"Beyond gold and silver, the value of our existence transcends. Honor and hereditary values are greater than any material."
As great as the sea. As valuable as gold. Located in the core of the city-state of Dendalion, the Great Asten Palace.
Every room in that palace was adorned with artwork and expensive furniture. One bathroom in that palace would take away all the hunger in one of Dendalion's villages. But these were only details for the rulers of the golden nation.
At the top of the palace was the royal hall. On the walls, the paintings of former kings and queens. In the center, four large golden thrones surrounded a large round table made of white gold.
At that moment, the entire Asten family was gathered together.
Seated on the most ostentatious throne of the other four was the evil King Bion Asten. To his right, the golden Queen, Freya Asten. To the King's left, the youngest and prodigal daughter of the family, Aurora Asten. And in front of the King, the successor to the King's throne and hero of the battlefields, Lance Asten.
-What actions were taken for the war, Lance? - The King of Dendalio asked his eldest son. The tone of his voice revealed the arrogance of a king.
-Today we will receive the shipment from Gran Tlaboc. The biological weaponry that I discussed with Your Highness. - Differently than usual, Lance's tone of voice when speaking to his father was low and insecure.
-At what point did we become so inferior as to use biological weapons? - Aurora's comment provoked Lance, who tried hard not to lose his posture.
-Sometimes you have to act like animals to war with animals. But you will never understand this, you will always be protected by the guards of this palace. - The poison of the words dripped from Lance's mouth.
-Please. Not at this table.- Freya Asten interrupted the beginning of the discussion between her two sons.
Bion Asten took a glass of wine with his right hand, and brought it to his mouth.
-I have left the entire security of this nation in your hands, Lance.- The king took another sip. - If something goes wrong, fix it. - The king drank all the rest of the wine in his cup. - But if you can't fix it, I will kill you myself. -
The two blond men stared at each other. The power struggle masked by the subordination of the eldest son was going on in a veiled way.
-I promise not to let you down, Your Highness. -
Deafening sirens echoed throughout Dendalion. Everyone in the Asten family rose instantly at the siren. They knew what it meant.
After a few minutes, a Dendalian soldier enters the royal hall door. Gasping and frightened, the man fell to his knees as he rushed into the hall.
-Your Highness... Your Highness... Cerminians are attacking our port and closing in. They have hijacked Gran Tlaboc's ship and used it as a surprise weapon. -
King Bion Asten looked at his son with contempt in his eyes.
-You just broke your promise, Lance. - The king sat back down on his throne. - Settle this and show me that you are a real Asten, otherwise, disappear forever. -
Furious, Lance Asten avoided looking at his father. And without disguising his frustration with the whole thing, he quickly left the hall without saying a word.
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.
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Mounted on his white horse, Lance Asten rode back and forth while gathering his entire army.
-MEN, YOUR DUTY IS TO PROTECT THE DIGNITY OF THIS NATION. YOUR HONOR IS STAMPED ON THE DENDALIAN SOIL, AND YOUR VIRTUES WILL BE ETERNALIZED AS THE FOUNDATION THAT KEEPS THIS COUNTRY STANDING. THAT IS WHY I ASK YOU, VIRTUOUS SOLDIERS, TO PROTECT THE WALLS OF THIS CITY FROM ALL THE CERMINIAN TRASH THAT APPROACHES. YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT TO DO! -
After his words, the Dendalian soldiers moved quickly outside the walls of the city-state. In a synchronized and fast manner, the soldiers formed protective ranks. With each passing minute, more soldiers appeared to increase the defense formation.
-Lieutenant, request that all soldiers from Dendalion be present in this formation. I don't want a scratch on our walls.- Lance Asten ordered the entire Dendalion defense to concentrate on the northwest entrance of the city-state.
With each passing minute, more and more soldiers were relocating to be part of the golden wave formation.
Some say that gold blinds people, but in this case, hatred and contempt blinded the Dendalian prince.
As time passed and the "wave" steadily increased, Lance noticed no movement on the part of the Cerminian soldiers. He began to suspect that something was strange from the moment he noticed the soldiers making room for something.
It didn't take long for Lance to realize that his biological weapons were being controlled by the Cermina army. This made him furious. The theft and use of the "secret weapons" that Lance had ordered sounded like the worst insult the Dendalian had ever received in his life. Even his father's scorns seemed little compared to that. However, part of his will was due to his father's contempt. He knew that at the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, his honor would be tarnished by his father and he would probably be removed from his office and see it passed to his younger sister.
The succession to the throne was the Asten family's distress.
Murmuring was in vain, and Lance knew it. Yet he couldn't think of anything different from the "wave". All he could do was watch the creatures that had once been Dendalian soldiers, but were now only biological weapons, run toward the first row of the defense formation.
Dendalian soldiers were shooting with pistols, shotguns and rifles at the biological weapons that were running like beasts towards the city-state.
Some creatures were shot by bullets, but as if feeling no pain, they continued to run towards the Dendalian soldiers. As the creatures approached, the first rows of squire soldiers prepared their defenses, completely covering their sides, front and top. Their shields had golden spikes all around their edges, making them similar to the defense of a porcupine.
The creatures jumped against the shields, some getting caught in their thorns, and others managing to climb up the shields and run down the catwalks of thorns.
Lance watched from the top of the wall, unable to think of any other strategy than the one he had proposed.
After a few more minutes of attacks, the creatures that were not dying had spread out over the first thirteen rows of the wave. The shields secured the soldiers, but they walked on the shields and skewers like wild animals hunting for lunch.
The noise the creatures made was terrifying. Due to the helmet that controlled them, their bodies were constantly being electrically discharged, and cracks of teeth and bones could be heard. Constant cracking. That could be defined as the most hellish sound those soldiers had ever heard.
There is a proverb that says, "A moment of patience can avert a great disaster; a moment of impatience can ruin a whole life." This proverb summed up well Lance Asten's attitudes and his war decisions. One of the greatest defensive strategies in all of Verulian was exposed in the first act of the war. No confrontation, no casualties, no understanding of enemy weaponry. Simply exposed, totally different from the real purpose of the Great Golden Wave.
However there is also a phrase that says, "There is nothing so bad that it can't get worse." And that is exactly what happened before Prince Lance Asten's eyes.
The biological weapons stopped making noise and simply turned off. Peace could have been felt by the Dendalian soldiers and their prince if seconds after they turned off, the bombs attached to their bodies, and their own bodies, exploded.
The toxic gas exposed by the explosion affected seventeen ranks, out of the thirty-two that had formed up to that point. Cries of despair and coughs could be heard from miles away as the Cermina army laughed in chorus in satisfaction.
The men affected by the toxic gas bled from their extremities until they fell to the ground, faint.
Everything in this life was bound to have a flaw, and that golden wave was no different. But Lance Asten would never have imagined that the failure of a prestigious war strategy in Verulian would occur due to the weapons he himself had ordered.
The Dendalian prince held back from falling to his knees. Lance couldn't believe what he was seeing. This could be the end of Dendalion.
Dendalion, also known for its characteristic battle style, mixing the use of firearms and melee weapons, did not use this legacy once in that confrontation. The Dendalian Prince's insecurity about displeasing his father and facing Cermina's impetuous soldiers made him retreat within his own nation.
Minutes passed and the smoke had completely cleared. The still-living Dendalian soldiers retreated into the walls of the city-state, while the Cermina army stood still, watching.
-I think you'd better let me take over.- Aurora Asten appeared walking slowly behind Lance.
-You can't be here, get out! - Lance ordered his sister to get off the top of that wall, but she pretended not to hear.
-SQUADRON 9, let's go hunt Cerminas. - After Aurora said these words, dozens of snipers holding large golden and white high-caliber rifles strategically positioned themselves on the northwest wall of the city-state of Dendalion.
Squad 9 was the only unit left for Aurora to lead. Trusted by her mother Freya, Aurora trained her squad differently from Dendalian customs. No morality speeches or time for showmanship and extravagance. This she saved for her personal life. For war, and for her, the rule was only one: "Shoot, ask, shoot again, and get the answer."
Aurora Asten, along with all the snipers, in sync, fired at the Cermina army that was 1.5Km away from the walls. The bullets hit the ground a few meters away from General Tyr Kirve. The impact of the bullets against the ground formed a long horizontal line. That was the limit line of the snipers' range over that wall.
If the Cermina army advanced, they would be hunted down.