PROLOGUE 1: THE POPE

The Pope woke up with a splash of cold water on his face. His hands and head were tied to a short log, bent on his knees, like in a prayer. A cloth was placed inside the mouth to prevent him from vocalizing any spells.

He realized he was naked and could hear laughs around him.

The log was in the middle of a big empty hall. There was a big front wooden door as the main entrance and another smaller ones on each side. In the back, there was an altar to Dranos, the God.

"Good morning, Your Holiness." Said a man in front of him. "Your royal ass is about to be defiled by Alvar, the pagan pig!" He could hear more laughs but couldn't see everyone because his head was stuck in a fixed position on the log.

The Pope could feel something sticky on his butt. And judging by the smell, it seemed like a sweet jam.

Suddenly, the main door opened. A gigantic pig with a crown and a religious cape appeared.

"Supreme Pontiff, I present to you, Alvar! And he has not eaten in 3 days," said the man.

The Pope struggled to free himself because he knew what was about to happen. "Please release me!" he tried to say, but only guttural sounds came out from his muffled mouth. His body was very well fixed into a position.

The swine stomped into the chamber, causing tremors on the floor with every step as his snout sniffed the air.. The animal turned his gaze towards the source of the smell and hurried up his pace.

An avalanche of thoughts started to flow through the Pope's head. "Dear Dranos, why is this happening? How did I fail you? Do these clowns know what they are doing?"

PROLOGUE 2: Two Great Tides earlier

"The patrol is just starting, and I'm already bored," Edgar looked at the woods from the top of a hill. -There is more action at Old Pepes Tavern."

"I never get bored at the scenery," Sir Marce Rock looked to the same place as Edgar. "Besides, it seems like the Deer is more scarce than in other years, and I expect more poachers crossing the border this year."

A hint of a smile showed up on Edgar's face. "I enjoyed catching that fatty and his brothers last week, and I bet they didn't enjoy having to walk back home naked with their asses bleeding."

Beni caught out with the other two aligning his horse while his eyes narrowed, looking towards the forest. Five riders came out galloping towards them.

Sir Marce Rock gazed towards the riders. "Those are Holy Union knights."

Beni patted his horse's neck. "I bet they are coming to request an audience to ask permission for more missionaries to cross the border. Since our new prime minister declared Koseng a secular state, they might be eager to influence the people toward their interests."

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Edgar smiled. "You should be a politician instead of a soldier. Always talking as if you had an education. For all I can tell, maybe they just come to get whores at Old Pepe s."

Beni showed his yellow teeth, laughing. "And they are wearing full knight armor to impress the whores and bless them after a good fuck?"

The knights reached the group, and the twilight Sunrays reflected in the parts where the white and red surcoats with a big yellow circle engraved on the chest didn't cover.

Sir Marce looked to the knights from left to the right. "What brings the Knights of the Holy Union to these lands?" His gaze stopped at the one that looked like the leader. Unlike the others, he had a blue plume on top of his helmet.

Without saying a word, the knight made a head gesture to his companions. They drew their swords and immediately charged toward the patrol in unison.

Only Sir Marce could quickly recover from the surprise to draw his sword. He had experience in battle, and despite his age, he was still fast. Hardened by many battles, his muscle memory was in shape. "You sons of bitches! "He parried the first attack while on his left, Edgar received a deep cut on his throat, and a shower of blood spilled over his horse and his attacker's chest. "You will pay for this, idiots. This can cause a war." Sir Marce launched a counter-attack with his sword.

The Knight blocked it, but the strength of the hit almost threw him out of the horse.

Benis's horse started to flee while Edgar's dead body fell to the floor. Another knight plunged his sword into Benis's ribs while trying to reach for his sword. Then another knight finished him off from the front with a stab in the chest.

Sir Marce, enraged, charged again to the Knight before he could recover the balance but was stabbed from the back in the right shoulder. He screamed and hit the attacker's arm with his elbow. Then he started to ride as fast as he could.

The Knight leader looked at the closest Knight. "Get him!" The Knight prompted his horse and followed.

Sir Marce turned his head and looked at his pursuer. He extended his right arm, and his face made a painful gesture. He whispered something and the persecutor was launched out of his mount as if he had crashed into an invisible wall and fell backward on the floor several meters away.

The Knight leader opened his eyes and looked at the rest of the riders. Some of them were about to go and help their comrade. "Do not chase him! he is a Noiser. Petrulas, go and tell the General they must hurry to the Town before sunset because we couldn't stop the patrol."

The Knight started to ride immediately at high speed towards the Woods.

The leader sheathed his sword but didn't dismount and focused on the woods while the other three Knights did the same.

A few moments passed until they noticed many birds flying from the woods. A roaring sound arose louder and louder until an army emerged from the trees.

The sight was impressive. The Knights that watched it from atop the hill wouldn't have a full view of the immense line that was longer than their eyes could see.

An army of twenty thousand soldiers crossed the border between The Holy Union and Koseng.

A War that soon will involve all the Countries of Hosei has started.