The Ambush

The winds howled in the air as Honyan, Dohin and his band of soldiers made their way to the bandits who had been terrorizing the area. The scouts arrived sometime before sunset with their discovery of the bandit's hideout: a cave about a half a day's walk from the town. But if they moved quickly, they could cut that time in half.

The scouts also reported that the base was poorly guarded. However, Dohin ordered everyone to be careful when approaching; making certain to move quickly and quietly by watching where every foot landed before taking a step. It would have been much harder if it weren't for the full moon to luminate their steps. But even with the visibility, it was no easy task to move like this, even for trained soldiers.

This was especially true for Honyan, who constantly saw the vapor clouds from his heavy breathing in the chill night air while the others barely showed a puff of mist. He had no trouble moving quietly but was surprised to realize he was having difficulty with moving quickly. It was the first time that speed had been a problem for him. Honyan had always considered himself to be a very quick person but trying to stay quiet while navigating the unfamiliar forest had cut his speed significantly. Still, he took pride that he was able to keep up with the soldiers despite his difficulties.

"Sir", a low voice addressing Dohin came from ahead while they still were moving. "The base is nearby and there is very little activity around the area with only two patrol groups consisting of three men each."

"Good", Dohin replied. He looked back at Honyan trailing behind. Honyan could see a flash of worry come over Dohin's face before he erased it with a confident smirk.

"We'll rest for a moment up ahead to gather our strength, then we'll proceed to launch an ambush", Dohin ordered. All of the men grunted in agreement. But not Honyan.

"Don't rest for my sake", Honyan said while pushing a little harder, "I'll be fine."

"It's not for your sake only sire, it is also for the men as well. We are all a little weary from this quick journey, even though we don't look it. It's better we are in the best state when we attack so we don't allow any of the bandits to get away and cause more trouble in the future", Dohin said.

Honyan nodded reluctantly. He still felt like they were only resting because of him, but Dohin's argument was sound and he couldn't find any reason not to rest.

The group rested under a giant tree with small round leaves that hid them from the moonlight and any one who would pass by. This was the first time Honyan had seen a tree like this, to be fair there were many things he hadn't seen before leaving the palace. There were so many great sights and places that he had been shielded from by staying just in the palace.

"Are you still angry about earlier?" Dohin crouched beside him. Honyan stared up at the moon through the round leaves.

"No", he said, trying to avoid another lecture about the importance of safety and Honyan's supposed vital role to the empire.

"I want you to know that I'm not trying to keep you from the outside world, if I was, I wouldn't have allowed you to come along. I'm only trying to shield you from the dangers of the world", Dohin said. He then paused and added, "just until you don't need it anymore. Because I know one day, probably soon, you won't need it anymore."

"You really think so", Honyan turned to Dohin. Dohin smiled with a sense of assurance and a single head nod. Dohin then patted him on the shoulder and left to check on the other soldiers. As Honyan watched him leave, he felt pride begin to swell up inside. Perhaps Dohin did understand what he was going through.

When they had rested enough, Dohin ordered the scouts ahead first to watch for any changes in the landscape or condition of the bandits. They followed behind not too long after, moving in the same quick and quiet fashion they had earlier. Eventually one of the scouts came back just before reaching the bandit's hideout and informed them that no new changes had been made.

They met the other scouts on a hill that had a view of the bandits' hideout; a cave at the base of a small mountain. There were enough trees and plants to hide them in the night, making it an ideal spot to survey the area before ambushing them.

One of the scouts had blood splashed on his face and clothes. Dohin looked up and down at him before raising an eyebrow.

"A patrol group came back and spotted us. However, we were able to dispatch of them quietly before they could warn the others", the bloodied scout reported.

"Excellent", Dohin said before looking to the entrance of the cave. It was a small entrance, only able to allow two people to enter or exit at the same time from what Honyan could tell, making it hard to notice among the trees and plants. There were two men standing guard at the entrance with spears in hand. They looked alert and constantly watched the area.

"It's a good spot for a hideout", Dohin said. "The trees around the entrance and the surrounding area are dense, leaving only that narrow patch of dirt and grass as the only pathway. It makes it an easy place to defend against large groups and explains why there aren't many guards. Are there any other exits?"

"Not any we could find", the scout said.

"Any of the other patrols return yet? Besides the one that were killed."

"No sir."

"That leaves our backs open if they were to return in the middle of our ambush.", Dohin eyes scanned the group of men until he pointed to three men standing together nearby. "Lon, Loo, and Inpek, you three stay on this hill and keep watch for any of the returning patrols. Kill them if you can, if not, sound the horn to warn us. The rest of us will head to the entrance of the cavern. We will quickly dispatch of the guards and afterwards we will smoke them out with a fire at the entrance, forcing them to come out one by one as we kill them." They all grunted softly, including Honyan, accepting Dohin's orders.

Everybody, except for the three that were ordered to stay behind, headed for the entrance of the cave, still moving as quiet as before. As they moved closer to the entrance, two of the men, without orders from Dohin, killed the guards at the entrance in unison with one arrow each and continued moving without uttering a single word. The synchronicity of the group had Honyan in awe. Dohin had created a squad of soldiers that knew what to do without the need for orders.

When they reached the entrance of the cave, a tall swordsman with an eyepatch pulled out a small bottle from inside his shirt and uncapped it, replacing it with a wad of cloth instead. From the brief time it was open, Honyan could smell the powerful alcohol inside of the bottle despite their distance from each other.

The rest of them stood back, some of them with their swords unsheathed and others with the arrows nocked back. Honyan had his sword out and ready.

The eye patched man lit the end of the cloth and threw it into the cavern. He then quickly stepped back into their formation and unsheathed his sword. Honyan heard the echo of the bottle shattering upon impact and the flames that roared after. Then smoke began to pour out of the entrance of the cave and the bandits inside began to shout.

The first few bandits that ran out of the entrance of the cavern, their face blackened by smoke, were met with arrows to the chest. The few that had escaped the arrows were killed by the swordsmen. It was an efficient killing tactic. The ones who stayed in the caves were suffocated or burned by the smoke and flames, the ones who escaped that were killed by arrows, and the ones who escaped the arrows were killed by swords.

Honyan watched the bandits be killed one by one, unable to move himself. For the first time, he was able to see the power of the Jitan fighting force that he was only able to read about before. He had always thought there was honour in battle, but what he was witnessing was just pure violence. He was sickened by it.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! WE-", an arrow struck a bandit in the throat. Honyan watched the blood bubble from the bandit's mouth as he choked and struggled for life. It was horrifying but he couldn't stop looking. He felt it was a form of respect to at least watch the man die.

"Sire, watch out!" Honyan felt a hand push him from the side before a blade came falling down to where he was just standing. The bandit that had just tried attacking him was then cut down by the soldier who had saved him. Honyan turned to his savior to thank him but he was too busy fighting another bandit to notice. He then realized that more were charging at him, with one in particular staring at Honyan wildly with his face covered in black soot.

The bandit lunged at Honyan with a rusty blade, but Honyan was no longer in a daze and blocked the strike that was aimed at his chest with his own sword. The bandit attacked again and again, slashing at Honyan wildly. But each time Honyan blocked it with his lightning quick speed.

The bandit, exhausted from expending his energy trying to kill Honyan, momentarily stopped. He heaved for air while his eyes widened with surprise at Honyan's speed and skill. Honyan took advantage of the opening and attacked with a slash of his own. But he misjudged the distance between himself and the bandit and only nicked the him on the forearm.

The bandit ignored the small cut and tried to attack Honyan again. But before he could raise his arms, Honyan saw the tip of a sword extend from his chest. The bandit slowly looked down at the end of the sword sticking out from him, dripping red with blood, and watched as it disappeared back inside of him. The bandit dropped to the ground and revealed Dohin with his sword in hand.

"If you attack, attack with the intent to kill. Anything else is a waste of energy", Dohin said as he slashed the throat of another bandit charging at him. Honyan looked down at his sword and held it with more confidence. Dohin was right, he thought while looking ahead to all of the soldiers fighting the bandits. This was the battlefield, the place where he had yearned to make his mark.

Five bandits, each holding rusted swords and spears, moved together towards some soldiers who were distracted by the bandits in front of them and had their backs turned. Dohin eyed the group of bandits but Honyan moved first. This was his chance to prove he was capable, he thought. The bandits, too focused on approaching the soldiers from behind, were caught by Honyan's surprise attack.

Honyan leapt into the air and severed the nape of the necks of two of the bandits. By the time the other three had realized that they were being attacked from behind, Honyan had already put his sword through each of them. Blood spattered onto Honyan's clothes and face each time he pulled his sword out. But he was too focused on the battle to care.

He cut his way through the waves of bandits that poured out of the cave; mostly to protect Dohin's soldiers and other times for survival. For the first time in his life Honyan felt like he had a purpose. He was being depended on by someone not for his wealth or status, but for what his skills. It helped him keep the wretchedness he felt in his stomach at bay as he killed each bandit.

The battle began to slow down and less and less bandits ran out of the cave until there were no more. The soldiers, Dohin, and Honyan had successfully killed them all. The cave was still roaring with fire and smoke while dozens of dead bodies laid near its entrance. Most belonged to the bandits by there were a few that were soldiers. "It's the cost of battle", Dohin said. "There are always casualties on both sides."

"I agree!", a deep voice echoed throughout the area. Everyone swiveled their heads around looking for the source except for one soldier blankly staring forward. Honyan wondered what the soldier was doing until he began to violently vomit blood. He then fell to the ground face first and revealed a small old man with gray-haired tied neatly into a bun standing behind him. "But there are more on my side than there is on yours."

Unlike the bandits, who wore ragged clothes in bland colours, this old man was dressed in all white embroiled with gold along the seams of his clothes. His chin was pointed upwards with an air of superiority that was somehow familiar to Honyan.

From the forest, a new wave of bandits appeared wearing silver masks that covered all of their faces except for a small opening at the bottom for their lips. They ran towards the soldiers and the sounds of weapons clashing returned. Honyan joined in and fought hard against the silver masked bandits. But he struggled to kill just one and found that they were much more skilled than the previous bandits.

While standing over the only silver masked bandit he slayed, Honyan noticed that the old man wasn't doing anything. He just stood and watched as the chaos of battle erupted around him. This made Honyan boil with anger and he charged towards the old man with a thrust of his sword.

However, the old man dodged his attack easily by turning to the side. He then grabbed Honyan's sword holding wrist and squeezed it tightly, sending a jolt of pain up Honyan's entire arm and forced him to drop his sword. Honyan then tried to attack with his free hand, but the old man sent another paralyzing pain up his arm before he could. "Pathetic", the old man said and sent a palm towards Honyan's chest. But before the strike made contact, Honyan had managed to catch the old man's wrist. But he was still hit, only able to slow down the strike before it landed.

The old man then let go of Honyan's wrist after his attack and Honyan staggered back, feeling a burning sensation where he had been struck. The old man stared at Honyan, looking intrigued. Honyan stared back while his body wished to fall on the ground. But he refused the request, Honyan wanted to fight till the end.

But Dohin wouldn't have it. Dohin leapt over Honyan and sliced at the old man with his sword, forcing him to retreat back. "Get him out of here!" Dohin yelled while fighting the old man. A pair of hands then grabbed Honyan's shoulders and began to pull him back. When he looked to the side, he saw that they were his soldiers.

"No! Let me stay! I want to fight!", Honyan fought against their grips as they tried to pull him away. They begged him to come with them, but Honyan continued to struggle.

"Honyan", he heard his name being called out in the midst of the chaos. It was the first time he heard someone other than his mother call him by just his bare name. No prince, no your highness, no sire; just Honyan. "You have to run Honyan. Please", Dohin said. He heard the desperation in Dohin's voice.

`Honyan clenched his fists and began grinding his teeth. He desperately wanted to stay and fight but he had no choice. Dohin was right again, he had to leave. He turned around and began to fight his way out of the chaos with the two soldiers, tears welling up in his eyes.