Character : Nathan Fiore, Cruelties of War
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This… is war.
All these slaughter, it's real.
Every death that has happened… it's all real.
How… can I stay sane after going through this…?
…
Five hours earlier.
Just like planned, we will send an envoy to the army that was stationed below the cliff. The envoy will be led by a very powerful man, the Holy Knight of the earth nation, to try and find out if the army is truly civilians or not.
And the best part is that I'll also be joining.
"You wanted a direct experience, didn't you? So, just come along." Frisena said to me from the pilot's seat during our flight to the location, and I just let out a sigh while sitting back down to the passengers seat at the back.
"No luck?" The old knight next to me asked, and I nodded out of concern.
"Guess I'll be fighting alongside you, Sir Kayden… if we are fighting, that is." I said to the old knight, and he laughed a little seeing me acting so defeated.
"What are you so worried about? You have all the talent in the world!" The kind old man Kayden said while trying to cheer me up, but I only let out a sigh.
Yesterday, I had a spar with the holy knight of the earth nation. He was fearsome in battle, and his massive blade struck the earth as if it was tissue. He lifted gigantic rocks like they were meteorites, and his movement was incredibly fast. He was truly fearsome in the arena.
But, outside? He is just a kind old knight.
"You're embarrassing me… when it comes to experience, I know nothing." I said to him, and he realized what I said was right.
"That's true, that's why you're coming with me! As long as you're with me, your experience will be covered by mine. So, don't worry." The old holy knight, Kayden Calfman said while pointing his thumb at himself, and I felt slightly relieved.
Seriously? This is the guy Jonah was hating? This is the terrible father that bullies him?
Though, there is still a chance that he is hiding his fatherly side from me. After all, I am only someone he just met and sparred with. He probably liked me only because I showed him great results. As for the current Jonah… I wouldn't know.
"We're here." From the pilot seat, Frisena announced to us, and everyone on the passenger seat stood up.
Aside from me and the holy knight, there will be six other soldiers who will be coming with us. The six consisted of four elite knights from the earth nation and two elite soldiers from Valkaria. With this lineup, we have two water origins, five earth origins, and one fire origin. Hopefully our composition is good enough to deal with whatever we're going to face.
Frisena lowered the Steelbird to the area quite far from the cliff, and she didn't even land it. The Valkaria soldier at the far back of the passenger seat smacked the button to open the hatch, and the steel platform very slowly got lowered.
Once it was lowered, one by one the soldiers jumped down. We are still about five meters away from the ground, so it's quite the drop.
"Not afraid of heights, are you?" The holy knight asked me before jumping down, and I didn't even get any chance to say anything.
"Be careful!" From the pilot seat, Frisena shouted at me before I jumped down. "Lily will kill me if anything happens to you."
"You're the one who brought me here!!" I shouted at her because the engine sound outside was so loud, and Frisena only stared at the beautiful ceilings.
Without waiting any longer, I jumped down from the Steelbird. The wind force coming from the engine nearly pushed me to the side, but I was able to land successfully alongside the others. Once my feet had landed on the snowy ground, the hatch to the Steelbird gradually closed, and Frisena began flying the carriage away.
"Let's move. Everyone, on me." Behind me, the holy knight took command and started heading to the location, and everyone followed.
My eyes studied our surroundings, and we are now in the woods. The ground and trees are covered by snow, probably because there was a heavy snowstorm around this area last night. The snow was still around, so the air was quite cold.
Thankfully, Frisena suggested that I wear a thick jacket inside of my battle armor that Fiordall got for me. That way, not only will my muscles look bigger, I am also protected from the cold.
I'm the shiniest man on the squad because of the fancy armor the king of Fiordall gave me. This is the exact same armor design as the one Reju wore to the academy entrance exam, and I'm glad this armor finally has a use.
"Admiral, this is A-1. Approaching the army site now." Sir Kayden lifted his left hand and spoke to the glowing watch on his arm, and a voice replied from the watch.
"Received. All units will be waiting for news from you, A-1." Frisena's voice came from the device, and the old knight lowered his hand to focus more on our surroundings.
Seeing how serious everyone is being, it looks like I'm the only one not knowing how things work around here. My body feels stiff, and I was wondering if I might be able to do well once the battle started. I must've been too obvious with what I'm thinking, because the earth knight next to me giggled.
"Don't worry too much, Prince Nathan! I'm sure you'll crush anyone if we are fighting." The earth knight soldier said to me, and I just laughed while scratching my head.
"Thanks, Ezra. It's my first time, so I'm just overthinking things."
"Everyone has their first time, Nathan! It's okay to be nervous. Even veterans like me still get nervous." The earth knight on my left chimed in, and I turned to him with a smile. Meanwhile, the other earth soldiers don't look happy hearing that.
"You're just a horrible example, Darryl! You're nervous all the time that you made so many mistakes!" The earth knight behind us smacked the shoulder of the knight on my left, Darryl. Being smacked like that, Darryl obviously can't accept it.
"Yeah? You wanna talk about mistakes, Johnny?? What about overheating the carriage engine because you forgot to close the lid, huh!?" Darryl angrily said to Johnny, the knight behind me. And whilst the two are quarreling, the knight in front of me lets out a sigh.
"You guys… can you guys shut up? We are at war here." The youngest looking of the earth knights said, and everyone doesn't seem to accept him.
"You are the worst out of everyone, Klaus! You burned all our supplies last week!" The earth knight on my right, Ezra, said angrily to Klaus.
"That was not intentional!"
"You think anything these idiots do is intentional!?" And now, Klaus and Ezra are arguing…
"You guys are idiots, shut the hell up!" The old holy knight shouted at everyone, and the four knights quickly stopped arguing.
"Also, yeah! What the hell were you thinking when you burned the tent!? Our knights and Valkarian soldiers were so hungry because of you!"
Sir Kayden then pointed his finger at the confused Valkaria soldiers far behind us, and those two didn't understand why they got roped into the conversation. Meanwhile, the poor knight only looked so panicking. "Sir Kayden… It's because someone forgot to turn off the torches at noon!!"
And now, the holy knight has joined the argument. Seeing them all acting like this made me feel so much more relieved. It helped me forget about the intensity, and these guys are making me feel like this.
"Thanks… all of you! I feel less nervous now." I said to the five of them, and Sir Kayden only laughed.
"We all had our first times, Nathan. Let's just pray your first time wasn't anything too bad!" The holy knight said while laughing, and I just smiled softly at him.
Of course… the situation was in fact the worst.
The unimaginable. The unthinkable.
My first time... ended up in a blood bath.
"I'M SORRY!!! I'M VERY SORRY!!!!" I yelled while swinging my blazing obsidian sword forward.
SHRESHH!!!!
My sword has swung, and yet another innocent in front of me has fallen. Behind him, more and more knights from the dark republic are rushing towards me, all wearing the same expression.
Anger, sadness, and regret. Every single one of them cried the last tears of their life as they rushed ahead, and I lost my confidence after locking my eyes with them.
VROOOMMMM!!!!!!!!
From the left, a powerful landslide caught the three knights rushing at me, and I turned my teary confused eyes to the source. Standing not far from me is Sir Kayden, and he was pointing his right hand that is holding a massive sword at me.
"Focus, Nathan!!!" He shouted, and I was immediately taken away from the shock. "Aim for the lunatic leader!!!"
Sir Kayden pointed his sword at the area far in front of us, and I turned my blank stare to the knight in golden armor at a far distance. Seeing that he is being stared at, the golden knight from the dark republic only chuckles.
"Oh, my. I'm being targeted." The golden knight muttered while still sitting down on top of the giant rock, watching the slaughter that happened almost instantly.