“My dwarf soldiers, are you ready?” Bromgar shouted to the army.

  “Yes!” Every soldier raised their hands and shouted.

  “They killed our children. They killed our women. Is your blood boiling?” Bromgar clenched his fists.

  “Yes!" the soldiers shouted again.

  “Today is the day we bathe their homes in blood.” Bromgar raised his hands too and shouted, “We will kill them all.”

  “Yeahhh!" Everyone cheered.

  Arix was standing beside Bromgar. He turned his eyes toward him. "Kill them all?" Arix thought.

  Tarin was also excited, and Meilie stood still with her staff in her hands.

  “They only mean to kill Nyctona soldiers, right?” Lyra whispered to Arix.

  “I hope so,” Arix whispered back.

  “But remember this, fellas,” Bromgar spoke again.

  “This battle means we will also lose our people. Some of us will die today.”

  Silence fell over the army. Everyone stood there silently, staring at Bromgar.

  “It can be me. It can be you. But that does not mean we will stop today.” Bromgar started pacing back and forth.

  “If losing some of our men means we will gain freedom from the Nyctona, then so be it.”

  Arix also stood there silently, listening to Bromgar’s words.

  “I will gladly give my life for freedom and revenge. Can you do the same?” Bromgar ground his teeth, widened his eyes, and roared at the army.

  "YEAHHHH!" Everyone started shouting and didn't stop for a while.

  They only stopped when Bromgar raised his hand and called out, "Fellas, the old forest is about four hours' march from here. Are you ready?"

  “Yeah…” Everyone shouted again.

  “Then let’s go,” Bromgar said and turned around, facing the road and ready to march.

  Everyone was excited as they started following Bromgar. The ground trembled under their footsteps.

  Arix was walking beside Bromgar with Meilie, Lyra, and Tarin. The rest of the army followed them from behind.

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  “Wow. I haven’t seen an army so excited to go to war before,” Lyra said.

  "On our island, there's only one government. We've never seen war," Lyra said.

  “This is not a war. This is an attack. War is when two armies face each other in battle," Bromgar explained.

  Arix turned toward the army, which was walking in silence.

  Their footsteps matched each other, and everyone walked in rhythm.

  "This is how an army walks," he thought before asking Bromgar, “How many dwarves are here in this army?”

  "Between five and six hundred," Bromgar answered. “Many of our men are still injured, so we can only get this many.”

  "Is that so?" Arix said.

  - - -

  They marched forward for four hours before finally reaching the old forest.

  The trees in the forest were larger than the first forest Arix had landed in.

  The trees stood close together, making the forest look dark and forbidding. They had no branches along their trunks, only thick canopies of leaves at their tops.

  Everyone halted there, waiting for Bromgar’s order to march forward.

  Bromgar stood there, staring into the forest with his hands behind his back.

  After a moment, he called for Balrik, who was standing in the middle of the army.

  Balrik quickly came forward and stood before Bromgar.

  “Do you know the way from here?” Bromgar asked.

  "Yes, Chief. I know the way," Balrik said, looking at the forest.

  “Then guide us,” Bromgar said.

  "Absolutely," Balrik said and moved forward with Bromgar.

  Arix and the group followed them, and the army did too from behind.

  The paths inside the forest twisted and branched in every direction. Every path seemed to lead to someplace new.

  Balrik walked with confidence. He navigated the winding paths with certainty, and the army followed.

  The army was no longer walking in rhythm. They walked in a single line, following Balrik through the twisting paths.

  Arix was at the front with Bromgar and Balrik.

  “Are you sure you know the way? Every path seems the same here in the forest,” Arix said.

  “Don't underestimate a dwarf's memory, boy," Bromgar answered.

  Arix fell silent and kept walking.

  They came across a small river in the forest, which was easy to cross thanks to the narrow bridge over it.

  After another hour of following Balrik through the winding forest paths, they finally reached a settlement.

  The settlement sprawled through the woods—huts on the ground and dwellings built high in the trees.

  “Is this it? Is this where the Nyctona live?” Bromgar asked.

  They were standing at the edge of the settlement, hidden in the trees. No one from the village noticed the army standing at its edge.

  “Yes, Chief. This is it,” Balrik said.

  “This seems quite peaceful. Where are their horses?” Bromgar asked.

  “I don’t know, Chief. But I saw many Nyctona wandering all around when I came here,” Balrik answered.

  “Where are they now?” Arix asked.

  "How should I know?" Balrik snapped. "I scouted their base, I didn't interview them."

  "Well, let's find out." Bromgar unsheathed his sword and raised it slowly. "Stay alert. This could be a trap."

  Everyone picked up their weapons too.

  “The first hundred men will be with me. The rest will wait here in case there's an ambush and will only attack when I signal them. We will blow a horn as the signal. Do you understand?” Bromgar shouted.

  "Yeah!" everyone shouted.

  "Let's move forward. Don't just blindly run in. Move carefully and slowly," Bromgar said, pointing his sword toward the settlement.