"T-This is not what I expected—"
Upon opening his eyes, Satyo found himself in a location completely different from the one where he was before: he stood on a road made of lucid stone, looking around he could see the small white houses that made up the little medieval village where he was.
"Whooooa, is this like in those Isekai Anime where the protagonist gets sent to another world? Then I can guess that this is a medieval fantasy world with magic and dragons... SOOO COOL! ...Except for the fact that I don't see any dragons- actually, I don't see anyone here, why is this place so empty?"
As he wandered around, admiring the beautiful green hills that surrounded the village, he questioned himself as to why there wasn't anyone on the streets and the place was so silent.
He didn't have to wait for long to get an answer: the loud rumble of a horn could be heard in the distance, and Satyo knew what was going to happen.
(Shit. This is the sound of a war horn, I have to get to a safe place IMMEDIATELY).
Meanwhile at the village gate:
"Soldiers, in formation!"
The soldiers protecting the village were ready to fight, waiting for the enemy behind the village gates; there were 50 soldiers split into a four-line formation, led by a knight fully clad in bright armor: he wore thick blue armor, a helmet of the same color, held a long sword and had a three-pointed star carved into the upper left part of his chest plate.
10 shieldsmen stood on the front line, holding their massive 2-meter-tall shields in front of them and linking them together to form an immovable wall of defense.
Behind them were 10 pikemen, wielding long pikes which they thrust through the gaps between the shields. Slightly farther back stood 20 swordsmen, armed with a powerful yet light longsword and ready to slaughter any enemy that made it past the wall of shields.
Even further back were 10 mages dressed in blue robes, their only weapons being their hands and knowledge of spells.
[EXTRA: The soldiers' formation]
| | | | | <-—10 Shieldsmen, Heavy Armor
| | | | | <-———10 Pikemen, Light Armor
|<—Captain (Among The Swordsmen)
| | | | | | | | | | <—20 Swordsmen, Light Armor
| | | | | <-----------—10 Mages Far Behind
[END OF EXTRA]
"Captain Harrock, how many enemy soldiers are we facing?" A soldier asked the Captain.
"Let me see; Perception."
- After pronouncing that word, a sudden wave of energy rippled through his mind. -
"We are against five-hundred enemy troops, but do not worry! With Captain Bright Harrock, one of the Three Great Captains of Gurendam on your side, you will know no defeat!" He shouted enthusiastically.
"Five-hundred?! They've never been so many! Shit, are we going to make it?" The soldier said in shock and despair, feelings that were also reciprocated by the other nearby warriors.
"Don't worry. Do you trust me, soldiers?"
"Yessir!"
"Then let them see what we're made of!"
"YESSIR!" The whole army replied with a loud cry.
They then heard a mechanical noise coming from the gate and immediately came back into formation.
"They're about to ram the gate, prepare for battle!" Shouted Harrock.
Then there was a moment of complete silence.
With each passing second, the fear in the soldiers' minds grew stronger and stronger, their sweating became more intense, their breathing louder and heavier; they were highly trained and skilled soldiers, but no normal amount of training could eliminate the natural human fear.
A few more seconds passed, then the ram was released.
It quickly gained speed, pushing the air away from its path, and then hit the gate with full power: as the first blow hit the wooden gate, a terrifying loud thump was heard, followed by the creaking noise of the wood slowly falling to pieces.
Then, after only a few seconds, came the second blow, hitting even harder than the first: the gate was visibly deformed, letting out an incessant, loud creaking noise; it was only a matter of seconds before it would collapse, leaving the way open for the enemy troops.
The soldiers stood still, masking the internal fear that was growing within them, and were preparing for the imminent irruption of the enemy troops; they knew that the gate would soon fall and leave the entrance open for the enemies to storm in.
After a few more hits the wooden giant was finally brought down, and enemy soldiers started swarming in. They all wore black armor and carried a variety of weapons, depending on their role in the battle.
Dozens of enemy knights tried to run over the first shield line, many having their horses speared by the pikemen: after having been injured by the sharp pikes, they quickly died or became uncontrollable and started to create chaos on the battlefield; the soldiers riding them fell violently on the ground and couldn't get back up because of the horses running over them.
Some knights tried to crash head-first into the shields hoping to break through, but the immovable wall of steel could not be easily demolished, and the attackers fell back on the ground, some drowning in the ocean of bodies and blood, some managing to get back up, only to get skewered by the deadly pikemen.
Shortly after, a loud explosion was heard: the enemy mages had cast gigantic fireballs at the village's walls, turning them into rubble and letting the enemy forces swarm the formation.
Attacked from the sides, the shields and pikemen were quickly overwhelmed, but the Captain and his swordsmen were ready to aid them.
"Let's go, soldiers!"
Harrock shouted, followed by the battle cry of all the warriors. They rushed forward to help on the frontline, as more than half the pikemen and shieldsmen had been killed, but not without taking many enemies to the grave with them.
The swordsmen were highly trained in hand-to-hand combat, and so they began to slaughter one enemy after another; splatters of blood covered their armor, wounds became their new skin, yet they continued to fight like furious beasts, often surrounded by enemies and holding out until their last breath.
The Captain had also joined the fray: his far superior speed and strength allowed him to effortlessly slash through any enemy that came his way, and he was easily able to take on several enemies at once.
Half a dozen enemy soldiers foolishly tried to surround and attack him: he stabbed one right through his armor before he could even react, then quickly drew his sword back and blocked an incoming attack to the side with such force that the attacker nearly fell to the ground;
he quickly attacked and decapitated the soldier while he was still recovering, then turned around and struck an enemy at his head with the hilt of his sword, severely staggering him, before slicing through another soldier who tried to attack him from behind.
The nearby enemies were either too busy fighting against the swordsmen or too scared to approach the Captain, who easily took care of many of their comrades.
The remaining fighters who had attacked him, however, managed to resist the fear and tried to hold their ground, though it was no use, as the Captain was too strong for any of them: he slashed forward, killing one soldier and grazing another who had barely managed to dodge the attack, his comrade's blood now splattered on his armor.
"Friedrick!" He yelled the victim's name, a weighty note of despair in his voice, before rushing at Harrock full of rage.
Seeing an enemy charging at him, Harrock attacked with great speed and power, but the soldier managed to react and hold his sword up.
As the two blades collided, Harrock expected to overpower him and easily win the clash, yet to his surprise, what followed was the shivering sound of metal colliding.
(He blocked my attack?) thought the Captain, impressed by his opponent's strength.
(I'll kill you. I'll fucking kill you!)
the soldier, blinded by fury, quickly followed up the block by attacking Harrock with a quick slash to the neck: he struck back, clashing swords with his opponent once again, this time trying to slide his sword along the enemy's to break through his guard.
The soldier was quick to react and stepped back avoiding the trap, before attacking the Captain himself with a blow to the chest.
Harrock tried to defend with a powerful block intending to stun his opponent - but his adversary's attack was only a feint, as the furious but cunning soldier quickly changed the angle of his attack, this time striking from below.
Experience spoke with actions, as Harrock was not caught off guard, quickly sidestepping and slashing at his opponent, who was unable to keep up this time and suffered a serious injury to his arm while trying to dodge the attack.
(Ugh! Fuck, my arm...) thought the soldier, his vision blurred from the pain and fatigue.
His mind, however, was overrun by the scene of his friend Friedrick dying before his eyes, so his rage reached its climax.
He held his sword in both hands, maintaining an iron grip and ignoring his injury, then screamed in rage and attacked Harrock relentlessly: the fury that fueled his attacks gave him immense power, enabling him to rival even the Captain.
Harrock blocked every attack with exceptional strength, but the blows didn't stop coming: there was not a single instant to try to counterattack as the powerful sword clashes continued, echoing across the battlefield.
(I have to end it. Chess Art, First Stage: The Pawn.)
A large white pawn-shaped symbol appeared on the front and back of Harrock's armor.
He then blocked an attack with extreme power, slightly staggering the unrelenting soldier, before slashing forward with incredible speed: the soldier tried to react, and attacked by lashing out an immediate blow to Harrock's thorax.
He was not fast enough.
He felt a strong, searing pain in his chest, then looked down and realized he was now covered in his own blood: the attack had completely torn through his armor, fatally injuring him.
(How... Friedrick... I wanted...)
Time slowed down in his mind: his life flashed right before his eyes as he slowly fell to the ground; he remembered his time in the Empire, his friendship with the already fallen soldier, the anxiety before the battle, the beginning of the siege and, finally, the death of his friend.
The sword slipped from his hands and fell right beside him, as he inhaled his last breath, accepting his inevitable fate.
The pawn-shaped symbol disappeared from Harrock's armor; he then looked down at his arm, a slight pain bothering him: there was a small cut and the armor was dented.
Surprisingly, the soldier's rage had reached even the Captain himself.
He looked around the battlefield to see how the other soldiers were faring, then saw a group of enemy soldiers holding their swords tightly and looking at him.
"He managed to hurt the captain! This is not an unwinnable battle, comrades!" Shouted charismatically one of them, spreading courage to his fellow warriors, and arrogantly convincing them to take on a much, much stronger opponent.
"For Nebas!" At first it was just one voice, but then the voices of many more soldiers joined in.
"For Nebas! For Nebas! For Nebas! For Nebas! For Nebas! For Nebas! For Nebas!"
They all shouted full of enthusiasm, then rushed towards the Captain and the nearby soldiers, their voices merging into one loud battle cry. The remaining swordsmen were immediately overwhelmed by their numbers, some of them managing to hold them off, others dying because of the unstoppable avalanche of enemies.
The now heavily crippled formation of pike and shieldsmen supported the swordsmen in the fight: the shieldsmen tried to form a wall once again, though this time it wasn't as strong as the last one, as one by one they were surrounded by enemies and began succumbing to their many injuries.
The mighty mountains had now fallen, being quickly followed by the deadly serpents, for their pikes were not effective at such close range: some of them had their weapons broken by the enemy, and were forced to fight with only half of their pike.
After their last effort to repel the invaders, the pikemen and shieldsmen had eventually fallen, but the battle was still far from being over, as now the mages of both factions began to make their moves: fireballs cast by the enemy began to fall from the sky like meteors, but the allied mages countered the spells with their own casts:
"Bael!"
They all shouted as they raised their arms to the sky, then water formed in their hands and was shot as projectiles at the fireballs; after the two elements collided, a beautiful explosion was formed in the sky, but no one had the time to admire it with the raging battle.
(Shit. I have to help them. Chess Art, First Stage: The Pawn.)
The pawn-shaped symbol appeared once again, granting Harrock immense speed and power: he slashed through one soldier after another, helping an allied swordsman who was about to be overwhelmed, killing five enemies in a matter of seconds.
Their morale was unbreakable, though, as they continued to attack: Harrock wasn't able to support every soldier, and many started perishing, allowing the enemies to surround him.
"FOR NEBAS!"
The battle cry grew louder, as dozens of soldiers attacked the Captain from all sides: he blocked three attacks at once with pristine technique, then slashed at two soldiers, killing them instantly, before turning again and stabbing another.
He tried to defend himself from all sides with superb movements: he precisely chained blocks and counterattacks, creating the right balance between defense and offense, his moves flowing perfectly together.
But it still wasn't enough, as the enemies were too many to handle, and Harrock began to suffer injuries: his armor withstood many blows, but some were too powerful to be deflected, causing numerous cuts and bruises all over his body; he was also starting to get tired, for the enemies were seemingly endless, and his fighting ability began to diminish.
"Now's the time soldiers! Kill the Captain!"
Shouted a soldier, his sword in his hands, determinedly leading the charge as he and all the other enemies rushed Harrock.
"Stop! You're all gonna die if you rush at him!"
Yelled another soldier from behind, but no one heard or cared about his words, as his voice was drowned out by all the others.
Harrock was now tired, injured, and had enemy soldiers coming at him from all sides: he had to do something immediately.
He took a deep breath in the little time that he had, then held his sword in front of him while standing completely still, and calmly said:
"En Passant."
...
...
...
All the soldiers stopped moving.
A few seconds passed, then they all fell dead to the ground.
"I told... you."
Said the lone soldier with a tone full of despair, then fell to his knees and dropped his sword while looking at the majestic Captain now standing in front of the pile of bodies.
Harrock was now alone in the middle of the battlefield, behind him only blood and corpses.
The previously chaotic frontline was now almost empty: a few swordsmen were still alive, as well as a dozen enemies all scattered around the area; a couple of mages from each side remained, but every single soldier was exhausted and could not manage to continue fighting.
Moments of complete silence followed, then Harrock pointed his sword towards the few remaining enemy soldiers and shouted:
"The battle is over. Drop your weapons and leave the village, else you will be killed."
The enemies, realizing they had no chance of winning, began to drop their weapons on the ground, when a strange soldier made his appearance on the battlefield: he was a young man with blonde hair and a beard of the same color, he had brown eyes and was dressed in black armor.
He slowly walked towards the middle of the battlefield while holding a saber in his right hand, then stopped and looked at Harrock.
"Well done, Captain Bright Harrock of Gurendam, I see you were able to defend the village."
"Thank you kindly, Commander Eides Lupor of Nebas."
"You know him, Captain?" Asked a nearby soldier.
"I've heard of him, he's one of the 10 Death Commanders of the Nebas Empire, you don't stand a chance against him."
Harrock then looked at Eides and said:
"But why did you let your soldiers die, Commander?"
"Let's say I wanted to fight in a... less chaotic environment" Eides replied, before immediately lunging at the Captain.
His speed was impressive: Harrock immediately found himself clashing swords with him, barely having time to react.
Eides retreated, then attacked again: this time, he struck at Harrock's back, who barely managed to defend himself by blocking with his sword. Many more strikes followed, all being blocked by the Captain's blade: the loud metallic sound produced by the two swords clashing was the only thing that could be heard.
(We can't continue like this forever... I'll have to use my Bishop Form if it goes on.) thought Harrock, his speed barely enough to defend himself from the constant attacks.
The clashes continued, and more blows and blocks followed: the Captain grew more and more tired with each attack he parried, while Eides seemed to keep attacking effortlessly, not allowing his opponent to strike back.
Then came a moment of quiet.
They were standing in front of each other, Harrock preparing for the next series of attacks, when Eides spoke:
"Exceptional defense, as expected from one of the three Great Captains of Gurendam. Unfortunately, though, I don't have much time to play, so I'll have to get serious now."
- After that rather mocking conclusion to his sentence, he spoke again. -
"Wind Style: First Stage of Release."
He brought his sword in front of his face and said those words: after a moment, a big windstorm came, blowing across the battlefield and obscuring everyone's view.
Harrock was waiting for the enemy to attack when he felt a slight burning pain in his side.
The Commander was so fast Harrock didn't even have time to react, as he realized he had been cut, even though his armor was still intact.
(I couldn't even see him, he is way too fast for my pawn form. I'll have to change form if I want to fight him.) He thought.
"Chess Art, Second Stage: The Bishop."
The previously pawn-shaped symbol on his armor changed to that of a bishop, paired with the appearance of several thin, decorative lines, giving him a more elegant look.
What really mattered, however, was the enormous amount of power and speed that he had gained, although it would come at a price: he could now only move safely on diagonal lines, trying to do differently would result in his body getting severely damaged.
Eides attacked again, but this time Harrock managed to see him coming and blocked his attack. The Commander's appearance had changed too: his hair became white as well as his armor, and his sword had a slight wind current constantly circling around it.
(He blocked my attack, impressive) thought Eides after failing to injure Harrock.
This time, the Captain made the first move by coming up on his opponent's side and almost managed to land a hit on him, but the blade was blocked by Eides': a horrible screeching noise was produced after the two swords collided, then Harrock immediately backed up and prepared to attack again.
He struck multiple times with swift diagonal movements, always attacking from a different angle; his attacks were blocked, except for a single one that managed to barely scratch the Commander's armor.
The Captain quickly moved behind him, then managed to land a kick on his back which pushed him away.
Eides was very surprised to see his opponent beating him in speed, but had only been lightly damaged by the attack, so he immediately recovered and counterattacked Harrock with an extremely fast combination of attacks, though the latter responded with an equally rapid series of blocks.
While the battle was taking place, the remaining soldiers stayed back and watched the fight in silence: no one said a word, they simply observed the two warriors duel in the middle of the wind storm.
The duelists, both still full of energies, kept fighting incessantly: Eides chained a swift combination of blows, circling Harrock like an elegant wind stream, mixing up attacks and feints.
The Captain tried to block, but this time he wasn't able to react to all of his adversary's attacks and suffered numerous cuts, all slicing right through the armor.
Unwilling to grant Eides an advantage, Harrock quickly backed up and attacked with an immediate slash: the Commander was not able to fully block the attack and got slightly injured to his chest; it wasn't much, but surely better than nothing.
Both combatants were undeterred by their minor injuries, as they continued to fight tirelessly: the battle was completely even, with no advantage to be had for either of them.
Eides' swift combinations were not strong or quick enough to break through Harrock's iron guard, nor could the latter's tricky counterattacks pierce the elusive wind warrior's defense.
Suddenly, Eides backed up and hid in the storm. The Captain patiently waited for his move, but he wasn't coming to attack him.
(He's not coming, it probably means that he's thinking about a strategy or—wait, what does this mean?)
Harrock's thoughts were interrupted by a strange feeling, he felt a... change in his opponent, and immediately used his Perception to try and understand what happened.
"Improved Perception."
(What?!)
He thought after using his ability: with his very precise sensing, he had discovered that Eides was preparing to use an extremely powerful technique.
(How can he be--shit! I have to stop him immediately, else...)
The Captain got into position to use his own technique: he placed his right foot ahead and bent his knees a little, then held his sword with both hands facing slightly right and prepared to attack.
He sprinted in a diagonal line with extreme speed, dashing toward where he had perceived Eides' presence, but the latter was nowhere to be found.
(Huh? Where is he? I'm sure I sensed him here...)
"!"
Harrock turned around immediately, having felt another presence coming from behind him, but he was too slow.
"Ugh!" he groaned in pain, having been deeply cut in the abdomen by his tricky enemy.
"I see you're quite perceptive, Captain." Said Eides.
"I see you're quite elusive, Commander." Answered Harrock, before attacking with an immediate slash to the Commander's thorax.
The latter blocked the blow, then counterattacked with an upward slash, though it was avoided by Harrock with a swift dodge to the right- just like that, they were back to exchanging blows, only now the captain was badly injured, so the odds were in Eides' favor.
(You'll lose if we continue with the exhaustion game, Captain. Let me see what tricks you have up your sleeve.) thought the Commander, pressing Harrock with stronger, incessant attacks.
After blocking many more blows, the Captain finally made his move: he violently dashed backward into the wind storm, granting himself a few moments to prepare his attack.
He timed the execution of his technique perfectly to Eides' arrival: as he got into position to strike, his target emerged out of the wind storm, rushing at him.
(I have to do this now... Check!)
...
Barely managing to sense the danger of Harrock's strike, Eides immediately moved away from his attack line.
The sight of a shining sword flashed before his eyes, as he dodged the blade at the very last moment.
(Whew, that was a close one. Keep it up, Captain.)
"You almost got me there, Captain. Well done." Said the Commander after avoiding Harrock's attack.
"Don't worry, next time I will." The Captain replied.
"If there ever will be a next time..." Eides said quietly, before raising his sword over his head.
"Wind Spirits, aid me."
He said, before slashing forward with his sword.
His sword unleashed many strong gusts of wind in all directions, which immediately began moving toward him, rapidly gaining pace; they were so thick that they seemed solid, as if they could be cut, stabbed, and perhaps even killed.
Harrock dodged back, chaining into a powerful slash towards the rightmost wind: his sword sliced right through it, without doing any damage.
(Shit, I knew it. They can't be hurt.)
The Captain then looked behind him: the currents had immediately changed direction and were chasing him.
(Crap, they're-)
"!"
As he thought, he suddenly realized that he had been focusing too much on the currents chasing him, forgetting about his real opponent.
He turned back and raised his sword to block an incoming stab by the Commander, just in time.
"Don't forget about me, Captain!"
Eides yelled as he kept attacking Harrock, pushing him towards the incoming wind gusts.
(They're quite slow, I can make it.)
The Captain - ignoring the chaotic circumstances - thought, while being pinched between Eides and the currents.
He blocked a strike from his opponent with all his strength, disrupting the attack chain for a moment, then immediately dashed diagonally to the right, trying to avoid the wind, to get into a better position.
The currents seemed slow to him, so he simply ignored them and went ahead to attack his target.
(Bad move, Captain) thought Eides with a slight grin.
(Too slo-)
"AGH!"
Just as Harrock was about to strike at the Commander, an extremely strong wind blew him away; without giving him time to think, Eides leapt forward and pounced on him.
Unfortunately for the Captain, his opponent had obtained a perfect opportunity, which he seized to the fullest, pouring every bit of his strength into it.
...
Debris from the sword's impact with the ground went flying, creating a thick fog that made it temporarily impossible to see.
The massive release of energy pushed them in opposite directions, and just like that, the two combatants separated once again.
...
Eides was uninjured and ready to continue fighting.
Harrock could barely stand, having been deeply cut across his chest and abdomen: his vision was severely blurred, blood oozed out of his injury, and his lungs began giving up on him, cursing him with an extreme shortness of breath.
His armor now depicted the symbol of a Chess Knight, instead of the previous Bishop, and the already intricate patterns on his armor gained color, rendering it unnecessarily beautiful.
The only problem was that Mother Nature had become the leading painter, adding her excessive shades of blood and suffering.
"You managed to avoid being fully hit by my attack by changing form and immediately retreating while I was striking... Impressive, Captain."
"You managed to lure me into thinking that the currents could not go any faster... quite the strategist, I see."
(You're in bad shape... it's enough, you don't have to carry on) thought Eides.
"Captain, as you can probably see, you are in a completely losing position: you're gravely injured and can barely stand, while I can still keep fighting without any issues."
"So wha-"
"Surrender. Surrender now and neither you nor this village will be harmed."
(Please... just surrender... I don't want to do this.) Eides thought.
...
A few seconds of complete silence passed.
...
"I... I will never surrender! My only duty is to defend this village with my life, and that's what I'll do!" Harrock shouted, but concealed his true motives.
(Besides, I have an extremely important promise to keep... sorry, Commander, though I respect you for having mercy)
Another moment of silence.
"Then so be it." Eides said, hiding his displeasure.
(Such loyalty... heh, you're a real hero, Captain. I admire you.)
Just a couple of moments later, the Commander lunged at Harrock and began to attack him repeatedly, while he blocked and dodged the attacks, regardless of his injuries.
Having changed into the Knight form, the Captain gained the ability to move extremely fast, though his agility was now severely limited: every movement of his legs required him to follow a strict pattern, resembling the movement of a Chess Knight.
"So you can still fight, as I expec-"
Eides was interrupted by his opponent, who moved besides him with speed highly surpassing his.
Harrock immediately attacked him from the side, slashing at his chest.
The Commander managed to block the attack at the last moment, but his guard was weak and he still got a serious cut on his left shoulder; he then tried to back up but was attacked again from his right side:
"Shield!"
He shouted, the slight wind current around his sword moved away and formed a thin wind shield, then the strike hit:
it effortlessly shredded the wind shield and managed to deeply cut Eides' belly; he then quickly backed away to create distance, while Harrock stopped attacking due to his wounds.
(Now's my chance).
Unwilling to lose even a single opportunity, the Captain tried to ignore his injuries, focusing only on the strategic side of things; as much as his willpower allowed him to suppress his natural instincts, they were inevitably surfacing, as his panting became heavier and pain agonizingly stronger.
He quickly gathered his strength and positioned himself to use a technique: he bent his left knee forward while holding his sword facing backwards, leaning it onto his right hip, with the tip pointing upwards.
He then leapt forward with impressive speed, stopping at a short distance from Eides.
Before his opponent could even react to him, he slashed forward through the air and then thrust his sword into the ground.
"Fork!"
The ground between Harrock and Eides shook violently, sending rocks and dirt flying into the air.
The Commander tried to get away, but was unable to move at all.
He couldn't move his body anymore, he felt as if something was holding back him from controlling his movements; he didn't see any chains but felt as if he was wrapped in them, unable to do anything.
(I can't move, what is this?)
He thought while trying to free himself from the imaginary chains, but with no success.
(I can't attack him without moving freely... fuck, this is gonna hurt.)
Harrock's Fork could only hold his opponent in place if he kept his sword in the ground and his hands on the hilt, channeling in the energy to restrain Eides; as soon as he tried to attack him, the ability would be broken and the Commander would be able to move freely again.
In order to attack him, he would have to ignore the limitations of his movement, for he would not have enough time if he followed the movement pattern; the Fork could only be held for an instant after the user moved away, so reaching Eides with the Knight's movement in time was not possible: he had to break the rules, but this would mean a high price to pay for just one attack.
(Let's do it then.)
Harrock prepared to strike: he got into position and took a deep breath, then dashed toward his target.
After he began his dash, he felt an extreme pain all over his body: it was so strong that he almost fainted, but he tried to power through.
His mind was in a state of extreme shock: one side of him was falling into utter despair from the pain, telling him to stop the attack; the other side was his unwavering determination, telling him to continue the attack no matter what.
(Fuck- shi- no I have t- AAAAGHH!- kee- movi- no- stop- hurt- shouldn- don- this- NO! KEEP MOVING! FUCK-)
The storm in his mind continued, as he got closer and closer to Eides; he could barely see anything, and he was totally unable to coordinate his movements properly: he was relying on a single, powerful attack to end the fight.
Then it stopped.
The pain, the confusion in his mind, they came to a halt.
He stopped moving. Time froze in his mind.
(What's happening? Why am I not moving?)
His pain had completely vanished, but he began to feel weak.
So weak that he barely had the strength to even think.
(H...uh? Wha....was...I...tired...)
...
...
...
"!"
Right when he was about to lose consciousness, he felt an extreme surge of energy in his body, his mind flooded with thoughts of the past:
(I can't stop now, I have to keep that promise!)
"AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!"
With one last cry, he finally pushed through the pain and came back to the real world: he overcame his fatigue and continued to lunge at Eides, then finally arrived in front of him and struck with every bit of strength left in his body.
There was a massive explosion, booming across the battlefield: the ground started shaking, some of the soldiers struggled to keep their balance, others fell to the ground.
A massive smoke cloud rose from the area where Harrock had attacked: so thick it was impossible to see through it, its grey tonality perfectly marking the battle's status.
After a few seconds, the ground stopped shaking.
(What the fuck happened?) anxiously thought a soldier.
Then, after another while, the smoke cloud began fading away.
...
"a..h"
...
"ah....aha..."
...
"AHAHA...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
A laughter, almost hysterical, could be heard, echoing across the whole battlefield.
"Captain! You never stop surprising me! You're the strongest opponent I've ever fought, only second to him..."
(How... is he... still alive...)
Harrock thought, hardly managing to breathe; he stared at the ground, barely holding onto his sword with his frail hands, wholly devoid of strength. He slowly tried to raise his head, trying to get a clear view of his opponent.
Eides stood dozens of meters away, surprisingly almost unharmed: his armor had been severely damaged, his right arm was now almost totally left without protection, and other protective pieces were missing.
His body, however, was almost uninjured: aside from the wounds which he had suffered earlier, there were only a few more cuts and bruises.
"Now tell me, how the fuck did you survive that, Commander?" Harrock shouted, his words interrupted by his own coughing and heavy panting.
"I'd love to brag about my abilities, but it seems like we have a battle to fight, don't we, Captain?" Eides answered, before dashing towards his opponent.
Harrock was in a terrible state: behind his seemingly intact armor there were so many wounds that he could barely even stand, let alone fight. The pain was also getting to him, as every move he made caused him enormous suffering.
But the unwavering mountain would not yet fall, for it still had a task to complete, a duty to fulfill, a promise to keep.
The Captain grabbed his sword and swung it with all his might to block Eides' attack, ignoring all the pain he felt.
(I...can't...stop...yet...)
he thought while blocking every single one of the Commander's attacks.
"You can still fight! Ahaha, amazing, Captain!" Eides said as they clashed swords, before retreating back to the center of the battlefield.
This time, Harrock took the initiative, zigzagging toward his target to make the direction of the attack more difficult to discern, then slashing at his chest; the latter blocked the blow, but as soon as he did, the Captain took a hand off the hilt and grabbed him by the throat.
Eides then slid his sword over his opponent's to strike at his face, forcing him to release the grasp on his throat.
Harrock did so to avoid the attack, but he had already prepared to strike back; instead of dodging backwards, he sidestepped towards his opponent, chaining into an attack to his stomach.
The Commander, however, was not easily caught off-guard either, as he swiftly dodged to the right, narrowly avoiding the attack.
They then struck again simultaneously, clashing swords once more.
Eides attempted to detour Harrock's sword by pushing forward while moving to his right: he tried to attack him with a quick swing, but the Captain responded with an immediate block.
Harrock then tried to counterattack himself, seizing the opportunity to quickly slash at the Commander's throat, but he easily avoided the blow by dodging backwards.
The battle continued in the same way, each of them attacking, blocking and counterattacking again and again, until they finally stopped for a moment.
Eides began feeling tired, but could still keep fighting without too much effort.
Harrock, on the other hand, was really starting to feel the effects of pushing his body to its limits: his wounds were getting worse, and it was only a matter of time before he would be physically unable to fight anymore.
(I must try to keep this battle from reaching a higher level... otherwise the damage to the village would be too great. I know you have many more surprises in store, Commander) he thought.
(I have to end it here: I can't let you use all of your power, Captain, I have a mission to accomplish) thought Eides, before dashing towards Harrock.
Eides then attacked his adversary with a combination of three attacks, purposely leaving an opening in his guard after the third one: the strikes were all precisely blocked by Harrock, who, noticing the opening in the Commander's guard, immediately struck back with a powerful counterattack.
(Predictable.)
Thought Eides, expecting such a response from his opponent.
He had noticed that every one of the Captain's counterattacks came from his left side, so he tried to bait him into counterattacking to catch him off guard:
Eides lunged forward, intercepting Harrock's attack with a slash to the throat; he moved to his right side while attacking, in order to get away from his blow.
(Predictable.)
Thought Harrock, as he immediately lowered his head back to avoid the blow; above him was the frightening sight of the Commander's sword: a beautiful saber whose blade shone brightly, slightly curved back at the tip, with an elegant stream of wind swirling tightly around it.
His head dodged the blade by merely a few centimeters; then, as soon as he was out of its reach, he immediately got back up and thrust his sword at Eides with full force: as the tip of the blade made contact with the armor, it tore right through the chest plate, piercing the Commander through his thorax.
(Goodbye, Commander.)
Harrock pulled his blade up as hard as he could to finish his opponent, but his sword did not move.
His eyes widened in surprise as he saw why: Eides had grabbed the blade with his bare hands and was smirking at him, blood pouring out of his mouth.
"P-Predictable..." he spoke with a low voice.
(What? He anticipated all of this?) thought Harrock as he heard that word.
"Execution."
Eides then said, while holding the sword as tight as he could to prevent the Captain from escaping.
(Fuck!)
Harrock tried to free himself by letting go of his sword, but his hands were locked onto it, and he could not escape.
After a few instants, many wind currents emerged from Eides' wound: they were as thick as iron, and they began to latch onto Harrock's sword, spiraling around it, slowly making their way to his hands.
(Shit. What the fuck are these?) thoughts of fear stormed the Captain's panicking mind, as the wind got closer and closer to him with each passing moment.
(And with that... the fight's over, Captain).
The decisive statement had come.
The currents almost touched Harrock's hands: he didn't know what would happen to him if they reached their target, but he knew that - had that been the case - it would likely be his demise, for Eides had deliberately suffered a grave injury just to unleash this ability.
The soldiers watched in shock, the only visible thing through the windstorm being Harrock's blade embedded in Eides' chest: the village's forces were excited about their Captain's victory, while the Empire's soldiers were left in total despair at their Commander's defeat.
Harrock's eyes were locked onto the slowly advancing wind currents: his body was completely frozen, his breath was heavy and uncontrollable, his mind was going blank from the thought overload, his heart was beating at extreme rates: he was only moments away from his now unavoidable death, when...
Using the little time available to him, he took a deep breath.
It echoed in his ears and mind, feeling ages long, although it had only been a few instants in reality.
The currents had now made it to the guard of the sword, only centimeters away from delivering Harrock his inevitable execution.
...
A moment.
...
Another moment.
...
Another, last moment.
...
"Chess Art, Fourth Stage: The Rook."
---
---
---
There was a huge, deafening explosion, sending debris and rocks flying like bullets. Then a gigantic smoke cloud. Then seconds of silence. And then...
A soldier.
A mountain.
A Captain.
He stood there, clad in blue armor, the large symbol of a rook stamped on his front and back. His gauntlets were grey, looking like they were made of stone instead of metal. He wore a helmet, yet his determined gaze could be felt right through it. He held a longsword in both hands, the sunlight reflecting off its sharp blade.
There was another soldier. A Commander. He was on his knees and stared at the ground, too weak to even raise his head. He held a saber in his right hand, but it was chipped and fully covered in blood.
(Seems like... I have to... step up too...) he thought, before pronouncing six fateful words:
"Wind Style: Second Stage of Release."
---
The air suddenly became heavy and cold, but the wind from before had stopped.
Only for a moment, though.
A massive windstorm engulfed the battlefield, so strong it began razing buildings to the ground, and so thick it was almost impossible to see through it.
The remaining soldiers were lucky to be outside of it, else they would have been thrown around like ragdolls and crushed by the immense pressure it would have exerted on their fragile bodies.
(I knew you weren't done yet, Commander.)
Harrock thought, waiting for his opponent's move while holding his sword in a defensive stance, ready to block any incoming attack.
Attacks came, and they came in numerous, strong, and extremely fast.
Eides was so quick Harrock couldn't even clearly see him, only being marginally able to block his strikes thanks to his excellent perception. What he did discern, though, was only one particular detail: his eyes were completely white, like the ones of a ghost.
The blows kept coming, always from different angles, but the Captain managed to block them all precisely, though it required his full concentration.
He tried to counterattack by rapidly parrying an attack before striking himself, but his sword only sliced through air, as the wind ghost had already vanished, before coming at him from behind.
Harrock immediately turned around, trying to seize the opportunity to finally land a hit on the seemingly untouchable Eides; he slashed horizontally, attempting to cut his path, but his sword once again only cut air.
(This is... shit. How am I supposed to beat him?)
- Harrock gulped, a faint fear slowly starting to grow in his mind as he realized he wasn't at all able to injure his opponent. -
(Okay, calm down... he can still be wounded, he's just very elusive. I'll try to think of him as a normal opponent who simply dodges a lot.)
He thought, trying to rid himself of the irrational fear which distracted him from the fight.
This time, he patiently waited for Eides to attack, with the intention of grabbing his hand, or any part of his body: he merely wanted to make sure that his opponent was still a person, who could be touched, injured and killed.
But the attack did not come. Instead came a flurry of blows from all directions.
"Castle."
Harrock said without hesitation, immediately realizing that he wouldn't be able to block every strike.
A shield of blue energy suddenly surrounded him, fully protecting him from every direction, before fading away.
(Now's my chance!)
He felt his opponent's presence behind him and turned around while blitzing at him, in an attempt to catch him off guard.
(I'm not stupid, Captain.)
Harrock lunged at him, but Eides reacted by dodging his opponent completely, before quickly spiraling around him to attack from behind.
The Captain had already prepared for this, however, as he stopped and sliced behind his back with lightning speed, not even turning around to ensure that he was quick enough.
"Agh!"
Eides halted his attack and retreated backwards, his left cheek grazed by the sharp blade of Harrock's mighty sword.
"So you can be hurt!"
Harrock shouted, confidence and determination growing in him, before turning around to lunge at the Commander once again.
Both his speed and strength were amplified by the determination which multiplied at extreme rates in his mind, so this time he was able to not only keep up with his opponent, but also attack him himself.
He attacked with a swift upward slash, which he chained into a multitude of quick strikes to Eides' body. The latter blocked them all with ease, before spinning to his right to create a powerful blast of wind, which he then directed at the Captain.
"Castle."
Harrock said, summoning the protective shield once again: the wind dissipated as it made contact with it, releasing a violent thud from the point of impact.
As the Captain's shield faded away, Eides took the opportunity to quickly attack him in an attempt to catch him by surprise: he attacked from the point where the wind had struck, using the fog that was created as concealment to hide himself as long as possible before striking.
The one caught off-guard was him, however, as Harrock had anticipated such an attack and had too charged into the mist, planning to slice straight through his body.
(Wha-)
The Commander thought in surprise and frustration as he saw his opponent charging him, clearly having been read like an open book.
The Captain's plan was successful, if only partly; Eides managed to get away in time, only suffering a deep cut in his belly which started bleeding profusely: although it was a remarkable success, the gained advantage could have been far greater.
(Great! I've got him bleeding, too.)
Harrock thought, proud of his small victory, a smile of confidence hidden behind his helmet.
(Better to end this quickly. Skewer.)
He thought while holding his sword pointed at his opponent in a thrusting stance.
"It's getting annoying. Shield!"
Eides shouted while pointing his sword back at the Captain; then, massive shields made of pure, thick wind were erected between them; the Commander didn't even move to avoid the attack, placing full faith in his defensive walls.
But in the blink of an eye, he saw a blue ray of energy - its shape resembling a pitchfork - coming from the shield in front of him. He jumped out of the way to avoid it, realizing Harrock had easily penetrated his defense, frustration growing even more within him.
(Just... what the fuck? It's fucking annoying...)
- He thought, rage starting to accumulate in his mind. -
(No. I must... not lose my temper.)
He promptly calmed himself to avoid losing control, before bringing his sword in front of his face.
"If you're so eager to get serious... then alright. Tornado." He calmly said.
An astonishingly powerful wind was then released from his sword, rapidly growing into a full-size tornado and blowing away everything it came in contact with: houses were absorbed by the wind and thrown away at extreme speed, wreaking havoc in the whole village; the inhabitants had luckily already fled before the siege, else they would have been mercilessly killed by the furious wind.
(What the fuck is this?! I gotta get away! Now!)
One soldier's mind was overrun by sudden terror, as he rightfully panicked and ran away from the tornado; the other soldiers of both factions had similar emotions, all fleeing from the massive wind funnel to avoid getting caught in it.
(Fuck! I had to prevent this... now the village's gonna get destroyed!)
The Captain thought as he stood in the middle of the storm, trading blows with his opponent: it took a tremendous amount of strength just to stand and avoid being thrown around, making his life very difficult.
On the other hand, Eides could move around freely in the tornado, granting him a big advantage: he calmly attacked Harrock, buying time as the village got destroyed by the unstoppable wind giant; he knew his opponent had to react, and tried to bait him into making a rushed decision.
(There's... no other way. This will hurt a bit.)
Harrock thought before deflecting an attack with impressive speed, surprising Eides and slightly staggering him, granting himself enough time to act.
"FORTRESS!"
His mighty cry echoed across the battlefield; then, after but a moment, the tornado slowly began shrinking, leaving Eides bewildered.
(What?! Why is it going away?!)
He thought in surprise, before trying to attack Harrock to interrupt him, but with no success: his blow was repulsed by an immensely powerful opposing force, sending him flying back against a wall.
"G-Gh! Don't... stop!"
Harrock tried to motivate himself, as crushing pain rapidly spread through his body, leaving him devoid of breath and clearance of mind.
After a last effort, the tornado shrank even more, before fully getting absorbed by the valiant Captain, leaving the whole battlefield silent.
Eides recovered after his crash into the wall, many of his bones broken and blood pouring out of his mouth, then slowly walked towards his opponent, a serious expression fixed on his face.
Harrock hardly stood up, using his sword as support to avoid falling on the ground: his mind was in a state of severe dizziness, and his body felt incredibly weak.
"You fought well, but it's over for you now."
Eides said, pointing his sword at the staggering Captain, before attempting to end the fight once and for all with a lightning-fast slash to his neck.
(Gotcha.)
The seemingly weak Harrock suddenly brought his sword up and deflected the attack, catching his opponent by total surprise, following with a quick thrust to his chest.
The Commander was unable to react, as his eyes followed the enemy sword across its whole journey to his thorax, where it buried itself deep.
Having already fallen into his opponent's trap once, Harrock now pulled his sword out immediately, before slashing at Eides' throat: this time, the fight was going to end for good.
Or at least that's what he thought.
If there was one notable quality of Eides, it was to be surprisingly elusive.
And elusive he was, as Harrock's target suddenly disappeared, fading into the air.
(A clone? Never fought someone who could use them.) The Captain thought while cautiously looking around, searching for his opponent.
But he did not come. A couple more seconds passed, yet the battlefield was still suspiciously quiet.
"Improved Perception." Harrock tried to sense him, but with no success.
Then a faint sense of relief began spreading in his mind: at first it was barely noticeable, oppressed by the logic and prudence which guided his actions, but it grew with each passing second, making his heart beat faster and faster in hope.
(Did he really...? No, why would he ever do that? I have to stay focused.)
He thought, containing his emotions and keeping a defensive stance, ready to block any incoming attack.
But again, no attacks came his way.
Harrock then heard a hissing sound in his ears, growing louder and louder, before hearing a familiar voice.
"Hello, Captain."
(What? It's his voice, no doubt, but where is it coming from?) He thought in confusion.
"This is a message I left with my wind, if you're wondering; and don't worry, I went away: the village is safe now, good job. What I want to say is... I'm not your enemy, Captain."
- This last sentence bewildered him, as everything that had just happened pointed at the opposite conclusion. -
"I won't go into too much detail, but I'll leave you a hint: have you ever heard of the Frelad family?"
(What the... Frelad family? Don't tell me that-)
"We have a common foe. But I ask you not to tell anybody else: just know that our paths will cross again. And I have to say, you're a truly admirable person, I wish I were like you." the message ended, Eides' voice slowly fading away.
(I would be admirable? Heh, if it wasn't for her I'd be nothing more than a lost soul who only sought revenge...) Harrock thought, remembering his past.
"Anyways... it's over... now..."
he said, as the rook symbol disappeared and his strength suddenly left him, making him fall to the ground in exhaustion.
"Captain!"
A soldier shouted while running, returning from the village's center with a group of medical personnel following him, who immediately rushed to and began taking care of the fallen Captain, healing his countless wounds with powerful magical spells.
Meanwhile, the few enemy survivors walked towards the village's soldiers. As they approached them, one spoke for the whole group:
"Please... take us as prisoners. It will at least be better than the Empire's suicidal missions." He begged.
"We're not looking for prisoners." A soldier sternly replied.
"I-I see. Then so be it, our lives were already over anyway..."
"We're looking for soldiers, for comrades to join our ranks against the Empire." The village soldier extended his hand to the Nebas one, proposing him and the others to join as fellow warriors.
"Oh..." - His eyes widened in surprise as relief overwhelmed his mind. - "...Thank you." He said as he firmly shook his hand, a feeling of gratitude and warmth expanding in his body.
The battle had left its unconcealable mark on the maimed village: many buildings were razed to the ground, others had been thrown around by the tornado, creating a chain of crushing destruction.
Countless lives were lost on both sides, a trail of lifeless corpses covered the blood-red streets, as the last traces of wind finally vanished and sunlight was visible once again.
The Battle of Gurendam had been a fierce one, but nevertheless, the village had held.
It was only thanks to one man, however: an enormously powerful soldier who fought to the extreme, an unwavering mountain which resisted up to the very end, a charismatic Captain who won an impossible battle.
That man is Bright Harrock, one of the Three Great Captains of Gurendam.