"You damned coward of a king." Lissius spits with as much disgust as he can muster. "So you prefer to send me your lapdogs instead of facing me directly? And here I thought that the long line of Lumieri Kings since the days of the Old Kingdom were reknowned for being honorable warriors."
Leo just shrugs off the comment as the smirk from the beginning is still plastered on his face. "Oh I'm afraid I'm not an honorable person my friend. But for you, I'm honorable enough to let you fight against my best general." Leo gestures to Frederick who's already in position, legs locked into the ground ready for battle without the usual smile on his face. What replaced it was a blank look that bore no emotion. Even Leo is slightly taken aback by the sheer murderous intent being given off by Frederick and makes a mental note to never involve his family in any personal arguments.
Lissius however is excited. The mere thought of facing the very man who's said to be the strongest in Lumiere. But for him, Frederick merely gained that reputation because he's never faced him before. For him, Frederick was blessed with weak enemies and not someone of his caliber.
He then notices that the remaining bandit army has already gathered and is facing the newly gathered Lumieri soldiers and Harkon Guards in a standoff. Both are roughly equal in number but Lissius knows that the Lumieri have better troops after seeing the massacre that happened at what once was the barracks of the bandit army. He immediately gestures one of the bandit captains to him and whispers, "As soon as the duel commences, charge at the lines being covered by the Harkon Guards specifically. They're weaker and would more likely break and allow you to encircle the Lumieri."
The captain nods and returns to his post. Lissius then takes up a battle stance and charges at Frederick at full speed but to his surprise, instead of preparing for the strike, Frederick in turn charges towards him as well. Screams fill the air as the two warhammers collide. The sound of metal clashing metal in that one exchange was enough to make anyone cover their ears. One warhammer immediately breaks on impact and the shrapnel flies towards the bandit line injuring some and killing the unlucky as some of the shards penetrate through the eye or forehead with great impact. Bones crack and flesh is pierced as cries of agony from the hapless victims spread as they are immediately dragged away whilst the dead are left to be stepped on by their replacements.
Lissius at first was smiling but it then twists to that of agony and screams in pain as the force of Frederick's strike not only destroyed his warhammer, but also broke his right hand. The hand twisted in such a way that a bone is showing just at the end of the wrist. He drops the remnants of his hammer to the ground and kneels, holding the broken hand as if it would suddenly heal. But it was not the case. It's already broken and it'll take a long time to heal if it'll heal at all.
The bandit army meanwhile, grows nervous at the development. No one has ever beaten Lissius in a duel and yet the man before them just defeated him in one strike. They start to lose nerve and it's soon broken when a wave of sharpened wood with iron tips hits their lines.
Leo immediately took this opportunity and began firing at the shaken bandits. "Archers fire!"
The Lumieri archers near the front immediately reveal themselves and lose a volley as a rain of metal and wood pierces any opening in their armor. Blood slowly starts seeping out of their wounds while others struggle with the pain as some arrows pierced their vital organs and removing them would mean certain death.
They try to raise their shields to form a shield wall but they were too scattered to gather immediately.
This action immediately shatters what remaining morale the bandits had. But the Lumieri weren't finished, another line of archers appear from behind the first line and another wave of wood and iron tips flies which adds more dead to the ranks. As soon as the second line fired, they immediately ducked down just like the first line and another line emerges and fires a third volley. The fire rate of the three volleys was so quick that it seemed that the arrows were continuously pouring down on them. The bandits break and scatter as the Lumieri repeat their actions over and over as arrow-filled bodies start littering the area.
Lissius has little time to look at the spectacle however as Frederick stands before him. He looks up and see that Frederick has already walked away and is heading to Leo who's headed to the front of the line and that the archers have stopped firing and the Harkon Guards have begun their charge as they rout the bandit army while the Lumieri stay in position.
"Excellent work General. He never stood a chance from the beginning" Leo states in adulation as Frederick responds with a smile.
"Thank you sire, but perhaps next time please don't rile me up in a battle. I like to relish a fight, not end it abruptly."
Leo chuckles at the response and nods. "Sure thing General. And don't worry, once this campaign is over, I'll specifically mention to your wife how you've defended her honor with great effort and devotion."
Frederick barks in laughter at this and clasps Leo on the shoulders. "That...is something I'm looking forward to."
Leo then dismisses Frederick and walks to the still kneeling Lissius with a couple of guards in tow. He kneels down and stares at Lissius straight in the eye. "You already lost this fight before it even began. Do you honestly think I was going to lose to someone like you?" Leo chuckles soon afterwards and begins to walk away.
Lissius stares at the retreating king and grits his teeth in anger. He couldn't believe that he got outsmarted by someone so young that he could be his son. And the fact that Leo was so cocky in his victory further infuriated him. He then remembered that there was a hidden dagger within his shoe and immediately took it out and charged at Leo. The guards that accompanied Leo saw this and immediately attacked but one was sent flying his body giving a loud crack as he smashed the wall and the other was stabbed so hard in the chest that the armor just shatters with bits of his heart leaking out from the back as the dagger drives in deep.
The rest of the Lumieri were quickly running towards their king but they couldn't make it in time. Lissius was already within arm's length of Leo and when he was about to stab him, a flash of light, metal, and blood clouded his vision and when it returned, he saw Leo still unharmed and now wielding a sword. He was surprised that he can no longer feel the dagger in his left hand and soon stared in horror as his left hand was no longer there.
Lissius screamed again at the pain and the virtual loss of one hand and literal loss of the other. The missing hand flying in front of the stunned Lumieri soldiers as it starts twitching and blood started oozing out of the separated arm. The sight mixed with the man's agonizing screams were enough to make the scene seem like nothing but torture.
Leo then once again kneeled before him and with a cold voice, whispered in his ear, "Did you honestly think you were gonna kill me the same way they killed my brother?"
"What-"
These were the only words that left Lissius' mouth as another flash of metal clouds his sight and this was the last thing he sees.
Leo chopped of his head with one precise strike. The head flew in front of the Lumieri soldiers next to the severed hand and rolled a bloody trail until it stopped at the foot of a soldier. The rest of the army who've stop dead in their tracks, look at their king who has a blank expression. "Well seeing as it's finally done, why don't we round up the opposition elders quickly yes?"
The Lumieri give nothing but a nod, still in a state of awe at how precise the cut was. They knew Leo was good in precision attacks but they never expected his precised strikes and parries would become so lethal in four years. It was as if he was preparing for a fight. And they knew who it was for they also felt the shame and sadness of the event four years ago. But despite their young king's desire to avenge his brother with his own hands, his army was planning on killing that man before Leo can even fight him. Losing his brother was already unforgivable, but losing him as well would be damnable.
...
Gowley just looks at the entire scene hopelessly. His army completely slaughtered, the man that's supposed to drive the Lumieri out got killed so quickly, and his execution almost a certainty. The weight of the loss was so damaging that he collapses to the ground and covers his face that has no other emotion than despair.
His grieving didn't take long however as a group of Lumieri soldiers approach him and drag him by his shoulders to the park where the rest of the opposition are gathered. As he's shoved in, he looks around and sees the rest of the influential people in Harkon who were opposed to the reunification with Lumiere. They all display fear and nervousness and within reason. Each and every one of their soldiers in the private army were killed to the last man. And knowing of Leo's ruthlessness to his enemies, they have a distinct feeling that they'll be subject to mass execution. And according to law, treason would also cover three generations of ones family where the family members would be executed first as the offenders watch and wait until it was their turn. Nervous murmurs fill the park as some look around hoping to see any path to escape but the Lumieri and Harkon Guards have them completely surrounded with their spears pointing towards them as if in the form of a spiked barricade. They were just daring them to escape and go through the rows of shields and spears around them.
Their nervous murmurs are soon silenced as Leo appears before them with Frederick and the governor beside him. He looks at them with the same smirk he had when he was facing Lissius and this further adds to their fear.
Leo steps in front and clears his throat as he begins to speak, "I think all of you know why you've been gathered here?"
Silence greets the question as the gathered opposition tremble at his words. Seeing this, Leo let out a low chuckle and continued. "You're all involved in criminal activities such as stealing, corruption, showing disloyalty and worst, open rebellion. You also sheltered the bandits that terrorized this region and even let a man who's killed countless husbands and sons and raped their wives and daughters to live imprisoned instead of executing him in the most gruesome way possible. By all accounts, it's already a confirmed death sentence for each and every one of you. There will be no trial, for you, as I am the jury, judge, and executioner."
A few sobs are heard from the gathered men as the crowd looks at the display. Fear was amongst those being sentenced whilst the opposite was with the crowd as it was full of jubilation. With most having satisfied faces as the people that were making their lives miserable and were the reasons for losing some of their families were finally facing justice. But what some people were concerned about were their families as the Lumieri law states that in an event of a rebellion, three generations of that offender will also be executed alongside him. Several of them were innocent in everything that transpired and some were even loyal to Lumiere and tried convincing them to no avail. So involving those family members was making the people uncomfortable as it's never a good feeling to kill someone who's done no wrong. But what Leo says next surprises them.
"For your families, only those involved will receive appropriate punishments while the rest will be left alone. The law that involved three generations has already been lifted. Three fourths of your wealth will be confiscated and be returned to the people of Harkon while the remaining family members will be dispersed throughout Lumiere and may begin new lives. And I'll say this to those family members. Make use of your second chance to improve yourselves and work for the betterment of Lumiere. Because if you rebel again, the three generations law will be given under MY authority. And trust me, I will know who will be planning it again, I assure you." As he says this, Leo looks beyond the crowd and at a person hidden in the shadows of an alley. He gives a nod at the figure and the figure bows before disappearing into the shadows.
The people are at awe at the declaration. The three generations rule has been abolished unless used by the king himself. What's more is the way he said everything is like a firm warning that anyone who crosses him or at least plans to won't even have a chance to set it in motion. But what's most surprising is how he's giving a second chance to the families of the opposition and even providing them one fourth of their previous wealth. Essentially Leo was inviting them to join him without any discrimination of this event and if any try to oppose or take revenge, he'll immediately wipe them out to the last man before they get a chance to set it in motion.
The affair concludes in the evening with the opposition being brought to the chopping block one at a time after their innocent family members were escorted out of the city so that they'll be spared from watching the ordeal. But the rest of the citizens however are in high spirits as they cheer at every execution with the Governor of Harkon announcing each name to be executed. All their hardships are now being paid in blood and for them, it's more than enough. As another opposition elder's head rolls, the cheering keeps getting louder.
As this goes on, Leo and several of his guards are up on the city walls as he gives a sigh while he looks on at the event.
"I'm honestly surprised my liege, I didn't know the three generations law was abolished." Captain Diggs states as he climbs up the stairs and joins his king and leans on the ramparts.
"Honestly, it wasn't abolished. At least before I stated it that is." Leo stated as he rests on the ramparts and looks at the captain with a smile.
"Don't like it too bloody then?"
"Hmm...I personally think that only punishing the offender and not his relatives is more appropriate and...just." Leo replies as he gives another sigh.
"Nasty business ordering executions eh? Apart from the battlefield where the enemy fights back, executions are killing the enemy when they no longer fight." Diggs states as he looks away from the city center and instead, looks beyond the walls and into the direction beyond the current borders of Lumiere at the direction of a certain city. "But this might not be the last time my liege. There's still at least one real threat to the unification that might need an iron fist."
Leo nods, a hint of sadness on his face but is covered quickly by the smile. "I know, I already sent diplomats there in the hopes that they'll agree to reunite with us. Or at least give their terms."
Diggs straightens himself and bows in front of Leo. "Then I wish you luck on your endeavor my liege. And may the banner of Lumiere flutter throughout the continent with pride once again." As he awaits to be dismissed, he's surprised to see Leo offering his hand for a handshake.
"And I thank you for your loyalty Captain." Leo replies as he still has his hand offered.
Diggs looks at the guards behind Leo and they nod. He shakes Leo's hand and looks at the king with admiration. Never has he encountered royalty and the fact that meeting his king is already a once in a lifetime opportunity, but the fact that the king he serves has this kind of personality pleasantly surprised him as well as made his loyalty to him grow. "I-It's a pleasure my liege."
Not long after, Diggs leaves when his family arrives to pick him up and he departs while carrying his daughter on his shoulders and his wife locking his other arm affectionately.
Leo looks at the scene with a smile and heads down the wall as they prepare to head back to their encampment. As he does so, a faint blue light shines from his sword as it shows him a vision of a happy family but the faces are obscured making their identities unknown. The father is carrying his son on his shoulders as they laugh while the mother is sitting on a field and reading a book to their daughter. The vision ends with the father and mother sitting together leaning against each other as they watch the sunset with their children.
"Hmm...a happy family eh?" Leo says to himself as he looks up at the night sky with a reminiscent smile. Why the sword acts the way it does he still doesn't know, but seeing such a happy vision is a welcome one for him.
...
After two days in Harkon,Leo and most of his army returns to his camp with a portion left behind to serve as a garrison. At the entrance his group is greeted by five men who were sent with Robert to negotiate with Vellia.
They look at Leo as sweat continuously pours from their faces and Leo immediately knows something's wrong.
"What's gotten you so scared men? What happened?"
"W-Well sire..." Their leader starts. "It's about the diplomats General Robert sent to Vellia. He reports that they're dead."