31 A Soldier's POV (1)
(A/N: Before you go ahead and celebrate my arrival, this was a one-off release. Yeah, life and school can have that effect, lmao. As much as I want to create chapters weekly, I simply don't have as much time to write chapters as I did a few months ago. So, all of you are gonna have to wait until I'm on holiday for some chapters.
This period of break has also given me the chance to reflect on what I've written so far and what I plan to write. Going on a tangent, I'm sure I've made it clear enough that I'm not that proud of my earliest chapters. They're pretty shitty.
No, I'm not going to rewrite them as things are set in stone. It's just, at the time I didn't know how to really write a story and I used someone else's work as training wheels. That, along with not having much of a plan for the story's direction. Hence, the existence of Rimuru, Elaina, and Esdeath. It's only thanks to your kind comments and criticisms that gave me the courage to diverge and go on my route to tell an original and unique story for Overlord.
So, from the depths of my heart, thank you for sticking around :)
[Timeskip - 9 Hours]
[???'s POV]
I stood atop the outer stone walls of Igale that provided guards and soldiers, such as myself, a perfect vantage point to survey, alert, and protect the city from unwanted visitors. It certainly wasn't ideal; I'd much rather spend time with my evacuated family in Baharuth. Nevertheless, my position as Guard Captain for Eastern Igale required me to stay put, just like all the other men and soldiers.
"Hmmm," One of my soldiers stationed a few metres to my right hummed, catching my attention and causing me to turn my head around toward him. "You seem a tad bit stressed, Captain Krado." The soldier slightly smirked as he said my name, tapping his foot in a rhythmic pattern.
"And what gave that away, hmm?" I replied in a somewhat chill, sarcastic, and curious tone all at once. "That polearm of yours is on the edge of snapping!" The soldier slightly chuckled, taking a glance at the polearm my right hand wielded. "Huh," I said to myself, not realizing how tightly I held my weapon as I loosened my grip. "I guess you're right." I gave a subtle, albeit faltering smile.
It was the best smile I could give within these circumstances. As the Guard Captain of Eastern Igale, I had to set an example for the soldiers under my command. I had to put up a brave and collective front in order to keep up morale in such bleak times.
Deep in my soul though, I was scared. I was no adventurer that went out into the wild to slay dragons and demons. I was just an ordinary Guard Captain that watched over the outer city, doing the same job as basically everyone else. The only difference was that I had command over a dozen or so men.
But why would I be commanding soldiers and adventurers instead of my regular colleagues?
Typically, nobles would be in charge of soldiers. They'd lead armies into battle for the prestige and boasting rights. This time, however, most decided to bunker down in their private sectors of land.
The people hated it, but, it was to be expected with those greedy and selfish assholes. Come to think of it, I guess I don't really blame them; everyone else would've done the same. It's unfortunate that the majority of us will suffer casualties from the imminent war.
Be that as it may, if nobody is willing to protect this nation, we'd lose all that we hold dear. Our friends, our family, our colleagues, our home, our memories, and everything in between. Even though I was scared, even though I wanted to run away, I couldn't. I'd be no better than those nobles if I did.
'It's all just human instinct.' I chalked up in my mind, watching the soldier wave a hand and walk away, continuing his patrol on the walls. I'm not sure whether he bought that smile I gave him. He seemed content with it.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of the morning air, inhaling and exhaling slowly. It was oddly peaceful, to say the least. As I was in the middle of inhaling, an urgent and desperate voice that teetered on the edge of death brought me back to reality.
"CAPTAIN KRADO! CAPTAIN KRADO!" The voice screamed, causing me to turn around and scan the surrounding area trying to figure out the origin of who called my name so frantically. Thankfully, my searching quickly ceased as I saw a messenger boy, no older than 15 and drenched in sweat, running towards me as if he saw a ghost.
"What is it, messenger boy?" I questioned in a raised voice, loud enough for him to hear me due to our distance. From my peripheral vision, I saw some of the soldiers and adventurers stationed near me focus on my conversation, temporarily stopping their duties.
The messenger boy took a brief moment to take in deep breaths, resting his hands on his knees while trying to put as much oxygen into his lungs. However, that quickly came to pass when he put his palms around his mouth to elevate his voice and shout from the ground. But when those words exited his mouth, a collective shiver went down all of our spines.
"THE BEASTMEN ARE HERE!!! THE MAIN ARMY AT THE CLEBUS FRONT ATTACKED NOT LONG AGO!!! SCOUTS SAY A MASSIVE RAID PARTY WILL BE APPROACHING HERE, EASTERN IGALE, IN JUST MERE MOMENTS!!!"
I tightly clenched my polearm in the hopes of not letting my fingers tremble with the might of a dragon's wrath. While I tried to keep myself composed with all my heart, I knew, deep in my soul that my exterior front was chipping away like plucking the leaves off a tree one by one.
On the other hand, the people within my vision were already quaking in their boots. "Are… you serious?" I heard one soldier question, hoping what the messenger boy said was a cruel joke. "Right here?! Right now?! FUCK!!!" Another shouted in anger.
"Messenger boy," My voice was weak and strained as I gulped the collecting saliva in my mouth. "Come up here, and let's talk." The messenger boy heeded my order, climbing a nearby ladder with lightning speed. "What you're saying… is it the truth, right?" I could already feel beads of sweat drip down my forehead as the messenger repeated his words once more. This time, in a more regular voice that was suitable for conversation.
"T-that's right!" The teenager said with a stutter. "Word had it that a raid party tried to capture Trul, only to have Báthory kill all of them in the dead of night! A few hours later, even more beastmen attacked Clebus! That's all I know, Captain! I've spread the word to as many as I could!"
"Tch," I clicked my tongue before gritting my teeth out of instinctive fright. 'It's begun, the day of reckoning…' I thought to myself, imagining the potential lives lost from this massive war. "Alright," I turned from facing the messenger boy to all those that could hear me.
"EVERYBODY, LISTEN UP!!!" I'm sure most people in the vicinity were aware of the situation due to the messenger boy, but now they all had their eyes focused on me, eagerly waiting for the words that were about to come out of my mouth.
"NO MORE WILL WE LET STAY IDLE AND WATCH OUR FAMILY BE SLAUGHTERED!!! GET INTO POSITION AND PREPARE FOR WAR!!!" Like professionals, everyone listened to my words as they got into their positions with great efficiency, similar to cogs in a machine.
Some soldiers, with the help of some magic casters, prepared batches of hot oil to be poured down our wall's machicolations. Archers and potent magic casters lined up along the very walls I stood on and got into their formations. Others retreated into the heart of the city to prepare traps and such.
Finally, there was the ground force. Out of every battle formation, they had the most important job. Outside the eastern Igale walls I stood on were camps where one of our armies, consisting of regular soldiers, conscripted men, and adventurers were stationed.
None of us knew when the Beastmen Nation would attack us. So, to not let Igale fall to ruin, we established a camp for the army outside the city. This army in no way, shape, or form, could compare to the armies Baharuth or Slane would send. While it's true Elsa was stationed in this city by the Queen, she wasn't in this particular army, making me lose some confidence in our defence.
But anyhow, I admired every brave soul out there. They held their weapons high and faced fear head-on while I stood atop a wall. I gave a quick look at each and every one of them, thinking to myself about the families and friends they left behind and quite possibly won't ever see again.
There were also plenty of other formations and defensive strategies being prepared across the city. However, these were just the ones I witnessed take place in front of my eyes.
"Captain Krado," The messenger boy spoke lightly, who was still by my side as we watched all this rapidly unfold. "Do you think this would be enough? Enough to stop w-what's to come?" I didn't respond immediately as the background noise of war preparations filled the silence between us.
I eventually made up my mind about the ordeal. "There's no need to worry about that. With the likes of Elsa stationed in this city, along with the countless brave souls, I'm sure we'll be fine." I said calmly, seeing the teenager's facial muscles slightly ease up.
"Now," I changed my tone to one more serious fit for commands, still maintaining that calmness in my voice. "Go, retreat from this place and hide in your house." The messenger boy seemed stunned at my words. "Bu-" I interrupted him.
"A boy like you shouldn't fight in this war. There were only so many refugees Baharuth and Slane were willing to accept from us before leaving the rest here. But I digress, get to a safe place in this city and stay there. Is that understood?"
The teenager nodded furiously at my words before bowing and getting down from the wall via the same ladder that got him up here. I watched him sprint with all his might away from the area. This was just in case he did want to put his life at risk by fighting. I couldn't live with the thought.
"Huhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…" I let out a low sigh, biting the edge of my tongue as I turned around, facing the grassy plains that were dotted with trees. "Now… we wait…" There was a tense silence that lingered in the air. The noise of soldiers getting into positions had ceased moments prior.
'Don't worry… everything will be alright…' I thought to myself. As I blinked, an image of a beautiful lady with lengthy brown hair faced my direction and brightly smiled. Cradled in her hands, covered in a blue blanket, was an infant boy who babbled nothing but gibberish, as any infant would.
My lovely wife and 5-year-old son, both of which I desperately wanted to see and hug again once all this was over. The last time I saw their faces was when I waved my farewells to them as they got onto a carriage heading for Baharuth, safe and far away from the imminent war. Every other man of fighting age was doing the same thing as I.
But even then, plenty of women had to stay here and fight.
As quickly as the image of my small family and all those other memories flashed before my eyes, they all ceased away into the depths of my mind. A booming warcry echoed over the horizon that almost made me jump from the surprise. I heard the other soldiers around me gasp similarly.
The beastmen raid party was here. No, they were already beelining right toward us with frightening speed. What was originally a small spec in the distance, was now a growing swarm. There were easily hundreds of beastmen, snarling and bloodthirsty and running like savages and wielding their sharp weapons that would be used to butcher us.
It was a sight we never hoped to see in our lifetimes.
Nonetheless, all of us had a job to fulfill. I pointed my free hand at the incoming swarm before screaming an order. "ARCHERS," They all collectively raised their bows in the air. 'I pray this attack culls the raid parties numbers down…' I thought to myself.
500 metres.
"FIRE AT WILL!!!"
At my command, the rows of archers released their arrows from their strings. The sky was filled to the brim with sharp metal ends, all the while generating an almost whistle-like sound, temporarily deafening the raid party's battle cries.
400 metres.
The wave of arrows had a minimal effect against the beastmen horde. Sure, some of those savages died from the wave of arrows that pierced certain weak spots on their beastly bodies such as the eyes. But, most were unaffected by the arrows due to their strong fur, shields, and armour they wore.
300 metres.
"MAGIC CASTE-" I didn't even get the chance to finish what I was going to say as the magic casters, both on the walls and in the ground force conjured up incantations around their hands. A few of them even charged up their magical weapons.
"[Maximize Magic: Magic Arrow]!" "[Thunderlance]!" "[Twin Magic: Acid Arrow]!" Spell after spell, the magic casters bellowed with rage and desperation, doing their best to strike as many beastmen as before they reached the ground force.
This was a significant improvement over the failed barrage of arrows previously. But still, the horde of demi-human savages wasn't thwarted by our spells. The only real damage we did was when one of the magic casters unleashed a fireball spell stored in their magic weapon. That easily took down a couple of dozen beastmen at once in a glorious explosion.
200 metres.
"SOLDIERS, WEAPONS AND SHIELDS UP!!! ARCHERS AND MAGIC CASTERS, KEEP UP THE BARRAGE!!!" My stomach churned with unease as the beastmen drew closer by the second. Their monstrous forms told my every instinct to run away in cowardice. I couldn't tell you how the soldiers at the front of the ground forces were feeling even if you gave me thousands of gold coins.
100 metres.
Some of the adventurers prepared their Martial Arts before taking their proper stances with their selective weapons. A few magic casters buffed their allies with supportive spells. Whether those buffs were increased attack damage, speed, or a more durable body, I couldn't say.
50 metres.
"SOLDIERS, GIVE THE BEASTMEN A TASTE OF OUR FURY!!! ATTACK!!!"
0 metres.
Next Chapter: A Soldier's POV (2)
Next Next Chapter: Dance of the Crimson Flames
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(A/N: Yeah, I know that this chapter was probably one, if not the shortest chapter I've released for this fic. There are only 2.3k words (not counting the big A/N at the start) instead of my usual 3 to 4.5k word count for this book. This was for 2 reasons. First, I broke this chapter into 2. But the reason I did that is that I need to get back into the 'groove' of writing. I've been focusing on school and life that writing my typical quota is kinda tough to reach for the time being.
Speaking of school, I won't post for another long while. Like, possibly until march. AP courses kind of do that to your schedule. It sucks because I have this elaborate and amazing plan for how the story will go, I just can't write it! Anyhow, thoughts on the chapter? Give a review while you're at it! If you do, I promise the next part of this chapter will easily be twice as long!
One more thing before I go, are there any good fics on this site? I've read a few and most of them were... disappointing to say the least. Maybe I should come back in full force and teach those authors what a real story looks like, hahaha! (This was a joke... unless...))
