Beast Mode On (1)

Azimuth appeared on Lucien's side. "The half-blood army from the southern kingdom is gone." Lucien closed his eyes.

"Mozrath, Holgur," Two wisps of black emerged in front of Lucien. In the center of the puff of smokes, two figures kneeling came into view. They were dressed the same way as Azimuth but with smaller body builts. Their eyes were closed, and their heads were bowed in reverence to the man in front of them.

"Master," they answered in unison.

"Go hunt some animals," his deathly cold command carried a murderous intent as he bared his fangs.

~~~~~~~~~~

North Kingdom

Seven Holy Knights in silver armor and robes walked out of the cellar door. The empress's gaze softened as she witnessed her best warriors march to the battlefield. Blanche looked at her sword. "Elder Arod, call all the remaining survivors to the inner rooms. Protect the civilians at all costs."

It hasn't been a year since she finally dethroned the evil witch of the North Kingdom, another war broke into the doors of the kingdom. The heavens must be challenging her.

"What's the plan?" Two asked Yllana.

"Just get me to meet the general, but do not plan a truce yet. The Southerners have always been blinded by their faith in their child emperor." There was scorn on her lips as she mentioned Darion's title. A man who blinded his own people with beauty and wealth over the past years does not deserve such a title as emperor.

"So, it is true that they have a child as an emperor…" Two's huge muscles tensed thinking of a child ordering him around.

"I never thought that the first time we will be looking at each other's faces would be like this, tsk." Three has Brown hair, dull green eyes, and a slender built body that was three inches taller than Yllana. What is unique about him is the thick eyeglasses he always wears even when inside his helmet.

"Three," Two smiled at him. "At least we saw the faces of our comrades before going to another war." He raked his hands through his hair. And took his broad sword behind him. He looked at the reflection on his sword making sure his sideburns are meticulously combed while taking sneak glances at Yllana. 'I never thought that One would be a woman.'

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They all stopped in their footsteps. Side by side they lined up with different weapons in their hands. The guards on the palace doors were sweating profusely as they put their backs on pushing the door close while the enemy is trying to whack it open. "Holy Knights!" They all yelled.

The Holy Knights' kingdom insignias gleamed. The soldiers saw their numbers on the insignia. One was a young woman with red hair and silver longsword. Two is a bulky man with sideburns and a broad sword as tall as One. Three is a slender, scholarly-looking young man with two swords. Four is a short man with spear and a shield with spikes. Five has the same body built with One with a khopesh on his right hand. Nine and Ten are twin brothers with black and white dao swords.

Yllana smiled at her brothers. They have fought alongside each other for five years and this time, they will be fighting once again. But now their friends have faces they could clearly see in the crowd of enemy lines.

"All right knights," Three grinned. "You heard what the Holy One said, let's carve our bloody way to the general. Huraaaaaah!" He raised his sword as he roared. The others followed suit. Clanking their weapons against their shields, the lower-ranked knights' spirits enlivened anew.

"Open the doors," Her low voice dominated the cheers and yells in the army.

The smell of blood and sweat mixed in the air entered the palace doors. A line of southern knights were gathered a few meters away from the doors. They were holding a huge tree trunk. That was what they used to slam the doors earlier. The southern knights all had mocking smiles on their faces. Will this small group of people fight two hundred thousand knights?

"Heavens guide us…" the silent prayer of all the knights with Yllana all echoed the same message. The heavens? Yllana looked at the gloomy sky. She smiled as she felt the tiredness seeping in. 'I must pursue. The battle is not over yet.'

Yllana saw two thympiles in front of them. It carried the first batch of enemies. She estimated about a hundred thousand was sent on this first wave to them. She rubbed her eyes and heaved a sigh.

Three saw the bags under Yllana's eyes. He felt a pang of guilt inside him as they all pushed her to lead them at a moment's notice into a war.

Clang! Swish! Boom!

Metal against metal, magic against magic, the battlefield erupted again into a scene of blood and gore as the northern knights finally fought there way into the southern army. Half of the southern knights are just standing at a distance waiting for their comrades to slaughter the remaining army of the North.

"Fire shield," Yllana's eyes glowed. Blue started to scream inside her. 'Master, you're life force has just been depleted! Don't push yourself!'

But how can she not push herself when she is the Northern Kingdom's Number One Holy Knight? How about her oath? Duty to the people, honor to the kingdom? Abandon her duty? Dishonor the Saber's household name? Never.

She gritted her teeth and asked Blue to lend her whatever power she has left. Two smashed his way in front with his broad sword while the twins stealthily jumped and slashed in quick succession at the sides. Three and Yllana were the agile fighters, jumping from one enemy to another leaving a gaping hole in their chests. Beside the doors, Four and Five stayed, guarding the civilians and the empress.

"Moonlight glare," the blinding light from Yllana caused the first line of southern soldiers to lose their sight. Death came to them without them noticing.

The southern army saw the Holy Knights of the North advancing rapidly. They all held their breaths and kept glancing at the old man in a red armor in the middle of the watching soldiers. His sharp eyes focused on the red-haired girl in the middle of the battlefield. Five knights were fighting along with twenty soldiers, but they seem to have the losing end as their own soldiers were easily defeated one by one.

"General Rua!" cried out the soldiers on his side. They were gripping hard on their swords and spears as they ask to fight the slaughtering team on the battlefield. He shook his head in response.

"Go back to the Southern Kingdom, or else you will lose more soldiers here!" Two bellowed while pounding a knight's head to the ground. He gave a taunting smile at the direction of General Rua while wiping the blood off his cheek.

"They don't have a general in the North. This Holy One stands in as their highest ranked soldier and yet she is still in Mid-Saint rank. She-" General Rua's words was left hanging in the air as a white light erupted from Yllana's body. "H-high-Saint rank…"

They all swallowed hard as they watched her red hair swinging in the air. There was a gleaming red line in the corners of her eyes. General Rua rubbed his chin. A thousand of his soldiers have been annihilated in just thirty minutes. He looked at the palace doors and saw two Holy Knights guarding the palace. There were only a dozen soldiers outside that door. 'Maybe we could…'

"Kendra," a knightess with half of her face covered by a metal mask approached him. "Take those two down."

Kendra took five Holy Knights with her and silently slid on the side of the palace. Swish. Slash. Clank. The Saint-ranked knights fell heavily on the ground. Four and Five stood there holding the hilt of their weapons.

"Damn it! Why do pretty women had to be fearless knights? Huh? First One, and now this woman." Four smirked. He raised his spear at Kendra's neck. And jumped in front of her.

Kendra summoned her sword and stepped back to block his attack. "Celestial blast," A ball of fire suddenly came from the sky and headed straight to Four.

"Mhm? High-Holy ranked Knight huh?" His brows raised. He withdrew his spear and prepared his golden shield. It just hangs by the side of his arm. He waved it side to side first then stretched his neck. By the time the fireball was a few feet away from him, he took his shield and leaped to meet the raging ball.

Boom!

The clash brought a huge wave across the battlefield. The lower-ranked knights stumbled after the wave hit them and coughed out blood.

Four looked at his shield after landing on the ground without a scratch. There was a small dent created by the fireball in the middle of the circular shield. "Tsk, and this golden shield was made by our ancestors. I thought it could withstand a blow from a High-Holy rank. Seems I was wrong," His eyes settled on Kendra. The other Holy Knights beside her glared at him. "Let's continue, shall we?"

Kendra smiled. She motioned for the other knights to attack the other Holy Knight at the door, Five. When Five saw the signal, he opened his narrow eyes. A glint flashed across his eyes in an instant. He held on to his sword. But the knights weren't prepared for what he did next. He placed his loose strand of hair in his ear, a feminine-like move when pretending to be shy. "Hehe, got you." He gave out a peal of cheeky laughter and disappeared from their line of sight.

Schwing!

In the next moment, Five was standing beside Four facing the group of attackers. Four took a step away from Five's back. "Damn it! Keep your distance a bit! I know your preferences ever since, but please keep it to yourself while we are in battle." Four felt a shiver run down his back as he remembered Five giving a cute eye to the enemy.

"Such a cutie like you should not spout dirty words, cutie pie. Hehe…" Five reached for Four's cheek and squeezed it before jumping from his side and charging against the enemy.

Kendra pulled out a small dagger and hid it by her side. While exchanging bows with Four and Five, she lunged from below while eyeing two Holy Knights to attack from above. An opening, she was waiting for an opening. And there…she found it!

Thwack!

The dagger went it! Straight into the small knight's head.

Four's body went limp. And the light from his eyes vanished. Five felt his hand quivered and his eyes just looked on the falling small body beside him. It was the first time he will be seeing a comrade's face that would fall to the ground. With a quick dive, he held on to Four's shoulders before it hit the ground.

Rip!

Another splash of blood splattered on the ground.

Thud! Thud!

"Four? Five?" Two's voice stopped the other knights fighting. Yllana looked at the direction of the two knights. Her eyes only saw two lifeless bodies being stabbed again and again by the Southern knights. Wasn't it enough that they were dead?

Yllana felt that throbbing pain in her mind and in her chest. She shut her eyes hard. Something inside her wanted to be let out. Something that felt like had been imprisoned for so long. The lines one her eyes grew longer as it glowed even brighter. Her eyes radiated a bright red hue like the blood spilling from the bodies of the lifeless knights on her eyes. She felt her body going weightless like a feather floating on air.

Her body gave out a faint red glow. And her hair grew longer. "All of you…" she slowly opened her eyes. "Die."