Two armies faced each other on the dark and sandy battlefield that makes up most of Nostalisk. One side were knights and soldiers, civilization as an old faction would say. The other is a bunch of tribesmen, though they looked nothing of the sort. They looked like raiders, like warriors. Skulls and bones decorating their armor, large siege weapons, and a lot of tough-looking soldiers. The Vanyans outnumbered the knights almost two to one. And, standing in the middle of her army, was one Warmonger. One Marrie.

Marrie eyed the enemy soldiers and let out a little laugh, her foot tapping the ground to quell her rising excitement. Before the fighting could commence though, the leading commanders will meet in the middle. It was custom for the Vanyans and for some factions, this one included. So, with a sigh, Marrie made her way into the middle of the battlefield. From the other side, she could see three commanders coming out to meet her. She frowned when she realized one of them was those katana wielding fuckers. Actually, by the looks of it, he was leading the army!

Marrie did not bother to hide her hate towards the leader of her enemy's army as they walked up to each other. Marrie wasn't small but compared to the three here, the only one close to her size is the one she hates. Well, hates the most. She hates the other two commanders for allowing themselves to be lead by one of those Senshi. 

"Senshi, what are you doing here?" Marrie spat out the word Senshi with as much venom she could muster. The other commanders flinched upon hearing her question. Surprisingly, the Senshi met her eyes still.

"I'm here to help defeat you, Vanyan," The Senshi evenly replied. Marrie's response was a snort before she put the hilt of her axe on the ground, a standard salute for the Vanyans and the salute they use to introduce each other.

"My name is Marrie, but you know me as Bloody Marrie, Warmonger Of Vanyan. I am one of the four High Commanders of Vanyan."

Marrie's introduction was cold and swift, getting right to the point. She has been held from fighting for long enough.

"I am Shiro Tanaka, fifth High Commander of the Senshi. To my left is Warlord Ryan and to my right is the Knight Felix."

Marrie's scowl deepened at that and she gave each commander a look of shame.

"Allowing a Senshi to greet you? How the times have fallen. I never felt any remorse in taking you guys over in the first place but now, if I did, it would be gone."

With those words, Marrie turned around and waved to her soldiers. The three other commanders turned and ran back to their soldiers as well, though the keyword there is running. Marrie wasn't. She didn't see a need to and Marrie, despite her personality, has honor. So she was totally unprepared when the enemies took aim and fired almost everything they have at Marrie before she even arrived at her army. Perhaps it was her army frantically waving at her or maybe it was the sound of the arrows, who knows, but Marrie turned around and looked up. 

"Aw fuck off already," Marrie grumbled before she started running backwards towards her army. She deflected a few arrows, and by a few, it was a couple of hundred, before her troops ran forward and got her to safety. Marrie had a bunch of arrows in her and most looked to be poisoned. While the battle raged, a barely conscious Marrie was fuming. No, a few little...fifty arrows or so won't stop her. She was quickly healed by some mages and watched the battle from the sidelines while her body recovered.

"Artillery, focus fire on those archers in the back! Jacob! Reinforcements are coming your way!" Marrie yelled out orders left and right, Now of course not everyone can hear her. That was where the officers came in. One would hear what Marrie would say and blow a different sounding horn for each legion. The officer in that legion will then relay the orders. It was complicated but saved their mages precious mana supply.

The fighting was fierce but mainly one-sided. Vanyans love war and Marrie. Fueled by vengeance and a thirst for blood, the Vanyans morale never once wavered. Their strength and skill in combat puts them above most of the knights and soldiers the enemies had and no matter how many the three commanders the enemy had put down, the Vanyans kept on coming. It was a slaughter. Vanyans weren't destroyed for a reason. Not only is their homeland cold and tough to fight in, let alone travel through, but the Vanyans are skilled fighters. When their War Rampage starts you either have good enough defenses to hold them off, are far away and have good numbers, or you get taken over and raided. 

To make matters worse, Marrie was well enough to fight again. With a dangerous sounding chuckle, she picked up her axe and made her way to where the most soldiers were, regardless of what the medic tending to her said. 

 

________

 

Shiro Tanaka knew that fighting the Vanyans was an uphill battle that they were most likely going to lose. The Vanyans outnumbered them, were better at fighting, had better artillery, and had Marrie. Those four things normally don't have a good outcome. Although his sensei taught him to have honor in battle, he knew that if he ever wanted a chance to win this fight, he would have to take out Marrie right away. 

Shiro didn't exactly know what to expect when he was going to meet Marrie. He knew she was pretty and young but, when he saw her, even he had to admit he thought she would look different. She was most definitely pretty and young, with semi-long white hair and light blue eyes. Her skin was smooth and not as pale as most Vanyans tend to be. Her outfit was simple, a plain blue and black dress which did not look lavish, just plain. The dress still highlighted her looks despite that. Of course, those facts were quickly covered up by the disdain in her eyes when she saw him. Shiro doesn't know if Vanyans have something against Senshi but Marrie definitely did hate him. Probably more so now after he did that surprise attack on her. He knew that he would not kill Marrie with that attack but to see someone still alive after getting shot with all those arrows...it's something else.

Shiro dodged one sword swing from a Vanyan soldier and blocked another before killing them both with one slice aimed at their necks. He jumped back just in time to avoid an arrow and killed another Vanyan soldier in front of him. He was making it look easy to kill these guys but, in reality, it was not. He was a commander and he was already struggling. What can these soldiers under him do?

Shiro chopped a Vanyan soldier on his neck, causing him to gag, and stabbed him with his sword in one clean fluid motion, killing the soldier. He then pulled out his sword and blocked an axe coming right at his head from one of the big Vanyan soldiers. Despite being a commander, his entire body groaned in pain at the blow. Shiro quickly elbowed the soldier and cut his head clean off with a twirl. Things were going well on his side so far. If he could clear the middle, he can go and damage the artillery, which will be a major blow to the Vanyans. It might even cause them to fall back to protect the weapons, giving Shiro and the soldiers under him time to breathe and think of a new plan.

His hopes died when Ryan's head flops down next to him. He was fighting with Shiro. Did he just get unlucky? As much as Shiro wanted that to be the case, the pile of dead soldiers said otherwise. Limbs were flying and the screams of the soldiers under Shiro made him realize just how bad things have gotten. He looked around and spotted her. A blood-covered Warmonger swinging a large axe around, crushing armor and cutting through limbs. One brave captain tried to stand against Marrie only for Marrie to sidestep him and eviscerate him with her axe, not even glancing at him. Moving on to another soldier, she stabbed the head of her axe through his chest with ease, lifted his body up, and then smashed it into another soldier while she reached out with her one free hand and grabbed the head of another soldier and slammed his head on the ground. Before the soldier could recover, Marrie freed her axe and violently stomped on his head, crushing it.

It wasn't until Marrie cleaved one more soldier in half did Shiro realize he needs to do something. He can't outkill Marrie in this fight. The Vanyans were too strong and Marrie was more skilled in fighting multiple enemies. He also knows that fighting Marrie herself is not a fight, but an execution. Still, it might be his only chance.

Shiro made sure there were no Vanyans around him before he issued his challenge.

"Marrie! I Challenge You!" He shouted. Marrie immediately turned and saw him.

"Thee accepts thy challenge," Marrie spat out, her eyes narrowed the moment she heard his voice. 

'I guess she wasn't using her accent before when she greeted us.'

The Vanyans and knights, sensing the duel that was about to take place, made a ring around the two, and a large one at that. There are two reasons for that. One is Shiro likes to dart around and the other reason is that no one wants to get hit by Marrie's attacks. They can crush shields like sticks.

The two circled each other while the battle rages on, their eyes never leaving each other. Marrie was the first to break off, getting into a battle position lazily. Shiro was tempted to go in but he knows that this is a strategy all Warmongers use. They're skilled enough to instantly get you off guard if you think they themselves are off guard. Shiro has heard that many Senshi has fallen for that trick when they went up against Sharia, another Warmonger.

"Tis was angry about your little trick. It made I have less time in the battle. How shall thee make thine pay?" Marrie asked, her stance relaxed yet her eyes never leaving Shiro. 

"You're too skilled. Though it is against my teachings, if I were to have any chance of winning, I would need you to be taken out," Shiro responded, causing Marrie to giggle a little.

"Ye foolishly underestimated my medics. Thee are most skilled."

Shiro let out a dry laugh, cursing himself for not realizing that. Having enough talk, he got into his stance, sword at the ready. Marrie let out a sigh and got ready as well. Shiro made the first move, dashing towards Marrie with his sword out and ready. Marrie simply shifted the weight of the axe more towards her left hand, blocking the blow. Before Shiro could move back, Marrie stepped on his blade and let go of her long axe with her right hand and winded it back. Before Shiro could dodge, Marrie punched him hard in the face, sending him flying. It was only thanks to his training that he managed to keep his hand on the hilt of his sword so he didn't drop it. He quickly got back up just in time to see Marrie lunge at him. 

Shiro darted backwards and crouched down, ready to counterattack. When he did so, he found that Marrie was already ready for him, her weapon's hilt on the ground. She saw which way his blade was going and moved the hilt lazily to the left, blocking it. Marrie then tried to headbutt Shiro with the hilt of her weapon. Shiro, sensing an opportunity, swung his katana at Marrie. It connected and Marrie hissed as she stumbled out of her attack. She quickly recovered and did a massive sweep with her axe. Shiro managed to dodge it and lunged past Marrie, hitting her right hip as he did so. He thought things were going pretty well for him. That changed when Marrie instantly turned and did the same sweep as a follow-up. She had lured him in and he fell for it.

Her axe dug deeply into his side and before Shiro could move, Marrie quickly tackled him, bashing her elbow into his side. While Shiro was disoriented, Marrie lunged forward again, showing her high stamina and stabbed her axe head right through Shiro's chest. Giving him no time to realize what had happened to him, Marrie lifted him up in the air with one hand, reached behind her back and pulled out a black war axe with her free right hand, and chopped his head clean off.

Silence filled the part of the battlefield where the duel happened. The soldiers under Shiro watched in fear as Marrie put her war axe back behind her back and punched Shiro's headless body off her axe, sending it a couple of feet in the air before it landed on the ground with a thump, blood pooling out of his neck. Shaking her right hand in slight pain from punching someone in full armor, Marrie looked around and then roared, announcing her as the victor. Marrie suddenly darted to her left, avoiding an arrow. A couple of soldiers ran at her, hoping to avenge their fallen commander. Marrie threw her war axe at one, lazily sliced one's neck open, then thrust her hilt behind her, catching one soldier and breaking his ribs. She twirled around and punched another soldier that was behind her and then spun around again and dodged the lunge from one soldier and put him in a headlock before breaking his neck. Letting the body drop, Marrie turned around once more and chopped off the last soldier's arm. He fell down but wasn't out. He weakly pulled out a mini-crossbow, usually made for assassins, and tried to aim it at Marrie with his remaining hand. Marrie was impressed the soldier had remembered to load the crossbow first. It wasn't the first time this has happened. 

Of course, Marrie wasn't going to just allow him to fire that, even if she did not think he could with only one arm and hand, so she stepped on his crouch harshly before slamming the hilt of her axe down on his head, breaking his skull and killing him. No other soldiers tried to charge in after that. Of course, that did not matter to Bloody Marrie, Warmonger Of Vanyan and one of the four High Commanders. 

"Charge, brothers and sisters! Kill them and win thine glory! Butcher them and make thee pay."

With that, the Vanyan soldiers turned and started swinging. Marrie let out a joyful laugh before jumping into the frey herself. The battle was won that day. Out of the eighty thousand Vanyan soldiers, only eight thousand were killed. Among the fifty-five thousand soldiers Shiro brought, only around eight thousand survived. Out of the three commanders Shiro's army had, himself included, only one survived. Out of the two commanders Marrie had, herself included, both survived, though Marrie was out of commission for three days afterwards after being shot by arrows at the beginning of the battle. The Mackroles were taken over six days later, with the Vanyans losing only eighteen troops during the raid.

 

........

 

Marrie let out a well deserved sigh. Her personal maid, the very same medic from before, was giving Marrie a massage. She also kept on checking the old scars on Marrie's body to see if any of them have opened up again.

"What did I say about being reckless, Marrie?" Tizzy asked Marrie, whose only response was a small "cuu" sound. Marrie was tuckered out. both mentally and physically. The violent Warmonger Marrie, reduced to nothing more than a pet cat. Of course, just like a cat, she can be unpredictable. 

"Well, tis one know that the Senshi are planning and it can't be anything good, can it?" Marrie asked, even though she does not expect an answer.

Tizzyy finished up her massage and Marrie stood up and stretched before grabbing her axe and making her way towards the map that shows her plan. 

"You know, thee original plan was to let them go after doing enough damage, starve them out and make them the enemies we once knew. It would be beneficial for us too and one glorious battle if we make it to them on our next rampage but, no, thee council had to disagree. They are nothing sort of greedy cowards, they are," Marrie explained to Tizzy, pointing to a region in the Southwest. 

"Bahh, I might just find a way to go with my original plan," Marrie growled, earning her a headpat from Tizzy.

"Be careful, Marrie. You don't want to end up in prison, do you?" Tizzy asked. Tizzy isn't Vanyan but a former slave apart of a warband Marrie killed. Since then, she has been following Marrie, becoming her emotional supporter. 

"If thy council puts me in jail, then maybe thee shouldn't have even bothered to work for them in thy first place! Besides, by then, a revolt will happen. Thy council isn't popular like I am," Marrie told Tizzy smungly. Her smug face was quickly wiped off when Tizzy increased her headpats.

After shaking Tizzy off, Marrie pointed her axe at the region she was talking about before and smirked.

"Like you, who were once great, now fallen to ruiny peace. Pathetic. You better watch out, Kingdom, cause ye are our end goal!"

"Ruiny is not a word, Marrie," Tizzy reprimanded Marrie with more headpats, causing Marrie to make another "cuu" sound. "Besides, isn't attacking Chen Sui our end goal?"

Marrie perked up at that before she shook her head.

"No. We will be deflected and then shot with spears. Thy council thinks that now because I am high Commander, that I will miracously succeed. That "battle" isn't a battle, but an execution. For some reason, thee council has a thing against a Zhanshi Warmonger, though he is apparently in "retirement"."

"Why did you sound sarcastic when you said that?" Tizzy asked, sensing that there was more information to be told.

"Chen Sui is still defending his 'palace' and raiding, just not going on big battles or wars anymore," Marrie explained, walking around in circles while Tizzy watched. "But if you want to talk about real retirement, Sharia is retired. Tis one hasn't seen or heard about her in twelve years. I would say fourteen years but thy heard Sharia was in a small war called thee Alcomite War, though she always told me Alcomites were weak."

Marrie went silent and still for a minute, a perplexed look on her face. Shaking her head, Marrie started moving again, deciding she'll think about it later.

"Well, watch out Kingdom," Marrie said, walking outside her tent and pointing her axe at the sky, "we're coming to you whether you are ready or not."

Behind her, Tizzy started clapping.

"That's good and all but, you are currently topless and wearing only a sarashi to cover your chest. Can you please come back inside?"

"...."

"...."

"....I'll be right there," Marrie replied weakly.