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“My liege, I apologize for asking again. But are you sure?”
Karsten and his court mage were looking down on a leather map on a wooden table in a spacious tent.
Karsten was a man with the body of a hulk. Even when fully clothed, one could easily see his impressive muscles. In addition to his physical prowess, he was also a very intelligent man. When he decided to declare war on the kingdom of Egra, he wanted a quick resolution.
The kingdom of Egira hadn’t still recovered from the recent invasion, and thus he did not want a war of attrition.
His idea was that he would conquer and raze a few settlements without any mercy which might be able to force a conditional surrender from Egra. His goal was quick reunification, and he was even willing to let the other royal family be merged into his own. He just needed the other half of the kingdom desperately because, as it stood, while Egria had defeated an invasion, it would soon be invaded again. The nation was just too weak on its own. It may have survived a hundred years, but the situation of its surrounding kingdoms had changed where Egria on its own could no longer stay independent. If reunified, however, there was hope.
His court mage was fully aware of Karsten’s plan as well as his dilemma. He wasn’t completely against his idea, either. It was just that giving an order to eradicate the entire population of a city was really a tall order to give out.
“A small sacrifice for a long period of peace as well as survival,” Karsten insisted.
“So be it,” The court mage replied weakly while slowly closing his eyes.
And on that day, Lyatan was razed to the ground, leaving virtually no survivors.
Karsten clad in a full plate armor bar a helmet stood before what was once a bursting trade city of Lyatan. He was flanked by his court mage donning a hooded robe with a long staff along with numerous soldiers with halberds.
Not far from them, charred corpses were seen everywhere. No building was standing. Its walls were mostly crumbled. The air was thick with smoke and more.
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“The deed has been done. No turning back now,” Karsten declared.
“You have to go all the way, milord. Let us not waste their lives,” The court mage added to which Karsten gave a firm nod.
Karsten wanted to raze at least two more settlements. Observing their map in a tent, the closest settlement was the village of Bronn.
“Only two fifty, huh,” He mumbled.
“Town Vedo might be a better target, but it’s at least ten days away,” The court mage explained. “However, Bronn is on the way to Vedo. It will take a few days of detour. Thus, we might as well.”
“Alright then. We are heading to Bronn.”
“Yes, milord.”
As soon as they arrived at Bronn, the army of 15,000 men encircled the village. Karsten wasn’t going to waste much time, and it showed as the army began firing fire arrows to finish the village off quickly. Before fire would spread in an uncontrollable manner, about two regiments were sent in to eradicate the populace or at least thin them down. The fire as well as the encirclement would take care of the rest.
Karsten as well as his court mage were out of their tent and were observing the village from a hill a bit further out. At one point, Karsten remarked, “I saw something fly up.”
The court mage, who wasn’t really paying attention, went full alert as he heard what his liege said.
“I don’t believe any mage would be present at the village.” Having said so, the court mage scanned the sky quickly. It was already getting pretty dark. Thus, it wasn’t an easy feat to spot something or someone flying.
“My liege, do you see it?”
Karsten narrowed his eyes. After a short moment, he drew out his sword while pointing ahead. “Over there. It’s coming straight at me.”
“A wind mage with levitation?” The court mage uttered and soon chanted an incantation. “Elementals of Earth, heed my call. Protect my liege! Stoneskin!”
Karsten’s skin turned slightly brown and began to crack like overly dried soil. This visual effect soon vanished.
A wind mage capable of casting levitation would be one with above average affinity which would make him a formidable opponent. Even if alone, he would be a dangerous opponent especially for an army for one single reason. Wind spells were often area of effect spells. The potential damage and chaos a competent wind mage could inflict to an army in a tight formation would be devastating.
“Archers!” The court mage shouted. “Fire at the intruder at will! Mages, fire your ranged spell to stop him!”
However, Karsten exclaimed in response, “No archers! Use only magic! Falling arrows will incur friendly casualties!”
Several guards with halberds dashed and stood in front of Karsten, and mages in the vicinity started to fire whatever they had at the incoming intruder.
Firebolts flew away. Wind blades were cast. Whoever it was, he never made it to where they were and fell right out of the sky into a mob of soldiers where he was hacked to death.