After the defeat of Faün, Broody quickly surrendered as he was outnumbered by three to one meanwhile Archili chose to escape himself without helping Broody.

Without its masters, the elite army of Temple was also forced back to its main camp.

After its second major victory, Arthur's peasant army had turned into a competent army with peak morale. They were begging to continue marching to the enemy main camp in the same evening. Their blood was boiling with excitement. Arthur had to talk into them that the wounded needed a rest.

The Crown forces threatened the Army of Retribution, which was sitting at the northern plaza near the gate by giving its back to the wall, from three fronts. With just one neighbourhood apart between them, the two armies slept through the tense night in Midlake while facing each other.

"What are you doing here?" Cleo asked Ethan when she saw him visiting her at the palace without being with the army. "You need to be at the frontline in case the Temple counterattacks at night."

"It is fine. Igüan and Dovos are there. So are all the other Spellcasters. They will be fine. I need to see you are alright so that I can fight clear-headed tomorrow. Also, I saw you smile when you saw me just now. Don't act like you don't like it."

"I don't. I am fine so please go back to the frontline. I need you there. Not here." Although she enjoyed seeing him, the victory of war was most important for her at the moment so she shut her heart and told Ethan to go. As a queen, she did not want to risk her subjects' lives by selfishly keeping Ethan near her.

"Everyone is there. Arthur, Luther, Gura. Dovos and Igüan. At least I need to be here for you."

"Abel is here. So, is Jorah. Royal physician as well as old man Elba are taking care of me, too. I have more than enough people here to comfort me. So, you can go." Cleo coldly rejected Ethan's offer.

However, Ethan used his broken claymore as an excuse to stay longer. "You aren't getting rid of me this easily. The ordained sword I got from Louise was broken during the last fight. I can't go back until the blacksmith finishes repairing it, or he makes me a new one. Also, there are some injuries I need Mr.Elba to tend to." Ethan clung to Cleo like a lizard. Battle after battle, Ethan found out how vulnerable a human life was. Even a mighty High Templer might perish in one move. He was scared he or Cleo would go away suddenly. When he was with Leila, he parted with her suddenly and never saw her again. He did not want to lose Cleo like that again. If death was something he could not stop, then, at least, he wanted to cherish the moment he had.

"You are unexpectedly a clingy type, aren't you? Show me. Your injuries."

"Here." Ethan pulled up his shirt and showed some bruises.

Ethan's injuries were light compared to the fight he was in. But what frightened Cleo were the old scars on his body; some of which were just a tiny distance away from fatal spots.

Cleo told him to come closer, as it was still painful to move her back, and blew on his injury. "There. You will get better soon."

"What? What did you do?"

"I gave you some love. I may not know about healing like Mr.Elba or a royal physician. But my mother once told me it is one of the best medicine."

It was quite cheesy but Ethan liked it. "And your mother is right. I feel better already."

"Good. Now, go. There is a small room near the throne hall. All weapons once wielded by the late kings of Midland are displayed there. They were forged by the best smiths in the kingdom so I guarantee their quality. One of them is 'Victrix'. It is the mighty spear that accompanied King Dane in his conquest of unification. You may take it if you want." Cleo told Ethan to check the place out and see if there was anything that suited him before he bought a new weapon from the town blacksmith.

On Cleo's recommendation, he went to look for a weapon at the throne room though he did not expect much. "All the weapons must be old and rusty by now." But when he reached there, he was flabbergasted by the condition of all the weapons. They were in a pristine state as if they were recently made. He doubted some of them even saw a battle in their lives. The custodian explained that he mended, cleaned, and polished them every alternate day to keep them in the pristine state as these weapons were the treasures of the kingdom. The sparkle in the custodian's eyes showed the love and pride he had in his job.

Ethan walked around and inspected all the weapons as the custodian introduced each weapon one by one. As Ethan suspected, the ones in the best conditions were the ones wielded by Kings who never fought a battle. Only two had served in battles before: the bastard sword which had some nicks on its blade owned by King James the Rebellious and the worn-out Victrix the spear. The latter was more than a century old but her aura of conqueror remained. A look at her and one could tell how fierce she was back in her prime. As soon as he entered the room, Ethan was attracted by those two.

Ethan picked up the sword first, "there are a few nicks at the blade. But the blades that had tasted blood are less shy in battle so I will take this."

"Excellent choice, sir champion," replied custodian, "it was the Queen's late father's. It cut down many fanatics and Templers before it was brought down by Lord Mordu' himself. If there is any blade that wants to taste Mordu' 's blood the most, this would be it."

"Good. It is exactly what I need. I will also take Victrix."

"Also Victrix? B..but sir, it is over a hundred years old. Although I clean off the rust and such, it is not suitable to use in battle any longer. Not to mention, it is the national relic."

"I know, sir custodian. She is the treasure of treasure. It won't be an exaggeration if one says she is the history of Midland herself. However, I am not taking her for me. The Queen is in bed but the people need their leader. There is no one but Victrix who is suitable for the role, is there?"

Ethan convinced the custodian. He picked up the spear. It was light compared to its length. The wood was over a hundred years old but still retained its strength and flexibility. There was not a single mite on it.

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"My great grandfather was spear-bearer of King Dane. My family has taken care of it successively to this day." The custodian spoke proudly of his work.

"Your family did a great job. You have my utmost respect. I promise to return her to you in the same state."

"I sure hope so, sir champion."

After getting some sleep at the palace, Ethan rode back to the frontline in the middle of the night since the assault would start after the break of dawn. He saw Commander Peak and Lord Onion also join lord Arthur at the camp, strategizing for the assault to the last stand of the enemy at the gate. "We are taking the city back today. ...oh, right in time you have returned, sir Champion. We have just made the plan of attack. How about Her Majesty? Is her Majesty.." greeted Commander Peak when he saw Ethan and asked him about Cleo. He was hesitant as he was afraid her injury would be too great. All the lords felt the same; afraid to lose their new Liege.

They had already lost Louise. If Cleo, the last lineage of King Dane, were gone too, the throne of Midland would be empty and all lords would be free of bond. Even if they defeated Lord Mordu' and Temple, the rival Lords would fight each other for the throne. The kingdom would descend into a state of chaos.

Only when they heard Her Majesty was fine, they showed a sigh of relief.

"This is good news. Now we can smile. Anyway... I have seen that sword before. Isn't that King James's..?"

"Yes, it is. Her Majesty allowed me as my claymore was broken in the last fight."

"But are you sure...that you want it? I mean...it is a bastard sword."

"It is fine. Its versatile role is more suitable for a spellcaster like me. Sometimes, I need one of my hands free to cast a spell. The claymore is too heavy for that. This sword is perfect. It is light enough to hold with one hand and strong enough to cut down armours with two hands."

"If you say so. I am glad that you find a new weapon quickly. Anyway, what's that thing wrapped in cloth in your other hand?"

"This? This is Victrix."

As soon as Ethan introduced the embodiment of the late conqueror, all the lords muttered confusedly. Perplexed by the action of Ethan, Arthur asked, "Victrix? Do you mean the spear of King Dane? Why did you bring it out of the palace? It is not a weapon for you to wield; even if you are the Champion of God. It is the treasure of Midland. It does not belong on the battlefield." He was displeased by Ethan for treating their treasure as a mere weapon. Arthur had lobbied Ethan as the champion of God. He also supported Ethan's union with Cleo. But it was for Cleo to ascend as Queen to the throne. He was using Ethan as a tool for Cleo's ascension. He was displeased with Ethan when Ethan acted up like a King. He had no intention to accept Ethan; a mere tool he was using; as his Liege.

"Calm down, Lord Arthur. His holy champion must have a reason." Peak stepped in to stop escalation as Arthur seemed to be getting aggressive.

"I am afraid you have misunderstood me, Sir Arthur. I do not mean to use Victrix as a weapon. She is here as the envoy of Her Majesty. Her Majesty cannot be here with us but Victrix will remind our soldiers that we are the descendants of the conqueror. It shall give them courage and confidence." Ethan explained. "And I have no intention to hold it myself. I wanted sir Luther, the captain of King's guard and the close aide of Her Majesty, to be the bearer of Victrix."

After the explanation, Arthur apologised for his mistake ending the quarrel. Arthur was pleased to hear that his son would be the bearer. However, Luther declined the offer as he dared not take the big responsibility. He returned the honour to Ethan, "As the champion of Midlake, you are best suited to take Victrix to battle and bring victory. Take Victrix as the banner on your back and ride to battle."

Luther conceded himself since it was a huge responsibility to keep it safe, especially as a non-spellcaster. Arthur insisted saying it was only right for the captain of King's guard to be the spear-bearer of King.

"Great. Everything is solved. We are good to go then!" Peak exclaimed.

All issues were solved so they moved on to recapitulating the plans again with Ethan as one last time before battle.

"This battle is something we have not fought before. Most cities would fall after the walls were breached and part of them fell to carnage. This is the first in history that half of our city has already fallen yet we successfully push back the besiegers. If we succeed, our names will be in the annals: praising us in glory. However, this is no conventional battle like in the field or the wall. This is a complex battle with many levels. The enemy has taken fort inside the neighbourhood. So, we have to fight on the streets as well as inside the building and on the roofs."

"Then, I will clean up the roof for you. I can easily jump up and..." Ethan pitched in as he was confident that he could easily get to the roof.

"No. We don't need you there, sir champion. It is the task of our footsoldiers. Your task is to wait patiently until the infantry creates a path to the barrack where the enemy commander is residing."

"But I can help. I can easily defeat.."

"We know. We know that with you there, we will easily win without losing many men."

"Then, let me hel.."

"However!" Before Ethan could finish his sentence, Commander Peak interrupted again, "However, you may get tired or injured before your fight with Grand Templer. It is a risk we can't take. No one but you can take on Grand Templer and have a chance to win in this Midlake. If we can't defeat the enemy commander, everything we have done will be all nought. So, only put your mind on defeating Grand Templer. Let us take care of the rest. Also, we have built bridges to cross the roofs. God-bestowed spells may be convenient but there is nothing we can't solve with our hands and brains too." Commander Peak beat his chest as he spoke to show his confidence and pride in his men.

Ethan saw Luther and the rest also felt the same so he gave in. "Then, I will be in your care. I shall only focus on defeating Grand Templer and lifting the siege."