Genre : Action, Medieval
Author : Corrupted_Entity
Chapter Art : https://www.deviantart.com/corrupted0entity/art/1669735822558-939089119 (I assure you that this is not a half assed drawing a drew before writing this chapter. It is tho...)
We were traveling on a vast, endless road through the lush green meadows of Arkin.
Clack~Clack~
The tired horses stopped due to exhaustion and as the sun was setting along with dispersing the clouds, we decided to camp there to avoid the rain.
We decided to set up our tent a bit far away from the road. I sat on the prickly yet comfy grass as I took a deep breath and watched the crystalline azure sky, devoid of any clouds slowly turning bright orange. The sun set while marking a bright red line over the horizon. The setting of the sun was followed by a strong but gentle gust of cool wind running through my hair washing over my body as if trying to get rid of all my sins.
I lost track of time drowning in my own thoughts. By the time I realized it was nighttime. Pitch dark, that was all that was there. All that was in sight was a brightly glowing, beautiful yet destructive flame dancing in front of me, hugging me with its warmth in the cold starless night.
"Here your Majesty" Ron, my butler, handed me a cup of warm appetizing soup.
"Stop with the formalities Ron, we've known each other for quite some time" I pouted.
"Yes your Majesty!" exclaimed Ron
"Sigh~ come here" I called Ron closer
"Shall I tell you how exactly I became a King?" I said.
"MEDIC! WE NEED A MEDIC HERE!"
Booming noises and clashing of swords. That was all that could be seen. Fighting under the servitude of an unjust king and losing a lost war.
I was an army medic before. But now there was little to no use for me. Only 11 of us were left stranded, with no one to come and save us, surrounded by enemies who were breaking past each and every line of defense we had. The sky was now riddled with smoke, with arrows and huge boulders launched by catapults piercing through the air.
Our team leader advised everyone to take up arms. Armed with whatever we could find, and some scavenged armor, we stood there, silently, some praying, some remembering their families, and some awaiting death. Saying our farewell to this world, we got ready. Some bandaged their wounds while some ate their last meal, before the impending doom.
At last, here they were, the clacking and neighing of death's horses. Nothing could be seen through the fog. except for the silhouettes of our team members. All of us here only had one great weapon, but the greatest of them all, our one biggest weapon, the toughest defense - willpower. Fueled by rage, despair, and mostly fear, we stood our ground honorably, silently waiting for the enemy troops.
We waited and waited. We waited until the fog cleared up. Only to see bodies, scattered and huge masses of them.
"Kill him! Kill the empire's dog!" we heard a booming shout in the distance.
We rushed expecting reinforcements, only to find a single person, standing atop a pile of corpses. Enemy forces rushed at him, bombarding him with spears, and a legion of arrows barraged him. We could not see a single, distinguishable feature about who he was or who he could be. This went on for half an hour before all the enemy forces were exhausted.
'He' was there, on one of his knees, impaled by 2 spears and countless arrows, taking support of his sword in the ground. We were hiding behind the boulder and as we watched, we felt chills running down our spine, a sort of ecstasy building up.
He got up and so did we. It was as if we got up instinctively looking at him. We came out of hiding behind the boulder. He slowly stood up, pulled the sword from the ground, and raised his towards the sky.
In response, the clouds opened up, letting a ray of sunlight shine, but only on the cloaked man. It was as if the Gods themselves were saying - "He is the protagonist. He is the one who has the spotlight. He is the one who will win."
He raised his sword to the skies and swung it at the ground with tremendous strength letting out a strong gust of pressured wind at the enemies as if trying to taunt them.
"FOR THE EMPIRE!!!!!" he shouted with a rough, hoarse but clear voice that filled us with hope. We dashed toward the enemies, swinging our swords with no end in sight. Stabbing and slashing. Again and again. We fought and fought until all that was left was 11 of us, on a mountain of bodies.
The anonymous cloaked man was nowhere to be seen. There was pretty much nothing left on us. All our armor was reduced to fabric and fabric reduced to shreds. Cuts and bruises riddle our bodies all over. Everyone lay down on the corpses and started laughing our heads off. All of us misfits, some medics such as me and some cooks and some servants, all of us had survived, not a single one of us dead.
We limped towards the capital with our heads raised high, Spreading the joy of our victory through the villages as we passed. We finally reached the capital, only to see the state of the once flourishing and cheerful capital become dull and gloomy. Beggars all over, it was as if someone drained all the color out of the place. Everything looked grey and colorless.
We were escorted to the king, whose castle was armed much better than our battalion fortress. He was on his throne, fully drunk with empty expensive wine bottles everywhere. He invited us to dinner, mumbling about the capital and cussing at his guards. He kept on complaining about the beggars and how he decided to execute them. He went on and on about how useless people lose their lives in war.
I reached my point. I plunged at him in fury. His guards were too worn out to stop me, and neither did they want to. Who in their right mind would want to protect such a corrupt, filthy and ungrateful king?
"Power and respect make you a fit ruler, not fancy clothes" I stabbed him with my rather shabby-looking, half-blunt knife. All my companions agreed on making me the king and everyone in the kingdom was satisfied with this decision. I swore an oath to protect this country with my life, just as the cloaked man did. I won over everyone with kindness, not power and that is how I became a King.