Mysterious Dream
1781 Words
There is a huge match tomorrow, against Michael Dwart, a battle he can't lose. He's been having weird dreams lately that he thought connected to the system but that's the least of his concerns for now.
Ernest jumped into his bed and sleep.
Somewhere, a minute earlier, at the entrance point of the Forest Kuff are the battalions sent by His Majesty to conduct search and rescue to the missing kids and retrieval of the bodies of those who perished.
The Forest of Kuff was a forest full of monsters but not threatening enough to interrupt people's way of life.
Leading the battalion was a man clad with a stout build clad in the silver breastplate. General Asmodeus.
Behind him were a sheathed broadsword and hundreds of knights bearing spears and shields.
He took a glance and issued an order with a wave of the hand.
A line of soldiers moves into the forest like a snake slithering in the narrow passage. With their heads constantly looking side by side, wary around their surroundings, they continued without delay.
It wasn't long after the battalion saw something ridiculous. All of them struck their gaze upwards and saw a flash of light so bright they mistakenly took it as the sun.
"Wha-wha-what is that?" Asmodeus sputtered as chills shiver down his fine. His mouth dropped open from an intense light coruscating from over the horizon.
"Lord Asmodeus! What do we do?!"
"Oi oi oi! This is above my paygrade."
"Why is there a light there?!"
"Sir Asmodeus?!"
The soldiers fell into disarray as they expressed their troubles out of their mouths. They couldn't control it, the pressure produced by that light is overwhelming.
Asmodeus felt the same feeling as theirs. Dumbstruck as he stared blankly at the bluish light shining dazzlingly over the far point of the Forest of Kuff.
Beads of sweat trickled down his face. Not just him but to his troops as well. The gentle breeze that was passing by them earlier turned into sweltering heat.
"Sir Asmodeus?! What do we do? Should we retreat?"
"No, stay in your position."
"But sir isn't it dangerous?!"
"Our job has always been dangerous. What's the difference with this one? You all signed up for this when you took the oath of the Knight's Code right? Our mission will not change, we go into the Forest of Kuff and do what we're asked."
Asmodeus adamantly rejected the suggestion of retreat and decided to move onwards but it doesn't mean he denied the possibility of the dangerousness of their mission. Of course, it was dangerous to go inside the forest which suddenly produced a sweltering and blinding light out of nowhere.
Since it was an order from their superior, they have no choice but to obey and follow Asmodeus into a destination that remains vague.
…
As they marched into the forest with their steeds and weapons, Asmodeus kept his sight fixed on the light that is now flickering.
A mysterious phenomenon where even tales, myths, and legends have no record about it.
"Oh, it's fading now."
The light from the distance that worried the troops started to disappear into thin air. It seems that it ended.
*Whoosh.
Asmodeus turned his head to the right sharply as he heard the bush rustling over.
"What is that?" He muttered to himself and put his men to a halt.
The march halted at his order and Asmodeus stepped down off his steed. Unsheathing the blade affixed to his waist, he scanned the surroundings as he deemed there was something behind the tree line.
Seeing their commander draw his swords, they assumed battle formation. One of them walked over to him and asked.
"What is it, Sir Asmodeus?"
"There's something here," Asmodeus said uneasily.
The knight who asked him took a glance around them but found nothing but trees and bushes.
"Sir, I see nothing. It must've been your hallucination."
"Hallucination?" Asmodeus' eyes furrowed.
The knight gulped and retracted what he said. "Uh…I'll make sure if there's really something lurking there sir…hehehe." He sputtered and made a turn to notify the troops.
But just as he was about to walk one step forward, a hand grabbed him by the arm.
He glanced back and found that it was Asmodeus's hand.
"No need. It'll be a waste of time if we stop here. We just have to be wary of our surroundings. That's all." said Asmodeus, sheathing his sword,
"Understood."
Asmodeus mounted the back of his steed. Pulling the reins taut, he jerked his mount to face the north direction.
As they began to march onward, a sudden chilling air descended upon the ranks.
Asmodeus' battle-hone instincts warned him of trepidation.
*Whoosh.
A sound of the bow releasing the nocked arrows sounded all around them.
A hail of arrows rained down upon and killed a number of men. Luckily, the arrows weren't strong enough to penetrate the armor made from the highest quality. However, those unfortunate were struck by an arrow through the slit of their armor.
The ranks again fall into confusion but this time they know they are under attack.
"Get into position!" Asmodeus shouted as he jumped off his steed and formed ranks with his troops.
One of the knights acknowledged his orders and relayed them to the back.
While preparing for defensive formation, hooded figures jumped from the bushes and trees with their swords and daggers hammering down.
Asmodeus quickly drew his sword and cleaves forward, slicing whoever jumped on them in two.
The body rattled to the ground, their hood falling over, giving out their appearance.
Asmodeus and the men who saw it had their eyes widened from shock.
A fleshless and skinless being. There's just bone. Reddish-black flames flecked on their eye sockets.
"Skeletons warrior? How did they get here?! There aren't supposed to be skeletons in this forest."
"Yeah but their very existence in front of us tells otherwise. Form your ranks and don't falter!"
"Understood—Sir!"
Another hail of arrows rained down upon them. Asmodeus deflected it with a wild swing of his sword while the others protected themselves with shields.
Judging from the number of arrows raining down, Asmodeus can tell the enemy numbers are high.
"This is unusual, not only there's a skeleton warrior, but there's also a skeleton archer in their ranks. This is troubling, where are they coming from?"
"Our scouts haven't detected any skeletons in the area prior to the examination. This is really unusual." The knight beside him agreed.
"Still…"
Before the ranks of the Kingdom of Orbelian Knights were skeleton warriors making their appearance in the only road of the Forest Kuff and to their sides. Marching in droves, glaring at humans intently as they brandished and waved their swords in the air
They instantly outnumbered the troops and surrounded them.
With their spears pointed at them, it created a distance enough for Asmodeus to come up with a plan.
Asmodeus came up with one and ordered them with a hand signal. The troops reacted quickly and formed a wedge in all directions with each cardinal location having a leader.
This way, there won't be any blind spots and they can keep each other in touch about their situation.
With a grin on their fleshless faces, the skeleton monsters charged in all directions. Dust billows behind their trails and hail of arrows once again rained upon the human formation.
Those with shields raised it above and over, protecting their allies and the users themselves from the initial attack while those equipped with polearms started thrusting it forward when the skeleton entered its range of attack.
Fierce cry, battle roar, the sound of metal clanking made the forest a battlefield. One by one, skeleton warriors were no match against the formation and started dropping to the ground the moment the tip of the spear struck their spines, femurs, and skulls.
"Hold your lines!" Asmodeus shouted as they continued to press the attack.
With coordination, they were able to shave off the numbers of skeleton warriors coming at them.
The pesky arrows raining above them decrease as well, probably having problems with their supplies.
Despite their best efforts, death can't be avoided as some skeleton warriors adapted and used those who are in front of them as a platform, jumping at them with swords crashing down.
Among the lines, soldiers started to question the numbers of skeletons. Despite killing a hundred of them, there seems to be no hints or indication about their numbers decreasing.
The skeleton charges towards them blindly without fearing death against a sentient being who fears it. It's only a matter of time before their formation falls.
Their formation weakness started to c***k and little by little, the soldiers, overwhelmed by the numbers of skeletons, began to fear death and lose rational thoughts.
And in just five minutes of confrontation, the line of defense has fallen and it's everyone's game.
Soldiers lost their spears and switched into their backup swords sheathed to their waist.
Yet it seems as though the soldiers are exhausted as their strikes, slices, and thrust begin to slow.
They've been keeping their lines for about five minutes against a monster whose exhaustion is not a thing to them.
Faced with a disadvantage, a battle was turned into a m******e. A once battle-cry to strengthen one spirit turned into anguish. Soldiers were eviscerated, disembowelled, decapitated, chopped, struck, and pierced.
Asmodeus who was in the heat of the battle recalled the words of the knight.
"Sir, it's dangerous, should we retreat?"
A suggestion that he would have agreed with and could save the lives of his men. Maybe, if he chose to retreat, this won't happen.
But it's too late for regrets, especially in the middle of the battle.
Asmodeus roared as though removing the word regret out of his mind and focused himself on the battle.
Slicing and dicing those who got in his way, Asmodeus gave his all in this endless battle.
Meanwhile, at the other side of the forest. Cyrus heard cries and pleads of the warriors fighting for their lives.
"Empyrean Lord of the Sun, don't worry about them and focus your attention on us. They are just weaklings who will get in our way," said Morde.
"What did you do to them?"
"I just summoned a handful of monsters that will keep them occupied so that they will never interrupt us.."
"I see, then I'll just have to kill you quickly then go and help them," Cyrus said.
"What a lovely plan, feel free to do so. However, that is if there's still someone left for you to help…fufufu" Resya grinned bewitchingly.
.
- Writer
