Tyler

"What are guns? Will, are you listening to me?" Elizabeth asked annoyed.

"Michael, are you sure this came from Kurosawa!" Will popped up from his seat instantly.

Everyone in the room could see that Will was animated and had a worried look on his face.

Elizabeth's frustration instantly turned to concern.

"Will is everything alright?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"No, things shall be different from now on," Will said. For the first since reincarnating, he felt he didn't have complete control.

"Immediately summon Headmaster vont Cheng, Bubba, Miles, and Kurosawa. Edward, follow me, it's time you start sitting in on my meetings," Will said speaking to Michael and Edward.

***

Four years ago, Tyler awoke to screaming and crying. He smelled smoke, only to notice his house was on fire.

"Where am I?" Tyler asked looking at a strange wooden house.

'What's going on?' Tyler asked himself before exiting the collapsing structure.

Tyler looked around at all the burning houses and dead zombie-looking people burning on a pyre.

"My son, we have to leave! This place isn't safe anymore. The plague is upon us!" shouted an elderly woman, grappling his shirt and dragging him away.

'Son?' Tyler whispered to himself.

"Wait, where are you taking me?" Tyler asked the old woman.

"Guidon! It's the closest city hopefully City Lord vont Alms shall take pity on us," she said hopping onto the back of a wagon.

"Guidon?" Tyler racked his brain.

"Tyler hurry, or you'll die," the old woman shouted.

Tyler ran and caught up to the wagon. He noticed all the poor dirty people inside. They all had shriveled sad faces. He decided to ask this woman what was going on?

"Excuse me can you tell me what's happened back there?" Tyler asked.

"Why are you speaking formally to me all of a sudden? You must have hit your head harder than I thought. You stopped breathing so I thought you had died," said the elderly man driving the wagon.

"I'm sorry mister…"

"Ha-ha, is that what you call your older brother?" the old man joked.

"Tyler, the 8-day plague came to our village. You and your brother Shamus had just come back from hunting.

You don't remember rushing in to save me? You save me when our home caved in," the woman said.

"8-Day plague?" Tyler asked.

"You got the sense knocked out of you, didn't you? But the 8-Day plague is an illness that causes black mushroom-looking spots to grow on the skin.

Once you see those spots, you only have 8-days to live, that's why it's called the 8-day plague," Shamus said.

Looking around Tyler saw vegetable fields and grain growing. But he could tell they weren't ripe yet for harvest.

The wagon traveled slowly over the dirt roads. Two mules lazily pulled the wagons. As they traveled Tyler looked at all the destruction and smoldering homes and dead bodies burning on pyres. The stack bodies looked charcoal.

As the wagon traveled along the road, he saw more and more wagons along the path. As far as he could see more wagons were being pulled by mules, donkeys, or on a rare occasion oxen.

"Where are the horses?" Tyler accidentally said out loud.

"Horses? Only nobles can afford such an expensive beast. We're fortunate to have two mules we found. Look most people only have one beast," Shamus said.

"Tsk, you know what I meant?" Tyler asked.

"Remember we 'found' them while we were out hunting. The owner of the wagon died, but the mules just kept walking," Shamus said.

"You boys had better not stolen them!" the old mother said.

"Mother he was dead, I promise you," Shamus swore.

At night, all the wagons formed a circle, and the people shared the combined food inside, which was not much.

The meat stew had very little meat and there was no bread. The water they drank was muddy and unsanitary. But on two occasions the hunters found a large deer. Overall, it was a miserable week of travel, hunger, and constant fear.

Finally on Sunday morning Guidon was insight. Tyler marveled at the large star-shaped city. Never had he seen a large, enclosed city. He looked forward to going inside and exploring.

That was until City Lord vont Alms refused to let them in and they were forced to work for Baron vont Wright.

The man was a sadist. He didn't care of his peasants lived or died. He required his peasants to work 12 hours a day. Even worse the overseers would indiscriminately whip farmers and field hands.

During his long workdays, he came to learn more about the Kingdom of Fermion. He learned King Remus Albus Fermion IX ruled the kingdom with his son Crown Prince Roland Godwin Fermion III. There was one Duke, and his youngest daughter was married to the wealthiest man in the kingdom Viscount William vont Ballard.

But what amazed him was how the commoners praised him and his wife. They spoke in admiration about Gaia's Purse and the Valley Agricultural and Military Academy.

The more and more Tyler heard he kept thinking how William vont Ballard was different than other nobles.

…

A year later the 8-Day plague concluded, but there was still mass starvation. The peasants had to hunt and gather to evade starvation while Baron vont Wright had lavish meals.

Worse still the sadistic bastard fed his dogs before he fed his household staff.

The maids and man servants complained incessantly how the Baron ate prime steak, fresh bread, and beer while the farmhands ate tree bark, insects, and if lucky wild berries.

As the animosity increased, more and more peasants got tired and tried to move out back to their old towns and villages. But the Baron's me would stop them and force them to return.

When Tyler heard that some nobles were paying the peasants to work. Tyler approached an overseer and demanded payment for his work. When the overseer refused and tried to whip him, Tyler killed the overseer.

Tyler's strength and leadership were admired by all. Yet, for all his bravery he was placed in the pillory for a month.

Yet, his words remained true. As more and more reports came in of nobles paying their peasants, the hostility towards Baron vont Wright increased.

Yet the final straw was when King Roland rolled back the freedoms the peasantry earned.

As if a fire was lit, peasants on Baron vont Wright's barony began to rebel by setting Tyler free.

For all their efforts ten people died, including Tyler's older brother Shamus. He died when an overseer's whip wrapped around his throat.

"Avenge me, brother," we're Shamus' last words.

"This motherfucker!" Tyler cursed. He'd grown quite close to Shamus and eventually thought of him as an older brother.

He could not tolerate such constant abuse. He killed the man effortlessly. With an overseer dead, the other peasants quickly rallied behind him.

Even though he lacked mana, Tyler had years of special training and tactical operations behind him.

He slowly made his way through the barony murdering all of the Baron's goons. By the time he finished, only the Baron and his family were left.

Baron vont Wright was a Journeyman Knight. Which Tyler learned, meant the Baron was capable of using body strengthening magic.

Tyler knew he had to be careful and decide to kite the Baron before he could kill him.

Given Tyler's years of experience, he was an expert marksman. Furthermore, since arriving at Terra he and his brother hunted. Between his skills and the new body, he was in, he quickly excelled as an archer.

"You dirty insects, dare to threaten me. I'll kill every last one of you," yelled the Baron.

While everyone else was scared Tyler began firing arrows at Baron vont Wright. The first arrow penetrated his arm.

When the Baron felt the first arrow, he increased his mana. Except for his round belly, the rest of his body became incredibly strong.

"You dare attack me, peasant! I'll have you hung for lèse-majesté," the Baron said in rage.

With the Baron full of rage and charging at him, Tyler smiled.

Tyler shot arrows while running into the woods, where the Baron's advantage could be neutralized.

"You dare run away, you sniveling coward. When I catch you, I'll kill you and skin you alive," said the already panting Baron.

In the woods, Tyler led the Baron on a chase. All the time shooting to gauge his mana reserves. After two hours the Baron was breathing heavily on a log.

It was then Tyler launched his arrow attack. Using the remaining 12 arrows in his quiver he killed and decapitated the Baron.

While the nobles were wondering what happened, Tyler came back with Baron's head and celebratory cheers.

That evening the peasants ate like the Baron in his own home and then set the house on fire.

Walking clockwise, they killed and set fire to the other baronies around Guidon before standing outside the South Gates.

Outside the South Gates, Guidon's city guards looked down at the masses. Many shouting their names. The city guards recognized their aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings shouting their names.

Inside the city, whatever commoners remained demanded the guards open the gates. The gauntly-looking citizens demanded the guards opened the door.

The guard commander looked at his nervous guards and sickly-looking residents. Yet he felt nothing. Orders were orders.

"Prepare to fire!" the guard commander said.

"Commander, please! Do we have to do this?" said a nervous archer who saw his mother in the crowd inside Guidon.

"Aim," said the guard commander.

"F—" the commander started to say until an arrow pierce his throat and he tumbled off the side of the wall.

"Quick open the gates," yelled the Vice Commander.

The guards at the gate were confused but did as they were ordered to loud cheers from the poor residents inside Guidon.

When the gates were open the peasants combine to form an over a thousand strong army, that ransacked the Guidon.

Afterward, Tyler killed City Lord vont Alms and hung his dead body over the North Gate.