A battle horn sounded and flags were raised high up during early dawn. Thousands of flags were held up with various colors and drawings. An army of three thousand advanced slowly through the field.
‘It’s them.’
Joonbum narrowed his eyes as he watched his enemies advancing. There were armies numbering thirteen thousand behind them toward the horizon. The reason for the advancing army’s confidence was probably due to the sheer number of their backup.
‘Well, we have just about one thousand and five hundred soldiers.’
The number was no match for such a huge army. They were ten times larger, so it was natural for them to have such confidence.
“There’s so many.”
“It’s amazing to see in broad daylight.”
“It’s alright. We can wipe them off like we did last time.”
“You crazy idiot. We were just lucky that time. They’re not dumb.”
“Right. They are the empire’s army. They will never fall for that again.”
“Yeah. Those bastards attack any neighboring country anytime they want.”
The Horun Empire had a bad reputation with the neighboring countries with their hostile diplomacy. They did it purposely to control the smaller countries. It was their way of keeping the surrounding countries loyal.
‘But that’s how I want them to be.’
Joonbum did not want them to be too cautious after their last loss. And to his expectation, this strong empire did not seem to be scared of him one bit.
‘I will finish it all at once.’
He had no intention of letting it drag on.
‘It will be the quickest battle on record to be finished.’
Joonbum grinned as he watched the enemy. Jackson, who was watching, frowned as he suspected Joonbum having thought up some evil plan.
‘Hmm… what is he up to this time?’
Jackson wasn’t worried as they had the Marauder and other weapons, but the number they had was still too great. He was a bit worried about what Joonbum had in mind, but it did not bother him too much. The soldiers and knights on their side didn’t seem to be afraid of being outnumbered, and they had warriors from other races.
‘An army with different races… who would’ve thought?’
This was something even the emperor could not have managed.
‘If we survive this war, we will be considered the strongest from now on.’
Jackson could not stop thinking of the bright future ahead. After he exhaled a long breath and took a deep breath of cold air, he was able to calm down.
That was when the war drums began to sound. The soldiers who were watching flinched as thousands of enemy soldiers began shouting in unison. Hearing thousands of men shout was astounding. Then, sudden thundering came from the Khalodian soldiers.
-WE ARE KHALODIANS! WE ARE IMMORTAL! WE STAND AND FIGHT TO THE END, AND OUR SPIRIT WILL FIGHT ON! WE ARE THE GUARDIANS OF THIS LAND! WE ARE KHALODIANS!-
A thundering war chant roared through the speakers and all the soldiers joined in. The vast plain was instantly filled with noise. No war drums or mere shouts were able to pierce through the speaker-enhanced chants.
*
“ARGH!! DAMN EMPIRE DOGS! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!”
“What the? Since when he was so loyal?”
Some knights shook their heads as they watched Hallis yelling at the enemy with such rage that his face turned blood-red.
“He’s like a loyal Khalodian now, eh?”
“Naw.”
“What?”
“He’s just in love with Knight Joonbum Khalodian.”
“Oh. Yeah, I did see him following him around like a loyal dog.”
“Don’t pretend like you didn’t either, man.”
“I wasn’t that bad!”
The knights laughed at each other. They were all mesmerized and had grown fond of the leader of this army.
The two forces stopped a mile away and shouted at each other. Then they began running.
“FIRE AT WILL!”
“ARROWS! BRING UP YOUR SHIELDS!”
“RUN FORWARD! THAT’S HOW YOU AVOID IT!”
Volleys of arrows were fired upon the oncoming enemies from half a mile away. The soldiers became frenzied, but they were quickly reorganized by the army commanders.
“We greatly outnumber them! Defend yourself with a shield and advance!”
The arrows were beginning to be blocked and the Ainos stopped firing to not waste any more arrows. They were now a quarter of a mile apart. It was so close. That was when a heavy roar came from the Khalodian army.
*
“Sir, are you sure?”
“Don’t worry.”
“Ugh.”
Jackson frowned at Joonbum and turned back to the young knights.
“You will all die if anything happens to him, understood?”
Jackson glared at the knights and threatened them in a serious voice.
“Yes, sir!”
Jackson then turned to Joonbum again.
“If… If…”
Joonbum felt the sincere concern from Jackson and smiled awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, but this is for the best. Right?”
Jackson sighed and nodded. Joonbum then shouted to his knights.
“Hop in! We’ll go straight for Duke Barisman. We will capture him and then return. Let’s go!”
“Yes, sir!”
Ten knights got in the red Marauder. They were excited. Just moments ago, they were disappointed when they were called to the back as they wanted to fight on the battlefront, but they were surprised when they heard the plan of kidnapping the duke.
“Doral, I’m counting on you.”
“Of course.”
“I’m counting on you too.”
“Don’t worry, they will fear the wrath of our Gerekstals!”
Joonbum spoke to the Ainos and Magnos.
“Jackson. Hectos.”
“Don’t worry, sir.”
Jackson and Hectos saluted, and Joonbum hopped on the Marauder.
“Let’s go!”
“Open up the way!”
The passage ahead was opened as ordered and their forces divided into two to let the Marauder pass straight into the plains. The Marauder charged onto the field. As the vehicle moved, Joonbum shouted to the knights inside.
“Hold on TIGHT!”
