they began to descend.


    I myself tied a rope to a giant boulder and threw it off the cliff. Mouthing good luck to my soldiers, I grabbed the rope and fell down the side of the cliff. As soon as I reached the bottom, I jumped off and joined the fight - a general should always fight alongside his own troops. Cowardly leaders have no right to rule.


    I¡¯ve seen a few battles before while conquering in the name of Andirltan, but this was by far the most bloody and hectic. I scrambled around, looking for targets. As soon as I saw the bloody axe insignia of the Dijurobul Faction, I cut down the greenskin who wore it - Glitsnab had been training me nonstop for the past fourteen days. I was skilled enough that I was nearly his equal when fighting.


    As an ogre loomed over me, his club raised high, I charged forwards and sliced off his legs. As he fell, an arrow impaled itself into his skull. I turned around to find Garul, loading another arrow and firing it at an unsuspecting goblin. Smiling, I tossed myself back into the fray, taking on three trolls.


    Excalibur moved swiftly, piercing through one troll¡¯s throat before they even realized who they were fighting. As one swung a mace around, I ducked and shoved my sword through his stomach. As he began to fall in pain I decapitated him easily.


    The last one tried to run, and I yelled: ¡°Garul!¡± Knowing what was happening instantly, the orc nocked another arrow and fired it through the troll¡¯s back. As my enemy stopped suddenly, I ran towards him and sliced him in half. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Slowly but surely our forces began to push the enemy into a corner. As a goblin shot an arrow at me, I cut it in half with Excalibur and, with all my strength, threw my longsword at the goblin, who was instantly skewered.


    War was horrible. Blood, corpses and the screams of the dying everywhere. Was this really what it took to unite our kingdom? As I dueled with an orc holding two swords, I saw in the corner of my eye an ogre - one of Glitsnab¡¯s orphans - fall as at least a hundred arrows pierced his skin. As he did, a pack of goblins jumped onto him and began to tear him to pieces. With a roar, I pierced through my enemy¡¯s right lung before going to avenge my comrade.


    The goblins were still cutting at him with their knives when I slammed into one of them and snapped its neck. I turned to the next one, who parried my first attack with his knife but tripped when I stuck my foot out. When he faceplanted into the ground I stabbed at his neck repeatedly


    The five remaining ones charged at me at once. With my bare hands, I ripped out one¡¯s guts, before turning around and sending Excalibur through another¡¯s chest. As I kicked the goblin off my sword the three descended on me.


    My vision turned red as I went into a rage. Slashing again and again at one of the goblins, the creature fell to the ground in pieces. I parried one¡¯s knife holding Excalibur with one hand, and with my other hand I grabbed his neck and began to strangle him. The last goblin lunged forward, but I stepped out of the way and broke his jaw with my longsword. Before he could get up I slammed Excalibur into his back. A disturbing crack told me that I had broken his spine.


    The last goblin, still in my death grip, was choking and wriggling as I threw him onto the ground and decimated his small head.


    There was silence around me as I stood there gasping for air, surrounded by dead bodies. The rest of the Dijurobul army had already surrendered - the five goblins were the last enemies. Slowly the warriors began to cheer. ¡°Larek!¡± They shouted.


    ¡°Larek, the Goblinsbane!¡±


    Serim


    The battle was over quickly.


    Already the elves were confused when the rebellion broke out, but they lost all hope as soon as our armies broke through the gate.


    The former King of Ashait, Filvendor Miracyne, sobbed and begged for mercy as two soldiers held him on top of a huge cliff. ¡°Please,¡± he cried. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me¡­ I¡¯ll tell you anything you need to know¡­¡±


    I smiled as I looked at the pitiful face of the elf. ¡°Tell me, elf, look behind you.¡± As he twisted his neck to look, I asked: ¡°What do you see?¡±


    Behind him was a hundred foot drop into the ocean. ¡°W-what do you mean?¡± The elf asked, confused.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t tell us exactly what we want to know, your body¡¯s gonna be at the bottom of that ocean. Do you understand?¡± When the elf nodded, I smiled. ¡°Good. Now¡­ what does Fenlar plan to do?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ we were trying to take over the Mountain Kingdoms by inciting a civil war-¡±


    I have a nod to the soldier on the right. He grabbed a whip and lashed at Filvendor¡¯s back. The elf howled in pain. ¡°I don¡¯t give two shits about what¡¯s going in the Mountain Kingdoms,¡± I whispered menacingly to the once-king. ¡°I want to know Fenlar¡¯s plans about Aubrerid.¡±


    ¡°I know nothing,¡± the elf started. As I nodded to the soldier again, however, he cried: ¡°All right! All right! Well¡­ when I was in the capital of Fenlar I overheard something¡­ once they took over the Mountain Kingdoms they were going to use the Greenskins as suicidal warrior-slaves to¡­ to burn the Aubrerid Empire to the ground.¡±


    I smiled. Fenlar is certainly a formidable opponent. Let them bicker with the Mountain Kingdoms. Kingdoms are weak when they are at war¡­ soon it will not be us, but Fenlar decimated. ¡°Well then, thank you for your information.¡± I smiled sweetly. ¡°We will treat you with the highest respect as a hostage¡­ perhaps you will even return to Fenlar one day for a trade.¡±


    ¡°T-thank you,¡± the elf sighed in relief as I walked away. I smiled¡­ I lived for that simple sigh. The belief that you were about to be saved. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have any mercy to spare.


    ¡°Is that what you wanted to hear?¡± I snapped my fingers and laughed as my two soldiers threw the elf off the cliff.


    His screams as he fell to his death were music to my ears.

 Glafirpul the Magnificent

    Glitsnab


    I was born to the name of Glafirpul, the son of two farmers. My parents were mere peasants who have never seen war, and I was expected to amount to nothing more than that - a commoner, working my life on the farm.


    For better or worse, my life didn¡¯t end up that way. When I was born, the Dwarves and the Greenskins had been warring for over fifteen years, with no victor in sight. We lived close enough to the center of the Mountain Kingdoms to be spared the carnage and bloodshed of the war¡­ for a while.


    When I was seven my father was drafted into the Mountain Guard. ¡°Do not let others get what they want,¡± he told me before he left. ¡°Fight, Glafirpul, fight. If they try to take what¡¯s yours, hold onto it tighter.¡±


    I began to make a living as a pickpocket. I even joined a gang and helped with some large-scale robberies. Once I had stolen enough money I hired a tutor to teach me how to fight - one of the best in the Mountain Kingdoms. For the next four years, I learned how to wield longswords, knives, maces, clubs, and axes. I learned how to use a bow and I learned military tactics and fighting styles only known to the elite of the Mountain Guard. Soon I was an equal with my tutor - it was evident I would soon surpass him.


    It was around this time that we received news that my father had died - killed in the front lines. The Dwarf Cities seemed to be winning, and soon our town was under threat from invasion. I wanted to leave to be safe, but my mother refused to leave the house she and my father had lived together in.


    I got drafted into the Mountain Guard a year later. With my skills I quickly advanced through the ranks, earning myself a name. When I was seventeen, I visited my hometown again to find it destroyed. My mother was killed by the dwarves years before without me knowing. In fury, I trained harder¡­ and harder¡­ and harder. I became a Sergeant, then a commander of my own unit, before joining the High Command - twenty Generals that led the entirety of the Mountain Guard.


    I made a name for myself in the Battle of the Five Hills, arguably the decisive battle of the Dwarf-Greenskin war. Thanks to my leadership and bravery we had taken back much of the territory we had lost to the Dwarf Cities. Five strongholds, each on top of a giant hill, was the only territory we once had that still belonged to the dwarves.


    We took one of the strongholds by overpowering its inhabitants, but we had suffered many losses - while we climbed the hill the dwarves fired arrows down at us, killing hundreds. Although we had taken one hill, the other four were well-armed, and the task of re-conquering our territory seemed futile.


    As we stayed in the stronghold, indecisive, the dwarves suddenly surrounded us and began a siege. They knew it was too risky to attack us outright, but they also knew we didn¡¯t have many provisions - starving us out would probably be easy. In five days half of our forces had deserted - two more days and half of the remaining did the same. After a fortnight hardly one hundred of my men remained, against what seemed like an endless sea of enemies and former allies alike.


    I finally had enough. I walked out of the front gates with the remainder of my men - the most loyal, the ones willing to starve to death for their kingdom. Raising my sword, I yelled: ¡°Today we will go down in history! Whether people weep for our deaths or cheer for our victory, depends on you.¡± I slowly looked at all the familiar faces in the enemy, before charging down with my soldiers, fully prepared to die.


    The enemy advanced on us, but a few looked uncertain. With a roar of ¡°For the Mountain Kingdoms,¡± I sliced a dwarf in half. My sword rang as it slammed into a rectangular shield, but I kicked it back and parried an axe before stabbing its wielder. My men around me fought bravely, but they began to fall, flickering out like candles when blown. I refused to fall - I kept on fighting, cutting off a dwarf¡¯s arm before crying out in pain as a knife cut at my back. Turning around, I grabbed the knife out of its user¡¯s hand and used it to stab out one of his eyes. The enemies fell upon me, cutting at me ferociously. A warhammer zoomed towards my face - I knew it was the end, but I continued to fight anyway.


    The hand of an ogre jumped out of nowhere and grabbed the warhammer, inches from crushing my face. With a roar, the ogre pulled the warhammer up with its user before throwing them both five meters away, into the sea of enemies. I smiled as I parried another strike - I had gained an ally. Although it was only one greenskin, I was two times as likely as winning this battle as I was a few seconds ago. I pushed the knife in my left hand through a dwarf¡¯s throat, and as I did an orc used his sword to decapitate my opponent.


    We were three now. I had two allies fighting by my side. An orc charged at me with his spear. I slid to the left and felt the spear graze my side, but slammed the flat side of my sword into his helmet. As the metal rung and the dwarf looked dazed for a second, an arrow slammed into his skull. I turned around to see an orc holding a longbow, his face a mask of grim determination. Behind him a dwarf had an axe pulled back, aiming at his head, but the dwarf¡¯s face of triumph soon turned to shock - he fell to the ground, and behind him was a fellow goblin holding a bloody knife with both hands.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Five. I continued to fight, defeating all those in my way. Our bravery inspired more to join us - a troll suddenly turned around and slammed his club into a dwarf¡¯s chest; six. I counted seven as an orc spun around with his longsword, cutting down any enemy in his way. Eight. Nine. Ten.


    Ten against over twenty thousand were horrible odds, but it was ten times better than one against twenty thousand. Soon that ten became twenty, then nineteen as the orc with the longbow was stabbed to death by five dwarves. I felt a pang of sadness, but I continued to fight. Twenty became thirty, then fifty, then a hundred.


    An hour later, I was breathing heavily as I continued to slice down dwarf after dwarf. Two thousand allies fought around me, every single one won back from the dwarves by my courage. We were outnumbered ten to one, but all of our fighters had a thousand things to fight for - and we all had nothing to lose.


    Realizing that our strength was unbreakable, the dwarves began to retreat to their strongholds. Our warlike fervor burned so fiercely that we charged up one of the strongholds and razed it to the ground before the fearful dwarves could fire an arrow. In that one move, we gained five hundred allies, dwarves that yielded to our cause. Our archers rained death down on the next tower as I led the charge to take it - more allies joined our cause.


    Dwarves and greenskins alike climbed up the fourth hill and destroyed the stronghold. Finally, nearly four thousand warriors surrounded the last stronghold - this time, it was us holding the siege. Fortunately for us, the remaining dwarves did not possess the courage my men and I had; they surrendered four days later. The Five Hills were ours. The victory earned me the name of Glafirpul the Magnificent, immortalizing me as a hero of the Mountain Kingdoms forever.


    Technically the Dwarf-Greenskin war continues to this day, but it¡¯s nothing like the Hell it was when I served in the Mountain Guard. After the Battle of the Five Hills the war died down, and now only a few skirmishes happen now and then. I was nearly thirty when I decided to finally retire from the Mountain Guard.


    I wandered the Mountain Kingdoms for a while¡­ until I happened upon a fire. It belonged to a family of three, I was told - and all three were trapped inside. I ran inside to find a young orc girl crying, surrounded by the charred bodies of her parents. I grabbed her and ran outside of the house, coughing.


    The girl I had saved¡­ her name was Sharog.


    She had no other relatives, so I raised her. I quickly learned that she loved to read - so I bought all the books I could to satisfy her unquenchable thirst for knowledge. As soon as she was old enough to hold a sword she wanted to learn how to fight, so I trained her. It was then when I began to adopt other orphans, but Sharog was always my favorite. She learned well, and soon she surpassed even me.


    She joined the Mountain Guard when she was twelve. Two years later she was known as the Elfslayer for her countless victories against the States of Fenlar. When she was sixteen, she was already among the High Command - the youngest one to join the order.


    I¡¯ll admit that I became jealous. Already the name Glafirpul was a thing of the past - Sharog the Elfslayer was the name on everyone¡¯s lips now. I mocked her, complained how she wasn¡¯t the same as she was before. She became angry. ¡°You could never become me,¡± she spat, ¡°but I have surpassed you. You are no Glafirpul the Magnificent¡­ Perhaps a name like Glitsnab would serve you better.¡±


    I told her to get out. She left my house in a rage - I wouldn¡¯t see her again in ten years. I began to neglect the orphans, but I still adopted them, hoping in vain that I would find an orphan like Sharog. I never found that orphan, but I managed to find Sharog¡¯s son.


    Bastards were common in the Mountain Kingdoms, so I wasn¡¯t that surprised when I heard the news that the Elfslayer was with child. When I met her again, it was a bit awkward at first, but we met not as bitter enemies but as old friends.


    ¡°Glafirpul,¡± she sighed, embracing me. Tears welled up in my eyes as I saw her, a warrior now.


    ¡°Glafirpul is long dead,¡± I sighed, laughing. ¡°I am Glitsnab now.¡±


    That night we drank and laughed together in revelry. She had been fighting against Fenlar since she left - someone as beautiful as she was obviously popular with the other soldiers. One day she realized that she was with child, and finally decided to retire from the Mountain Guard. ¡°Come back to us,¡± I offered. ¡°It would help to have someone like you to raise the orphans.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll have my own child to raise,¡± she laughed as she declined my offer.


    Two months later she gave birth to Larek. The day before she had a dream in which an angel clothed in shining colors touched a human¡¯s head. As she did the human began to fall¡­ and the man transformed into an orc infant.


    I had no idea what the dream meant, but when I sat next to her on the bed I realized that she wouldn¡¯t survive. Larek was in my arms, crying, as Sharog¡¯s breathing became lighter and lighter.


    It was then when I promised that I would make Larek a warrior.


    I beamed as Larek stood tall and proud, surrounded by the corpses of his enemies. The warriors around him chanted ¡°Goblinsbane, Goblinsbane¡± as the twelve-year-old orc breathed heavily and smiled.


    I trained him until he could fight so that he could survive. Once he came back to us, I made him my equal. Now he will surpass me as a warrior.


    Your son is a warrior, Sharog. Soon he will surpass us both.

 Kinslayer

    Larek


    ¡°Larek?¡± The goblin, tall for his kind, smiled. He had the look of a king in his eyes, and he stood proudly as he shook my hand. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to finally meet you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, General Major Andirltan Vudrish, son of Oozembul.¡± I bowed down to show my allegiance to his cause.


    ¡°Please, do not bow,¡± Andirltan laughed. ¡°I am not worthy of your honor. I thank you for forging an alliance with us - your skill in battle has earned you the title of Goblinsbane - ironic, isn¡¯t it?¡± He snorted. ¡°Larek¡­ you¡¯re the best fighter I¡¯ve seen in years. My father, he gave me his sword a few weeks before he died.¡± The goblin unsheathed his sword, the blade made of beautiful shining steel, its hilt covered in gems and rubies. ¡°He wanted me to become the next General Major. It¡¯s considered dishonorable to choose your own progeny to ascend to the rank of General Major, however¡­ he was deep in thought, weighing the possibilitieswhen he was assassinated. Well, after that¡­¡± the goblin sighed, ¡°my brother claimed he was my father¡¯s true heir. I defended my right, of course, but this has spiraled out of control.¡±


    ¡°We are winning, my lord,¡± I began, ¡°and soon the war will be over. The Battle of the Red Valley has ended in our victory¡­ the last stronghold that your brother holds is in the south. We¡¯ll be able to march there in days, where we¡¯ll end his reign once and for all.¡±


    ¡°If only things were so easy¡­¡± Andirltan grumbled. ¡°I haven¡¯t participated in any of the major battles recently. A leader who does not fight with his own troops has no right to lead them to their deaths. I fear doubt has begun to creep into the minds of my men¡­ doubt that a coward like myself has no right to rule them.¡±


    ¡°You are no coward,¡± I said truthfully. After all, I looked up to the goblin as a hero. ¡°Lead your troops in this last battle, and all doubt will be erased from their minds.¡±


    ¡°Very well¡­ under one condition.¡± Andirltan smiled as if he were about to ask a big favor. ¡°...I am a no better warrior than anyone else. There is a chance I shall fall in this final battle. If I do¡­ Larek, I name you my heir, and if I die the rank of General Major will fall to you.¡±


    I was at a loss for words. ¡°...Me? I am but an orphan, raised by an old legend¡­ why would you, highborn, an excellent warrior and general, make me your heir? Surely there are at least a thousand others more qualified-¡±


    ¡°There is something about you, something I can¡¯t place.¡± Andirltan paced around, trying to form words out of his thoughts. ¡°You¡¯re no ordinary greenskin, Larek. You¡¯re not a normal orphan either¡­ as you know, you¡¯re the bastard son of Sharog the Elfslayer. But there¡¯s something about you¡­ as if you¡¯ve been chosen by the Heavens.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I slowly looked at my hands. That was right¡­ I had forgotten. I was going to take over the world. I had an Angel¡¯s blessing, the mind of a man who had wasted eighteen years of his life dedicated to dreaming of fantasy worlds¡­ ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I said slowly, ¡°I will become your heir. But you shall not die on the battlefield as long as I am there.¡± I drew my sword, held it in the palm of both hands, and kneeled to Andirltan. ¡°I pledge my loyalty to you, not as a soldier to his general, but as a knight to his king. I will kill for you¡­ but more than that, I shall die for you. I, Larek the Goblinsbane, give you all I have to offer - my sword, my mind, and my life.¡±


    As I kneeled down, a messenger barged through the doors, panting. I immediately stood up, sensing something was off. ¡°What is it?¡± Andirltan asked warily.


    The messenger gulped and looked at the both of us. His eyes were wide with fear and disbelief. ¡°The King of the Mountain Kingdoms¡­ he was assassinated today morning. Dijurobul Vudrish¡­ claims that he is the new King.¡±


    Serim


    ¡°My dear brother, it¡¯s been too long,¡± I put on a smile as I embraced my brother. He had a worn-out look as he managed to smile.


    ¡°Thanks to you, Serim, Ashait is ours,¡± he said. ¡°I am the new King of Ashait. I have already sworn my loyalty to the Aubrerid Crown.¡± We walked to the window and he threw it open. Outside was a burning city, the clashes of battle and the screams of the dying still plentiful. ¡°The skirmishes continue, but our forces outnumber the rebels, and we have already taken the palace.¡± Resse looked relieved but troubled at the same time. ¡°Fenlar will surely respond soon. Since Ashait is now part of the Aubrerid Empire, however, they will not be able to easily take it from us. Additionally¡­ according to your information, they planned to conquer the Mountain Kingdoms. Due to our work here, however, they have since retreated from that godforsaken place.¡±


    ¡°Perfect,¡± I laughed, ¡°Perfect. Their plan is falling to pieces¡­ and now it¡¯s our turn. I believe conquering the States of Fenlar should be our next priority.¡±


    ¡°Conquering Fenlar?¡± My brother looked appalled. ¡°Serim, even the combined forces of all the provinces in Aubrerid wouldn¡¯t be enough for a guaranteed victory against the elves¡­ and even if we do prove to be victorious our losses would lead to thousands of troubles in the future. And¡­ there are rumors going around that the States of Fenlar have two ¡®elites¡¯ of sorts¡­ a human so fast he can kill you before you even see him draw his sword and an elf that never misses.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, brother.¡± Stupid bastard. It seems there¡¯s something else I have to take care of before I conquer Fenlar. ¡°Well, I must be going now.¡±


    ¡°Good luck,¡± Resse smiled as he embraced me once again - a smile that transformed into shock the next moment. ¡°W-what¡­¡±


    ¡°I do apologize sincerely, brother,¡± I whispered as I took the knife out of Resse¡¯s guts. The King of Ashait fell to the ground, groaning, as he tried to crawl towards the door. ¡°I would have to kill you eventually¡­ it all depended on when you would decide to stand in my way.¡±


    I left the bloody knife on the table as I walked out of the room. My brother lay in front of the door, slowly bleeding to death. Looking at him contemptuously, I kicked him in the head before leaving his room.


    Using another knife, I carved the words FOR FENLAR on his door.

 Battle of the Brothers

    ¡°Brace yourselves!¡± I screamed as a storm of arrows fell upon our forces. Screams of the dying and yells of surprise erupted as men around me fell, bleeding. We stood facing the giant fortress, shielding the last of Dijurobul land in the south. Across the ramparts was an army of archers firing arrows down on us. A few seconds later another sea of projectiles descended upon our forces. We were getting nowhere. Drawing my sword, I yelled: ¡°For Andirltan!¡± And ran forwards.


    Andirltan himself rode by my side as we charged towards the seemingly impenetrable wall of stone, the remaining troops following us in a fervor. The enemy archers attempted to shoot arrows down at us, but even those who were hit continued to run as if they didn¡¯t even feel the pain. ¡°Archers!¡± I yelled as I got closer to the fortress and began to slow down. ¡°Fire against the enemy! Bring the battering rams and begin the siege!¡±


    The archers stopped, grabbed their arrows from their quivers and began to fire on the much larger enemy force. As our forces spread out and held shields over our heads to protect ourselves the arrows exchanged projectiles as both sides suffered heavily losses. A giant log zoomed passed me - a battering ram being supported by ten greenskins - and slammed into the outer wall of the fortress. The wall shook, making a few enemies lose their balance, but no major damage was done. Again and again the battering ram slammed into the wall, and slowly but surely it began to break. I continued to hold a shield over me as I encouraged my archers, occasionally hearing a thunk as an arrow embedded itself into the metal.


    After what seemed like hours, parts of the wall finally began to break apart. Suddenly the wall caved open, making the enemy archers fall to their deaths. Thousands of our own archers had died from the fighting, but the survivors dropped their bows, drew knives and short swords, and charged with looks of triumph in their eyes.


    What awaited us inside was an assembled army at least as large as the one we had. Chaos broke out instantly, each warrior throwing himself into the fray, possibly never to emerge. I circled around in the battle, rallying my troops and making sure Andirltan was save, cutting down an enemy every now and then. An ogre raised his club to crush me with but was thrown to the side as a troll slammed into him with a spear. The two began to fight, and I quickly cut furiously at the ogre¡¯s legs. As the giant fell, the troll spun around his spear before sending it through his victim¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I gasped to the troll. The troll smiled, but as he did a pair of orcs descended on him. I rushed to his aid and we managed to kill the two attackers, but his wounds were grievous. ¡°Go back,¡± I advised, ¡°you have served well. Your duty is over.¡±


    The troll shook his head as he slowly shambled towards his spear and took it out of the ogre¡¯s corpse. ¡°My duty is over when I die,¡± he said, before charging back into the battle with a yell.


    The courage of warriors never ceases to amaze me. War is a horrible, ugly thing, but the bravery warriors have when fighting in it is the most beautiful thing I¡¯ve ever seen. Inspired by the troll, I jumped onto another orc and slit his throat with Excalibur. I roared, daring anyone to challenge me, Larek the Goblinsbane, Knight of Andirltan.


    The battle enveloped me as I swung my sword around, feeling invincible. All fear left me as I cut down enemy after enemy - I was a warrior. I might die today, but if I did I would take as many enemies down with me as I could. A goblin snarled as he as he fired a crossbow bolt at my face. I turned to my left and knew the projectile had hit my arm, but I didn¡¯t even feel it - I was drunk on the battle. In two leaps I was next to the goblin, and soon he was headless. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    My left arm was perfectly fine - there was a crossbow bolt embedded into it, and it had never felt better. ¡°For Andirltan, the Mountain General, the true King of the Mountains!¡± I roared, spinning around and slicing anyone in my way in half.


    Then, in the corner of my eye, I saw two warriors glaring at each other, surrounded by corpses.


    Andirltan, confident and triumphant as ever, holding his father¡¯s sword with both hands. Opposing him was Dijurobul, the ¡°False King¡± as my soldiers liked to call him. He wore a gold crown on his head. In each hand, he had a long knife.


    The rage of battle suddenly stopped - I was no longer Larek the Goblinsbane, just a young orc that felt incredibly weak. I could feel the strength of the brothers as they circled each other, none daring to make a move. I could see them glaring at each other, their hatred for one another so prevalent. The pain suddenly flared up in my left arm, and I fell down, clutching it and trying not to scream.


    ¡°Dijurobul,¡± Andirltan said slowly as he held his sword in front of him. ¡°There is a way to stop this. Father gave me his sword - if you surrender now, I will allow you to become the General Major, as long as you surrender the crown to me.¡±


    Dijurobul laughed and spat at his brother. ¡°You are a knight, are you not? You have honor. An honorable knight always kneels before his king. Now, kneel.¡±


    ¡°I. Do. Not. Kneel. Before. False. KINGS!¡± Andirltan roared as he swung furiously with his longsword. I had never seen the goblin so angry as he slammed his sword forwards, again and again, trying so hard to kill his brother.


    The battle was more of a dance than a fight. The two warriors slammed their blades together loudly as sparks flew - thunder and lightning. The pace got faster and faster, and soon everything was a blur as the brothers fought furiously to take the other¡¯s life. I looked on in wonder as the two kings fought like gods, never failing, their every lunge and parry perfect.


    Then, before I knew it, it was over.


    Andirltan ducked as both of his brother¡¯s knives zoomed over his head, and slammed the blade of his longsword into Dijurobul¡¯s waist. The false king roared in pain as he fell to his side. I cheered and slowly ran forwards as Andirltan, gasping for air, stood there victorious. He raised his sword high into the air, ready to end all the pain and suffering the Mountain Kingdoms had to endure. ¡°This brother¡¯s war¡­¡± he muttered, ¡°ends now.¡±


    The sword fell¡­ but didn¡¯t kill the false king. Dijurobul held the blade with his right hand, which began to bleed. Grunting in pain, the goblin pulled Andirltan down until their faces were inches apart. ¡°It ends here, but not on your terms,¡± the goblin smiled, before plunging his knife into Andirltan¡¯s stomach.


    ¡°NO!¡± I screamed as I sprinted forwards. Andirltan¡¯s face was full of shock as he fell. He was bleeding out, but not dead yet. He dropped his father¡¯s sword and tried to scramble back, but Dijurobul grabbed his legs and stabbed at them repeatedly with his knife.


    Andirltan¡¯s howls of pain were horrifying. Dijurobul held the knife over his brother¡¯s chest, and made it descend¡­


    My right hand jumped in the way just in time. The knife went right through it, and I screamed in pain, but I refused to let go - I swore I would die protecting my king if it came to it. With my left arm, which was still screaming in pain from the crossbow bolt, I pulled on Dijurobul and threw him down. He fell with an oof, and I put Excalibur through his chest.


    I heard a groan behind me. Turning around Andirltan slowly getting up and walking to his dying brother. ¡°This¡­ brother¡¯s war¡­ ends¡­ now¡­¡± he repeated to Dijurobul, struggling to speak.


    His brother tried to respond, but only ended up coughing out blood. ¡°Your¡­ sword¡­¡± Andirltan said, looking like he was about to collapse. I handed him my sword, which he used to decapitate his brother. Holding the head up for all to see, he yelled: ¡°KING DIJUROBUL¡­ IS DEAD!¡±


    Cheers. Andirltan wavered and began to fall, but I caught him just in time. ¡°My lord¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­ am dying!¡± He said loudly so that all could hear. ¡°Hear me, my comrades¡­ my last¡­ wish is this: For¡­ Larek the Goblinsbane¡­ to ascend to the rank of General Major¡­ as he is¡­ my chosen heir. Additionally¡­ I also wish for¡­ Larek¡­ to be crowned¡­ King of the Mountains!¡±


    Confused murmurs and cheers. ¡°What?¡± I said, tears in my eyes. I didn¡¯t want to become king anymore¡­ I just didn¡¯t want to lose another friend. ¡°Please! You can¡¯t die¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not up to me¡­¡± the goblin laughed. ¡°Larek¡­ I can feel it¡­ you were chosen. Chosen to become the King¡­ and not just of the Mountain Kingdoms¡­ King of all¡­¡± the goblin¡¯s words faded away as his eyes stopped seeing.


    ¡°King of Another World,¡± I whispered as I closed the eyes of King Andirltan Vudrish, First of his Name, Slayer of the False King.

 The Enemy of my Enemy

    Serim


    ¡°Serim Mertyns, son of Dirron, husband of Cerlina Brightheart¡­ you have been accused of murdering your brother Resse Mertyns.¡±


    Well, things didn¡¯t go quite as I expected.


    I guess people weren¡¯t as stupid as I thought they were. One accused me of killing my brother, and here I am, in front of a royal court. I had been dragged back to Aubrerid by a host of royal guards and spent a week in the Dungeons before my trial was finally ready.


    My father-in-law, King Liram Brightheart, looked down at me solemnly, sorrow and disbelief in his eyes as he continued: ¡°Should you admit to the murder of your brother, you will be sentenced to a life in the Dungeons. Should you deny it¡­ you may choose to be put on trial. Should you prove guilty, we will have no choice but to execute you.¡±


    Around me, advisors and Knights of the King looked down on my contemptuously. All of them were aristocrats, dressing in the finest silk, dyed purple and blue. They thought of me as nothing but a peasant who managed to get lucky enough to marry into the Royal Family¡­ I¡¯ll show them. I¡¯ll show them all.


    I smiled calmly up to the King. ¡°I have always loved my brother,¡± I lied, ¡°and would never hurt a hair on his head, much less murder him. These are the accusations from a criminal.¡± I stared at the one who had accused me, a rather short, bald man with a glasses. He looked around nervously as if he was confused about what was happening


    Liram sighed. ¡°Very well. And you will choose trial by¡­?¡±


    ¡°Combat,¡± I said immediately.


    ¡°Well, in accordance with the rules, your champion will be fighting the Champion of Aubrerid-¡±


    I nearly laughed as one of the King¡¯s advisors walked up to him and whispered something in his ears. He nodded, then said: ¡°The Champion seems to have fallen ill. A new champion will be decided shortly.¡± Yes¡­ even the Champion of Aubrerid is no match against a mix of the deadliest poisons in Anoth. ¡°You will be taken into custody until the new champion has been chosen. And who will your champion be?¡±


    ¡°I have someone in mind,¡± I said as the guards began to drag me away.


    Larek


    Andirltan was given a funeral worthy of a King.


    I looked on solemnly as his golden coffin, covered in flowers, was slowly lowered into his grave. ¡°Andirltan Vudrish¡­ a warrior until the end,¡± I whispered as they covered his coffin with dirt. He was buried next to his father and his brother - even though Dijurobul was a traitor, he was a warrior worthy of a funeral nonetheless.


    I was the King of the Mountains¡­ and the General Major. It was still unbelievable, but it was true no matter how I looked at the situation. Already I¡¯ve been flooded with work - the Mountain Kingdoms War was a huge mess, and it didn¡¯t clean up after itself. Burying of the deceased, feeding the hungry, execution of the criminals who took advantage of the war to commit their felonies¡­ all the paperwork and court hearings seemed endless.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    I began to slowly rebuild the Mountain Kingdoms, with Glitsnab and Garul by my side as advisors. Much of the kingdom had been ravaged, and rebuilding it would be costly and difficult. I had to raise taxes by a significant amount just to have enough money on hand to rebuild a few roads and buildings¡­ and even that led to riots. Most of the crops were burned in the war, which meant the kingdom was probably in for a famine.


    There were only two options left: Conquest, or a trade partnership. As much as I want to get revenge on the States of Fenlar, the foreign kingdom that profited from the war through guerrilla attacks and the supporting of criminal syndicates, we barely managed to pull through one war. Another one would definitely leave us decimated.


    Fenlar was not an option for a partnership. I suspect them for the assassination of the Mountain General, and any economic alliances we make with them will always be heavily profitable for them. Only the Dwarf Cities remained as an option.


    After weeks of diplomacy and many sleepless nights, I finally managed to stop the war between us and the dwarves. Now came the hard part¡­ convincing them to become our partners in trade.


    ¡°You want us to help you?¡± The red-bearded dwarf laughed as he slammed his fist onto the table. A servant immediately appeared with a mug filled to the brim with ale. ¡°You killed thousands of our men, orc, thousands,¡± he said as he began to drink.


    ¡°Well, you can¡¯t forget that many greenskins died by dwarven swords and axes also,¡± I reasoned. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s not the point. The point is, we should put those things in the past and begin anew.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit ¡®bout the Mountain Kingdoms,¡± the dwarf said as he slammed the empty mug down. ¡°Your petty little war? Heh, it helped us gain a few victories. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice for another one to start? Let us take all your land - don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll keep the pretty ones alive.¡±


    I wanted to slap the dwarf, but I had to calm down if this was to be successful. ¡°We have lots we can offer you,¡± I said through clenched teeth. ¡°Our mountains are rich in ores.¡±


    The dwarf waved his hand, dismissing the thought. ¡°We don¡¯t need no ores. We¡¯re the masters of mining. And besides, our hills are richer in gold than your mountains. Selling ores to dwarves is like selling lumber to elves.¡±


    I paused as I heard the dwarf finish. Very slight, but barely discernible - the scorn when the dwarf said ¡°elves¡±. I sipped my wine calmly, before casually mentioning: ¡°The Elves would profit if we were to fall.¡±


    I saw the dwarf stiffen suddenly, so I continued: ¡°They were probably the ones that started the entire Mountain Kingdoms War, after all. The States of Fenlar really want to conquer the Mountain Kingdoms. If we don¡¯t receive help soon, they¡¯ll achieve their goals.¡± I leaned in close to the dwarf and stared him down. He was no longer aloof and condescending - I could see him trembling with anger and confusion, and beads of sweat began to slowly roll down his face. ¡°As much as you want to deny it, dwarf, our nations have the same goals. We both want to see Fenlar burn in Hell. We¡¯re in no shape of doing that, after barely surviving a civil war, and even if every single dwarf man, woman, and child took up arms to fight the elves you wouldn¡¯t have great odds. However¡­ if we combine our efforts, we may live to see the day the elven cities burn. You hate them¡­ you have your reasons for hating them, and we have ours. By-¡±


    ¡°All right, all right,¡± the dwarf sighed and slumped down into his chair, defeated. ¡°A trade partnership is what you wanted, no?¡±


    I smiled and nodded. ¡°Your hills may have gold, but what use is that gold when there are not enough people to mine it? For as long as time itself the Mountain Kingdoms has played a big role in the slave market - and although I think of slavery as immoral, what is my opinion against those of my people? We can send you slaves¡­ in exchange, I want a large amount of staple crops - wheat, barley, and the like - to be sent to us. This will profit both of our kingdoms¡­ and maybe one day we can combine our armies to destroy Fenlar once and for all.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± the dwarf said coldly as he shook my hand.


    Not all of what I said was a lie, of course. I wanted the States of Fenlar to fall as much as the dwarf who sat in front of me did.


    And the elf¡­ the archer, the one who shot her bow as fast as a machine gun. I was weak, but I will become stronger. One day, the elf and I will fight. And I will emerge victorious.