The soldier's words echoed across the whole castle. As the soldiers readied their weapons and armor, the air buzzed with their determination. They vowed to fight with every ounce of strength they possessed, knowing that their fight was not just for victory but for the very survival of their people.
Ethan stood atop the castle wall, looking down at his soldiers donning their armor, when he heard a horn being blown in the distance. A smile crept upon his face as he thought to himself, 'The fish has taken the bait.'
The Blackthorn Kingdom, fueled by their confidence, marched towards the Verdant Vale castle.
Ethan donned his silver-grey armor and stood steady on top of the city gates, looking over the horizon onto the descending army of soldiers. 'Keep steady, keep steady, ' he said to himself to calm his nerves.
Who can blame him? Yesterday, he was still a blue-collar worker on earth working nine to five, and now he is leading soldiers into battle as a king. Were it not for his impeccable acting and extensive knowledge of similar novels, he would not be able to do anything remotely heroic.
''When they reach the wheat fields, general, Fire everything we got."
''Yes, your Majesty''
Ethan recalled how he ordered soldiers to scatter wheat over the fields and dig a small trench to hide in to ambush the enemy forces. 'Man, thank goodness I still know a thing or two about warfare thanks to history class,' Ethan thought.
A sudden shout brought him out of his stupor. One of the commanders shouted with a powerful, authoritative voice.
" Ready, Aim, Fire!"
As the trainees came within shooting range, Ethan signaled Commander Magnus to command the fifty archers to release their arrows. The projectiles whizzed through the air, and though a few trainees managed to dodge them, they soon found themselves surrounded by flames.
They had prepared all the wheat, bales, and other flammable objects beforehand, and with the extra oil added, the flames spread quickly, faster than any wildfire Ethan had ever seen.
The Verdant Vale soldiers had prepared the trap quite swiftly, and by igniting the fields, they created chaos among the enemy ranks.
Their enemies found themselves disoriented and distracted by the fire, and the Blackthorn trainees became easy targets for the swift and deadly sneak attacks launched by the Verdant Vale axemen.
Caught unaware and unable to see through the thick smoke and unruly dancing fire, the Blackthorn soldiers fell one by one, their agonizing screams echoing across the battlefield.
Asher, disguised as one of the soldiers, went straight for the 2 generals after following the company of men. He moved swiftly and with extreme stealth, and no attention was drawn to him as he hurriedly scurried across the battlefield toward his targets.
The two enemy generals' expressions were grim and dark as they tried to take control of the battlefield. They wanted to pacify their men and push them onward. Their shouts echoed across the battlefield, only to fall on deaf ears.
As the two knights continued to try to take control, their hair stood on end, and their expressions changed. They had sensed danger and instantly turned around, only to see the horrifying lightning come hurling towards them.
And in doing so, that was the last thing they had seen on this earth.
As Asher aimed for the heads, the knights had no time to resist. They retained the look of fear on their faces as their heads came rolling off, rolling down the small hill towards the castle walls, sending shivers of fear crawling through the ranks of the Blackthorn soldiers.
With his mission finished, Asher moved like the wind, using the smoke as cover to eradicate the enemy forces swiftly and without much time spent.
After an hour of agonizing screams being heard, the battlefield descended into a deathly silence. Only one soldier from the Blackthorn kingdom managed to escape, stumbling and falling all the way to the camp; the soldier was missing a limb and struggled to run to safety, clearly on the brink of death.
"A-Ambush, n-no o-one survive...ved," the survivor was able to mutter to King Orion before closing his eyes to rest for eternity right in front of the king's feet.
King Orion's face turned black with gloom at the thought of losing two generals and nearly all his soldiers. A bone-chilling aura spread from his body, sending shivers down the remaining knight's spine.
His expression was frightening, and coupled with the dark, spine-chilling aura, no one amongst their ranks dared utter a word.
"Good, good, good!" anger flashed in the king's eyes as he repeated himself. "Using the guise of fire and smoke to kill off my men, hmpf!"
As King Orion contemplated what action to take, his gaze turned to the smoke, and a group of figures appeared from the dreary, gray, and black fog.
Two figures stood out the most among the group: a young man in silver-grey armor and a middle-aged man with a scar on his left eye. These two were none other than Ethan and Asher.
"Admit defeat, Orion! It's your loss; you are not a match for the remainder of my forces," Ethan shouted.
King Orion's eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at the young man, but he remained quiet. His dark and gloomy eyes observed the boy and the man who dared to stand in his way.
Yet, for all the anger and rage boiling in him, he did not act. He knew full well that he had been utterly defeated, and even with the number of soldiers he had in reserve, he alone could not overpower the three strongest knights in the other camp.
Asher, Magnus, and Rowan stood silent, staring at King Orion with venom in their eyes, mocking and taunting expressions flickering on their faces. The three men were the strongest combatants left, and they could keep Orion occupied until his forces were killed.
Anger surged on his face as he gazed upon the gazed and mocking taunts of his enemy.