Winds blew, and the two sides stood still. Time seemed to stop as one side gained more and more presence and their valiant spirit grew.
On the other hand, the opposite was true. As if they were facing a wall thousand meters tall, the opposing army stared at them from above.
They were superior. And they would prove it in this very battle.
"For the glory of our land. Go! Go! Go!"
"Take their souls and be their end. Go! Go! Go!"
Their unified steps forced the ground to tremble, and the skies seemed to bow to their presence.
In the eyes of others. They weren't an army, but a single soldier the size of a mountain.
"Reap their souls, destroy their will! Slay! Slay! Slay!"
"Glory that they stole! Take! Take! Take!"
In no time, hundreds of the trained soldiers clashed against the barbarians. Blood forced hundreds of worms to rise from the ground and shouts of mercy thundered across the battlefield.
Although inexperienced. The momentum they gained proved to be much more than the enemy could handle.
While they experienced one or two battles. It didn't matter when faced with a seemingly invincible enemy.
Most barbarians equipped with axes at best and forks at worst couldn't even get near the long spears.
Once they got close, the soldiers in the front took full control of their large shields as their comrades stabbed the enemies from behind the shields.
Heavy cavalry appeared from the flank and created a vast hole in the enemy ranks before a rain of arrows took the lives of many others.
The enemy general tried to bolster the morale, but the war song never stopped as the ones in the core kept chanting.
Soon enough, the tide of the battle seemed to conclude. Nonetheless, the general decided to at least inflict maximum damage, as retreat wasn't an option.
To his surprise. They countered his quick maneuver in just moments as a flag appeared near the opposing general and soon enough; the infantry reorganized.
The attack from the flank with the remaining cavalry soon turned into a meat grinder.
In just two hours. Under equal terrain, one army stood tall with 3 deaths and hundred or so injured and the other with none alive.
The light cavalry had long cut off any means of escape.
In a month, the battle resounded throughout the tribes nearby, shaking anyone's thoughts.
What brought the greatest chills was their unwillingness to take prisoners!
Anyone who dared to defy the Barfords would meet a cruel but guaranteed end. People and strategists began to compare Athánatos' army and Barford's army.
One already experienced dozen battles with just one loss, their army sufficiently armed and under a lead of a fairly experienced general.
The other had just one battle under their belt. And yet it shone.
Athánatos used the strategy to conquer so his army could live. On the other spectrum were Barfords.
They weren't shy about hiding it, and it proved.
Things like guaranteed education for a fallen soldier's family. A military system where they could climb the ranks and improve their lives!
Not to mention the intangible benefits, like being a part of an elite army of the Barford family.
Athánatos didn't offer any of that. Either you were on his side and wished to help the Sea of Life, or you were a leech and parasite that wished to kill it.
Athánatos held an absolute confidence in himself. Maybe the equipment his army had proved to be inferior, but the numbers made up for that.
Unbeknownst to him, a gift waited until he crossed the Barford's borders.
...
"Halvar, you can't just play e4. That's an illegal move. See, I am pinning your Queen." Morpheus said as they played chess.
As much as he wanted to, Morpheus couldn't move the pieces himself, so Halvar did.
Two months had passed since the battle and their relationship with the Balford family remained sturdy.
As long as Halvar had value. The traditional family might change their traditions in order to save him.
A month ago, the ships with the speed of 15 knots up to 22 in top conditions appeared in the seas.
No one could be content. And trips that used to take months turned into weeks. In just a month, like a butterfly that spread its wings.
The Balford family business spread all over the central part of the Sea of Life, with business seldom appearing in the North as well.
This caused the market to have an influx of exotic goods. Things found only in colder regions, like pelts of unique wildlife, became popular.
With the use of honey. Fruits began to appear as well, and it intrigued many.
The speed of the ships played quite a role. Although shorter trips took around a few days and at worst a week.
It could stretch the trips for longer distances up to weeks or even more because of the weather and resting points.
"So, you are getting married in a month, huh, Halvar?" Morpheus said as he forked his queen and a rook.
"Yeah, Lucy is just the most p-"
"Stop, you've already said it 13 times how much you love her. I just didn't expect that you had the balls to propose after just a month of dating." Morpheus said, as he interrupted Halvar.
He didn't care, though. His face had a permanently plastered smile as he snickered.
"Ooh~ is someone jealous?" Halvar said with a grin.
"If I ever get a physical form. You'll be the first to receive my 'love' and you'll remember it very well for at least a few days." Morpheus said.
Things proved to be much more difficult when he could argue through speech alone. He quite missed the feeling of flesh to flesh beat down.
"Oh, no! How intimidating, mister air. I hope you don't blow too hard." Halvar said with the biggest grin ever.
"Checkmate~." Replied Morpheus as Halvar realised that he lost almost all pieces at some point.
"Halvy~ lunch is ready! Come, I made your favourite spicy boar goulash. Today, I even had the time to bake a fresh loaf of bread!" said a distant feminine voice.
Halvar smiled at the chessboard before he darted in the direction of the voice.
"Screw you too, Halvar... Screw you too..." Morpheus muttered to himself as he returned to the void.
Nowadays the void transformed a bit. Instead of pure emptiness, a bookshelf with a table next to it ominously stood on nothing.
He picked up a book from the library titled [Steam energy generator] and sat down on a newly materialised chair.
A modern pen and papers appeared on the table as he sometimes inserted the paper and other times just threw it into the void.
'How nice it would be if I could go out on my own as well...' Morpheus thought, before he shook his head and continued with his work.
After an hour, he felt the connection with Morpheus and, with a slight smile, connected himself to it.
'Still better than being stuck here permanently...'
"Oh Morpheus, one day I'll let you taste my wife's boar goulash. You will realise what proper food tastes like!" Halvar said with a satisfied smile.
At some point, Halvar could feel Morpheus and his presence as well. And, of course, being stared at during the more intimate parts of your life isn't pleasant at all.
So, they reached an agreement. Once it came to the matters with Lucy, Morpheus would just cut the connection unless Halvar himself wished otherwise.
In the end, Halvar couldn't cut the connection. But neither of them was willing to destroy their friendship and cooperation for something so stupid.
Halvar might have not noticed, but he became a tad bit more tame after getting together with Lucy.
His voice in the Barford family, although strengthened, became a bit softer, and he began to consider the family as his own.
With his mother still missing and quite possibly dead. The last family he had left was his sister.
The Barfords welcomed her presence quite warmly, however, the change in the environment was quite hard to adapt to.
When she realised her brother did something so incredible. She wanted to forge her own path, too.
To both avenge her family and to not be a burden. At first she had thoughts for a combat related condition, but settled down for an academic job.
Her smarts beat her physical potential a dozen fold, and Halvar wasn't so keen on letting his sister go on a battlefield where anything and everything might go awry.
Much to his relief. Lucy and his sister hit it off quite well.
Lucy guided his sister around the estate and showed her the various inventions her brother created.
As a compensation, she gained quite a lot of ammunition against Halvar, were he ever step out of the line...
Much to his despair. His sister leaked the thing he forced himself to forget.
His week as a princess ruling the skies running around the tribe...
Yes, not a prince, but a princess and a bald one at that.