"By the decree of his majesty, king Damille the second, every capable man and woman who can wield arms or cast any offensive type magic are to gather up in the square and be conscripted for fighting for the safety of our great kingdom!" stated a man sitting atop an expensive steed, that was lightly covered in armor. As he finished the declaration, the man glanced around at everyone gathered. Not being satisfied with what he saw, he cursed out silently and folded his scroll.
"I am truly sorry your lordship, but we do not have that many capable fighters left in our village," replied a man who had been assigned as the elder. "Most of them had been sent out to reinforce the supply lines and hold back the invaders after the fall of the border. I would gladly give you myself, and everyone left here, but I am too old and cannot hold a sword properly anymore. The few settlers remaining are doing their best to harvest the food and send it over, since the major supply line had broken," he continued with a grim expression.
"Very well. There is absolutely nothing I can do then. Thank you very much," said the noble after confirming the situation, turning around and galloping away to rejoin the troops that have been waiting for the man's return.
"I assume that the conscription did not go so well your lordship?" asked a man that stood under the shade of a tree. The man was 1.56 meters tall, an average size for most humans. His face was oval shaped, with angular cheekbones, a short but flat nose, and a squared chin. A short black beard covered his face, and with his thick eyebrows and narrow eyes, the man looked quite imposing. His eyes were currently closed, indicating that he was probably thinking over the developments of past few weeks.
"It did not, Solomon," replied the noble with a deep sigh. "To be quite honest with you, everything would go as usual if our imports were checked properly. The ratio distributors at Haffel should also have checked for the quality of products. If everyone did their job properly, then perhaps we would not be in so much shit right now," he snorted.
It had been an 8th village near the battlefield, which the noble and Solomon had visited. The two of them had received the decree of his majesty, to conscript any possible forces to reinforce the already crumbling defensive lines of their kingdom. Most villages were evacuated by now, but some remained that refused to abandon their homes. The fortress that stood right after the river of Vluver was a solid fortification facility created by the kingdom of Damas that prevented enemy invasions from the neighboring Kingdom of Vaalmer for almost 50 years. Now it lay in ruins.
"This situation is bleak, but there is still a chance that we can put a halt to this war. My disciple is currently investigating the shipments that have been supplied by Na'ul. Once we gather enough intelligence and stabilize our supply of imports, we can launch a counter-attack and drive these bastards back to their domain," stated Solomon.
"Let us make haste then. There are no villages left where we can conscript more workforce. As such, I think it is time we join the main battlefield. Our majesty had given out a direct order to drag out the fight as much as possible. We are expecting reinforcements in the next two weeks," said the noble after drinking water from a flask.
Solomon understood and nodded while mounting his horse. After exchanging the current information with every soldier, the unit consisting of 160 troops moved out.
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Inside the government building of Haffel, now occupied by the 23rd battalion of Vaalmer kingdom, six individuals were gathered. They were discussing the current plans for the invasion.
"As you may see, lady Amelia's squad is very potent at what they do," said the commander who was in charge of the entire invasion operation.
"I admit, I was wrong," said the stout man that sat on the sofa, while drinking wine. As he took a sip, he continued. "But what of Solomon? If I am correct, he and a small detachment of Damas's forces have arrived at their headquarters. I believe he is causing a great headache to you, is he not dear Ralph?"
"My men are ready to piss themselves just by imagining a fight with him," replied Ralph while tightly clenching his fist and striking the table.
"My, oh my. How does one man cause so much trouble for you?" asked Amelia while laughing. "Worry not. Our captain has already devised a plan to end him, and the war. All you gentlemen have to do is follow your orders while leaving the heavy lifting to us." Persuading the people present of her sure victory, she quickly bowed and left the building.
Seeing her leave, the commander chuckled and addressed the men once more. “The 23rd battalion shall remain at Haffel as protection. Meanwhile, our 13th and 14th will begin to advance towards the capital. The 17th has suffered heavy losses, so I am issuing an order for their withdrawal,” he paused and looked around to see if everyone was following. Satisfied, he continued. “We shall direct the small detachments from 13th to reinforce the border and let the 17th retreat. Meanwhile, our 15th, the Rulers of Heavens, shall bypass the lines the moment Solomon perishes. And so, Damas will be overwhelmed. With their forces scattered, the victory will be ours."
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“I will kill every single one of you scoundrels!” yelled a knight that had just pierced the abdomen of a warrior. He removed the sword and proceeded to cleave another soldier that was in his way. Three spears came his way, but his strong armor deflected them, allowing the man to cast [Dexterity], which boosted the speed at which he swung his sword. As a result of his actions, three heads fell to the ground. “Pathetic rats! You are nothing but filth and pebbles. How dare you oppose the kingdom of Vaalmer! DIE, DIE, DIE!”
The soldiers that were not trained to fight a battle properly, let alone an invasion, were no match for an overwhelming might of the Vaalmer's well-trained and battle-hardened monsters. Their morale had dipped, and with the appearance of knights amongst the regular infantry ranks, they had become completely devastated. Some fled and were met with a volley of huge icicles. Those that stayed and watched their comrades die were vomiting at the sight of impalement, while others could not even do so, for letting guard down would prove fatal.
Solomon and his detachment arrived at the battlefield. Looking around and assessing the situation, the noble who had been in charge removed a horn from his belt and blew it. “Solomon, we need to relieve them. This situation is grim. I did not expect our reserves to be this weak”.
“Weak?” snorted Solomon, “What do you expect from conscripts? Regardless.”
[Incinerate]
Giant flames erupted from the ground where the fighting was taking place, engulfing and incinerating foes or allies. The fire did not discriminate.
“Solomon, get a grip of yourself. There are friendlies there too,” said the noble with a commanding but unshaken voice. The deaths of his allies had not touched his feelings at all.
“They were encircled and would perish regardless. I merely lent our allies a hand and extended mercy,” replied Solomon with a burst of laughter. Without saying anything else, he dismounted and walked towards the headquarters. As he approached, the guards stopped him and cast [Identity]. The moment information about him was revealed, the guard immediately stepped away and bowed. Solomon was satisfied and proceeded towards the barracks without any delay. As he entered, a chaotic scenery came into his view. Men and women were running back and forth, trying to pass each other documents of various types. Words such as Oh no, it is not this one, give me the damned scroll, why is everything so messed up, who is responsible for organizing this anyways, and even this is our golden opportunity, could be heard. His focus, however, shifted towards one place, and that place was a roundtable, where three men were gathered.
“Idgar?! You have returned?” asked Solomon to a young man standing by the table. Hearing his words the man turned around and bowed.
“Master Solomon, you are here,” said Idgar with a gentle voice.
“Idgar,” laughed Solomon while extending his hands. He approached the man and embraced him. “My dear pupil. I am glad that nothing has happened to you. Then can I assume that your business in Na’ul has concluded?”
“Yes, it has, master. In truth, the reason I am here right now is precisely due to the developments in the port city." The two of them sat down and continued chatting. Solomon told his disciple of the failed conscriptions and the current state of Damas. He talked about how his majesty had sent reinforcements towards this line and how he had been assigned a task to hold out until then. Solomon also spoke about regaining the lines and rooting out the invaders with his sheer might.
Idgar patiently listened and nodded. After Solomon finished talking, expression of uneasiness appeared on Idgar’s face.
“Is something the matter?” asked Solomon.
“No… it is nothing,” came a reply.
“Your face tells me otherwise.” (Solomon)
“No… just,” Idgar paused and gulped. Seeing his actions, Solomon could not help but be amused. What could his disciple have thought of that would cause him this much panic or fear?
“Are you afraid of something?” (Solomon)
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“Master… What if they attack from the rear? After the great fortress fell, they no longer need to attack from this line, so what if all of this is a distraction? What if they are aiming for our capital while we fight out minor skirmishes here?” (Idgar)
Solomon fell into a long thought. His majesty, Damille the second, alongside his many advisors and tacticians had already predicted this. To counter such scenario, they had dispatched over 53% of human resources to reinforce the rear. Of course, Solomon himself was considered as a legion. The roads were all blocked, and minor fortifications were being built. Most of the ballistae were also moved in preparation for that. Thinking about this, Solomon laughed and replied to Idgar with a negative.
“It would be a dream come true,” he chuckled.
Idgar, seeing that his master was in good spirit, calmed down and grinned. “As expected of my master, you are truly the ultimate power of this kingdom.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” replied Solomon with a shrug, drunk in his status and convinced of his superiority. “Now then, let us begin the butchery,” he continued.
Three days have passed since Solomon’s arrival, and the battlefield had changed a lot. Just the sole presence of this man had been enough to send chills down the spines of both allies and enemies. Every time he raised his hands, soldiers would burn and become piles of ash. Despite the gruesome scene, Damas’s forces quickly regained their morale. Some commanders were stripped of their status, while the others were promoted. Those that followed Solomon gained fame and accumulated battle experience. On the 4th day, the counter-attack began.
The metallic sound of steel clashing against steel roared through the entire battlefield. The kingdom of Vaalmer had sent reinforcements to the border from the side of now occupied Haffel and the fallen fortress, however, their numbers were not enough to hold back the mastermind counter-attack led by Solomon himself. The defenders had also received the reinforcements from their capital and thus found attackers, that started to fall back, easy to encircle. The intelligence of Damas was convinced that the reserve troops were stationed to attack the rear and that no more soldiers would stream down Solomon’s path. Every person that was on the side of oppressed kingdom rejoiced.
For five days, invaders were attempting to flee the encirclement and instead were driven further back. The sudden arrival of cavalry divisions was also frustrating, for they had no room to breathe. Their plan included the arrival of 13th and 14th battalion, but only a fraction of 13th had arrived. Some men still held on to the hope, that they would be rescued, so they continued fighting with vigor and ferocity.
Battles had now become minor skirmishes, but at least Solomon’s wrath had died down, for no more magical incantations were seen or heard. Some even thought that he had left to liberate Haffel. Their numbers had also vastly decreased from 1,000 to 500, but thanks to the lower number of soldiers, fights became easier. Their ranks still held over 40 battlemages that were considered as veterans; therefore, the casualties on Damas’s side were not avoided. 2,000 were razed down to 1,200 thanks for the careful planning and deception. Some soldiers even left their shields behind and made dummies to distract opponents and force them to engage in combat, while their mages cast [Icicles] from the rear. As such, both parties became weary of their battle tactic. However, due to the overwhelming advantage posed by the cavalry, the scale of their balance shifted in favor of Damas once again.
Nine days had passed. Looking around, the encircled soldiers of Vaalmer kingdom realized just how far away they were from the original battlefield. The scenery was vastly different. The forest which was located three weeks away from the battlegrounds was now only a few hours away. They attempted to shift the direction of their movement towards the fallen fortress. However, this did not come to pass, as the cavalry of Damas quickly caught up and once again encircled them. The soldiers were at the edge, but the will to survive was very high. They kept retreating. If they could not rejoin their main forces, then they would run into the forest and split up to confuse the pursuers. But it appeared that the encirclement would come to its conclusion, for the cavalry was now charging at a higher speed than usual. At this rate, the soldiers would get trampled.
“Bastards! They have used the [Windrunner’s blessing] only now?!” screamed one man. “Shit! We are all going to die!” screamed another.
“Hold your lines! Raise your spears!” yelled the commander. “Mages, cast [Icicles]. Now! Volley!” as he finished, the volley started raining down towards the charging cavalry. Some horses panicked seeing the incoming danger and threw their masters off their backs.
The fleeing soldiers began regaining their calm and morale after seeing that they had succeeded in slowing down the rampaging cavalry, but the celebration did not last for the moment they gained hope, a sound of a horn was heard.
Everyone’s eyes shifted to one spot, one individual. It was Solomon. The soldiers were very used to his figure by now and could tell this man’s identity even if he was to hide in a crowd of 1,000 or even 10,000 people.
Witnessing Solomon getting off his horse and chanting a spell, the formation fell. Everyone began running for their lives. Few individuals were smarter than most though, as they kept their calm amidst all the chaos.
One female, who was well versed in arts of mind manipulation and attacking enemies with their psych, actually used this moment to utilize her skills. She was assigned to the 17th battalion and was enduring the hardships from the very beginning till now. She had no intentions of dying.
Solomon had not used his signature spell, which only meant one thing – he was preparing magic that would wipe everyone out. Realizing this, the woman has quickly cast [Control Mind] on the few horses that were running around without their masters. As the horse slowed down and came towards her, she mounted and immediately fled towards the forest. Two warriors and one rogue that witnessed her actions also followed suit. Slowly but surely, more people began to look for a steed. However, it was too late. The overwhelming assault from Damas’s cavalry had wholly completed their encirclement within four hours.
The fleeing soldiers had given up and began throwing their weapons down, in a proclamation of their defeat. This battle was hopeless and surrendering now and living another day to fight was the best course of action.
However, the cavalry did not dismount to capture or imprison them. Instead, the spears were sharply pointed at them. At that moment, another horn, one that was louder than previous, resonated throughout the entire battlefield. The wind carried it even further, and now it felt like it would reach the fallen fortress. Soldiers were unsure of what to make of it, but it appeared that their understanding was unnecessary. Solomon had finished his incantation, and the results were immediate. Massive lightning struck the center of the gathered mass which instantly chained over to others, brightly and indiscriminately killing everyone. The cavalry was unaffected, and so, for the first time, only Vaalmer’s fleeing soldiers were killed.
Just about 3.8 seconds after the massacre, the earth shook, and many vines erupted from the ground, entangling all the dead and pulling them down into the soil. The moment that every corpse was absorbed into the earth, the shaking stopped, and the ground was whole again.
The cavalry, watching this sight, was flabbergasted. It appeared that the rumors about the Great Forest of Javl were correct after all. It was said that those who perished in the forest vicinity would have their corpses absorbed by mother nature. Solomon knew of this and paid it no heed.
Realizing what happened, every soldier on the battlefield began roaring for victory. Despite all the oppression, defeats and lives lost within the last few months and weeks; the soldiers could finally rest and rejoice. With the help of Solomon, they had accomplished the unimaginable feat.
“Long live Solomon!” the soldiers chanted. “Long live our sorcerer!”
“Solomon is a man blessed by the god of magic!”
“Long live Solomon!”
“Master Solomon, what of those people that fled,” asked Idgar, after witnessing the massacre.
“Nothing. There are only four who escaped. Fatigued and famished, those people will simply die to the wildlife that inhabits the place. Or perhaps they will survive and meet the golem? Who knows? Regardless, they will die. It is not my job to deal with minor nuisances like them,” replied Solomon while shrugging.
Seeing how his master behaved, Idgar could not hold his laughter back.
“It appears that you are feeling much better now, my disciple” (Solomon)
“Indeed. I am rather happy, for you have displayed your ultimate power. This disciple is rather grateful” said Idgar while bowing. “However,” Idgar’s lips still moved yet it was no longer a male’s voice, but rather a female’s, “the fun ends now.” As the lips stopped moving, Solomon began to choke.
“Wh… wh…” Solomon was coughing up a lot of dark blood. He looked at Idgar. What did his words mean? What is happening? He wondered.
Some soldiers noticed something awry going on with Solomon, but they thought it was due to exhaustion from using such a high-level skill. Everyone was rejoicing and claiming how they would vanquish the invaders once and for all.
“Solomon is a man blessed by the god of war!”
“We shall kill all the invaders and take back Haffel! We will show the kingdom of Vaalmer what we are made of!” the soldiers chanted. “Solomon is with us! We shall pave the way to our victory through fire!” they continued.
The loud chants became emphatic. However, they quickly died off, as a sudden roar was heard. The cavalry who had been chanting their victory lines were all covered in the bath of flames. The stream of fire did not end and continued until every single cavalry division that participated in this counter-attack were nothing but smoldering corpses. Only after this happened did the rest of Solomon’s detachment look up to see as to what had caused this commotion.
A massive black wyvern circled in the sky. Solomon was the first person to see it. His eyes went wide, for this could only mean one thing – the forces that they had pushed and encircled up to this point were nothing but a distraction. Before he could finish his thought, Idgar grabbed the weakened Solomon by his neck and dragged him out in front of every soldier to see.
“What?!” exclaimed the soldiers who watched his behavior. “Idgar, how could you? You betrayed your master! TRAITOR! You shall die!”
“Now, now my darlings,” said Idgar while laughing. The voice did not belong to a man, and as Idgar distanced himself, his face began to crumble. Bits and pieces of flesh fell on the ground and evaporated into nothingness. “The disciple you speak of perished some time ago,” spoke the woman coldly, yet with a hint of pride. Hearing this, Solomon understood what had happened and cursed himself for letting his guard down. It appeared that the Kingdom of Vaalmer had long planned this invasion and had sharpened their fangs and claws.
“Do not worry my little darlings. Lilim shall play with all of you,” whispered the woman in a fashion that everyone could hear her. At that moment, the earth shook, but the forest did not cause it.
The soldiers quickly shot a glance towards the direction where the earth was vibrating from and what they witnessed were thousands of dots moving towards them while emitting a massive amount of dust in their wake.
As Solomon saw this, he realized that the kingdom of Damas was doomed. Despite struggling, he lifted his hand towards the incoming wave to chant his final incantation: [Incinerate], but it was too late. Lilim instantly stabbed Solomon’s chest and struck his heart, followed by a slash around his neck. The soldiers watched as Solomon’s head was slowly cut off with a dagger, while the blood squirted from his wounds, covering the face of the culprit behind this gore.
After slicing it mid-way, Lilim blew a kiss towards the soldiers with her left hand, and at that moment a volley of [Icicles] fell down their way, crushing and impaling everyone present. She then quickly finished slicing off the head and gently landed a kiss on Solomon’s lips. “What a pity,” she sighed and threw away the decapitated object.
Just as the head flew towards the ground, the time in the world came to a halt, and every living creature in this world vanished from the plain of existence.