Bayezid was just finishing up his work assigned by the orphanage and was heading to his bed.
All his friends had already completed their share of works.
He leisurely strolled along the now empty veranda of the orphanage.
In the morning , it was either filled by the children going here and there or the maids doing their work or the occasional visitor who wanted to adopt a child.
Bayezid and his friends were not chosen though. The visitors were only looking for babies or very young kids less than the age of four.
But Bayezid and his friends were already ten this year.
There was no way , they would be adopted anymore.
This had become a ground reality for them.
But there was a hope.
In this oppressive environment of the orphanage where the owner was a menace, they had themselves for each other.
The smiles, the laughs , when they go to school together , when they come home, when they do the tasks for that day and finally when they go to sleep.
Not only for Bayezid , for everyone , it evoked a sense of joy among the many sorrows they experienced daily.
Bayezid looked at his hands. They didn't look like a hand of a kid of ten, rather they looked like that of a person's who had only indulged in manual labour their entire life.
Rough and unappealing.
Just as he was contemplating to himself, suddenly he heard a sound.
He walked closer to where the sound came from and before he knew it , he was before the door of the one who he hated to his core.
Madame Bridgette, the tyrant of the orphanage.
It was almost 10 pm at night.
Although not super late, by this time , most of the maids and children would be asleep.
The maids as they would be tired, the children who were mostly babies as it was just their routine.
Eat and sleep soundly.
As he neared the room , a sense of fear evoked in him.
Fear, anger and disgust , all feelings plagued his heart.
But curiosity got the better of him.
*Lub Dub* *Lub Dub*
His heartbeat increased.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he came closer to the room's door and placed his ears near it.
Two people were conversing with each other.
Laughing and such.
"Haha, just as the people say , you are truly a good character , Mr. Joshua." Madame Bridgette's voice echoed throughout the room.
"You humble me , Madame Bridgette." he said with a smile. But there was something wrong with the smile. The Madame didn't see that , or at least pretended not to see.
"So , who do you have your eyes on?"
"Ah, now that you ask me , I truly don't know. Ever since my wife passed away five years ago, I didn't know what to do.Even this is a question that has plagued me for sometime.
For the first few years, I was just mourning her death , unable to digest her death. But later , the church healed me from my trauma. But that is also when I realised that the source of my trauma was not actually the death of my wife. Yes it affected me...
But , the reason for my trauma was that I had no one else to cry to. I was alone, thats why."
Madame Bridgette listened attentively.
"So, I decided to get a companion. I looked for dogs, cats , friends and so on. But none of the efforts proved fruition in the end. I was lonely but still finding a companion didn't solve my issue. It felt fake, like something that I constructed myself , not something that happened naturally.
Re marrying was not an option for I love my wife still now , there is no way I can love someone else.
That's why as a final option , even though I know still wouldn't solve the issue , I have visited this orphanage , to see if parenthood would change me for the better."
He finally finished his long rant.
Madame Bridgette only seemed to nod her head.
There was silence for sometime.
Bayezid was at the edge of his seat.
He was ready to escape if someone was to come out.
But then Joshua spoke again.
"Although I don't have my eyes on any of the kids... how should I put it, maybe Im contradicting myself, but this girl... the maid."
Bridgette's eyes widened, but nonetheless remained calm.
"The head maid?" she asked
"Ah... yes" the old man looked up hesitatingly before looking down again.
"I would like her to..."
Brigette didn't need to hear further.
So all this nonsense was just for him to sympathise and finally ask for Susan to spend a night with him?
This guy just now was acting like a refined gentlemen but there he was... acting like a scum.
Bridgette wasn't too surprised.
Even from the start , she knew this guy would be bullshit.
Only a scum could understand another scum.
"How much are you willing to pay?" she asked as though , this wasn't her first time doing this.
"Oh..." Joshua looked flustered, but a smile crept in soon after.
"I knew, that Madame..."
Bridgette cut him off
"Just tell me the price."
"How about 500 dollars?"
"Too low."
"Wha..?"
"Susan is not someone who could be bought cheap. If you are looking for cheaper alternatives, then settle for the other maids." Bridgette again cut him off.
"How much do you want exactly?"
"Hmm... thousand dollars."
"1000 dollars. Thats blasphemous." Joshua stood up from his chair.
But Madame Bridgette remained silent.
Joshua slowly eyed the two bulky individuals behind her who looked like thugs.
Yeah no chance...
He again sat down.
He bargained for a little and finally.
"800 dollars it is." Brigette said in a calm tone.
Joshua handed an advance of 100 dollars.
She took it and immediately put it in her drawer.
"Tomorrow , come at 10 pm sharp. These guys would handle the rest."
Joshua stood up happily and exited through the door.
After he was gone, Bridgette just sighed.
In the past , she had sold many maids to these "distinguished gentlemen".
But all of them weren't as beautiful as Susan.
Now she was really glad that she hired Susan.
800 dollars weren't cheap.
News indicated that wars were at the brink of start, goods and money were scarce.
Money was something she needed right now.
Again who was there to stop her?
The maids would just quit their job?
Haha, laughable.
She had goons and the police by her side.
Some bribes here and there would just do the charm.
---
The next day,
Bayezid walked along a deserted veranda.
This time he stopped and hid behind a corner.
"Pussy" a rough voice came.
"Ah , to think that skinny old bastard would just shoo us away." an annoying sound came.
"If not for the fact , that he is an official of the town , I would have just beat him and took his chance , haha"
"Yeah , Susan is too much to pass on, her body , every time I think of it , I just get a boner!"
Disgusting remarks were heard.
"That bastard wouldn't be able to satisfy her , why doesn't he let us screw her?"
Bayezid just stared at the two guys who were talking something that he didn't quite understand well. He was just a ten years old kid.
Only after the two figured departed from the shadows , did Bayezid come out.
A spider crept by his shoulders , but he just hit it away and neared the door from where the two goons exited from.
It was slightly open and one , through the gap could see what was happening inside.
His eyes widened at the scene.
He didn't recognise the old man at first , but by his voice he came to know.
Mr. Joshua. The post master of this town.
"He he, how beautiful." Joshua approached with a creepy smile. His hand movements weird.
Susan stepped back.
Bayezid could see fear in her eyes.
"Stop moving back" Joshua said in annoyance.
Susan kept stepping back.
Joshua couldn't take it. He swirled his whip on Susan.
The sound resounded across the room.
Once it hit Susan , she stumbled on the bed and shrieked in pain.
"Haha" Joshua only licked his lips.
He slowly undressed himself until he was in his underwear.
Susan was still in her maid dress.
Joshua just tore her dress in the chest region using a knife from his pocket and from there he could see her breasts.
"Haha, beautiful."
By restraining her both hands , he just stared at her breasts.
He then went on to fondling them.
He just didn't stop himself.
From fondling , licking , tearing the dress further to see her chest further , he just didn't stop.
After a good five minutes, he finally took off his own dress.
From there... one didn't need to know what happened.
Susan screaming in pain could be heard.
As the room was lit up brightly , Bayezid didn't need to squint his eyes to see better.
He saw blood stains on the bed.
Only after an entire hour , did the old man stop.
Taking a break , he again went on to doing the act that Bayezid didn't understand quite much.
But he knew for one thing.
Susan wasn't fond of it and that she was in pain.
It pained Bayezid to see the sight.
He wanted to help but what could he do?
The old man had a tactical knife and a whip.
Not to mention, he could call the goons anytime he wanted to over phone.
But somewhere in his heart, a feeling Bayezid couldn't understand, crept in.
Although he didn't like the old man, somehow he liked his actions...
It went on for hours and hours , until it was five in the morning.
The old man took his clothes, left the weapons on the bed and quietly exited the room.
That day two people didn't sleep.
Bayezid and the old man.
As for Susan... it was doubtful whether she was just asleep from the pain or...
---
A week passed in a blink.
The orphanage was always gloomy , even in the morning when people were seen going and here and there in the orphanage.
But today , the environment looked much different.
There was a sense of dread in the air.
The maids were no where to be seen.
The babies were 'took' by some of the maids who were fond of them to who knew where.
The fat Madame Bridgette wasn't in the orphanage. She ran away.
Only some remained.
Bayezid and his gang, and the dead Susan who was currently buried in the grounds of the orphanage.
-------
Headquarters of the military operation in Herza, The city of Salsa, The second district.
Bayezid had travelled almost a day to reach the second district.
He hadn't chosen any faster alternatives , as even though this event was rather crucial, it wasn't an emergency and he could simply take his time.
Inside the carriage , he almost spent all his time on circulating his energiya and in general reading books, mainly about silliands.
Bayezid wasn't a person who was too fond of reading books in his previous life.
Well, that was a given considering his circumstances. He wasn't too concentrated in studying or getting good grades as he was just staying aloof and in simple words, trying to survive the tyranny of the orphanage.
If he was in a crucial period of education such as being in the last years of school, maybe he would have taken it seriously but he was just in elementary school. There was no rush to learn.
But here , he was totally different.
The curiosity, excitement to know about the world he had been transmigrated to, got the best of him.
He wanted to see what this world had to offer even if he was somehow, in the middle of doing that , sent back again to Earth.
The increased cognitive ability he got , that was increasing , more and more in power as he ascended in strength ,definitely helped in absorbing the information in the books like a sponge.
Even though on the inside he seemed to have not changed, on the outside , he had changed a lot.
Now he was standing before the headquarters of the military operation In Herza.
The headquarters by any means wasn't small but still it wasn't too big to flaunt.
It was constructed with keeping cost of money and the practicality of the facilities in mind.
It wasn't built to show off in any ways.
Bayezid as he had arrived late in the evening , rested that day and took off in the early morning.
He was going to the outskirts of the city of Salsa, to the hamlets that were near the state of Herza.
On the way , all he saw was pure destruction and chaos.
Charred marks, desolated land, trees burned , equipments broken and much more.
These destruction marks were due to the land forces alone and only increased along the way.
Both the nations weren't rich enough to afford proper Air Force.
What if they were capable of doing so?
Then the fights wouldn't have happened on the outskirts alone.
Constant bombardments would have been seen in major towns and even some cities across Erlands.
Military trucks, tanks and some jeeps could be seen moving back to the headquarters or moving to the battlefield.
Finally after forty five minutes , he had arrived at his destination.
The moment he stepped out from the carriage , a reek smell entered his nose.
It was the smell of war.
Injured men and women being transported in a make shift bed to the infirmary.
Young men sitting at corners of the camp, losing the gleam they once had before entering the war.
Some men playing cards and smoking in order to forget the deaths of their comrades or just the misfortunes that happened in the war.
A man in his forties with a big handlebar moustache was playing the guitar although in his left hand only one finger was there.
It was a cruel sight.
The carriage that Bayezid came in, was luxurious and had a crest of the royal house.
But even then, no one even gave the carriage a second glance.
Nobles coming here was extremely common.
Atleast one noble would come here every day regardless of their status.
It was mostly the nobles supplying some ammunition or some talisman or scrolls , etc.
It was not only true for their camp , but the other four camps that were along the borders of Herza.
Most of these soldier people were peasants and villagers.
They couldn't differentiate between the crests of the different houses.
But once they saw Bayezid coming out of the carriage, the idle young men looked up.
They had seen this man's picture.
The officials told them that he was now the new king by showing his pictures.
There wasn't respect in their eyes rather only hatred.
Their hatred was not only limited to the previous king but towards the crown itself and thus any kings that adhered to the crown.
'That's understandable I guess' Bayezid thought
Even though the soldiers were expressing hatred through their eyes, still they couldn't stay aloof and not respect the king by not offering greetings.
The ones who even don't know the king get punished when they don't give respect , what would happen if they don't do it while knowing who this man was?
No, they couldn't mistake this man to be not the king. His appearance was unique and which one could not forget even if they wanted to.
Some of the soldiers just bowed their head , while some other stood up and saluted.
They weren't taught in etiquette. In fact no one here had even attended an academy.
There was no government schools in Erlands. There were only private schools so they had to pay real good money if they wanted to get educated.
So no one from lower socio economic background attended the academies.
Mostly they did work in the fields or factories.
Being a knight or working under a noble was equivalent to being a doctor or a good engineer in this world.
A man with greying hair and beard came behind Bayezid.
He wore a butler dress and his posture was immaculate.
But his face currently carried a frown.
"Your majesty... this is truly despicable" he couldn't help comment.
"Is it really necessary for someone of your status to grace a visit to an ungrateful..." the man began to say. The content from his heart overflowing.
But he was cut off by bayezid.
"It is not a big matter Steward. Over time , it would all sort out."
"But..." still Steward was relentless.
Bayezid didn't say anything further. He just started to walk deep inside the camp.
The war smell only intensified the deeper he went.
Suddenly he saw two figures coming on a motorcycle.
They looked like officers given the way they dressed and of course by the stars that decorated their uniform.
The aura they released was that of a early second tier practitioner.
*Vroom* *Vroom*
The sound increased and once they came closer to their desired location , they stopped.
A clean shaven young man who had gotten off from the back seat of the motorcycle soon took a paper from his pocket and analysed for some time before announcing.
"Patrick, Aditya, Takashi and Julien Montez." his voice was clearly heard in the camp.
It was not hard to make your own voice be loud and clear without an ability.
Although not as effective as an ability , when you channeled your energiya from your core or dantian to your larynx and willed the desired effects , depending on your control , you would achieve the desired results , ie , in this case a loud and clear voice.
Energiya could be used in any way possible.
Soon four individuals stood up from their place and saluted the officer.
The officer glanced at them for some time as though assessing them.
"Well , that ought to do it right Harry?" he glanced at the man who was still sitting in the motorcycle.
"Yeah, just send them , we don't have enough time." he said in a lazy tone.
For a minute , the man was writing something in his paper before announcing again.
"Your four are supposed to go to the front lines by tomorrow. Your trench number is Fifty five , five behind from the first line of defence.
Tonight a truck would be leaving the camp to deliver some medical supplies and such. Hop on with them and they would drop you at the 50th trench.
From there , the tunnels are connected and you can easily reach the 55th trench. Am I clear?"
The four individuals stood rooted on the spot. This was hell. What they heard was hell.
Why were they sent to the frontlines? they were nothing but pitiful peak low level first tiers. It would take a few months before they even achieve the middle level.
The front lines was where high level first tiers and second tier individuals frequently fought. Not to mention there were tanks , flamethrowers and occasionally man driven drones.
Just the thought of it sent shivers.
Especially the flamethrowers which would burn you alive... and the drones which would drop the bombs straight at your head...
The peak first tiers could even handle a direct bomb hit and survive to at least see another day... but what about them? they doubt they could even survive the place for a day , let out alone a bomb raid.
Nonetheless , they couldn't complain. They have been conscripted. If they were to reject it , then it would be directly correlated to treason.
"Yes sir." All four of them said , but their voices were low.
Still , as a low second tier , it was not hard to hear their voices.
The clean shaven young man nodded his head and got on his motorcycle.
Just before he was to take off again with his friend, he once again said something.
"And remember, I don't think you are that foolish , but... if you think with your pitiful strength that you could cross the trenches from above to avoid the stench of the tunnels , then you would be quickly be disposed off by a sniper and always make sure to be inside the trench and under no conditions go out except when charging." he said in a matter of factly tone.
*Vroom * *Vroom*
The motorcycles took off into the distance.
----------XXXXX-----------