Chapter 8: The Lost Battalion

Chapter 8: The Lost Battalion "What’s the situation at the border?" Henndar asked with his chin propped up by his upturned palm. His brows were slightly furrowed as he swept his eyes over the people assembled before him. They were the commanders of his army His eyes came to land on a very distinctive figure that sat facing him on the other side. The person stood up in his shiny red, and gold armor. The black cape with gold edges on his back made a flapping sound as he rose to his feet. His right shoulder had a gold molded shape of a deer’s head holding the cape in place. He had dark hair which he left long. Under his brows were dark, deep-set eyes that sent only one message to whoever looked at them- a warning. One could almost see his veins too clearly under his white skin. In his breastplate was embedded a kite-shaped red crystal that gave off a faint glow. He wore blood-red gauntlets that reached up to his middle forearm. They had razor-sharp gold claws capable of tearing through anything. He could be said as a wonderful man to look at. He looked capable enough, and his good height suited him even more as the commander of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom’s army. "Your majesty," he greeted in a deep voice, "We are not sure of that. Even though we have some guesses that may be accurate, we cannot get too ahead of ourselves just yet. As we speak now, some scouts are on their way there. The message we received was not too clear, but we do know that all the men that were dispatched this month lost their lives. " " The month is almost ended," Henndar pointed out. "when are you sending the next batch?" " Pertaining that, your Majesty, the circumstances we find ourselves in have put us in a difficult position. On a normal basis, the soldiers patrolling there would be dispatched when the month ends, but I don’t think we could wait for that." "What are your plans for the next batch?" Henndar asked him seriously. "About that," Lexon said as he retrieved a white orb from his infinity bracelet. An infinity bracelet is a magical storage artifact that contains space opened up in another dimension. They came in differing prices, the more expensive ones being more expansive. "An image capture orb war included in the message sent. I suggest you also see what it has recorded before the decision of what troops are sent is taken." He said as he raised it in his palm. An image capture orb captures and records events circling the owner. This is saved after that and can be accessed later on. When activated, it replays whatever was recorded as a hologram. The king nodded to him, giving him the go-ahead. Lexon held it up in one hand and raised the other to tap it. The gauntlet on the other hand disappeared and he tapped it with his finger. A tiny spark appeared where his index finger came into contact. It slowly rose from his hand and remained to levitate above their heads. It glowed brighter and started spinning before it exploded, letting out white dust that filled the large room. Lexon had his head raised, looking at what had become of the orb with a creased forehead. Something troubled him. One could see spiraling patterns that descended from his neck down into his armor. They were faint grey marks. Now and then, a faint glow would appear at the end of a spiral, tracing the pattern like a snake. A scene came to life slowly from the dust all around, making the whole room disappear. It was dark in the night within the thick woods. The trees loomed over the dozens of soldiers that sat around campfires in groups of Six, seven, or eight. They were all in heated conversations, but the sound could not be heard from it. The scene looked, and felt so real, replacing everything around. Ignoring the lack of sound, and touch, one might be mistaken that he was a part of whatever that was going to happen, be it good or bad. Everything looked normal like nothing could go wrong. The armor worn by the soldiers was difficult to decipher, looking black in the darkness, save for the very faint orange glow from the reflected flames. Their armor seemed to absorb all light in the surroundings, making them very difficult to spot if they were to hide in the darkness. All of a sudden, they all stopped their conversations midway, and rushed to one side, alarmed. they gathered around and were talking about something when something fell from the trees above them. They all parted in unison, leaving a space for whatever it was to fall. It fell right beside a campfire, a dead person. One arm was ripped off gruesomely, and the legs were twisted at irregular angles. Fresh blood flowed out of the wounds. His chest was ripped open, the strong armor bent outwards to reveal his torn and mangled insides. The sight touched their souls instantly, calling them for battle. They all tapped into their innate powers and attributes. Some were instantly covered in flames of differing colors others summoned ice shards, and boulders came out of the earth, raised above others. some had their bodies surrounded by whirlwinds that rose to their waists, and others turned into beasts. A soldier standing behind three others that were covered in flames raised a hand to the skies. A bolt of blue lightning shot upwards like a quickly sprouting tree with branches that spread out like a net. It went up above the forest, lighting up the place with its blinking light. It remained that way, and their trained eyes scanned their surroundings for anything but nothing seemed off. The lightning fluttered then grew dim but flared up brighter again. With their senses at their peak, the soldiers all sensed something off around the old soldier. He still stood ramrod straight, the blue light illuminating his mature face and his greying hair. His expression was one filled with seriousness, but his eyes had lost all luster. A figure shot out from the back of the old soldier into the trees above, but none seemed to notice it disappear. The old man staggered back, but he stabilized himself. The lightning grew weaker, drawing eyes to him. Just then, his head fell, and blood sprayed up. The headless body swayed a bit, and the lightning suddenly spread out from his body, killing the three closest to him before his corpse fell. The dead men were ignored, and everyone’s attention went back to their surroundings. A soldier was pulled up very quickly into the darkness. One sharp-eyed soldier saw that and quickly shot flames in the direction but the flames disappeared immediately, and his figure was also pulled up. The strange phenomenon continued, and more soldiers were being pulled up at random spots. Before they could react, mangled and deformed bodies were thrown down. There was no pattern in whoever was being pulled up, and anyone who tried to attack was immediately pulled up as well. Dead bodies kept raining down, putting the soldiers in disarray. After a while, the bodies stopped raining, and all was still. One soldier wielding a staff jumped up into the air and came down quickly, planting the staff into the ground. A white circle spread out from it, growing larger as it went. It passed right through any soldier, but all trees were cut down when it came into contact with them. Four others also followed suit and leaped up as well. They shot out flames at the trees, flames that came out in the form of huge serpentine dragons. The dragons flew around, turning the trees all into ashes. Others also spun in the air and kicked. Whirlwinds appeared, swallowing all the ashes. In a matter of seconds, their act had cleared for them, a large area. About half their number was already gone then. The remaining soldiers quickly took up a formation. It was in the form of a square with equal distribution of soldiers. The outer layer was formed by beasts, then those covered in flames, then ice shards before the rest. The one who wielded the staff was in the innermost part of the formation. A dark figure was seen shooting towards them with an alarming speed as they braced themselves. Just when it got close enough, they parted, creating a path that it passed through. Right after it passed a series of attacks were shot at it, but it disappeared, and their attacks were but a waste. They immediately returned to their previous formation. They did not have to wait past a few seconds before the thing appeared some distance from them again coming with the same shocking speed. Just as before, they waited for it to get close enough before they parted again, wider this time, but for their attacker, they were slow. Halfway through, it changed its course, knocking into three beasts before disappearing into the darkness again.