Hastily, I held my shield up firmly in my left and held my short sword in my right. The chief spoke again, arrows fell, and the same horse pounced its way to me. Holding my shield to its body while bending down, I made multiple cuts in its body as it neighed. Taking my anger out on it, pulling on the sword while it was still inside the horse, its intestines wriggled out of its body as it fell forward. As I moved to the side, I could see that the fallen cavalryman was still alive. This time, he had simply fallen off of his horse instead.
As drops of blood trickled down from my bloodied face, I thought, 'Things can... change...' While the cavalryman tried to get off the floor, taking the support of his hands, like lightning, I stabbed him in the heart. Flat on the field, the cavalryman struggled to find his spear. In a moment of rage, I bashed his head with the edge of my shield multiple times, cracking his skull. "GRAAAHH!!! Uh... Ack..." Before I could even react, a cavalryman had pierced a spear through my back. As he withdrew his spear from my body, I fell to the floor. I bled out before I could be squished.
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[Failure]
[The 5th Cycle Commences.]
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Just then, it clicked. My eyes widened. Could I not take better equipment for myself? With the intention of taking Chief Umbra's equipment, I unsheathed my sword before he spoke, in an attempt to stab him in the back. Considering the fact that he was on his horse and I was on the ground, this would be hard to do, so I walked forward, trying to grab his feet to pull him down.
As my hand hovered over his left leg, Chief Umbra's eyes fell upon me, menacingly staring. Instinctively, I stepped back and tried to make an excuse out of the situation, "I... I apologize, Chief Umbra... I just wanted to ask... how are we to face such a great army?"
His eyes calmed as his eye lids dimmed. He jumped off of his horse, standing before me. Placing his hand on my shoulder, he spoke, "Do not worry, Kharon. I assure you that this war will end with the people of the village safe. We may not be able to win, but I am confident we can steer them elsewhere."
Just his mere presence alone was hard to face. As the weight of his hand on my shoulder moved, a sigh of relief overcame me. Physically, I knew I was stronger, but I don't think I can even imagine taking his equipment. His intuition was almost... frightening. As he leapt back on his horse he unsheathed his sword and declared, "Fret not! Today, we fight! Shields up! Fire the arrows!"
His words... they changed... If I can have such an impact on the situation, can I not avoid it entirely? But even then, would it be possible to do so with such little time? Just as the thought crossed my head, I screamed at the top of my voice, "Rino, Briar, let me in!"
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Rino responded in his shaky, shrill voice, "Are you crazy? The enemy is near! There's no fucking way I'm opening the damn door!"
Sighing as I looked back down, I thought, 'I might as well try from the very beginning.' I pulled my sword out and made a deep cut on my neck. This sensation wasn't as I'd thought it would be. Instead of dying immediately, I could still breathe and felt the pain searing through my neck. My airway was damaged, but air still entered my lungs. Soon, blood gushed into my lungs and I began to choke on my own blood. I began having fits and I could hear those around me gasping at the sight. I wasn't completely conscious for what happened beyond that, but I remember it being painful.
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[Failure]
[The 6th Cycle Commences.]
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As I regained consciousness, I rushed to the gate and yelled, "Rino, let me in!"
"Are you sure?", he replied.
"Yes, I'm sure, just let me in, damn it!"
"Fine, sheesh! I'm opening it!"
A minute's wait, and the wooden gates creaked. Robert, from the farmer's market held my hand to stop me. He was wearing a conical hat, as all farmers did to break the heat of the sun, and wore loose-fitting trousers and a short tunic. In his other hand, he held a long, wooden stick. Trying to persuade me to change my decision, he spoke, "We could use you here, friend."
To prevent wasting further time, I shrugged him off and ran to meet my family. Jogging on the path of dirt, I heard the gates creak behind me. It was... somewhat peaceful knowing that I didn't have to fight there anymore. A nice break from the fighting and dying.
As I reached my house, I smashed the gate with my shield to get it over with as fast as possible. Inside, my wife screamed with the kitchen knife in her hand. Before she could do anything, I yelled, "Stop! Stop! It's me, Rina!"
Lowering her guard, she dropped her knife as she took a moment to look me in the eye.
I continued, "We have to leave from here. Right now!" Holding my daughter in my arms and holding my wife's hand, I ran out with my family to find a way to leave this bloodbath.
Staying in the house or in the townhall was futile. It was inevitable that they would eventually cross the gates. I ran to the backside of the wooden wall, where the wall seemed weak. Dropping my sword, I repeatedly smashed the wall with my shield, trying to make a dent as I grunted, "ARAAGH!! AGH!!"
With some effort, I managed to break a small part of the wall, but it was less than enough. At this rate, it would take at least another 20 minutes. As I continued breaking the wall along the cracks, the sound of the gates breaking echoed through the village. 3 cavalrymen made it inside the village. Stopping for a fraction of a second, I screamed, "No! NOOO!!!"
I sped up the motion. My hand bled, but that seemed insignificant to the impending doom. Cracks formed on my shield, and yet the wall was only big enough for my daughter to squeeze through. As minutes passed into my obsession, I didn't notice how close the horses had gotten.
Just as I turned to grab my sword, a cavalryman was in sight. With the sword in my hand and the club in his, we charged at each other.
*Thwack*
Before my sword could land anywhere near him, his club had rendered me unconscious.