Chapter
4 – Traditional Victory Unnecessary
The war has been wearing both sides
down since no one has managed to get an advantage. We’ve managed to get some
ratmen on our side to act as our scouts and informants, we got more support
from European kingdoms, and Emperor Jianyu is finally turning his attention
this way to see the corruption in his leaders and supposedly doing something
about it rather than focusing on his conflict with the elves, orcs, and Canis.
The United Kingdoms of the Americas’ armies hold their own and need little
support from us. At the same time, the Asiatic states have finally cemented
their stance on the war while also dividing into new states because of it. Izanami
is starting to talk to me and my sons are just as supportive of me as they were
when the war started, which is probably the brightest spot in this entire
conflict.
I don’t see this war ending anytime
soon despite the tides turning in our favor because of how much land and
influence Draco has over the Church and the world. Maybe I’m just being cynical
since I’m not helping the poor at this moment because Draco managed to turn
most of them against me in the town I’m in. Some legitimately were against my
rebellion because of the suffering it caused them while others said they were
forced to fight me because Draco’s assassins threatened to kill their families,
both sides were killed the same by me, my sons, and knights. Ever since then, I’ve
been sitting in quiet isolation thinking to myself how to better end this war
quicker to stop events like this from happening again. I’m not sure how much more
pain my heart can hold, how many more times I can fight someone who was once an
ally, or reassure a suffering family that they’re fighting for the right cause
and that this war isn’t fought in vain. My sons, Fujin and Raijin, suddenly rush
into my room with news of a surprise attack coming for us.
“They’re too many for us to handle
and there are no allies around us to reach us in time. I suggest we retreat,”
Fujin says.
“I hate to admit it, but Fujin is
right, however, that doesn’t mean we can’t fight back while the civilians and you
escape,” Raijin adds.
“I don’t need to escape. I need to
help cover the retreat. Besides, the army is after me,” I say.
“Father, you can’t!” my boys say.
“I’ll do my best to catch up to
you.”
“We’ll fight with you then.”
“You need to retreat with everyone
else because you are the future of Phasianus. Don’t worry about me.”
Fujin and Raijin try to convince me
to change my mind with their arguments and talking over each other.
“This is an order and I’m not
changing it.”
The brothers look at each other,
then at me, and then tepidly accept my orders. While the men man the walls and
stand outside the gates with me, my sons are helping everyone else evacuate. By
the time Draco’s forces arrive, most of everyone has escaped, so I order a
barrage of arrows and bolts unleashed upon our enemy before telling my army
behind me to cover the retreat of everyone else. We go back into the town and
pretend to hold it against the enemy for a few minutes before retreating
further and then blow up the explosives that we got from our allies in the UKA
to eliminate a substantial part of the enemy’s forces. Still, there are too
many for us to handle, so I tell the rest of my men to retreat.
Some of my men listen to me while
others choose to fight with me until the end, which I can’t help but accept.
Those who remain hold off the enemy with me until I am the last man standing. Switching
my shield arm into a sword, I throw myself into battle against the army trying
to take down as many as I can while not trying to let my injuries get to me
until my body no longer listens to me. At the end of it all, I am still
surrounded, but at least everyone else managed to get far away. Draco’s forces surround
me as I lay kneeling on the ground broken and bloodied. Their lords come from
the back of their units and look down upon me.
“With your death, the rest of your
rebellion will fall and Phasianus will suffer for generations because of your
actions,” one of the lords says.
“No. They’ll keep fighting until
the end. You won’t force us to submit to unjust laws again. I promise you that,”
I say.
“Then they’ll all be wiped out, such
is the legacy that you have left. I hope your vain war was worth fighting for
you.”
“I fought for God, my family, and my
subjects. It doesn’t matter what legacy I left or how vain you think my actions
were. All that matters is that I lived and died for God.”
The lord spits on me before raising
his sword to strike me down, however, a dragon flying in the sky stops him from
bringing the sword down. This same dragon transforms back into a man and
reveals himself as Emperor Jianyu. All of Draco’s soldiers bow in honor of
their emperor and give him praise.
“I didn’t know you would be here,
my emperor. Would you like the honor of striking down this rebel scum?” a lord
of Draco asks.
“Fools! I put you in charge of
faithfully managing the Asiatic states and Phasianus and you let your power
corrupt you so much that you caused them to rebel.”
“But, my emperor, they-”
Jianyu immediately cuts the heads
off the lords of Draco.
“You all should be ashamed of
yourselves as well!” Jianyu says while pointing his sword at all his soldiers.
“But they told us to fight-”
Again, Jianyu cuts down one of his
own.
“You fight for and follow God’s
commandments first, not those of corrupt men! Now, take off your weapons and
armor and leave them in the dirt. They’re better suited to be there than on
your disgraceful bodies. Go to the nearest Church for confession and penance. I
might spare your lives if you do so.”
Jianyu’s knights frantically do so
as he says and run away. He turns to me, holds me up, and gives me a gentle
smile.
“I’m sorry for what happened to
you. I’ll make sure your allies and people are treated fairly,” he says.
He continues to talk, but I can’t
hear him. From the looks on his face, he appears upset and on the verge of
tears. What Jianyu did was completely in character for such an honestly devious
man. At least I know, if anything, he’s telling the truth, even if it means he’ll
expect Phasianus to give back later in time. For now, I’m happy that my people
will finally get some relief and the war will end. Izanami, Raijin, Fujin.
Please, don’t grieve over my death too much. I’ll be praying for you in Heaven
with the rest of its saintly royalty who are taking my soul to its proper
resting place.
The End
No comments:
Post a Comment