"This is strange. The scout unit should have come back right about now. It's been a while, but something feels off, don't you think?" the acting lead for the skirmisher unit voiced his concern, still waiting in the same place they were told to rest in.

"The attack must have already begun. I've already accounted for the time when we fought them, so there must be something happening back at the city," Charles said.

Just a they were wondering, a loud rustling of leaves could be heard from somewhere, alerting them of a person's presence as they kept silent.

A tall, lanky man appeared, ragged and bloodied, having a cut across his shoulders as he panted heavily, looking around him frantically.

Their blades were pointed at him, but they were asked to lower it once the leader of the skirmisher group recognized the man, rushing up to him and supporting him as he fell to his knees.

"The city, they're b-breaking through. You all need to get back t-there," he forced the words from his mouth, reeling from the cold, sharp pain from his wound.

"You're from the scout unit. What happened to your leader?!"

"S-she held them back. She told me to get away and find you. Says that you can make a difference. Maybe I'll die believing that than nothing. Don't fail us," he pointed weakly at Laruse.

"Then we should save them! We might still have a chance!" he said, facing the others to order them to do what he wanted, except he was stopped by the dying man, shaking his head slowly.

"Please, hurry. Don't let their sacrifice be in vain. Do it... for all of us," he said, his eyes closing ever so slowly, his body went limp, now just an empty husk.

"Well, we better not keep them waiting," Laruse said, standing up, looking more serious than ever, taking what the man said to heart, fueling his own resolve.

"I must agree with Laruse. Although I carry no special feelings of malice for the enemy, I shall pay them this man's effort using my own weapon as if it were his," Charles said so as well, feeling the same things as Laruse as the two of them looked terrifying, sending the other members in a daze.

"R-right! Let's get a move on right away," the leader of the group said cautiously, intimidated by his two allies' aura, gently setting down the brave man on the ground and offering him a small prayer before leaving the way he came from.

It wasn't long before they encountered a group right away, a scouting unit from the looks of it, glancing around their surroundings, trying to find someone near their vicinity.

They numbered ten, equal to the number they had on their own unit, making it easy for them to mark their targets, immediately going in for the surprise attack, clearly startling the soldiers as they were unable to respond with their swords, met with a harsh fate.

Those that fought put up a bit of a challenge, yet inevitably cut down quicker than they could even begin saying anything.

In the meantime, the city was nearly on the brink of ruin, the enemy having broken through the line and advanced through the main districts, taking control here and there, clashing with the defending units consisting of fighters from the city itself and those from the organization.

Fortunately, Ophelia's quick return to reality from her dazed state held back much of the advancing force, rivaling it with her stratagems that utilized the constant and meticulous usage of manpower, and directing it where they were needed, exhausting them greatly in return.

The front line was broken through, yet not fully defeated despite being in disarray and out of formation. It would only be a matter of time seeing as their general carried with him great capabilities, which felled many of the defenders without much effort.

"Tch, back away!" Cedric kicked away an enemy soldier, lunging forward to cut him down.

"Don't worry, Ophelia. I'll keep them away from you," he remarked, acting as her shield and blade, becoming hostile to those that sought harm to her.

He was skilled enough to have held back two soldiers at the same time, both proving difficult, but not impossible for him to defeat, given his motivation of protecting Ophelia, which proved vital for his success.

"Forgive me, Cedric. If only I had not frozen on my duty, then this could not have happened. I can’t even do anything to help you," she said in her sadness, watching in pain as those she considered precious comrades and allies were shedding their blood for the protection of the city.

"Don't worry about that. It's not over yet. As long as you're standing, nothing done. That's why all you need to do is believe in me. I'll get us through."

Just as Cedric confidently stated his resolve, a man stepped forward, easily cleaving through three of the soldiers that stood in his way, lying dead on the pavement, painting it with their blood and screams.

"I wanted to settle this peacefully, but unfortunately the lord calls for absolute subjugation. There's no room for negotiation, not for him that is. If I were him, I'd spare you all and ask to end this peacefully. Now, about what you said about your leader still standing?" he raised his sword, creating hostility to those around him as they rushed to surround the man, all holding their blades before him.

Stolen novel; please report.

"You're down right delusional if you think I'll let you even get near her," Cedric said to him with clear arrogance and aggression.

"She is your leader? *sigh* god forbid that I do something terrible to a woman. I won't harm her, but she will be taken and imprisoned. The lord will decide what's going to become of her. So I'll go against my lord's orders and ask this just once. Will you lay down your arms and surrender both the city and your leader? I'll personally plead to the lord to spare her. He'll listen to his own generals."

"So you're the general. So what? I'd never think of giving her over, not even for anything in the world. Don't even think of making another stupid offer like that."

From behind Cedric spoke Ophelia, stepping forward, looking downcast and frightful; her shoulders trembling slightly.

"If you will spare these men's lives, and the citizens of the city, will you truly keep your promise?" she asked, surprising Cedric greatly as he responded in outrage.

"Ophelia?! What are you saying? I won't let you. And even if you surrender, it'll only disappoint those who trusted you. You can't give up yet. We still have a chance."

"Cedric, so many lives have already been lost here. I've seen much more than that, but I can't help seeing them, those with families dying. It pains me greatly. We have fought for independence, and I still fervently believe in that. But, what if we could settle this with peace. Wouldn't that be better?"

"No, it won't. Haven't you forgotten what they did to your parents and everyone else in Palas? I swore I would never forgive them for as long as I live. I won't stop now. So sit back silently and watch me," Cedric took a step forward, staring at the man.

"So that's a no? Alright, I understand. But I just don't understand why you're all fighting so hard. Unity doesn't seem so bad, in fact it's the best offer this land's got. Guess I'll have to convince you a bit," he raised his sword, gladly meeting Cedric in the middle.

"You can all come at me all at once," he said with confidence.

The man rushed without hesitation, closing the distance between them, and smashing his large sword on the ground, cracking the stone pavement.

Cedric had just barely been able to dodge, moved by his instincts of fear.

"They clashed with each other, one side clearly gaining the advantage with his strength and skill, not letting his enemy touch him with his blade as he was swatted away every time.

Despite Cedric's knowledge of fighting, it was lacking, only knowing a few ways to be able to gain the upper hand, yet even those were nullified by his opponent.

Within seconds he was bleeding from the scratches and scars inflicted upon him; his hands were numb with the feeling of parrying his opponent's large blade; his sword looked like it was on the brink of breaking after the relentless beatings it had taken.

He cursed his lack of power to fight against his opponent on even terms, yet still standing with his trembling arms in front of him, locked in place as he held his sword.

"Cedric! Enough, please! There's no reason for anyone to give their lives up anymore. We've tried, and that much is enough, right? There's no need to overdo it. I don't want to lose you, nor anyone else. So please, while there's still a chance to live through this, listen to me," Ophelia pleaded frantically, tears were starting to fall from her eyes.

Cedric didn't respond for he focused his entire attention to the man before him, choosing to ignore and block out Ophelia's voice, his weakness, the one drawing him back from being resolute and devoted to what he truly wants to do.

He charged, leaving her to reach out to him with failure, seeing him rush off fearlessly, making her body tremble as she thought what might become of him with every passing second.

The two of them again clashed, and the general took it upon himself to be more lenient, not being as aggressive as he was before, allowing Cedric to at least build up his momentum, which he would crush every time it got to a point where he might have been scratched by his blade.

"I don't like drawing things out. Plus, I don't think you have much left in you," he held his large sword with two hands, gripping the hilt tightly, then taking a lengthy step; one that closed the gap between them in mere seconds.

He was inches away from his, his sword was drawn to his side, ready to be swung hard with a twist of his body, which he did; seemingly cutting the wind even.

Cedric noticed later than he could have ever hoped for, forcing him to meet the man's sword, swinging in that direction as well, hoping to counter him.

Yet his luck turned even worse; as he met the man's blade, his sword broke in two and the top half was sent flying into the distance; his torso was cut across diagonally, and he was sent flying towards Ophelia and the rest, rolling and stumbling, stopping as a cloud of dust cleared out from the impact he took upon hitting the ground.

She ran up to him, trying to embrace and shield him, yet he pushed her away, stopping her with his empty eyes and bloodied body.

He stood, falling down several times before he could manage to stand on one leg.

The general backed away and stood in awe.

"Who knew you would survive that. I must really be getting old if an attack I've boasted about doesn't get the job done. But still, I'll commend you. This is what strife brings. It's unavoidable. You either grow with it, or be felled. Now, you're in no state to continue. I'll ask again. Will you surrender while there is still a chance?" he looked stern upon asking, resting the flat edge of his sword on his shoulders.

Without saying anything, Cedric pointed his broken blade towards the general in a defensive stance, his dead eyes peering into his, full of malice, yet lacking expression.

"If that's what you want then. I'll make it as fast as possible so that you won't have to bear the pain," the general said, exhaling and again mustering up his strength to finish things swiftly.

In his mind he wondered many things, yet he didn't want to die, he wanted to keep living. Fear would have gripped him by the neck right about now, but maybe his body was too sluggish to even move. Or might it even be that he braved this trial by his own volition.

(I'm pathetic. Is this all I'm good for? I've always been beaten by everything I've sworn to defeat. But is this really it for me? I can't do anything anymore, and once he's done with me, he'll go for Ophelia next. I-I can't let him... but what can I do at my state?)

He looked straight at him with his fatigued and blurred eyes as the man slowly walked towards them.

He burst into a slow-momentum run, building up until he had enough to raise his sword, backed by his immense strength, wanting to keep his promise by ending things quickly.

As he came close enough, he started bringing down his sword; and in front of Cedric was a shadow of someone who covered his view of the enemy.

With his voice, he mustered out everything he had.

"O-Ophelia! Get out of the way!" he tried to force his body to move but was unable to, subjected to watching the one he cared to die right in front of him.

She indeed stood there, her arms open and shielding her wounded friend, looking fiercely front of her without fear.

She closed her eyes upon seeing her own reflection on the blade; and everything began moving slowly.

She then heard the sound of steel clashing with another, then silence.

She slowly opened her eyes, oddly not feeling any pain.

It was then that she saw the shadow of someone standing before her, his dark slowly fluttering, his brown hair swaying, and his reassuring back facing her.

"You did great, Ophelia, Cedric. Now let me handle things from here."