TWO YEARS AGO

"More!" Captain Gildas yells, "You think you'll be able to save your sister with that attitude!"

"I'm exhausted!" Marcus exclaims barely able to stand, one knee slowly sinking in the mud and his clothes getting heavier as the rain continues to pour, "We have been practicing this since morning!"

"A battle with the enemy could last for days without sleep!" Captain Gildas kicks mud into Marcus' face and attacks, "You will be weak! you will be exhausted! you will be standing in front of Death's door" He delivers deadly blows which Marcus is lucky to deflect.

Marcus stands up and pushes Captain Gildas back, recovering his stance and will. 

"Why do we have to do this now!?" Marcus breathes heavily as he feels that he is near the point of breaking, "And why is Dello here while the rest are running in the mountains?" He shouts out to Dello who is standing under a tree out of the rain.

"He's suppose to be next after you but since you haven't given up yet" Captain Gildas smirks, "I want him to see you suffer" He attacks Marcus again and  this time Marcus crosses blades with him, now it is a battle of strength.  

"I won't give up! and I won't suffer!" Marcus gives it all his got to push back Captain Gildas' sword but the Captain notices it and kicks him in the leg, Marcus falls down to the mud and Captain Gildas points the end of his sword at Marcus' neck. "That was a dirty trick!"

"That is reality boy!" Captain Gildas kicks away Marcus' sword and stares at him deeply, "Truth is the demons will do anything to kill you! Just like what they did to your family!" 

Captain Gildas' words feel more sharp than any blade and heavier to the heart than any rock. Marcus closes his eyes and Captain Gildas assumes that he has conceded and accepted defeat. He removes his sword from Marcus' neck and walks away. 

"Marcus, there will be those who will stand in your way when you go after your sister" Captain Gildas looks up and stares at the rain clouds slowly passing with the sun hinting that it will show its face again, "Your friends, fellow IronGuard and the demons will stand in your way, if you can't defeat me, defeat all those that stand in your way then" He looks at Marcus who is still down on the mud, "You can forget about taking your sister back!"

Marcus' eyes explodes open as if lightning hits him in the heart, shocking life back into his body. His fingers slowly twitching in the mud, his heart beating faster and faster and his mind goes dark but comes quickly the face of his sister, her face, her smile and her eyes telling him Come for me.

"Dello! Get your gear, you're up next!" Captain Gildas cleans his sword with a cloth but Dello is not moving, "What are you waiting for? I said you're up nex-"

"Captain" Dello nervously points at Marcus and Captain Gildas turns back.

"Well, well what do we have here" Captain Gildas chuckles, "It seems he just don't know when to giv-" He notices Marcus' eyes blank as a piece of paper but has a clearer message than any letter.

 I will take my sister back! 

Captain Gildas' sword hand trembles and slightly loses his grip for a moment. He looks up the sky and sees the sun shining again and as he is under the tree covered by its shadow. Marcus is standing on the open field with the light shining upon him. Not a very superstitious man but this time Captain Gildas thinks that the heavens are trying to say something. He only laughs in excitement and raises his blade.

"This boy really is something" Captain Gildas whispers, "Alright Marcus! Seems you've got some energy left let us see what you can do from here" 

Captain Gildas steps out of the shadows and continues his duel with Marcus. The day ended with no clear winner but only the three of them know the true result. 

The Present

Marcus faces the beast with utter will and power and those around him can feel it, they almost feel worried about what Marcus would do to the poor thing, even the other minions watching, vile and uncontrollable as they are, can't move an inch. Liana and the other nobles stare at the scene with confused and arrogant faces, some of them think they can face the beast themselves but Marcus stole the moment from them while some think why a low life farm boy like him thinks he can beat a monster like that and worse is some of them want Marcus to get torn apart brutally by it but as for the other recruits and the soldiers the only hope they're clinging on now is Marcus. 

"Show them, Marcus. Show them the strength of the new IronGuard" Dello whispers but Liana overhears him.

The monster seemed to have lost its patience and attacks Marcus with a swing of its claws but one second Marcus is there and next he is isn't, little did the it know Marcus is already under him and has already cleaved his sword its belly. 

Everyone fell in awe with Marcus' unbelievable speed, they were all too busy looking at the claws and not at Marcus. It cries out in pain as Marcus digs his sword deeper into its flesh and the awful stench of minion blood is like a rotten corpse already. The monster attacks again and faster this time but Marcus dodges it and he makes the monster pay by cutting off its arm with a solid downward strike of his long sword and again the monster cries out even louder as the pain is unimaginable. It drops to its knees because of the unbearable pain but takes one last attack at Marcus with its last arm but Marcus cuts it off as well. Now arm less, it can stare at Marcus whose eyes still grow fiercer and deadlier. 

Two minions attack Marcus in anger but they are killed by Dello and FInn. Now Marcus aligns his blade with the beast's neck and ready to slice its throat, all he has to do is slide his sword and the sharp blade will cut through easily on its wavering flesh but Marcus regains a bit of consciousness and knows that he has inflicted enough pain on this poor creature that had no choice but to follow the demons but with everyone watching how could he spare this thing that could one day return and kill more people. Marcus concludes his thoughts and decides to let it go, he lowers his sword and waves his head telling it to go but suddenly a long sword pierces its back and cuts through its chest. 

"Pathetic farm boy" Ginrad mutters as he twists his blade inside the thing making sure that it dies, "I have slain it! Now onward soldiers. Attack!" He orders with a loud voice but only the noble children react to him with small cheers while the soldiers continues the fight but with little momentum because of what Ginrad did. Ginrad pulls the thing to the ledge of the wall and throws it away. He bursts out an arrogant laugh at Marcus. 

"Stupid farm boy!" he shouts and still laughing, "I can't believe you were going to let it go" 

"It was no longer a threat!" Dello exclaims, "You stole Marcus' victory!"

"Stole? I just took an opportunity that he let pass" Ginrad replies, smirking at them and encouraging the nobles to laugh with him and they do but suddenly the air turns sour and cold.

"A low life would always be a low life" Ginrad still standing near the ledge continues to laugh, "mercy is for the weak..." 

Finally he notices that their faces have changed, they seem to be scared and worried so he looks at Marcus thinking if Marcus will attack him but no, Marcus is not even looking at him. Suddenly this cold chill blows behind him and the air is filled with the smell of a rotting corpse. He looks down and sees a shadow bigger than his own. 

"Mercy is for the weak you say?" a dreadful voice behind him says, "I agree with you" 

Ginrad freezes in terror, he can feel the chill running up his spine. His hands tremble and his feet can't move, he wants to turn around but his body won't allow him. 

"It's just that, you killed my dear friend and threw him off the wall" the dreadful voice continues, "So I'll have no mercy to you"

The tip of a long sword pierces the base of Ginrad's neck and continues down his spine. Everyone can hear the awful sound of flesh being sliced inside him and the blood starts pouring out of his mouth and back. Ginrad drops to the ground and falls facing upward and there he sees black cloak, black hood, black armor with a covered face and a solid black steel long sword hanging on its waist, standing on the merlon. He just realized that the sword used on him is his own. Ginrad dies seconds after touching the ground.

"Marcus what do we do?" Dello asks but his voice breaks with every word, "I don't want to die"

One enemy after another. The young IronGuard recruits now face what they have been truly training for but can they truly defeat an enemy that killed ten highly experienced knights. Marcus has to decide whether to fight or to run, either way many will die and the fate of Perion rests on this battle. 

HI! THANK YOU FOR READING! PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT IF YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER AND OF COURSE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR READING BUDDIES. :)

SORRY FOR THE LATE PUBLISH BECAUSE i ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO POST THIS YESTERDAY BUT i HAD SECOND THOUGHTS SO i REWROTE IT JUST THIS DAY :)

HOPE YOU WILL CONTINUE READING! NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE POSTED NEXT WEEK. THANK YOU AGAIN :)