《Land of Godiva》 Chapter 1 : A Declaration of War In a vast field that is dimly lit with the moonlight, lies a village of elves, while on a hill nearby, looking over, are an army of human knights, waiting for a signal that''s supposed to come from the other side of the field, their leader, his armor provided with a cape on his back, waiting on a horse, looking at the village, with eyes colder than the winter. "isn''t it taking long, knight Alaric?" One of the nights questioned, waiting for an answer from his leader. "he sure has taken his times, but we mustn''t let our guard down" Alraic said, his eyes not leaving the village, as he waits and waits, anticipating it with bloodlust in his heart, as he wants to raid the village. "let''s just home he isn''t dead." One of the knights asked his friend, joking with him, in the shadow of Alaric, mere seconds after those words were uttered, a bow, lit with very bright fires, fired up from behind the village, Alaric unsheathed his sword, as he triggered his horse to run. "knights, attack." Alaric yelled, motivating his fellow knights, as their horses started running towards the village, letting out war cries each, a sound echoing through the field, as from the sides of the hill, fiery bows were shot up in the sky, as they fall onto the wooden houses, lighting them on fire, alarming the elves, making them get up, and getting suited up, but it''s too late, the human knights are already there, destroying the village, raiding the houses, as they pierce through the bodies of any elf that steps outside, but they don''t stop there, as they enter the houses too, killing everyone not sparing anyone, not even the women, nor the children. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "elves.... Consider this a declaration of war, we knights and residents of Adelaide wage war on you." Alaric yelled, announcing it to the elves, as they continue this raid, making sure they heard it, as Alraic dismounted his horse, he walked up to an elf that''s on the ground, crouching before him. "tell the other elf villages of our announcement, so they can ready themselves for us, and tell them, that there''s isn''t an escape or an agreement of peace that can be made, you understand?" Alraic said, his voice calm yet firm, as he demanded, the elf horrified, got up, stumbling in the process, as her ran away, to the other side, disappearing in the horizon eventually, as he goes to the next village he can find. Alaric got up, his cape swaying, as the air moves it, he watches the elf run away, before another knight intterupts him "why do we have to do this, knight Alaric" "It''s not like I had choice, the higher ups made me do it, their hunger for being at the top, being the apex predator" "Couldn''t we at least spare the women, or even the children?" "they were orders, you know I don''t like killing the innocent" The younger knight, could only stand there, shaking at these orders, his eyes watery, as he couldn''t bear knowing he killed innocent women, and children, but there was nothing he could do about it. "everyone, mount your horses, we''re going home" Alaric announced to the other knights, as they clean their swords, and sheathe them, they mount their horses and go away, watching as the fire burns up the village and the corpses in it. They arrive at Adelaide near dawn, as they walk through the gates with their horses, the crowd watches them, the crowd is quite happy, knowing there weren''t any casualties, but the knight could only look down in shame and guilt, the king of Adelaide, is waiting at the town center, with his escorts and guard there, his eyes filled with bloodlust, he looks at the crowd and knights "that''s one village done, many more to go, but we should celebrate this, it''s only the beginning after all, drink of wine, and get ready for your next battle knights, the next one will be a true one, not just a raid like this one" Chapter 2 : The Golden Kind Back on the other side of this land, the elf was still running, as he knew that his life and the elves'' depended on it, when it was dawn, he made it to the elf capital, ,Odel, it was considered to be the greatest kingdom to ever be built on this earth, and not only that, its residents, the elves, were known to be a very noble race. Unlike other races, they didn''t have slavery, they were very respective, they were also known for peace, and not being in many wars, they didn''t like it you could say, but they had a history of rivalry with humans. The elf from earlier, looked distressed as he ran through the outskirts of the capital, trying to find some royal guards, soon enough he was near the royal palace, as he saw it''s wall guarding it, he found a knight, as he ran towards him, he stumbled falling, his tears running down his cheeks, he looked up at the knight, who was already worried for him. "they''re going to kill us, they''re going to, the humans" The elf said, tears running down his cheeks, his voice shaky. The knight was confused, he looked at the civilian. "and what makes you say that, for what reason should I, believe you?" "they destroyed my village, Fiora, and not just that, they killed the women, and the children" The knight''s eyes widened hearing this, he was hesitant, but he knew the humans were cruel, but he didn''t know it was to this extent. He knew he must alert the king, but he was hesitant, he had to ask something. "which humans, of which village, did this?" "humans of Adelaide, they did it, I promise, they burned it to the ground" The knight, was distressed now, he has to believe, he knew he atleast has to give a warning to the king, even if it was a false one, he ordered the civilian to stay put. "wait... There is something else... " The villager called, but the knight didn''t wait and hear the rest, he asked one of his fellow knights, to keep an eye on the civilian. Stolen story; please report. He went inside the walls of the palace, running and running, he asked to speak to the king, saying it was urgent, the indoors knight refused saying he has to know the reason. But due to maybe some good luck, the king was returning to his room now, he was behind the knight, the king cleared his throat, making the knight turn around, seeing him, he kneeled. "your majesty, my king, I have a warning to give you, I don''t know if it''s true or not, but I think you should hear it" "what is it, knight of mine?" "a villager who claims to be from Fiora, says that, humans of Adelaide, have raided his village, destroying and burning it to ashes, he also claimed a horrible thing, he said, that... They killed the women... And the children too..." The king''s eyes widened in surprise and horror, his eyes seeing red, he knew he couldn''t tolerate it, they crossed a boundary, one that is unwritten. "royal guard, call Captain Leoric now, and tell one of the other royal guards to notify the outer shell, to ready our defenses, they might be coming to us next" And with the royal guard wasted no time, he ran in the corridors of the place, notifying every guard of this revelation, and telling them the orders so they can spread the word quickly. Then he made sure to go to Leoric''s room, as he knocked on it, asking for permission to go in from behind the door, Leoric accepted. "Captain Leoric, the king calls for you, there is an emergency" "is this another false warning?" "sir, I don''t know, but whoever told us the news, was very distressed" "then tell me what happened" "a villager from Fiora, informed us, that humans of Adelaide, have destroyed his village, but that''s not eb worst part, they killed the women and the children" "did they now?" "sir, I don''t know, but the kings calls for you, he ordered me, and I gave you the message, it''s your choice to believe or not" "fine then, is he in his room?" The royal guard nodded, Leoric, picked up his sword, and went to the room of the king walking slowly, as if there is no emergency, his armor clanking, the sound echoing through the corridors of the palace, he finally made it to the room, and he entered, as if he''s not meeting the king. "why should I believe you now, king?" "did he tell you about everything?" "yes, he did, but that doesn''t change anything" "so yours just going to stand there, and wait while they try to kill us, is that enough proof for you?" "yeah, I guess if is" "why are you like this? Brother?" "don''t call me that, we''re brothers no more, king" "you refuse to call me that, that''s your choice, but you''re not going to stand there, and just watch as the humans kill us" Leoric, keeps looking at the king, his eyes, cold, he seems to be contemplating whether to believe him or not, and whether to help him or not. "you''re our strongest knight, Leoric, your sword is special, you know it, father gave it you, so you can protect this kingdom, I ask you to do it for him, not for me" Leoric looks at his sword, as he pick it up, holding it by the handle, swaying in the air, still sheathed. Chapter 3 : Alaric, Knight of Honor Back on Adelaide, Alaric, was standing by his horse on a hill nearby, watching the sun, as he cleaned his sword, he looks at a dent on the sword. "I promised that I''ll find them, and I will" And then, Alaric stood up, he guided his horse by a lead, and back to the stable, getting there, he found a woman holding a bucket by the handle, using two hands. Alaric, looks down at the ground as he walks by her, guiding his horse into the stable. "I know I shouldn''t ask, but... How much more are you going to take..." Alaric stayed silent, he knew he couldn''t answer "I didn''t expect much from you, just atleast find their bodies, that''s all I ask of you" "I''m sorry, but... You know how things are, I''ve promised that I''d find them, but... I''m the last of my kind... They try to use me by all costs" "I just want to see my son and husband one last time, even if they''re just ashes" The woman said, her tears already flowing, as she tries to wipe them off, Alaric just couldn''t look her in the eyes, he knew he promised her, but his current state just couldn''t let him. "it''s been 4 years now, every day, I walk my horse, hoping to see them in the distance, and not just them, everyone from that squad, I knew you probably don''t believe me anymore, but they''re still alive... Trust me..." The woman continued crying, her tears flowing even more, Alaric couldn''t comfort her, it was the wife of his best friend, but he couldn''t. A young knight, stood by. "knight Alaric, the king calls for you" Alaric nodded, signaling for the young knight to go away, as he walked out of the stable, he stopped once, just to look at the woman again. "don''t dwell on it too much, I''ll find them" The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The woman hearing that, those same words, she heard them a million times at this point, but she knew she atleast had to trust him, even if it''s just with a trust worth dust. Alaric walked through the town, his cape swaying in the air, everyone knew him, who he was, but no one knew what he went through, some gave him eyes of sympathy, and some of admiration. He finally reached the town center, where the king''s humble house was, it was a wooden house, humble for a king like him. He used his arms to push the big heavy doors open, as he walked through the house. He reached the room for warriors, entering there, he found other knights, it''s clear they''re not from this town, their armor was a dark red color, painted probably. He stood at one end of the table, as the king stood on the other, while the other knights where in each side. He looked at the king, with gaze that could pierce through walls. "and here he is, knight Alaric, the last of the honored ones, our strongest soldier" said the king. "why''d you call me, your majesty" "you see, our friends here, from Daegal, say that the giants, which we all know are no more, are still alive." "they are alive, you just don''t want to believe it" "foolishness, you of all people should know, that the giants are dead" "maybe, but I know the truth, the giants are alive, they just don''t want to show it, they''re in a deep slumber" "how do you know" "4 years ago, when we went on that scouting mission, us, knights of honor, we found them, we had to blow in a horn, there were two horns. but we chose wrong, the wrong horn, it was one that woke them up with anger, they trampled on us" "you''re clearly stupid, the giants are no more, we all know, this, is just a fake story, that you tell us, because you don''t want to tell us how your friends died, you don''t want to admit you were weak" Alaric, still looking at the king with those same eyes, didn''t care about his opinion, he looked at the knights of Daegal "meet me at the training grounds, I''ll explain" And with that, the other knights left the room, as they headed to said training grounds, Alaric was left alone with the king "listen here you dumb piece of shit, I don''t care if you''re my king or not, I swore to find my fellow knights, it''s been 4 years, yet here I am, still looking for them, through my 30 years of life, you''re the worst royal I''ve ever seen" "better hold your mouth or you''ll be beheaded" "don''t say words that are bigger than your mouth, you know you can''t, because without me, Adelaide is nothing, why? Because I''m the only one who can still use magic, but I don''t use it, why? Because my dumbass king here, says magic is for weaklings" "and it is" "you know one day, those civilians will revolt on you, and I''ll be their leader, and when that day comes, I''ll make sure to use my magic to kill your ass" And with that, Alaric left the room, and the the house, fuming and relieved that he finally let those words out of his mouth, now all that was left. Now all that was left, was to convince the civilians to revolt against him, but not yet, he had some other things he had to take care of. Chapter 4 : Alliances : Part 1 Alaric, reaching the training grounds, found knights of Daegal fighting each other, training. "knights of Daegal, I offer you an alliance, I know you might not accept, but, I have to ask, would like to be, part of this war against the elves, on our side" One of the knights, walked up to the front, he seemed to be their leader. "I know who you are Alaric, you''re the last knight of honor, and I know what you''re going to say, that the others are still alive, and I believe you, but that''s not the point yet, you''re the last Adelaide knight who can still use magic, am I right?" "and what if I can?" "you see, those mages of Adelaide, they had one of the strongest types of magic, which you can use, now, I I would like to request you use it, because if you don''t, we''ll have lost the war, which would mean, we wouldn''t join" Alaric, knew what they wanted, he just didn''t want to speak, he wanted them to announce it to him. "Last Knight of Honor, Alaric, we, knight of Daegal, I, Vauquelin of Daegal, would like to request, that you teach us this magic, and if you do, we''ll help you search for your fellow knights." Said the leader, kneeling down in front of Alaric, as did the others. Alaric knew it was an offer he couldn''t reject, he didn''t care about the opinion of the king anymore. He had to accept for his best friend''s wife, and for his own sake, after all, using this magic would give them a big upper hand. "don''t kneel in front of me, I don''t like seeing that, and I accept, I''ll teach you my magic, however, I would like to request something, that my younger knights would also come to learn with you" This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it "I don''t care about that, do as you want, just teach us, do your part, and we''ll do ours" "it''s settled then, but we''re not going to train here, we train somewhere else, near the great tree" "sure, we start tonight, by sunset" Alaric nodded, as he signaled for the Daegal knights to go home for now, as they mounted their horses and left Adelaide. One of the young knights came to Alaric. "what was that about?" "tell your fellow knights, that tonight at sunset, we meet near the great tree, I''ll teach you magic there" "yes sir" And with that, the young knight went away, to inform his friends, Alaric knew this was going to be hard, but he knew it must be done. After a few hours, the sun is about to set, Alaric is waiting next to the great tree, a giant tree alone, in a vast and empty green field, knights of Daegal have finally arrived, on their horses, as they dismounted them, they greeted him. "where are your younger fellows?" "they should arrive later, so the king doesn''t know" "I see, now if you don''t mind show us a demonstration of what you can do" Alaric nodded, as he unsheathed his sword from his left hip, pulling it out, it slowly lit up with fire, the sword now situated on his right, lighting with immense fire. The Daegal knights were impressed. "let''s fight, but don''t forget to hold back, I don''t want to die" Alaric and the Vauquelin each stood on either side of the great tree, far away from each other, as the other knights were watching. One of them signaled the start of the fight, and without any waste of time, Alaric with some magic, moved at a great speed towards Vauquelin, in the blink of an eye, Vauquelin couldn''t react, Alaric made sure to press his sword on Vauquelin, putting them in a stalemate, Vauquelin drifted back a few feet, he was overwhelmed by Alaric''s strength and magic. Then in the blink of an eye again, Alaric used his left arm, to hold his scabbard and sweep Vauquelin feet, lifting him off the ground, the scabbard, even though made of leather, it was somehow harder than stone, Alaric winged his sword to hit Vauquelin''s, making him skip on the ground, bouncing, until he was far away from him. "what do you think" said Alaric. "you''re quite strong, I''ll give you that" Vauquelin said through pants, as he tried to pick himself off the ground. The other knights were impressed to see their leader on the ground after mere seconds from the start of the duel. "now get up, it''s time for you to learn, and you too youngling" Chapter 5 : Alliances : Part 2 The Elves, also knew they couldn''t just sit there, and wait for the humans to attack, they knew they had to get allies. And who better to ask for help, then the dwarves, who themselves despised the humans. "royal guard, prepare for me a cart, I''m heading to Euphemia." Said the king, asking his guard, as he sits on one end of the table. While Leoric sits on the other, eating his food. "tastes good." Said Leoric. "enjoy it while you can" "I''m not dying anytime soon" "how do you want to die? Leoric?" "I want to die a graceful death, at the hands of a great warrior, maybe Alaric, after all he''s the last knight of honor, but I would like it to be a legendary battle, and when I''m defeated. I want to look at the sun, one last time" "sunrise, or sunset?" "it doesn''t matter, although I would like to see it at sunset, after all I was born at sunrise, it would be poetic. And how about you?" "me? I don''t want to die." "oh come on, don''t be grumpy, just tell me" The king narrowed his eyes, as he''s clearly not lying, Leoric rolled his eyes at the sight. "well, I don''t suppose I could change your mind Annora" said Leoric. The royal guard from earlier came back. "the cart is ready, your majesty" The king stood up, as he walked through the corridors of the palace, heading outside, he found the cart right in front of him, as he entered it. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The journey to Euphemia, land of the dwarves, was long, especially from Odel. But Annora thought it would be necessary, as he knew they were great welders, after all, they created the sword that leoric wields, a very powerful sword, one that possesses a special ability, no other sword has. Nearing Euphemia, Annora, just sat there, watching outside the window of the cart, his head tilted, and his hand on his cheek supporting it. "we''re here, your majesty" said one of the royal guards. Annora went out of the cart, the guard circling him, making sure he''s safe. Some dwarves in the village looked at him, wondering what''s wrong, Annora has been here before, they had a great relationship, a cooperative relation between odel and euphemia. Annora reached the Great House of Dwarves, where the elders of dwarves stay, as they''re considered the ones that take charge of the village. Annora stepped in, finding one of the elders sitting there, he looked at him. "I request you gather with me, as I want to make an alliance with you" The elder dwarf nodded, as he stood up, guiding Annora with him to a room with a large round table, he sat there, as the other elder dwarves gathered. "and what kind of alliance you want to make?, king of elves, what for? For how long?" Annora knew he had to answer those questions, as the dwarves always were carful with their trust, yet greedy. "we shouldn''t call it an alliance... More like an agreement, you make weapons for us, and we''ll pay you... But at a condition... You don''t make weapons for humans... For how long? Well... If I knew myself... I''d tell you" "is there a war between humans and elves?" "well, I guess you could call it that... But what is your answer?" "you know how dwarves are with humans, but anyways. currently, you give us... 4 cows worth of meat for every 10 barrels of wheat, am I right? I say you raise that to... 12 cows worth of meat, and you have yourself a deal" Annora was annoyed, but he knew the dwarves were griddy, he had to make a choice, either accept and have a better chance at winning the war, or decline, and risk that the humans will have weapons that could rival Leoric''s sword. "I accept... Dwarves" The elders grinned, knowing their griddiness won once again. "but I have one question." "what is it?" "before, years ago, you made a sword for my father, that could slash through the flesh of dragons, am I right? Is there any chance you could make it again?" "no we can''t, even if we wanted to, because special weapons can only be made once, a 1 of 1" Annora was disappointed, but he didn''t push further, not wanting to question the dwarves more, he stood up, thanked the dwarves for their alliance and walked away, going back to his cart. He was headed to odel once more. Chapter 6 : Why Honor? It''s been two days since Alaric started reaching the Daegal knights his magic, it was going well, they knew the basics, but didn''t know how to use it effectively. On the evening of the third day, as the Adelaide knights arrived for another session, they carried news for Alaric. "Knight Alaric, we have some bad news" "what is it?" "the king has ordered an attack on odel, by tomorrows dawn." "of course, he did" Alaric mumbled to himself. Before he stood up again, he unsheathed his sword, looking at the dent once more, eyeing it up and down, before he sheathed it. "attack me, show me that you can use magic" said Alaric, as he walked away, creating a distance between him and the other knights. "all of us? At once?" Alaric nodded, as he readied himself, the other knights unsheathed their swords, as they also got into position, Alaric just stood there, waiting and waiting for their first attack. Until then, the knight farthest to the right, sprinted at him, Alaric, using his magic, lunged at him at a very great speed, as if he teleported there, a blue aura around him, and some silhouettes behind him, as if they''re of the past. Alaric held the knight by the throat, as he lifted him of the ground, and without struggle, slammed him onto it again, on his back, making dirt fly away, and grass and plants affected by the shock wave. The other knights readied themselves, one of them tried to light sword with fire, but it was only dimly lit. "I''ll show you how it''s done" said Alaric, as his sword lit on a great fire, as he dashes towards the knights, sweeping their legs off the ground, the fire leaving a trail behind the movement of the sword, lighting up the area. As the knights fell to the ground, one of them used magic, as blue aura surrounded him, making him stand up in a great speed. He was about to swing his sword, but Alaric was not done yet, he slammed his foot on the ground, creating a great Shockwave, distorting reality itself, as red and green lines appeared on thin air. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. The knights were thrown back by the shock wave, but the knight from earlier, stabbed his sword onto the ground, yet he was pulled back, at least he didn''t fall as his sword split the ground. "you did well, Larkin" said Alaric, as he patted Larkin''s shoulder. The knights stood up from the ground, as everyone rested around the bonfire, near the great tree. "hey Knight Alaric, why does your armor have a cape?" "it was given to me and the other knights of honor, by the previous queen, to distinguish us from regular knights, because she was quite forgetful" "not to sound invading or anyrhing, but no one knows the answer to this, except you, why are you called a knight of honor?" said another knight. "we were called that, because simply put, we were noble when fighting, and we fought with great honor, we always wait for a fair fight with our enemy, I once stripped myself of my sword, because I saw that my enemy didn''t have one" "how long have you been a knight of honor?" another knight asked. "I was a knight of honor since I was 22, so that means it''s been 8 years since I earned this cape" The knights were impressed, but Alaric knew that wasn''t impressive at all. "you think that''s impressive? Because it''s not, there was a kid, his name was premsyl, he was the son of my best friend, he earned to be a knight of honor at a very young age" "how young?" one of the knights asked. "he was 8 when he first fought with us, 9 when he earned his cape" "but how?" "his father taught him at a young age, taught him the basics of honor, trained against him, and let me tell you, based on pure strength, the father was the strongest human I''ve ever seen" Alaric, at this point was reminiscing of old times. "I just want to meet them again..." The knights of Adelaide and Daegal both knew how much Alaric wanted to meet his friends, and reunite with them, he just wanted to. "my last adventure with my friends, was to The Valley of The Abyss, trying to get to Fields of Eira" "what happened there?" said one of the knights. "in that valley, every time you venture to it, it changes, I made it out on the other side, but I don''t remember how, I remember being stabbed to the chest, yet I made it out, and then I was in the fields again, the two horns in front of me, and then I... I blew the wrong one... The giants were angry, and they trampled and trampled, I ran away, using my magic, they trampled the abyss somehow, it rebuilt itself I''m sure... But I swore that when I came back the next time, I''d make things right" "did you die? And were you reborn?" one of the knights asked. Alaric didn''t know the answer, he couldn''t even answer himself. Vauquelin knew they had to keep their promise to Alaric. "after tomorrow''s battle, I think we should go scouting for them, after all, it''s our side of the deal, isn''t it?" said Vauquelin. "I guess it is, but we should rest easy for tonight, we have a battle tomorrow, one we have to win" said Alaric. The knights were all serious about this, they knew they had to win, not for their king, but for their own sake. A great battle awaits them tomorrow. Chapter 7 : Attack on Odel It was now an hour or two before the attack, Alaric was just making sure that the tactics he laid out were implemented in the brains of his knights. They were waiting a far away from the gates and walls of odel, waiting for a signal of the Daegal knights, from the other side. Alaric, being here not for the first time, just couldn''t help but notice how different odel looked, he remembers it being much more humble in it''s building, as he knows for a fact the palace wasn''t that tall, it was sticking out so much, so tall. "Knight Alaric, may I ask, are we allowed to use magic?" said one of the knights. "only if you''re severely wounded, with no escape, you''re not effective at using it, you may need to focus a bit more, but if you know how to use it, then be my guest" On the right, near the horizon, the sun began to rise up, Alaric knew the time was near, he told his knights to get ready, and soon enough, fiery arrows shot up, climbing the skies. Alaric and his knights sprinted their horses towards the gate, Alaric, jumped up from his horse, now in the sky, as he used his magic, granting him wings of blue color, or at least that''s what it looked like. He dashed towards the gate with great speed, he used his legs to slow himself. Burying them in the ground, splitting the ground, as he unsheathed his sword, holding it like a dagger, from behind his back, he swung it up in front of him, lighting it with a massive fire, the fire sent as lines towards the gate, melting it. Alaric stood there, watching the exposed kingdom of elves now, as some of them watched him, terrified, and so did the guards, who didn''t react fast enough. Alaric''s knights sprinted with their horses inside the gates from around him, the elf guards were who positon, still were caught off guard, they nie were in active combat, some of the elves cut the legs of the horses making them, and so the knights atop of them, as they fought and fought. Alaric, then with great speed, went through the knights and elves fighting. As he saw and elf knight running towards the palace to alert the king, and tell the other guards. He stabbed him through the back, killing him in an instant. But he wasn''t alone, as some 6 guards were there, a distance between them and him, they were sprinting towards him, except one, who was running towards the other side. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Alaric, again with great speed, went towards the 5 guards who were about to fight him, before reaching them, he was in the center, as he buried his hand into the ground, and revolved around it, his sword lit in a very great and fuming fire, swinging his sword through them, splitting them in half, as he revolved, the fire even hitting the buildings around him, catching them on fire. Alaric, then, revolved in the opposite way, splitting their top halves, into two, making sure they''re dead, then, putting his foot on the ground, he jumped at a great height, towering over the kingdom, but not enough to tower over the palace, he saw the elf informing the guards near the inner walls, guarding the palace. As dived towards him, now a blue aura around him, and silhouettes behind him, marking his past movements. He readied himself, as he stabbed the ground when he landed, creating a massive shockwave of fire around him, killing the guards, fire burning everything around him, as he stood there, he noticed a elf mother and her child. Alaric''s expression softened, seeing them, he knew he was a monster in their eyes, his mind raced with thoughts. ''what if I killed his father? How would he live now? And his mother, she must of feel like shit, knowing her husband was now ashes'' Alaric thought. Back near the gate, they heard and saw some of the destruction Alaric caused. Larkin, was now in a stalemate with one of the elf knights, a blue aura surrounded him, as he pushed off the knight, and stabbed him to the throat, killing him, now that he was free, he could help his fellow knights. He sprinted towards another knight who was also in a stalemate. "I''ll do it, just like Alaric does" Larkin screamed, rage engulfing him, with great speed, he went towards the elf knight, or so he thought, because since he wasn''t the best at controlling magic, he had messed up the tragectory. As he went through a house, destroying the wall. entering it, Larkin had a moment of clearance, reality moved slowly, as he looked around, seeing 3 elf children there, holding their heads scared, it was too late to back out, his momentum continued, as he went through the other wall, destroying it too, making the house fall down. Larkin, stopped himself finally, as he looked back at the rubble of the broken house, he knew the children would be dead, he didn''t want to believe it, he remembered Alaric''s words from last night "defy the king''s orders, and don''t kill any innocent women or children..." Larkin knew he broke that rule, soon enough, a dagger pierced through his back, Larkin watched in horror, his brain realizing the pain, looking back over his shoulder, it was an elf woman, a normal one too, she was crying, maybe it was the children''s mother, Larkin thought that if she was, he deserved dying at her hands, he fell down as the life essence in him slowly faded away. Alaric, still standing up in the middle of the fire, watching the woman and her child. Decided to go towards her, maybe even comfort her somehow. But before he could, a voice behind the wall screamed "stay away from her" the wall broke, it was Leoric, about to swing his sword. Chapter 8 : An Honored vs. A Noble Just as Leoric''s sword was about to hit Alaric, Alaric lifted his sword blocking the swing. Making Alaric drift back splitting the ground, as he went back a distance spanning 10 houses. Leoric, looked at the woman on the ground, kneeled before her, and gave her his respects. "leave this area, it''s by no means safe" said Leoric, looking at the woman and her child. As she stood up, and ran away, holding her baby in her arms. Leoric stood up again, looking at Alaric. "you must be him, the legend of the last knight of honor" "and so what if I am" "this is going to be a great battle, one that will be told after generations" "who even are you" "I knew you''d say that, I''m Leoric, The strongest knight" "I doubt it" Alaric said, now walking towards Leoric slowly. "oh really? I bet that cape of yours would look great on me" said Leoric, as he also slowly walked towards his enemy. "this cape is a symbol of honor and strength, something you probably lack" "and do you know what this sword is?" "I know it, it''s the Blade of Immortals, the only sword on this land that could pierce through the flesh of dragons, and the flesh of those who are immortal" "that''s it, exactly, now it''s time for me to get that cape" And with that, Leoric sprinted towards his enemy, letting out a war scream as he does. Alaric didn''t rush into it, as he just walked slowly, waiting for Leoric to finally reach him. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Just as Leoric finally reached his enemy, he swung his sword from down to up, but it didn''t do much, as his enemy dodged it with ease, and another one, and another, not one single hit landed. Alaric then held Leoric by the throat, lifting him off the ground, and then slammed him onto of it again, sending a Shockwave through the city, he then took a few steps away, creating a small distance between them. "what are you doing, stepping away from the fight?" said Leoric, as he picked himself off the ground. Alaric stood silent, as he waited patiently for Leoric to straighten himself up, then as they were at equal footing again. Alaric got into position, his stance very different and unusual, yet menacing. Leoric got into a stance too, this time, he waited for his enemy to make a move, then Alaric quickly sprinted towards Leoric, as this time he''s the one making the first attack. He swung his sword only for it to be blocked narrowly by Leoric, but there was an effect of knock back, Leoric felt as if he was getting pushed back with every block, he was impressed yet fearful of the strength his enemy has. Alaric wasn''t tired or was he even feeling a bit of difficulty fighting. He then used his scabbard to sweep Leoric''s feet of the ground, and hit his sword knocking him back even further. Alaric seeing that Leoric was now faraway, turned around, and walked towards the inner wall guarding the palace. Leoric, just as he hit a wall, looked up at the sky. "it''s no longer dawn... " Leoric said, as he chuckled a bit. Alaric was still walking, but then he saw a shadow of something far away in the sky, looking up, he saw a silhouette of a knight, with wings on his back, focusing his eyes a bit, the silhouette was now descending towards him at a fast pace. Alaric realized it was Leoric. ''the bastard can use magic'' Alaric thought to himself. "I''m not dying yet" shouted leoric as he descend at a fast pace towards his enemy. As he swung his sword. Alaric, put his sword up, blocking the swing, sending a Shockwave. As the swords now rested atop each other, Alaric was confused as to why Leoric didn''t use his magic from the start. As they''re now on the ground both, Leoric''s wings still on his back, they swung their swords on each other, each contact the swords made, sending a Shockwave around the city, knocking dirt away from them, and every every stone around them getting sent back. Alaric knew that it was time to use his magic, with great speed again, he was now behind Leoric, he cut his wings, and just as he swung his sword on his armor, it was hard and very tough, it was nearly impossible to penetrate. So instead of opting for a slicing swing, he opted for a swing that would send leoric back a very great distance. And just as he hit him, Leoric was now flying in the air, nearly touching the ground, skipping through the ground, as he hit the inner wall, destroying a great portion of it, but he didn''t stop there, as he went through the base of one of the towers of the palace, making it fall to the ground.