With superior numbers, the peasant army of the crown pushed the army of Retribution back to the wall. After a day-long fight, they had a breakthrough into enemy ranks through the right flank.

Ethan and a dozen purple cloaks penetrated deep into enemy headquarters. The commanders of the Retribution Army, who were the spoiled lords from Rode and Norg, retreated outside of the city when they saw their defence lines broken. Then, they suddenly saw light across the gate.

The infamous black cavalry of House Harrimore which was sitting idly at the south gate was found outside of the north gate.

The retreating commanders found relief as another loyal servant of Temple showed up in their time of need.

A lord stepped forward and welcomed the new forces, "Lord Harrimore. Finally, you must have decided to take some action too after sitting idly in the south for weeks. You have made the right choice. Lord Mordu' is the true son of God and the Temple is the true way of life. You may be one of the Houses of Midlake but there is no need to keep your oath to those devil's swine. We have been slapping these devil's pawns back to hell where they belong but, of course, His Holy Might will be glad if you and your army participate in his service to Lord Mordu'."

The lord welcomed lord Harrimore with an attitude. All the commanders of the Retribution Army were lords from Rode and Norg regions. Their pride would not let a lord from Midlake save them. He made the aid of House Harrimore as submission to Temple and them.

"It seems you have the wrong idea, Lord Farsia of Rode," replied Lord Harrimore the fourth. "My cavalry is here by the royal command of Her Majesty the Crown; to annihilate all disloyal subjects of hers and put down this rebellion. Under the ancient agreement between King Dane and Lord Mordu', the Temple must never touch the Crown and the royal family. This attempt to dispose of the royal family and replace the crown with Duke Ducan of House Goldfields is a blatant violation of the agreement. Any Lords and subjects of the Crown partaking in this act are deemed as treasonous. As the ancient House that had ridden alongside King Dane and saw this agreement written in first hand, my forefathers had given me the duty to uphold it," announced lord Harrimore the Fourth.

"What!? What did you say? What nonsense are you spouting?" Perplexed, Farsia of Rode stuttered.

"Exactly as you heard. Riders of Harrimore! Put down this rebellion at once."

As it turned out, the black cavalry of Harrimore was at Midlake by the order of the Crown. When Midlake was besieged by the Retribution Army from the north and Easton army at the east, Cleo foresaw that her subjects would run away from the south gate. She noticed the intention of Grand Templer purposely leaving the south gate open to destroy the integrity of Crown's forces by desertion. So, she needed someone to close the hole.

House Harrimore, being the most respected ancient clan of Midlake and enjoying the closest relationship to Temple among the clans of Midlake, was the perfect actor for that role.

Five hundred black cavalries would not be much against the ten thousand-strong army of Temple, especially when ordered to hold the walls of Midlake at the early stage of war. However, they could be decisive forces when the enemy was a battle-battered army trying to retreat to an open field by squeezing through the gate.

The declaration from Lord Harrimore the fourth slapped the smug out of the lords of Rode and Norg. Once prideful lords who thought they were untouchable became known the fact that they were not as invincible as they thought they might be. They turned to their last hope, the Grand Templer, the great commander of the Retribution Army.

"A young clever Queen. She always seems to be a step ahead of me." The Grand Templer gave a remark as he finished his cup of tea while observing the battlefield from the top of the tower at the barrack.

The Grand Templer decided it was time for him to step up and end the war himself when his forces were reduced to two-thirds of the initial size with casualties and injuries. He told his men to clear out of the plaza and retreat to the open field while he would be facing the champion of Midlake. He hated that his men would be caught up in the heat when he used area spells during the confrontation. His plan became obsolete as Harrimore's cavalry entered the battle from Crown's side and ran down any of his men who were getting out of the city.

"Sir Champion. It seems the black cavalry is on our side."

"Yes. It appears so. They can't run away anymore. So, I will catch those enemy commanders and end the war." Ethan saw the end of the war. He asked the knights to take care of Ring as he headed toward the enemies alone. He cut down anyone who stepped in to stop him. The elite golden guards fell one after another as if they were papers. "I am Ethan, the champion of God. Surrender and tell your men to stand down. Fight for the false apostle and you shall see your next life. Surrender and your lives shall be spared as captives. I give you my words," persuaded Ethan.

At that moment, Ethan heard a bark coming from the cloaked man behind the lords. "How dare? A fake champion dares to defile His Holy Name. It is you who shall stand down!" The man lowered his cloak and showed his face. "The holy patrons and their army shall never fall for such devil talks. By His Name, I shall cleanse this land of sins and revitalise the faith of truth!" Ayeegyee of Wisdom declared.

"You..you. I know you." Ethan stuttered when he saw the man's face. "You are that Ayeegyee from Gambit who held court against me."

"True. It was I. Now, kneel before me, fugitive. You are taking everyone to the down-path. Ask for forgiveness. Else, you shall never see life again for you will burn in hell for eternity." Ayeegyee acted high and mighty when Ethan seemed to remember him. From high horse, he looked down at Ethan and told him to ask for forgiveness.

"What a load of crap," Ethan answered back. "You don't look so wise given your title. Where did your wisdom go during these two years? Your feeble threats do not work against me anymore. Your lies, I am sick of them." Ethan brought his blade to the front and dashed.

Like a gush of wind, he passed through the crowd of lords and stopped behind them. Then, he shook the drops of blood off his blade. After the last drop, the Ayeegyee fell off his horse and dropped to the ground, all his signs of life came to rest. He proved that commanders or footsoldiers, lords or peasants, all were the same before him. That they all could lose their heads.

Since ancient times, defeated royalties and high nobles were mostly imprisoned as it was the unspoken agreement between them. Because of that, all High Lords thought they were untouchable even if they were to be defeated. When they saw an Ayeegyee lose his life before them, it terrified them to the core.

They ran back to the barrack where their great Grand Templer was as their last hope of survival. One Lord dropped his sword and dismounted as a form of surrender. Ethan spared the one who surrendered but he threw the others off their mounts by a blast of wind. The table had turned. It was Ethan who was standing while the lords, who were ever on their high horse, rolled on the ground. He squashed their pride so that they would never dare to raise their sword against Cleo again.

"Enough is enough."

At that moment, a handsome voice full of authority stopped Ethan. A middle-aged man who was about to step into the age of senile causally walked through the battlefield as if he were in a flower field. No one seemed to dare stand before him. Allies and enemies alike stayed away from him.

Ethan could sense an aura from that person which was completely different from any opponents he had fought. His aura was strong and intimidating but there was no vile or malevolent in it. There was a sense of sorrow in the man's eyes. They were the first pair of eyes Ethan felt humane among all the adversaries of Temple he had fought. Before, they were either menacing or narcissistic.

"Enough is enough. This endless bloodshed has to stop."

"Yes, it has to," replied Ethan.

As soon as the two reached a distance between them, they dashed toward each other. The champion of new faith and the final defender of old had a run of test on strength. By raw strength, Ethan's attack was slightly heavier. But Ethan was impressed for a fifty-year-old man to be equal in raw strength with him who was twenty years younger.

"You have a good grip, old man."

Ethan got excited for a moment. He was crossing swords with the strongest warrior of Midland. It was his dream when he joined the service at the Temple years ago.

"Do not lower yourself to the level of an idiot who is excited by a fight, champion of new faith. Do not fight because you enjoy; fight because you hate. Or you will be in the endless cycle of fight. If you don't die today, that is."

Ethan took in the piece of wisdom the Grand Templer shared with him. Then, he twisted and turned his sword ending the deadlock. By using the wind step, he swiftly went behind Grand Templer and slashed. However, he had to abandon his strike when he saw the Grand Templer's blade waiting for where he would step.

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Ethan quickly switched to fire blast instead of slashing with his blade. It was close range so Ethan was confident that Grand Templer could not dodge. Then, again, he found his adversary to be a step ahead of him. His fireblast hit a wall of ice instead.

"He built a wall faster than my blast. How is it possible?" Ethan was surprised.

But it did not end there. Grand Templer prepared one more surprise for Ethan. The water from the melted ice wall was manipulated like a whip and lashed Ethan. Ethan was soaked wet in the middle of winter which gave Grand Templer a perfect opportunity to cage Ethan in ice prison. Ethan jumped out of the danger with a second away. The frost only managed to scratch him.

"What seamless invoking of a series of spells," Ethan remarked. Faün's spells were powerful and mostly focused on each cast meanwhile Grand Templer's were like a stream of water which was the style Ethan had been striving to be perfect.

Ethan charged back after a tiny break. He did not want to give the Grand Templer a breather. As an old man over fifty, the Grand Templer was bound to be exhausted earlier than him if he kept pressing on.

He was hindered by a thick cloudy ice-barrier so he took a detour to the side with wind-steps. "He must have raised the defence so he only has to choose left or right by blocking my middle path. A clever way to defend against wind-steps technique which changes direction at every last second." Ethan learnt. He chose right.

As a right-handed swordsman, choosing left would be easier to strike but Grand Templer would have predicted it. So, he took a difficult path.

Ethan spun backwards and slashed diagonally. The moment he swung, Ethan noticed his blade was moved differently. He was parried by Grand Templer who was waiting for him to punch him in the face. Ethan heard a cracking sound from his nose before he fell back.

"How is he waiting for me there as if he knew I was coming? Is he reading my mind?" Ethan started to suspect as it was the second time Grand Templer saw his move. "This is our first time exchanging blows. How are you predicting my every move like I am a book you have read?" Ethan asked.

The Grand Templer was a man who talked little but did more. He spoke only when he had to.

Ethan could not tell how the Grand Templer was doing it but one thing he certainly could tell was that Grand Templer was getting tired.

Earlier, the Grand Templer could have ended the fight by chasing him when he was concussed. He chose to take a break instead.

"Age gives experience which may be the very reason he predicts my every move. But age also has a drawback on him," assessed Ethan, "his body isn't what it used to be. If I keep pushing on..." Ethan determined his tactics.

He leapt into the air and stooped to his target. The Grand Templer raised a gigantic ice shard in Ethan's path but Ethan shattered it in one blow. The Grand Templer had moved out of the place since he knew it wouldn't be able to stop Ethan. He retreated into the barrack compound behind him.

Ethan, without a break, chased the Grand Templer. They had a serious bout of crossing blows; sparks flew at each contact as Ethan put a heavy swing in each attack and Grand Templer parried every one of those attacks perfectly. Rocks were cut and big wooden pillars were splintered after contact with Ethan's divine-reinforced attacks. The sturdy stone barrack was being broken apart as if it was under attack by the catapults.

At first, Ethan thought he had an advantage in stamina. As the bout continued, he found himself at the losing end. His breathing became ragged while the breath of the old adversary was as smooth as a breeze. Ethan felt he entered a swamp. The more he put the effort in, the more he sank. "His timing of parry is too perfect," thought Ethan, "he isn't moving after me. He is moving at the same time...no...even before me. He is leading me."

Ethan realised the true power of the Grand Templer. "He is not reading my mind. And there is no way he is a clairvoyance. No one can see the future. So, how does he read all my moves before me?" Ethan stopped to assess the situation before he sank any further into his adversary's swamp.

The Grand Templer sighed when Ethan noticed a scent of his true power. He stepped up his game before Ethan found out any further. He kicked his heel to the floor and murmured, "Rumble."

Ethan felt dizzy and wobbled. At that moment, he saw an attack coming straight to his neck. His subconscious told him to block but he chose to evade. He leapt backwards but his body jumped to the side crashing into the stonewall of the barrack. Due to the force, Victrix fell off his back.

The Grand Templer frowned as his prey escaped. He kicked his heel again before Ethan was back to his feet. He lunged at Ethan who had his back to the wall.

Ethan fell back again before he stood up. He searched for Victrix since Luther entrusted it to him. As the spear of King, he could not let Victrix lie on the ground. However, the dizziness stroke again. He could not balance himself. The Grand Templer was coming so he gave up searching Victrix at the moment. He focused on facing Grand Templer first.

"I can block. There is enough time." The subconscious spoke to Ethan again. However, his instinct knew he couldn't. So, he rolled to the side and blasted a fireball. He missed his target miserably but he managed to stay alive by evading. Before the Grand Templer attacked him again, Ethan found his balance quickly and jumped onto the tower that the Grand Templer might not reach easily. He needed time to reassess the situation before he faced him again. But he was not given.

The Grand Templer kicked the wall of the tower lightly and the tower started to collapse after a strong shaking.

Ethan jumped onto the rooftop of the barrack to take refuge from the collapsing tower. His old adversary bombarded him with a series of icicles. The powerful projectiles tore apart the roof tiles instead as Ethan managed to evade them all.

"Nothing will change if I only keep evading. I have to fight," a thought came to Ethan, "I can melt the missiles with a fireball and launch an attack."

Ethan switched to the offence as his mind advised. He threw a big blue fireball that could burn anything in its way. Following it was Ethan behind the cover of brilliant light; ready to strike by the moment Grand Templer dispelled the fireball.

As expected, even the blue fireball that could burn to crisps to any mere Templers was nothing for Grand Templer. When Grand Templer dispelled the spell, Ethan jumped out from behind the light and slashed, only to find a stab in his belly by a polearm.

Just as the last time, Grand Templer saw through his move and prepared a counter.

"Damn it. This hurt more than I expected," muttered Ethan, "but so worth it." Ethan grinned victoriously as the Grand Templer spat blood.

While launching an attack from the front, Ethan had a backup behind the Grand Templer. With the trick he learnt from Faün, he lifted Victrix which had been lying on the ground since earlier with a wind spell and used it to stab from the back.

"To die in the hand of an exceptional warrior and by the weapon of King, I am truly honoured." The Grand Templer spoke calmly as he coughed out the blood coming up at each breath. He was at peace even though he lost.

"Quite the contrary, I am honoured to cross swords with you. It took me some time to figure out your trick, Sir Holy Might. Whenever I attacked, you predicted my moves. So, at first, I thought you could read my mind. Then, I noticed you were not reacting to my move, instead, you were moving the same as me or earlier than me at some points. It was as if you had clairvoyance. But in reality, you were leading me. You were talking to my mind. All the subconscious thoughts that came to my mind were you. You fed me seemingly great options so that I chose them, only to be met with a counter. You have such a frightening spell. How do you even cast that, I can't even imagine a way?"

"You have an impressive talent in analysis and assessment, sir Champion." Grand Templer praised Ethan. He continued, "If I give you a hint, you may learn *cough *cough to cast it next week. Maybe I should. It will be fascinating, indeed."

"Why? Why would you help your enemy learn your spell?"

"This is just an encounter in crossing destiny. 'Enemy' is such *cough a strong word to describe you or me. You are an opponent I meet in this ever-changing nature of the world. *Cough. It may take a decade, or a century, or even a millennium. But there will come a day when everything you remember will change so aggressively that you won't recognise any of it anymore. I hope *cough you *wheeze will be more accepting than Lord Mordu' when the time comes. For reference, my spell_it has to do with vibration."

The Grand Templer soon passed away after a few difficult breaths.

Ethan carried him by the shoulder and rested the body over a table. He placed the arms over the chest with the sword in between. He treated the body with the utmost respect. Then, he went out of the compound and announced his victory to the plaza by raising Victrix, ending the war of Midlake.