Chapter 20: The King has Fallen!

Hammer raised his scimitar and was about to behead his brother, but suddenly, he sensed something approaching behind his back. He instinctively swung the sword in a horizontal arc and sliced the neck of the horse behind his back. The horse neighed when cut with the blade and fell with a noise.

Hammer thought he had got rid of the attacker, but he realized it was a trap. "Wait, where is the rider?" He realized there was no one on the horse. He sensed someone behind him and took a swing while he turned, as he had no time to adjust himself.

"You drifted your attention, brother. This is so unlike you." Colt sliced his back before he could even move.

"Ah. Colt, you traitor!" Hammer winced in pain and shouted. He still tried to turn his body with the last remnants of his energy. Colt quickly leapt sideways and made a cut diagonally in the torso of his brother.

"Farewell, brother. It is time to pay for your sins," Colt said when Hammer's face was against the sky at the moment he was falling.

There was a silence on the battlefield. Everybody held their breaths when they saw the mighty Hammer falling down on his back.

Just when he was falling, Hammer had thoughts rushing into his mind.

"Was I meant to die so soon? Is this really the end?"

He could see Colt when his vision was getting blurred at the moment he was falling.

"So, you have really done it, brother. I always thought you would embrace me, but you turned out to be my enemy. Alas! I was destined to be killed on the battlefield. That too, by your hands."

He had visions of his past life.

He saw his younger self training his two brothers to fight with a sword. He was lecturing them with the basics of sword fight.

"Colt, you should not hold your sword loosely, or it will fall off your hand with a minor hit. Neither you should hold it too tight. It will restrict your movements."

"Rozerd, try to take the stance properly. Do not lean on one foot. Divide your weight equally. Learn to switch the weight according to the situation."

He saw another vision of him battling the enemies on the battlefield with his father. He killed numerous enemies and his father praised him for his bravery.

"Well done, son. You are worthy of your ancestral blood. A warrior like you is suited to protect this kingdom."

He then saw a blurry vision of a brown-haired woman who spoke something.

"Who is it?" he thought.

"My son, grow up to be a strong man. You have to take the place of your father. You have to take the ancestral crown. But remember, once you become strong, do not use your strength to oppress others. The people should not look at you with hatred and despise, but with love and respect."

"Is it you, mother?" He realized it was a vision of his mother, whom he had long forgotten. "I remember my promise, mother. I remember it."

"Ah. I wish I could still fulfill my promise. I had a dream based on my promise. I wish I could still…"

He hit the ground.

Everyone on the battlefield was witnessing the fall of the mighty Hammer. They were holding their breaths when it happened. No one dared to speak a word until a soldier of Rozerd cried.

"The... the king has fallen! King Hammer has fallen!"

Everybody looked at each other to realize it had really happened. The soldiers of Rozerd jumped and cried when they heard the announcement.

"Yeaah! The king has fallen! We have won!"

Rozerd fell down after saying a few words to Colt with a smile. "You have done it. I thought it was really the end."

"Brother!" Colt leapt to look at his brother. Rozerd was bleeding from his back and he needed medical attention immediately. Colt broke the arrows stuck in his brother's back and pulled him aside. "Just stay here, brother. I will come back finishing my unfinished task." He stood up when he realized Hammer was still breathing.

The soldiers of Hammer were in despair. Their faces were littered with disbelief.

"No, it can not be. Our messiah has fallen?"

"No, no, it can not happen."

Varius was hiding behind the rocks on the hilltop when he heard the announcement. He could not believe his ear, so he came out to confirm it.

"What?" He saw the fallen king. His king. "My king? No, it can not be." He saw Colt tending to Rozerd. "Did he do this?" He did not want to believe his eyes. "No, no, no, my king never loses." He dropped to his knees, as he could not handle the shock.

"We have lost."

"We can not win this war."

"It is all futile."

The tribal soldiers murmured in despair. They were already turning their backs, and some had already fled from the battlefield.

Varius saw their attitude and got enraged. "You dastards!" He screamed at the top of his lungs to get the attention from everybody. "How can you be so unmanly on the battlefield? You eunuchs!" He proceeded. "Did my king not show you a dream? So what if he falls on the battlefield? Would his dream die if he falls? Was not his dream bigger than his own existence? Did you not take an oath to fulfill his dream at any cost? You damn eunuchs! Look at yourself! Are you worthy of this dream? You losers! Would you run away and abandon him?"

Kyte could observe the change on the battlefield when Varius said those words. He knew if the man continued his speech, it could turn the tide of the battle. He loaded his arrow and aimed at him.

But Varius had already done the damage.

"Yeaaahhh! We will fight until the end!" a tribal soldier cried.

"Yaaaaa!" they all screamed and jumped at their enemies.

Varius hid again after his speech as he knew the dangers of standing in the open for too long. He clenched his fist and was enraged by the fact that he could not protect his king. He pulled out his sword and decided to jump into the battle.

The two armies engaged in battle once again.

Colt was about to finish Hammer, but the tribal soldiers created a hindrance from doing so.

"We would not let you touch our messiah!" one of them shouted.

"Damn it." Colt took his stance facing them. "Fine. I will just have to deal with you."