When the sun was high, right above the world, the battle at the magnificent city of Crown also reached its peak as the people mustered up behind their new Liege and counterattacked the besiegers.

  The war chants rang over the streets of Midlake as the massive force of militia marched toward the main camp of invaders.

  "By the serene lake, we settle! The mother who gives us food and luxe!

  The rough riders have stopped the hoofs! And built roofs!

  Here we are on a green vast plain! Rose a city strong and safe!

  By descendants of Dane who we trust! We ride and rule till we unite this land!

  The Glory and Mighty, Home of Crown!

  We shall stand for centuries to come!"

  Each resonance returning from the sturdy brick wall and lovely wooden building resolved their hearts to keep marching.

  The strong beat echoed their unyielding spirit.

  "I can't believe it. These ragtag peasants, their only companions to battle are their worn-out weapons against the mightier and sturdier polearms of Temple. Yet, I don't see a hint of fear in them. Why do I feel like I won't lose even with just them? Strange, isn't it?" Arthur spoke out his feelings to Luther who was riding beside him at the head of the crowd.

  While Cleo and the heavy cavalry were regrouping at the hospital, the infantry marched ahead of them. Luther's militia and a unit of Spellcasters led by Igüan were integrated as the elite forces into the infantry but they were few compared to Temple's elite units. Even so, they marched continuously with little resistance from the forces of Temple.

  "We may be a ragtag army. But our number is superior to theirs by two to one. It is only logical that they are on the back foot." Abel showed her confidence in her people. "Only if it is that simple," muttered Arthur.

  With sporadic fighting along the way, they reached five blocks away from the wall where the Retribution Army took over. "Five more blocks from the wall. After this curve, we will see the wall. We will take back what is ours and kick those bastards out." Luther boosted the morale of his army before they entered the battle.

  While they were crying taunts at the enemies they had not seen yet, they heard a loud rumbling sound from a near distance. The sky also turned dark suddenly. They looked up and found clouds made of rocks blanketing over them.

  "Danger above!" Arthur warned his army, "brace yourselves!"

  The sudden colossal danger broke the order within the undisciplined army. The forces of the Crown mostly made up of untrained civilians failed to disperse orderly. They pushed each other, crushing onto weaker people.

  The Spellcasters reacted quickly. They shot fireballs to blow the rocks apart. Some conjured counter-wind which slowed down the fall and minimised the damage.

  "A High Templer on top of that building! The one with the fan in his hand is the one doing this! He took out half of my unit earlier!" An archer, who recognised the danger that Templer posed, alerted his commanders. He noticed that that Templer was the same person who bombarded the aerial assault earlier at the city hospital.

  When the archer mentioned 'High Templer', he unintentionally spooked the crowd. The innard fear of the public to High Templer was brought up to surface.

  "A High Templer!?" "Run! We don't stand a chance against such power." "Get inside to take cover." "Out of my way, idiots." The big ragtag army started to crumble in the face of immense power.

  "Hold! Hold your position! Don't run or push. Stay in formation." Arthur reminded his army to stay calm. A chaotic retreat would be abysmal for an army without discipline. "Those at the side take cover in the buildings first. Those in the middle, remain where you are and help the injured. We also have spellcasters on our side. Don't panic!" Arthur tried his best to keep his army intact but only his voice turned hoarse. It did not break through the fear of people.

  At that moment, a thunderous clap echoed across the road causing everyone to stoop. The culprit was Luther. He took the boomstick from Abel and shot pointing to the sky. He got the attention in an unconventional way.

  "You bloody idiots! Even if you are not a hero who can defeat a thousand enemies, don't become a person who kills your brother-in-arms. Don't step on your own men. Help those in need of aid. Pull them up and get injured to safety first. The rest. Put your arms over your heads and cover. We will pass this together!"

  Luther took the helm of the army as Arthur watched silently. Arthur was proud of how much his son had grown.

  After his speech, Luther threw back the gun to Abel, "shoot him down." "On it."

  Abel took the loaded one from her squire and aimed at the High Templer above the building at the front. The boomstick squad consisted of ten gunners also took a shot.

  However, the metal pellets failed to reach the target on top of the building over a hundred meters away.

  The archers picked up the task the boomstick unit failed. The arrows swooshed through the air and headed to the target. But as soon as they reached the High Templer, they all wobbled and dropped to the ground as if there was an invisible field of shield around the premise of the Templer.

  Unyielding, Abel gave another shot. This time, she aimed a little higher. The metal pellet travelled in a great arch and miraculously reached the top. Even the mighty High Templer was startled as his subordinate had to step in to take it down with an arrow.

  "Another Templer? An archery specialist with a vision equal to an eagle. This is going to be tough," muttered Abel.

  Soon, they saw three more Templers showed up one by one by the side of the High Templer. One had a battle axe, another with a broadsword, and the last one had a long spear. Below them, on the road, was a small but well-trained army coming over the curve.

  "Tough? It seems like you have given a hasty remark, Abel. The other three also seem to be extraordinarily stronger than your average Templers. This is going to be more than just tough. This will be an arduous one." Arthur corrected Abel's remark after he saw five High Templers and an army standing before them. "It seems that some big dogs from our enemies are tired of waiting, and come out to fight. Without her majesty and champion, we will be wiped out at this rate."

  "But we have them with us."

  "Yes, we do have them. And they don't know it."

  After the battle at the city hospital, Cleo and Ethan pretended to stay behind while the infantry marched ahead with heavy cavalry catching up later. The Royal tent bearing the banner of House Eclair was set up at the field as if the hospital was served to be the frontline command base. The set-up made the scouts from Temple believe so.

  The ragtag army made of peasants and citizens became an appealing target for the Retribution Army. They sent out an elite detachment to destroy the newly-formed army of Crown before Ethan and heavy cavalry joined. The Temple did not know that Cleo, Ethan and Dovos were secretly hiding among the peasants.

  "Ethan, it is time." Cleo signalled her best fighter.

  "Alright. You guys meet me at the rooftop," said Ethan. He lowered himself in a squatting position as he prepared to jump. The veins bulged like pipes as he contracted his core and thigh muscles.

  Cleo stopped him as he seemed to be in a hurry. "Wait. You can't go alone. It is dangerous. Let's go up the stairs together. Igüan and Abel are still at the front. We have to wait for them."

  "No. Look above. That man is channelling another big spell. I have to stop him now or it will be too late."

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  By reinforcing his muscles with divinity, Ethan leapt into the air and landed on the three-storeyed building alone.

  "Must be nice not needing to go up the stairs," Envied Dovos while Cleo was frustrated at Ethan for not listening to her.

  "Look who is here. Ethanial. I was disappointed when my scouts told me you were not here. You have no idea how glad I am to meet you," welcomed High Templer with the fan when he saw Ethan. "You were a foal who can't even fight a mantila properly when we first met(ref. Ch6). Now, you have become a Hero, the Champion. Quite an interesting fellow you are." The High Templer with the fan reminisced the old times. "By the way, you remember me, right?" Asked the High Templer.

  "Of course. How could I forget? High Templer Faün and his four horsemen. The best hunters of Temple. While I barely survived the mantila, you were playing with it like a sport. Since then, I have been dying to cross swords with you guys."

  "Oh... aren't you an ambitious one? But you are overestimating yourself too much now that they call you 'Champion'."

  "We will see." Challenged Ethan confidently.

  As soon as Ethan challenged them, Archili the archer gave a welcome shot as a teaser. Ethan dodged the swift attack by slightly tilting to the side. The arrow flew past his head and went into the thick wall behind Ethan.

  Alexel the axeman threw a sneak attack under the cover of his brother's shot. He predicted where Ethan would dodge his brother's attack and jumped onto Ethan. He swung his axe.

  Ethan stopped Alexel's attack with his hand instead of his sword. He knew that the edge of that battleaxe would break his claymore even if he reinforced it. So, he took a step into Alexel's inner circle, grabbed the handle and pulled aside. With another hand, he formed an ice spike and drilled into Alexel's face.

  In a split second, Alexel evaded his demise by giving up his axe and letting the wind conjured by Faün carry him away.

  "Impressive," complimented Faün after Ethan defeated the twin brothers' attack, "Let's see if you can keep up." Faün increased the challenge for Ethan.

  Reilly the spearman stepped forward. Then, he vanished and appeared before Ethan.

  "Thunder spear," Reilly muttered. The powerful strike penetrated the armour of Ethan as if the steel was just a thick cloth for Reilly. But it missed Ethan's flesh as Ethan managed to evade it instinctively.

  Ethan nearly kissed goodbye to his life if he hadn't learned the wind-stepping technique from Sir Raün whom he defeated. The blade of the spear brushed his waist near the liver. Still, Ethan felt a sting throughout his body. He noticed the hairs on his forearms standing. "He embedded lightning energy in his spear. If I caught its handle like I did with the axe, I would have been ..."

  Ethan noticed the danger and leapt away not to get shocked. He was in steel armour so any lightning spell user was bad news for him.

  However, as he was in mid-air, he felt he was being pulled toward the guy as big as Dovos by an unknown force.

  "Do it, Broody." His men cheered. "Slice him in half."

  Ethan saw Broody was waiting to cut him in half with his massive broadsword. He reinforced the claymore with divinity and blocked Broody's with the thickest part of his claymore so that it did not break. He used his other hand to support the block and repel it.

  However, no matter how much he used force, he couldn't get out of the grip. The unknown force kept pulling him in. The source was the broadsword in Broody's hand.

  Reilly was also coming for him again. If he wanted to evade Reilly's attack, he had to give up his sword. He would be disarmed. He fell into a tight spot and there was no way out. He was alone against five enemies. He regretted not listening to Cleo.

  At that moment,

  BANG!!!

  A roar resonated across the skyline of Midlake. The metal pellet brushed the left arm of Broody releasing Ethan from the spell.

  As soon as he was released, Ethan spun his claymore and parried the attack from Reilly. He couldn't believe he got out alive.

  "How dare you bully my friend while he is alone? Aren't you guys pathetic, ganging up on one guy!?"

  The loud husky voice of Dovos appeared from the black smoke first before the body had arrived.

  Dovos continued, "Ethan, we have your back now. Your gang have arrived. Let's beat some asses, together."

  "Right. Don't look back. Do what you want. I will cover you," said Igüan.

  "Why are you guys so loud when you haven't done anything? I was the one who shot that shot." Abel complained to them for being so loud from her cover.

  When Ethan saw his friends had come to help, his fear dispersed like a clear sky. "Took you guys long enough."

  "Well, we can't skip the stairs like you, so," Cleo argued with Ethan who complained. She was still angry at him.

  The only quiet person on Ethan's squad was Luther.

  "Interesting weapon of war you have there, woman. Just as the Grand Templer is afraid, science is catching up to the power of spells. But I don't think it will change much on the battlefield for now. Two worthless soldiers, two mediocre spellcasters, and a warrior queen. I am sad that that's the squad of The Champion." Mocked Faün at Ethan and his friends, "they are just a bunch of noisy lots."

  Ethan took the initiative this time as he was no longer afraid of being surrounded. He dashed toward the most annoying one, Reilly. The lightning spell which could cook him in one touch was a big threat to Ethan who was in full armour. Without him, Ethan could fight the rest freely so the lightning spearman became Ethan's first pick.

  Luther accessed the situation quickly and ordered Abel to shoot Alexel who was near Reilly. Abel followed as she was told and interrupted Alexel from helping Reilly.

  The archer retaliated at Abel and Luther but Igüan stood in front of them like an impregnable wall. The arrow Archili shot was so strong, that Igüan felt a shocking pain in his forearm and elbow when it hit the shield. Yet he did not waver. He was ready to take another. A hundred more if it was for Abel.

  Luther chose Broody as Dovos's opponent.

  "Sound about right. Big guy to big guy. Stop eyeing Ethan. I shall be your opponent." Dovos challenged Broody.

  Meanwhile, Luther told Cleo to take on the strongest opponent, Faün. He knew Cleo could not defeat Faün alone but being the swiftest fighter in the group, Cleo was best suited to hinder the wind spell user like Faün. "Don't try to beat him. Just harass him so that he can't bother Ethan."

  "Sure. I have no intention to suicide. I know my limit." Cleo headed out for Faün.

  Just like Cleo, Luther also knew his limit. He had accepted his shortcomings as a non-spellcaster. He might have defeated small-time Templers in the past but he knew he would just be a hindrance to the team in the high-level fight. He grew to accept things as they were and help out as best as he could. He rendered strategies for the team.

  "Oh. The beautiful queen of Midland wants to fight me? I am fluttered," joked Faün when Cleo challenged him, "it has been a long time since I last danced with a beautiful lady. I shall gladly accept your invitation." Faün promised to dance with Cleo instead of helping his colleagues.

  As no one would bother him anymore, Ethan boldly took on Reilly, "Let's see what you've got now that you won't have any help." Ethan mocked Reilly who nearly killed him earlier with the help of Broody.

  Reilly tried to stop the advance of Ethan with his range advantage of the spear. With rapid successive thrusts, he deterred Ethan or so he hoped. Ethan played a surprise move by conjuring a big block of ice on the tip of Reilly's spear. Although the ice was melted within seconds by the heat from the lightning spell, that three seconds was enough for Ethan to get inside Reilly's inner circle of defence with wind-steps and end Reilly.

  Ethan's next target was Alexel who came a little late to help Reilly. Alexel's attacks were swifter and stronger with twin axes than the two-handed battleaxe from earlier. They were more brutal and threatening. Alexel was like a berserking bull targeting full-on his tail. The arrows from Archili also sporadically came toward Ethan without going for Abel and Igüan so Ethan was on back foot. Whenever he tried to counterattack Alexel, Archili's arrow would hinder him. Ethan had no choice but to keep dodging until he managed to find a way to get out of the loop.

  "Abel, help Ethan." Luther, who was in full overseer mode, saw Ethan and asked Abel to give a support fire from the back.

  At Luther's command, Abel shot Alexel. The metal pellet headed toward the leg but was shot down in mid-air. "Tsk* that damn archer. How can he even see it?" As Abel suspected, Archili proved to be the biggest hassle. "We ought to do something to that archer or we will lose," Abel warned Luther.

  Luther racked his brain when he saw Archili nocking another arrow. He closed his eyes and constructed the battlefield from a bird-eye view. He imagined them as pieces on board like his father Arthur taught. He found an answer, "Igüan, switch with Dovos and take that broadsword guy! Dovos! Do your thing and get the archer!" He swiftly adapted the strategy.

  Upon his command, Igüan hurriedly swapped roles with Dovos. Igüan's wooden shield was perfect against Broody's magnetic ability. His shield could not be manipulated by Broody like the hammer of Dovos or Ethan's claymore.

  As his back was safe and well protected by Igüan, Dovos locked on Archili as his target. He swang his warhammer into the air and crowed, "Quakadoladoo!"

  A slam from his hammer rocked the building they were on. A big crack appeared where the hammer hit and travelled across the rooftop toward Archili. When the massive destructive force reached the end where it could no longer travel, it exploded in full force bringing down the roof of the building along with Archili who was on top of it.

  With the archer gone, Ethan was freed.

  "Finally, that annoying archer is gone," said Ethan with a grin, "there is a debt you have to pay. I am taking it back now."

  Ethan changed his stance as soon as the arrows were gone. He took a step forward shifting all his weight to the front. He swang diagonally upwards from the left. When Alexel saw Ethan's claymore at the side, he took it as an opening and struck vertically.

  "No, you aren't," Alexel replied. He confidently predicted his win as he had a lesser swing circumference than Ethan. His axes would reach first and chop Ethan to death. However, his calculation was far from reality.

  Ethan boosted his swing with a wind spell and landed on Alexel first. The edge of Ethan's blade cut from the right elbow to the left forearm; mutilating Alexel.

  "You should have kept your hands away. This is payback for what you did to my woman(ref:ch6). You will never use your dirty hands again!" Roared Ethan. Then, he twisted his blade and slashed. The tip of Claymore slipped into Alexel's neck spewing blood. Alexel tried to put pressure on his neck in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding but his hands were not with him anymore either. For a split second, Alexel forgot his arms were already cut off. Fail to accept his fate, Alexel dropped to the ground in anguish.

  "Only three more," said Ethan as he locked on his next target. There were only Faün, Archili, and Broody left, although Broody was the only one left on the roof of the same building.

  Ethan saw everyone except Cleo was onto Broody. Archili was still under the pile of rubbles. "Cleo? Is she fighting Faün alone at the building across?" A sense of worry hit Ethan. When he turned to Faün, a figure swiftly flew past him. The figure stopped when it hit the wall.

  The figure turned out to be Cleo.