CIVERSTEIN AND ALL ITS MEMORIES

Civerstein people's war strategies have been brilliant for decades. They realized, without magic, it would be very difficult to defeat the enemy who tried to colonize their city. This situation forced the group of non-magical humans to develop other attributes in order to maintain their existence on the Nefertyland. One day, their war strategy was praised by Lord Zeth—the King who ruled Nefertyland before Lord Aaron.

At that time, Nepheel's army was about to dominate the city in Civerdell so that it would submit completely to the leadership of the Lord. However, 1400 soldiers who went to visit, actually returned with less than half the number. Not outnumbered—of course, because Civerstein's troops who fought at that time were only 500 people—but they lost their strategy. Reflecting on the incident, Lord Zeth knew that people who are crazy about peace, will turn into vicious bees if their nest is disturbed.

Somehow the story of Lord Zeth and the greatness of the people of Civerstein flashed vividly in Claire's memory. In fact, at this time the town had been completely battered, disarmed by cunning trolls. The beautiful Civerstein was turned into hell, even before the cumulus clouds at the edge of the Civerdell border drifted into the Misty Valley. As the 23rd mayor, she certainly couldn't keep quiet. The word "I'll revenge!" that just came out of her mouth was not just an empty threat.

Claire Crook inherited many things from her parents. Her beautiful face is very similar to her mother, and her fighting spirit is often associated with her father. However, there is one inheritance that he did not get from his mother or father. This legacy has been passed down from generation to generation from the first mayor to the moment she is in the throne. Attributes of a famous leader of Civerstein enshrined in many books and memories, capable of repatriating Nepheel's army in disgrace, capable of making a Lord chuckle in awe. Claire Crook, the mayor of Civerstein, inherited a secret strategy to fight back.

The girl arrived at the city gate when the warning bells were being honked. Some of the watchtowers apparently escaped the rocks, so there were still a number of infantry ready to fight. In addition, Claire had chosen special soldiers to guard the town hall, as well as the building that housed young children, women and the sick. Even though a troll fell on the roof, the building was still fine. What wasn't fine was the town's future if Claire was late to crush all the trolls that had barged in.

Claire's arrival to Civerstein seemed to be a flash of hope for the soldiers who had lost their guts. The remaining infantry spontaneously returned to their bows, attempting to shoot the trolls with fiery arrows. The skins of these trolls were indeed as thick as a rhinoceros, let alone the pustules of pus that mushroomed everywhere, making the arrows of the Civerstein warriors unable to penetrate them (or only succeeded in breaking the nodules of pus).

War cannons might be the only solution right now, if only most of Civerstein's artillery hadn't been blown down by the boulder, and some were too heavy to turn into the city—indeed, the original aim was to fire at the trolls who wanted to break through, not the ones who had already broken through.

"Gather!" Claire shouted as she walked through the town streets. "Twenty!"

The shout was heard by the special soldiers protecting the town hall. They suddenly took a step toward the giver of command. This army consists of trained young people who are good at riding, while both hands are able to shoot straight at the target, or swing a sword at the enemy's neck. Just give orders, and they will execute them perfectly.

There were approximately forty soldiers on standby at the town hall. The moment the order to gather came, twenty people immediately retreated towards Claire. With the mayor as a guide, they advance to suppress the trolls who attack the city. Slash after slash, stab after stab, sword and spear whacked at the damn trolls.

"Five every one. I'm straight ahead. Disband!" Claire commanded. Her body was drenched in trolls' blood.

Once entering the city crossroads, the twenty soldiers split again into five men each lane. They split up, and Claire took the path straight ahead. The five soldiers who had stopped immediately restrained the trolls who were about to catch up with them.

The city was in complete chaos. Debris of buildings abounded, not to mention the fire incident because the fire of the soldiers' arrows spread to the residential areas. Claire could even see the city's clock tower freely, because it used to be very difficult to see it from that point because it was blocked by large houses. Just as the girl was about to take her eyes off the clock tower, suddenly a large rock slid and hit the building until it collapsed and the debris was scattered everywhere.

"Watch out! Take cover!" Claire jumped off the horse as the tower's shards of rock shot toward her and the other soldiers.

The troll catapults started operating again. The situation got worse. As if she didn't care, Claire, whose temples were bleeding from the stone shards got back on her horse and rushed towards the training camps. There they had an arsenal of ultimate weapons prepared for emergencies.

The special forces who had separated, regrouped after clearing their respective paths of trolls. There were a total of fifteen soldiers, plus Claire, all of whom rushed into the armory and opened the wooden crates.

"Bring them all," said Claire. "Be careful!"

This ultimate weapon is not as big as the sledgehammer of the trolls or as sharp as the blades of the army's swords that are struggling on the battlefield. They are round, about the size of an orange, but there are many and they are very dangerous. So worried, Claire forgot about the chaos outside for a moment to make sure the things were carried safely by the cavalry. After everything was transported, they immediately left the warehouse to dive into the trolls on the town streets.

To be honest, Claire didn't know if their backup strategy would actually be profitable or would just drag Civerstein further to the end line. The sacks currently carried by the special forces contained weapons that should only be used if the town hall had been raided or the trolls had wiped out half the town's population. Taking into account the large number of first casualties—which meant there was no other choice but to sacrifice everything for the sake of defending the city—this emergency strategy was designed to be an arrowhead for both sides (the residents of Civerstein and the troll army).

"Do everything according to plan," Claire urged as she rode the horse. "Like the simulation the other day. Begin!" she exclaimed.

The sacks were flown one by one—seven in total—then the soldiers plucked something out of them. The round object they were holding was a pale green color, like a packet of boiled leaves wrapped in plant vines so that it resembled a ball. As far as the way to the town hall, they threw the package which was named the "Klania bomb". Each klania bomb that was pulled by the sealing string instantly released a dense dark blue gas, even billowing like burning smoke.

Claire, who had already taken a deep breath, spontaneously stopped her lung pump as soon as it penetrated the layer of blue gas, just like any other soldier. On the other hand, the trolls who are busy ravaging the city have absolutely no idea that the unexploded bombs are actually spraying a substance known to damage breathing.

The "elephant trunk" embedded in the name of their race is not without reason. These trolls need a lot of breath and their nasal receptors are very sensitive. As a result, when the dark blue smoke burst freely, they overlapped due to unconsciousness.

"Stop!" Claire warned. She couldn't talk much because inhaling too much smoke would threaten his lungs.

The second day before today, Civerstein's troops had been playing with the smoke bomb. They tested how dangerous the impact was, and whether they could survive the toxic fumes. The answer is in the middle. They can last, but not for the span of one day. Klania gas which is the main composition of this weapon is imported directly from Limni, one of the cities in Civerdell which was built near Lake Torak. The mayor was once helped by Claire's father, and he promised help in an eternal oath.

Once, during a speech on the second day of training, Claire mentioned the turok whose population is very rare. It is from their residual gas that klania gas comes from. Turok is a species of salamander that has a gas sac in its rectum, Claire said at the time. There are probably only a few dozen of them living in Lake Torak—which is their natural habitat—so of course they are strictly protected by the local government.

However, specifically for Civerstein, the Limni authorities dared to supply these rare items in massive quantities for the purposes of the war, city that had become their comrades-in-arms. Even though it's said to be massive, Civerstein's klania bombs are actually very limited (that's why they should only be used in an emergency). Claire thought she had to be extra wise in using it, not a single breath of gas should be wasted.

Claire's troops had reached the town hall, the place with the most trolls, as well as the gathering point for all the special soldiers. The klania bombs were spread again, hoping that in one fell swoop they would be able to destroy all the trolls there. However, the trolls in the city center are a bit different. Their magic is quite large, so they can transfigure into humans and attack back (or run away).

Civerstein's last line of defense was the town hall building. There were dozens of civilians there, begging to be saved from this disaster. Even if the city is destroyed, the walls are broken down, or even all the settlements have been demolished, the Civerstein civilization can still be rebuilt, as long as the people are still there and the mayor is still on the throne. That's why Claire is willing to bring her troops to block all the trolls. They are desperate to clash in the middle of the chaos of the deadly blue gas.

"Don't let them escape!" she shouted.

The special forces competed to capture the troll-humans using swords and spears. They jump off their horses, lunge at the target and often—when they fall—the target dies with a sword. Claire also took part. The young lady was hunting for a troll-human who was rushing through the blue puffs of gas. The horse's pace was clearly able to overtake the poor troll, but unfortunately he managed to reach a spear and swing it backwards, ripping Claire's riding horse's throat.

The horse neighed, blood gushing out, Claire fell to the ground. The daughter of Hamsphere Crook XII rushed to reclaim her sword to meet the swing of the troll's spear. The clang of broken iron, met with the action of slashing each other, neither one willing to be scratched. Claire warded off every thrust of the spear that came at her, occasionally also maneuvering to various sides to slash her opponent's large body.

The later the fight, the more depleted their stamina. Claire remembered her biggest taboo, not to take too many breaths, or else she would suffer the same fate as the trolls strewn on the road. For his opponent—the troll-human—it was the same. Fifteen minutes ago he should have followed his people into the afterlife, if he hadn't had time to transfigure into a human and his respiratory receptors had become less sensitive. If it failed to quell it with the sword, Claire thought it would be nothing more than an arena of physical endurance.

Unfortunately, Claire's vision, which turned out to be the first, thinned. The girl's feet began to waver, and so did the grip of her sword. The other soldiers were still busy serving their respective battles, while Claire's opponent looked happy with his spear. Just as he thought the grim reaper had arrived, a huge boulder suddenly flashed across the sky, hitting several buildings in the town hall, one of which was the one-story house that was behind Claire's opponent.

The debris flew everywhere, caught everyone off guard, but not Claire Crook. The poorly gripped Civersword shot swiftly into the troll-human's neck, followed by a fountain of triumphant blood. The girl won, although one after another fell due to lack of breath.

"Father," she whispered, accompanying the destruction that engulfed Civerstein. "Forgive me."

Just as he was about to close his eyes, Claire's consciousness was caught again by the sound of the warning bell. The people there thought there would be another rain of trolls, and that was definitely a "dot" for Civerstein's history.

However, that is not what happened. Civerdell's blue skies today looked chaotic as the cavalry roared from outside the gates. What is it that brings them back to their home? Claire tried to peek behind her dark eyes.

"Claire!" Dean's exclamation burst through. The man rode the horse frantically. "Those trolls aren't stupid! They are not stupid!" he screamed.

Claire who was too weak could only keep silent. Dean immediately got off the horse, carried the girl onto him, then left town hall. Claire's instincts of curiosity could not hold on (of course because seeing all the troops were actually pulled into the city, a strange sign).

"Dean," she said, completely ignored. Dean just galloped on and on forward.

A few seconds later, the answer came to Claire's ears and eyes. An army of human horsemen barged into Civerstein with the troll royal banner of elephant trunks. They weren't real humans, of course!

The second line of troll legions that the longish commander-in-chief had prepared had moved. Those with the title of core attacker turned out to be disallowed to be core cleaners. These transfiguration magic wielding trolls attacked at a time when the city had lost its fight, so there was no other choice but to run as Dean ran with Claire.

"Dean!" squeaked Claire. "My people! They were left behind at the town hall! Civilians! Children! Dean! DEAN!" her rage.

Dean was silent. Seeing the sad look on the face of the strong self, Claire could no longer hold back the tears of defeat. Civerstein was finished at the feet of the elephant trunk troll's power. Arog won the battle, without even having to step down from his throne.

Now the beautiful Civerstein is just a memory. Along with the smoke of the klania bombs, the crackling of fires, large rock burrows, the ruins of walls and buildings, Claire Crook's self-esteem was also destroyed along with her town. Civerdell has lost the icon of peace, as well as reaping the karma for its decades of peace.

(To be continued)