Three years after that bloody battle, in the present, in the middle of the royal square, the trumpets blew, and a grand procession arrived.
Everyone was talking: "We can't believe King Arthur is coming in person."
The massive procession arrived, and silence fell. The doors of the carriages opened, confirming the rumors that King Arthur had indeed come himself, along with the four leaders of the continent and all those of high rank.
After moments of silence, King Arthur spoke in a loud voice: "Times have changed; monsters have invaded our lands. Because we have lived in comfort, we have grown weak. But hardships forge the strong, and thus we have changed ourselves and will restore the glory of this nation. I know what you are thinking: we have no chance against the generals or the leaders of the monsters, and that's true. But in recent years, we have continued our tough training and have committed ourselves to the next generation. Today, I am here to announce three new elite soldiers who have slain the goblin leader in their beginnings, whose story has been circulating before...
Ahmad, Osama, and Badr.
In this official raid for them, they will lead a battalion of soldiers to the plague village, where they will eliminate the monsters and reclaim the village, along with its vast resources, which will aid our soldiers. Let us welcome the heroes of the new generation."
As Ahmad, Osama, and Badr stepped down from the vehicle, dressed in their finest clothes, cheers erupted among the crowd.
After a long evening of dancing and feasting, King Arthur met with the three and the knights' leaders.
King Arthur: "Ahmad, Osama, Badr, I will be honest with you; sending you there is like sending you to your death. But I have no choice. I, along with the other leaders, must protect what remains of the kingdom from the attacks of the remaining monsters, and we must strengthen our power and resources. So forgive me for this risk; I have run out of options."
Ahmad: "We understand this, our king. But as you know, Osama has reached 21% of his defensive power, Badr 25% of his offensive power, and I 24% of my balanced strength. We are no longer easy targets."
Badr and Osama (together): "That's right, and we will reclaim this village for you."
King Arthur: "Ziad and pride are in the middle of the empty desert exploring a place rumored to be a den of monsters. So I will leave the soldiers in your hands, and you have been promoted to Deputy General. Now, let me at least create a plan for you. It will be as follows: you will lead the battalion to the village's borders. Osama, you specialize in defense; if you enter there first, it will be difficult for you to take down a group of monsters. Badr, you specialize in attack; you entering alone will make any wrong hit a fatal wound for you. So, Ahmad, since you are balanced between attack and defense, you will go in first. Badr and Osama, each of you will cover the other's weak points. You will split up and scout the outskirts of the village. Half an hour later, you will join Ahmad after he ensures the village is safe. Ahmad, if you encounter any danger that threatens everyone's safety, send an alert signal so that neither Osama nor Badr nor anyone in the battalion enters, and you run if you can; the battalion will follow you in two hours to cleanse the area."
The three: "Understood, Sir."
The next day...
The three set off with the battalion to the village.
Osama: "Do you think we can liberate it, guys? This is our first official mission!"
Ahmad: "To be honest, I don't know, but we have soldiers behind us, and we are leading them. If we show a moment of hesitation, we will discourage them."
Badr: "Come on, we fought the goblin leader; what's worse than that?"
Hours passed, and as they approached the village, a light mist fell like clouds around the place.
Ahmad: "The atmosphere feels suspicious."
Osama: "Yes, and there's a feeling that worries me about this village."
Confusion appeared on the faces of the soldiers and their leaders.
When they reached the village, the buildings were peculiar, resembling ancient European structures, and there was a large sign hanging that read:
"The Black Death Awaits You."
Ahmad swallowed hard and started to talk to himself: "The atmosphere of this village exudes terror even without monsters. My legs can barely move from fear. I must be brave and not show my fear. Come on, man, they are just buildings, rats, and mist."
The three gathered the soldiers, and Badr said: "You've all learned the plan, and we've discussed it enough. Today, we are here to liberate this village. Anyone who wants to withdraw, this is their last chance."
"And the shock"
Osama: "Slamming the table, cowardice! More than two-thirds of the battalion have withdrawn!"
Ahmad: "I can't blame them, to be honest. If I were in their shoes and with their strength, I would have withdrawn too. Anyway, let's go, let's start the plan!!"
Ahmad, Badr, and Osama split up, with Ahmad entering the village first.
Ahmad, walking slowly through the mist and buildings surrounding him, with rats covering the area, suddenly heard a voice behind him:
"The Physician of Death is here to assist you."
Ahmad turned quickly but saw no one: "Is this a joke?" He unsheathed his sword and began to walk cautiously.
Ahmad: "What are these swift shadows coming around me?"
As Ahmad walked, someone appeared from nowhere right in front of his face, dressed in a plague doctor outfit, wielding a large spiked hammer.
Ahmad quickly swung his sword, but the person disappeared before him.
Ahmad: "Damn, he's too fast!"
The person reappeared beside Ahmad and struck him with the hammer with great speed.
Ahmad: "Noooo! I can't evade it!" Ahmad raised his sword onto his shoulder to block it, but he was thrown away.
He crashed into a building, and the structure collapsed entirely. Ahmad woke up from the rubble.
Ahmad: "It's good that I focused my dragon energy on defense; otherwise, I would have sustained severe injuries. It's time to show the results of three years of training."
Ahmad used his blue dragon energy, and a blue aura enveloped his body and sword.
Ahmad: "I must not charge recklessly. All I am good at are medium and basic strikes, but he is fast! Mistakes could jeopardize the liberation of the village."
Ahmad dashed towards him, and as the monster raised its hammer from below, Ahmad swiftly dodged, exposing the monster's body.
Ahmad: "Taste death!" He charged his blue aura into his sword and landed a powerful blow.
Ahmad: "Alright, I've taken him down. No need to worry now. Wait... I sense his power again."
Suddenly, two figures wearing raven masks appeared, with the first striking Ahmad, who managed to dodge, but a second blow from the other side hit Ahmad's head, knocking him down and causing blood to stream from his head.
Ahmad woke up with blood covering his head: "Curse this head injury again?"
The two attempted to strike him with a double hammer, but Ahmad avoided them, only for a third person to emerge and swing their hammer down rapidly.
Ahmad blocked with his sword, but the force of the hammer brought Ahmad to his knees. The three gathered and struck the hammer simultaneously.
Ahmad: "What is this? They won't give up!"
Ahmad leaped high into the air to evade the hammers, only to collide with four figures wearing the same mask, yet with wings, as they flew, holding black chains in their hands.
Ahmad: "Oh no! I can't dodge them while in the air!"
The four hurled their chains at Ahmad, binding him and tossing him to the ground while dragging him into the air, before flinging him away.
Ahmad could barely move, and his body began to tremble from the pain.
Ahmad: "I need to send the withdrawal signal. How long has it been? Should I complete the mission or not?"
As Ahmad attempted to send the signal, the three approached him, hammer strikes landing as hard as they could. Ahmad jumped again, only to find four others waiting for him in the air, and he realized his end had come.
Badr: "The Black Blade!"
His strike hit one of the four flyers, causing the remaining three to fall back.
Ahmad crashed to the ground, and Osama rushed in to treat Ahmad as swiftly as he could.
Osama: "Badr, distract them while I treat Ahmad. I need to remember that channeling dragon energy into another person is enough to heal him and empower them, while I will be losing my energy as a side effect."
Badr: "You're asking for the impossible; any hit on me would be a fatal injury!"
Badr unleashed dragon energy, gathering his black aura and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Black Mist!"
(The Black Mist is a skill that allows him to release black smoke, and anyone within its radius can be misled by illusions and attacks and swap between copies.)
Badr began fighting the three, as the flyers swooped down upon him, and Osama intervened, drawing his large blade, but they managed to bind him with chains and started throwing him from top to bottom.
Osama: "I'm completely bound, but their strikes don't affect me much due to my solid defense. But how will I defeat them?"
Ahmad awoke and saw Osama embroiled with the three while Badr was occupied on the ground.
Ahmad: "Badr, upon hearing my signal, jump!"
Ahmad spoke to himself: "Since Badr is preoccupied with them, I can use my aura release attack."
Ahmad took his position, reversed his sword, and gathered all his energy into the sword. As Badr was fighting with the three, he heard Ahmad call him now.
Badr jumped high, and Ahmad unleashed his attack, taking down the three.
Ahmad: "We did it! Where's Osama?"
Osama: "I'm here; I took down the three."
Ahmad: "How???"
Osama with a smirk: "I waited for them to tire themselves out from hitting me then took them out with a single strike."
Ahmad: "Ha ha! Who's the beast among them, I wonder?"
And then, the sound of many footsteps echoed.
Badr: "Oh no! This is not good!!!"
Suddenly, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of masked figures appeared, wielding hammers; you would think they were an entire army by their number.
Badr: "Listen, I'm going to unleash my strongest attack, but I need you to distract them for at least a minute."
Ahmad: "That's impossible!"
Osama: "I will go."
Ahmad: "No! Stop!"
Osama: "Who says? Would you prefer to die fighting? Or die while being beaten by all those monsters? Our fate is the same; there's no way back."
He unleashed his golden dragon energy, turning some of his attire and features into gold, jumping into the midst of the army.
Ahmad: "I can't see what's happening to Osama amidst all of them."
He turned to see Badr behind him, raising his sword toward the sky as he prepared his final attack.
Ahmad: "Alright then, there's no going back."
He used his blue aura and dashed with blinding speed through the masses.
Ahmad: "I can't see anything or even move from how many there are."
Osama's voice suddenly resonated through the place: "Dragon Whirlwind!"
(A skill where he picks up his massive sword and spins, unleashing his personal dragon energy.)
He managed to create a gap in their ranks.
Ahmad began using his sword, cutting through the soldiers as Osama struck among them.
Badr: "I'm almost done; hold on!"
Ahmad began receiving blows from all sides.
Ahmad: "I can't evade; my endurance is about to run out."
A hammer struck his side, then another hit his face, followed by one to his stomach, and a torrent of blows began falling upon him.
He turned and noticed Osama had fallen to the ground as 90% of the army were beating him.
Badr: "Get away now! Black Wave!"
(The Black Wave is a skill where he releases all his black energy as a massive wave, sweeping away all before it.)
Ahmad: "Noooo! Osama is unconscious! Don't unleash it!"
Badr: "It's too late! I can't stop the attack!"
Ahmad leaped to Osama, channeling all his dragon energy into his back to protect him, and the wave struck everyone, as Ahmad fought against the pull and continued until he vanished with the darkness.
To be continued...