Two armies were assembled before the entrance to the southern city. The armies were stationed facing each other on the flat plain north of the city. The army in the north had 420 soldiers, 34 of which were lizard rider cavalry. The southern army had 290 soldiers, vastly outmatched by the opposing force. The soldiers were lined up in ranks with two-people-wide spear lines facing each other. Archers were lined up as a third row in the back. The distance between the two armies was less than a kilometre and the soldiers were already gripping their weapons nervously. The same thought lingered on the minds of all those who were present. Would they be able to return home today? Mundus walked between the soldiers, giving a comforting clap on the back of one and giving an encouraging word to another. He came to the table placed outside with wet clay placed on top. In that clay, the rough lines and positions of both armies were drawn.
Apernora was standing next to the table and staring intently at the markings carved into the soft clay. "Are the preparations done? Do you see a way we can win?" Mundus patted Apernora on the shoulder. Apernora shrugged and sighed audibly. "Our son has been given to Dolo, who disguised himself as a chicken farmer. He should be safe there. As for victory... our strategy was very reliant on the weapons that Inpar would provide us. Who knew he would use all of them in a last stand? Now the enemy has the advantage in numbers and enchanted blades. Victory will heavily depend on you. You are the only one, who could beat a power wielder who possesses enchanted blades without having one yourself. Even so, it will be a tough battle." Mundus nodded grimly, before simply shrugging his shoulders. "Either we win, or we lose. There is no going back now, not for us." Apernora let out a charming smile, the same one she had always flashed Mundus. "There never was an option to turn back for us." She closed her eyes while maintaining a peaceful smile. She grabbed Mundus's hand with her own two. "I'm placing my life in your hands. I always have and I always will. Until the end, when God finally punishes us for our insolence." Mundus flashed a sad smile. "God will not punish us. The fate we face will be one we had chosen ourselves, and should this be our last day, so we shall face it with grace." Apernora opened her eyes and hardened her gaze once more. "There is no longer any time for soft sentiments. Now is the moment that will decide everything. We must have the utmost focus." Mundus nodded his head while stepping to the side, allowing Apernora to focus on the table.
The armies were lined up facing each other, and soon a horn sounded from the side of the northern army. Slowly, the line started to advance towards the southern city's army. The lizard riders were currently located behind the lines of the spear bearers and wouldn't be part of the initial charge. A whistle sounded from the southern army, and the tight line of spear bearers split, allowing the archers to seep through the line. The archers advanced a few paces and waited until the enemy line was in range. Once the northern spear line entered the range of the archers, arrows started hailing down on them. A few got hit and screamed in pain, falling to the ground. Whenever a gap would form within the spear line, the soldiers to the side would close the gap. Once the northern spear line crossed the halfway point between the camps of the two armies, the archers behind the northern spear line started returning fire. The southern archers fled and returned behind the southern spear line once more. The southern archers were more accurate with their bows, however the northern archers were far more numerous.
Soon when the lines were close enough, arrows started to fly at each other's lines, and the southern spear line took its first few casualties. A few moments later, both spear lines came into contact with each other, and a fierce melee broke out. The northern line was longer, and it therefore threatened to wrap around the southern spear line and to flank it from the side. That is when two figures flew out from the main camp of the southern army, clashing with the soldiers at the edge of the spear line. These two figures were Mundus's remaining brothers. The two brothers were able to deal a lot of damage to the northern spear line, but soon Feidi and Natusoror emerged to engage them. A fierce fight broke out between the respective power wielders.
Mundus just thought of heading out to help his brothers, when the lizard cavalry began moving to flank the southern spear line. Apernora gestured to him and pointed to the lizard riders. Mundus nodded his head and, sharing one last glance with her, took off speeding towards the lizard riders. He arrived with a boom, impacting the earth and creating a massive dust cloud. He landed amid the enemy formation, leaving both riders and their mounts stunned. Before they could recover, Mundus grabbed two lizards by the tails and swung them around like clubs. He aimed for the other lizards and riders, shattering them with the poor lizards trapped in his hands. The men who were strapped to their backs had been flung to the side, impacting the ground and no longer moving. Mundus created chaos and disorder in the ranks of the lizard riders, effectively halting their charge single-handedly. After less than a minute, Mundus detected a power wielder approaching his position. He glanced up and saw Stella approaching him with a bronze sword in her hand and five bronze blades floating next to her. She was also wearing boots and gloves with bronze strips embedded into the clothing.
"Mundus, this ends here and now. Surrender or die." Mundus let out a mirthless chuckle. "I'd rather die standing than live kneeling." Saying so he unslung the bronze sword from over his shoulder and dashed towards Stella. The sword in his hands was the only enchanted bronze blade Mundus owned. It had been gifted to him by Inpar when his son had been born. Stella sent blades in his direction, but Mundus either dodged them or used his blade to block them. When his blade clashed with one slashing from above, the inscription carved into Stella's sword flashed. Mundus suddenly dashed to the side, faster than Inpar had been with the full use of his gloves and boots. The kinetic strike emitted by the blade failed to shatter Mundus's blade, and instead impacted the ground, creating a great splash of dirt. Mundus used the lowered visibility, to close the distance between him and Stella, flinging a fist, intending to strike Stella in the solar plexus. Stella's eyes betrayed surprise, and she scrambled to activate her boots and shoes, sending her flying backward. Even so, she hadn't been fast enough, taking a hit in her chest, leaving her winded. Even though Mundus touched her only lightly, due to his invented application of his powers to empower his body, that light strike felt like a full-force punch.
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Mundus was about to pursue and push his advantage, when from all around him, bronze weapons flashed their inscriptions, blocking his path and making him dash out of the way. He smirked, before showing a feral smile. "Seems like I get the first strike. Your toys are nice, but true strength lies in the body and our powers." Stella spit a mouthful of saliva and blood. She had accidentally bitten her tongue, making blood pour into her mouth. She looked him deep into his eyes, hatred flickering within the depths of her eyes. "Why did you get Inpar to poison me? Why do you hate me so much, that you are even willing to go as far as to kill your own siblings? Or is it that you hate God so much, that you would even attack His believers?" Mundus scoffed before shaking his head. A condescending sneer plastered across his face. "You say that as if you didn't butcher Inpar like a wild beast. The poison was a slow-acting agent. We had the antidote in the southern city. We were going to give it to you, in exchange for a promise before God, that you would acknowledge our independence. But it's not like-"
Suddenly Mundus dashed forward, closing the distance between him and Stella, while swinging with his sword, aiming at the neck. Stella was once more caught off guard but was able to react in time. She activated her gloves and intercepted his strike, parrying with her sword. The tight oval spirals located at the edge of the blade glowed, making the blade in Stella's hands vibrate. Mundus didn't expect that and nearly dropped his sword. Stella disengaged their blades and slashed horizontally, aiming at his chest. Mundus bent down, narrowly avoiding her strike, before leaning slightly back and lifting a leg, delivering a leg sweep, pulling Stella's legs out from under her. Stella lost her balance and fell backward. Her gloves and boots flashed, before pulling her upward, out of Mundus's sword swing. Stella's bonded blades flew towards Mundus once more, stabbing and hacking at him, putting him on the defensive. Stella used the time that that bought her, to land and to adjust her position. Mundus leaned back, dodging the strike of one sword, and swung his sword, parrying the thrust of another. A short dagger flew at him from behind, making him whip around with incredible speed and punch the flat side of the blade, shattering it in the process. This, however, left him exposed to the thrust of another blade, making him catch a light scratch due to his awkward dodge.
Mundus knew that Stella would be happy to keep fighting him solely with her bonded weapons because he would tire out faster than he could break all of her weapons. He would have to end the fight quickly. An omnidirectional kinetic blast created a loud bang, scattering all the weapons away from him, giving him the space necessary to once more attack Stella. He picked up a few fallen spears that were lying on the ground and launched them at Stella. They were slower than they would have been, were they enchanted and bonded. The accuracy also suffered due to that, yet it was no problem for Mundus, as each spear was aimed at a vital spot on Stella's body, and a few spears were even aimed to miss Stella, cutting off her escape routes. Stella lifted the carcass of a lizard, using it to shield her body. However, it also blocked her line of sight to Mundus. Immediately after the last spear impacted the lizard's corpse, Stella could feel Mundus's powers rip the lizard away to the side, revealing him as he was dashing towards her, blade in hand.
He stabbed at her, the inscription on his sword flashing, getting ever brighter, guiding the stored energy in the circular array, to the pointed tip of the blade. Stella's bonded weapons were flying toward his exposed back, but they wouldn't be able to reach Mundus before he could reach Stella. Mundus was wearing a crazed smile as if he were not a human but instead a wild beast. Stella was caught. Her bonded weapons would kill Mundus, but they weren't fast enough to save her. She only had Inpar's blade and his gloves and boots. Mundus was already too close for her to use the boots so that left only the blade. However, at this distance, the kinetic strike of Mundus's sword would still pierce her defenses, striking Stella fatally. So there was only one method left. Without even thinking, acting only on instinct, Stella raised her blade, before detonating it. She sacrificed the bonded sword in her hands, igniting the mythical blood stored in the inscriptions, to shatter the sword into many small pieces of shrapnel. Most of these pieces flew towards Mundus, as she had directed the blade in that direction, deflecting Mundus's kinetik strike and the subsequent sword thrust. A few pieces of shrapnel, however, flew backward into the hand still holding the hilt of the sword, utterly destroying it in the process. It was as if an explosion had gone off between the two, showering both in many bits of shrapnel. A few pieces were also able to strike Mundus, halting him in his tracks.
Mundus hadn't expected for Stella to pull that move, so he was momentarily stunned. That was all it took, for four bronze blades to bury themselves into his back, piercing his lungs, livers, and stomach. Mundus wore a stunned expression, before looking down at his chest, where four blades were protruding. He looked up at Stella, who was missing everything below the elbow on her right arm. Stella wore a grim and determined expression while wincing in pain. Her eyes were narrowed and following Mundus's every move. It seemed that even now Stella didn't dare underestimate Mundus. Mundus let out a bold smile while blood started flowing out of his mouth. "Very good. That is how a true warrior should fight." When he finished his sentence, he collapsed, blood pooling beneath him, staining the grass red and making it slippery underfoot. His blood mixed with the blood of everyone else who was lying on the field, various wounds leaking crimson liquid onto the ground. The blood pouring from Stella's bloody stump joined the crimson swamp underfoot. Stella levitated a fallen spear off the ground and aimed it downward. With a thrust, she pierced the head of Mundus, ending his life with one final action.