After a long ride, we finally arrived at the battlefield as the sun rose, surrounded by dry, cold air. The Army of Naiton Bloodline was visible, but there was no sign of the First Epic or his army. We were concerned, so we approached the Naiton lineage to talk to them.
The King and his army joined forces with the Bloodline of Naiton, creating a larger army than expected. The King dismounted from his horse and approached the leader of the Naiton lineage, with us following behind. There was a moment of silence before the King extended his hand.
"It's an honor to see you again."
The leader shook the King's hand and replied, "We are honored and glad to have you among us."
"It was wise to choose this area as the battlefield," the King said.
"Yes, my men will use the powers of our bloodline to camouflage themselves in the woods. We aim to lose fewer soldiers while inflicting significant damage on the other side," the leader of the Naiton lineage explained.
"I understand. My men will help your men settle down. We also brought extra weapons, and your people can take as many as they need," the King offered.
Hiroshi lit his cigar and spoke up, "We know that the First Epic and his army are more numerous than ours. I don't think this will be enough."
The King turned to Hiroshi and said, "I know that, so I brought a couple of things with me."
The King walked over to the carriage and opened the rear area, revealing gunpowder barrels. Hiroshi recognized them immediately.
"Black Death. I've seen this many times before," Hiroshi said.
"Right, so you know about these," the King said.
"These are the kinds of things you need when you get into this kind of business," Hiroshi replied.
"Hiroshi, I'm asking you to use them to set a trap for the enemy. You're good at war strategy and gunpowder, so you should be the one to do this. And there's one more thing..." the King trailed off.
The King reached into the back of the car and pulled out a gun, handing it to Hiroshi. Hiroshi looked surprised as he took the gun, and asked with a hint of fear in his voice, "Where did you get this?"
"It's a long story," the King replied. "A while back, a stranger came to my kingdom. He had no army, no followers, but he wielded this weapon with such power that he was able to attack me and my kingdom single-handedly. When I fought him, I realized something: he was drawing strength from his own pain. It was unlike anything I had ever encountered before. But then one day, he disappeared, leaving behind only this gun. So I took it and locked it away. And now, with you as our new Musketeer, I thought it might be useful to give it to you."
The gun was unlike any weapon Hiroshi had ever seen before. It was a short rifle, with a black and purple color scheme. A skull was etched onto the sight, and more skulls ran down the length of the weapon. Hiroshi examined the gun closely, loading it with bullets.
Meanwhile, the King pulled out a bamboo stick and handed it to Babu. "This is for you," he said. "It's a solid and sturdy bat that I used to train with when my father was teaching me. With this, you should be able to move more easily on the battlefield."
Babu took the stick, marveling at its weight and balance. "Thank you, Your Majesty," he said gratefully.
Hiroshi examined the gunpowder they had gathered, thinking hard. "We could use this as a mine," he said, "but we don't have enough time to set it up properly."
The King looked worried. "Is there anything else we can do?"
Hiroshi nodded confidently. "Yes, I have an idea."
As Hiroshi and Babu went to set the trap with the gunpowder, Lezlie retreated to her tent to research a useful spell for the coming battle. The King, myself, and the leader of the Naiton bloodline were the only ones left in the area we were in.
The king turned to me and continued his speech. "When the war starts, I want you and your friends to focus on elite soldiers and ordinary soldiers. The leader and I will take care of the First Epic. But be careful: when the elite soldiers are together, they can be very dangerous."
I nodded, but I didn't know much about the enemy. "I understand, but I don't know what powers the elite soldiers have. If we attack them directly, we risk defeat."
The King looked thoughtful. "I see your point. But for now, let's focus on preparing ourselves as best we can."
The leader said, "The king is right, but as far as I know, the name of the second elite soldier is San. He is a skilled samurai who attacks as soon as he pulls out his sword. A very formidable weapon, the blade of which is made of unbreakable steel."
"The other elite soldier is a stronger opponent than the second. His name is Aurt, and he is a descendant of Possession. This lineage makes a seal on his body, allowing him to become the owner of a mystical creature of his choice, an ordinary soldering iron, or a powerful monster. There are many mystical creatures in this world, and Aurt terrorizes places by controlling the two creatures he has. It is said that the stronger the person who has the creatures, the stronger the creatures become."
"What do the creatures he has look like?"
"One is a hawk, the other a panther, but they are much larger and wilder than their regular counterparts, so you must be extra careful."
"Do they have any weaknesses?"
"In the bloodline of Possession, there is a rule. In order to bind the creatures to himself, the master must make a seal anywhere on his body. If you remove the seal from the master's body, the creatures will be separated from the master."
During the continuation of our conversation, after a short period of time, we heard the sound of the battle bugle and an army appeared from where the sound came from. The First Epic and his army had finally arrived on the battlefield. Seeing this, the King shouted, "All soldiers to the positions!"
Everyone, including us, moved into a fighting position, waiting for orders from the king to attack. The King and the Leader stood in front of the army, waiting for the First Epic to arrive.
The first Epic slowly came out from behind his army, came into view, and began to speak loudly to us. "It is good that everyone I want to kill is standing in front of me."
These words made the Leader and the King angry. The Leader said, "We are not here to listen to your bloodthirsty words. You know why we are here."
"You have kept me under control for a long time, tormenting my people and alliances for years. Did you think you'd get away without paying for what you did?" the king added.
"I did what was right, because of me they learned about pain. Unlike you, I deserve to rule this kingdom."
"The only thing you deserve is death." the king said.
The First Epic stretched out his hand and said, "Shall we start?"
The King pointed his sword and shouted, "ATTACK!"
And so, the great war had begun.