Chereads / The Tale Of The Dark Kingdom / Chapter 7 - The Town Of York

Chapter 7 - The Town Of York

The night sky glistened with stars, the moon lighting up the world, the field where tents reside are even brighter because the bonfires are flickering and shimmering with people dancing and singing around them. In one of the huts lies Ankoku wrapped in thin bandages around his chest and arms, his honed body scarred and bruised. The opening to Ankoku's tent is thrown open as a tall figure steps in the flames behind him making him unable to make out and stands next to Ankoku throwing water onto his face. Ankoku snaps awake and stares at him the figure of the man lights a candle and kneels over, his face is rough with a slash scar over his right eye and a burn mark on his right cheek, he has dark brown hair and scary yet soothing green eyes looking at him with care and worry. Ankoku opens his mouth to speak but coughs as he tries to speak as he is dehydrated. 

"Here, drink." The Man said handing him a cup

Ankoku grabs the water from the man's hand and guzzles it down in a hurry.

"Thank you, you're the one who saved me weren't you?"

"Aye, I am, my name is Kleif, I'm a mercenary for the Band of the Hounds, some call me the boss but I don't fully accept the title since we are all equals here."

"Kleif, why did you save me back there?"

"I simply helped you after you helped us, why did you join the fight, what is up with your mana as well, it went crazy as you used your techniques as if it was going to fry you." Kleif said intrigued.

"The kingdom.. I will kill everyone in that kingdom and I swore this, regarding my mana I do not understand what you mean, what is wrong with it and how could you tell?"

"Your mana simply went crazy, so to speak, almost a mind of it's own, it did what you wanted but after you used your techniques, it started releasing your mana in all directions making you mana break." Kleif stares at Ankoku asking himself if the boy really has no idea.

"What is mana break? Will you help me prevent it and help me become stronger?"

"Mana break is simply when ones' mana goes out of control, exhausts, or corrupts, Mana break can make you lose your mind and attack allies if it is corrupted, if you lose control it can destroy buildings and people. If it exhausts you'll fall asleep. How about this kid, Join us. Join us and I will help you become stronger but you must listen to the orders we are given and help us in the missions we take." Kleif stares at him awaiting his response.

"I will join you, help me become stronger, Kleif." 

Ankoku reaches out his hand and Kleif meets it clasping their hands together in a firm handshake. Kleif stands up and walks towards the exit and looks back.

"Be ready, first light we attack the Town Of York."

 At dawn, Ankoku is putting on a leather strapped vest with guards on his wrists and shins sword clasped at his pants, he stares out seeing the full band of mercenaries numbering 160 all lined up in rows staring down the hill towards a militia. The militia is numbered around 340 armored with crudely made weapons and shields with light leather armor, Knights lined up in front of them numbering 50 in full plate armor donning the Rekya Kingdoms Crest. Ankoku grabs his swords hilt and prepares to charge staring at Kleif who orders his men to charge but holds Ankoku and three others back as the armies charge towards each other clashing into each other the mercenaries tearing deeply into the formations of the militia while the knights hold strong. 

"Why do we not fight! Kleif!"Ankoku stares at him bewildered

"Watch." he responds coldly

The knights begin to push the line that attacked them back in one fell swoop the knights all plunge their swords into the mercenaries chests, splattering the blood over their shields and armor cutting and slashing through the lines. Ankoku stares at around 20 men being slaughtered, blood flying, and limbs being cut off as the knights ruthlessly butches the mercenaries, however, one mercenary stands there watching as three knights rush towards him and he simply turns around to Kleif and yells,

"NOW KLEIF DO IT NOW!!"

The man jumps into a ditch to the left of him as the fallen bodies of the mercenaries glow red and cause an enormous explosion, sending flames in all directions burning the knights to a crisp turning their armor black as they run and scream from the pain many falling to their knees still burning but lie dead.

Kleif is standing there, Ankoku stares at him confused because he didn't hear him say anything so it wasn't a magical incantation.

"They weren't my men they just killed, they were simple prisoners who were promised freedom if they won." said Kleif coldly staring at the carnage watching the militia getting stabbed and slashed their guts spilling all over the fields. 

"They had the dragon flerya's curse on them, the one who presides over the power of the curse can detonate it at any time. That is all I did."

Ankoku stares at the horrific scene before him but he doesn't feel an ounce of regret or pity, not even rage. Ankoku simply feels nothing. 

  FIVE HOURS LATER

Ankoku walks around the blood stained field where the bodies once were as he thinks to himself, 

"Why did I feel nothing watching everyone die, this is what happened to me should I not feel bad?"

He stares at the fires burning in the distance, stacked ten feet in the air are the bodies of the fallen militia and knights that weren't completely burnt. 

"Ankoku!" Kleif yells from behind him

"Yes, Kleif?" Ankoku responds hurriedly

"It's time for us to train since you didn't get your chance to fight."

They walk towards the middle of the town where there is a pit Kleif begins to speak as they near it,

"The people of this village found it fun to force men and women to fight to the death in here if they were simple wanderers, even families would come here and wouldn't leave the same, all for being traders." Kleif said disgustedly 

"Now your training is to give them a piece of their own karma."

Kleif pushes a longsword into his hands and pushes him into the pit with ten surviving militia men holding crude weapons some of them were injured still, Ankoku stares at the men grasping his hilt tightly and dashes towards them raising his sword to the first mans neck cutting through without any hesitation cleanly decapitating him. The blood of the man splashing onto Ankoku's face and his sword drenched in his blood stands there hunched over staring like a monster at the final nine.

Kleif is smiling widely as he watches Ankoku's actions laughing slightly.