Chapter 22 - The Sixth Army

"And then Sixth General Abdiel was swallowed by the serpent monster. All his men thought he was dead but his scimitar blade stabbed through its belly and the general dragged it upwards towards the head. The serpent was cleaved in two and the general climbed out of the monster like a newborn child, covered in slime and blood." Lajos was still telling Arnest about the city of Ralom, now more about the famous people like this Sixth General.

"If it wasn't for him, we would've lost our base on Tolbe." he added.

"The Sixth General is amazing! I saw him sparring once. He was like whoosh, bam and pow!" Maarav started to make funny made-up martial arts moves as he was recounting the fight.

"My older brother is going to be just like the Sixth General!" He said as he continued to make sound effects and poses.

"Maarav, don't say things like that. I haven't even taken the exam yet." Lajos sheepishly rubbed his head, embarrassed.

Arnest just laughed and said "Your brother is a hard worker, I'm sure he'll be able to easily pass."

“You're pretty strong too!" Maarav pointed towards Arnest.

"You should join the exam too, just like older brother!” Maarav said excitedly.

Arnest shook his head, "I'm not sure I would be able to pass. Plus I'm still new to Ralom, wouldn't others think I'm too much of an outsider?"

"It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from in Ralom. People respect strength." Lajos said.

"I'll think about it then." Arnest said, patting Maarav on the head. "Well, I must be going now. Thanks again for all the fun stories."

"Wait, you should at least come and see older brother at the exam tomorrow." said Maarav while bouncing up and down.

It looked like Arnest was about to refuse but Lajos said “You should come. Those who take the exam might be future leaders in Ralom. I’m sure you’ll be interested.”

Arnest thought for a bit but then said "Sure, let's meet at the well."

"Okay! See you later, Arnest!" Maarav waved.

"Thanks for helping my brother, See you tomorrow." Lajos said.

Arnest exited the tenement building and headed back towards the harbor. He learned a lot today and confirmed most of the information he had learned back in Zanabo. He already knew about the ranks and heard about the disparity between Raloman citizens and Ingras, but he never really understood it completely. Now that he experienced it first hand, now he had a better feel for Ralom and the pride of its people. Jerrei was able to give Arnest an overview of important and high ranking Ralomans and a map that outlined the bases Ralom had in eastern Lanex.

"I wonder if this Sixth General is truly as amazing as everyone says." Arnest continued to contemplate and digest all the new things he learned today from Lajos and Maarav.

Another thing he learned was that Ralomans could pass on their citizenship to their children but sometimes they were expelled or demoted to Ingras. He assumed based on the two poor boys reactions that their father was one of these soldiers. For whatever reason they were now Ingras despite their father being a Raloman. Whether or not they could become citizen soldiers again would depend on their performances at the exam.

Arnest retired at his ship for the night.

When morning came, Arnest was already standing by the Ingras well at the port. Lajos and Maarav came a while later.

Maarav and Arnest were dressed in plain clothes but Lajos was wearing a traditional Raloman soldiers uniform. The uniform was mostly leather with some iron clasps for the wrists. These metal clasps are used for protection of vitals in the arm, some wrist guards are made thick enough to directly block sword strikes. Lajos’s uniform not only had this feature but also a Raloman steel chainmail for his torso. Raloman steel is monsters blood and steel that’s mixed together. It shone a bright crimson off his well defined chest, making Lajos seem like a venerated soldier.

Usually chainmail is only an option for Lieutenants but he had a chainmail vest. Plus it was made of Raloman steel which is a special material reserved for Captains and higher. Arnest had studied the uniforms of the Raloman army so he knew that Lajos was wearing armaments that were out of his class. Lajos and Maarav lived in an Ingras slum so Arnest couldn’t help but to wonder about where he was able to get the uniform.

But Arnest just smiled and waved as they approached him. “Hey, Lajos and Maarav.”

“Hey Arnest.” the brothers said at the same time and waving with their right hands in the exact same way and tempo.

The three of them  then looked at each other, started making funny faces and finally burst into laughter.

“You guys definitely are brothers. You’re so in sync.” Arnest said, trying to collect himself.

“If you’re participating or watching the exam, get on the ships!” yelled a soldier who was on one of the red colored sail ships.

These ships were the official Raloman army ships and at the very top would be a banner indicating which of the twelve armies it belonged to. An artistic interpretation of the number “6” was weaved with golden thread into the banner at the top of the ships.

“It’s the Sixth Army! Maybe we’ll see General Abdiel again, brother.” Maarav said happily.

“Maybe. Let’s head to the ships. We don’t want to miss the exam.” For a moment Lajos had a worried look but he quickly resolved himself, quick enough that it was unnoticed by Arnest.

Lajos, his brother and Arnest started to walk towards the long queue that was forming before the Sixth Army’s ships.

“So do they hold the exam at sea on the ships?” Arnest asked while they waited in line.

“No, the exams are held on an eastern island nearby Ralom. The ships will bring us there.” Lajos was feeling quite good right now, confident he’d be able to pass the exams. Arnest didn’t detect any nervousness from the sixteen year old.

Arnest pointed towards a few boys dressed in soldiers uniforms in the crowd. "Those boys look like Raloman soldiers, are they here to watch?"

"Some are but a lot of Ralomans take the exam when they become of age to prove they deserve to be Ralomans." Lajos looked towards the Raloman boys who noticed his gaze and recognized him.

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“Look who came to watch the exam. The Ingras brothers, sons of the famous deserter!” a boy who looked the same age as Lajos and wore a soldier's uniform called out so everyone in line could hear. All eyes now were on Lajos and Maarav.

Lajos and Maarav were now sandwiched in the middle of the line, nowhere to hide to. The atmosphere became tense at the mention of the “famous deserter”. The stares were filled with disgust, disdain and most prevalently anger. Maarav cringed under the pressure, looking away and down trying to avoid the looks. But Lajos straightened his entire body and looked towards the boy who insulted he and his brother.

“I’m actually here to participate in the exam.” he said and kept walking forward.

The boy just laughed and he was joined by a few others next to him. Another boy chidded while blocking his way “Do you think the army is for cowards? You should go back before you wet yourself.”

“I said, I am here to participate in the exam!” Lajos was unyielding and pushed the boy in his way aside, moving forward.

“You really don’t understand, do you?” the boy and his squad of goons surrounded Lajos.

“Go home. You and your brother will never be Ralomans.” the boy said coldly.

Lajos immediately raised his fists, assuming a martial stance. The other boys also raised their fists, preparing to pummel him.

Ralomans, especially the younger boys, were always quick to fight. They would sometimes exchange a few words but any disagreement always devolved into a contest of strength. In Ralom, the strong were kings and the weak were beggars.

They stood there for few moments until one of the goons impatiently threw a punch. Lajos responded by opening his fists, grappling onto the incoming hand and arm and pulled downwards on the attacker. He gracefully flew into the air and was flipped onto his back.

“Idiot.” the leader of the gang muttered and then he yelled to the others, “Teach him a lesson!”

They trampled the idiot on the ground without concern as they rushed towards Lajos. The idiot groaned as each foot crushed into his body.

“Brother!” Maarav screamed with worry.

Lajos didn’t just let them all jump at him, he started to punch his way through the boys behind him, trying to escape the encirclement. It took quite a few, but a solid uppercut to the jaw knocked one of the boys to the ground and he dashed out. The other boys chased.

Once out, he ran towards an area where lots of narrow boats were docked all over. He jumped onto one and ran from the back towards the front. Every step rocked the boat and it splashed in the water. When he reached the edge he jumped again, onto another boat. It looked like Lajos was running away.

The goon squad stopped for a bit when they saw Lajos easily balancing while jumping from boat to boat. They weren’t sure they should chase but the leader screamed “What are you waiting for? Get him!” Hearing the order, their Raloman spirits were ignited. They rushed out onto the boats, trying to follow after Lajos.

If it wasn’t for the narrowness of the boats and if they were slightly larger or more balanced, it would be easy for them to chase. But that wasn’t the case. Most of the boys chasing lost their balance and slipped into the water or completely tipped boats upside-down. Only three boys, including the leader, were able to keep up with Lajos’s pace.

Lajos stopped running on one of the longer but still narrow boats. He turned around and saw the three boys chasing, out of breath. When they reached the boat he was on, they could only stand in a single-file line. Two of the remaining goons stood in front and their leader stood behind.

“I’m going to make you regret defying me, Ingras.” the leader was smiling wickedly.

Lajos no longer cared for words and just charged the goon. He threw his right fist towards the goons face but he dodged down and threw a punch of his own. Lajos dodged as well and they seemed to be in a deadlock, evenly matched. They kept throwing punches, some of them landing but none of them connecting fully.

The leader started to grow impatient after a while of waiting. “If you can’t beat him, I’ll just handle it myself!” He pushed his two subordinates in front of him into the water.

Although the leader was reckless, Lajos didn’t underestimate him. He waited for his opponent to initiate the fight, hoping to maybe use the momentum against him like he did to the first attacker. But the leader’s next action exceeded his imagination.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small dagger. It glinted under the blazing suns and the leader had an extremely curved smiled. Lajos’s face became grim but he still held his defensive stance.

The leader stabbed forward with his blade and it reached towards Lajos’s chest. Lajos swung his left wrist and deflected the strike and then started to swing with his right hand. The blade was deflected but it’s direction and angle was deftly changed and it rocketed towards Lajos’s face this time. It reached near his eye but at the same moment he ducked down, the blade only cutting a small lock of his hair.

After the close shave Lajos no longer tried to attack again. It was clear that his opponent was no novice with a small blade and could counter attack easily. He only concentrated on defense, using his wrist guards to deflect the blade. But this would prove to be pointless because the leader wasn’t only skilled at using a blade.

The enemy swung with his blade and Lajos defended again. But this was a feint. The leader quickly kicked with all his might, not giving Lajos time to react, and knocked him on his back. The boat rocked back and forth violently when he jumped on top of fallen Lajos, holding his knife to the neck.

“I want you to remember me. My name is Hagen Layol.” he said, digging the knife deeper into Lajos’s neck and blood trickled out.

“Son of Jack Layol, Captain of the Sixth Army. Your father killed my father. So I will kill you.”

Suddenly a blur whizzed by Hagen’s head. He stopped pushing his dagger down and looked back. He saw a young boy, holding a wooden bow. He was dressed like a common Ingras but the arrow that just passed him only missed by a few inches.

The young boy started to draw his bow again and Hagen rose to his feet. The boy released and the arrow flew, curving and shaking in the wind.

“Who dares to-?!” Hagen screamed but the arrow pierced into his left shoulder and knocked him backwards off the boat, into the water.

Lajos got to his feet and stared at the direction from where the arrow came from. He saw Arnest holding a bow and Maarav crying on the docks.