Cedric was daunted by the sight before him. The city of Ogrish was much larger than he anticipated. From what Sir L had told him, he assumed all border cities would be small. This was obviously not the case as this city was just as big as the capital of Larkin. The enormous walls and tall buildings were visible from where he stood. The people moving along the walls and ground looked like insects. That was what he would be running towards.

It felt like his heart was in his head, as each heartbeat echoed in his ears. This was what he had joined for, wasn’t it? The question kept coming up, and he had needed to push down the thought repeatedly. It wouldn’t be the last time he doubted himself, and he constantly reminded himself about how the elixir had made him who he was and that he needed to do this. Standing atop a nearby hill, Cedric found his gaze wandering over the tall walls and seemingly impenetrable gates of the distant city. They were obviously made of metal, and he wondered how they managed such a massive creation. As far as he knew there were no chants that affected metals.

Over the past week, he had undergone a lot of training, and even more lectures. Sir L had spent a lot of the time drilling some fundamental knowledge in him. Now, even Cedric could speak with some confidence on chanters and what to expect from this battle. Apparently, this city was not very fond of chanters, or rather they didn’t care who ruled the kingdom. As such it was an ideal target for conquest, as the people were unlikely to dispute Larkin’s rule.

Most of the city was comprised of common folk, mostly people who produced simple metal tools, and the city was connected to one of the biggest mines on the land. While the mines weren’t that valuable to Elpis, it was extremely important for Larkin. Not to mention that it was a powerful trade center with other foreign nations. It was an important city for Larkin, and Cedric was the one in charge of conquering it.

Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration. He was really only responsible for leading the initial charge. Though in his mind both things were similar. There were around two thousand of the ascended with him. Apparently, that was what the other soldiers had been calling them, and he understood that it was a word of praise. Honestly, he heard that there was another name for specifically the best of the ascended. That name was the one that he preferred, as it was much easier to understand. Plus, it was something he had already known, and it felt like a confirmation to hear others call him like that. The name that stuck to the very best was “the chosen,” in honor of how receptive they were to the holy elixir. That really hammered it home, his life had really changed over the past few weeks, and not by a small degree.

Over the past week, Sir L had done a lot to improve Cedric’s mentality, and he was resolved to do well in this battle. Talking with him about the matter had been difficult, but Sir L was a fountain of knowledge and was more than willing to help. He had been a soldier for a long time, and he was patient enough to explain things to Cedric. So, Cedric had shared what he had realized after killing the people in the caravan.

Even after talking with Sir L, the thought of killing was still sickening, and Cedric was glad to learn that they wouldn’t need to attack any innocents. For this battle, his job was simple. All he needed to do was take the walls and kill any chanters he saw. That was something he could do, and with all the others behind him, he believed that he would succeed. Furthermore, one piece of Sir L’s advice had stuck in his mind, and he ran through the words again, remembering them fondly.

If you ever feel overwhelmed, just take a seat, and collect yourself. It’s not like anyone could do anything to you either way.

Those words reassured Cedric. It was true too. Over the past week, he had increased his dosage of the elixir by a lot, and even without taking more of the original version, he still experienced large benefits. His durability, strength, and speed had improved a little bit; however, his healing had improved significantly. He even felt less pain now, though that might be because everything felt minor compared to what he had felt when he took the pure elixir. Over the past week, he had even had his hand cut off. It grew back within a few seconds, and he knew then that he was truly a monster.

He still remembered that experiment. The doctor had stared at him eagerly, and he been the one to cut his own hand off. He had needed to be the one to do it, as nobody else could manage it by that point. Well, maybe another of the chosen could have done it, but they were busy with their own training. Even after all the people who had received the elixir, there were only a few hundred chosen. Compared to the armies of ascended that were made, every chosen was extremely valuable to Larkin. Honestly, he had barely even noticed it when he cut off his hand. It had just felt like a bug bite, and he had been able to ignore the pain easily.

There were currently only ten chosen here for this battle. He was the best among them, but he knew that they were strong too. None of his friends were involved, and he was placed with people he didn’t know. He had seen them around occasionally but never talked to any of them. There were several other battles taking place too, and his group had been split up as they were the strongest. He didn’t remember all the cities that were being taken, but he knew that this initial battle would dictate how the war would go.

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As he thought about his friends, his gaze slowly moved down the walls, to the army waiting at the base. Even though they had chanters, the majority of both armies was comprised of people without any abilities. On top of the fighters on the ground, there were archers scattered across the walls, though Cedric wasn’t worried about arrows. He had already learned that arrows wouldn’t be able to hurt him. They would barely be able to damage his clothing. Cedric’s armor was a mix of leather and plate, and it was designed to allow him to move freely. The metal would be too heavy for normal people to use, but to him, it felt like an ordinary shirt.

Larkin had its own army of normal knights too, although their job was just to maintain the city after it was conquered. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard the first horn, and he felt his hands shake a bit. He stood at the front of an army, and he looked at the run he would need to make. The run would take normal people several minutes to cross, but he could manage it in under a minute. The second horn rang, and Wilt clenched his hands into fists. The shaking was growing worse, but more than that he felt like he just needed to squeeze something.

One more horn and the charge would begin. He held his breath, waiting for the final signal. The whole army had grown silent, and it felt like the world itself had lost all sound. Would he even hear the horn?

Bwuuuuuunh! (let me know if you think of something better)

Instinctively, he started running forward. Cedric knew he wasn’t good at much and would make sure not to mess up now. His first few steps had been reactionary, but now he truly felt the effort of each step. It wasn’t exhaustion, rather it was the impending battle that made his body feel heavier. As he got closer to the enemy army, each step he took was more difficult. However, he couldn’t stop, the sound of charging urging him to move forward.

He glanced back and saw the rest of the army trailing behind him. Most among them weren’t as fast as him and would arrive long after he did. As he looked back, he saw some people hesitate, but they couldn’t slow down. One of those who hesitated stopped, but that had been a mistake. The momentum of the army crashed into him, and Cedric turned his head to avoid seeing the man get trampled. Sir L had told him to look forward during the charge. It was apparently the number one rule to charging a fortified structure.

After making the mistake once, Cedric would make sure not to do it again. It had been like he was being chased by a rabid horde, every face was a mix of fear, rage, and desire. The thousands of people blended into a mass of eyes and shouts. Facing forward, he tried to tune out the noise behind him. It didn’t work, and it would only grow worse once they entered the range of the chanters and archers.

The first thing to reach them were the arrows. It sounded like rain, though thicker and harder as the arrows clanged against metal armor and solid ground. Instead of thunder, the roar of screams and shouts erupted behind him. Pain and anger reverberated through the charging army. Like a true storm, the noise alone seemed to shake the world. Cedric kept running, not daring to turn around; to look at the storm behind him. He felt something hit the side of his head, but he ignored it. Sir L’s words echoed in his mind.

Focus on your feet, nothing else.

That was something he could do, and he poured all his attention towards making the next step. He needed to ignore the noise. It was funny how the one time he needed to ignore others, he couldn’t. The sound enveloped him; it wasn’t something he could run from. He kept his head forward, eyes ahead as he saw the next volley of arrows. That wasn’t part of the plan. They had been told to expect only one volley, as their speed would make it impossible to fire another. That seemed to be a lie, and again he needed to push those thoughts away. It was too late for doubt now.

“Focus on your feet! Nothing else!”

He screamed the words aloud, using his voice to push back against everything around him. He continued to repeat the words, yelling them like a mantra, a prayer to ward off the chaos. The sound of the storm raged again, the echo of thundering shouts following shortly after. He clashed with the noise, yelling his mantra as he got closer to the army. The charge was supposed to be less than a minute, but it felt like he had been running for days. He didn’t stop though, just continuing forward.

Then he saw it, the first of the chanters’ attacks. There were far fewer chanters than ordinary archers, but there was no doubt that these attacks would do more damage than the arrows. Large boulders of fire and rock flew towards them. Each was the size of a house, and he knew that they would crash into the army behind him.

When those collided, the world really did shake, and he didn’t dare turn his head back. The worst part wasn’t the sound of the attacks landing, it was the lack of screams that followed. Those attacks killed, and there would be no one left to scream. Even if that attack was the only one that they could manage, he couldn’t even imagine how many people had died from that.

Finally, Cedric had arrived. The opposing soldiers raised their spears and shields to brace for him. His fingers curled around the hilt of his sword, and he drew it as he ran. He put more force into each step and felt the rocks crunch beneath his feet. As he ran, he pulled his sword back over his head, preparing for the overhead swing that he had spent so much time practicing. Sir L’s final piece of advice popped into his mind as he stepped into range.

Remember our lessons. When you swing your sword, do it as hard as you can. Trust me, nothing will be able to stop you.

With those words in his mind, he swung without holding anything back.