Unknown Ruler

Chapter 11

Warning: violence, blood, etc. 


Yubin ran towards the middle, meeting with some of the warriors in the field. Yoohyeon and Minji were already long gone, probably crawling inside the castle towers. Siyeon didn't shapeshift and fought in combat first. Bora was right beside her, along with Handong and the others. Yubin wanted to be beside Handong, to protect her, but she can't let her focus waver right now.

Yoohyeon and Minji, along with Gahyeon, followed according to plan. They sneaked in the castle towers and knocked down the archers there so there won't be any arrows firing at their friends. Yoohyeon used her leg to trip the guard while Minji used a cloth with some kind of sleeping potion so when the guard smells it, they'll faint.

"Close your eyes, Gahyeonnie." The little girl complied as Yoohyeon and Minji did the same thing all over again until all the guards at the tower were wiped out. Yoohyeon got in place first while Minji made sure that Gahyeon won't get hurt with any sudden attacks or flying arrows.

Bora used her small height and daggers to fight low. Most of the Scar's warriors were men. Yes, they had strength, but most of them didn't have the speed which Bora has. She ducked low and kicked the warrior on the shin, making him kneel and fall down. She stabbed him once on the back before kicking him again. She threw her dagger towards another warrior while the other was already cutting its way through another warrior's body.

Handong used her sword and ice daggers to fight as many warriors as she could. A lot of them were shocked that this was the ice princess that no one knew about. Her mother was fighting diligently by her side, also using her powers at full blast. Handong could see through her mother's eyes her anger and resentment towards these people.

Handong was attacked from behind, tackling her on the ground with a small knife stabbed on her shoulder. "Handong!" Yubin shouted, but she couldn't get close. There were too many warriors surrounding her.

The warrior tackling her spoke, "I'm gonna be named as the greatest warrior who killed the ice princess. You're pretty, but too bad I'm loyal unlike our prince Dami." He was shot on his shoulder by Yoohyeon above the tower. Yubin finished him off by slicing him across the chest and kicking him down.

"You, okay?" Yubin was panting and was more concerned about Handong's state. "You're bleeding." Yubin worriedly said. Handong looked behind Yubin. Just a minute ago, Yubin was fighting around four warriors alone. And now she's here.

"It doesn't hurt that much." Minji shot an arrow towards the soil ground with a small potion on it. Yubin remembered that Minji and Yoohyeon made these to treat wounds quickly. Yubin immediately removed it from the arrow and gave the potion to Handong.

"Look, I still have to finish some of these guys. Pour it and proceed to the plan. You have to infiltrate the inside and you're the one who needs to lead." Yubin caressed her cheek, "I'll see you later. Stay safe, love." and stood up and proceeded to fight the other warriors. Handong did as she was told, and she could immediately feel the effects of the potion. It hurt when she poured it but her shoulder doesn't hurt and her wound has closed completely.

There were still a lot more than Yubin anticipated. Of course, her father and brother must've prepared all these. It was time to use it.

Yubin held her sword tighter in her right hand, tapping it twice, making the crystal listen to her and make her sword into ice. All the other warrior's were surprised because this was their prince, their once warrior. And she could do all these. They all knew that Yubin was already strong and good so how better and stronger is she with the new form of her sword?

The female warrior fought again, this time with more Scar warriors failing to come near her. Yubin learned a technique while she was training the other day and maybe she could try and see if it was effective.

She pointed her sword towards the ground but not touching it, her right hand on the top of the sword and her left hand on the handle. She pushed her sword forcefully on the ground, releasing a whoosh of air and making the floor ice. Even Handong was surprised because she never thought about incorporating her powers into her weapons.

The Scar warriors slipped, some flew away. Since she's been training on ice ever since coming to Dawn, she had no problem with advancing in. "Siyeon! Handong! You have to go now!" With most of the warriors down, Handong's team, which consists of Bora, Siyeon, Handong's mom, and Handong, they have to go in.

"Yunho and I will go in after we see you!" Siyeon transformed and the three of them climbed on her back. Some warriors fell down in fear when they saw Siyeon's wolf form. Yunho and Yubin fought off more warriors, with Minji and Yoohyeon shooting some arrows at those coming close to Siyeon.

Yubin and her older brother finished the remaining warriors outside of the wall. Some of them are dead, some are unable to move due to being critically injured, and some just ran away because they got scared. Cowards. Yubin has always found the Scar warriors as scaredy-cats since they would willingly let their prince step forward for them. They would even coax her into going first in battles, kind of like a sacrifice, so they could see if they would die or not.

"Let's go, Yubin. Let's meet our father and brother." They both sneaked in the small space that they found when they were children so they could go outside of the kingdom without being in trouble.

Yoohyeon and Minji assisted Handong's group as Siyeon ran inside with them on the back. However, they didn't realize that one of the tower guards awakened. Gahyeon was in utter shock when she saw the guard running towards Minji.

"No!" Gahyeon ran towards the guard and held him by his leg. The guard kicked her on her stomach, which sent Gahyeon flying across the small room they were in, her back hitting the stone concrete of the tower.

"Gahyeon!" Yoohyeon was quick to shoot the guard on the head, not caring at how cruel she just was with her kill. Minji quickly tended to the little girl who was obviously in a lot of pain. Her back was bedding because of the hit on the wall.

"It's okay, Gahyeon. I'm gonna heal you, okay?" Minji said while almost tearing up. She wasn't her little sister but admittedly, she has grown fond of Gahyeon. Yoohyeon kept comforting the little girl, humming tunes under her breath to calm her down.

"It hurts, unnie."

"I know, I know. Hold on just a little bit, okay?" Minji quickly took out a potion and some bandages from her bag. "I'm pouring it in now, alright? It might hurt a little bit. Just scream or cry if you can't take it." As Minju poured it in, Gahyeon muffled her screams by biting her lips. Tears silently fell from her eyes as she rested her head on Yoohyeon's shoulder.

"Hey, Gahyeonnie. You can cry aloud. It's okay." Gahyeon lifted her head,

"But Bora unnie might hear me. I don't want her to get worried." Yoohyeon softened at the consideration of Bora's little sister. Even as young as now, she knew that they were in an important battle. Yoohyeon just hugged her tighter while Minji wrapped her shoulder with a bandage. She didn't use the same potion as the one Handong used as Gahyeon is still too young and it might backfire with her still weak body.

Yoohyeon stood up first and watched over her friends who were fighting through the crowd. The other Dawn warriors who were still alive guided the Scar people in a safe place. This war is between the king and them. They don't need to involve the people in it.

Handong and her group swiftly passed through the people and the warriors on the ground. They were scared of Siyeon so they naturally ran away. Siyeon made sure that she wouldn't trample on anyone innocent. Handong and her mother got off Siyeon and went inside the dungeon.

"Siyeon, Bora, stay here, okay? Make sure to guard the place." Siyeon howled while Bora nodded. The other warriors of Dawn were pretty much dealing with everything well. Bora's arm and face got bruised because of an attack earlier. Siyeon whined and nuzzled her nose towards the bruised area.

"I'm fine, Siyeonie. How about you?" Bora scratched below Siyeon's ear and stroked her hand throughout her body. Thankfully, Siyeon didn't have any bruises or cuts. Her fur was just disheveled and there was a lot of dirt on her body.

"Let's clean you up later, okay?" Someone attempted to throw their knife at Bora. Thankfully, she was able to dodge it so she wasn't harmed. However, it triggered the wolf more. Siyeon didn't hesitate to finish off the warrior that threw that, and welcomed him to his immediate doom. Anyone who harms Bora will go through her.

Yunho and Yubin soon reached the garden of the castle. What they didn't expect though, is for their older brother to be waiting for them. "Hello, my siblings!" Lee Jinho, their oldest brother, the only true son of the king, and the crown prince of Scar. Yubin and Yunho both brought out their swords.

"Hey, hey, don't get all hostile on me. We can talk."

"We already talked enough before. You won't listen and I know it." Yunho said through his gritted teeth. He was getting irritated because Jinho is treating all of this as a joke. "Yubin, go now. I'll fight him."

"But-" Yubin tried to protest.

"Go. We had a lot of unfinished battles and I would like to finish it today. Go!" Yubin immediately ran inside, leaving both her brothers in their duel. Yunho faced his brother again with a wide grin on his face. Junho raised his left eyebrow because the attitude being exuded by his younger brother was different.

"Bring out your best moves, Jinho. I was gone for 9 years. I'm sure our battle this time would be different." He raised his sword as an act of getting ready to attack. Jinho did the same, but this time, he was smiling too.

"Do you think I sat around during that 9 years, Yunho? Among all the battles that I had, yours was the most interesting one." Both of them attacked at the same time, dominance wavering as they were checking their strengths out. Yubin looked back. Her family. The people she grew up with and now they've torn apart.

Yubin entered the castle and saw her father sitting on the throne. Still all high and mighty. Her mind goes back to her goal, to take her father out of that throne, to end his cruel rulings among everyone. She cannot waver this time.

"My, my. Look who's here. My daughter, how have you been?" Yubin lowered her sword. Her father is probably playing tricks with her and well, she wants to play along.

"I've been great. But are you sure you should be calling me your daughter? From what I know, we're not blood-related at all." The king laughed, cruel and vicious, and it was honestly annoying Yubin.

"I took you in because I loved your mother. I considered you as my own children!"

"But you never treated us like that! We went to those deadly battles so you could proudly call us your children, we went through those draining and hard training for your satisfaction. And to think that we were so blind to realize that," Yubin clenched her hand, with her sword between it.

"That you never really loved us!" Yubin went forward with her sword pointing at her father. The king was quick to deflect Yubin's advances by bringing out his sword. Before he became the king, he was also trained for combat. So no doubt, this battle won't be easy.

Handong and her mother fought off all the warriors in the dungeon. Handong froze the floor of the area, making the warriors lose balance and slip, some even hit their heads on the walls. It was easier than she thought.

"Handong! They're here!" The ice princess immediately ran towards where her mother was. The children that they were finding, the children that Scar abducted, the children of heartbroken parents, and the children that they were fighting for, were here. Handong could recognize some of them. Their skins were all dirty and they looked thin.

"Call for the other warriors, Handong. Tell them to take them back to our kingdom." Handong did so, bringing back some warriors who were still in a good condition to travel. There were around 20 children who were kidnapped by the king and his kingdom.

"Bring back the children in Dawn now! Make sure that they are cleaned and to be fed once you are there. The castle is open for everyone." The head of the warriors nodded and guided the children out. Once both Handong and her mother were outside, Bora and Siyeon were still fighting some warriors.

Suddenly, an arrow passed through Handong's face, earning a mark on her cheek. It was bleeding but she didn't mind the bleeding. Handong looked up and saw that a warrior had gained consciousness. Yoohyeon and Minji weren't looking so she threw an ice dagger towards the man, making him trip back and fall to his impending doom.

"Are you okay?" Handong's mother checked her cheek. Handong assuringly placed her hand over her mother's and said,

"I'm fine, mother. It doesn't hurt." Handong's mother smiled before she let go of Handong.

"Go to Yubin. I know you want to know how she's doing. Bora, Siyeon, and I will handle things here." Handong gave a hug to her mother, a tight and quite long one.

"Stay safe, mother."

"You too. Now go! She must be waiting for you."