The knight's face twisted with rage as he turned around.

He quickly spotted a dark ballista in the distance, but just as he took a step towards it, another bolt impaled his leg, throwing him onto the ground.

“AHHHHH!” He screamed while still desperately trying to crawl towards the Rendaro who had shot him first.

Another bolt shot towards him, but it narrowly missed him.

Sah's eyes widened.

“Wait!” He yelled, but another bolt impaled the knight's chest.

“Wait!” Sah cried as he ran towards the knight.

“Sevenths, gets over here! And one of you, aim for the head!” Sah said with a desperation that was painful to hear.

His men gathered a around the dying knight.

As one of the distant Rendaro lined up his shot.

“You… do you think my death means anything?” The knight asked as blood poured out of his mouth, nose and various other new holes in his body.

“More will come… and they will burn-“

A bolt shot through the knight’s forehead and it embedded itself into his back as well, keeping his head raised and his eyes wide open.

“Now!” Sah barked and almost immediately after, torrents of white smoke rushed into the bodies of him and his men from the knights corpse.

It was wasn’t long before the smoke cleared.

Sah loudly coughed as the process of absorbing death chipped away at one’s own life a little.

He then looked for Wolva who was laying on the grass in the distance.

“I need a medic!” Sah yelled as he ran to Wolva's side.

He then removed the Wraith’s helmet to find that his face was half covered in blood. His hair was also white, like that of the other sevenths.

Sah’s heart almost stopped, but it jumped anxiously upon seeing that Wolva was still breathing.

Sah removed Wolva’s vest before cutting open his uniform and unzipping his dark body suit as his comrades surrounded him.

He pulled down the body suit and gasped upon seeing just how much damage Wolva had taken.

Several off his ribs had been broken and forced inward meaning there was very little Sah could do without a healer.

“Fuck!” He cursed as he struck the ground, but just as all hope seemed lost.

He heard the sound of commotion.

He looked to the east and saw that some soldiers were gathered around someone.

“Captain, it’s the sixths-“

The soldier didn’t even get to finish his sentence as Sah rushed past him.

He then walked up to the crowd of soldier before making his way towards the two sixths, who looked like they were in pretty bad shape.

“I need your help!” He said.

“Calm down. I heard there was a knight. What happened-?”

Sah grabbed the sixth’s arm and pulled him towards Wolva who sheltered from the sun by his comrades.

“Please, hurry.” Sah said.

The Sixth nodded before kneeling by Wolva’s side.

He then raised his hands and streams of green light flowed into Wolva’s body from his shortly after.

The other sixth walked up to a panicked Sah.

“Hey.” She said, snapping Sah out of his trance like state.

“Oh- yeah. I’m Sah, captain of the-“

“Don’t worry. I know who you are. I’m Timäe of the sixth Eimval Division, but you can call me Tim.”

Sah nodded.

“That’s Ndlo.” Tim said before looking at the large corpse in the distance.

“I don’t know whether this is good or bad news, but you guys are the first to encounter a knight. The others will probably be on their way, if they aren’t already attacking the line.”

“Y-yeah. I’m sure this means you’ll very busy.” Sah said while keeping his eyes glued on Wolva who was still being treated by Ndlo and a few medics.

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“Yeah, but what can we do?” Tim sighed.

“Ah!” Wolva cried as he sat up.

Sah ran to his side and held him up as he loudly coughed.

“Hey, there. Take it easy. How are you feeling?” Sah asked with a rather stiff expression.

“I’m… not dead.” Wolva said while looking at his bare torso.

“You saved that soldier back there. Good job.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a murderer.”

“Hey, cut him some slack. Also, we’re not exactly saints either at this point, bub.”

Such things were said by Sah’s men, but he let out a fake cough before offering Wolva his hand.

“All that matters is that you’re still alive. We still have a mission to accomplish and it’d be a lot harder with less hands.”

Wolva looked into Sah’s eyes for a moment before nodding.

He then took Sah’s hand before being helped up.

“Alright. The knight may have been a scare, but nothing has changed. We’re continuing to W5-N0 next. What about you guys?” Sah asked Ndlo who placed his hand on his chin in response.

“Mmm… why don’t you give us a moment to heal everyone, then we’ll follow you.” He suggested.

Sah nodded before instructing his men to get ready to move.

.

..

“What’s it like being a life magician? I mean, for us, it’s all pain and anguish. Our hair loses colour and we get bad coughs. What about you guys?”

One of Sah’s men asked as they walked through the forest.

“Mmm… well, the sensation of absorbing life is beyond pleasant. It’s almost addictive. You feel like your body is being cleansed of all pain and stuff. Losing or giving away any of that life on the other hand… it’s like watching yourself slowly die.” Tim said with lowered eyes.

“On the upside, our hair grows a lot faster and our bodies are pretty robust, so yeah. It’s all fair, I suppose.” She said with a chuckle.

“Oh… well, for us, absorbing teeth feels like inhaling shards of glass. Expelling it, on the other hand… it’s-“

“Euphoric?”

“Yeah-!”

“Pipe down, boys.” Sah said and silence promptly returned to the forest.

The group eventually reached another clearing in the forest and like the one before, it was the sight of a battlefield, but something was different.

All the soldiers were gathered around three soldiers who looked different from normal UEF members.

These dark warriors were clad in dark armour that was made of countless small dark plates that fit into each other.

Their blank helmets made it impossible for anyone to truly telly tell where they were looking.

Sah approached the crowd and asked a soldier what was going on.

Apparently, the three warriors had managed to kill a silver knight, who’s corpse was next to them.

The soldiers whispered things like how the warriors were part of a special anti knight division, but Sah appeared unsure.

He walked up to one of the warriors.

“Ahem! Hello, who is leader among you?” He asked prompting the three to look at him?

Sah was unsure as to where to look and so he stared at the face of the closest one.

“Death.”

“Sevenths.”

“And Sixths.”

The warriors said one after the other. Their voice were muffled by their helmets, but everyone could still hear whispers next to their ears.

“We have no leader and operate as one. Although I suppose Umbris would likely count as a leader of sorts.” The foremost warrior said.

“Oh? And who are you?” Sah asked while trying to hide his desire to flee.

That’s just how intense the dark warriors were.

Tall, bulky, armoured, spiky, faceless shadows.

“Were are the Black Legion and I am a Kommáti.”

Sah nodded before glancing at the silver knight corpse on the ground.

“I’m assuming you’ve been tasked with taking care of any knights that show up.”

“That assumption would be incorrect.”

“We observe.”

“We are the last resort.”

The Kommáti said.

“I see. So… what now?” Sah asked.

“We depart.”

“Our mission yet continues.”

“To observe.”

Sah winced as he found their way of speaking a bit irritating, but he simply sighed before nodding.

“Tell us if you need anything.” He said as he turned to leave.

“Worry not.”

“Continue as you have.”

“Absorb death.”

Sah rolled his eyes before leading his men to a certain spot in the clearing where they settled down to camp.

They’d all been awake for an unreasonable amount of time and a moments rest was due.

“So… does anyone know what the deal is with those guys?”

One of Sah’s men asked.

“Can’t say. They are definitely the work of Lord Katsíki and Lady Yna.”

“Drop the titles, man. What have they done to earn your respect? It’s you and me who are down here fighting to protect the Expanse. Not them.”

“Do you honestly believe that?” Sah asked while sitting next to a small campfire.

He had a bottle of water in his hands and he tightly clung to it as he blankly stared at the fire.

“How long do you think we would have lasted if it wasn’t for them? How many do you think would have died by now?”

No one responded as Sah looked at his armour.

“I cannot speak for anyone other than myself, but I owe them my life. Especially lady Yna. For the longest time, I was without purpose. Like many Ia, I lived in lower Eimval and I was content with one day dying to the Dark Marks or getting crushed by falling rock. But when the call to arms was sounded, I joined the army and not only were my Dark Marks healed, I given a purpose and… a team. That being said, I won’t stop your from speaking ill of the lord and Lady. I just wanted you to know how I felt.” Sah said as he slowly closed his eyes.

“Mmm… cap’s right. Also, we’ve totally derailed from the previous topic. Those guys, the Black Legion. Do you think they are stronger than the black blades?”

“I don’t think so.” Ndlo said as he and Tim approached the sevenths.

“May we?”

“Go ahead!”

Ndlo and Tim sat next to the group. Their helmets were off, allowing everyone to see just how dirty and tired they were.

“This is my speculation, but the person with the most power in the Expanse is Katsíki. Yna is second, then Han. These three are in charge.” Ndlo said.

“You sound displeased.” Wolva growled from a nearby tree. His head was lowered and his arms were crossed.

“Less displeased and more… concerned. Don’t you think the Expanse’s leadership should consist mostly of Rendaro?” Ndlo asked.

“Aren’t Anda and the Arcusus also on the high council?”

“Do you think they have any power over anything?” Ndlo asked with a smirk.

Everyone let out thoughtful hums.

“All that being said, I suppose we should be grateful. Could any of us have foreseen a time where the Ia and Foph would fight alongside each other?” Ndlo asked.

“No. After lord Katsíki came, I thought he’d pit us against each other. Thankfully that didn’t happen.”

“Yeah, but allow me to ask, what are your dreams beyond surviving this?” Ndlo asked with crossed arms.

“Mmm… what do you mean?”

“Come on, you know exactly what I mean. What did you want to do or become before you were turned into a soldier?” Ndlo asked with a frown.

“Oh… I guess I wanted to be a farmer.”

“Really? Anyone else?” Ndlo asked, his face a twisted frown.

“I wanted to be a baker-“

“No! This world is home to dragons and gods. Tell me at least one of you had dreams of something greater than toiling away in whatever circumstances you found yourself in or settling for such forgettable dreams.” Ndlo asked.

“Ugh, what about you? What are your ambitions and what makes them any better than ours?”

“Ah… allow me to share with you my one true desire.” Ndlo said before narrowing his eyes to a scary degree.

“I wish to one day rule over Coh and by extension, the Expanse. I want to be a king.”