AGGRESSION

"Claire... I-I want to confess something."

"Confess ... what?" Claire stared in surprise.

"I don't know if our friendship will last forever or not. But I can't hide it anymore," Dean said looking down worriedly. "You can hate me as much as you want, Claire. I don't deserve any respect."

"Tell me, Dean!" Claire insisted. The girl had a bad feeling, as if she knew what was in her best friend's head.

"I ... I—"

"Dean!"

"I killed your father! It was all my fault! I poisoned his food that day." Dean spit out his great sin right in front of Claire who in the next second could only stare with wide eyes.

A moment of silence. Dean started to wipe his watery eyes, while Claire was still struggling with the horrible facts that were flashing through her mind. He couldn't express his feelings. Whether it's sad, angry, upset, shock, sick. Nothing came out, except for that shocked face.

"I'm the bad guy," said Dean. "You can execute me now." The young man sat down.

"B-but why? Y-you're a good person, right? How could you do such a heinous thing!" rebutted Claire.

"I was defeated by my own ambition, Claire. Every day, my father always whispered bad things about your family, especially your father. He told me about his sins in the past and it made me very angry. Finally I agreed to poison Mr. Hamspere Crook XII for the sake of become the successor mayor."

"But you resigned. Was that part of the plan?"

"My plan, yes. But not for my father's plan. By then I had realized my mistake. I'm haunted by my own sin, Claire!" Dean sobbed. "By letting you become mayor, I thought I'd make my guilt go away. But no! The sin was getting bigger every day, until I couldn't bear it anymore. Now I've confessed. Sentenced to death or imprisonment, my fate is in your hands."

"I-I can't believe it." Claire looked shocked. "You're my best friend, Dean, even my cousin. How can you be that stubborn?"

"I'm such an asshole." Dean wiped his nose. "What an asshole!"

"I'm so mad at you, and disappointed, so disappointed." Claire approached her best friend angrily. Dean thought it would signal a tsunami of emotions that would kill him. "But I can't hate you. You're too precious to me, Dean. I'm sure you're not a bad person." Unexpectedly, Claire hugged him warmly.

"C-Claire..." Dean's eyes widened, his heart pounding. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Claire. I-I'm sorry!" Craig Souville's son returned the hug as he sobbed.

"I always forgive you, Dean. Now we have to think of a way to get out of this crisis. I need you to stand by my side while we negotiate with the trolls, or in case the plan fails and the town is attacked. Are you ready?" Claire smiled at him hopefully.

"I promise with all my heart, Claire. I will always be by your side. Always." Dean lowered his position, almost kneeling down to take his oath of allegiance.

Claire and Dean had no one else to lean on. There was only one choice, which was to support each other. If Claire executed Dean today, then she would erased the only person who could calm her down when she was sad and made her laugh all day long.

Dean was the same. Even though he had given up on people being hit by a storm, in fact the young man still had the desire to support Claire. He was willing to sacrifice anything, even his pride as a ransom. Not only that. Dean vowed to always protect Claire, the mayor of Civerstein, as well as the princess in his heart.

~~Two Days Later~~

The sun had barely peeked at a quarter of the equator, but the residents of Civerstein had already begun to perfect their preparations. The cannons war is polished in such a way, the tall towers are slowly being filled by reconnaissance troops, the gate The town is guarded by hundreds of sword and shield warriors. They are ready to defend this city to the last drop of blood.

"How's that?" Claire asked the archer on top of the tower.

"They haven't been seen," he replied, after surveying the thick fog bunds that marked the territory of the elephant trunk troll kingdom.

"Keep watching. We can't let our guard down for a second."

"Ready, Mam!"

"Claire," called Dean, who had just visited the evacuation site for passive war volunteers—a term for people who couldn't participate in war, such as the elderly, children, and the sick. "The evacuation is complete."

"Good. Now accompany me to the city gates. We'll meet the troll diplomats with the council, if they're still interested in negotiating."

"Okay," Dean said, then followed behind her best friend. After a split second, suddenly the young man—and the rest of the town's population—saw a nasty colony of crows flying over Civerstein. So many, their shadows make some parts of the city black. "Look at that! Since when have there been crows in Civerdell? It's not even time for a winter migration yet."

"Those crows seem to be flying north. Maybe towards the Nyx forest," Claire commented.

"They're coming! So many! Trolls! They've got catapults and boulders!" shouted an archer peeking from the top of the tower.

As the sound of the warning bells subsided, the swordsmen waiting at the city gate began to line up. They had only made their move when Claire took the lead with the cavalry and city council. The two sides met at Civerdell's border with a misty valley.

It was true what the scouts had warned. Trolls came with stone-throwing carts. There are thousands of them, stretching as far as the eye can see. The legion consisted of a two-meter-tall creature with a drooping smooth belly and a wrinkled trunk along the chest. However, there are also some trolls who transfigure into humans. They were trolls among the aristocrats, just like the diplomats whose bids had been hit hard by Claire yesterday.

"Where is your King?" Mayor Civerstein tries to make small talk.

"Civerstein is just a worthless little town. His Majesty Arog didn't have to come to see its collapse," said one of the long-haired diplomats.

"So you guys made up your mind, huh? No more offers?"

"I said three days, but you didn't tell me anything, Claire Crook! It's day four, and there shouldn't be any more offers."

"Then I'll open the bid. We'll manage half of our land for trolls. But you have to guarantee Civerstein's safety, and pay! I heard trolls like to hoard gold and silver in their underground halls. Why don't we just go into business?" said Claire.

"Doing business?" The diplomat raised an eyebrow. "Trolls don't do business with slaves. Take over this town. Now!" As soon as the diplomat ordered, the trolls towing the ejection cart released a large rock so that it flew towards Civerstein.

A tower collapsed just as the rock hit it hard. The archers who were there fell to the ground, exactly like raindrops. Claire and the others—who were still transfixed by the incident—were shocked by the echoes of the trolls' war trumpets. A huge trumpet whose frame was made of white yak horn blades of misy valley, so that its sound could be heard all the way to the far end of Civerstein. That's the sign of their massacre.

"Get back!" Claire commanded as she galloped towards the town.

"Get back! Get back!" Dean shouted. They all turned away from the vicious trolls.

This is not a fair battle, obviously. It took at least two agile soldiers to slay a troll in one hit, not to mention the large boulders flying through the sky—could at any time damage Civerstein's supporting facilities. It's hard, but this is where the mayor's instinct, Claire Crook, are forged to its root. The young lady is required to be a torch in the dark chaos.

"Split up, two groups!" shouted Claire. "As planned!"

"Split up!" Dean repeated.

As soon as these directions, each commander guides their respective troops. They split the formation, two large groups. Each group wielded swords and shields, ready to draw and take cover. Claire who was at the forefront, brandished the Civersword, an heirloom that only the mayor of Civerstein has the right to touch. Together with the sturdy wrought iron and noble luster, Claire's leadership charisma seemed to spread steadily. With a single swing of her sword forward, she shouted at the top of his voice: "RECHARGE!"

"RECHARGE!" All the soldiers in unison took offensive steps.

The trolls didn't stand still either. They understand very well, with stocky bodies and sagging, it is difficult to deal with human agility, let alone people from Civerstein. That's why melee combat isn't an attractive sounding option. The warlord at that time—the long-haired diplomat—took a rather unique strategy.

The hundreds of troll soldiers that he brought, did not automatically contain a death squad, but were divided into three groups. The front row is a shield, the second row is called the core attacker and the rear row is completely filled with catapults specifically designed to break down enemy defenses.

"They started attacking," said his compatriots. "Send a signal, or just fight them?"

The long-haired commander then spurred his horse a few steps forward, smiling slightly cynically. "Send a signal after half of it is gone. First line, advance!"

"ATTACK!" The trolls roared with all their might.

The trolls in the vanguard advanced, blocking the cavalry led by Claire. There was a reason why the army that the curly-haired mayor had brought was suddenly split into two groups.

The first reason, the two armies of Civerstein soldiers meant two equally sharp blades to the trolls. Like it or not, they had to divide their focus to deal with the two armies. For Claire, at least the town could survive the onslaught of sky stones because a row of troll catapults would be busy shooting at them.

The second reason, Claire just smiled as she thought about it. Of course she already understood that the existence of the throwers was intended to break their defenses. That was why, in order to minimize losses in one hit, Claire split her army in half.

The two sides clash in the middle. The Civerstein warrior skillfully dodged the sledgehammer attacks that the trolls swung. Their horses moved swiftly on the ground, while their riders drew swords here and there. The clang of the shield shattered as the troll's sledgehammer swing nearly broke Dean's skull. It succeeded in getting the attention of Claire, who was actually just as busy. However, the girl deftly poked a hole in the stomachs of the trolls, then came to the rescue of her best friend.

"Too much," Dean said as he calmed his panicked horse. "This is only the first line."

"Talk won't win us over, Dean," Claire rebuked. "Keep attacking!"

"Attack!" Dean took his horse following Claire with the other soldiers.

Like a valiant warrior, Claire opened a gap in every step of her horse. The walls of the trolls that were like the strongest steel slowly began to crumble into corpses. On the other hand, the second group, which is far enough away on the left, looks exhausted in the face of the troll army's rampage.

A number of Civerstein's soldiers died with their heads crushed, and the rest perished under the crush of stones. However, their steps did not retreat at all. Armed with a sword and a plate of shields, the men broke through the enemy's defenses.

"Watch out!" The other group—which was led by Claire—shouted as a boulder flew over their heads.

Claire galloped even faster, surviving before the "thump!" very hard it sent dust into the sky. Dean and the other soldiers also survived. At least for a few seconds, because they were immediately confronted by the trolls who were ready to swing the sledgehammer.

One by one the soldiers were fell from their horses because they were hit by hammers. In fact, Dean's shield, which was constantly holding back the hits, was crushed and almost broke. Luckily the man had jumped off his horse before the final attack came and grabbed Claire's arm so he could get on the horse.

"Attack!" commanded Claire.

The girl maneuvered to the right side of the trolls who were busy slaughtering her troops, then gave one or two deadly slashes in their stomachs. Dean, who felt that the situation was quite safe, quickly jumped off Claire's horse and returned to his horse with a shield.

Although quite a lot of people had become victims, the first group that Claire led had managed to eliminate most of the troll army. Some of the other trolls, ironically, seemed to dominate the second group opposite Claire. The group was heavily battered, so that very few soldiers were able to hold back the trolls who were about to approach the town.

"No time," Claire muttered when she saw that her men were too weak to block the troll army. "Follow me!" She ordered her group to quickly intercept the trolls who managed to escape.

However, just as about to move, they were confused by the trolls' act. Instead of advancing on to destroy the town, they turned towards Claire's army and ignored the wide open road that was so tempting.

"Something's weird," Claire commented.

"They're ignoring the city." Dean was astonished.

What really happened, Claire thought at the time. This is equal to a suicide plan, according to her. Those troll nobles, they're too stupid, aren't they, to even think about the risks of such a ridiculous tactic? Of course the trolls who came to Claire would be wiped out from the front and back by the remaining group on the left. Victory seemed so shiny now.

"But..." Claire hesitated for a moment.

Elephant trunk trolls are known to be dumb and stupid, but they can't be this stupid. It was thought that the enemy Claire intended to trap them to regroup, so that stone throwers could easily shoot at Civerstein's soldiers, and the second line of trolls (core attackers) followed suit after that. In anticipation of this, Claire guided Dean and a few soldiers to keep breaking through to the front, while the rest banded together to slaughter the last troll soldiers of the first line.

"Focus forward!" her orders. "Don't—!"

The intense atmosphere of the battle was suddenly broken by the loud sound of flapping wings. A giant shadow overshadowed the city of Civerstein just as the sun was perched on the top of the sky. Claire was wide-eyed to find that the flock of crows she had seen migrating north this morning had gathered above her town now. They circled the city like a whirlwind. There was clearly something odd about the crows.

"Claire," Dean called.

"Dean!" the mayor, Claire Crook suddenly choked. His mind was filled with prejudice. "I'm going back to town for a backup plan. Follow me with some soldiers."

"Why?" sanctioned Dean.

"Just do it!" Claire snapped, then rushed to her horse as fast as she could. The girl's eyes continued to scan the sky, watching her city under threat.

The crows seemed to have another meaning for the long-haired troll commander who was also watching them from afar. He grinned thinly, glancing slightly at the mud-yellow troll carrying war trumpets behind him. As the noble troll's left arm held up straight, the huge trumpet sounded a second time, breaking the inner terror that was haunting Claire. It was clear that his prediction was not wrong at all.

The crows were, in her opinion—and she was right—a secret army that had been set up by the "dumb" and "stupid" elephant trunk trolls (and that stigma turned out to be wrong, they weren't as dumb and stupid as they seemed). Within seconds of the trumpet buzzing filling the horizon, one by one the ravens transfigured into huge, ferocious trolls, crashing down on Civerstein, who had almost lost hope.

There were hundreds, so many, destroying the city. Claire gasped as she watched her city being ruthlessly destroyed. As the horse's hooves clashed rapidly, the girl tried to hold back the tears and calm herself down.

"I'll revenge!"

(To be continued)