At dawn the next morning, the sound of a trumpet from the camp guards was heard. When I stepped outside the tent, I saw everyone panicking and rushing out, hastily putting on their gear. I woke up Kuti and put on my equipment.
We both left our tent and climbed the watchtower. From the north of our camp, the Ludanes soldiers were marching toward us. King Majagada was seen coordinating with his subordinates to organize their troops.
The Ludanes troops moved quickly and were now fighting the Majagada soldiers, who were not yet in formation. The Ludanes soldiers fought in an orderly manner, causing the disorganized Majagada soldiers to slowly retreat towards our camp.
"K-Kuti, what do you think? Should we join the troops or focus on protecting King Majagada?" I asked.
"Focus on protecting the king!" Kuti replied, shooting an arrow into the air and using her special ability. The arrow multiplied into thousands, raining down on the enemy troops. The Ludanes soldiers were momentarily halted as Kuti's arrows caused many casualties. Their armor was pierced by Kuti's special obsidian arrows.
"B-be careful, Kuti. I'm going to join King Majagada," I said, kissing Kuti's forehead. I jumped from the watchtower and landed in the middle of the enemy troops.
BLAM!
They were thrown back by my aerial attack. I prepared my club and shield, creating a path for the Majagada soldiers to advance. When the Ludanes soldiers saw me, they hesitated to move forward. Instead, they surrounded me with their spears, aiming to capture me.
"Not that easy!"
I slammed my club into the ground, sending them flying into the air. Kuti took advantage of this momentum, shooting them accurately. Thanks to my efforts, the center line of the Majagada troops stabilized. The Ludanes spearmen retreated and fled.
"Thank you, envoy of the gods!" said the central force commander to me. "The right flank led by His Majesty is in danger, you should go there!"
Hearing this, I ran to the right flank. A knight was fighting and trying to break through to the rear. I jumped again and landed right on top of him. He was thrown off but managed to stand up again.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Envoy of God 999," I replied. "I was ordered by my god to assist Majagada."
"Interesting," the knight said, picking up his dual-handed spear with an axe blade and a pointed tip. "I am Atmaja, deputy of Grandmaster Indarto from the Ludanes Knights."
"Try defeating me," I said, preparing my shield. I swapped my club for a small axe and got ready.
Atmaja advanced quickly, swinging his spear repeatedly at me. I managed to block with my shield and deflect his attacks. Atmaja paused and looked at his suddenly damaged armor. "What is this? Why am I injured?"
"I don't know," I replied, charging and slamming my shield into him. He lost his balance, and I swung my axe to break his spear. Atmaja's spear shattered and split in two.
Falling to the ground, he tripped me, causing me to drop my shield to pin him down. Atmaja grabbed a dagger from his waist, attempting to stab my neck. But I headbutted him, preventing his strike. His helmet was damaged, and I reversed my position to elbow his head, knocking him out or possibly killing him—I couldn't tell.
Then I saw a group of enemy soldiers breaking through King Majagada's guards. I rushed over and stopped their attack. My axe cut off the hand of a soldier about to stab King Majagada, who was busy organizing his troops on the right flank.
"You need to be more careful, Your Highness," I told him.
ACK!
A scream came from behind. Kuti had killed an enemy trying to slash me. "Don't lose focus, it's not over yet!"
"Yes," I replied, fighting with all my strength to push back and buy time for King Majagada to coordinate his troops.
Seeing us still holding our ground, the Ludanes soldiers eventually retreated. Our left and right flanks suffered many casualties, while the center was safe thanks to my timely arrival, allowing them to form a proper defense.
King Majagada looked exhausted. "Damn! Attacking at dawn! Such an unknightly act! Count all our casualties and damage. Then reorganize and prepare for a second attack!"
Kuti and I helped the survey officers and commanders count the casualties on our side. We had 683 casualties, while Ludanes had only 358. We all braced for a second attack, but it never came.
Instead, a messenger from the city of Nesbakki invited King Majagada to accept the city's surrender. The people of Nesbakki surrendered to us. King Majagada immediately divided his troops—one group to guard our camp and the other to accompany him into Nesbakki.
King Majagada ordered Kuti and me to join him. Our horses were brought to us by his subordinates. With 5,000 troops, we marched into Nesbakki. We entered the city from the west, and the outer part of the city appeared empty and uninhabited.
I asked the Nesbakki messenger, "Where are the citizens?"
"They are in the city hall, preparing to welcome their new leader," the messenger replied.
Kuti and I felt something was off and asked King Majagada not to proceed into the city. But he insisted on entering. My suspicion was confirmed when we reached the city center, right in front of the city hall. Explosions and black smoke erupted throughout the city.
"Don't panic! Stay in formation!" ordered King Majagada. "Show them that such tricks won't work on us! Move slowly to exit the city!"
Cries to charge came from within the city. Ludanes soldiers and knights emerged, attacking us. We were trapped in the burning city, fighting like madmen with nothing to lose, ready to die.
Seeing the fire, I was a bit scared because it reminded me of my past...
CLANG!
Someone attacked me with a sword. Thankfully, my shield reflexively blocked and deflected the blow. Kuti shot the attacker, protecting me. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"This big fire scares me and reminds me of something," I said.
"Focus!" Kuti knocked on my helmet. "Even though we can't die, it would be funny if we lost here."
I picked up my club and slammed it into the ground, creating dust that worsened the situation. Kuti and I stayed close to King Majagada, looking for the weakest point in the enemy's encirclement.
Dust and smoke, the heat made it hard to find a way out. I tried to break through to the east. Using my shield, I charged through all the enemy soldiers blocking us.
Kuti and I saw an escape route, and the Majagada soldiers filled the gap we created to form a way out. King Majagada saw my action and ordered his guards and himself to exit through this path.
"Good job!" praised King Majagada. "Now defeat them all while retreating!"
King Majagada was now safe. It would be difficult without someone holding them off. I ordered Kuti to join me in holding back the Ludanes soldiers. We fought fiercely, stopping their advance.
The Ludanes soldiers paused, seeing us defeat many of their comrades. Someone from the crowd emerged, "You're the envoy of the god? Atmaja told me about you."
"Yes," Kuti and I answered together.
"I am Indarto, Grandmaster of the Ludanes Knights," he said, preparing his sword to fight me and Kuti.
A building collapsed, separating me from Kuti. "K-Kuti! You should escape!"
"No!" Kuti pushed through the burning rubble to be with me. Flames licked her cloak, and I hugged her, putting out the fire with my hands. "I don't want to be separated."
Our escape route was now blocked. The fire grew larger behind us. The Ludanes soldiers and Grandmaster Indarto approached. "The Ludanes Knights are immune to fire. Fire is part of us. Your king made a mistake by waging war against us. The Ludanes fire never goes out!"
I saw Kuti was out of arrows and exhausted. She looked resigned in my arms. I was also tired, my head spinning, though our health was still high.
Seeing the growing fire, I remembered the incident from my childhood when my house burned down. My head throbbed, "Ah."
"Don't worry, Kuti," I reassured her, donning my combat gear again. They swarmed me, but they were injured by my special ability to reflect their attacks. I fought fiercely against them.
Grandmaster Indarto watched me fight in awe and ordered his troops to retreat. Now he faced me, but my strength was nearly gone. "You're a coward, only attacking when I'm exhausted."
"You are strong. I won't attack you. Your determination is impressive. You fought fiercely to protect the girl behind you, right? It's pointless for you to be with Majagada. You should join the Order of the Knights, not a king," Indarto said, sheathing his sword.
"Capture both of them and treat them well," he ordered his soldiers. "Don't try to take their weapons. They're cursed if held by anyone other than a divine envoy. Binding them is useless; lead them to the prison cage."
Maybe this was for the best. Kuti and I were escorted by the Ludanes soldiers out of Nesbakki. Grandmaster Indarto placed us in his carriage. "King Majagada has retreated. It's a shame he wasted the blessing of God 999."
"The troops guarding your camp have also been defeated," Indarto said, sitting across from us. "Is that girl your sister?"
"No. She's my girlfriend," I replied.
"Ah," Indarto said. "Don't worry, I won't harm you. I know I can't win against you if you're not exhausted."
"The gods could send their strongest envoys, but our strategy won," Indarto boasted. A knight entered, bringing three cups of tea, placing them on the table.
"I won't harm a woman, you have my word. You will be kept under house arrest until the Knight League council decides your fate," Indarto said. "We still regret the death of Grandmaster Tiana. You weren't involved in her death, were you?"
"No," I replied. "King Majagada executed her in a humiliating way."
"Thank you for not killing us," I said to him.
"If I killed a divine envoy, what would the Knight League say?" Indarto replied, studying my face. "You are my key to advancing the Order of Ludanes. There is a sacred tree in the city of Ludanes; you can summon God 999 there."
"Now, will you drink this tea voluntarily, or do I have to force you?" Indarto asked.
"Is the tea poisoned?" I asked.
"What do you think?" Indarto countered. "From my observation, you fear fire and will do anything for your lover."
I drank the tea, feeling a sedative effect. "This tea has a sedative, right?"
My eyes grew heavy, and I fell asleep holding Kuti. When I woke again, Kuti and I were still in the carriage, arriving in front of a house. Grandmaster Indarto smiled at me, "Welcome to my mansion. You'll be held here until the Knight League council arrives."
"Why use a sedative?" I asked.
"This location is secret," Indarto replied.
Kuti woke up, hugging me tightly. "Good morning. Where are we? If I recall, I fainted in your arms."
"We're being held temporarily," I replied, stroking Kuti's hair. "The important thing is, we're still together."