Saving the prince

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

'His hand is still intact,' The soldier that struck Song thought in confusion. He had expected the slash to cleave Song's arm in one go, instead it just traveled deeply into Song's shoulder, stopping at his bone. If not for the heat coating the blade, it might not have even penetrated his skin. 'Tch, what kind of body does this old man have?' He thought in irritation.

Song had reinforced the hardness of his skin hence cushioning the effect of the slash. The reason he had opted to take the sword attack instead of the ax was because it was aimed for his shoulder while the ax traveled towards his midsection again, aiming for his belly. Even If he were to reinforce his body, there was a clear difference to how hard his belly could become, compared to his shoulder.

The soldier tried to pull out his sword from Song's shoulder, but his weapon was stuck. Song had hardened his body further, trapping the weapon in his body. Song glanced at him. The feeling the soldier got from that casual glance caused goosebumps to appear all over his body.

The soldier panicked, rueing his lack of awareness to let go of the sword immediately he noticed it was stuck. But Song did not give him a second to regret his hesitation. He immediately slashed at the soldier, decapacitating him in one swift movement.

Song then stood up and pulled the sword from his shoulder. He threw it to the ground causing a 'clang' to ring out. Song faced the remaining soldiers, when he was about to resume his assault, a low rumble pulled his attention. Looking back he saw Gohnn and behind him were more men, all dressed in Tasvill's traditional military uniform of deep green with ash pads covering their soldiers.

The soldiers marched menacingly towards the Song, their weapons gleaming, even under the gloomy sky. A soft smile graced Song's lips when he saw the reinforcements before he turned his attention back towards the Tholarians. His smile wiped off completely as his face went back to the cold, emotionless glare.

When the soldiers reached Song his voice boomed out loudly. "Soldiers of Tasvill. His voice echoed with authority. "As you can see the goats have strolled into the lair of the beast. They have torn down our homes, they have killed our people, they have acted in opposition to the established system that is to be followed. So now I ask, rage, rage for your slain brethren, rage for your wives, rage for your parents, rage for your people.

The Tholarians facing Song flinched when they saw the reinforcements coming. Just so g alone had cut their numbers, now even more men were present. Still, they were soldiers, this was war and one they started no less. Without waiting for Song to complete his speech, they charged forward with defiant cries of war

"TAKE NO HOSTAGES, KILL THEM ALL." Song roared.

"WAHHH!" Shouts resounded from the Tasvillers as they voiced their war cries. With flaming eyes and broken egos they charged madly at the Tholarians. The first wave immediately slew the remaining men standing against Song and they progressed further to defend their people and slay their attackers.

After Song had charged the soldiers up, Gohnn came to his side and whispered something to his ear.

"Master Song, these are the men that were readily available and I've been able to rally for now. More are still coming from within Yaran. But when I contacted Mensa and the other cities for reinforcements, they said they couldn't send men, in fact they requested me to send men over to them".

"Hmm?" Song's brow shot up in response to Gohnn's words.

"All of Tasvill is under attack master Song. And it's not just Tholaria. Gamund, Lenbur and Metath are all invading us, according to the repors i received." Ghonn added with a tense expression.

"What?" When Song heard this his eyes widened, his heart started beating loudly in his chest. "Four? Four?" The reality of the situation was unthinkable, now he understood where Tholarias confidence came from, there was no way they could invade without having something to fall back on. And now the situation had just taken a complicated turn. But so far in the capital he could only see the Tholarians. It made him wonder if the others would come, or if their plan was to choke Yaran after bringing down the other cities.

A sudden surge then pulled Song's attention to a part of the Haven. "The prince." He muttered.

Following this, as if clearing his earlier doubts, a horde of men sporting different uniforms suddenly invaded the streets of Tasvill from different directions. With some coming from where Song had sensed Stefam. Their presence confirmed Gohnn's words and signified the gravity of the situation. Gohnn's face paled when he saw the forces of the other countries. It was one thing to hear and another to see, and what he was seeing, he didn't like one bit.

Even among the in-pour of enemy forces, a single person was on Song's mind. 'Prince Stefam.' Song thought with concern. Some of these soldiers had emerged from the part of the Haven that he had sense Stefam, and he felt like the prince was in grave danger.

"Ghonn." Song called.

"Yes, Master Song."

I leave command here to you. Song said before he flashed away in a blur.

Ghonn just stared at Song's retreating figure. He heaved a huge sigh before he shifted his gaze forward towards the clashing men. The Tasviller soldiers were being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the joint forces of four nations

'Please male it back on time, Master Song, we need all the help we can get.' Ghonn thought to himself with a tense expression.

***

Song darted through crumbled buildings and structures, smoke and flames rising off in various parts of the Haven. The smell of burnt flesh wafted into his nose making him close his eyes in pain. A feeling he couldn't explain bubbled within him. A lone tear left his eyes and streaked down his cheeks.

In no time, Song reached where he had sensed Stefam, and he was glad that he had followed his instincts and made his way here. The prince was indeed in danger.

The area was strangely covered in fog, probably a result of Stefam's clash with the men he faced. The small fog might have shrouded their figures but Song could very well make out what was going on within. He saw a man wielding a dagger slash at Stefam from his blind spot. His heart skipped a beat when he saw this, but Stefam quickly ducked, dodging the slash. Song heaved a sigh of relief.

Song saw Stefam show a pained expression causing him to pause momentarily, his assailant then swung another blade at Stefam, this one at point blank range. Song, knowing he couldn't get to Stefam on time threw out a slash at the dagger wielding man.

Swoosh!

A silent swoosh resounded, accompanied by a thin blue crescent shaped arc that flew rapidly from his blade and cleanly severed the arm of the dagger wielding man, saving Stefam from certain death. A split moment later Song jumped into the fog.

The dagger man was too stunned from suddenly losing his arm. Pain wracked his senses, causing him to momentarily loose focus, not allowing him to sense when Song came behind him.

Like a ghost, Song flashed behind the dagger wielding man and decapitated him cleanly. Without pausing he immediately rushed towards the red haired giant and slashed at him also. The red haired man seemed to be more alert as he dodged the attack instinctively, but he couldn't avoid the attack completely, receiving a bloody gash across his chest. He quickly dashed out of the fog, thinking it was Stefam who had attacked him.

Seeing the huge man leave the fog, Song turned his attention to the last man in the fog. The ice mage who still had a watchful expression. Like a phantom Song appeared behind him and lifted his body off the ground.

The ice mage was surprised by the sudden situation, but before he could make any movements to defend himself, he had lost his head.

The fog then lifted revealing Song to Stefam and the red haired giant.

"Master Song!"

"Song!"

They both echoed simultaneously with varying tones and expressions.