From horizon to horizon, all the eyes could see were fire and smoke; the surrounding lands were ravaged and bloodied. Corpses and injured bodies littered the land, but not all of them were human; all manner of races, as well as beasts and monsters only found in legends and myths, could be found lying and wailing in this now-forsaken land.
This land was once magnificent to behold, full of tall trees and a meadow so green it stretched from horizon to horizon. All manner of game was abundant and full of life, but now all that is left is chaos and destruction.
A valiant man of small stature stood atop a small hill, dressed in full-body armor that could only be seen in medieval times; however, his armor was not simple and would not be worn by a foot soldier or a general. You can only imagine how gallant this armor was, only worn by the highest command in any army, not for decoration but for war, but now it is battered and holed, and some parts are missing.
The man with his armor has three pairs of wings at his back, but each pair is different from one another; one pair at the bottom has bat-like features that can only be seen on a dragon's back; the other two pairs have dove-like features; one is white at the very top while the other is black in between the other two pairs.
The dove-like pair of wings are ragged and thorned, and the right pair of the white wings was clearly broken from his back, now sagging while he stood, while the bat-like wings have a missing left pair and are clearly pulled from where they are connected, and the right pair is bent and full of holes. Only the black dove-like wings remains intact.
He is gasping and attempting to recover his breath as he rests both of his armored gloved hands on a great sword, the great sword is more than half his height, not including the hilt which is a third of a meter long. The blade as wide as his forearm, two fingers thick, and has an unsharpened edge that is now chipped and broken at the tip.
He look at the far horizon, trying to see whats out there, but with his tired mind and body, he couldnt see anything. Between him and the horizon was filled with desolation, it was obvious that the surrounding place that span from horizon to horizon is a battlefield, and from what was left of the battlefield, not just any war happened here.
It was a great battle that consist of almost uncountable numbers of foot soldier and combatants, towering siege engine of war, and magical spells. But now what was left are bodies upon bodies that can be stack together to make mountains, debris of the former formidable siege engine scattered here and there, and chaotic energy swirling in the air. It has been months since the battle started and only ended just a moment ago.
Scanning on what lay around him, then he sighed deeply. He was aware of the best course of action to take because it was clear that the combat had resulted in a pyrrhic victory. There were numerous bodies, and the battle had already been won but there was no clear victor
His thoughts were interrupted as he overheard the sound of someone walking towards him. He could tell from the sound of the footsteps that the guy was exhausted and worn out. He didn't turn around to check who it was because he already have an idea from the footsteps.
He waited for a little while longer till he heard the footsteps stop a short distance from where he was standing. The freshly arrived was obviously a guy, two times taller than the valiant man, with a rugged face covered in scars, a body with an imposing build and full hardened muscles that almost bursting beneath the armor he wore. If one were to judge this man solely by his appearance, one would think twice about running into him in a dark alley. But no, if anyone look closely, this man has a stature full of dignity, based on the way he carried himself. With the addition of the armor he wore, you can say he is quite gallant himself. Even though it is obvious that his station is lower than the valiant man from the way his full-body armor was made and designed, he can be still called a nobel man.
The Valiant man waits for a few more moments before breaking the silence with a deep breath...
"How many left standing, General?" The Valiant man said
"Not many sir; if we put all that was left standing, we could certainly gather two legions' worth of men."
he sighed, “In this circumstance, we are unable to engage in another battle. After gathering them, begin salvaging and plundering anything you can. After a week of rest, begin your retreat.” He said decisively and with a hint of authority
“Retreat sir?” the general was in disbelief. this is the first time he heard that word from his commander, he couldnt help by to ask agasin to clarify what he had just heard.
“Absolutely, retreat. According to my estimation, it will still be a week and a half or maybe two atmost before their reinforcements arrive.”
"Reinforcement? But didn't the high command say that this is the main army?" the general asked
"Main army, my ass!" Don't believe what the high command said. I have a feeling that they are keeping things from me. And from what I see right now, they surely did hide something from me; this is not the main army but the vanguard. Their main army doesn't have Armam as a unit; they only use those races when they want to consume the forces of their opponent.
"With this race's traits of high reproduction, stamina, and quick recovery, they will have the number that has the most stamina that will outlast most elite soldiers and won't just die from a missing limb. Any army this race faces will succumb sooner or later, and those that survive their onslaught, then that's when their main army arrives."
"But, sir, that is impossible! This race doesn't exist on this continent; Cannaer doesn't have this kind of army, and you killed their high commander in this war! Why would their high commander command this army if it is not the main army?"
”This race exsist since long time ago and kept hidden by Cannaer, this is their secret army, which they gather and trained to be their cannon fodder, now it is confirmed that the reason they easily conquered a quarter of this continent in just a few thousand years, they have this cannon fodder. we only knew this information becuase we have a doubt by how fast they can conquer one kingdom after another.
“And that is, at best, a general with more experience rather than a high commander. A high commander cannot be eliminated so quickly. To be more credible, this army needs someone to act as a high commander.”
He paused for a second to reflect before speaking. "Please tell me how long it took for our army to arrive," I said.
“Ten years sir”
"And that is riding all the transportation ship that took us here. If we travel by marching, it will take us 100 years to get here and 100 years more to get back, maybe more, and that does not include the dangers that we will encounter while marching. And where is that transport ship now?"
“They left us here sir, they should be a half a year or more away from us as per protocol.”
“Did you check the transport ship that brought us here?”
“No sir”
"Then you didn't notice that they only have enough ether for a back-and-forth journey." The valiant man asked.
"But in the briefing, we are supposed to procure the ether in the surrounding mines, and the remaining ether in the transport ship is for our use to advance to a defendable area and hold on, not to go back home."
"That scenario is for when we have 80% of our army; we cannot advance and defend with more than one and a half legions worth of soldiers. The ship's ether is not for defending but for them to escape; they already accounted that we cannot defend here, which is why the ether on the ship has enough for back and forth travel. If the high command truly expects us to defend here and move forward, the ships will not have enough ether to return, only enough to support us here. Carrying a lot of ether adds a lot of weight to the ships that should be carrying our supplies instead."
“Do you mean to imply, sir, that we are being sacrificed so that our country can flee? That's not possible!”
"Yes, it's impossible; they can't evacuate trillions of people in more than ten years. Their primary strategy is to secretly evacuate the elite, nobles, and high council along with their families, slaves, armies, and wealth, leaving the commoners to fend for themselves."
"Sir, that's preposterous! They can't treat you and the commoners that way! You are the next in line and the high commander! The Emperor will not permit that to occur.”
"I believe my father is dead; no, he was definitely dead when I decided to leave him there to defend here."
"How can that happen when the emperor is the one with the most authority in the empire?" Nobody even closes the gap! And with the supreme general standing by his side, nobody can oppose the emperor's power! How can the Emperor die? It is almost impossible for anyone to get near enough to kill the Emperor.”
"My father was on the verge of death when I left."
The General hesitantly responded, "How?"
”It has been a millennium since we first started hiding my father's condition. Since then, we have done everything in our power to help him get better, but without success. My father's health just continued to deteriorate as the years went by. Until some members of the high council learned and we could no longer keep the secret. This may be the cause of this full-blown invasion.”
"There's a spy in the High Council?" The general couldn't believe what he heard from the valiant man. The idea that someone would be ready to betray the emperor and the country they were raised in is unfathomable to a man like him who has spent his entire life serving the army and the emperor. The general pondered for a while before he asked again, "Why would they do it?"
"I wouldn't say there is a spy; their motive for doing this is for self-preservation. The only thing that kept the other nation from attacking us was my father himself. It was just a matter of time before the others found out. The high council selling my father's condition represents their initiative in negotiating a much better deal for them. Because, whether they sell it or not, others will eventually discover that my father is ill or dying, that no one can stop the other country from conquering ours. Since it's impossible to stop our nation's demise, getting a good deal for their survival is a much better option, and whoever bought that information has a chance to increase their share of the pie." The valiant man said with a serious face.
For a few moments, the general was silent, but then he asked again, "What shall we do?"
"Like I said earlier, gather what was left of the army and plunder all the things that the army can carry and what you can't carry, use them to strengthen our army, leave nothing behind, then retreat. You have about a week to recover, and you can begin your journey around that time. Pay attention, I won't say it again. "Go north till you reach the forest of Ilydintan."
THE FOREST OF ILYDINTAN???!!! The general interjected before the valiant man could continue. "This is a suicide," he said quietly, almost like a murmur.
The valiant man didn't mind this interruption and continued, "Once you are at the edge of the forest, set up camp and hoist my flag; wait a day til someone comes to see you; they will inform you on how to cross the forest,"
"CROSS THE FOREST!!! ARE YOU INSANE, SIR???" The general yelled, interrupting the valiant man yet again.
At the Valiants' man's forehead, veins are beginning to bulge."Once you cross the forest, by-pass the mountainous region of Solena through the east."
“MOUNT SOLENA!!! Why dont you just kill us SIR???”
"I SAID LISTEN WELL YOU DIMWIT!" the valiant man said while jumping and giving the general a slap in the back of his head. The general couldn't help but stagger a few meters away; once he recovered, he was already rubbing the back of his head, still hurt from the recent slap. The valiant man ignored his antics and continued his instruction. "After that head straight......., I already made an arrangement......”
The sound of the two men's voices becomes progressively softer, giving the impression that they are walking away from the listener even though they are still standing there. The two men's surroundings and the two men have begun to gradually blur as well, as if you were gazing outside through a foggy glass window. After a short while, the light suddenly changes to darkness, and a familiar-sounding noise can be heard to the side.
“too too tooot... too too tooot... too too tooot...” Intermittently, the noises keep repeating.
The shadows began to emerge once more; at first they were blurry, then watery, and finally a little sharper. After a short while, A guy was staring at the ceiling while still covered in his blanket and already awake. The familiar noise was coming from his alarm clock, which was sitting on his nightstand. The guy takes a few more breaths and finds himself covering his eyes with his forearm.
“That dream again” He said.