Battle of Human Torches

CG Chapter 107: Battle of Human Torches

After Tom's speech, the army's morale skyrocketed, and the dragon's appearance further boosted their spirits.

But that speech was but the start of the actual war.

Each army, led by its respective commander, set out to take down a different kingdom.

Tom led the charge into the capital of Aeolantis, known as the Pearl of the Sea.

Folek and Reynard targeted Futia, as Folek was more familiar with it, having lived there his entire life.

Lastly, the noble houses marched toward Danloor, which was left vulnerable without its Grand Knight.

Meanwhile, Hidden, due to his condition, was assigned to manage the assassins and intelligence channels of the army.

He was reluctant at first but agreed after Tom told him he could join the frontlines once he recovered, which shouldn't take much longer.

The current strategy of the Eternal Flames was quite simple:

To quickly and completely crush each of the three kingdoms before Valoria or Auroria could deploy their armies.

As for Venturia, its army had scattered after Ragnar's death and would take some time to recover, while Solaria's forces had almost completely collapsed in the civil war that was still ongoing.

…

On the southeastern outskirts of Daybreak's capital, Futia, Captain Reynard and a small group of soldiers crouched behind some sandy dunes. The dry winds of the desert mixed with the cold weather of the night made it hard to breathe.

Reynard turned to a tanned soldier who was standing beside him. "Aseel, remember what I told you. You must provoke the guards by any means necessary."

Aseel stiffened but nodded. He knew the task was nothing short of suicidal: to go alone and draw the enemy's attention like some sacrificial lamb. Despite this, he didn't waver.

Three years ago, his daughter had disappeared, and the church had seemed like the most likely suspect. No one had cared. Now, the Eternal Flames offered him something that even the gods couldn't: hope to take revenge for his daughter.

And after hearing Tom's speech, his hatred for the Seven Families had reached its peak.

"Understood," he replied, trying to hide his fear.

Reynard could see Aseel's fear, but he didn't show any reaction. He knew that things were getting real now and that there was no turning back.

His forces were meant to act as decoys, while the actual force would sneak into the city from the northwestern end.

He watched as Aseel stepped forward, sword in one hand and a paper cone to magnify sound in the other.

Reynard clenched his fists, watching carefully, waiting for the right moment to order his soldiers to move.

Once Aseel reached the gates, he raised the magnifier to his lips and shouted, his voice echoing across the silent backdrop.

"You little bitchy fuckers of Daybreak, send that little weak king of yours to face me. I, the great Aseel of Eternal Flames, am enough to take him and your whole weak bunch down."

As he was saying that, his legs and hands were shaking, and fear filled his whole body.

This fear only increased further as he thought of the arrows that might rain at him at any moment, but as he remembered what the church had done to his daughter, his fear was overwhelmed by anger.

The captain of the city guards, Margo, heard his words from atop the capital's walls and sneered. "Another crazy cultist. Men, sho--"

Before he could finish, his mouth hung open in shock.

When Aseel reached the gates, Reynard opened his clenched hand, and in an instant, thousands of blazing torches lit up simultaneously, painting a terrifying image in the cold night of the desert.

Whoosh

In the middle of this chaos, the sharp whistle of a flying arrow broke through the air, piercing Aseel's throat in an instant and exiting from the other side. The magnifier he held was still in his hand as blood poured from his throat. He fell to the ground, gasping, "Mia…"

Margo's eyes widened in panic. "Ring the bells! The city is under siege!"

He shouted with all his might, his throat almost torn from the strain, but he didn't care as he barked more orders. "I want the southern and eastern sides reinforced now! What are you waiting for? And someone, send a message to the palace this instant!"

Margo clutched his chest; he wanted to rip his hair out. He didn't plan on dying today. Just moments ago, he had been joking with his men, wishing for something interesting to happen. Now, he wanted to punch himself for making that stupid joke.

At the same time, Reynard directed his soldiers to move the torches they had planted across the sand dunes, keeping up the illusion of a massive army.

This facade wouldn't last more than a couple of hours, but that was enough for Folek's forces to sneak into the city.

Reynard gazed at the fearful city guards with a smile. He might not make it out alive, but he still felt happy. He remembered the little brat who had once hated training and how that boy had now become an emperor. Reynard felt proud to have played even a small part in that man's journey.

…

At the northwestern gate, Folek grinned as he watched the enemy soldiers rushing to the other side of the wall.

This chaos would provide him with the perfect opportunity to enter the city unnoticed. The spies he had planted would finally prove useful as they would unlock the gates from within.

"Move," Folek ordered the thousands of soldiers behind him.

As the few remaining guards noticed the gate opening, they wanted to rush in to close it, but they were surprised by a sudden slash to their throats.