10 Timing Is Everything
Back in the kingdom, the army reported on their journey and the successful removal of the portal. The commander of the dwarves had thanked them for their rescue, and the relationship with the dwarf people became even better. Leo appeared before the king as one of the generals but he did not see any of his friends. One of the guards informed him that they had moved far to the south, a series of portals had been cspotted there. Their training was successful and their abilities far stronger than before. Leo was not particularly surprised, he knew that they would soon have superior powers. Despite the victory, the king was not thrilled with Leo's promotion. He granted him 3 days to stay in the city and then he would leave again. This time he'll go to the west, there some small portals were spied near a village. Leo gritted his teeth but accepted the order. In the next 3 days he got to know the life in this world. He was invited by Freo to eat with his family. His wife was very nice, almost too nice. She kept telling him to eat more. Their daughter was very fun-loving and tried new things. In the short time she and Leo became friends and he told her about his world. He asked Freo where Alias usually stayed but he only knew where his family's house was. When Leo asked about Alias there, he was only refused and told that Alias was no longer a member of the family. When he was about to leave the area, he saw Alias hiding near the house. Alias did not dare to visit his family and spent most of his time alone in the city. On the last evening before leaving, Leo told him about his world, the inventions and the attractions that existed there. Alias listened intently, his eyes shining as he heard about the roller coasters, the cotton candy and the pyramids. That was the first time Leo saw him smile.
The next morning, just before leaving, he wanted to report, but no other general was to be found. The king had decided to send only him and his unit on the mission, it was an impossible task and almost suicide to send only 30 men into battle against these creatures. Inwardly he was seething with rage but Leo had no choice. When he told his soldiers about the situation, they all became fearful and discontented, but there was no turning back. At first, Leo had a hard time enforcing his orders, but the longer the trip went on, the better everyone got to know each other. Soon they all got used to the fact that Leo was their leader. Even though he had no help from magic this time, they trusted him with their lives. After two days, they arrived at their destination. But there was not a single portal to be seen, Leo became nervous. Something wasn't right. Screams could be heard from far away, his unit moved out in that direction. They saw huge people with big muscles attacking the villagers. Leo would have loved to rush towards the village to save the villagers, but this time his situation was different. Against the will of the others, he ordered them not to move from their position. If there is one rule he has learned in this world, it is that any opponent is likely to be stronger than oneself. They were completely outnumbered by these barbarians, and in the battle Leo's squad would be completely overwhelmed. So he waited until the screams stopped. There were corpses all over the village, the ground was soaked with blood. The remaining inhabitants were locked up, some women were raped by the barbarians. Leo's blood boiled at the thought until he could stand it no longer. His plan was to strike at night, far from the nearest town these barbarians would not expect soldiers. Most of them fell into a deep sleep due to their alcohol. In front of the cages stood a guard so that none of the inhabitants could escape. In one of the houses light was burning and loud screams of women could be heard.
Leo's hands began to tremble and he started to implement his plan. With every scream of the women Leo became angrier, before he lost his temper he gave the signal to the archer. Leo crept up behind the guard, he signaled the prisoners to stay quiet. The next moment the guard noticed him but his plan was in full swing. Before he could even draw his weapon, an arrow had pierced the barbarian's chest. To everyone's surprise, the barbarian didn't flinch a bit until another arrow pierced his head. It turned out that only completely fatal attacks could kill these bastards. Meanwhile, his men executed all the deep sleeping barbarians. There was no time for mistakes so everyone paid attention to the executions. The prisoners became louder for a short moment but the barbarians in the house did not notice anything. From a distance he saw that there were three opponents in the house. Two of them were waiting for their turn while the third was abusing one of the women. He shouted loudly into the house until the two noticed him and ran towards him. They were unarmed but when they saw Leo they were sure that they would defeat him without any problems. As they ran towards him they felt a sharp pain in their throats and fell down. Leo's swordsmen stood ready and pierced the necks of the two barbarians. At his signal, they silently disappeared into the shadows again. When Leo entered the house, he lost his self-control for a short time. Two inwardly half-dead women lay naked on the floor while the third lay on the bed crying.
"You're still standing, then l'll be the one to teach you a lesson".
Half naked, the barbarian took his axe and charged at Leo. He just ran out of the house, when the barbarian chased Leo he was shot by two arrows. The leader catched one out of the air but the other was stuck in his chest, still he continued to run after Leo. While he was running he saw that his men were lying dead on the ground. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. Out of the darkness he was pierced with a spear and fell to the ground. Leo gathered his unit in front of him and had him tied up instead of killing him. The soldiers looked strange when they heard this order but the situation was out of danger.
"Free the rest of the people and help the women in the house. If we are lucky there is still some life left in them. Just make sure they look reasonably tidy. And clear the bodies off the ground and put them outside the village, no one wants more panic. However, if one of you gets the stupid idea of having fun with the women, I will slowly kill him in front of all the other soldiers. Bring me our half-dead friend here outside the village and leave him there. I'll take care of him right away.
Never before had Leo spoken in such a serious tone. Without any objections they fulfilled his orders, after a few minutes they reunited. Many tears were shed that evening, but in the end it was a victory, even if no one really saw it that way.
The soldiers tried to calm the people down, after all they were just people who had friends and family of their own. Freo was able to talk to the residents right away while Alias just panicked and tried to start a conversation. The soldiers provided the people with some of their own rations, the residents were grateful for the help of the soldiers. Only their general was missing, but he still had an important mission to fulfill. The bound barbarian was lying on the ground, the only thing he could do was speak. Leo approached him holding a jug of beer, which he put down. Then he began to collect small pieces of wood and did not speak a word until he finally had everything together.
When the barbarian was about to start talking, Leo tied his mouth.
" Seems like they forgot something. Look, I'm not interested in your words, just watch and wait until I'm done."
After a few minutes he had built a small campfire, with two thin pieces of wood he managed to build a fire.
"I may not have magical powers but i can at least build a campire. If you're not one of the best, just do your best and get better somewhere else. Sounds easier said than done, never really got it done. And building a small campfire without help is probably not one of the greatest achievements."
When the fire was big enough he took the mug full of beer and poured it over the barbarian.
"Here's your alcohol you like so much. Do you know that it wasn't us who wiped out your army, it was your alcohol that defeated you. That which you love most ultimately leads to your death, quite pathetic isn't it? I just don't understand your nature, is it because I have never had a real girlfriend or maybe you are not really human. Maybe the alcohol can help us with the answer."
He took a piece of burning wood and bent down to the barbarian. He just started screaming under the restraint and made a panicked look.
"You remind me a lot of a person I know very well. I hope you two meet soon in hell."
He dropped the torch over his body. Slowly the fire burned until his body finally burst into great flames. The plaintive screams slowly died away while Leo stared right into the dead man's eyes. He stayed until the fire on his body went out. Then he crushed the bonfire, took the jug and walked towards the village. From the reaction of his soldiers, he realized that a few had been watching him. It was a side of Leo he didn't know himself, yet enjoyed at that moment. His past had a firm grip on him.
The next morning they again scouted for portals but what they saw they could hardly believe. In some places, the corpses of mutants lay scattered everywhere. But no one had ever seen this kind, their heads looked like a snake and their whole body was covered with blue-black metal. Their only explanation was that the barbarians had killed the creatures and the portals had closed. With this explanation, everyone realized that barbarians were far more dangerous than initially thought. Since the mission was over early, Leo stayed one more day in the village. In the meantime, his soldiers were very welcome by the villagers, who wanted to thank their rescuers. Fortunately, there were more survivors than thought. Leo couldn't really get used to the atmosphere. His memories came back and he tried desperately to push them back. This night he hardly got a wink of sleep but he had made a plan for his squad. For this he needed the help of the villagers.
"First of all, let me introduce myself, my name is Leo and I am the squad leader of this unit. Surely you could not end your grief with one night, but I really need your help. First of all, is there a blacksmith among you who knows about different materials?"
One of the residents stepped forward and introduced himself. His name was Kraun, he looked like an older man who was very muscular for his age. He has been working as a blacksmith for more than 10 years, even if it was only for repairs in the village. He had a very direct manner and was determined to help Leo. For him it was the least he could for Leo after he freed his family.
"All right, to my other request. I hope it will not inconvenience you if we spend another night here, we will be happy to help with the necessary preparations and work. I don't think my men will mind, will they?"
When he turned around, they just nodded and helped the villagers. Leo knew that no one was keen on fighting and war, so this break was very welcome to them. But Leo stayed for another reason. He ordered Freo, Alias to follow him. He also took along Wels, a loud daredevil who was always bragging but had a good heart. Leo saw in him many parallels to Blade, with whom he also did not get along at first. But after the battle, the talented swordsman's mind turned and he was grateful to Leo that he was still alive.
Our task is simple: we take as many pieces of these mutants as we can. I have instructed Kraun to wait in the forge. I don't want too many people to know about my idea yet, but if it's successful it will help us immensely.
"W-We're supposed to take the mutants with us, t-that's insane."
"Don't be like that, kid. You'll see a lot worse if you keep acting like a weakling."
"Come on, you two, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get back to the village. I heard there's meat stew for dinner today."
As Leo watched the three of them, he had a tired smile on his face. Was it a memory of old times with his friends or just simple sympathy. In the end he didn't care what it was but he was slowly finding to his old self again.
Arriving at the forge, he explained his plan to the three. They melted down the metal armor and the claws of the unknown mutants to make new weapons. They didn't even think that Leo is crazy anymore, his ideas were so absurd that they didn't even try to understand them. Leo stayed with Kraun while the other three joined the villagers. The two got to talking and Leo learned about Kraun's background. He used to be one of the best blacksmiths in the entire kingdom of the dwarves, but when a better blacksmith appeared, he was simply thrown away. After that he decided to leave the kingdom and start a family far away from war and fighting. Unfortunately, his peace was destroyed by the attack of the barbarians. After a few hours, 5 swords were completed. When Leo gripped the handle he could swing the weapon without any problems. Its weight was light as a feather but how sharp and strong was it? He ordered that he wanted to make a training fight with Wels. Both had their armor on, the one who touched the other first with the tip of his sword had won. Wels used his normal sword and Leo one of the newly forged ones. When the duel began, Leo immediately swung his sword in the direction of Wels's sword. But it didn't clang as usual when parrying, but only made a small clinking sound which disappeared after a second. The observers could not believe their eyes, Leo made a serious but satisfied face while Wels dropped his sword, or at least what was left of it. Leo's sword penetrated the blade of Wels without any problems. Like a knife gliding through butter, Leo sliced his sword apart.
"Good...very good. What you have seen here you can soon try for yourselves. My sword is not made of normal metal like yours, but of that of the mutants. I had it melted down and made weapons out of it. Without Kraun's help I would have lost this duel in a few seconds. Before you ask questions, there are more weapons of this kind, but they are not enough for all of you. Also, I want to run some more tests so wait for my orders and stay alert. You 5 come with me, you can try out the weapons, Kraun has made different variants."
After a short preparation they went to a testing ground. It quickly turned out that weapons made of this material were almost a cheat code. The sword penetrated bones up to the skin of mutants without any problems. The arrowheads even penetrated the wooden target. Only if the metal collided with itself, they were like normal weapons. After everyone had completed this training, Leo ordered them to follow him. 10 of his 30 men were equipped with the super weapons. In the books in the castle he had read that barbarians traveled in far greater numbers than just the crowd that occupied the village. He ordered Wels and Freo to join him in spotting enemies. Just before they entered the mountain pass they spotted more mutant remainings, they were almost torn apart. Leo was sure that barbarians were not humans. Further up the mountains they saw smoke and loud roars and laughter. But that day he did not want to start a fight, the huge amount of the mutant bodies came in his favor. Throughout the night he sent patrols to collect the dead creatures. Although the journey was not long and the mission was to be completed as soon as possible, Leo ordered them to stay in the village for the time being. And so a few days passed, the production was not limited to weapons, soon the production of armor was started. Leo became restless, it was very possible that another group of these barbarians would come towards them and more would follow in the future. Therefore, he presented the inhabitants with two choices. Either they accompany his troop in their departure and look for a new life or stay in the village with the risk of encountering more enemies. When it was unanimously decided to stay here, he was unhappy at first. But now they had a decisive advantage. He ordered his soldiers to train some of the villagers for battle. So they would have at least a small defense. Furthermore, he ordered his people to train with the bow, most of them held a bow in their hands for the first time, but Leo left them no choice. After a week, Kraun was freed from his torturous work. Everyone was prepared, if only a little. When night fell, Leo set out with all the men. Arriving at the mountain pass, he saw that the barbarians were still remaining in their camp.
"Soldiers, now you know why I prepared you like this. They have the high ground, but we will let them attack until they are on the same ground level as us. And there is no better way than death to force them down here. Each of you has three shots, two of which you'll use now, the third one only when they attack head-on. On my command, we start the rain of arrows."
Leo showed the direction in which they should shoot. 2 experienced archers and 28 beginners waited for his signal. When everyone had their bows tightly strung Leo gave the signal. Up the mountain, these huge people sat around the campfire and told their stories about the women they had so far and how good they were. Others were measuring each others strengh with arm wrestling or fist fighting. Suddenly, only a low hissing sound could be heard. The arrows had begun their hunt. They penetrated heads, feet, chests and faces. The smell of blood was in the air. From below, only loud screams and agony could be heard. One of the barbarians spotted Leo's squad and relayed the information to his leader. The small army ran down the hill and had Leo directly in sight, forming a line with 10 swordsmen. There were about 40 men left of them. His soldiers grew restless as the barbarians approached, but Leo remained calm. When they were about to attack Leo directly he gave the signal, the line split up, from the shadows of the night arrows were fired. Of the 40 men, only 30 were now standing, some who were wounded. Now it was time for the frontal fight, everyone took his position and waited for the first blow. What followed was a massacre exactly as Leo had planned. Some enemies were cut into pieces, some had their arms cut off and some were decapitated. One of the barbarians hit Leo directly in the chest, but the weapon shattered on his armor and the metal came shooting back in small pieces, hitting the enemy right in the face. Nevertheless, Leo felt the impact violently, like a bulletproof vest, he was out of breath for a moment and his chest hurt, but externally he was unharmed. One of the soldiers had broken his arm, the impact of the axe had bent his armor so much that it had broken his arm. But this was the only real injury his squad suffered. Everyone was very relieved, their opponent was basically far superior to them but they had an incredible weapon on their side. Back in the village they were greeted with cheers, Leo didn't like the attention and stayed alone for now. The last few days had been very exhausting but one thing in particular struck him. Alias had fallen in love with one of the girls, the two spent a lot of time together. It was the same Alias who a week ago hadn't even spoken 3 sentences to anyone, let alone said anything himself. Everyone noticed that he had become accustomed to this village. Leo spent the night thinking about it, his memories coming back to him. The next day, something happened that Leo strongly suspected.
"Soldier Alias, as I have seen yu have become quite accustomed to the village, even a bit too much. Why is everyone gathered here, surely you don't intend to be silent?"
"No, General, I have decided something, but I need your permission. The last few days have made it clear to me that I am not much good as a soldier on the journey. That is why I ask for my stationing in this village to protect it from further danger."
"I still decide who is fit or not. As you know, I do not judge only by fighting talent. Your request almost sounds like you are no longer interested in soldiering and would rather stay guard in this village, do I see that correctly?"
"It's kind of like that General, I think I'm better suited for it."
"So you think you are better suited...interesting. Not only do you want to leave my squad, you want to turn your back on me and have your own life. That kind of thing is called a refusal to serve, which means the death penalty. At the base they would just laugh at you. Let me show you my decision."
Leo took his sword and held it to Alia's neck. Suddenly the girl ran towards him and stood in front of Alias. She was determined to protect him. Leo ordered her to get out of his way, one of the soldiers held her back. Once again he put his blade to the neck of Alias, who was trembling and had a fearful look on his face. Leo looked directly into his eyes and swung out. Alias closed his eyes, his girlfriend started to scream. But when he opened his eyes he was not in the afterlife. In front of him stood Leo who stopped the blade last second before his neck.
"From now on, soldier Alias is dead, he fought against the mutants but died. We buried his body but he helped us accomplish our mission. I hope you can honor his sacrifice and from now on only keep mournful silence when you hear his name. Is that understood by all?"
"We leave in the noon hours, pack up your things and say goodbye to our providers and helpers."
In the last hours he was still talking with Kraun and other men, who from now on had to defend the village together with Alias. There was still some mutant equipment that Leo left to the village. He wanted to keep the information of this equipment as secret as possible, so he did not take any additional weapons with him. After final preparations, they headed back towards the kingdom. Everyone had their new armor on, it felt lighter and the soldiers didn't get tired so quickly. Leo gave them one more order, under no circumstances should they tell about their equipment. He himself would speak about it when the time was right. The trip showed everyone that there was far greater potential in Leo than anyone had thought. He himself noticed how he was changing more and more, finally he proved himself.
