It had been a week since the battle and Kesshō was starting to wonder if the horseman actually made it back even, but it appeared that he did. With the help of her wings, Kesshō jumped on top of the small house she was training near. She spied some figures on the top of the front wall, the obvious patterns of Kurai’s clearly souls visible up there.

Spreading her wings, she leapt from house to tree and tree to house till she got near the wall. Jumping on to the wall, she dug her claws in and with a final push with the help of her wings reached the top. Kurai and the others just glanced back at her slightly, their expressions one of horror. Sora, Hori, Yuki, Mei and Kurai were the only ones there, the rest of the army standing below.

Stepping in the small space between Kurai and Yuki, Kesshō took a look at the enemy army. It was spread across the entire base of the mountain, preparing to march up to all three gates. The army looked like a giant sea of silver and iron with red flags every so often. Kesshō tried to count their numbers, but wasn’t able to due to how many there were.

“Five million, minimum,” Kurai mumbled, guessing what everyone wondered.

Everyone turned to him in shock.

“You are saying he mobilized his entire army, every single troop?” Hori exclaimed.

Kurai nodded slowly.

“We can’t win against this many, there less than nine thousand of us that can still fight," Mei informed.

“Well, let’s be honest, we all knew this was going to happen,” Yuki shrugged. “A few small villages against an entire kingdom, we were never going to win this." Yuki turned around to face all the troops gathered behind the wall, prepared to battle in formations. She drew in a deep breath, preparing herself to deliver the grave news.

“Everyone!” Kurai boomed, gathering everyone’s attention to him and startling everyone on the top of the wall. “I will get straight to the point. There are five million of them and less than nine thousand of us, we are doomed to die in this battle regardless of how hard we try, unless a god comes to help us, for which it's best to keep dreaming."

The expressions of everyone turned to horror and grief, all the army starting to mumble to each other.

“So!” Kurai yelled, snapping everyone’s attention back to him. “It is for you to decide, you can die fighting, or you can flee and live for those of us who will not be able to.”

Everyone seemed in deep thought for a while, some quietly whispering to each other.

“I am not going down without a fight, those who are with me can stay, those who wish to surrender or flee can are free to go, it is your life, live it your way,” Kurai declared.

There appeared to be some heated discussion at the bottom of the wall at this, everyone discussing whether to flee or fight. Kurai waited for the people to make their choice, but it didn’t seem like many were planning on staying. Kesshō raised her hand with a low growl, attracting the attention of those at the top of the wall and those below. She looked around, not knowing whether it was a good idea or not.

“We will fight to the death!” Someone exclaimed from below.

“Yes!”

“Death to the king!”

Everyone soon joined in, shouting slogans. The generals nodded their approval to Kurai.

Kurai turned around, patting Kesshō on the head as he moved to the edge of the wall. What happened was too quick for even Kesshō to react. She glimpsed a glint of steel soaring through the air, straight towards Kurai. By the time her brain processed what was happening the arrow landed with a thump.

“Cheap trick,” Kurai scoffed.

Kesshō and everyone else sighed a breath of relief. Kurai had also seen the glint of steel and tilted his head out of the way of the arrow. It had soared right past and embedded itself in the ground far behind. His reflexes were praiseworthy, faster than Kesshō even though she was a hybrid.

“Hand me the arrow," Kurai ordered.

The order was relayed down and someone tossed the arrow upwards. Yuki caught it in one hand and presented it to Kurai with a bow, a smile on hers. Taking it from her hand he noticed the piece of paper attached to the back. He unhooked the paper, read it and laughed.

“My answer, eh? Can I have a bow?” Kurai inquired turning to Mei.

She handed him hers. “What answer?” She questioned.

“The king is willing to excuse us if we hand Kesshō over, he wanted my answer right now, yes, or no.” Kurai laughed, nocking the arrow into the bow.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Kesshō turned to him, with fear and hope in her eyes.

“Like I will ever do it.” He mumbled as he released the arrow.

It soared through the air and hit a soldier on a horse, in front of another horse in golden armor, a man in light golden armor riding it. He didn’t even glance at the dead soldier and barked an order at the others.

The king, Kesshō thought. The darkness was visible clearly from the wall and Kesshō believed that it had increased since the last time she saw him. From what Lyranse had told her, Kesshō was certain that if he was left alive then the world would be doomed, sooner or later.

“Fire!” Kurai ordered the soldiers.

At once arrows were shot from behind the walls, raining down on the enemy army. Kesshō also used her bow to help, not having received any other orders thus far.

“Mei, Yuki, the right gate, Sora and Hori, the left gate. Kesshō, you are staying here with me,” Kurai ordered.

Everyone dispersed at once, rushing to their positions. Kesshō looked on as Kurai ordered adjustments in the aim of the soldiers and shot arrows himself. His injury had healed, not completely, but enough to not be much of a hindrance any longer.

“Do you think you can fight down there without getting hurt?” Kurai questioned Kesshō. Kesshō turned to him, surprised at the question. "I don’t want you to get hurt, but if we want even the slightest chance of victory then we need you to fight on the frontline,” Kurai explained.

Kesshō nodded her agreement. Kurai smiled at her before turning to the troops inside. “Who is willing to lay down their life first?” He questioned

“Me!” A shout rose from down below.

“Good, battlement one, prepare to dispatch,” Kurai ordered.

The gates slowly opened to let the troops out, but Kesshō didn’t wait for the gates or the allies. Jumping off the wall, her wings spread, she glided ahead of everyone, the wind helping keep her speed up.

Sucking in air through her mouth she let the flames rise from the inside, just how she had practiced in the last week. The flames traveled up, lighting the path from the middle of her chest, through her throat, and to her jaws. She shot a blast of pink flames straight in the middle of the army.

It exploded on impact, scattering troops and engulfing everyone in flames. The flames caught on to troops and burnt them down, not leaving any remains behind. Kesshō descended at a high speed, unsheathing her katana as she touched down to the ground and spinning as she slid ahead, slicing everyone in range of her katana, her tails skewering fourteen soldiers and tossing them at others.

She didn’t stop her assault, continuing to slice everything in her path, spinning constantly to keep her momentum, deflecting and sidestepping attacks as well as stepping further to reach enemies. Her tails impaled any who dared to attack and blocked any attacks which could have landed on her. Spinning on her heel Kesshō blew a ring of fire around her, burning many soldiers and buying herself some time to catch her breath.

The ally soldiers were pouring out of the gate, charging right into battle. Kurai was not on the top of the wall any longer, most likely preparing to fight. Not wanting to accidentally kill an ally Kesshō charged deeper into the enemy army. Swords flashed past her as she fought her way through, her sword a blur as she swung it without a second’s rest.

She sprayed her venom and flames whenever she got the opportunity to and was certain that she making her way to the king. If their leader was dead, the enemy soldiers did not have any reason to fight anymore, which would mean they won. As Kesshō got further into the vast army her katana was starting to get less and less effective. A single sword was proving too hard to wield under the bone shattering attacks of her enemies.

Unsheathing her wakizashi she slashed the neck of the man nearest to her before spinning the wakizashi in her hand and slashing another two people. She slashed with both her wakizashi and katana, not caring who was in their path as she was too far into the enemy army to run into any allies.

Creating another ring of fire in the same way Kesshō glanced back at the allies, the distance being far greater than Kesshō had anticipated. All the allies were fighting near the gate of the fort, not willing to let the enemy inside. Kesshō was barely able to see Kurai, only due to his patterns. He continued fighting many enemies at once, killing any who came close. His fighting style was similar to Kesshō in some ways, but far more violent and strong.

Turning her attention back to her target Kesshō scythed through all enemies. Their skills were far lower than hers, only relying on their strength they didn’t stand a chance against Kesshō. As Kesshō swung her wakizashi in a wide arc to slash a man in front, he was cut in half vertically, along with Kesshō’s left arm, the one she held the wakizashi in.

Kesshō sho reeled back as the blood spilling from her half remaining arm caught her attention, falling on her back as she stripped on the uneven ground. She turned to her attacker in horror, more in recognition than due to the wound. The general walked ahead of everyone as they created a circle around Kesshō, wishing to finish her off himself.

“You have no idea just how much trouble you are," General Fletcher spat.

Kesshō jumped back to her feet, her arm already having regrown completely. She hissed at the general, baring her fangs, prepared to spray her venom.

“Try any of your tricks," General Fletcher scoffed before charging towards Kesshō at lightning speed.

He didn’t use his sword, instead he kicked Kesshō, tossing her backwards. She was able to spray her venom, most of it flying past the general and landing on other people behind him. They screamed as their armor and flesh melted, but the general stood unscathed. The venom just tumbled off his armor and sizzled on the ground, not harming him in the slightest. Kesshō stared in horror at the sight as the general laughed.

“The divine protection of the gods is on my side, you piece of demonic filth,” The general laughed as he swung his sword, sending an invisible slash of energy towards Kesshō.

She barely dodged it, sensing it somehow. She rolled on her side, getting back to her feet, still not fast enough. Grabbing her by the neck the general lifted her in the air. She kicked and clawed wildly, not being able to shake off his vice-like grip. Her tails also attacked him but it did nothing. He slammed her on the ground several times before flinging her away.

She landed on an enemy soldier, knocking him to the ground. She rolled back to her feet, much quicker this time, even with her head still ringing and the world blurry. She saw the general slice some of the soldiers that formed the circle in half from the waist and charge towards her, slicing anyone who came in the way. Kesshō ran away as fast as she could, her tails helping to clear the way. Her attacks didn’t work on him, and her skills were nothing compared to his, from her assumption. Fighting him was a death wish even for her, and she realised that as well.