《Apex》 Chapter 00 – Prelude to battle Prelude to battle
It was spring: the time of youth, love and friendship. But not for Ji Jiang. He stood upon the black, high-aptitude cliff and gazed down at the battlefield. It was a mess, utterly chaotic. Pitiful screams of the men whose bodies mutilated by the undergoing slaughter, coupled with the drums of war, caused his blood to ignite. His eyes shone with a strong desire and he clutched a sword in his hand, his fingers tightly gripped onto the dark-brown leather handle. The rusty bronze armor he wore was smeared with dried, crimson blood, and amidst the rust and blood one could see that the passage of time had taken its toll. This was his dream, to bring honor to his family and to be filial to the kingdom. He was not afraid of death. He had seen too much of it. The armor he had was taken from a soldier he once befriended. Unfortunately, in Ji Jiang¡¯s first battle, the soldier died. Therefore, the armor was his for the taking At that point, he understood that wars were not kind, merciful or anything like it. They were dark, bloody and showed no mercy whatsoever. Since then, Ji Jiang had been in the army for months. Now, it was time for his last battle before he could arise to become a hundred-squad leader, and thereon claim the title of a squad leader From young days, before most of children began to train, he already stood in the plain field of grass outside his father¡¯s farm. With a sword in his hands, he tried to surmount his destiny. He wasn¡¯t happy with being a farmer when he grew up. He wanted to be more. A warrior, the greatest of them all. *Duuun, duuun!* The drums resonated in his ears and brought him back to reality. ¡°It¡¯s finally time¡­¡± He silently said under his breath and started to walk back into the ranks. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes,¡°You can do this, Ji Jiang!¡± After joining the ranks again, where thousands of foot soldiers marched toward the battlefield as reinforcement, Ji Jiang turned around to see that the man beside him began to cry. He was a bit older than Ji Jiang, but one could see he had never battled before. The man¡¯s eyes displayed it. ¡°Stop crying.¡± Ji Jiang told the man. This was no time for regrets, the choice had been made. The man responded, ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I will die... please!¡± After saying this, the man¡¯s whole body shook and he dropped his sword to the ground only to desperately stumble out of the ranks, trying to reach for the forest to the left. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. But before he could reach and even touch the boundary of the forest his head was sent rolling. Blood sprayed like a fountain from the now limp body that landed on the ground with a thud followed by a lighter thud from the head. Soon, a puddle of blood formed and colored the ground red. A loud, stern voice that was harder than steel bellowed in the air, ¡°Don¡¯t make me kill my own kin.¡± Ji Jiang located the voice, it was one of the commanders who usually rode at the front, a middle-aged man with snow-white that hung down to his shoulders and a long, together-voven beard. After the commander''s display, awe spread among the soldiers present, and gasps could be heard everywhere. But instead of showing absolute wonder and awe in front of the display, Ji Jiang only snorted. For him, that was akin to child''s play. If it wasn¡¯t for the kingdom¡¯s strict rules that one had to participate in the army as a mere foot soldier for six months, he would already have begun to advance in ranks. "Too forced, too forced indeed!" Ji Jiang was different. He had no definite sword style, he was free from those shackles that bound others. His style was that of adaption to the circumstance. He could be like a deadly tempest that tried to overpower his enemies with speed and strength, or a strong, golden mountain that had no openings, an impregnable defense. But also like that of a calm pond or predator lying hidden to wait for its prey, slowly trapping it within without giving it the slightest idea of its new fate as food. When he stood upon that field of grass, he was unfettered by everything. It was only the sword and him, nothing else. There, he followed his heart, danced with the sword as an extension of his arm. ¡°Halt!¡± The general of the army, the leader of the hundred-thousand men, ten commanders, hundred platoon leaders and thousand squad leaders, who sat in a blood bay, a bright red horse, put up his hand. Ji Jiang braced himself, this was it. Now was the time. Either he¡¯ll succeed, or die trying. ¡°Charge!¡± The general roared, brought up his sword and urged his blood bay to advance. Following him, the soldiers yelled in unison, ¡°May the king live for a thousand years, his lands prosper for ten thousand, and his kingdom blossom for eternity!"
Chapter 01 – Descent of galloping Chapter 1 ¨C Descent of galloping
In a small grove, between to big, wide trees a tent was set up. Inside the tent there sat several men and women of similar postures. They all had serious expression and wore armor that shimmered from the faint light inside. Onto their chest plates a fiery-red, seemingly glorious crest of a dragon was depicted Most of the attention was directed at the man who seemed to be in charge, or at least the most powerful man among them. The man whom all gazed at was commander in-chief of the army of the peng kingdom, whose prestige was widespread even in the other kingdoms. The commander in-chief, Zou Sang, seemed to be in deep thought as he pondered over something. Suddenly, he spoke in a straightforward way catching everyone off-guard. ¡°The Tian kingdom has stated their demands. They require half of our kingdom¡¯s riches and one third of our land. Only then will they retreat their army from our border. I presume that the choice concerning this matter is easy to conclude?¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Qin Wenqing, a woman who sat a couple of chairs away from Zou Sang snorted loudly, ¡°F*ck, They dare to be so arrogant? Do they not care for our face? We are kingdoms of similar size, strenght and wealth, but they disregard that? I, Qin Wenqing, refuse to accept these conditions!¡± Zou Sang showed a rarely seen smile and laughed. ¡°Haha, you are truly daring, Qin Wenqing.¡± He said. Then he inspected everyone inside the tent before continuing,¡°Does anyone disagree with what Qin Wenqing said?¡± ¡°No, commander in-chief Zou Sang!¡± They all answered in unison, and all agreeing to what Qin Wenqing said. ¡°Fine.¡± Zou Sang nodded, ¡°We shall make a frontal attack toward Tian¡¯s main camp. Call back all troops except for those currently on the battlefield.¡± Qin Wenqing¡¯s face turned pale after hearing what Zou Sang said to them. Her haughty demeanor changed in the blink of a second, and her she bit her lip. Her voice trembled as she spoke,¡°B-but our soldiers, they.... w-we are to abandon them?!¡± Everyone inside the tent felt a chill go through their spine. To leave one¡¯s troops for the mercy of the enemies, what would be the consequences? ¡°It¡¯s our only chance.¡± Zou Sang sighed, and said in a low voice, ¡°We have to surprise the enemy and we need enough manpower to do it. Our only option is to withdraw as many as we can to make a large-scaled attack at the kingdom of Tian''s main camp, to try force them into retreat. ¡°But what will the council say?¡± Qin Wenqing tried persuade Zou Sang, ¡°And what reaction will the royal residence show? We¡¯ll be punished severely, maybe even to the extent of forfeiting our lives! ¡°Boom!¡± General Wang Lang, beside Commander in-chief Zou Sang, slammed his fist into the table, causing splinters of wood to shoot out in every direction before the table was completely destroyed and fell to the ground. ¡°So what?!¡± Wang Lang roared, ¡°If we win the war, and if we push the kingdom of Tian¡¯s army into retreat, what can the council and royal residence do to us!?¡± ¡±Forgive me for my loud voice, commander in-chief.¡± The old man¡¯s voice toned down and he nodded respectfully to the commander, ¡°I agree with you, commander in-chief. It¡¯s our only option.¡± Do tell more, Wang Lang.¡± Zou Sang waved off the apology, then asked the older man ¡°You have been in the army for many years. There are not many who have more experience in this field than you. Why do you think that my choice is best? I¡¯d love to hear your expertise.¡± Wang lang took a deep breath, ¡°Commander in chief Zo¨C¡± Zou Sang interrupted him, ¡°Wang Lang, refer to me as Zou Sang. The title of Commander in-chief is merely given to me by the council. I am but a humble general like you.¡± ¡°Very well, Zou Sang¡± The man nodded in response. Two small flames flickered in his eyes as he began to explain. ¡°The reason why the best alternative is to not alert the soldiers on the battlefield is because if we do, the Tian army smell that something is not right...¡± Wang Lang trailed off. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°...and upon discovery, they¡¯ll send scouts to eventually find out that we¡¯re moving against their main camp.¡± Zou Sang finished Wang Lang¡¯s sentence and then rose from the table. ¡°Good. Now, our meeting is adjourned.¡± He glanced at Qin Wenqing, ¡°Wenqing, as my second in command I advise you to withdraw your emotions when giving the order for leaving the reinforcement army behind, It¡¯ll be easier that way.¡± Before everyone could react, Zou Sang had already exited the tent. ___ ¡°Hua!¡± Ji Jiang threw himself to the side, evading a fire-lit arrow. It barely grazed past him. But in return, it tore up a bloody wound on his left thigh. In comparison to others, it was minor, and therefore he could continue fighting. A sword came crashing down at him. By spinning his body nimbly like fluid water he turned the parry into an attack and removed the sword from his opponents grasp. After that, he pierced the man¡¯s neck with a, ¡°pucchi!¡±, killing him instantly. But Ji Jiang had no time to rest after killing the man, there were many more to fight. To his side both allies and enemies lay dead and were stepped upon by the new soldiers that came charging from behind, constantly pushing the ranks forward. This was the true nature of war. There were no glorious moments for foot-soldiers, only death, death and more death. To survive for months as a foot soldier, it was truly a miracle. After this battle he would be promoted to a squad-leader and by then he could finally be considered a true member of the army. Right now he was in the reinforcement army and therefore belonged to no squad nor platoon. It gave him no responsibility for objectives. But on the other hand it gave him no ability to show his value and prowess. Suddenly, Ji Jiang saw something farther away. He sensed tremors in the ground, ¡°f*uck¡±. He swore to himself, the kingdom of Tian¡¯s cavalry was about to descend to the battlefield. As he tried to escape, a thought passed through his mind. Where was their kingdom¡¯s cavalry? Sadly, he had no time to elaborate the fleeting, drifting existence of a though and could only remove it and instead focus on running for his life. ¡°Save me, please! I don¡¯t want to die!¡± Ji Jiang heard several screams. He turned around to see the galloping horses and their riders storm through the battlefield. They killed enemies and allies alike. But the moment Ji Jiang looked away he felt a searing pain in his chest. An arrow, that he had so skillfully dodged earlier, penetrated his abdomen. Luckily, it wasn¡¯t a fire arrow, merely an ordinary one. ¡°Noo!¡± Ji Jiang roared, he understood what this meant. He couldn¡¯t run as fast. But the cavalry was moving closer by every second. He felt blood rush to his head, what was he going to do? How was he going to survive this ordeal? 100 meters, 75 meters, 50 meters. He tried to run faster, but it was to no avail as his feet dragged the ground. Then he stumbled to the ground similar to how the man trying to desert had done only to get his head severed from his body. His ankle got twisted from the fall, he couldn''t run anymore! 10 meters! ¡°No, I can¡¯t die here! I can''t! I cannot! I WILL NOT DIE HERE!" He began to sweat, his pulse exploded upward. ¡°Thump, thump, Thump!¡± Everything went into slow motion. From the bottom of his mind he felt something flicker. A gust of fire was brought to life instantly, quicker than a finger flick. Ji Jiang felt surging power from within the deepest of his body. 5 meters! ... ¡°Bam!¡±