Chapter 30 : So I offered them A Path to prevent A Massacre

By the time we reached the South Gate of Alnovir, it was already evening. We camp there. People from the nearest village came and helped us in any way they could. The village mayor, Naidan, and his whole family came to me and requested me to stay in their house. But I told them that I wanted to stay with the soldiers. Some villagers volunteered for the lookout while we slept.

It's morning now. We are having breakfast. One of the villagers comes running to me and says, "Your majesty, they are coming this way." 

Elyar alerts everyone. We finish our breakfast quickly and prepare ourselves. After that, we open the gate and go outside. 

The army of Elora stops one or two hundred meters before us. Their general shouts, "Alnovir! Surrender your kingdom to Elora. Otherwise we will take it forcefully." 

Elyar is going to say something. I interrupt him and say, "Let me do the talking." Elyar says, "As you wish, your majesty." 

I step ahead a bit and shout, "Hear me! I am the king of Alnovir. Alnovir surrenders to no one. There will be war. And in war, there will always be rivers of blood. Those huge amounts of blood will be from your side and from our side. That's why I bring a proposal to reduce the amount of bloods. I hope you are wise enough to listen." Everyone remains silent. I continue, "Since this matter belongs to the kings of Alnovir and Elora, only kings of both sides will fight this war. The soldiers of the defeated king will surrender. The rule is no king can take help from his soldiers. Breaking the rule means all-out war." 

The army of Elora starts whispering. Elyar says, "What are you saying, your majesty? I can't let you fight alone. If anything happens to you, I...." I interrupt him and say with a smile, "It seems like my general has doubts in my strength." Elyar quickly kneels and says, "Forgive me, your majesty. I didn't mean that." I say, "I know, Elyar. You are just concerned. Don't worry, I can handle one or two easily." Elyar says, "Be careful, your majesty." I say, "Sure. Now, stand up." Elyar stands up.

A man who seems to be the general of Elora says, "We can't accept your suggestion, King Agni." I ask, "And why is that?" The General of Elora says, "His Majesty doesn't involve himself in battle." Darknia shouts, "So, your king doesn't know how to fight!" Every soldier of Alnovir starts laughing. 

The scene When you are standing on a battlefield and almost one hundred thousand enemy soldiers are laughing at your king. That sure is painful. 

After a moment, Elyar shouts, "Stop laughing, soldiers. Don't embarrass your enemy before war; they will say that's the reason they lost. And be more kind to them. They don't have a king like his majesty. Their king doesn't know how to fight. He only knows how to eat." Elyar burst into laughter at the last word of the sentence. My soldiers laugh for another round. 

I shout, "Children of Alnovir, that's enough. Now, General of Elora, I have another suggestion for you. Five of the best warriors of Elora against only me. What do you say?"

Elyar shouts, "What are you saying, your majesty!"

The general of Elora laughs and says, "Sure!" He calls out four names. Five of them get down from their horses and walk to the middle of the battlefield. All of them are holding swords.

Elyar says, "Your majesty, don't." I say, "I'll be fine, Elyar. Don't worry." One of the five enemies says, "Now, don't back away from your words, king." They laugh. 

I walk towards them and stand 10 feet away from them. I clench my fists and raise them in front of my face and say, "I don't back away from my words." The general of Elora says, "What! No weapon? Do you have a death wish?" I smile and say, "I don't have any weapons to fight with you. Now attack me with everything you've got, all at once." One of them says, "Let's cut this arrogant boy into pieces." They run towards me.

They are slow. From all these months of rescuing helpless souls, I realized the truth of my strength, speed, and the power of my dark blue flame. But I always respect the quote, "Never underestimate your enemies." 

I push the ground with my toes and get close to them in the blink of an eye. I strike a punch on the nose of the general who is in the middle. Then I quickly hit the face of the warrior on his left with my right hand's elbow. After that I strike a kick on an ear of the warrior on the very left. 

I stand on the ground and again push the ground with my toes and get close to the remaining two warriors. I grab their heads and hit them with each other. 

Soldiers of Alnovir are cheering for me. Soldiers of Elora are shocked to witness the five best of their warriors, including the general, dead so soon. I go back to Elyar. Elyar says, "Marvelous as always, your majesty." Darknia gives me a cloth. I wipe my face and hands. The blood is everywhere.

I say loudly, "Soldiers of Elora. The fight is over. Go back to your kingdom." One of the soldiers of Elora shouts, "If anyone returns to Elora without victory, he will be killed anyway. So, let's die with pride as soldiers. Attack everyone." The soldiers of Elora start running towards us with their weapons.

I am shocked to hear his statement. What kind of monster is the king of Elora? 

Elyar says, "Your majesty, please give our soldiers the honor to fight for their home. You should rest here." I say, "But I can't. If you are all fighting, then...." One of our soldiers says, "Please let us fight, your majesty. We are more than capable. We are children of Alnovir. We will protect our kingdom." I sigh and say, "Alright then. But be careful. They will fight without giving a thought to live." Elyar says, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. None of us will die today." Elyar shouts, "For Alnovir!" Every soldier of Alnovir shouts, "For Alnovir!" Then our soldiers join the battle.

After almost an hour, I hear a faded voice saying, "Your majesty! Your majesty!" 

Maybe the voice is coming from the Whispermoon. I've brought the Whispermoon in a bag. I open the bag and pull out the Whispermoon. The Whispermoon is glowing. Any spy of Alnovir is trying to contact me. He is saying, "Your majesty? Can you hear me?" I say, "I can hear you." 

- "Thank God! I am Zoryean, Your Majesty. Are you in the battlefield?"

- "Yes, Zoryean. Why?"

- "Is Lady Vaelya with you?"

My heart suddenly aches for a strange reason. I say, "No. She is in the palace. Why?" Zoryean says, "Please return to the palace immediately, your majesty."

- "Why? What happened?"

- "I just found out The Sanctus Dominion's secret plan. They are keeping you far from the palace, using Elora soldiers. In the meantime, the Sanctus Dominion's assassin will target the one whom his majesty loves most. Meaning, they are after Lady Vaelya. Their plan is to destroy you, Your Majesty. Please return the palace now." 

Elyar says, "What happened, your majesty? You seem to be tense." I tell him everything. Elyar says, "Those...!!" Your majesty, we can handle it here. Please return to the palace now." I say, "Alright, Elyar. I am resting this responsibility on you." Elyar says, "I won't disappoint you, your majesty." 

I say, "Darknia. To the palace, now!" Darknia already heard everything. She starts the Chariot. 

Please God, let her be safe.