The Union

The moon was beautiful. Tomorrow it should be more so, Rickard thought. Behind him, soldiers marched in a line that stretched as far as the horizon. The line moved like a snake, hunting for its prey. The heavy hooves of warhorses shook the earth, the clinking of their armor disturbed the peace of the night. Rickard filled his lungs, and savored the aroma of the wind. The smell of steel… forebodes the coming harvest of blood and vengeance. They are the knights of Tulosa, harbingers of death.

This was the same road General Kingston took 15 years ago. The general tried his luck, but failed. He brought 20,000 Tulosans with him, but only a few returned. His failure was mocked by those d.a.m.n Castonians. Little did they know, they only got lucky. If those d.a.m.n n.o.bles 15 years ago hadn"t schemed against the King, the expedition would have succeeded. The Castonians act like their strength and valor made them win, whereas it was actually the Tulosan n.o.bles who made them victorious.

Rickard doesn"t care who started the war. He doesn"t care who was right or wrong. He felt wronged. Tulosa"s pride was dragged to the mud. The Castonians have mocked them for so long, even naming one of their castles Knightsend! Well what did they expect? General Kingston back then was forced to a.s.sault the castle, that"s why he lost. They think that they destroyed the Knights, but it was the walls of the castle that defeated the Knights. Now, 40,000 soldiers marched behind him, half of which were on horseback. He also brought thousands of Knights with him. Every single one of them felt the same, their eyes glowing with hatred. Castonia would face a united and stronger Tulosa. They would tremble and cower upon hearing the thunderous charge of their horses. Their bodies will line the field, for a Tulosan"s charge was a force of nature, unstoppable and merciless. And Tulosa was not alone this time. Vengeance was long overdue- 15 years to be exact.

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Castle Knightsend

The moon was beautiful. Marvin looked at the moon. He once knew a song about the moon, but now he already forgot most of its lyrics.

The moon da da da give me peace

Make me da da da da da da the sky

Da da da da da in your loving care

Maybe he was getting old? Marvin thought. He doesn"t feel old. Strength still hasn"t left his body. But he was tired. He will probably retire next year. It was time to put his sword down and relax at home, he was still a n.o.ble after all. That fief of his needs maintenance though. His son was too lazy. Marvin smiled, he missed his wife and son. He hadn"t seen them for 2 years. Mark should be 20 now, the same age as his highness Timothy. Speaking of which, his highness should have arrived at the capital by now. Marvin hoped that Timothy would stay at the capital. Knightsend was a dangerous place. Castonia can afford to lose Knightsend, it can be recaptured in the future anyway. But losing a prince as talented as Timothy would be a hard blow for Castonia. The lad had already helped Knightsend a lot. Before Timothy arrived at Knightsend, the garrison had no discipline. But Timothy reformed the garrison into the best soldiers of Castonia.

Well, the decadence of the garrison was partly due to Marvin. He had no courage and strength to discipline the soldiers in the past. When Timothy disciplined the garrison, he also disciplined Marvin. Honestly, being reprimanded by a lad less than half his age was painful. It hurt his pride so much that he wanted to write to the King to complain. But in the end, his respect towards Timothy only grew. The Prince had talent. Marvin couldn"t forget what Timothy said after discovering Knightsend"s state about a year ago. He addressed everyone including the officers, especially the officers.

" Castonia doesn"t need weak men"

It was a single phrase, but it pierced every soldier"s heart. Timothy questioned their purpose. What was their purpose? Why were they at Knigtsend? If a man doesn"t have a purpose, then what is he? He was like evil, no, worse than evil. At least evil had a purpose. Castonia really doesn"t need weak men. If you can"t defend Castonia, then get out of the way of those who could.

Marvin smiled. If only Timothy was the heir. The two older sons of the King were not bad, but Timothy was something else. Castonia needs the leadership of Timothy. These are tough years for the Kingdom.

Just then, Marvin saw two riders coming towards the Castle. The hooves of their mounts scattered the dust like rain. They were in a hurry. After arriving at the front gate, one of the guards asked for the pa.s.sword. Every day, the pa.s.sword was changed.

" Pa.s.sword" The guard demanded. It was a common security check.

" Ninev." One of the riders answered "Open the gates faster, brother. We need to report to General Marvin at once" he said anxiously

The guards wasted no time and opened the gates. The two riders went inside and dismounted. After they saw Marvin, they quickly approached him. They knelt and pounded their chests with their fists as salutation.

" Fifth Scouting Squad reporting sire!" One of the scouts reported

" Report" Marvin said. He had a bad feeling about this. The faces of the scouts were pale. Their voice trembled. Why are they so anxious?

" About an hour ago, our team spotted Tulosans marching sire. They were already crossing the Sinon River when we spotted them. They were soldiers and there"s too many of them for it to be just a raiding party. We are almost certain that it"s an invasion force"

Marvin knitted his brows. So the Tulosans have finally invaded. " What"s your estimate on the numbers?"

" It"s dark so we couldn"t get an accurate estimate. But…" The scout started and hesitated. "I"m certain that there are more than 30,000 of them and half of them are cavalry."

Marvin"s face paled. His eyes grew wide. 30,000! That"s too many! He expected their numbers to not exceed 20,000. And worse, half of them were on horseback! Their situation was bad. Castonia didn"t expect this. He needs to inform the King. He needs to tell everyone.

" Squire!" he shouted as loud as he could

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City of Greenwater, Western Region

Benedict Connel was looking at the ceiling. He couldn"t sleep. This wasn"t the first time he had a difficulty sleeping. Ever since the Royal family took his son away from him a year ago, he had always been thinking of Erik. Erik was his only child. His wife was sickly and almost died when she gave birth to Erik. Since then, the couple decided that Erik would be their last child.

Benedict looked at her wife who was hugging him. She was old, but she was still beautiful. Other people may say that her beauty had already faded, but to Benedict she will always be the beautiful Maria he married.

Suddenly, someone knocked at the door. It was a forceful knock.

" Sire! Sire ! A letter came from Knightsend via carrier pigeon. The seal is red!" his squire called to him

Benedict cursed his squire for disturbing their sleep. Dammit he needs to teach the lad a lesson. He knitted his brows but then the words of the squire finally entered his brain. Did he say Knightsend? Via carrier pigeon? And the seal was red? In an instant Benedict"s heart raced. A letter having a red seal meant that the receiver should immediately read its contents. And if it came from Knightsend, then that could only mean the invasion right?

Benedict jumped out of bed and immediately opened the door. He grabbed the letter from the hand of his squire. The seal of the letter was red and it was from Knightsend. He opened the letter. After reading of its contents, Benedict trembled. He closed his eyes. His thoughts were confirmed.

Marquis Benedict Connel,

Knightsend Castle spotted the Tulosan invasion force. At the time of writing this letter, the enemies are crossing the Sinon River. Our scouts estimated their numbers to be at least 30,000 and half of them are on horseback. Apart from that, no other information is known about them. Knightsend castle is on lockdown. We will defend to our last breaths. Long live Castonia.

General Marvin Blunt

Dear G.o.d! At least 30,000? And half of them are cavalry? This is bad, really bad. If they managed to take Knightsend, then only Castle Timur stood between the enemy and Greenwater.

" Honey, what"s wrong?" Maria asked him

Benedict"s hand was trembling while holding the letter. He turned his head towards Maria.

" Maria." Benedict swallowed. He needs to protect her "I need you to go to the Capital for a while. Greenwater is not safe anymore."