The green, red and black flag of Aidonia rippled in the stiff breeze on a spire, next to it the proud blue and white flag of Tivoli bristled in the wind on the opposite spire sat atop a large stone castle behind tall majestic walls .
The sun was high in the sky on a beautiful winter's day in Tivolli. Workers were moving briskly around the grounds of the castle as a din of noise was coming from the main hall.
Bowls and plates were laid out neatly on a long table, Commander Genk held two chop sticks that looked like tooth picks in his huge hands, with a eerie smile he slurped the noodles wrapped around the chop sticks with pleasure amidst the sounds of bowls clanking and hushed conversations throughout the hall.
It had been weeks since the soldiers had enjoyed such delicacies, Hartley sat beside commander Genk and Anguo Chen along with the higher ranks of the army that came on this excursion. On the opposite side of the table, King Zixen sat beside the queen dressed in a white gown flanked by his son and daughter on both sides with a few trusted aides filling out the table.
The smell of food and wine filled the large hall which had dozens of Aidonia's soldiers on the lower sections enjoying the cuisine, those who could not hold in the hall had to be satisfied with eating outside.
Commander Genk gobbled his food and sipped violet wine from a mug without an ounce of decorum, Hartley who didn't have the most elegant table manners at the best of times, helped himself to the food without thought of any etiquette. Both of them eating side by side in tandem drew astonished looks from the other side of the table.
The two stood out like eagles among pigeons, while gobbling down food Commander Genk said with a full mouth.
"We're here to quickly quell the rebellion, how do we deal with your brother your majesty?"
The King put down his chop sticks and had a face full of mixed feelings, he thought long about the question before replying.
"Thank you for coming and give my regards to the young prince when you get back," he sighed and after a short while he continued..
"My brother is not a bad person, I think he has been misled by those people. If his wife hadn't brought those people here to tempt him....he would have been...." The King had a tired look on his aged face and couldn't even finish his train of thought.
Despite the betrayal he still had love for his younger brother, he couldn't help but wonder if this whole mess could be resolved without killing him.
The prince, a handsome man in his twenties dressed in a blue brocade robe chimed in without prompt. "He deserves death and even that is too light a punishment. I hope...."
The young man displayed a hint of merciless hatred in his comment but before he could finish the king turned and stared at the young prince sternly with a pair of dark eyes, the prince then swallowed the rest of his statement and went back to eating daintily and quietly.
The mood at the table quickly became somber as everyone slowed and started paying attention to the discussion.
"Once the foreign influence is expelled from the country then my brother will come to his senses and he will be punished for his betrayal." The King said in a sad tone.
With the profits from the gemstone mines the king had made a peaceful and fulfilling life for most of his citizens. Wars were relatively unknown in Tivoli, much less a civil war, a situation like this was unthinkable prior to this event, he just could not understand what drove his brother to commit these disgusting acts.
Hartley kept eating quietly but he had to shake his head, the King was too naive, as long as the count lived he would prove to be a festering cancer in these lands. He has been bitten by the bug of jealousy and entitlement, it was obvious he wouldn't stop until he was in charge of the country even if it meant sacrificing the people, he would rather be the ruler of a chicken coop than a subordinate in paradise.
He was so blinded by his thirst for power that he couldn't even see he was being used as a pawn by the people of Sasko to get their hands on the wealth of the country.
It was evident from Hartley's experience that the count would even sacrifice his brother, his brother's family and the citizens to gain said power.
As far as Hartley could see, there was only one solution that would bring long term peace back to the country and that was to eliminate the count, as long as he was alive the people from Sasko would have a foothold in the country due to the count being married to a noble woman of Sasko. Hartley didn't have the heart to say this out loud to the old King, he could see the genuine internal conflict the innocent king was struggling with.
As hushed discussions broke out across the table Commander Genk stared at Hartley for a short moment, it was apparent that he had come to the same conclusion as Hartley. A thought suddenly flashed through Hartley's mind as he looked at the queen the young prince and the young princess, being lenient to your enemies is tantamount to being cruel to yourself and your family. This was a lesson he had to imprint in his mind moving forward with Zhi Ruo and his fief.
Servants brought dishes to replace the half-eaten ones as the feast continued on without the queen and the princess uttering a single word, the table was shrouded and subdued in somberness, maybe everyone at the table could recognize the solution except the King himself who still held hope of sparing the count's life.....
Two days after the feast when the soldiers were properly rested Commander Genk decided to go on the offensive, Intel suggested that the count was holed up with commander Haiyuan from sasko and his closest subordinates at a place called Bumper hall in the rocky hills of the east. This was one of the numerous properties the count had in the country, he must have thought the rough rocky terrain was an ideal place to hide out and reorganize....
After the massive losses incurred by the rebel army, Commander Genk thought it to be an ideal time to smash the group sent from Sasko and the remnants of the rebel army and be over with this crusade into Tivoli in one fell swoop.....
Hartley could see the sun high in the sky as they made their way out of the capital and headed to the east. The King's castle slowly disappeared behind them as they trekked eastwards into the long shadows provided by the rolling hills.
The King had a sad expression as he stood in the gloomy hall and watched the army disappearing over the horizon, staring at the men until they disappeared from view the king then ordered drinks to be brought in, pretty serving girls glided across the hall carrying platters ladened with jugs of wine, the King took a whole jug and chugged it, wine spilled from the corners of his mouth and stained his pristine attire but he didn't even seem to notice. He retreated to his chambers with a depressed look on his face and wasn't seen for the remainder of the day.....
A streak of lightning split the sky that was filled with dark roiling clouds followed by the rumbling of cracking thunder, rain came down like mist and kissed the rocky terrain making the ground slick and slippery. The horses couldn't gallop and the men were walking slower than usual due to the problematic footing. After two days marching at a snail's pace the army finally reached their destination on a gloomy rainy afternoon. Drenched in rain the men began pitching tents and discussing their strategy moving forward.....
A sheet of icy rain suddenly washed over Hartley's skin, and wind blasted him fiercely enough that he stumbled atop the wall. Hartley moved forward with his black robe whipping about him. He was on the walls protecting the castle looking down at the scattered patrols inside. The priority for those soldiers seemed to be to keep themselves dry instead of guarding the premises.
Commander Genk and his captains had thought the smooth 20 meter wall impossible to climb, worse in wet rainy conditions. Hartley had convinced them that he could scale the wall and open the gate. Commander Genk didn't doubt Hartley could do what he said, he had already seen miracles performed by the youth, He commanded his men and slowly and stealthily gathered half of his troops nearby.
Hartley had simply just walked up the smooth wall as if on normal ground. As soon as he dropped to the other side with a thud sending mud spraying, a group of wide-eyed defenders huddled together under a make-shift shelter came scrambling out to form a ragged defensive line while nervously holding onto their weapons.
Lightning cracked across the sky again and brightened the rainy afternoon with an explosion of white light exposing Hartley's youthful features and his cold emotionless blue eyes, one of the defenders recognized Hartley from the river bank massacre, he turned on his heels and began to flee leaving a trail of splashing mud as he was screaming something about the battlefield butcher.
Once the others heard the phrase uttered by the fleeing man, their eyes widened and they too scrambled to flee in the other direction. Hartley moved through the streets with a smirk, opening the gate was an easy feat, all the common soldiers that came across Hartley opted to flee in the opposite direction.
After the two crushing defeats at the hands of the army from Aidonia the last vestiges of an organized rebel military began to crumble as word spread about the battlefield butcher turning up at the castle. These common soldiers were farmers and butchers only a year ago, so now when they were exposed to this nightmare scenario, fleeing for their lives and abandoning the count and his guests to their fate was their natural choice.
Commander Genk, Hartley and the entire army marched through the gates unhindered and headed towards the stone castle standing in the distance...
As news of the chaotic collapse happening outside trickled to the count, he stood nervously and squeezed his sword hilt, his jaw clenched with anger as he shouted, "How dare they?" The soldiers he had fed and clothed over these past couple of years had left him high and dry.
While the count pranced around nervously Commander Haiyuan sat in the lavishly furnished room at ease with two of his closest subordinates, "what do you think?" he asked a red hair man who was about 1.6 meters tall. The man sported a white robe and seem to be unaffected by the happenings outside.
"Nothing we can't handle, their commander is at the 8th layer and the rest seem to be below that, we can walk out whenever we please" the red hair middle age man answered confidently.
"Hmmn." Commander Haiyuan nodded feeling reassured.
"What about me?" came a slightly nervous outburst from the count.
"Don't worry Count Zixen, we will take you away from here for a while and return when the time is right and raise a proper army this time." said commander Haiyuan.
The count felt relief wash over him as he sighed. He could already see himself as the king of Tivoli, all he had to do was bide his time, with these people as his backers it was inevitable.
Commander Haiyun's other subordinate who hadn't said a word stared at the door and uttered "they're here commander."
Commander Haiyun got to his feet as if he was in no danger at all and walked forward.....