The battle has come to an end, we all are celebrating our victory, joy and happiness running on the eyes of every guild member and villagers, sweat and blood running on the bodies of everyone.
It was really hard, that group really made us break a cold sweat, and there were many factors that could've worked against us in a truly bad way…
But we won, and as I start walking towards my side, I looked at the corpses in the ground, players and NPCs alike… it isn't a sight that I wanted to see but this is the post-war scenery. The player's bodies didn't disappear as they have dropped loot because of their loss, and it seems that those that were transported away dropped too. The loss of war meant death for every player of the losing band.
I deactivate overflow while using Water Enhancing to restrain the sudden pain I get. I am very glad I have Razer body now, if it wasn't for that my body would have broken down long before. My mana is almost empty, and my health bar is orange almost red. While that wasn't exactly the worst of conditions, I could barely remain standing because of all the constrain my body is suffering right now.
I could see my friends, with many wounds on their bodies because of the harsh defense war, but they have victorious expression, satisfaction and happiness on their faces. It is quite a refreshing sight as I see that all the villagers and Barbarians are alive. Even if I had to kill NPC's from the other side, I would defend them with all my strength.
I could see that the enemy's commander threw his weapon aside and was captured for the 'negotiations' that we will hold in a bit. All the other soldiers are captured by the Barbarians and many of our Guild players, we could see with a rough count that a bit over 2000 are alive.
"Yo~" I say to my friends that looked that they were waiting for me.
"Nice job, buddy" Says Arksen to me in a rascal's tone and everyone are watching me with approved looks.
"You too, for being almost defenseless, being in the front line and not dying. You are really commendable" I smirk to my friend and I looked at Zenith that seems to be a bit troubled "Are you okay?"
"I am… but there was a moment I couldn't control myself and went into a frenzy…" He answers me with a sour face. It was expected that something like that would happen, as he still isn't able to control his powers completely. Whenever we spar, it seems like a violent torrent wants to free itself from its dam.
"Don't worry, we are here in cases like that" I tell the worried Zenith, but really, I might not be able to suppress a Zenith that goes all out even with Overflow and Razer Body together… I truly need to get even stronger.
As I was about to continue speaking, Eliana with Peko entered my sight, but what really took my attention is Eroda that is being shoulder-carried by the two of them.
"Eroda! Why are you here? We will take care of things, you should go rest" I tell him worriedly, because there are traces of blood around his chest area and his mouth, but there aren't any wounds, so it is probably from overexertion.
"I will, Eliana told me the same, but I should do something before that" He says to me with a faint smile his complexion very pale. He continues saying for everyone to listen
"Everyone, I am now here not only to congratulate you for the hard-earned win, as I am here to declare a new generation!" He says as he stands up by himself, his voice echoing through the whole battlefield with ease.
Then he looks at us and continues "I, Eroda Krone, Mayor of Hellish Village, hereby declare Ardha, the successor of Plate, the Lord of Hellish Village!"
- You are now the Lord of Hellish Village!
I get surprised at the proclamation and before I could say something, Eroda put his hand on my shoulder and tells me.
"Sorry for this short notice, but we are counting on you" He says as I look at him straight in the eyes and then gazed to everyone else that are looking at me with expectant eyes.
My answer is decided as my conviction is strengthened, I won't turn away from this and I declare.
"I, Ardha from Kaiser, will gladly take the position of the Lord as I promise to protect everyone with everything I have!"
Cheers start surging and I get lifted to the air by my friends.
For us, it is a glorious day, and I have promised that I will take after my Master and become the Guardian of this place, and like him, I am not alone as my comrades are with me.
I will never let them hurt this place anymore.
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My name is Eren Loche, I was assigned as a commander of the 5000 troops that would assist Prinny Brigade and its alliances for the raid.
I was sure that we would win, not only we had numbers, but we also had a Leader that was born to command a war. That foreigner girl is terrifying as I once watched one of her battles against a Guild that tried to take her position.
The result simply was obliteration to the challengers…
But even so, she gave me the position as back up leader if there was a case where she would die.
At first I took it as a joke but the seriousness in her eyes showed a different feeling, the chance for that to happen was real in her eyes for a reason, and that was the Leader of the opposing Guild.
At first, I thought she was overestimating him, but the way she trained day after day against surprise attacks was outstanding, even I could hardly go against her and try to keep the same pace, and that is with me being on the Elite forces of the Kingdom.
Even if I believed that it was impossible for her to be defeated in battle, the fact in front of me crushed that.
In a single motion, faster than lightning, that man that calls himself Kagito stabbed his sword in her chest while receiving her attack head on. It almost felt that his arm appeared inside the chest of Tyrfing.
A draw… no, it was his win, and with this, the morale of the group went down in a single go, but what surprised me more was that… man. Shudders go through my body whenever I remember that scene.
The man that has been informed to me that is the strongest of all the foreigners, as some would call him 'The secret top player'. He hadn't shown his face or make his figure public… that is, until now.
While using his two swords, as if they were parts of his body, he defended the battle between Kagito and Tyrfing as to not let anyone interfere with it.
Putting his whole belief in his Leader he continued receiving a barrage of blows head on, sometimes he couldn't simply block and just received them with his body that was covered in darkness using his skills in such a manner that would put talented people in an ordinary category.
Hell, did he really start at the same time as all the other foreigners?
And when the fight finished, he unleashed his true power.
It was as if everything before that was warm up for this. This time, it was him who pushed us back. Only him against hundreds, no, thousands of soldiers that were left!
He continued to kill in a beastly way, savagery on his expression as there seems to be wild joy in his eyes to be able to go all out. The way each of his movements were carried felt that all of his motions had a meaning, every one of them, even his reaction speed!
That man was above everyone around here, only those of the Hellish Village would be able to match him and there seems to be another individual with terrifying strength on their side too.
Even if I am in the Lower ranking of the Elite soldiers, I consider myself strong, but against him, I would just be another normal soldier. Maybe I should've gone against him from the start, I could've most likely been able to hold him off and the others would be able to kill him.
But now would be suicide, even I got weakened because of the aftereffects that were included on Tyrfing's Skill.
Despair was slowly eating us…
And not only that, the other side seems to be winning territory against us, even if we had more for the moment, soon it would have been us with the lower quantity. It also seems like the people of Hellish Village are all alive.
The moment Tyrfing died we still had a very slight hope, but the one who finally crushed it was no more than that 'Strongest Player' as he killed the magicians' commander and 2 of the warriors' commanders. He didn't stop at that as his killing list continued to grow bigger and bigger.
If the battle continued, all of the soldiers would have died, thus, to spare their life I committed myself, even if I had to die afterward because of this, I had to do it to save at least one more life.
I dropped my weapon and gave the forfeiting signal in a single go.
The enemy noticed it rather fast and stopped their attacks as their roars of glory flooded the entire place while we handed our weapons in defeat…
That really hurt us, so much that I wanted to stab myself with my own sword to repent of what I have done…
Thus, I got taken away and all the soldiers got captured, leaving me in a closed room as I now wait for 'them' to appear.
During that time, I reflected on the fight and the decision I made to save a single more life, trying not to regret them as my time is nearing to a close…
Watching the door, not batting my eyes the slightest, I feel how tense is my whole surrounding. I exhale as I feel footsteps growing closer.
That door finally opens. The ones who appear are the supposedly strongest man, the individual creating havoc on their defending side and two women.
At the sight of the men, my fighting spirit start wavering as their presence is intense.
The one who talked first is the woman with blond hair, introducing herself.
"Hello, I am Eliana, one of the sub leaders of the guild Kaiser, and I will just say a single thing that has already been talked between us: you and your troops are now prisoners of war!" Says the woman coolly as she steps back, her expression colder than ice while looking at me.
'Thought so, they wouldn't let us go just like that' I think to myself bitterly, despair slowly swallowing me. The man with pure white hair steps in without me trying to retort back.
"My name is Ardha, one of the sub leaders of Kaiser and the new Lord of Hellish Village"
Execution is the only thought that came to my mind when he introduced himself exuding such heavy pressure.
"Answer my question, if you do, we will spare everyone. You will have to stay for a while, but if I sense that you are hiding something, or that you are lying, I won't give you a second opportunity. If you know what I mean by that, then make sure to think thoroughly before answering" Says the man called Ardha while his killing intent is spreading nonchalantly.
I feel the air turning viscous as I feel my breathing getting impaired. Sweat starts running my back as I gulp. I am nor a fearless man, but still, I am not one to submit to pressure so easily!
At his words I come back to my senses. The man is serious, a single word that comes out of my mouth might provoke everyone's death. I close my eyes and make up my mind.
I decide to answer him as I open my eyes again, conviction running through my words.
"I will" waiting for his questions I resolve myself, depending on the information I give I might be executed later… but well, becoming an Elite Soldiers of the Kingdom doesn't mean I pledge full loyalty to the King, I will protect my troops and the people that are given me to protect even if my life is the price for it.
"I will begin then, I would like to ask the plan of your Kingdom and their reason as to why are they raiding Hellish Village, even if I know it to some extent, I would like hear it from yourself" Ardha asks me and I start answering him about the plans of the Kingdom in terms of the raid succeeding.
I told him that with Hellish Village the Kingdom would have three of the Key positions, they would establish a camp here and research the area to full extent. Once it becomes Arapi's land, the Kingdom would forceg Putre Kingdom to establish an alliance as neighbor Kingdoms, utilizing their power and try vying for more keys while acquiring troops and allies, but that's as far as I know, and I tell him just that.
The man thinks to himself while watching the others and they start making more questions, about me and my position, the soldiers the Kingdom gave for the raid and the current strength of it.
I feel that my chest is tightening with each sentence I give as I feel I am betraying everyone; the man stops and makes a final statement while looking at me.
"Thanks for the information" The man nods and glances the other people accompanying him, as he continues "As I said, everyone will be spared. But you will have to help us rebuild the village for a year as citizens of it. We will also negotiate it with your Kingdom, you are going to be a temporary prisoner until our Leader comes back…" Says the man as they turn back and before getting outside, Ardha stops and turns his head back slightly.
"…I won't say sorry for the lives we have taken defending this place…but I will say this, thank you, you saved 2643 lives…" He says as he resumes his steps and the door closes.
'So, I saved 2643 lives…' I think to myself as I just sit on the ground and I simply accept the defeat. My shoulders fall despondently as I look at the floor.
'2357 lives were lost in this battle…' I grit my teeth and I internally thank the man who really saved those lives.