If any of you still follows my story, please accept my gratitude.
“Wow! This is your tent?” Randal exclaimed at the pyramid-shape tent. The three-by-three-meter shelter was just the size for the young centaur.
“Yes.”
“Is it heavy to carry it with you?”
“It’s not as heavy as it seems.”
A thick and rough rug covered the tent floor. In the center of the tent was a small mattress with neatly folded blankets and arranged pillows. The boys took off their footwears, while Altan covered his feet in cloth sacks before entering. They knew that those ones keep the rug and mattress clean but had no idea to call it socks or something else.
“It feels so cozy in here.”
“Thanks.”
“…”
“…”
“…” “…”
“Is it cold during the night?”
“It’s windtight and I got two blankets.”
“…”
“…”
“Is it hard to put the tent together?”
“It’s very easy. Only take me 15 minutes.”
“…”
“…”
The atmosphere sank into silence once more. While everyone felt some degrees of awkwardness, Randal was the most impatient. To the twins’ observation, Randal has been acting weird ever since Altan invited them over. He was fidgeting, overly conscious, and unnatural.
Randal aside, Ren had some questions. “Altan. Is it ok if we ask why you travel to the Heart?”
Altan paused a moment to consider. “We are visiting a friend of uncle Bilguun there.” Knowing the answer was not truly addressing the spirit of the question, Altan added. “The true is my family is in a difficult situation. That’s why we need to ask for help.”
Feeling resistance in his answer, Ren decided to not push further. Clearly, there was private information Altan couldn’t tell them.
“Is there anything we could help?” Randal is always eager to be useful, but this enthusiasm was rare even for him.
Altan shook his head. “Sorry, but thank you.”
“Would you guys stay there for long?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you are still there when we make the trip back, maybe we can play around in the city?”
“Ah. That’s right. You guys are going to another city. But we maybe too busy to see you.”
“I see…”
“Ah!” Randal raised his eyebrows. He had an idea, but he needed his masters’ permission. To which, they made a slight nod. “If you ever travel to a city in the south called Balvich, just ask people for Mr Taka’s house. You can find us there. I will show you all the good places in the city. Do you like sweet? I know a good candy shop there.”
“I will take your offer.”
“You said it.”
…
Altan was at his wit’s end. His attempts were thwarted. Judging by the heart rate of the two, one could make out Altan was the under league.
Not wanting to stay passive, the centaur initiated his next move. “Blunt Force.” Altan’s attack in the next five seconds would have 20% more impact in exchange for cutting power.
Calmly assess the situation, Randal charged forward.
Fearing what Randal could do, Altan made a wide swing. The centaur hoped it could impede his opponent’s path or force him to contest in strength.
Travelling from Altan’s left thigh diagonally upward, Randal predicted an escape in Altan’s right flank. Ducking toward the exit, Randal evaded Altan’s sword by a hand length. Looking at the frustration Altan was wearing, Randal’s stunt must have been beyond Altan’s prediction. When you did something your opponent didn’t expect, it’s a good sign… albeit you know what you are doing.
Altan quickly turned to face the human boy.
Watching Altan folded his spine, the almost feline-flexibility momentarily stunned Randal.
That explains how Altan’s tail can be that seamless without help. Gowen offered a side thought.
The tiny window of distraction allowed the centaur precious time to prepare.
Argh! I didn’t pay attention.
Being the underdog, Altan would unleash Blunt Force at every attempt. Randal could use the spell too, but if two Blunt Force clash, both swords will come flying. The least of his worry is the duel results in a draw. What Randal hated is the overcommitted attack would harm their hands. Randal trusted Batzorig to interfere at moment of danger but he wouldn’t risk it. He didn’t want to hurt Altan. Avoiding a confrontation was Randal’s solution, and he just forwent an opportunity.
He could wait for Altan to exhaust his mana, but that would assume Randal could avoid every hit.
Randal exhaled. He got another trick. The problem is he wasn’t sure how well he could handle an attack boosted by magic. As determination stacked his azure eyes, Randal shook off his hesitation.
Worst case scenario, I got hurt a bit.
Entrusting the outcome to chances, Randal rushed forth.
The decisiveness in Randal’s eyes put Altan on high alert. The centaur composed himself, didn’t want to repeat the mistake.
As his opponent closed the distance, panic took place. Randal has already in striking range, he could wait no longer. “Blunt Force!” The spell descended with the slash aiming at Randal’s left shoulder blade.
The instance Altan’s hands were slightly moving down, the trajectory was in Randal’s mind. He swiftly raised his sword receiving the full-strength attack at the blade’s shoulder.
Kang!
From Randal’s point of view, his sword was 20 degrees to the left. As Altan’s attack weighed down on him, his sword further tilted to the left. Blocking this heavy attack is impossible, but letting it slide down away from his body was probable.
The late realisation, he couldn’t stop his blade now nor could he press angle against Randal. His arms weren’t strong enough. Exerting every power in his body, Altan tried to force it back to Randal’s right side, into his opponent. If Altan didn’t use Blunt Force, he could have done that. He bitterly watched his blade ran off entire from Randal’s length and the human boy smoothly placed the edge beside his neck.
“Sorry.” Dealing the 30th defeat to Altan, Randal couldn’t help but felt like a bully.
“I am good!”
Batzorig noted the uplifted spirit of his apprentice. The boy was upset but not as dejected as usual.
Altan knew his place. It was the expected outcome. He was not satisfied, but he knew thing wouldn’t change in one or two days. Rather than feeling worthless for his failure, he got something else to be occupied with like training.
“-You know what to do?”
“Yeah. Let’s practice. Ren. Gowen. Can I borrow you a bit?” Randal called out to his masters. “Can you be the attackers for Altan?”
“Sure.”
The human boy turned back to the young centaur. “My teacher, Trump, told me about battle sense. I am not good with explaining it, but it makes you know when the other will attack. Let’s do it many times. When you are used to it, you will get a sense of it.”
“Ok.”
“All ready!”
Batzorig watched as the four organised into a self-practice group. Recounting Altan’s development in the past few days together, Batzorig admitted that each trainee requires a different strategy to improve themselves. This match was in the favour of Randal, but… “you’ve improved.” A quiet remark, and yet it garnered all eyes.
Altan looked at Batzorig’s stoic face, wondering if he just daydreamed. A slight bow to express appreciation and respect, he carried delight in his tone. “Thank you sir!”
His performance didn’t warrant this praise, but his mood did. The mental state of a trainee plays an important role to one’s growth.
What a pity! Altan could have grown more if only we met someone like these young ones sooner.
Morning the 7th day.
Most have packed up their stuffs. Usually, the wheels would start moving.
Not today.
Last night, an army settled near the caravan camp. After a bit exchange, the scouts returned, delivering the army commander’s request. The army would march to Rael at the first light. Therefore, they demanded the caravan to give way. In short, the army would be the first to pass.
With the establishment of elven territory thousands of years ago, the settlements of elven kinds entered the tranquility of peace. Sight of hundreds of elves in matching armour and weapon was magnet for attention.
“I couldn’t recall the last time this happened.”
“Five… Eight… A thousand. That’s a lot.”
“Two hundred?”
“I would rank them around three hundreds.”
“You think they could beat a three-hundred-year-old spirit animal?”
“Yes. Though I think, this group is best against two-hundred-year. Fighting three-hundred with only a thousand would cause a lot of death.”
“Those autowagons are the axle model. Got to be on a rush to use those wagons instead of carrying animals.”
Among the gossips, there were quiet whispers.
“It was for those demon beasts, wasn’t it?”
Without breaking his attention to the moving army, the mercenary leader nodded.
“I hope this is just overkill.”
“They always overdo. But…”
“But?”
“Those demon beasts live in the Lost Forest. Scouting that place is difficult. Am not sure the higher up got enough info.”
“You suspect they cut corner?”
“When a group of unknown demon beasts appear, waiting till they got the exact number of the enemy before sending sufficient force may be too late. They need to get someone down there.”
Batch has several people managing a sizeable inventory in Rael and Eldorval. If he gave the order, the employees could only recover a portion of those goods. It will be a setback. While nothing is more important than life, he couldn’t give decision when there is no indication whether the beasts will attack. He knew Rael have 50 guards and Eldorval have 200 soldiers with over 500 able fighters, ranging from mercenaries to adventurers and residents. Rael is stationed a distance from the forest. Meanwhile, a small incursion of beasts wouldn’t break Eldorval. He needed counsel. “Should I evacuate my employees in Rael and Eldorval?”
The mercenary leader shook his head. “Based on our previous encounter, we could handle five times the number. Against an army with equipment like these, I will say 7000. Seven thousand demon beasts don’t just appear in the Lost Forest without being discovered.”
Their equip look decent. Their morale looks high.
Number by number. We will lose. At least, they won’t come at us looking for a fight.
“Wow! They look so cool. I wish I can be as cool.”
“But you are, Ran.”
“Th-anks.”
Every passing infantry was spotted with a spear or halberd. A sword or axe was strapped to their waist. Must be for close-quarter combat. Looking from one side, it was hard to make out, but the infantries also carried a dagger on the obscure side of their belt.
Those should be their archers.
Both archer and infantries equipped with the same armour and waist weapons. Unlike the infantries who hanged their round shield on their back, the archers got quiver and bow instead. In place of a long weapon, the archers got a buckler strapped around their wrist.
Full plate armour. Chainmail. Helmet with mask. This army is too heavily armoured…
Ren paid close attention to the few riders dotting the cohort. Their horse was short, but sturdy in build.
Ren concluded. Probably scouts.
These riders were light in weapon with only a very long sword and a dagger on their sides.
A ram-like object caught Ren’s scrutiny.
Is that a magic-support artifact?
There were two reasons for Ren’s assumption. Firstly, the countless small symbols carved into the object, these were physical written of the formula. They help lessen the load on the caster’s mind. Casting through a magic-support artifact processes the spells faster which is perfect for complex spells. Drawback of this method is a mana tax to activate the support effect of the artifact.
That leads to the second point for Ren’s assumption, the silvery reflection from the object. In this world, silver is the most magic-friendly metal second only to mithril. While mithril is superior to silver in strength and magic efficiency, its scarcity made silver a better choice. This explains the silver-to-gold trading ratio of 10 to 13.
Having no idea what the specific function of the artifact, Ren could only watch with curiosity.
Gowen had somewhat similar observation to Ren’s except…
So they stuck their ears inside the helmet. I sure hope there’s room to wiggle.
Beside the centaurs and the boys, everyone in the caravan shared a similarity. At least one of their relatives could be found in the marching formation. They loved to call out but refrained from distracting them. They knew the soldiers couldn’t wave back anyway. Discipline is to be kept during service.
Evening the 8th day.
“Mr Batzorig. Please fight a real match with us.” The unmistakable voice of Ren.
It was not childish plea. It was a request between a young warrior toward his senior, void of immaturity and solid in determination.
With this request, Batzorig got the last piece for his puzzle. These kids didn’t come to him for simple reason. While they enjoyed companionship with Altan, the twins were aiming for something extra. This is their payment.
Set aside the seriousness in their eyes, his attention locked on the object in their hand. The twins had always come to his training empty hand. This mace-like weapon, just shy of a meter, was their own personal weapon. They were not joking about fighting for real.
“All three of you?”
“Yes, sir.” Randal approached.
Batzorig has known that the three of them wanted to become adventurers. Stepping into uncharted territory is a dangerous occupation. With the twins unable to use magic, he deduced Randal is a crucial part of their team. It was only appropriate that they wanted teamwork experience.
“Be ready!”
The boys answered in sync. “Yes sir.”
Beside Altan, Bilguun and Clarinet came as observers. They watched the two sides distanced themselves eight meters.
The boys’ formation was predictable. Ren and Gowen, on the front. Randal, three-step behind them. Against an opponent with greater mobility, keeping themselves close was a smart choice.
Batzorig started circling the boys at eight-meter distance. Walking clockwise, his right side faced the boys. If they try any trick, his sword arm would handle them in time.
On the opposite side, the twins maintained their position in between Batzorig and Randal. Meanwhile, the human boy ensured his view of the centaur was not obscured by his taller masters. Randal always kept his masters on the right side of his view and Batzorig on his left field.
The first to make their move was the veteran warrior. With each closing image of the charger, anticipation grew in their heart. Batzorig is certainly stronger and heavier than they were. A charging Batzorig is even scarier. Still, that was not their concern. Their worries were placed on one single thing. Where would the first strike come? They could read muscle and predict opponent’s attack, but masking intent was common skill for a master.
If it follows as I predict, this swing will come from his right side.
Reality didn’t betray their expectation. It was a right swing.
From the side of his dominant arm! Gowen readied his weapon to intercept.
An attack from the side that creates the best attack. Ren gritted his teeth. He wants to size us up, it seems.
Kang!
Their mace met the dull sword in a deafening clash. Their power was no less explosive than the time they sparred with Altan. They were sure Randal also timed his Blunt Force correctly to assist them. This combination of physical strength and magical assist ranked up the final impact to 120%. However, Batzorig’s sword was not deflected. In fact, it dragged their feet a couple of meters away.
Exhausting his momentum, the veteran warrior was surprised.
The twins slid along with his charge, but their feet haven’t been uprooted.
Their stance was unchanged!
In a collision against the 400-kg centaur, their body stayed rigid as a statue. His charge didn’t move a single of their muscle.
Seeing those two stood their ground against Batzorig put a sweat on Clarinet’s forehead, but she could swipe it off in relief now.
Well done, you two!
Bilguun, the other onlooker, was utterly baffled at the sight. Standing their ground was praise-worthy and so was their ability to maintain their guard. Yet, Bilguun’s bafflement was for another feat.
Their grip is alive!
There is no shortage of trainees still holding their sword, but those cases involved either the collapse of their form or losing their footing. Without neither of those failures, the pressure on their hands must have been immense.
Batzorig followed up with three quick thrusts at the boys’ right shoulder, heart, and throat. All were deflected by the boys’ equally quick mace.
Took the full brunt of that charge, Batzorig and Bilguun suspected the twins sustained heavy damage. Thus, the centaur tested out with his quick attacks.
No trainee has survived a charge without numbing their hands. These two… just who?
The centaur continued with a barrage of attacks.
After strength, it was dexterity.
Looking from behind, Randal felt a bit unnerved. His role requires him to know what spell their opponent used if any and provides magic support. Ever since he put Analyser on, he hasn’t seen any magic formula.
Those two got my buff and he handled them with only skills. What should I do when he breaks the stalemate?
As Randal feared, Batzorig slowly tipped the scale.
The two pairs of eyes could see the incoming attacks, but their body wasn’t fast enough to meet up with the demand. The high-speed swordplay gradually slipped past the twins’ interception network.
Accepting non-fatal attacks and deflecting critical assaults, such was their solution. As time passed, bruises started to stack and even the few dangerous attacks got through.
“Never fight a losing battle, pull out and re-engage in more favourable condition.” It stays true at tactical level, it stays true at personal level. However, they couldn’t afford to make big manoeuvre. Batzorig had the initiative now. He got control of how the twins would evade. He could bait the twins to clear his path to attack Randal. Any big move would break their form, would break their formation. They could yell out to let Randal know what they were planning to do, but Batzorig wouldn’t let an opportunity like that slide.
They got nothing except this body and its physical ability. The only good thing they could do was holding for as long as they can. Only Randal could come to their rescue now.
“Duck!”
The twins reacted almost instantaneously to the warning and avoided the Wind Bombs by a hair’s breadth. Batzorig parried each ball of wind while steadily backed away. When the seventh explosion popped, Randal walked up to meet the twins.
Bilguun, having the best view of the previous action, lifted his eyelids. Leaning forward, the human boy’s boldness had attracted his attention.
Rewinding his memory, Bilguun confirmed the human boy had prepared silent casting. While taking longer to concentrate, silent casting has the gist of concealing audio announcement. To calmly consider silent casting while his allies was rapidly losing footing, Bilguun had to give the boy credit.
Without hearing the chant or the spell name, his colleague’s only clue was visual confirmation. This explained why Randal aligned himself in a straight line with the twins and Batzorig. Thanks to the elves’ height and the human boy’s smaller stature, Batzorig couldn’t make out the spell forming on Randal’s hand.
Then he launched the spell. Most kids of his age would tell their friends to get out and only attack when the way is clear. In Randal’s case, the twins were only warned when the spell was almost upon them. His decision allowed Batzorig minimal time to react.
All in all, it was a well-thought attack being carried flawlessly. Individually, the elves and the human boy did a superb job. The only complaint Bilguun could make was their teamwork. There was no follow-up after that magic attack.
I should have gone for his leg. Gowen clawed at the ground.
A blow to the leg would have been great. Lunge forward, then aimed at the leg while falling. No, we are not that good with body control, not yet.
Ren stood up.
No use crying over spilled beans.
Randal’s feet stopped short of a step to the twins’ left. “Hey. What’s our plan?”
Ren furrowed while recalling their discussion last night. “He is stronger, faster, more skilful, more experienced, and may be better at magic than us.”
“What will we do?”
“We will handle the full brunt.” “We need more information.” “Hopefully, he will use some spells on us.” “We will see what we can improvise.”
Reality was harsher than their optimism. Batzorig kept his true ability in secret. The twins couldn’t afford to continue like three minutes ago. They would just be tired out and finished. They have to gamble.
“We will pin him down. Deal as much damage as you can, Randal.”
Casting Blunt Force to replace the expired buff, Randal trailed closely after his masters.
KANG!
The sound told the onlookers of the weightier blow Batzorig felt. Rather than holding themselves back fearing of being dodged and countered like they used to earlier, they fully intended to either get it or be hit. The centaur interpreted this as further proof of the boys’ desperation. While the attack was heavier, nothing a bit more forcefulness onto his grip couldn’t fix.
KANG!
Before the steel hand of the hardened warrior, the twins’ extraordinary prowess was just child play with extra spice.
Surely, you don’t intend to pin me down with just this le- ?!
By nature of wielding heavy-end weapons, they had one hand on one end and another at one-third of the mace. When two weapons faced off, they got a hand much closer to him than when duelling swordsman. His common sense didn’t alert of the possibility of them letting go of the mace and reach for his sword hand.
This… is the grip of an elven child?
He had somewhat expected, but this grip was still a genuine surprise. No kid he knew has a hand like this, not in the land of elves, not even in the Khaganate. He would need the other hand to pry this shackle open.
In the mid of astonishment, their left hand latched onto his right wrist. Not wanting thing to go the twins’ way, Batzorig sought the sheathed sword on his waist. That sword is real, sharpened to deal with hostile on the road. He didn’t intend to unsheathe it, but these children have proven worthy of it.
To his bewilderment, their right hand grabbed his left hand the moment it held the hilt as if they knew what he would do.
Unbeknownst to Batzorig, Ren has eyed that sword ever since the match begun. They asked a real fight, and they understood the implication. With Batzorig’s personalities, he would have no qualm about using real sword if the situation calls for. “Pity for a warrior is disrespectful to their resolve”. That’s the principle he operated upon.
I know you have good control to not make it dangerous for the kids. But did you seriously consider it, Batzorig?
