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The Nine Stars
Chapter 8 - Scene 1

Chapter 8 - Scene 1

Scene 1 - Enter the stage, Jao Striker!

In a distant grassy field, two armies stood across from one another, staring at each other with gazes full of killing intent. Each army had around one hundred thousand units, but strangely no move was made as the morning rolled away and the golden crow inched towards the highest point of its flight.  

Within the grass field, a youth with spiky red hair gazed lazily towards the horizon as the wind tried its best to mess up his seemingly unmovable locks. An unadorned spear was gripped tightly within his left hand as he pondered about the up coming fight.

‘How many souls will be lost today? A thousand? Ten thousand? How many will die by my hands?’

A hand came from out of nowhere and landed on the young man's shoulder, startling him, “What are you thinking about, Specialist Striker? Getting chills? That’s not like you at all, Young hero!”

The youth closed his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, “You smell that Sergeant? Smells like a lush grassy field, morning dew, and wildflowers. It’s a shame this beautiful place will be ruined by rivers of blood. Ah. I’m sorry, my thoughts linger Jayce… Wait, what's this thing about a young hero? And Striker? Didn’t we say we wouldn’t call each other by ranks or last names, Jayce? Just call me Jao! And don’t start bullshit about me being a young hero!”

Sergeant Jayce held his head high, laughing to the heavens, “Indeed Jao! And I wanted to say it once in my life, so don't get your chainmail in a pinch. And why are you saddened? I know you love the bloodshed of the battlefield just as much as I do! It’s the only place people like us can exist! We only have one purpose in this life, Jao. And that's to cut off the heads of our enemies, all for the glory of Wolf country!”

Towards the end, Jayce was screaming to the heavens with his spear raised high above his head, drawing eyes from both sides. Someone on the opposite side of the field even screamed back, "Shut the fuck up, you dogs!"

Jayce, with his head raised high, snorted and flicked a rude jester towards the enemies. He even dropped his pants and mooned them! Jao immediately turned his head away, shaking wildly in the attempts to keep his laughter back as Jayce continued with his relentless insults, “The only dog is your mom, bitch! In fact, all your moms are dogs, you shitty pussy cat country!”

Jao returned to gazing lazily out into the distance, unworried about his foul mouthed friend that somehow always managed to keep his head on his shoulders despite the numerous attempts on his life. The battle will begin when the sun reaches it's highest point, so Jao decided to let his friend have his fun while he could.

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Jao couldn't help but think of all the battles he's fought in, all the men he's killed. ‘What number is this? 38? 40? ‘I can't remember... How many people have I killed? 72? It will probably rise again today...

Hopefully, this will be the last one. After this, I'll be able to buy my freedom back and be able to live with my sister in that small village she found. It will be nice not having to live in a world with all this bloodshed. But I think I can only live in this world of tainted green where red consumes all...’

It was almost noon. Jao checked his equipment one last time before staring intently at the field where he might lose his life. No one knows what might happen in battle. You could only depend on yourself and sometimes the warriors next to you. All he could do is kill all who stand before him and do his best to survive.

Jao poked Jayce in the bum with the butt of his spear, “How long do we have to wait, Jayce? Let’s get this over with.”

Jayce begrudgingly stopped berating the enemy, but not before mooning them once more. Jao arched his brow, ‘Is this is how a sergeant is supposed to act?’

Jayce finally pulled up his pants and turned around to face Jao, “Not long, actually. I just got a mental message from the mage unit to round up the men in five minutes. We move to battle in twenty, and the prince will be leading the charge.”

“Oh? The prince is leading yet again? I can never understand why he always insists on being on the front lines. With his status he could lie back and give orders without ever having to see gruesome sights like this.”

Jayce put on his helmet on and ruffled Jao’s hair like a big brother before roaring with a boom, “Alright men, get into formation Delta, we move out in twenty minutes! Those not in place within five minutes will get their ass beat by me after the fight!”

Two thousand men, women, and beasts quickly got up and in formation. Three layers of paladins stood at the front as heavy units covering the two mixed layers of warriors and magic spearmen, while the battle mages stood in the center, protected by all.

All the units cursed and mumbled under their breath, knowing that formation Delta meant that their unit would be one of five battalions to act as the vanguard, which would throw them right into the heat of the battle. Jao and Jayce could understand their displeasure but..

Jayce jumped on a nearby crate and shouted shouting for all to hear, “Soldiers listen up! We fight for our country, our freedom, and so that these shit for brain cat mongrels will not step upon our land and defile it! Every woman and child is counting on us to repel these swine and return home once more! So fight so that you can return to a peaceful life! Your brothers and sisters will cover you, so do not fear and kill those bastards on the other side! Kill their soldiers, their sergeants, their generals, their horses, and kill the bastard that called us dogs!!”

The soldiers under Jayce's command yelled out with vigor, their moral as high as could be. They were ready to fight, ready to kill.

Jao chuckled, ‘That's better.’