Harry's POV:
The ten men surrounded me and I was having trouble fighting all of them off. While the two with the bows fired arrows, I slashed them in half with my sword, at the same time dodging blows from the other men's swords.
I got another cut on my arm and I cursed, looking down at my right arm to see a crimson color dripping down.
With a cry of determination, I lunged forward, tackling one man to the ground and shoving my sword into his stomach as I did so. Getting up, I swung my sword at the others coming at me, striking three of them across the chest.
"I can't afford to go down here. I made a promise." I breathe, glaring at the remaining six, who returned my glare. "For the Emperor!" one of them chanted and the other five let out war cries, raising their swords.
Gritting my teeth together, I braced myself for their attack. All of them charged at me and I took in a deep breath, gripping my sword tighter in my hand. Ignoring the pain that shot up in my arm as I did so, I ran straight into their attack.
Sliding on my knees, I avoided their high attacks, swinging my sword out and cutting their legs, making them fall to the ground. Getting back to my feet, I go to all of them, slashing their necks open to end their lives.
"Your Emperor can kiss my ass." I grumble, hearing a chuckle from behind me, causing my body to freeze.
"Is that so?"
Turning around, my eyes widen as I see General Vox, his arms crossed in front of him with an amused look on his face. Five men were around him, giving me nasty looks. I looked back at Vox, his dark eyes bearing down at me.
"I suppose I should be honored to have a General want to fight me." I say dryly and a sinister look comes to his face. "No, I'm not going to fight you. You aren't worth my time. These foot soldiers will be enough to dispose of you," he says confidently and I narrow my eyes angrily.
"Besides, the Emperor has said he wants to kill you himself. I will not engage a simple brat unless I have to." he says smoothly and my eyes widen a little. "The Emperor? Why?" I ask and Vox grins at me.
"It is not a dog's business to be told what the master has planned. You need to realize you're the dog, boy." he says and my hands tremble with anger. "Excuse me?" I growl and he looks down on me, seeming disgusted.
"I should've killed the child when I had the chance, back on the island. Maybe I'll do that now, since she's caused us so much trouble." he says and I take a step forward, fury building in my body.
"Don't you lay a finger on her." I threaten and Vox grins. "I'm tempted to do so, just to see how you would handle her being killed." he says and I lunge forward, yelling as I raise my sword, about to come down on the General.
He stood still, his arms crossed as a smug look grew on his face. His foot soldiers stepped in front of him, blocking my attack and making me curse. "Avoiding me?!" I shout and he turns around, his red cloak swooshing behind him.
"You need at least two decades more experience before you mess with me, boy. I'd kill you in a second. You're no more than a pesky fly." he says and anger fills my body. I'll show you pesky fly, arrogant bastard.
I punched one of them in the face, the cry from his lips not enough to turn Vox's head, and he continued to walk off as the rest of his men took me on. The only way to get his attention was to kill these foot soldiers and come after him directly. And that's precisely what I planned to do.
The five men began to come at me and I parried their blows, concentrating on each attack that was thrown at me. My focus doubled as my determination fueled my will to survive. If I took down the General, it's one step closer to winning this war. One step closer to seeing Bella again.
And one step closer to keeping my promise with Layla.
The more I fought with these men, the more energy I wasted. I needed to finish this fast so I could still have strength left to fight this General Vox.
I swung my sword around hard, knocking three of them off balance and I jump to the side, avoiding the swords of the other two. Stabbing one of the three I knocked off balance, I take his body and push it towards the others, using it as a decoy to throw them off.
They go around the body I throw, but it gives me enough time to slash two of their necks, dropping them like flies. The two remaining soldiers grip their swords tightly, giving me harsh glares as they stand over their dead comrades bodies.
A shout nearby makes us turn my head, and for a brief second I catch a glimpse of Louis before he plunges back into battle. Sighing with relief, I turn back to the two, feeling energized knowing at least one of my friends was still alive and fighting.
Dashing forward, I raise my sword, coming down hard at the two soldiers and clashing swords with both of them. I raise my leg and deliver a kick to one man's stomach, sending him to the ground before I knock the other's sword away from him. He looks up at me frightened but I don't hesitate to run him through.
The last soldier left scrambled to his feet, but I didn't give him time to defend himself. I slashed my sword through his neck, blood spurting on my face before he drops to the ground dead.
My breaths come out heavy, feeling worn out already because of how much I've been fighting. Even with Layla's plan, there are still too many of them. I wipe the blood from my face as best I could before looking around for more soldiers to fight.
A high-pitched scream caught my attention and my body freezes.
I know that scream.
I turn around, my eyes going wide as I see Layla being thrown on the sand, three men surrounding her, and I could see from here she had a cut on her arm. They must have caught her.
Dirt covered her face as she got up from the sand, and my blood began to boil as I saw bruises on her face and shoulders, her eyes terrified as she looks up at the three men.
"Go ahead and kill the brat." a voice says and my eyes slide over to the sound of it, seeing General Vox with his arms crossed, a smug look on his face. He was going to kill her.
"Our pleasure, General! She won't be hard to kill anyways, with how puny she is." one man says before they start laughing, and the sound of my heart beating echoed in my ears as everything around me felt to fade away.
One man picked Layla up by her hair, making her cry out again before he holds up his sword, a dark grin on his face as he gets ready to plunge it into her throat.
My body moved faster than I thought possible.
Before I knew it, my foot was in the back of the man who was holding Layla, his sword missing its mark as I kicked him away from Layla. His face slammed down into the sand, knocking him out cold, the other two men jumping back out of surprise.
"Daddy!" Layla breathes out relieved but I keep my face turned from her, the emotions running through my body unimaginable. I couldn't place the emotion I was feeling, but the only thing that it could be compared to was rage.
"You really do draw trouble to you, don't you?" I say, glancing over to her, and I hear her let out a small whimper, but it was a happy one.
"He's the Captain! He's the one who the Emperor is after." one of the men says and I look down at the ground. My entire body was shaking. "Never mind that. Don't carelessly get close to me..." I say lowly, trying to keep my breathing steady.
"...I'll rip you to shreds."
Small sounds of uneasiness came from the soldier's mouths and I take in a deep breath.
"Huh?" Layla whispers and I clench my fists, my resolve stronger than my want for Layla not to see me violent.
"I'm not any type of saint. I can't control myself against anyone who hurts my precious daughter. Even though I don't want her to see this side of me...you've given me no choice." I say, a wicked grin coming to my face as I turn around, giving them such an intense glare they stepped back out of fear.
"Ch-charge!" one of them yells and both of them run forward, the intensity in my body building as I dashed forward, going past Layla and slashing my sword through the air.
Both men were unable to dodge my blade. I cut them straight through the stomach, and as they went down, I swung my sword again with a glint in my eyes, cutting off their heads in an instant.
I went to the man I knocked out before slamming my foot down on his head, making it twist into an unnatural position. He was dead now, for sure. For good measure, I stabbed him once through the heart, just to ensure I didn't miss breaking his neck.
I took a few breaths, trying to calm myself down before turning back to Layla, who was staring at me with wide eyes.
"Daddy..." she whispers, tears coming to her eyes and I look away from her, my gaze locking with General Vox, who was still surveying the scene. He's the one man I don't need to turn my back on. Narrowing my eyes, I hold my hand out behind me, waiting for Layla to take it.
In a few moments her tiny hand wrapped around two of my fingers, and I lifted her into the air. Setting her on my shoulder, I ignored the pain in my injured arm as I stared at General Vox. "Sorry, Layla. I was hoping you wouldn't just know the violent side of me." I mutter and she wraps her arms around my head.
"You saved me, Daddy. You came for me, just like you promised." she says relieved and a small grin comes to my face. "Yeah, I suppose. And now you're going to have to do me a favor," I say, not taking my eyes off of Vox, who now seemed to be interested in us.
"You're going to run again, but this time, you're going with someone." I say and she looks down at me curiously.
"Louis!!" I shout, hearing some muffled fighting and yells from behind me before I glance to the side, seeing my best friends stumble through a line of fighters, beaten up but very much alive.
"Harry!" he says surprised, running over to me, seeming shocked to see Layla. When Louis sees where I'm staring, he curses under his breath. "A General?" he asks lowly and I nod my head.
"Take Layla and get out of here. I'll handle him." I say, handing over my daughter to the man I trusted most. Louis gave me a curious stare, but I couldn't return it, as Vox was starting to walk towards us.
"Please, Louis. I trust you. Keep her safe. Find her a place to hide and make sure she stays there." I say pleadingly and he gets a look on his face that I couldn't describe. Louis gives me a small smile, saluting me before readjusting his grip on Layla.
"Aye aye, Captain." he says, taking off towards the town. "Don't die on us, Harry. We'll be waiting for you." he says and a grin comes to my face as I lift my sword in the air.
"Right back at you, partner." I say, taking a step towards the General, who was giving me an amused look.
"How sweet of you. Sending off your best man and your daughter so they are out of harms way. I guess that's a sign of respect for me." General Vox says and I shift my stance into a defensive position.
I smirk at the General. "Don't be thinking so highly of yourself. I knew I wouldn't need anyone's help to defeat you." I say, half-lying and Vox laughs at my remark.
"You're confident, boy. But when does that confidence disappear?" he asks, taking out his sword and my heart begins to pound in my chest.
"It's never gone," I say, preparing myself. "I'll always have confidence as long as there are people I have to protect."
General Vox stops five feet from me, giving me a curious stare. "It's interesting how much you've changed, boy. I heard you hated others and wouldn't ever give your life to protect them." he says and my gaze darkens.
"Everybody gets lost in life. I'm not who I used to be. And I'm still making up for all the hell I put the people I love through. In order for me to atone for all I've done, I have to fight and win this war," I say sullenly before giving him a determined look.
"Because I have plans of what I'm going to do after this war. I won't let anyone take away that future." I say surely and he gives me a wry grin.
"That's some drive you have, boy. You've caught my attention. Let's see if you're worthy enough to atone for what you've done." he says and I prepare myself for his attack as he jumps forward, clashing swords with me.
We stare at one another, our swords shaking with the effort of holding each other back, and I grit my teeth. I give a final push before jumping back, distancing myself from him, analyzing his strength. He was going to be a lot harder to defeat than I originally thought.
But that's no matter. I will do anything to win.
Raising my sword, a plan comes to my mind as I run forward, General Vox grinning at me as I come at him. I swing my sword right at his throat and he blocks my attack, our swords going into a flurry of jabs and slashes as we both try to win a fight we desperately needed to survive.
I meant to update a lot earlier than this, but life is busy and things change haha. But I hope you enjoy this chapter! What do you think about what Harry said? I also want to know what you're thinking about this war so far.