Chapter 544: Enemies Arrive

Aya Bandstone

He stopped. I pulled the reins of my mount and stopped as well.

We followed him for nearly an hour without question as he moved backward through a different route.

It was strange, but we followed.

“What is happening?” I asked finally, and there was no reply. I turned to Ulo and saw her expression become cautious, with a grimace emerging on her face.

“A group of people are coming toward us,” Ulo said openly. A moment later, I heard the faint sounds, which became louder every second.

I looked at him and saw no worry in his eyes. Instead, he looked relieved.

He looked back at me before dismounting from his beasts. I did the same after looking at Ulo.

Less than ten seconds later. I saw a group of creatures, tens of them, coming out toward us through the darkness, with people riding on them.

Most of them are humans, with a few orcs mixed in.

Leading them is a man in his early forties. He is a soldier. They are easily recognizable.

Beside him are two beautiful women. They are wearing expensive light armor and blades at their waists.

One on the right looked similar to the original appearance of the man beside us with the same silvery grey eyes, while the other was a blond woman with deep blue eyes.

“My lord, it fills me with relief to see you unharmed,” greeted the leader, bowing once he dismounted.

So, he is a noble.

“It’s good to see you too, Zaris,” he replied before his expressions became grave.

“How far are they?” he asked. “Around five minutes,” he replied.

“Then we should prepare,” he stated. The man called Zaris nodded and began to give orders while the young man walked toward the other people.

A few seconds later, I saw the bracelet of an older, beautiful woman turning to liquid and turned into a whip.

As the whip moved, the trees began to fall apart cleanly. A moment after that, the others used the spells. Upon seeing those spells, my eyes couldn’t help but become wide.

‘Those are Grade IV spells,’ said Ulo in shock while all I could do was nod.

People are moving around us. They glanced at us but didn’t say anything. They simply followed the orders while the young man talked to person after person.

We tried to remain close, but two people appeared beside him—a good-looking woman in mage robes and a muscled armored orc.

Suddenly, he turned and looked at us. “I would advise both of you to leave immediately. It’s going to get dangerous here,” he suggested.

“As for what I promised. I have informed my people, you will get it at the Archmage city,” he added.

“I will stay,” I replied before I could think, surprising him.

‘Aya!’ screamed Ulo telepathically. She is not happy.

‘Look at these people, they are strong, but there is still fear in their eyes.’

‘Whatever enemy is coming is powerful; we should get out while we can,’ she said, and she was undoubtedly correct, but I don’t want to leave.

‘We were not taking advantage of him. He is rich and alive because we have helped him.’

‘So, there is no need to feel indebted to him,’ she said, and she is correct, but I don’t want to leave.

‘You are sick, Aya. It would be bad if you stayed here,’ she pleaded.

‘I know,’ I replied, understanding what she was saying.

I do not have a death wish, nor do I feel that much indebted to him, but I want to stay. Even I don’t fully understand the reason for this foolish decision.

‘You leave. It will become very dangerous here,’ I advised my friend.

She glared in reply.

‘I am going to blame you. If something happens to me,’ she replied sarcastically.

I opened my mouth to make her reconsider her choice, but seeing her eyes, I closed it.

Ulo isn’t big on serious decisions, but when she does, it is tough to force her to change her mind.

I shook my head and began to check my armor and other things.

All of it is new or recently used.

I had scavenged swords, shields, and pieces of armor from the bandits’ bodies, so I now have a better and more complete armor set.

It gave me better confidence in my chances of survival.

‘They are truly efficient,’ said Ulo, looking around amazed. I couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

From soldiers to mages, everyone is working. In less than five minutes, they have formed walls of wood.

The woman who had earlier chopped the trees is now quickly sharpening the wood, turning it into spikes while the soldiers place it in the holes that the mages made.

‘These people know what they are doing,’ I thought, and once again, the thoughts about his identity rose in my heart again.

They referred to him as ‘my lord.’

They didn’t call him by his name, though some might have, and many people are talking to him with privacy skills.

We stayed in a corner out of everybody’s way while they prepared for the enemies with clinical efficiency.

‘The enemy is only a minute away,” informed the raven-haired man.

“In position!” commanded the leader, whom they called Lt. Colonel Zaris, and immediately, people moved, including us.

He had used the army skill In Formation or something similar.

People moved, and I saw the young man taking the front position beside the leader and the woman with silvery grey eyes like him.

“The enemy is powerful. Most importantly, they have signed the death contract. They will not stop until they take me and kill you all.”

“We have faced enemies far worse than them and came out victorious. We will do the same here, and nothing and no one will stop us from achieving that!” he said, shouting at the end.

Immediately, the soldiers begin to hit their feet to on the ground.

They are from Harsoth.

I knew they were from the West, hearing their accent, but this striking of feet confirmed it. The Western kingdoms do it, with it being the most popular in the Harsoth Empire.

Seconds passed, and finally, I began to hear the noise of the approaching enemy.

It became louder and louder before I saw the people the noise belonged to as they came out of the forest.

Seeing their numbers, I couldn’t help but grip my sword tightly.

I looked at their leader. He is a big orc. He looked imposing and dangerous, and I am certain he was. Just one look at him had raised all the hair on my body.

He looked at us all before his eyes stopped on the young man.

“Lord Silver, it seems like you are not willing to come with us,” he said. “You already know the answer,” replied the young man.

“How about now?” he asked, smoothly taking a saber from his bag.

Seeing the saber, the eyes of the young man and those around him widened. Even the eyes of the people behind the orc seemed to widen upon seeing it.

It’s a beautiful saber.

‘Artifact!’ Ulo gasped in my mind. Hearing that, my eyes widened.

I had never seen an artifact. I heard our governor has one, but I have never seen it on his person.

I examined the saber he brought out.

It had an ivory handle with a beast pommel. A thick bronze semi-transparent coiling knuckle bow protects the fingers and joins the guard.

The saber’s blade is dark red, and when I saw it clearly, I noticed the scaly pattern, like it was forged out of scales instead of metal.

However, the most prominent part of it is the big ruby on a protecting langet on one side.

No, not ruby, but faceted diamond, and it is captivating.

“The answer is the same,” replied the young man, but with a far more severe expression.

The enemy grinned in the subsequent moment. The diamond shone brightly before a dark red fire came out of it. It was unlike any other fire I have seen before. A fire of many facets resembles a living gem, an intricate blaze that dances with myriad hues and patterns.

It is a diamond fire, and it looks like millions of micro diamonds are burning inside it. The flames’ movement is hypnotic: sharp, angular leaps and mingles with pale, rounded flickers that radiate heat and hunger. The crackling sound of the fire mirrors its geometry, a symphony of sharp pops and low growls as if each flame sings its own crystalline note.

It is as enthralling as it is horrifying.

“Since you want to do it the hard way, I will show you the hard way,” he said, raising his fiery saber.

“Attack!” he ordered and slashed his saber in the air.

Immediately, a vast arc of fire came toward us, and behind it was a shower of spells and arrows.

Overwhelmed by the site of it, a horror couldn’t help but rise in my heart.

This attack is too powerful. I know there is no way they could defend themselves from it.

‘I made a mistake,’

The thought rose in my heart, and I stepped back before stopping and looking around in surprise.

Ulo and I were the only two who had taken a step back, while all the others remained in their places. Every soldier, woman, and, most importantly, those three in front remained where they were.

That young man had even taken a protective step forward.

At that moment, I understood why I had stayed.

I had joined the army at fourteen. I was excited but became disenchanted with its politics, pettiness, and betrayals; I suffered under it.

Most importantly, I had never seen loyalty in the eyes of any soldier like I am seeing in these people.

I had never known such loyalty.

It made me curious. Desperate for answers, I decided to risk my life for it, and now I got the answer, seeing that this young man took a step forward toward the arc.

The fiery arc arrived quickly and crushed through everything.

The wooden spikes, the earth wall, and everything else in its path before reaching the young man.

His eyes became unbending, and in the next moment, a suppressive atmosphere filled the battlefield.

I could see Ulo’s eyes mirroring mine, once again in shock at this man, as we felt it.

It is Aura.

This very young man had awakened the aura.

The feeling only lasted for a moment before receding, but I could still feel it faintly.

As it happened, he acted.

He slashed his rapier toward the attacking arc. It was not a blade he used when fighting against the bandits and monsters. That was a sword; this is a rapier.

Bang!

The rapier clashed with the arc of fire and, to my repeating shock. It stopped it.

The arc of fire struggled against it for a moment before it was repelled back toward the enemies while everyone watched in shock.

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