Chapter 1 ( The last knight, Volume 1 )

The five hundred remaining troops of Westbank stood trapped on the muddy field, completely surrounded on all sides. Rain hammered down like arrows from the gods themselves.

“General… what should we do now?” A knight’s voice cracked with exhaustion as he knelt beside the defeated figure.

General Kai remained on one knee, head bowed, his once-proud armor splattered with blood and mud. His reply came low, hollow, carrying only the weight of finality.

“There is nothing left to do.”

The knight rose slowly, his legs trembling from hours of fighting. With a final surge of defiance, he tightened his grip on his sword and drew it free, the steel scraping loudly in the downpour.

“If I die today,” he growled, “I will die with honor.”

A deafening crack of thunder split the sky, as if the heavens themselves were mocking their courage.

“Honor won’t save us,” General Kai whispered.

His own sword slipped from his numb fingers and fell into the mud with a dull splash.

“This… is our inevitable end.”

In the next heartbeat, the Eastern army surged forward like a black flood thousands of screaming soldiers crashing toward them, hungry to drown what remained of Westbank’s last stand.

In the grand capital of Westbank, the city of Queen Ariya, the throne room felt colder and emptier than ever.

The Royal Knight knelt low before Solen  the youngest son of the late Lord VII  his forehead nearly touching the cold marble floor.

“My lord… the troops we sent for investigation have been massacred. Not a single man returned.”

The words echoed through the vast, silent hall like a death sentence.

Solen’s face remained still, but his knuckles turned white on the armrest of the throne.

“Anyone survived?” he asked quietly.

“No one, my lord. We have lost fifty thousand men… and General Kai.”

The knight rose after the deepest bow, his armor still stained from the long ride back.

Solen stared out through the enormous window that dominated the hall. In the far distance, the Riverside District shimmered under gray skies, the wide river cutting like a scar between the two empires.

“Increase the defenses in the Riverside District at once,” Solen ordered, his voice steady despite the storm inside him.

“As you wish, my lord.”

The moment the knight’s footsteps faded, Solen leaned back on the throne, alone in the echoing hall. His gaze remained fixed on the distant river.

“Decisions born from anger always lead to defeat…” he murmured to the empty room.

The river that had once been a peaceful border between Eastbank and Westbank was now the most dangerous place in the known world. 

For reasons no one in Westbank fully understood, the East had suddenly declared war.

Solen closed his eyes for a moment, pain flickering across his young face.

“General Kai… today I lost one of my most loyal generals. Rest easy, my friend.”

Back on the blood-soaked battlefield, the last echoes of steel had fallen silent. Every knight of Westbank lay dead in the mud, their banners trampled and torn.

General Kimar of Eastbank strode through the carnage, his boots splashing in crimson puddles. He stopped beside the fallen form of General Kai and let out a low, mocking chuckle.

“Kai… Kai… Kai… You were a pain in the ass, old friend. But now? Even if the Goddess herself descended to save you, I wouldn’t allow it.”

General Kai was not dead yet. Barely breathing, he lay on his back, rain mixing with blood on his face. 

With great effort, he turned his head and saw the brave knight from earlier the one who had chosen honor now lifeless in the mud. 

A pang of grief hit him; he wished he could bury the man properly.

“You killed thousands of my men,” Kai rasped, his voice trembling from exhaustion, “but none died like a coward.”

Kimar threw his head back and laughed. His troops joined in, their voices ringing across the field.

“I see. Call me whatever you want, Westbank dog. Right now, you’re the one lying in the mud  not me, and not my soldiers.”

Kimar raised his sword high, the blade glinting under the stormy sky.

“Rest in hell!”

With a single, brutal strike, General Kai’s life ended.

Among the sea of dead Western knights, one man still breathed  the last survivor. He lay perfectly still, pretending to be another corpse, eyes barely open through the curtain of rain.

“Burn all the dead bodies!” Kimar ordered loudly. “Cut off their limbs first, then burn them all. I’ll take Kai’s head as my trophy.”

His soldiers roared in approval and began their grim work, swords swinging as if the bodies were nothing more than tall grass.

The last living knight of Westbank breathed slowly, trying to stay silent. All around him lay the bodies of his brothers  men he had laughed with, fought beside, bled with.

He could hear the Eastern soldiers drawing closer, their blades hacking through flesh and bone. His heart pounded heavier with every step. Closer… closer…

“Stop!!!” Kimar’s voice suddenly cut through the chaos.

The soldiers froze.

“That one is still alive,” Kimar said, a cruel smile spreading across his face.

Instead of ordering his death, he gestured. “Bring him here.”

Rough hands grabbed the knight and dragged him through the mud. He was too weak to stand, his body limp as they hauled him before the Eastern general.

“Look at him,” Kimar sneered. “Death would be a gift for this one right now.”

His soldiers burst into loud, mocking laughter.

“Your so-called brothers are all dead. Your leader is dead. And you… hiding among corpses like a rat. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

The humiliation burned worse than any wound. The entire Eastern army surrounded him, laughing, pointing, jeering.

“Go on, run,” Kimar said with fake mercy. “I will not kill a weakling today. Killing women isn’t my style.”

The knight lifted his head with the last of his strength, eyes blazing even as his body failed him.

“Leaving me alive… will be your biggest mistake.”

His words were weak, barely a whisper, yet they carried unexpected weight.

Kimar and his men only laughed harder.

“Aww, what are you going to do? Look at him  he can’t even stand!”

Kimar shoved the knight roughly toward the pile of his fallen brothers.

“See? This is what happens when you try to go against me.”

The man could do nothing but endure the shame, rain and tears mixing on his mud-caked face.

“Leave this coward alive,” Kimar finally ordered, waving dismissively. “We head back to the Empire!”

As the Eastern army began to march away, the rain pounded relentlessly on the battlefield. Some bodies had already been set alight; flames hissed and struggled against the downpour, sending black smoke curling into the gray sky.

The lone knight crawled slowly to the headless body of General Kai. He placed a trembling hand on the general’s chest plate and whispered through gritted teeth:

“I will avenge everyone… no matter what.”

His voice grew stronger with each word, filled with unbreakable resolve. “It is my Heavenly Vow.”

Note about the Heavenly Vow:

A powerful contract that grants immense strength, but the person will die once their purpose is fulfilled.