The avengers had just left for the war. Combination was very quiet at this time. It was more silent than the times they had farewells. Many dead bodies and injured men who had not been attended for, for days, were lying about the streets. Some buildings were in bad condition. No one could possibly know where they could find signs of life when they walked about the streets. It was like the whole city was abandoned. Only a few Outland soldiers stayed behind, especially at the castle. The dungeons contained many of their enemies they cannot leave unattended. The people in the cells are all standing or sitting quietly. Most were actually fidgeting. They know the avengers had left for the war. And here they are trapped. Finally Master Mousy broke the silence. She couldn't stand any longer. Especially when King Henry's dead body was still lying in front of her. If Mousy had not casted the preservation spell, the dungeons would have been filled with the stench of a dead body.
'That's it, we need to do something' she said.
'What can we do, magic can't help us' Prince Nathan replied from another cell.
'I know that. But it's all I've got' Mousy said with full confidence. She shrank herself to the size of a thumb. No one could really see her clearly now.
'What are you doing?' Nathan said. 'The anti-magic will wipe your spell clean, you'll grow while you're under the bars. It'll kill you! And besides, you can't leave'
Mousy returned to her original size.
'I can't, but one of you can' Mousy said, pointing at those in her cell that are not magic-abled.
'They'll still grow when they move under the bars. It'll kill them' Nathan reminded her.
'We have to try Nathan. There's no other way!' Mousy said. 'Now, which one of you is very fast? I promise you, if you move out of this cell fast enough before you're turned back to your original size, you'll get us all out of here. I won't force you if you refuse'
One king's guard stepped up.
'I'll do it master. For King Henry. For the good of Inland' he said.
'Thank you brave soldier' Mousy said. 'Now, once you're about to cross below the bars, just run. As fast as you can'
She swiped her hand downwards over him. The king's guard shrank to the size of a thumb. Mousy could see a small figure making its way towards the bars. Few seconds passed. Nothing. She was starting to worry. She feared that the soldier is going to grow through the bars any second. It won't be a pleasant thing to see. Suddenly, the king's guard grew in size just a few centimetres away from the bars. He was lying on his front. He was rolling out from under the bars just in time before the anti-magic changed him. He passed the bars safely. There wasn't any injury. They heaved a huge sigh of relief.
'Now get the keys and get us out of here' Mousy said. The soldier ran up the stairs. Few minutes later, he ran back down with a keyring filled with many keys. Ten of which will unlock all the cells. It took at least ten minutes to get everyone out. The cell door opened, opening the circuit of anti-magic, allowing everyone to escape.
'Prince Nathan, it's your decision' Mousy found Nathan and said. He understood what she meant. There is a war going on. Between their family, friends, and all of Inland, against the avengers. They need to help them. And the first step is to reclaim back Combination. There were only less than a hundred Outland soldiers left in the city. Hundred men can easily take them down. Afterwards, they have to find and regroup back all of Combination's forces that had scattered or fled when the avengers attacked. There were some who hid in the forests, some were tortured in the encampment district. They managed to kill all the soldiers who saw them and tried to fight. Those that ran away in fear, they ignored. Altogether they managed to gather about two hundred men. Mousy also managed to gather some animal friends from the forests. They got a hundred animals who volunteered. An army of three hundred as a reinforcement. They didn't even know if the war had already started or yet to. The only information they have was that the war is going to happen at the field of Alhora.
An impromptu meeting was held at the city square. Prince Nathan, Master Mousy, Master Asher, Master William, Master Danny (a brown dog), Annie, and Laura were having a discussion on what's their next course of action.
'We can't just charge onto Alhora field with only three hundred men' Nathan said.
'Why are you always lacking in faith?' Mousy argued. She on the other hand was quite careless.
'I'm not lacking in faith. I'm speaking sense. It's suicide if we just attack now'
'But we know our friends are there as well. We'll not be only three hundred men'
'May I say something?' Danny interrupted. He dislikes arguments especially in times like this. Both looked at him like he had just spoiled both of their moods. But they didn't say no, so they were waiting for what he intended to say.
'Barenge is not far from here. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try and convince them to join us back again?' Danny said.
'Danny! Are you the only one who always received information late? Barenge had fallen. And so had Silverside' Mousy said, irritated that she was interrupted for nothing. Danny was very shocked.
'Yes, we'll let you process that' Mousy said bluntly.
'I suggest we just move in now!' Mousy said. Nathan thought about it thoroughly. One of the king's guards suddenly came up to them.
'Your highness, masters, there is an army approaching Combination from the southeast direction. They'll enter from village district two'
'An army?!' Mousy exclaimed alarmingly. She immediately marched off towards the southeast direction. Some king's guards and SHAW masters followed her. Ten minutes later they came back with the army mentioned. A man dressed very smartly in a uniform just like the rest of the army. He was the leader. He was the only one with a grand looking headgear on his head. The Combination sigil was sewn into the centre of the headgear on the front side. If anyone or anything were to have that sigil, it always has something to do with royalty. But they had no idea who that person was.
'Morning your highness. Sir Everos, head knight of The White Keep. Army of White Woods at your service' the man said, getting on one knee. He drew his sword and pointed the sharp edge on the ground. Both his hands on the sword's grip.
'White Woods? When is there such a place?' Nathan said. He was extremely confused. Mousy went to him.
'They are actually a town under Combination' she explained. 'I didn't know either. Apparently King Henry built this town in secret after the incident and the only people who knew about it were himself, Bobby and Master Jenny'
'Our fathers were very poor people of a very obscure town in The Outlands. Seventeen years ago, King Henry found us while he was searching for Prince Edward and Princess Erieka. He took us in, built a whole new town southeast of Combination just for us. We vowed to serve him and Combination as long as our family is still living under his amenities. We owe it to him. So he decided to keep us a secret. If the avengers found out about us, they would have attacked White Woods after Combination. We also have SHAWs among us, that is how White Woods is until now hidden under the dimensional barrier. We have spies around who updated us about events going on. We got the message late however. Unfortunately one of our spies was killed when the avengers made a sudden attack on Combination. We sent another, and he found out that there was already a war coming. We waited for the avengers to leave, knowing there were still forces in Combination trapped and needed assistance. So here we are, offering our services. White Woods is at your command, your highness. We have two hundred men with us, one hundred and fifty knights and fifty SHAW warriors' Sir Everos said.
'I am still overwhelmed with amazement. My father was never a selfish man. He cared for others even when he was having problems himself' Nathan said. Everos smiled.
'I heard what happened. I'm sorry for your loss' he said.
'Thank you, thank you for coming. We will move off to Alhora now. Get ready our men' Nathan said. They all prepared to march off. The castle servants stayed behind to watch over the city and find surviving citizens and those in hiding.
At around eleven, they were already making their way north through the Combination Border Woods.
Thirty minutes later was the time when Prince Edward and Princess Flyra were surrounded by Erieka and four other avengers. Edward was in his trance, controlling the water swirling at the first group. Marcala was still trying to take control of the water. Some avengers were helping her but they failed as well. Erieka and the four avengers had attempted to kill them both but failed too. A sphere shield had protected them from their attacks. And now Erieka was getting angrier. Her pupils turned crimson. Her skin was also turning more red. She was filled with rage. Even some of the avengers took a step back in fear that she was going to explode her powers at them. She shot both of her hands out towards the shield. Like Flyra's light blue ray of light, Erieka's was red. Red light rays shot out of both of her palms, continuously and rapidly hitting the shield. The contact it made with the translucent forcefield formed sparks around the area. But the shield was not showing any sign if it's getting weaker or not. There were no cracks or anything. Erieka would die of exhaustion and the shield would still be there. Erieka gave up.
'This is not your magic! Impossible you can do this at a very young age. Even Marcala can't!' Erieka exclaimed. She was gasping for air. The rage she used drained most of her energy. 'You're just an ordinary princess!'
'That's where you're wrong. Word of advice from a princess to a princess, never underestimate someone you thought is lower than you. I am a child of the seed of Gratultyn. As long as I'm alive, you won't, I repeat, you will never achieve victory' Flyra said with sass. If Erieka still had all her energy, she would have been more angry than before.
'I guess I have to find other ways to kill you!' Erieka exclaimed. 'Keep her busy' she told the four avengers.
She transformed into a black bird and flew towards Marcala to report.
The avengers watched Flyra very closely. The shield was still there. Even if it turned invisible again, it is still there, forever protecting Flyra and those around her from any magic that wants to harm.
'Perhaps weapons can hurt her' one avenger said, forming a sword out of the soil beneath the snow. He threw it at the shield. Her experiment failed. The shield deflected the dirt sword.
'That weapon is still magical. You craft it with magic' another avenger said. The avenger drew a sword of her own.
'That's enchanted. You casted a spell on your sword for it to be sharp remember?' a third avenger said.
'Coward princess! Drop the shield. Fight us!' the last avenger said.
'It's not a fair fight, four to one' Flyra replied.
'Face it, it's a war. Fight us, coward!'
Over at the first group, Marcala was commanding the first group to move away from the water. In the end she decided to just deploy them onto the battlefields.
'Kill them all!' Marcala shouted. The first group charged, splitting into two, some went to the first battlefield, the others went to the second. But before they could reach, water hands shot out of different spots on Edward's water line, grabbing many avengers, Outland soldiers, and beasts, by their legs. The water hands lifted them up high in the air and swung them around. They let go and the victims were thrown out of the battlefields. Most crashed into the trees of Combination Border Woods. Marcala showed a reaction that she was very irritated. She looked very ugly doing so especially since she was very old.
'I don't care what you're reporting, just kill everyone!' Marcala shouted at Erieka. Erieka turned her attention to the nearest good guy and cracked his neck.
The water turned to snow and dropped onto the ground, adding up to the layer of snow that was already there. Edward fell out of the trance shortly afterwards. Flyra caught him and helped him up.
'What happened?' Edward asked, looking around, his face full of worry.
'You got so deep into the magic. You were in a trance. It happened to me before' Flyra said, remembering the wingless dragon. Then Edward saw the four avengers and the shield. He understood what happened. He then realised he did not need Flyra to explain to him more. He understood what was going on with his own mind. His intellect. He was making progress with it. "Just keep on going" he thought. His brain will react accordingly.
'Let down the shield. We can do this together' Edward said reassuringly. Both of them made eye contact. There was the same feeling again, the funny feeling when someone is around their crush. Flyra's face was very flawless and beautiful. Her dark green scarf covering her entire head made her look innocent. She gave him the look of "are you sure?".
'We can do this' he said.
The shield had appeared without Flyra intending it to. So she had to take control over it to bring it down. The shield went down easily. The avengers grinned with satisfaction.
'Finally!' the first avenger said. Edward and Flyra stood back to back. Two avengers on Edward's side and the other two on Flyra's.
'Now let's play' the fourth avenger said. She lit fire on both of her palms. The first and fourth avengers were facing Flyra, whereas the second and third were facing Edward. All four avengers released their powers at the same time. The fourth avenger threw the two flames at Flyra. The first blew wind, increasing the fire's speed and size. The second and third avengers sent fire at Edward. Flyra's intelligent shield appeared again, deflecting all the attacks. The fire conjured by the fourth avenger burnt the first to death before he could wipe them all out.
'Fight fair!' the fourth avengers shouted. She drew her sword. Edward drew his own he had been keeping by his side.
'Take this' he told Flyra.
He passed to Flyra while still standing in the back to back position.
'Now fight!' the fourth said.
Flyra moved forward, the first avenger's body lay on the ground. She could see his skin full of burns and scalds. Her attention went to focus on the fourth avenger. The avenger smirked. Flyra held her sword in a defensive stance. The avenger went in and made an aggressive strike with her sword. Flyra parried and darted to the side. She was no longer with Edward. He was busy with the other two avengers. Edward was still dueling magic with the two. There were fireballs, water magic, soil lifting, and force-pushing and pulling. The two avengers died when Edward let out a strong quick water attack. The water exited in a small radius around Edward. Which the two avengers were inside. The water was like swords jabbing out of Edward. Every part of his body let out the water. In a second it jabbed the two avengers, and another second went back into his body. The two immediately dropped dead. Edward turned to check on Flyra. She was now continuously blocking the fourth avenger's aggressive strokes while retreating backwards. Edward ran to help. As he came closer, a sudden zap of electricity shocked him, flinging him away. He recovered as quickly as possible to find Marcala walking towards him. He held up his hands in a defensive stance. Marcala stopped when she was about six arm lengths away from him.
'Hello Ned. No, it's Edward once again!' Marcala said with a tone like she wants to find fault.
'You won't be able to stop me this time' Edward replied, staring angrily at her.
'Ooh, love that anger in your voice! I had just zapped you, you don't know that kind of magic. The only way for you to defeat me is to use your anger little boy'
Edward wanted to strangle her. But he calmed himself down. He let the anger go away and welcomed back the calmness.
'No' he said.
Marcala released her current again. This time Edward dodged it by rolling to the side and standing back up with fast speed. Marcala did not wait to continue. She tried zapping him a few times. Edward managed to avoid them until he was tired. The next one flung him backwards. They were moving closer towards the battlefields and further away from Flyra and the fourth avenger.
The battlefields were still intense with magic, attacks, and pain. Prince Jake and Bobby were already on their feet. Their horses ran away when a fire almost hurt them. They both stayed close together, helping one another with their swords, attacking and defending against the avengers and soldiers. Most of the beasts were already dead. At the second battlefield, King David was all out striking every enemy around him. Nathaliya stood nearby, covering David and every good guy around her. She shot her arrows at any evil person coming at them when they were busy with an enemy. Her quiver was now empty. She placed her bow on her back and grabbed a sword from a dead person near her. She joined in the close combat. The animals led by Oliver were making themselves very useful as support troopers. Wherever there's a good soldier in need, at least two animals paired together to help bring the enemy down. But overall, many good guys were dying. The evil guys were winning. Their numbers were far greater than the good guys.
Suddenly those who were closer to Combination Border Woods heard a loud shout. It was more than a loud shout. It was like an army shouting. A motivating call. The ground trembled a little. And they saw the reformed army of Combination combined with the new army they had no idea where they came from, charged out of the forest. Leading in front were Prince Nathan, Master Mousy, Master Asher, Master William, Master Danny, and Sir Everos. Combination soldiers wearing green and White Woods soldiers wearing white. The evil guys nearer to the forest were surprised with the sudden appearance. Many were defeated immediately. The avengers were overwhelmed for a while longer as green and white mixed with black. The battle continued like before as the avengers adjusted to the change. And all the beasts were successfully killed. Annie and Laura were guarded by a few soldiers as they made their way to the other side where the tent was. They will be providing assistance in medical issues for Dewi and Princess Darleen.
The battle raged for another few minutes when suddenly, the worst shake the ground has ever made happened. Almost everyone stopped fighting. Flyra parried the fourth avenger's blow and rolled away until she was about three metres away. Then the avenger steadied herself, trying not to lose balance from the shake. Flyra remained in the lying position. And she realised this is not some magic conjured by a Sprite. It was something big approaching the field. She glanced sideways to the medical tent. Dewi and the rest ignored the shake and kept themselves busy with the wounded. About a hundred metres to the left of the tent, she saw a giant figure coming out of the Alhora forest. Then there was a loud roar. And the wingless dragon that Flyra had encountered before and froze it, came out of the forest, more angry than ever. His body was partially glowing red, because of the fire and heat inside raging. Every step it took, snow changed to water, and soil let out smoke. Flyra got up, shocked and afraid. She never expected to see the dragon again. This time, he is much stronger than before. His steps now made the ground shake worse. And he wasn't even glowing at The Valley of Sorrows. At first, everyone on the field was being very cautious. Suddenly, the dragon surprised Flyra even more. He did something he didn't do before, something Flyra thought he couldn't. He spoke.
'Avenge Majuza!' he bellowed. And the evil guys went into a frenzy and they became more aggressive than before. The dragon stomped towards the battlefields. The Ocean Masters went to focus their full attention on the dragon. Mainly they worked on cooling his body, so as to prevent him from breathing fire. While the good soldiers nearby, drove their swords into the dragon's feet. There were only about ten Ocean Masters left. For the time being, they managed to prevent the dragon from breathing fire. The only attacks the dragon could do now, were killing people with his jaws, claws, or stepping on them with his large feet. Flyra ran towards him. Intending to stop him for good this time. But the fourth avenger wasn't done with her. However, she cheated by using magic. She force-pulled Flyra by her feet. Flyra was flung backwards and landed a few steps in front of her. The avenger went in immediately to strike. Fortunately Flyra was faster. Flyra rolled away and got up. She had lost grip on her sword when she was force-pulled backwards. So she only has her magic to help her.
'We can use magic on you after all. Disarming magic' the avenger said. 'This will be much easier'
She attempted force-pulling Flyra again. But Flyra cut the force and force-pushed her. The avenger was thrown backwards. She recovered and got back to her stance. Flyra was already closing in. The avenger tried force-pushing this time and Flyra cut the force again as she went closer. The avenger was starting to get scared. Panicking, she sent fireballs continuously. But Flyra wiped them all out very easily. The avenger raised her sword to strike her as she came very close. Flyra conjured an invisible force to resist the sword. Every time the avenger tried bringing the sword closer to Flyra, it pulled away like magnets repelling negative sides. The avenger dropped her sword eventually as the mass became heavier when it pulled back. Flyra force-choked her immediately. The avenger rose from the ground as both her hands went to hold her throat.
'Don't push me again' Flyra said very firmly. Flyra turned her choke to a push. The avenger was flung backwards. She landed a few metres away unconscious. Flyra did not waste any more time. She turned back to join the fight. The dragon was directly in her view. She rushed to help the others fight it. But then she saw Edward at the side of the second battlefield struggling to fight back Marcala's blue current. She rushed towards him instead. Flyra ran until she was a few steps behind Edward, she sent a massive flow of ice out of her hands towards the current. The effect was very quick. Flyra's ice made its way up the current towards Marcala's hands. Marcala pulled the current back immediately. But the ice wasn't finished. It pushed Marcala backwards. Although she was very old, her bones were still very strong to keep her from falling from the impact of the ice. Marcala's feet only slid on the ground, she was still able to balance herself. Flyra quickly helped Edward to stand. By then Marcala was ready to strike again. She sent her blue current again. Flyra held her left hand up, her palm facing the current. A shield formed in front of her palm, surrounding her front and Edward's. The current collided with the shield, creating sparks and smaller currents around the surface area of the collision. They stayed that way for almost a minute.
'Flyra, this is too long, you'll lose your energy assuming Marcala doesn't stop' Edward said, full of worry. Flyra didn't respond. But it was obvious, she was getting tired. Marcala however wasn't showing any sign of exhaustion. Her face was full of determination to drain Flyra's energy and hence bring down the shield. Flyra motivated herself.
'If she can do it, so can I' Flyra said confidently. She used more of her strength. Her hand started glowing faintly, the colour of her pale skin. The shield glowed the same colour. And the glow seemed to outshine the light of Marcala's current. But then, Marcala pushed her hand forward strongly, exerting her last effort into her current. A wave of high voltage made its way towards the shield and shattered it. It continued its way to zap Flyra but another shield grew in a spherical motion out of Flyra, deflecting the last of the current to other directions. Edward watched in amazement.
'You can never hurt her' he said. Part of him was enjoying Marcala's angry and disappointed face.
'Then we shan't use magic' Marcala said, removing her black cloak and just letting it fall onto the ground. A sword was hidden underneath the cloak all along. She drew it. Edward felt for his sword on his right. Flyra no longer has hers. She dropped it earlier. Edward drew his as Flyra remained standing beside him, intending to participate as well.
'You are weaponless, princess. No magic is allowed. And it won't be a fair match if two versus one' Marcala said in a mean tone. 'Now step closer Edward'
Edward walked in front. He and Marcala were now two arm lengths apart. Marcala was holding her sword at an at-ease position, the tip touching the ground. Edward held it up in a defensive position.
'Your move' Marcala said. She was being old-fashioned this way. A sword fight that is done fairly and respectfully. Unlike the current way, anyone can just strike without warning. Edward pulled back his sword and swung it forward. Marcala moved very quickly. From the ease position, she arched her sword upwards and blocked Edward's blow in time. One second pause, she arched her sword downwards and outwards, attempting to hit Edward's thigh. Edward pulled his sword down and blocked the attack.
'Faster' Marcala said. And she made another swing to the head. Edward parried. He also made an attack which Marcala blocked and attacked again. The sword fight went on smoothly. But Flyra watched in agitation.
Across the two battlefields, many of the good guys were dead. The good guys were losing even after the reinforcements. The dragon has the most kill counts for this round. They managed to cause bleeding on the dragon's feet. But nothing more. The dragon was still standing strong. And with only a few Ocean Masters left, he could breathe fire once again. Fire burnt continuously at the area around him as he kept breathing to prevent anyone from coming near. The medical tent at the front of Alhora Woods was getting overcrowded with casualties. Dewi, Princess Darleen, Annie, Laura, the other assistants were getting more busy by the minute.
'We're losing out there' Dewi said, observing the battle occasionally.
'Their numbers are overwhelming. And the dragon has to be stopped' Darleen replied, observing as well.
'You can help them' Dewi said to Darleen.
'I am helping you!' Darleen replied.
'Not anymore Darleen. They need you more than we do' Dewi said. 'Go alright? Go help them'
Dewi got busy with another patient. Darleen glanced at the battlefields, then at her bow on the table beside the medicines and aid equipment. Her quiver was there too, full of arrows waiting to soar. She relived the memory of the battle in Barenge. It wasn't a pleasant memory. But she grabbed her bow and quiver anyway. Ignoring her fears, she ran into battle with determination. The sight of everyone fighting for the good side motivated her. After a few seconds, many Outland soldiers had become victims to her arrows.
As the battle goes on, two things are for sure. One, Erieka was already using her amulet to cause the dead evil soldiers, avengers, and even the beasts to stand back up and fight as the undead. Secondly, the good guys are clearly losing.