Auver Glade
“The 12th battalion has already started the raid, my lord.” Said my vice-commander and younger brother, Henry.
“Update me on the entire situation,” I said, and he nodded.
“We have located the target and have been tracking him ever since. He was picked up by two knights. Although we sent the 13th battalion to ensure the safety of the specimen, they were wiped out by one of the two unnamed knights. Once we had gotten there ourselves, they were gone and we could not confirm who it was. However, we managed to track the one with the child, who we believe may have been the perpetrator of the attack. We pursued him in silence for about 2 weeks until we finally caught sight of him deciding to settle down a few hours ago. We have begun the immediate cleansing of ‘Dains’.” He said, summarizing everything neatly.
“Resistance?” I asked, and he shook his head, denying it.
“We snuck all 1,000 men into Dains upon his arrival. After confirming everything, we got rid of every single guard in silence.” He said. I took out a little metallic pad, resembling a leaf, and placed it on the ground.
In a matter of seconds, it started spinning and the two of us were outside of Dain's northern border. I led the way, as I simply walked through the unguarded gates, covered in blood and whatever had remained of the soldiers guarding them.
“I want these removed completely,” I said, and he nodded immediately.
Just then, I felt a surge of magic in the center of the kingdom.
“It seems they have finished cleansing the kingdom. They must be engaging in combat with the target now.” Said Henry, and I nodded.
We walked to the source of the mana. We did do a little sightseeing on the way, but it was brief.
There will be time for such things later.
“I had heard quite a bit about Dains from the head. Its supposed beauty is due to the falling snow.” Said Henry, striking up a conversation.
“ I disagree with that,” I answered.
“Why?”
“Beauty is a subjective thing. In my opinion, the current state of Dains is beautiful. Picture this: the subjects of a once beautiful kingdom lay their lives down to protect it! Isn’t that just marvelous? It’s as if they are going against the established order of nature!” I said as we trudged through a knee-deep pile of corpses and blood. It was a filthy sight, but soon enough, it will be cleaned.
“But, they didn’t fight for their kingdom.” He said, and I shrugged.
“Same thing, is it not? They technically died for their kingdom, making them no different than soldiers. Holy shit, are they still fighting? What the hell is that knight made out of?” I said, completely annoyed.
It has been well over 30 minutes since we entered this little kingdom, and we could still sense a single man fighting groups at a time. That’s not all-
“My lord, I have just received confirmation that an unknown group managed to escape. However, we have also confirmed that they do not have the child.” Henry said. I sighed.
“Hunt them down, and make an example out of them. He’s making us look bad, so enough playing around now, let’s just get this over with.” I said. I pushed a little mana into my legs and jumped, clearing a few hundred meters in a single step.
I fell at the center of a rather bloody clearing. The battle stopped upon my arrival.
One rather old man, wielding a strange red sword, was standing right before me. He had something strapped to his chest, most likely the child.
He also had another sword that was sheathed, a deep blue one. I looked around, and about 300 men were lying down, killed.
He, however, was in excellent condition if you ignored his light bruises and small cuts.
“What’s your name? Are you by any chance from the domains?” I asked, mostly out of curiosity.
“I have nothing to say to a snake.” He replied coolly, betraying my expectations.
Snake is a term the ignorant masses have given us. They, do nothing but flock around like sheep, never questioning the truth behind the hands that feed them.
Just hearing the term sours my mood. Being insulted by a wolf is one thing, but to hear it from a sheep is rather annoying.
“This has been fun, truly, Mr. Sheep,” I said as I unsheathed my weapon, a scimitar. Our conversation and battle had barely just started and I was sick of him already.
“Shitty sword to go along with your shitty personality, aye?” He said.
“Worry not. You will receive a death befitting someone as worthless as yourself.” I said as I leaped at him. He didn’t have the time to move, so he brought up his sword to block my attack, but I was faster, far, far faster.
Everything just felt agonizingly slow. I was beyond disappointed.
“Don’t kill him!” Yelled Henry, and I stopped mid-way and twisted my sword around so that the bottom of the hilt hit the old man at his nape.
He fell instantly. I doubt he even had time to register any of my motions.
“Yes, Henry?” I said as I kicked the unconscious old man over before he fell on his stomach and therefore on the child.
“You should know better than to get provoked by him and then attempt to kill him! We need to find out the identity of his comrade so we can prevent news of this from spreading out. If the domains catch wind o-”
“I get it, I get it. Stop bitching.” I said as I sheathed my scimitar.
“Is everyone dead?” I asked, no longer interested in the old man.
“Yes. I received a report that they caught up to the caravan that had escaped and then easily cleansed everyone inside. They are in the process of hanging the bodies as we speak.” He said, and I nodded. I pointed at the stump on the old man's chest and Henry hurriedly ran up to it and picked the baby boy up.
He confirmed that he was indeed the one we were looking for, so we were done with our mission.
“Henry, take that old man in for intensive questioning. The rest of you, go make yourselves useful and clean the entire kingdom up. Everyone will be coming.” I said.
“Yes, my lord. Also, I shall be preparing a banquet. We don’t want to insult fathers presence.” Said, Henry. I just shook my head. I don’t care for these little things.
“I suggest you hurry up then. They will be arriving later today. Everyone is anxious to meet the boy I guess.” I said.
I watched them scoop the old man up and hurriedly rush about. Henry handed me the child and started ordering them around.
It was a rather lively beginning.
I placed a little metallic leaf on the ground and set it spinning once more. In a matter of seconds, the child and I were inside the royal castle that Henry and I briefly visited earlier.
I walked down the long, rather narrow, hall until I reached what I assume is the dining room. I walked forward until I reached one of the many doors in the back, and then I entered through.
It led to the inside of the palace. The actual home of the previous royal family.
I quickly looked around, and then jumped on top of the stairs and entered what may have been the previous king's room.
It was full of an assortment of junk, from papers and mana cores to useless-looking weapons and wrapped gifts.
I cleared his bed and placed the child on it, and then I pulled up his comfiest chair and sat on it, facing the child.
The child was far too calm for someone surrounded by this much blood and gore. He was eyeing me curiously, but I just ignored his little movements.
“Fucking hell. Is he the one we need? Why did I waste my free time on this? Does father even know what he’s doing any-”
“Silence.” Said an all-too-familiar voice. My body reacted before my mind even had the chance to catch up.
I took my gloves off and immediately got on one knee. I placed my right palm on my heart.
“I greet the head,” I said, too terrified to say or do anything further.
“I see you have located the child. The 13th battalion was wiped out in the process. Who was the leader there?” He said.
It was my brother, Gr-
“It doesn’t matter. This child will become the head of the 13th battalion once he is deemed worthy enough. I shall personally raise him and watch over his growth. From today forth, this kingdom shall be our new base.” He said carefully, almost as if he were reciting these words.
“Also, Henry. This lady is Jessica. She will be the boy's nanny, and she is currently in charge here” He said, and a lady walked into the room from behind him. She had long black hair and cold eyes. But she didn’t matter to me, well, not right at least.
“I’m Auver. Henry is my brother, father.” I said, correcting him. He didn’t even react at all. In fact, I doubt he even registered what I said.
“Hand the child to Seltia and carry out your mission with pride befitting your lineage. I trust you mutts can do at least this much without dying. Also, I will be here in person later, so prepare suitable accommodations.” He said, and then he turned around and disappeared into nothingness.
The nanny, Seltia, didn’t even register my presence as she picked the child up and left from where she came.
I, however, felt a terrifying tremble reverberate through my body as I answered, fa-, the head's order. I could feel something watching me.
“As the stars decree, I shall risk life and limb in completion of thee,” I said in the formal acceptance of a mission.
At that same moment, my hand began to glow, and on it, a specific number showed brightly.
It was the number 13.
Unknown
“Oi, the fuck is this?” I said.
A child in a purple basket, in the middle of the desert, was laying just before us.
“What do we do, boss?” Asked Jin. I looked at him, looked around, and then looked at him once more before smiling.
“What we do best,” I said, as they gave me knowing looks before they picked the entire basket and child up.
Unknown
“Your Majesty, it’s a blessing from the stars! Truly a divine gift!” Yelled Minister Paul. The soldiers collectively brought the white crib inside.
My wife and I got up to look and what we saw was truly a sight to behold.
My wife fell to her knees and started crying, as she attempted to clutch at the crib. I looked at it a moment longer before sighing slowly as I also sat down in disbelief.
“Well, I shall leave the decision to you, Decasta,” I said. She nodded in between coughs and cries.
“Don’t ask such obvious questions.” She said, and I sighed as I comforted her.
End of volume 0: Beginnings
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