“We’re going to need you to come with us,” one of the soldiers said, spear in hand, distance between him and Galvin, and tip pointed right for him. “You are under arrest for conspiring against the king and this land.”

  Galvin stared on. Five soldiers in front of him. The streets empty. He took a step forward, and all of the soldiers shuffled and moved, their faces full of fear and weary of him.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man that spoke to Morwin earlier. Eagerly watching. Him among others. Yes, there were others who got together and talked about Justicar’s activities.

  With Morwin unaware, Galvin had been sending some of his men out. Men who went to the countrysides and looked for suitable towns that could become his under the right conditions. Jovin City had been one of them, one of the cities where dissent for the king was high. Taking over it would have been easy, if Lord De’Shai were not given writ of open passage to this city. He would need to speak to Lord Seldam about those terms at one point.

  “Lower your spears, men,” Galvin said, his voice full of command.

  The soldiers did not budge. He turned to the tattooed man lurking in the shadows. “The time to strike is approaching. Justicar has its hands open for the likes of those who wish not to live under oppression any longer. We can join forces, and we can crush the rule of the king, the man who’s shut us down and used us for many generations. Now’s the time we fight back and reclaim the nation that was ours from the beginning.”

  The soldiers did not move. Scared, yes. But were they scared to the point where they’d lower their weapons and run? Not quite. He needed to do something. Create a spectacle of some kind so men, women, and children alike would see the kind of power Justicar could hold. He had to show them that the king could be beaten, and reignite hope back into the hearts of men, hope which has been gone for ages now.

  Before Morwin and Galvin left, Morwin said the only gemstone they’d take were opals. That was a lie. He led Morwin to believe those were the only gemstones they had, but Galvin had an assortment of them in his pack. In a sack which Morwin couldn’t sense through, and thankfully he didn’t inquire either. A pouch which held an assortment of gemstones inside, which Galvin could use on a whim.

  Galvin Absorbed all of his emeralds at once. He’d been practicing to Absorb and hold more and more essence throughout the years, and Absorbing all the ones he had in his sack filled him to the brim. Every vein in his neck and face bulged. His head became bloated and hot with the power of the tempest.

  “Final warning,” Galvin threatened. He then unsheathed a little of his sword, just enough so the men saw steel and knew he was serious.

  The soldiers charged. All five of them at once, letting out a battle cry. Although Galvin was wanted all throughout Agnius, the king would want him alive; he was much more useful alive than deceased. If he was dead, they would have to snuff out every last member of Justicar, but if they captured him alive, they would have him snuff them out. Galvin didn’t allow for either.

  He focused on Wind and concentrated a blast of power right beneath his feet. He launched himself ten, twenty, thirty feet into the air. At the apex of his jump. He Absorbed the power or ruby, and released the rest of the tempest swarming inside his veins.

  He focused on Fire. Flames started to appear in the air. With the last of the essences from the emerald, a whirlwind appeared in the air, mixed with fire. A burning tornado, descending and reaching the ground.

  The power of the tempest was greater than he could have imagined. The armor the soldiers wore caught fire. They caught fire and began running.

  Galvin Absorbed a little bit more emerald and focused on Wind again, blowing himself out of the sky and straight for one of the soldiers.

  He rammed his sword straight through the soldier’s chest, killing him instantly and dropping his body to the ground, his blood starting to stain the cobblestone streets. The other four soldiers ran away.

  With a wave of his hand, the fire tornado disappeared, vanished into nothingness.

  More soldiers were going to come. He turned to the man in the shadows. “I need gemstones. More are coming. Quick!”

  “Right away!” came his reply. Galvin smiled. This was going to be a lot easier than he thought.

  The man spoke to some children that’d been hiding, watching. They listened intently and nodded before running off. Chaos ensued through the streets. Galvin could hear the rumble in the streets as people marched, weapons in hand. He would be surrounded soon.

  Galvin closed his eyes and breathed in. He exhaled. In. Out. In. Out. He waited patiently for the gems to come. He raised his sword high above his head as the first soldier came. That soldier also held a sword in his hand.

  Before he knew it, the streets were full of soldiers and devoid of citizens. Now would be the time to take Jovin City. Take it for himself and show the people there they no longer needed to listen to the king.

  The last time Justicar had come to Jovin City, plans were thwarted when the Minister of Labor arrived. This time it would be different. This time, he was going to conquer all of this city before Lord Demarian or Lord De’Shai has a chance to even set out.

  He let out a battle cry and charged the first soldier. Galvin held his sword in front of him and steel met steel. He pushed off and with one smooth strike, landed a blow on the bloke’s armor. Then with a swift kick to the chest, the soldier was knocked down. He raised a sword and threatened to bring it down.

  “Any of you take a step closer and he’s as good as dead!” he shouted. Surprisingly, the soldiers froze in their path.

  He took one look at the soldier he just bested. A kid. No more than eighteen years lie there, under the weight of his boot. The other soldiers knew it was just a kid too.

  The children arrived, in their arms a bag full of assorted gems. They threw it onto the street and some of the gems rolled out.

  Galvin smiled.

  The soldiers knew what this meant. One of them rushed for the fallen sack. Galvin was quick to react. He took his boot off the young soldier’s chest, and Absorbed some of the gems inside the sack. A mixture of rubies and amethysts. He focused on Strength and Fire at once. Fires began to start all around him. Fires so hot it burned the air itself. And power came to his body, from head to toe.

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  He charged at the soldier that made his way towards the sack, swinging his sword upward with as much strength as he could muster. Too much strength, apparently. His blade sliced right through the armor of the man. It broke in half and shattered when it hit the ground. And in its place, a frightened man looked on.

  “Dare challenge me?” Galvin whispered.

  “Chaaaaarge!” one of the soldiers called out. A battle cry was let out as all the soldiers that had gathered on the streets began to close on Galvin’s position.

  Galvin quickly tied up the sack and began to fight with one hand holding onto it at all times.

  As he ran out of essence, he would Absorb more from the sack. While fighting, he realized a noticeable lack of diamonds from within. So he wouldn’t be able to increase his speed and kill the soldiers faster.

  Doors to the buildings started to open, and citizens were there to witness the spectacle. The spectacle of Galvin dodging and swinging, moving and intertwining between steel weapons, dodging them with grace, and striking down many men.

  Galvin was a one man army, his blade the ultimate weapon.

  When too many of them got close to him, Galvin Absorbed in some emeralds and focused on Wind, then pushed them outward with a powerful blast of gust, knocking them to their feet.

  He used some more emerald to leap up and out of there, landing on top of a roof.

  Galvin Absorbed all the rubies he could muster. Controlled destruction was what he was after. He felt the raging essence inside his veins, thundering, wanting to be let out in full force. He Absorbed in topaz as well, and the two essences clashed within him. With the topaz, he focused on Ground.

  The earth started to shake. Soldiers struggled to regain balance but fell. Galvin hadn’t focused this hard on his magic in a long time, and the rush of it overjoyed him. He leapt off the building and landed on the ground with a roll and a dash.

  He came face to face with one of the soldiers and swung his sword at him, decapitating him. Then used his body to knock the headless corpse on the ground.

  Amethyst, Invigoration. Strength returned to him. He could feel his endurance keeping up. Ruby, Fire. A stream of flames came out of his hands, scorching the foolish soldiers who’d approached him.

  He turned around and gave a swing before his mind could process what was happening, and his blade caught someone else’s spear.

  The rush of the battle had come full force to him. Suddenly, he felt as if he were on the battlefield again, from ten years ago. When he fought the multitude of men with his Gemming abilities and overcame all of them.

  His sword sank into an unsuspecting someone’s flesh. He yanked it out and kicked the body to the ground.

  Ruby, Power. Aquamarine, Coolness. Two completely opposite gemstones and their essences, swirling and clashing with one another. But Galvin hadn’t practiced Gemming every day of his life for him to not be able to contain the gemstones. He swallowed up their essences, and his mind raced to force them to cooperate with one another, and the results of it were devastating.

  With the power of ruby, focused on Power, and aquamarine, focused on Coolness, he was able to enhance the strength of aquamarine. An icy blast came out on either side of him, freezing charging soldiers in an instant. Then he leapt up with the aid of Wind from emerald, and with topaz’s Ground, landed with a powerful blow, sending shockwaves along the ground and tripping the soldiers.

  Galvin exhaled. More soldiers were coming. Jumping over the fallen comrades that had been knocked down. This was what he lived for. Not running and hiding, worrying about the king coming after his friends. He lived for the thrill of the battle. With no one here to care for, he could let it all out.

  A smile crept its way onto his lips. It had been far too long since he was able to enjoy this.

  Every death from the soldier brought him and Justicar closer to seeing the king’s fall. Each death would make rounds through the nation, and no doubt reach the big man himself.

  Galvin was going to face the king again, and he would prevail. That single thought was fuel enough for him to keep on going, keep on moving among the soldiers, swinging his sword and sending out powerful blasts of magic to the ones further away.

  Several paces away, on top of buildings, soldiers stood mounted, with bows and arrows. Said arrows began to darken the skies.

  He had just a little bit of emerald essence left. He Absorbed what remaining he had and focused it all on Wind, sending a powerful blast which deflected the many arrows in the sky, letting them fall and strike several soldiers.

  Galvin eyed the soldiers that stood on the rooftops with bows. He focused on Wind again and launched himself towards them, closing the gap between him and those soldiers in less than five seconds.

  They soldiers were powerless against Galvin. He struck at them with his sword. In a close quarters battle with bows and swords, swords win. Galvin didn’t spare a second thought as he sliced through them.

  From where he stood, he stared down at the soldiers which lay lifeless on the streets, either from burning, an arrow wound, or stab wound. He’d killed many in such a short amount of time. The adrenaline still coursed through him.

  He dropped his bloodied blade and stood there on top of the building, in clear view of all those peering up at him.

  Galvin was quite surprised there weren’t any Dragikiri among the rank of soldiers. He guessed one reason why was that loyal Dragikiri were so hard to come by that they would be put to better use closer to the capital. That made capturing cities and towns like Jovin City a lot easier.

  He spread his hands so the people, soldiers and citizens, could all see him. “Justicar has arrived! We are the ones who fight in the name of those who cannot fight for themselves! We fight for the beaten, broken, and abused! Those who have reason to hate the king and what he stands for, come join us! Our reign will begin anew, and the king, nor his subjects, will be able to stand up to our determination!” His voice echoed all throughout the square. Among the bloodied bodies of the soldiers, there were some that dropped their weapons. Others turned on one another.

  Chaos ensued in the streets once again. People hiding in the shadows emerged out and attacked some of the soldiers. Some of the soldiers attacked other soldiers.

  Galvin’s job here was done. All he needed to do now was to pay his old friend, Lord Seldam, a visit once again.