Chapter 37: Book 2 Embers of War – Chapter 35

It was still dark when preparations across the entire camp were being made. Rinhaven was a mere thirty minute march north. The northern edge of the camp could see the walls of the city. Rinhaven is the largest city in the southern region of the Swora Oligarchy.

In previous wars, armies have attempted to penetrate its walls but have all failed. It laid center in an open plain with little to no cover. There was a secondary keep inside the city similar to Highmane in Galdo City but nowhere near as large.

The war between Midland and Swora had reached its climax. The showdown at Rinhaven between the two kingdoms would decide the fate. Arlan knew this as he grabbed his black steel claymore from his bedside. He had readied himself and slept well the night before. His mind was concentrated on only one thing, winning this battle and stopping the Sworans from invading. He left his tent and the rest of his banner was still getting ready but was nearly finished as well.

The sky began to color itself orange as JD was directing a few last minute changes to the vanguard. Roderic was doing the same with his hatchets. Marie and Chrysta joined Arlan with their staff in hand and Marie greeted him, “We’re ready, Captain.”

Yanie appeared and added, “Rangers are ready to move on your command.”

“Aye, so are the hatchets,” stated Roderic from the side.

JD turned to his lord and was the last to report, “Vanguard is ready to move.”

Arlan’s voice echoed out, “Banner of the Claw, fall in!”

As ordered, the Banner of the Claw marched on through the open paths of the encampment. Majority of the other Midland banners were already formed up. As Arlan and his banner marched through, the other Midland soldiers looked on with awe.

They all had heard of the Banner of the Claw’s achievements and ferocity displayed since the start of the war. Especially that of Arlan who was now known as the King’s Blade, named heir to House Reeve and named future King of Midland.

The simple presence of Arlan and his Banner of the Claw raised morale of the entire Midland Northern Army to an all time high. The young lion knew how important it was to make his presence known to their side to bolster the fighting spirits of the other banners.

Everyone in the Banner of the Claw was proud of themselves. They were a part of the strongest small banner in the Midland Army. Soldiers began to salute them as they passed through.

As they neared the edge of the encampment, most of the Midland Northern Army had already formed up. They were awaiting orders. The Banner of the Claw marched up the center until they reached the front.

Duke Louis was there with Lord Commander Jermaine and the Duke’s personal unit of two-hundred Heracul Knights. Duke Louis rode up to the Banner of the Claw and was greeted with all of them kneeling. The Lion’s Claw then addressed them, “My son, you and your banner are the pride of House Reeve and Midland.”

“Thank you, father,” answered Arlan as he and his banner rose to their feet.

“Today is the hour of our victory over the Sworan,” announced Duke Louis as he dismounted, “I see in many of you the same fire that I saw in Arlan the day I met him. I would like to personally extend my gratitude to each and every one of you.”

As soon as the Duke finished, he knelt before the Banner of the Claw. Then a loud shuffle rang throughout the field, it was the entire Midland Northern Army. They had followed the Duke as well, and knelt before them. Arlan and his men were surprised. Elated with feelings of pride and joy overtook their hearts. Arlan’s retinue looked around to see over thirty-thousand Midland soldiers who knelt in solidarity.

As the Duke rose, he continued, “Before you all had come along, Midland’s future was gray with uncertainty. But now… there is nothing but a bright future ahead of our Kingdom. You will help usher in that age.”

Everyone else rose to their feet with their fist in the air. Then Duke Louis yelled out, “All hail! The Banner of the Claw!”

The loudest rally Arlan had ever heard then exploded throughout the plains, “All hail! Banner of the Claw!”

A tear slowly fell from Duke Louis’ eyes as another round echoed out, “All hail! Banner of the Claw!”

Arlan turned to look at his men as the final round echoed within their hearts, “All hail! Banner of the Claw!”

Silence befell the field, the young lion turned to everyone before him and announced, “Soldiers of Midland's Northern Army, hear my voice! More than a year ago, I made a vow to my father that I can stop the Swora from invading. Today... today is the day that I deliver on that promise! Together now, we will finally avenge our massacred people of Tudora, give purpose to the sacrifices of our fallen brethren and protect Midland from the embers of war!”

As if on cue, everyone shouted in unison, it was louder before. Like the sky was under Arlan’s command, a fiery orange had turned yellow. It was nearly the break of dawn. Duke Louis looked at one of his Heracul Knights as he blew a horn signifying that it was time to move out. 

The Banner of the Claw joined Count Emile and Commander Ragnar on the left-wing which numbered ten-thousand strong. Count Daxton and a number of other high ranked-nobles and officers led another ten-thousand on the right-wing. Duke Louis naturally led the center with Lord Commander Jermaine and fifteen-thousand soldiers.

The left-wing was charged with breaching Rinhaven’s west-wall while the center was to simultaneously breach the south-wall. The right-wing was to probe and harass the east-wall and north-wall respectively at Count Daxton’s discretion. As the entire Midland Northern Army marched north toward Rinhaven, every single soldier was fired up and ready.

While minimizing losses was important, casualties were inevitable. Everyone had steeled their resolve and were ready to lay down their lives if needed for victory. There was too much at stake to give any less. Arlan knew that victory was inevitable but what was still an uncertain variable was the casualties that they would suffer from this assault.

There was no other choice but to take advantage of the given situation. The Midland Northern Army couldn’t afford to prolong a siege due to the war in the south. There was also a risk that the Sworans would mount a counter offensive straight from the capital. So the only obvious choice was to lay siege to the Sworan Army who had retreated to Rinhaven and force a surrender. Both sides understood this.

Rinhaven’s southern walls came into full view and Arlan could easily tell that the walls were nearly double the height of Fort Sugan. There was no way he could use his wind disc to scale the walls. Siege ladders were definitely needed. The Midland center came to a halt under Duke Louis’ command as the left and right-wings continued on toward their staging positions. Arlan could barely see the movements of archers on the battlements.

The Midland left-wing arrived at their waypoint and turned right. They were now facing the west-wall. As calculated, just out of range from any siege emplacements or ranged attacks. Only a few minutes were left before the sun would break from the east. Although this would normally blind the left-wing who were facing east where the sun would rise, Rinhaven's walls were tall enough to block and cast a shadow.

The Banner of the Claw was positioned in the front-middle of the formation, Count Emile's personal banner normally took this position but was parallel to the left of Arlan's banner. Both the Midland and Sworan soldiers all looked upon their respective enemy with fanaticism. All soldiers on both the defending side and attacking side knew how important this was. They were prepared to give their lives to different causes, for anything less, meant defeat.

As the sky gave birth to the tip of the sun, all the gates slowly opened and indiscriminate shouting could be heard. The young lion noticed the shuffling of enemy movement on the ramparts. He knew his Umbras had accomplished their mission. A devious smile snuck by Arlan.

Count Emile then gave the order to charge. Following this order was the entirety of the ten-thousand soldiers of the left-wing. Thunderous sounds could be heard from the center as well. Duke Louis had also given the order to charge the south gate.

Naturally, Arlan and his banner were a bit further ahead than everyone else. The first hurdle was to get to the gates as fast as possible while minimizing losses from the enemy's siege emplacements and arrows. The Midland Northern Army had already prepared for this though.

As the first volley of arrows littered the sky like a throng of crows blocking out the sun, Chrysta and Marie fired off large fire and ice spells next to each other into the sky. The space between them created massive gusts of wind that poured out. The young raised his left arm and fired off a spell he had pre-channeled. It was a third-tier wind spell, [Typhoon].

While casting magic on its own was powerful enough, using force already present would amplify the magnitude. So the vacuum of air being created in between the fire and ice spell allowed Arlan's spell to multiply three-fold. Using this spell he was able to redirect all arrows to the left and right sides of the charge.

Midland banners with heavy shield infantry were positioned on both sides and had neared to a stop. They formed many phalanx of shields to receive the barrage of arrows. The wind spell was powerful enough to redirect arrows but not negate them. So the one-thousand heavy shield infantry soldiers were used to soak the arrows and provide cover for others on the side to move up.

Arlan and the rest of the soldiers had neared the gate as they could hear shouting from the Sworan soldiers above screaming and trying to figure out what was going on. The siege weapon emplacements tried to fire but immediately malfunctioned. The Umbras went above and beyond their mission. The young lion greatly valued that. Rinhaven's defenses were basically useless. The enemy had started to panic in their ranks.

The Banner of the Claw was the first to reach the gate and the enemy was still scrambling to muster a response. Arlan grinned and readied himself with his blacksteel claymore. It was merely fifty Sworan spearmen guarding the entrance, which meant there was nothing to stop the ten-thousand from flooding inside into the streets of Rinhaven.

As Arlan reached the gate, he activated his Warlord's Regalia but did not activate his [Undying Zeal]. He had to pace himself in case of fighting the Archmage. That was the only unknown variable. Where and when the Archmage would strike. Arlan figured that even if the Archmage engaged, their victory was mostly assured. It decided the cost of victory which Arlan insisted was to be minimalized.

Spears were pointed at the dark-armored warrior as he leapt through with sheer force and killing pressure. The young lion brought down his claymore with [Titanstrike] and obliterated the first five soldiers into a flurry of limbs and parts. As Arlan brought down his attack, JD burst from the left with [Trifecta] and demolished another squad of spearmen. Marie and Chrysta were right behind Arlan along with the rest of the Banner of the Claw. The enemy formation tried to resist but was overwhelmed within twenty seconds.

Banner of the Claw soldiers followed Arlan as he pushed forth through the streets. His banner's objective was to find and demolish as many Aspirants guarding the enemy headquarters as possible while other left-wing Midland banners would clear the ramparts and capture strategic positions. The city's residents had already fled the night before and the Sworan Army had forced them to evacuate to reduce the amount of mouths to feed. This made it easier to fight without fear of hurting innocents.

As Arlan and his banner made their way through another platoon of infantry caught off-guard, they reached a courtyard where an elite enemy banner of four-hundred strong stood before them. The young lion's [Battle Trance] revealed that they were mostly second-tier red-cores with two fourth-tier red-cores and one fifth-tier yellow-core.

Arlan raised his fist and called his banner to a halt. While his troops were superior, any wrong moves would mean heavy casualties to the Banner of the Claw.

Under his helmet, Arlan's voice rang through to his banner, "Erin, take your company to the left and establish a killing zone. Do not push beyond where I stand. Dimitri, take your company right and defend Yanie and her rangers while they bombard the enemy's right formation."

"By your command!" acknowledged Erin and Dimitri.

"Roderic," yelled out Arlan, "Take the hatchets behind Erin's troops and wait for a good moment to blitz the enemy."

Arlan then called out, "JD, Marie, Chrysta."

The trio appeared behind Arlan immediately after hearing their summon.

"We're going to take out the three enemy Aspirants in the center."

Marie grinned with fire in her hand, "My pleasure."

JD nodded and lowered his steel helmet's visor. Chrysta acknowledged Arlan's orders, "By your command!"

Half the enemy banner was veteran swordsman and half veteran pikemen. They were trained and had experience. But they were easily harassed by ranged attacks. They moved into battle formations as well in response to the Banner of the Claw's formation as well. They were merely a hundred meters apart in the large courtyard.

Arlan saw the three enemy Aspirants led from their center. The young lion started to charge forth and his [Battle Trance] revealed even more information somehow. It was the same familiar feeling when Arlan's mind received information regarding Hector's core. His ability had further awakened and revealed each enemy's cores.

The enemy commander was also an Aspirant. He donned heavy steel armor while wielding a mithril longsword and kite shield.

Paladin...? Something tells me he's a Paladin. His mana lanes are extremely efficient but glowed slightly brighter than any mana lane I've ever seen.

At the enemy Paladin's sides were two others. The left Aspirant was wearing light white robes with no visible weapons. The other was in steel chainmail and wielded a steel rapier.

Monk? And a Fencer? How do I know this? Well this is no time to figure out how I know this.

Both sides nearly met when Arlan turned to Marie and Chrysta and held up three fingers. This signaled for Marie and Chrysta to enact a strategem that Arlan had trained with them before. JD knew his role as well in this fight, he was to make sure Marie and Chrysta were protected by drawing attention to him and allowing Arlan to duel the enemy commander alone.

Meanwhile, on the right side with Dimitri and Lem, Yanie and her Silvan Rangers let their arrows fly toward the enemy's right formation of pikemen. Right as the arrows arrived above the enemy, they were all completely absorbed.

Yanie hesitated for a moment and realized they had to continue firing anyway and sent more volleys. Dimitri and Lem realized what was happening but continued to clash with the enemy's pikemen. While the pikemen held superiority with their weapon length, the Banner of the Claw's soldiers were trained to deal with these situations.

Dimitri started to glow and channel essence creating a ripple effect of the rest of B Company. In the blink of an eye, B Company burst forth using [Rampage] as a unit. The enemy pikemen were caught off guard and lost over forty soldiers from the first ranks. The essence barriers that formed on each individual B Company soldier was massive enough to allow them to fight with ferocity without overextending themselves. The arrows above the enemy were still being absorbed.

On the left side, Erin and Roderic merely held a position with interlocking vanguard and hatchet members. They had formed a dangerous killing zone if the enemy had pushed forth. An enemy sergeant then gave the order to push forth. They were becoming impatient. The longer they waited, the more Midland reinforcements would come.

Arlan had already known the enemy was pressured under a time limit in each skirmish. So he deduced that if he had Erin's A Company simply hold a superior position, the enemy would eventually succumb and push into it.

The enemy swordsmen reached the Banner of the Claw's A Company and clashed into them. But A Company simply received their charge with ease and were able to lure the enemy into zones of Hatchets who easily cut down their enemies. All Erin's men had to do was zone the enemy swordsmen with positioning. The left was a much more one sided slaughter than the right for the Banner of the Claw.

At the epicenter of this skirmish, Arlan leapt up and swung his blacksteel claymore into the Paladin's mithril kite shield. Like the duel with Cecil, the kinetic force erupted and cratered the stone street below the enemy Paladin. The young lion could feel the reverb but it was nowhere near as powerful of a defense as a Sentinel. So Arlan continued with attack after attack into the Paladin. Marie was right behind Arlan.

The pair engaged the enemy Paladin, JD dashed with his two mithril longswords and cleaved toward the enemy Fencer. The opponent riposted both blades with ease and countered with a forward thrust of his own. The Tempest Knight was nearly struck but was able to regain balance last second and sidestepped the attack.

Before JD could recover, a powerful force connected with his steel breastplate and sent him back a few meters. Looking up, JD realized it was the Monk. The speed was too hard to track and Arlan had kept the Paladin at bay.

"JD!" cried Chrysta as she fired [Nixstorm] at both the Monk and Fencer. The spells connected but the Monk was able to produce a mana barrier that absorbed the attack.

"I'm okay!" yelled out JD as he lowered himself back into an attacking stance. 

While the Monk's mana barrier absorbed Chrysta's ice barrage, it also forced the Monk to defensively stand between Chrysta and his Fencer ally. JD realized this and capitalized on the weak point presented before him.

He dashed a few meters forth and used [Trifecta] from the monk's side but was met by the Fencer's rapier, parrying all three attacks from JD. The Tempest Knight and Coldheart realized that this was going to be tough and required them to go beyond what they had normally fought.

An [Inferno Hand] flew toward the enemy Paladin fifteen meters to the left of where the Monk and Fencer were fighting JD and Chrysta. It was Marie's fire spell as she pre-channeled a few low-cost fireballs to follow up. The fiery hand reached the Paladin as Arlan jumped back a few meters to not get hit as well.

As the flames settled, Marie was shocked to see the Paladin had merely suffered light burn wounds. Arlan then detected the special mana lanes glowing and the Paladin casted [Numen's Hand] which enveloped the user with a burst heal.

It is similar to Fiala's healing spells but requires no channel time or chant. It seemed powerful enough to be used mid-combat. We'll have to figure a way out to either stop him from casting or strike him down when his mana is gone.

"Marie, can you swing left while peppering him with low-tier fireballs?" asked Arlan.

"I can," answered Marie as she maneuvered further left, "By the way! His magic is all based on Holy properties like Fiala's!"

Arlan reassured his Adjutant Mage, "I figured. We just need to continuously damage his healing rate or deplete his mana completely."

The Paladin answered back and used his shield to block the fireballs. He also raised his mithril longsword and casted a large holy barrier around his banner at the same time.

He's refreshing that absorption spell that has been negating all of Yanie's arrows. There has to be a limit to this.

The young lion dashed in again and swung into the Paladin from the right since his shield was blocking left. The attack connected but it didn't cut through as Arlan thought it would have. The Paladin's essence barrier was incredibly dense and had negated Arlan's horizontal swing from the side. The Paladin responded by shoulder slamming into the blacksteel warrior near him. Arlan raised the flat side of his blacksteel claymore just in time to receive the attack and recovered a few meters away.

Before Arlan could continue, the Paladin raised his mithril longsword once more and a large burst of mana erupted just ten meters above the caster. A yellow circle appeared at Marie's feet with different runes. "Marie!" cried out Arlan as a golden beam of radiant holy magic struck the Emberheart.

The Paladin had casted [Final Verdict] on the Embercaller. The aftermath showed Marie on one knee and supporting herself with her staff. Blood dripped from the side of her mouth. The Paladin was surprised that his target was still alive.

Marie got back on her feet and yelled out, "I raised a mana barrier just in time. It hurts but I can still fight."

Arlan let out a sigh of relief and activated his [Undying Zeal] and elevated his core to a sixth-tier orange core. The Paladin was somehow keeping up despite being a whole tier lower. The Paladin sensed the change in Arlan and was cautious as well. For he had never seen anyone survive his [Final Verdict]. This time, the Paladin was on the defensive. He wasn't sure what to expect from the pair in front of him.

Meanwhile, on the left flank with Erin and A Company, Roderic noticed the stalemate on the right and the skirmish in the middle against the Aspirants. He knew that the chance to swing this battle in their favor lay on the left.

They had suffered light injuries and a few that were too wounded to fight were carried to the rear. But the damage inflicted to the enemy formation was exponentially greater. The Sworan swordsmen had lost nearly eighty soldiers from the kill zone. But they were much more defensive now and were no longer overextending.

Roderic yelled out to Erin, "It's time! We need to push now!"

"Understood!" answered Erin as he shouted for his three platoons to reform.

The Senior Sergeant's voice boomed out once more, "Hatchets! With me!"

The burly veteran soldier pushed forth with a steel ax in each hand. He dashed into an enemy swordsman and drove both weapons into his opponent's shoulders and tore down. Unphased, red liquid splattered on Roderic. This wasn't the first time he had been covered in the blood of his enemies.

With the adrenaline rush going through his body, he and his men activated [Blood Fury]. The Mar-Tech allowed him and his men to endlessly attack without losing any stamina and ignore any pain inflicted to them for a minute.

With the support of Erin's vanguard, the Hatchets had allies to fall back to after that minute. When [Blood Fury] fades, the user suffers all the pain and exhaustion performed. So to cover this weakness, Hatchets were either used to finish off an enemy unit or when adjacent with a friendly unit to cover them.

The ax-wielding shocktroopers were a force to be reckoned with, Roderic and his men did not let up, they sent limbs and blood flying in their wake as they chopped down enemy troops one after another.

Erin and his company stayed behind Roderic and his sixty hatchets, finishing off any survivors. Erin directed any changes in the flow of the battle and easily struck down any enemy combatants who were foolish enough to slip past the Hatchets. The Sworan left formation was only a minute from complete collapse.

Not much had changed on the right side. Yanie was redirecting her Silvan Rangers to fire from different angles while Dimitri and Lem were struggling to keep the enemy pikemen from gaining the upper hand. As Lem deflected attacks from three pikemen, a large figure jumped from behind Lem and landed down on the three pikemen while unleashing a flurry of strikes.

Lem immediately recognized the outline of the lizard beastmen. Mahari had pushed forth from his reserve position with Yanie and was assisting the vanguard.

Dimitri noticed this and called for his platoons to create a wedge formation with Mahari and Lem at the point. The entire vanguard pushed into the enemy ranks and tipped the momentum in the Banner of the Claw's favor. While this wasn't enough for the win, it was enough to keep the enemy pressured.

JD saw the change in battle flow on both sides. He knew Arlan saw it too. So JD's resolve refreshed and knew that many were counting on him to take down the two enemies before him. With Chrysta at his side, his heart reminded him of how capable the two were. The Monk had been using essence Mar-Tech to support the Fencer while also using a mana-barrier to absorb or deflect any spells from Chrysta. JD knew the answer to victory lay in Monk's stationery channel.

Chrysta was also well aware of this and continued to pin the Monk from moving so her beloved could continue to find an opening. The ice needles from [Nixstorm] continued once more with one hand while she pre-channeled another ice spell with the other. As if they were in sync, JD danced around the ice spells and struck at the Fencer. JD saw a pivotal moment when the Fencer's steel rapier cracked.

The pair of mithril longswords flourished with a thirst for blood and JD wanted to sate that hunger. He wanted the Fencer to parry his attack from an overhead swing, which would produce the most impact. The Tempest Knight read the enemy perfectly and the Fencer raised his rapier to parry both mithril longswords. The Fencer's life flashed as he felt his blade shatter in two. The mithril longswords carved down and through the chainmail, separating flesh with ease.

"Paulo!" cried the Monk as he ran over and held his lifeless friend.

JD and Chrysta saw the Monk mourning his dead friend and had put his back to them. At first, JD hesitated but realized that he couldn't take any chances, Arlan would do the same. JD walked up and raised both his swords to claim the next life.

Before he could, a large ice spike the size of an arrow pierced through the Monk's skull from the back and emerged out the right eye. Chrysta approached and coldly stated, "You don't have to shoulder that responsibility by yourself. We're in this together, even when it's not pretty."

"I... I just didn't think you would..."

"After what they did to Miss Petrah? I've learned to steel my resolve. He was a threat and even if he surrendered, we would never know if he'd be a danger to us all. I don't want to take any chances with losing any of us," stated Chrysta pre-channeled another spell, "Come, it's not over yet."

JD and Chrysta turned their attention to their left and rushed over to see Arlan striking with blinding speeds into the Paladin's shield and armor. The young lion's ferocity could be felt throughout the entire battlefield as the Paladin was on his last legs.

"Now!" yelled out Arlan as Marie followed up. A spiraling blue fireball erupted from Marie's hands. It raced over to the Paladin who was massively weakened by Arlan's blacksteel claymore attacks. Marie had casted [Trueflame], her new fourth-tier spell she had learned.

The Paladin prepared himself for the oncoming attack.

His heart sank when his defensive barrier fizzled out from lack of mana. In his desperation, he yelled out for his two fellow Aspirants. But realized he was going to die when he saw them lying dead on the floor behind Chrysta and JD.

The Paladin closed his eyes and merely accepted his fate. He was happy that they fought to the end like true warriors and followed their orders to hold their position. A sliver of his heart was sad that they had fallen in the first skirmish.

Marie's [Trueflame] struck true and engulfed the Paladin with sapphire flames. The steel armor easily melted which meant the flesh and bones were reduced to ashes. The Paladin had been incinerated to a mere pile. The mithril longsword and shield were scorched beyond use and were too hot to pick up.

Arlan wasted no time and immediately directed his retinue, "Roderic and Erin have already demolished the enemy's left. So Chrysta and JD, assist Dimitri and Lem with the right."

"By your command!" stated Chrysta and JD as they rushed toward their assigned objective.

"Marie, stay here and Fiala will see to your injuries," instructed Arlan as he started toward the enemy's center, "Join back with me after!"

"Yes, Captain!" acknowledged Marie as she fired a small mana ball into the air. This was an established signal for Fiala to move up from the rear formation.

Arlan arrived at the frontline and saw the enemy formations retreating with his soldiers right behind them. While they chased on, the young lion stabbed his claymore into the ground to free up his hands and lifted his helmet off.

He grabbed a small leather flask of water he had worn on his belt and quenched his thirst. Fighting the Aspirants was no easy feat and Arlan was already feeling the fatigue from using [Undying Zeal] and keeping his Warlord's Regalia active.

After the last drop of water fell, Arlan put his blacksteel helmet back on and grabbed his claymore. He was now ready once more and sprinted forth to join his men. The Banner of the Claw had to continue through the streets of Rinhaven and destroy any other special units in the way.

 

While everything on the Midland left-wing was smooth, the Midland center had produced the same effect. While mounted on his dark stygian, Duke Louis was at the forefront of this assault and his elite banner of two-thousand soldiers were pushing toward the market district where he knew the enemy headquarters would be positioned.

This elite banner was made up of two-hundred Heracul Knights that were mostly third-tier white cores. The remaining eighteen-hundred were led by Lord Commander Jermaine and were a mixture of different infantry types. All of whom were between second-tier yellow cores and third-tier red cores.

Duke Louis had ordered the other banners under his command to clear the battlements and clear different zones and districts further out to the sides. The Lion's Claw and his banner were pushing toward the enemy headquarters when a large Sworan Unit blocked their path.

Their numbers were unknown due to the cluster of streets and alleys. The Duke easily made out at least a thousand infantry blocking his path with four hundred cavalry units all around in the different streets and alleys.

The Lion's Claw voice called for his right-hand man, "Lord Commander Jermaine!"

"Your orders?" responded Lord Commander Jermaine as he approached from the right with his blacksteel halberd.

"Lead your heavy infantry unit through the rabble directly in front of us," ordered Duke Louis, "Have the spearmen stay in reserve at this intersection. Their calvary will try to flank us."

"By your command," answered the Lord Commander as he started to redirect his unit forth.

As the Lord Commander and his unit clashed with the enemy infantry before them, calvary and light skirmishers appeared from the different alleys attempting to flank the different formations. The intersection was large and there were four major routes.

The Duke and his banner were positioned on the southern road while the Lord Commander and his unit were attempting to push through the north entrance. Sworan calvary and light infantry swarmed from the west and east entrance.

Normally this ambush would be devastating but the Duke's personal banner was just too well trained and experienced along with their average core strength. Lord Commander Jermaine and his unit were devouring the thousand infantry before them. Duke Louis divided half the spearmen and Heracul Knights to counter the enemy calvary trying to flank them. The ambush was turned back on the Sworans.

Everything was going well. Duke Louis' intuition was sharp and keen from his decades of battle experience. Despite that though, there was only one variable he couldn't see…

A large arcane explosion erupted from the west intersection entrance. Duke Louis immediately turned to see a figure in a blue robe with golden trims. In both the unknown attacker's hands were channeled arcane spells.

It was the enemy Archmage, he had finally made an appearance. The attack killed a few Heracul Knights and a squad of spearmen.

"This must be him. I guess he chose to come after me," uttered the Duke under his breath, "I'll dispatch you with ease."

The Lion's Claw channeled his essence and rode to engage with the enemy Archmage. Following behind him are fifty Heracul Knights. The enemy Archmage wasn't alone either, more and more soldiers poured through the different allies. The enemy strength was at least three-thousand strong against the Duke's two-thousand.

Despite being outnumbered, the close quarter fighting of the city worked in favor of the Duke and his banner due to their superior fighting strength and inability to effectively use overwhelming numbers. There was only one issue though, the Archmage could easily deal heavy damage in such a small environment.

The Sworan soldiers flooded even more from all sides while the Duke and his fifty Heracul Knights reached their target. Right at the promise of violence, the Archmage casted [Arcanestorm] and multiple arcane bolts rained down on the Duke and his entourage.

The destructive force of the arcane bolts struck true to many of the Duke's soldiers. After one cast, ten more Heracul Knights were killed and over thirty spearmen were either injured mortally or simply exploded into bits.

The Duke's charge was unphased nonetheless and reached the Archmage with his teal longsword. A loud metal clang resonated from where Duke Louis thought he had cleaved his opponent. The Archmage had blocked the attack with his staff. The staff was no ordinary weapon, thought the Duke as he turned his mount back around for another pass. The enemy Sworan soldiers were now clashing on all fronts with the Duke Louis' personal banner.

As the Lion's Claw raced back for another pass, the Archmage responded with [Arcane Blades] which fire off four blades that explode on impact. The four arcane blades made their way one after the other toward the Head of House Reeve. Unphased, the Duke simply rode forth and activated his powerful defensive Mar-Tech called [Perfect Pressure] which allows him to completely stop an attack or spell by thrusting his weapon and erupting a large amount of kinetic pressure.

One after another, each arcane blade was perfectly cut in half and veered off to hit the buildings on both sides. The Archmage followed up with [Arc Thunder], a channeled variant of the [Arc Shock] spell. The arcane lightning raced out from the caster's fingertips. They instantly raced out and hit the Duke who had channeled a mana-barrier. The constant damage was draining his mana but [Perfect Pressure] erupted once more and caused [Arc Thunder] to fizzle out.

As the smoke cleared, the Archmage said, "You must be the Lion's Claw."

"I didn't know I was so popular among the Sworans," admitted Duke Louis as he continued riding forth, "And who might you be?"

"Aleron Troka," replied the Archmage, "And I'm here to claim your head!"

"Puny mage," stated Duke Louis as he jumped off his dark stygian and brought down his mithril longsword.

Aleron conjured a blade of Arcane energy and the strike glanced from Duke Louis. Despite glancing, the swing held such an enormous amount of kinetic impact that Aleron was knocked back a few meters. Aleron recovered from the attack only to be met by more of the teal longsword. Duke Louis was not only quick but swung with strength and ferocity. He didn't give Aleron any time to cast any spells.

Despite this, the Archmage fired off another [Arcanestorm] without channeling and caught Duke Louis off guard. The arcane bolts struck randomly around the two, killing both Sworan and Midland soldiers alike. Duke Louis was able to [Perfect Pressure] the arcane bolt that was to strike him and completely negated the attack.

Aleron's hand still had cards up his sleeve and said, "Now you're mine."

The Archmage channeled a fifth-tier arcane spell called [Arcane Tribunal]. Duke Louis had never heard of such a spell and dashed forth to try and interrupt Aleron's spell cast. But by the time the Lion's Claw had arrived, the spell went off. A large amount of arcane energy manifested around the Duke in the form of twenty runes.

Each rune rotated around the Duke as it fired off small arcane bolts every half second. The spell flourished with reaching nearly eighty arcane bolts striking Arlan's adopted father.

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Duke Louis dropped to one knee at the end of the spell when it had finished. Aleron had thought the spell was enough to kill and was impressed that his target had survived. "It seems the stories about you aren't exaggerated," admitted Aleron as he prepared another [Arcane Tribunal], "But the differences between us are apparent."

As the cast was halfway, the Lion's Claw smiled and replied, "I agree, the difference is obvious."

The mithril armor worn by Duke Louis had rune engravings that greatly reduced any magic damage. So the Lion's Claw had been feinting his injury the whole time. Duke Louis capitalized on the cast time and dashed forth. The Archmage was mid-cast and couldn't conjure a quick arcane shield or blade in time to block.

The teal blade was swung overhead and Aleron instinctively raised his left hand to block the oncoming attack. The Duke didn't hold back as he cleaved Aleron's forearm off while driving it down into his shoulder. The [Arcane Tribunal] fizzled and never finished casting.

Aleron was now on the floor crying from the pain and shock of nearly losing his entire shoulder and watching his arm get chopped in two. Duke Louis was disgusted and condescendingly looked down at his wounded opponent. The Lion's Claw decided he's had enough and drove his sword into Aleron's forehead. Ending the Archmage's life instantly.

 

Back at the Banner of the Claw, Arlan and his banner had already engaged with two other banners. The first enemy banner had fallen with ease while the second had two Aspirants who made the skirmish much more difficult but were defeated with the combined efforts of Arlan, Marie, Chrysta, and JD.

As they mopped up the remnants, they were finally at Rinhaven's market district which housed the enemy headquarters. The young lion miscalculated their own strength and speed. They had moved faster and reached the enemy's headquarters first.

The enemy command tents and buildings came into view as the Banner of the Claw arrived at the entrance. The enemy's headquarters housed at least fifteen-hundred troops and possible Aspirants leading them. The Sworan General was likely there as well. Arlan pondered for a moment before his thoughts were interrupted, "Arlan, your orders?" asked JD.

"Something is off," answered Arlan concerned, "We shouldn't have reached the Sworan Headquarters first." 

JD was confused and wanted answers, "What do you mean? Isn't this good?"

"Yes and no," stated Arlan, "While it's good that we're here, it could also be a trap laid out by the enemy that I haven't been able to detect."

"You couldn't... detect?" added Marie as she felt the concern, "That's a first."

"Captain," said Yanie nervously, "I could scout it for us?"

"No," replied Arlan, "It would take too long. We either wait for reinforcements and prolong the battle or we enter and end the siege sooner."

The retinue were silent. They had never seen Arlan unsure of the next move in the heat of battle. So they dared not speak up in fear of suggesting the wrong move.

"We have no choice," said Arlan as he lowered his helmet visor, "We have to go in. Trap or not, we cannot afford to prolong this siege."

"By your command!" acknowledged his retinue and echelon.

The Banner of the Claw shifted into a battle formation and started marching toward the enemy headquarters. It was only two-hundred meters away.

While they approached, Arlan continued monitoring [Battle Trance] and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just the same reserve three-hundred troops guarding the enemy headquarters who were second-tier red cores.

As the young lion got closer, a familiar core was detected on his [Battle Trance]. Arlan had only seen one other core like this, it was during the monster subjugation mission at Galdera. Arlan now knew for sure it was a trap designed for him. He could now also detect two Aspirants and a high density core on top.

Upon arriving at the enemy headquarters, the Sworan guard unit took defensive formations and the Banner of the Claw arrived ready. As they looked at the enemy only a mere hundred meters away, Arlan's suspicions were correct. A demon with red skin and horns protruding from his shoulders and head can be seen at the rear of the enemy formation directing troops. It was Izradon.

The demon from the Galdera subjugation?

Arlan could see that Izradon had gotten slightly stronger but the young lion was confident his abilities have massively multiplied since their last fight. Behind Izradon was a giant armored warrior wielding a massive claymore. He nearly towered at six-feet and a half.

He must be the Sworan General

Flanking the Sworan General were two Sentinels and a number of other Aspirants as well. This wasn't going to be an easy battle but Arlan was confident they could defeat whoever it was before them despite it being a trap. "JD," said Arlan, "Izradon is among the enemy ranks."

"Wait what?!" exclaimed JD with concern.

"Izradon is the demon you clashed with back in Galdera awhile ago right?" asked Marie.

"Yes," answered Arlan, "I'm surprised he's here though."

"Me too," admitted Chrysta, "I wonder why he's here?"

"Lady Dafni mentioned that demons have been known to mettle with human affairs," answered Arlan.

"So what're your orders then?" asked JD.

"We're going to kill both Izradon's head and the Sworan General here," ordered Arlan.

Upon hearing the orders, the Banner of the Claw prepped themselves. Arlan activated his [Undying Zeal] but was already halfway drained of his essence and mana for the day. With the Warlord's Regalia continuing, the young lion wouldn't last long enough if they had waited and got engaged by another unit.

The Banner of the Claw had only suffered injuries up to now, and none have been killed fortunately but the enemy's numbers and strength were overwhelming. Casualties were going to be inevitable here. The young lion cursed himself and wished the circumstances had been different. The Midland Banner rallied itself up and started to charge.

 

On the Sworan side, Izradon stared at the charging Banner of the Claw and his scars from the last battle flared up out of anger. A deep and loud voice echoed out from behind, "Lord Izradon," shouted the Sworan General.

"Yes, General Sakrates?" answered Izradon the Demon.

"This is Arlan and the Banner of the Claw I presume?" asked General Sakrates.

Izradon nodded and drew a mithril great-axe.

General Sakrates laughed and said "A mere boy, small and fragile. You lost to him?"

"You will die if you fail to see the boy’s real power. Do not forget your place. It is I who provided you with that power."

"I mean no insult, Lord Izradon. And I am grateful but I do recall that you need me more than I need you."

"Just kill the Ashra and I will grant you your wish to join the Malum Incarnate."

"As you say, Lord Izradon, I shall carve into this boy."

 

The Banner of the Claw was now at a full sprint and was only meters from the enemy when Arlan activated [Titanstrike] and swung down into the Sworan infantry ranks and turned four Sworan soldiers into a pile of blood mist and cracked bones.

Chrysta casted her ice ramp angled so that it punctured into the first rank of soldiers on the right side. JD, Roderic, and his Hatchets leapt over into the enemy ranks and started swinging wildly.

As the vanguard and hatchets pushed forth, Yanie and her rangers fired volleys of arrows at the enemy rear units. As Arlan was cutting down a swath of Sworan soldiers, his [Battle Trance] warned him of a spike in essence and mana. He turned to see one of the Sentinels had thrown their Aegis Armum toward JD.

The Tempest Knight was unaware of the attack and right before it could connect, an ice barrier blocked its path. Chrysta had conjured her ice wall just in time. The massive shield boomeranged back to the Sentinel.

An [Inferno Hand] reached out toward the left, on the opposite side of the skirmish and incinerated a patch of Sworan soldiers. Marie followed up with [Fireblast] directed at any sergeants or higher ranked soldiers trying to direct their troops. With everyone on the offensive, Arlan felt like he could trust JD and Chrysta with taking out one of the Sentinels.

As Arlan got closer to Izradon and General Sakrates' position, the young lion intensified his swings and began channeling [Arc Flare] in his left hand while swinging his weapon in the right hand. The young lion figured the enemy's lack of response was due to their agenda to draw him further into their lines. But Arlan was confident that even if he had overextended, it wouldn't matter.

As the tip of the Banner of the Claw's assault broke through, General Sakrates and both his Sentinels dashed forth to engage Arlan. Izradon stayed behind still observing. [Battle Trance] revealed that the Sworan General was a fourth-tier white-core and his Sentinels were fourth-tier red cores. While it wasn't going to be easy, Arlan knew how he could easily deal with the Sentinels since he had the backing of his mages behind him. But the General before him was an unknown factor.

"The Ashra finally makes his appearance," said Izradon as he brandished his weapon.

"Izradon!" yelled Arlan as he neared the enemy.

"Come little boy," mocked the Sworan General, "I am General Sakrates and I will be the one to take your head."

The two Sentinels tried flanking Arlan on both sides but were forced defensively with Arlan's [Arc Flares]. This gave leeway to meet with the Sworan General head on. The Sworan General wielded a strange purple two-handed greatsword.It was much larger than Arlan's and when it was brought down overhead, Arlan activated [Automatic Parry] and parried the attack. Just like the fight against Cecil, an explosion of kinetic force cratered around.

What the fuck?

The strength the Sworan General had behind his swing felt almost as bad as Cecil's counter. Which meant the impact of the strike was almost as strong as Arlan's.

He's merely a fourth-tier white-core. How is this-

[Battle Trance] detected something strange, the core inside General Sakrates was now turning purple. Arlan had never seen anything like it. The General’s core was elevated to a fifth-tier purple-core.

Shit this isn't good*

The ferocity of the blows between General Sakrates and Arlan intensified as the runes on both weapons grew with each passing strike. Before the Sentinels could flank Arlan, Marie dual casted [Trueflame] from her hand and sent out two spiraling blue firebolts.

Only the left Sentinel was able to react in time. The Sentinel on the right didn't raise his Aegus Armum in time and was completely incinerated like the Paladin before.

"Arlan! I'll deal with the Sentinels!" yelled out Marie as she peppered the last Sentinel with low-tier firebolts.

"Thanks Marie! Don't overextend!" replied Arlan as he struggled to keep up with the onslaught.

General Sakrates smiled, "Keep your attention on me boy."

Arlan's [Automatic Parry] and [Battle Trance] shut off immediately and the large purple claymore nearly cleaved Arlan in two but was deflected by the flat side of the blacksteel claymore. Arlan could feel a silencing effect from the weapon.

Shit, I can keep up but this is going to be insanely difficult.

Luckily, Arlan had his hyperactive senses still but the situational awareness provided by [Battle Trance] was incredibly useful. His intuition warned him of imminent death and dove aside. He landed near Marie and the Sentinel she was dueling.

A large mithril great-axe had swung down from where Arlan was standing. It was Izradon. He had somehow got behind Arlan quickly.

Izradon knew the effects of General Sakrate's greatsword and was waiting for me to lose my [Battle Trance]

General Sakrates was relentless and wasted no time in continuing his monstrous flurry at Arlan. The young lion raised his blacksteel claymore with bruised pain throughout his arms and blocked another attack.

Arlan knew Izradon was going to strike once more. So from the corner of Arlan's eye, he saw Izradon disappear into a blur. The young lion's heart sank when he realized that Izradon hadn't appeared behind him. But he had teleported right behind Marie.

The Embercaller had no idea that Izradon was even behind her. The demon's mithril great-axe was already raised in the overhead position, ready to strike. In the few crucial seconds, Arlan mustered all of his speed and dashed over. But his efforts were futile as he was blocked by General Sakrates.

The mithril great-axe swung down as Arlan cried out, "Marie!"

As if time had stopped, memories of Marie played back through Arlan's mind. Of how they had first met, their time together at Lancel High Academy, and how she had always been by his side through most of it all. He couldn't bear to lose another person. Finally, when time had resumed... A metal sound boomed.

The killing blow was deflected somehow. Arlan looked over and saw a hooded figure standing at Marie's back. The Embercaller was unharmed. The savior's hood flew back, revealing that it was Nightingale. Her short blonde hair was all he could see from her back.

"Marie," said Nightingale, "I am an ally. Do not be afraid."

The Embercaller happily replied, "You... You just saved my life!"

"You're a very important person to my lord," stated Nightingale as she swung her shortblade toward Izradon, "I couldn't just stand by in the shadows and watch this demon kill you."

"Your name?" asked Marie as she put her back to Nightingale's and resumed her spell chants.

"Nightingale."

Marie nodded and unleashed her fire spells on the nearby Sentinel who was able to block the attacks. Izradon teleported back behind General Sakrates after being forced away by Nightingale. Arlan sighed in relief. He wanted to run over to Marie. But he knew better than to give into such emotions during battle. The Sworan General continued attacking Arlan’s defenses.

JD and Chrysta finally broke through on the right-side and entered the fray. Now with Marie, Nightingale, JD, and Chrysta, Arlan knew the advantage was now in their favor. Armed with a short blade and a small crossbow, Nightingale jumped behind the Sentinel and fired her crossbow. After landing, she delivered [Talon Strike] onto the Sentinel's Aegis Armum.

Marie was able to use this opportunity to cast her [Trueflame] again. Nightingale was able to keep the Sentinel's attention fully on her. Marie's spell connected and incinerated the Sentinel fully. The same smoldering pile of ashes and melted metal laid where the Sentinel had stood.

While the battle raged on around them, Chrysta used [Ice Spike] and froze Izradon's feet in place. JD came at General Sakrates from the right, forcing the General on the defensive. The Adjutant Knight and King’s Blade were now parallel side by side, unleashing their ferocity. One after another, they struck at the Sworan General.

Izradon managed to break free and teleported once more but behind Chrysta this time. The Coldheart had already forecasted this and erected an ice wall right behind her. It slowed down Izradon's swing long enough for Chrysta to dodge forward.

The demon was frustrated at how much more difficult the battle was due to Arlan's allies. He had miscalculated that the Ashra would surround himself with such a force. Before the demon could teleport away, a cold prison held his ankles down. Chrysta had once again used [Ice Spike] and locked the demon in place. Marie rolled next to Chrysta and the two held their palms diagonally and formed a spell together. This was the first anyone except Arlan had seen two casters combine their spells.

The Embercaller and Coldheart held their eyes closed and channeled for a mere two seconds before finally unleashing their new devastating spell, [Frostfire Blast]. Its power and impact was that of a fifth-tier spell. The new spell manifested an intertwined red and blue orb of elemental power and flew toward Izradon like a double helix.

A monstrous roar was let out as an explosion of fire and ice minced through Izradon. The aftermath revealed Izradon still standing but with missing chunks of his right arm.

"How... How are your subordinates so strong," cried Izradon in a state of shock, "I am a lord of the Malum Incar-"

A short blade interrupted the sentence and cleanly separated Izradon's head. Nightingale had killed Izradon before he could react. General Sakrates noticed this but was unphased.

"He served his purpose," stated General Sakrates, "His presence holds no meaning here."

Frustrated at the Swora's involvement with the demons, Arlan asked with anger, "Sakrates, why are you in league with the demons?!"

"This war is nothing more than a means for me to gain the power I seek," stated General Sakrates, "I exist solely to become the perfect weapon on the battlefields. The Swora Oligarchy is a failed kingdom and this war was simply my orchestration to gain favor with the Malum Incarnate."

"This whole war was orchestrated for your own personal gains?"

Upon hearing Sakrates' response, Arlan and his retinue felt the anger rise inside them all.

"Yes," answered the Sworan General, "Although the southern Midland Houses in open rebellion were not of my doing. Merely that our goals had aligned."

Arlan's dark hatred rose up once more and he struggled to bottle it in. What kept him from restraining his anger was his desire to know one more thing, "Tell me, did you order the incursions into Midland territory?"

General Sakrates noticed Arlan's unstable emotions and deviously grinned, "You mean the massacre at Tudora, the small villages, farms and... orphanages?"

Arlan answered with a nod and hateful eyes.

The Sworan General let out a laugh and answered, "Of course I did-"

An unstoppable burst of kinetic energy struck the Sworan General. Arlan was no longer restraining his hatred inside and had slammed into Sakrates. The Sworan General was sent back ten meters. The smoke subsided revealing Sakrates had just barely blocked the attack that would've claimed his life. He looked down to see Arlan deathly staring with red eyes, something had taken hold of him.

The Banner of the Claw all felt Arlan's hatred within them multiply with their own anger. JD was fueled by the emotions and lunged at the Sworan General's left with two horizontal strikes. While the attacks struck true, they were too shallow.

In response, Sakrates attempted to pommel JD but Arlan efficiently timed an overhead swing. The force from the attack was nothing like the Sworan General had experienced earlier. The desperate attempts to revenge was the catalyst. He now understood that this was a much more dangerous situation than he had anticipated.

Chrysta and Marie sent barrages of spells at the Sworan General but a powerful mana barrier absorbed their spells. The Sworan Guard unit behind Sakrates was getting routed by the vengeful Banner of the Claw. The battle had significantly swayed in favor of Arlan and his banner. The Sworan General read the grim situation objectively.

Arlan and JD relentlessly attacked Sakrates one after another. There was no quarter given. As the flurry continued, Sakrates yelled out, "I pledge my soul to the Malum Incarnate!"

Four blue portals manifested around Sakrates. Arlan and JD backed away from the unknown danger. Out came four different demons who shared similarities with Izradon, but each had a unique weapon and armor.

Arlan could feel their hostilities toward him and deduced that the General was attempting to make an escape. The rising vengeance flourished from within Arlan and the demons all smiled at the results before them.

"Izradon seems to have been killed," stated one of the demons, "No matter. We'll take the General."

Arlan's core felt different. He felt the need to unleash mana and essence indiscriminately. As the young lion attempted to strike down Sakrates, two of the demons got in the way and used a kinetic barrier to counter the attack.

"Moradon!" yelled one of the demons, "We cannot fight the Ashra like this, it took both of us to stop him!"

Arlan and JD directed their anger at the demons who had gotten in their way of revenge and went on the offensive. The other two demons had already retreated with Sakrates through their portals. The remaining two demons were losing against Arlan and JD.

"Belial," called out Moradon, "We must escape now!"

Belial used a moment in between attacks and erected a mana barrier around the portals. Both demons entered inside with ease but Arlan and JD weren't able to follow.

Right before Moradon disappeared through his blue portal, he grinned deviously and said, "The look in your eyes... Let that hate rise inside you and realize your true fate. Until next time, Ashra."

Moradon disappeared along with the portals and barrier. Any traces of them had disappeared as well. Arlan's eyes were no longer red. The vengeance inside had subsided and Arlan noticed everyone else had calmed down the exact same time.

They must've also felt my anger through my regalia.

With the Sworan Headquarters under Midland control, the siege of Rinhaven was almost over. Sporadic pockets of Sworan units still littered the city but were either retreating or had surrendered.

Arlan didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he was content that they had managed to take Rinhaven with no major casualties. But on the other hand... he had failed to kill Sakrates and exact his vengeance.

Nightingale's voice rang out, "Mi'lord, you need to come and see this."

Arlan and JD walked over to Nightingale who had been investigating Izradon's body. What they saw before them was a small monster core lodged into the chest of Izradon. Now that the silencing effects had worn off, Arlan reactivated [Battle Trance] and saw that it was a fifth-tier monster core but abnormally colored red.

The blonde Umbra then informed Arlan, "Others have reported these monster cores handed out in the south. We believe you've fought with some of the receivers at the Tetrasan Tournament. We're still unsure of its effects."

JD added, "I've seen monster cores but none like this."

"Have the others managed to obtain one like this?" asked Arlan as he knelt down and carved out the monster core from Izradon's body.

"I'm afraid not, Mi'lord," answered Nightingale as she raised her hood, "Your orders?"

"First, rest up," ordered Arlan as he stood up, "You and the Panthers have accomplished far more than I have expected. And thanks for saving Marie."

The Embercaller appeared and interjected, "Thank you, Nightingale..."

"It is a pleasure to serve our lord from the shadows," replied the Umbra.

"I want all the Umbras to return to Auron," instructed Arlan, "Await for my orders there." 

The Umbra bowed, then climbed up a nearby building and disappeared along Rinhaven's rooftops. Three other Panthers followed Nightingale as they followed their orders without question.

Arlan turned to see his troops fatigued and suffering from the aftermath of losing their chance at vengeance. Everyone had either lost someone from the initial Sworan atrocities or were friends with fellow fallen soldiers.

Roderic and Erin made their reports to Arlan, revealing no major casualties in the Banner of the Claw. But there were numerous injuries across the different units.

Duke Louis and his banner arrived shortly. Arlan filled in his father on the events that had unfolded. While the victory was great news, the appearance of the Malum Incarnate also foreshadowed a grim future.

Chrysta sat overlooking the aftermath of their battle. She had always hated war. But the growth within her has allowed her to handle herself in such an unforgiving environment.

JD noticed his girl solemnly staring beyond. He joined her with his arms and held her close. "Hey," said JD quietly, "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I am," answered Chrysta with a lighter tone, "I'm not used to feeling that... Hate. You, Arlan, and even Marie seem to control it well..."

"Listen to me," JD added reassuringly, "We can have you return home, I think that might be best for you. I'm sure Arlan would prefer that."

Chrysta replied confidently, "No! I will not run. If you all are putting your lives on the line, then so will I."

JD nodded and simply agreed while holding her close. He knew she wouldn't stand for being left out.

Chrysta continued, "Look, JD, I'm not afraid of that feeling."

"Then what is it?"

"It's that... It felt good."

 

On the 19th Day of the 9th Month, 1243 Mundeas, the Midland Northern Army had successfully routed the Sworan Army from Rinhaven. An official surrender was delivered a day after.

As part of the terms, any territory captured was now annexed to Midland. Sworan reparations were paid out to Midland. The Swora Oligarchy was now in a deep rut and nearly collapsed.

A small garrison force was left along the newly acquired northern territories. The Midland Northern Army started marching back to Galdo City to recuperate before riding out south to assist with quelling the rebellion.

Arlan and his Banner of the Claw also started their march home alongside the other of the Midland forces. While their spirits were high, they all harbored a grim feeling of the danger.

Arlan had delivered on his promise to stop the Sworan invasion. But this was not the end of the war, there were still the rebel houses in the south. This was merely the beginning of the Embers of War.

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