Silently sitting on the back of his horse, June stayed near the rear, his short arrow knocked and ready. Observing the nervous but determined mercenaries around him, he felt his hands begin to shake. As soon as Zenrom had decided on the battle plan, they had all formed up, ready to charge the enemy.

  Gulping at realizing this was the first time he would be going on the offense—not counting the time he had attacked the man who had been using chaos magic, June tightened his grip on his bow, trying to steady his emotions.

  “CHARGE!”

  He jumped slightly at the command, then kicked his horse into motion as the wave of mercenaries surged ahead. In seconds, he burst out from beneath the thick foliage. The thunder of hooves and shouts of men washed over him, the calm midday shattering into chaos.

  Staying toward the back of the charge, June watched in horrid fascination as the first line of horses slammed into the startled bandits. Their shocked faces twisted into horror as they were knocked down and trampled underfoot. Acting on instinct, he drew his bow and singled out a running bandit, releasing the arrow as he forcefully exhaled. Heart drumming loudly, he watched as his arrow slammed into the back of the man’s head. The bandit pitched sideways into a tree, his body crumpling to the ground.

  “June! Keep focused!”

  Blinking in surprise, June noticed Shina riding beside him, her two swords resting casually on her shoulders.

  “Boss asked me to keep an eye on you,” she said with a grin.

  “I don't need protecting,” June protested, his face turning red with embarrassment.

  Still smiling, Shina slid off her horse in one fluid motion. “We need you to support Boss when he starts to fight the bandit leader. I’ll keep the small fry off you.”

  “Thanks.”

  Following her lead, June dismounted and moved towards a small wooden watchtower where the bandits were firing wildly down at the fighting mercenaries below.

  “June! Take him out!” Shina shouted, sprinting past him and catching a running bandit off guard, her swords making quick work of him.

  Drawing Aether into his body, June raised his bow again, exhaling as his vision tunneled onto the bandit atop the watchtower. Releasing the arrow, he felt as if time slowed. Tracking his shot effortlessly, he watched as it pierced into the bandit’s chest.

  “Shina! I got him!” he yelled as time rushed back all at once.

  “Good! Now concentrate on the battle! Get to the top!” she yelled back, swinging her swords in an ever-intricate pattern.

  Slinging his bow on his back, June started to climb the tower, hand over hand, his sweaty palms gripping the wooden rungs of the ladder until he was at the top. Standing there, he looked down over the battle below him. From his vantage point, he could see the flow of battle. As he studied it, he noticed that the bandits had managed to slow down the initial engagement.

  Taking a steadying breath, June quickly rotated Aether to his eyes, the landscape below jumping into focus, almost as if he were standing amid the chaos. Grimacing at what he saw, he composed himself and drew more power into his body. His enhanced muscles tightened, allowing him to pull his bowstring back with ease. Calmly stabilizing his aim, he quickly loosed a deadly rain of arrows, causing the bandits below to duck behind shields and crude wooden barricades.

  “Keep the flow of battle on our side!” Shina shouted from just under him, her voice breaking into a savage grunt. Concerned, June looked down just in time to see her rip both of her swords free from the neck and stomach of a bandit. Her deadly blades dripped dark blood onto the packed dirt.

  “How am I supposed to keep the flow of battle on our side!?” June yelled down, his right hand reached for another arrow.

  “Shoot the ones signaling their allies forward! The ones shouting orders! Ignore the big ones—take out on the ones directing the fight and keeping their morale up.”

  “Okay!”

  Focusing on the pockets where the mercenaries’ advance had stalled, June started to target those who were shouting commands deliberately. One by one, his arrows struck key bandits—the men gesturing with their hands, the calm ones holding their ranks together. With each shot, their cohesion wavered, allowing the mercenaries to surge forward again. His arrows were doing their job!

  Leading the well-disciplined mercenaries, Zenrom plunged into the thick of battle, his body feeling stronger and faster as he fought, the chaos of battle, a well-known rhythm. Rotating more power into his sword, he easily rammed the blade through the leather armor of a bandit who had just been screaming for blood. The man’s shouts twisted into one of pain as he clutched at the blade. Kicking the dying man off his sword, Zenrom scowled.

  The bandits are stronger and more organized than they should be, he thought, deflecting a spear thrust and decapitating the man. The bandits are already grouping up. The surprise attack is already fading. Why are they trained so well?

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  Turning to see a bandit trade lives with a mercenary, Zenrom snarled and sprinted towards the center of the village. He needed to kill the leader as fast as possible! He had to end the bandits’ morale!

  Running past a wooden house—which was nothing more than a couple of branches tied together—Zenrom heard Reges’ shout cut through the chaos.

  “Zenrom, there! Arcane Light!”

  Twisting his body in the direction Reges had indicated, Zenrom saw a massive man wreathed in shimmering Arcane Light. The brute swung an enormous sword, cleaving through two mercenaries and carving a chunk out of a building behind them.

  Zenrom’s eyes locked onto the glowing blade. That has to be the sword that killed Hagan! he thought. No other bandit was wielding a weapon of that size. That’s the leader of the bandits!

  A wordless roar tore from Zenrom’s throat, rage causing him to see red. Drawing deeply on the surrounding Aether, he felt his Gate of Power burn. Power coursed through him as a Blue Jay made from Aether burst forth from his gate, its ethereal wings wrapping around him— strengthening him, making him more deadly.

  “FIGHT ME!”

  His voice boomed across the battlefield like thunder as he closed the distance between himself and the massive man. His sword swung in a vicious arc; Salizia’s military technique, Crescent Night!

  A deafening clash reverberated as Zenrom’s sword met the bandit leader's greatsword, the impact sending a shockwave of sound that made the nearby bandits cry out in pain and surprise. Thanking Gera that he’d reinforced his ears with Aether, Zenrom pushed with all his strength, their power-coated weapons grinding violently against each other.

  “You arrived much sooner than I expected, First Pillar Zenrom,” the bandit hissed, leaping backwards as Reges’ sword stabbed towards his eye. The Diamond Guard’s second Arcane Lord joined the fray.

  Landing a safe distance away, the large bandit bellowed, his body trembling as a Green Tree Snake formed from Aether coiled around him. As the materialization of his Aether appeared, his power surged drastically, his muscles swelling tightly under his skin.

  “Let’s see how strong you are!” he roared, unleashing a wave of force.

  Zenrom slammed his feet into the ground as hard as he could, anchoring himself as he rapidly rotated Aether through his body, fortifying every muscle and bone. Bracing himself for the impact, he felt the wave of power crash into him, his own Arcane manifestation of a Blue Jay fighting back.

  Shaking himself off, Zenrom raised his sword. “Name yourself!” he barked. Using his precise footwork, he circled the bandit, his sword steady. “I prefer to know the names of those who I kill… and I am going to kill you for what you did to Hagan.”

  “You can tell your ancestors that the great Lahdor ended your family line!” the massive man mocked. His greatsword blurred as he swung at Zenrom.

  Raising his weapon to block, Zenrom gasped as he barely managed to stop the crushing blow. His hands went instantly numb from the destructive force. Staggering back several steps, he saw San and Reges strike Lahdor from behind—only for their blades to slice through empty air as Lahdor moved like lightning.

  “Three against me?” he laughed, stepping forward and clashing with Reges. Rushing back into the fight, Zenrom fell into rhythm with Reges and San, each of them keeping steady pressure on Lahdor, never allowing him to strike without opening himself up for a counterattack.

  “I got you! Keep going!” Zenrom shouted from behind San as San lifted his longsword to deflect a strike from Lahdor. Trusting Zenrom, San dropped his guard and trusted forward, the tip of his sword dancing as if multiple blades were striking at once—Salizia’s military technique: Fog’s fangs.

  Zenrom’s eyes locked onto Lahdor’s blade. He slammed his foot against the ground, propelling himself forward, intercepting the horizontal strike.

  “Now!” he shouted, the force of the clash vibrating through his arms and down his body into the earth.

  Seizing the opening, Reges swung his sword at Lahdor’s legs— Winter’s bite.

  Lahdor lifted one leg while leaning back to outdistance San’s thrusts, forcing himself into an awkward roll across the dirt. Snarling with fury and humiliation, he sprang back to his feet and charged forward.

  “I’ll kill you for that!”

  As the fight continued, Lahdor suddenly twisted his body to one side, his balance thrown off as a black shadow swept past where his head had been. Seeing the opening created by Lahdor’s stumble, Zenrom leaped forward, his sword cutting a clean line in the air.

  I got you!

  But as the razor-sharp slash flashed towards Lahdor, Zenrom felt his hands sting with vibration; the bandits' massive greatsword once again stopped his sword. Shocked by how fast the large man moved, Zenrom watched Lahdor stumble backwards and drop to a knee as he narrowly avoided a small arrow that came out of nowhere.

  “Coward!” Lahdor bellowed, lifting his weapon like a shield and blocking another small arrow.

  Realizing that June was supporting them, Zenrom signed in relief. “Get him!” he heard San yell as his longsword struck at Lahdor’s back, forcing the bandit to twist desperately to survive the strike.

  Blood flew into the air! They had drawn blood!

  The flow of battle shifted instantly. Zenrom, Reges, and San pressed the advantage with renewed coordination, every arrow June fired, tightening the noose. Lahdor could no longer attack—only defend. Hints of fear crept into his face as he was pushed further and further back.

  “Damn you!” Lahdor managed to stammer, blood running from a cut Zenrom had managed to land on his forehead. Without warning, he spun around and broke into a sprint, his powerful arms grabbing one of his own men. Using the startled man as a shield, blocked June’s arrows.

  Seeing their leader flee, the bandits who had been desperately trying to hold formation panicked and broke. Weapons clattered to the ground as they turned and ran for the trees.

  “RETREAT! RETREAT!”

  What began as a few deserters soon turned into a panicked stampede of bodies, each bandit pushing, tripping, and trampling each other as they tried to get away, their shouts and screams adding to the chaos.

  Watching the mass of fleeing bodies vanish into the thick forest, Zenrom cursed in frustration. “Chase after them! Don’t let the leader go!”

  “I don’t think we can catch him,” Reges spat, a trickle of blood running down his face and staining his shirt. “He fought all three of us head-on. Fighting him in the trees will be dangerous. He’ll use the trees to split us up.”

  “I know—but we can still get the other bandits,” Zenrom grunted, bending down and checking on a wounded mercenary who was lying on the ground.

  “So, what should we do? We can track him down and wear him down. Turn it into a battle of attrition,” San panted, gingerly sitting down.

  “I’d like to, but we can’t,” Zenrom sighed. “Unless we execute every bandit here, we don’t have the numbers to chase him and guard the prisoners.”

  “So now what?” San asked.

  “Now?” Zenrom said, rising to his feet. “Now we end this battle.”