Song's stand

The Tholarians charging at Song didn't pause for a second even when they saw their comrade just get killed easily. Most of them didn't even know how he died, they just saw two thin lines and their man was down, headless. But none of that mattered, they were at war and they had come prepared to die.

They roared, brandishing their weapons and preparing their spells. Song took a deep breath, a thin blue aura rising sharply off his body, causing a chill to permeate the air around him. His crescent moon blade took on a subtle glow of blue, its slick runes flaring to life with a soft light. Song's whole demeanor changed, he stood poised and calm as he stared at the approaching men.

"Hmm hmm, hmm hmm." He began to hum, his flickering aura calming down with the melody. Some of the approaching soldiers had dazed looks as they heard the eerie tune, causing slight disorganization among the Tholarians.

The men were well aware of the sound. Even though they had not heard it personally before, the story behind it was widely renowned, hence causing some of the soldiers to falter.

Song immediately noticed this. He took a step forward, and in the next second his figure blurred forward at blinding speed, leaving a pale blue light to mark his initial position.

A blur flashed past the soldiers closest to Song, stopping just before the remaining soldiers. His deep gaze held no light, making him look mysterious and frightening.

A second later, about ten soldiers behind Song all collapsed silently, their heads dropping off their bodies. The sight immediately caused the rushing soldiers to pause. This was indeed war and they had come prepared to die, but not like this.

Fear, an ancient and deep-rooted emotion, began to take hold. Despite their training, the fear that they had tamed all their lives began to take root and sprout in their hearts, true to their human nature.

They all had expressions of fear and hesitation as they saw Song stand menacingly before them with an eerie glow in his eyes, his aura rising like smoke off his body. Song suddenly looked so mighty and frightening that some of the men hesitated to even move forward.

"AHH!"

A sudden roar jolted them out of their daze. One of the soldiers shook off his fear and charged at Song with a fierce expression.

He stretched out his hands. Thick vines and roots sprouted from the ground and threatened to wrap Song in a deadly embrace. Song watched silently as the vines wrapped around his foot, extending towards his upper body. Before long most of Song's form was wrapped in thick vines.

"Quick, get rid of him." The soldier shouted at his comrades, igniting life back Into them. They stared at Song's restricted form for a second before their motivation soared.

They immediately shook off their fear and attacked simultaneously. Different elemental attacks rushed at Song menacingly. The vines tightened around Song's body, causing the soldiers to have expressions of dark glee as their attacks closed in on him, with the melee soldiers also rushing straight at him to finish any work the attacks might leave behind.

Song exhaled softly and flexed his muscles, causing them to bulge within the vines. With a forceful yank, his hands were free from the bindings and he quickly used his blade to deflect the incoming attacks.

The rushing soldiers steeled their resolves and didn't stop their charge. A soldier swung his sword at Song from a distance, and a crimson arc erupted from the slash. Another swung his ax sideways at Song's midsection. From another position A spear pierced through the air as it approached Song's blindside. A torrent of arrows aided by different elements tore through the air towards him, and many other attacks ranging from elements to projectiles.

Song's expression turned serious for the first time since his confrontation with the Tholarians. The first thing he did was to swing his left blade wildly at the air, releasing a gust of wind that threw all the arrow projectiles off course. Of course his action left him open for the following attacks, but Song was prepared to deal with them.

Quickly switching the grip of his right blade, Song's scythe countered the crimson arc that was coming for him rapidly. Then, quickly bringing his left blade down he pushed the ax that was inches away from lodging itself into his body straight to the ground.

He wasn't fast enough to counter the spear, though. In the next second a pained grunt escaped his lips. A numbing feeling spread all over his body, making it hard for him to move. Looking back in fury, Song saw he had been pierced with a spear by a soldier from behind.

The soldiers who had their attacks deflected immediately went in for another, with renewed vigor and poise. They swung their weapons mercilessly at Song.

"DIE!" The soldier swinging a sword shouted with an enraged look.

'I can't afford a hit from either of these two men,' Song thought to himself. 'But I can't avoid both either. Song was in a difficult situation, one that he expected, knowing that even among the soldiers, there would be some that could give him a slightly tough time, if certain conditions were met. And this scenario met one of these conditions perfectly.

'They've done their research, I see. I guess I have no choice, I have to let one of the attacks hit me, and I'll capitalize from there. But which one?' Song's mind buzzed as he thought of a favorable way he could come out of the situation with as little damage as possible.

Finally making up his mind, the blue aura coating Song's body thickened. In the next second he used his blade to stop the ax from hitting him while sending an immediate slash at the ax wielder with a fierce force.

'So he chose me huh!' These were the ax wielder's final thoughts, before Song's blade passed through his neck with little resistance, throwing his vision into permanent darkness.

The sword then dug deeply into Song's shoulder, a sizzling sound coming off the blade. Song gritted his teeth with a pained expression while preventing a grunt from escaping his lips.

'I've really gotten old.' He thought to himself through the pain.