Outside the castle, the empty peaks of the mountains that acted like a shield for the castle have been compromised. Standing at the end of one mountain face stood a lone knight.
His armor shimmered even with the dim light that barely broke through the smoky clouds that historically never faded over the area. The gold and silver plates of the armor shined despite the metallic scratches that plagued it showing its usage. Attached to the back of the breastplate, a white flowing cape stretched behind the armored being as they stared down at the castle. His head was the only thing that wasn't carefully secured in armor. He was fixated on the building down in the valley. Despite the calming blue, his pupils glowed a faint red with anger, mimicking his face flushing with a burn.
Someone rushed behind him, activating his instincts to reach for his sword that was once sheathed and was now gripped tightly in his fist.
"Sir, we just received word from the Capital." The knight exclaimed. Their words delivered swift enough to halt the deadly reaction.
The Champion of Light took a deep breath, releasing the stress that was building up from his glaring at the King of Darkness' castle for so long. He nearly forgot he wasn't alone.
He turns back to the knight and the rest who have followed him this far. Even after multiple looks, the sheer amount of those who were willing to fight impressed him greatly.
This was the first time in their world's history that the nations have united for one fight. The nations of the north, east, and west have become one army to fight against the King and his Dark army. And that included his own nation, ruled by his queen, nicknamed: The Queen of Light, the King's mortal enemy. And to her, he was her Champion. Giving him the title as the Champion of Light. Or shortly, 'The Hero'. The one who is the most experienced in engaging with the King.
"What is the report knight?" He asks after he puts away his sword for the time being. He keeps his hand on the handle in case he needs to brandish at any moment.
"We have received word that Her Majesty is on her way to participate in the fight."
"What!?" He exclaims, his calm and serious composure is lost at this sudden news. Alerting the nearby knights that lounged around near them until it was time for action.
"Yes, the messenger was sent off by the Queen herself as she was already on her way. Many tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen to reason and it was too late to stop her."
Multiple emotions went and came over his face, plain to see for the knights. He cut his report short before he made it any worse. Despite the many pleads and various discussions with his Queen, she still in the end chose to endanger herself. It annoyed him immensely, but at the same time, that was what drew him to her in the first place.
He can still remember when the two met, it was after the forces of the King of Darkness attacked the village where he lived as a child. He was the sole survivor. It was a poor village that didn’t have much to offer, and yet he was surprised to see the Queen herself be one of the first to search the area for survivors like him. She saved his life that day, and since, he has devoted to growing strong to ensure he would protect her from the menace.
Reliving that and remembering his promise, he calms himself and begins thinking what his next actions should be.
“Sir?” The knight hesitates, but speaks after what felt like too long of a silence between them.
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“I am fine. If the Queen wishes to join us in battle, then that is her wish. But that also means we cannot afford any delay. Inform the faction leaders that we are beginning to mobilize for battle.”
The knight clicks his heels together and salutes the Champion, “Sir!” He then blended in with the crowds of knights that stood idle about and attempted to recover from the trek through the mountains.
The Champion of Light returned his attention back to the castle. Its bleak appearance was not the kind that would instill fear into you, but knowing who it belonged to would send the feeling of cold death up their spine. But only two people in the world aren’t afraid of the King. One of them was on their way and as for the other…
He drew his sword back out and pointed it toward the building. He knew somewhere inside that sad looking structure was the dangerous tool that the King was building in his attempt to dominate the world. At least that was what their intel told them was what the King was doing. It wasn’t like the King to be constructing anything. Destruction and ruin was always his motif on any incident he had been responsible for.
The change worried him immensely. It was the very reason he knew he had to end the King’s life before he could even use the tool. And that triggered his odyssey to convince the other nation leaders to put aside their differences for a single event and have their armies fight together as one. With further aid from his Queen, a treaty was made. And the World’s One Army was created.
He didn’t know how exactly he ended up selected as the one who would lead the charge of the attack and be the main general of the army. He first thought it was a sick joke. He didn’t have the smarts to lead an army, let alone one composed of millions and millions of knights with different attributes and qualities that he has to mind, the idea of it makes his stomach turn. But he couldn’t reject it when the Queen was the one who suggested him for the position.
A collection of knights began piling behind him, awaiting for his command. Some could be heard bickering with one another on various things, but the noise was too much for his ears to pick up any key details. But he suspects they must be talking about him and how they want their own general to be the one to lead the World's One Army.
The Champion would climb onto one the larger boulders present near him as he attempts to speak to the unified force.
"I want to thank you all for making it this far into the enemies' territory." He begins, giving time for the knights to stop their actions and give him their attention before he goes to the main point. "I realize that we have only united here to stop the King from activating his constructed tool. But this is a long time coming. For too long, we have allowed this parasite to infect our livelihood. Every year, we lose lives that could have been prevented if we had the strength to rebel him back to the hell he came from. Not just lives are being lost, but the ones living have to spend their days in fear of whether they will be next to fall by one of his minions rampaging through our countryside."
Few of the knights nod, others stay silent, but it was clear that reminding them of what the King of Darkness has been doing to the world for centuries was keeping their attention. There was not one knight there that could make a joke about the situation revolving around that being. Either they tell their children to beware of him, or their own mothers did to them growing up. But what gets them the most about it is that this was a warning their parents also received as children from their parents and the lineage continued for as long as humanity lived.
"Well, I grow tired of hearing my comrades and neighbors dealing with all that. I grow tired of having to be depended on to be the sole answer to this demon. Everyone deserves their own life without the constant reminder of the chain that keeps them from experiencing real freedom!"
The Champion could see that many were nodding to what he was saying. They forgot their fatigue and were energized by their personal reasons as to want to take down the King of Darkness. That was what united the army in the first place. Every nation had good reasons to want to end the reign of the King. Some wanted his land, some wanted safer trading between nations for profit, some had even more personal reasons.
Whatever their reasons are, they were for once, united.
"Today, we will make a stand and declare we want our freedom! We want to be free of fear! We will end the Demon of the Human Race!"
The knights roared in cheers. When the Champion raised his sword into the sky, the knights followed his movements.
But as they cheered and their morale boosted, none saw how some small child-like dirty beings scurried behind the rocks and headed toward the back of the force. Some looked hungrily at the knights.