Author's note: commander Dillios' point of view.
The sun was rising on the snowy plains, and the air was cold and humid. Glancing at the camp, surrounded by the forest, I couldn't help but feel a bad omen.
Ever since I left home, I have had this strange feeling! This unsettling feeling continued to intensify as we approached the Kerey frontier. It was better for me to follow my gut and be more assertive. We had to take a detour around the northern peaks to get to the entrance when we crossed the Kerey frontier because it was impractical for an army to enter Hiemifallum from the south. I kept having the same nightmare during that period, as though the gods were trying to warn me.
I kept seeing the same foreboding scenes: Besieging Hiemifallum, then battling a formidable white army and barely managing to lower its numbers, followed by nighttime attacks by monsters I could not see in my dreams; they looked like weird, formless fog, and we were starving and under attack at night. Desperate, we launched a suicide attack with all of our troops, but "it" appeared—it was black! Horrifying feeling, never-ending hopelessness! An overseer of death! Then everything went dark, and my life ended.
Dillios is my name. I was a commoner's son who became a nobleman by sheer ability. They had no idea that I was endowed with a peculiar talent that allowed me to predict the future fairly accurately. Though my power had its limitations, it enabled me to seize numerous opportunities, and before I knew it, I had transformed into Dillios, "the nouveau riche," a gifted imperial knight who led the Bärenherz company, the 3rd imperial knight order, and was engaged to Erza Steinhardt, Duke Steinhardt's only daughter.
Because of my skill, I was always able to thwart the machinations of other nobles who loathed me for my upbringing and envied me for becoming a "nouveau riche." However, this time, no matter how many times I saw the vision, there was never a solution that came to me! The same outcome was reached! Again and again! "It" appears, and death follows.
I am unable to see its face or body; in fact, that is one of my limitations. I was unable to recognize the shape or form of characters in my visions who were far stronger than me, which is why I was unable to identify the black entity that killed me in my vision or see the white monsters in my visions!
Screw this invasion If things go south, I'm fleeing immediately! I can't afford to die; my wife is pregnant! I barely had the chance to spend time with her since we became husband and wife, but through our rare intimate time, I was blessed with a child to come! I will come back to my family alive, even if it means forsaking this goddamn simpleton of an Emperor!
Looking around, I saw many burned tents still smoking. The smell of blood permeated the air as the soldiers started moving the mutilated bodies in order to cremate them. There were more than 30 000 tents; now we lost more than 2000 of them, and all the men in them were savagely mutilated and killed.
Something is very worrisome about the recent events; I couldn't foresee them!
That is generally not a good sign, and I'm talking from experience.
Today I must convince the Emperor to retreat, or else all of the conscripted Milita and the elite knights will die a gruesome death!
I head towards the imperial tent for a strategic meeting. Along the road, there are many soldiers mourning their brothers in arms; some seemed very depressed already, while others had deep hatred towards the enemy.
When I got to the middle of the camp, the Emperor's tent—which is so large it could put a circus to shame—was here.
Knights in golden armor with fathers emblazoned on their helmets, which resemble eagles. They gleam as the sun reflects off of their golden plastrons, which are adorned with a rose that symbolizes the blossoming of elegance and life—the rose of the empire. Evidently, the imperial family's crest was different long ago. But Empress Julia, the spouse of the man who founded the empire's hallowed motherland, loved roses.
YOU ARE READING
the Arcane Lore Of Artoria's Legend
FantasyOnce there was a land of swords in the ruthless world of Malgrim, guarded by four ancient dragons, and there was a great continent named Vligauyan. In this continent, once there was peace, the races lived in harmony under the seven gods blessings: t...
