The Dragon Prince's Warrior

Devastating battle

Jin hadn't wasted any time once he noticed his family members were indisposed. He had been angry for a split second, then snapped out of it and realized they were right to have acted that way. He had been impudent, rude, and moreover, his mother was hogging all their attention, even his own. He was pretty sure his mother An's relapse had to do with the state of the village, even if the idea sounded ludicrous in his mind and even more so if he were to voice it out loud.

He convinced himself that the responsibility for resolving this situation and their well-being rested on him. Something needed to be done for the village; he would inquire about what had happened later to understand the underlying issues. Without caring about anything else at the moment, he headed toward his father's troop leader. He also tried to summon the palace infirmary leader, which proved difficult as everyone was focused on his mother. He gave up on that idea; he would figure something out along the way.

He had taken his father's strongest and largest horse. He convinced a small group of soldiers to accompany him, and upon leaving the palace, he ordered them to contact all available healers in the village to start attending to the severely wounded.

The small unit was under his direction. Nothing could go wrong when reinforcements were on hand. He was instructing his men on what to do when Shun stepped in his path with an expression he couldn't decipher. Was Shun baffled or furious with him for acting without their father's permission? He had to find out right then. There was no time for them to argue when lives were on the line in the village.

"Brother, but what are you doing here?" he asked, and Shun didn't answer. "I think you're here to join forces, that's good," Jin said, offering a smile. "We need more reinforcements, you have the power to mobilize the entire troop, hurry."

Those last words had hit Shun like a punch to the gut, and Jin didn't linger to chat; he continued on his way. How could he have been so impudent with the power that he knew was rightfully his? He wouldn't engage in a public quarrel over it like a damned child, no.

Shun entered the palace and immediately issued orders to the entire combat team to prepare; things would be done his way, not Jin's. He didn't know why his brother Jin's attitude had infuriated him so much, but it had.

"Move out!" Shun commanded, followed by two hundred men. His brother had taken fifty with him, but right now, he would reclaim what was rightfully his.

Without lowering his gaze, Shun spurred his horse, and it galloped to position itself in front of Jin, who was observing the perimeter. He locked eyes with his brother, and Jin didn't avert his gaze either.

—Jin, my father sent me to take care of this mission, so your part ends here," he quickly signaled the entire three-hundred-man unit, leading them in the direction of the town center.

Jin stood still and surprised, he never thought his brother would act so selfishly; in fact, he thought they would fight together for a common cause, but he had been mistaken in his thoughts. He bit his lower lip, feeling powerless, because what he had done was for the people, he never intended to undermine Shun's authority. In fact, it was Jin who had ignored the call when he entered the chapel.

"It doesn't matter," Jin thought. "I don't care who appears victorious. I only care about the well-being of the people."

Jin followed the unit, hanging back. He wasn't willing to stay idle. The enemies were out of control, and his heart ached just seeing his people lying on the ground, barely clinging to life. He spotted some healers in the distance attending to some individuals, and an idea occurred to him to create an improvised shelter for the wounded.

As he passed by the area of the healers, Jin began searching everywhere for his best friend from the village. Her house had been ransacked, as if it had been looted, and she was nowhere to be found. A pang of worry gripped his chest when he didn't see her, and he could only think of the worst, but there was no time to search for anyone in particular; everyone needed medical attention.

"Your Highness!" said one of the elderly healers. "There are too many wounded, we can't keep up." Desperation was evident on their faces.

Jin looked around and found the solution. They would transport the wounded to the central gazebo, which had ample space for everyone.

"You two," he addressed a pair of men rushing by. "I need your help, now."

If he wasn't going to fight, at least he would assist the most innocent or relinquish his princely status right then. He told as many people as he could to run and take refuge wherever possible, that they would try to save as many lives as they could. Many spread the word, and people started hiding in well-concealed spots where they could escape the view of the accursed killers.

As he headed toward the gazebo, a group of ruffians attacked the men with him. Without hesitation, Jin drew his sword and swiftly dispatched them, decapitating them before the astonished eyes of his helpers, who were left spattered with blood.

"Let's go, no time to waste!" Jin simply sheathed his bloodied sword and led those two traumatized men to improvise a makeshift medical center larger than the one in the village.

In the distance, Jin saw his brother battling against those fierce men. He looked proud and rough. His face was splattered with blood, and Jin realized they were already deeply entangled in death. They had never experienced anything like this in their lives. Who were these malevolent men? He had never seen them before. Could they be from the neighboring village or from some unknown place?

Soon, they gathered some waterproof material and, along with the two men, Jin constructed a makeshift "tent." He ordered them to go to the hospital to fetch stretchers and first aid supplies, as the place had been nearly destroyed and they had found the village doctor's body with his throat slit. This scene weighed heavily on Jin and his assistants.

Several farmers, vendors, and healers joined in, led by Jin, and managed to gather everything necessary to attend to anyone who needed immediate help. If they could manage to halt the enemies, they would need to expand the cemetery, for there were too many innocent victims.

Soon, the healers who were in the streets brought the wounded into the improvised hospital, and Jin got to work, assisting in stitching wounds, setting dislocated bones, and many other tasks. The labor was incredibly demanding.

In the distance, Jin couldn’t help but hear a chorus of panicked screams from the townspeople; it seemed that his brother had been injured in battle. Anxiety washed over him once again, and Jin handed over the patient he was attending to another capable healer.

“I need to go see what happened to my brother,” Jin said before leaving the makeshift medical center.

“By Buddha, we hope it’s not serious, Your Highness,” one of the healers said, bowing. Other healers and patients nodded with concern, mimicking the same solemn gesture.

“I hope so too,” Jin replied and left the place.

He mounted his horse, and the people directed him to where his brother was. He couldn’t believe it, Shun had been impaled by a sword, right in the leg area, and the other leg hadn’t fared any better; he was severely wounded. Jin didn’t hesitate; he unsheathed his sword once again, sprinted on his horse, and reached his brother.

On his way, he struck down a couple of thugs who crossed his path, and another managed to land a cut on his arm that made him cry out in pain, but he didn’t stop. He ran to save Shun’s life, even at the cost of his own.

With a triumphant shout, Jin cleaved the man who had injured his brother in two. What remained of the man collapsed to the ground, creating a growing puddle of blood. The battle-hardened soldiers shielded Jin as he lifted his brother onto his horse, attempting to take him back to the palace.

Jin left his brother in the care of the palace healers and returned to lead the battle that Shun had left when he was impaled by that sword. He took up the royal shield and headed to the palace entrance once more.

“They will pay for all this bloodshed, I swear it. Victory now depends solely on me,” Jin thought, his anger boiling inside him.

He spurred the exhausted horse once more and, with his sword now stained a dark scarlet, mercilessly began to eliminate anyone who was harming innocent beings. His advantage was that he knew his people well, their faces etched into his memory.