The Battle

*Warning for some gore and serious stuff.*

The army marched for a day to reach their designated area for the war. Dan also got to know his unit members; they were the only unit in the vanguard that were awakened. The vanguard army itself had approximately 3000 soldiers and around ten awakened whose abilities were of use to the army, which was a low number.

Soon, the day of confrontation arrived. Barbarians were humans. They didn't have a multiracial culture like the kingdom, so the beastfolk weren't among their ranks.

The vanguard army had to fight an army of 4000 warriors. So, being outnumbered, the mood was heavy.

Dan's unit was in front of the left wing of the army. He stood there with Shun by his side.

"There are some warriors with different tattoos among their ranks." From our information, they are awakened ones."

The unit, all men, nodded.

"We can launch a concentrated attack on their right. It will attract their attention." The leader, a beastman with the mane of a lion and a cat-like ear, said

' So he is the only 'magic' user in our group.' Dan thought when he saw him first.

At the sound of war drums, the army moved. Following their leader's order, they worked together towards the enemy's right side.

The unit was among the ranks of soldiers, so they attacked alongside normal soldiers. Barbarians also didn't stand idly as their horsemen engaged with the vanguard's cavalier.

After the first line of both sides' infantry met, a chaotic battle erupted. Dan's unit got into practised formation with Dan, the leader, and a middle-aged human at the front. Shun and another one stood behind them; the last two of the group were at the back of the unit.

The middle-aged man was a defensive type who awakened and blocked most projectiles and stray spear thrusts. The leader didn't show his mystical powers and proceeded with sheer strength, which was impressive. As for Dan,

*Splash*

His spear bore a hole in other party's neck and made it bleed profusely. With his strength they proceed to the depth of the right side of enemy. As for the two at the back, one was hitting the enemy with bare fist while the other slashed a butcher knife around, cutting enemies.

The barbarians soon noticed their presence and crumbling lines of the army soon two muscular man appeared. Their skin was tanned from the sun and their tattoo's stood up from other warriors. "Dan and Aiden, stay and stop them. We meet at the centre of their army.

Dan nodded and Aiden, the butcher, left behind with him. The two warriors wanted to intercept them but Dan's spear blocked their way.

"I guess we can't let you pass." He said.

They readied their weapons; one holding a sabre faced Dan, while the other, holding a hammer, faced Aiden.

Dan assumed a firm position with the spear pointing to the front. The warrior's hand's veins suddenly bulged as he slashed towards him. Dan dodged by a hair's breadth, and the sabre cut through soil, leaving a clean incision.

'Hmm. His strength is not mediocre, but it seems his hands are the source of the power. An unbalanced power-up. I can wear him off and then kill him easily, but...

'That wouldn't be overwhelming.' He thought as he gripped the spear. The warrior reacted, and again, with a burst of power, he thrust the sabre with a little curve. Dan thrust a spear at the coming sabre. The tip of the spear hit his wrist with astonishing speed, causing his sabre to fall, cut through his bones and tendons, and then cut his flesh along his arm. The spear made it to the axillary artery. He then retracted the spear as fast as he could.

The man screamed in agony as endless blood came from his bloody arm. Aiden and other warriors were in the heat of battle when the agonised scream startled them. They turned their heads to look when Dan pierced the other party's heart, finishing him. The hammer user was shocked. Aiden used this opportunity and slashed, wounding the man's thigh.

The man didn't even have time to react when a spear pierced his head. The warrior fell down like a puppet with cut strings. Aiden was dumbfounded. "Hey, that was…" but he stopped himself as he looked at the calm man picking his spear from the brain of the fallen warrior. He felt something within himself that was caused by this young man: fear. 'But how is this possible? He must be only slightly more powerful than me.'

'They are weak? Or is it because of their abilities? I am strong both in defence and offence, yet these people only have one ability in one aspect.' Dan thought, oblivious to the vacant-looking Aiden.

"Let's go; they must not be too far." Dan's voice brought him back to reality as he instinctively said, "Yeah, sir!" Dan, taken back by his answer, nodded slowly, and the duo left the scene, leaving the trembling normal warriors behind.

......

Tristan's eyes were popping out of his sockets when the black haired young man battled a barbarian with the mystical ability to move plants.

The vines moved really fast, but the young man, Dan, swung his spear and cut through the resilient branches. 'As a fire user, I am more compatible with this type of opponent, but this young man is overwhelming him with ease.' He thought as he looked at his opponent.

The barbarian was burned in several places; he was simply a poor match for him. Being a mystical battle-oriented ability user, he didn't have many opponents matching his capabilities. 'But can I win against him?' he asked again at Dan, who retreated several steps back, holding his spear overhead and throwing it in a straight line.

Tristan couldn't even follow the movement of the spear due to its speed. All he saw was a wall of vines with a hole in the middle that then crumbled. The barbarian in a green robe and exaggerated tattoos fell to his knees with a shattered spear in his right chest. From the look of it, the spear crumbled under the pressure of the attack and the wall, but its remnant and metallic tip tore at the chest of the man.

"I guess I have to find a better weapon?" the young man muttered. Tristan was dumbfounded . Dan's concerns doesn't sound right given the circumstances in Tristan's opinion. 'He seems a bit out of it?' he thought.

"So leader, what will we do now?" Aiden the restless man said.

The leader, Tristan, didn't know why he sounded a bit anxious, but he didn't say anything about it.

"We have won." Tristan simply said.

..........

Dan returned to his tent, exhausted. In his opinion, the battle was ….. Boring. He didn't feel any challenge as he cut through ranks of enemies. Their magic users were even more boring as they shouted some absurd names and thought highly of themselves. 'In video games, the names would be cool, but not in real life," he thought.

' I killed dozens of men whom I had no personal grudge against. Yet it doesn't put weight on my mind. But why is it like this? Because I am reborn here with my memories intact, making my mind resilient towards matters of death? Or is it because Aurora wanted me to do it? Or maybe..." His thoughts were interrupted by a surge of warmth passing through his body, causing his exhaustion to ease.

"Shit, Rora! Can't you give it a rest?" he muttered and sulked, but begrudgingly started rubbing his bulge.

Elsewhere in the camp, the crown prince, Zane, was listening to Victor and Tristan's words.

"From what Aiden, one of my men, told me, he is ruthless in his moves and quickly overwhelmed the other party," Tristan said, then added, "and in front of a mystical ability user, he was not flustered in the slightest and subdued him through sheer power."

Zane nodded and looked at Victor. Victor opened his mouth. "The soldiers witnessing his strength all told of exaggerated details, cutting some in half, exploding limbs and heads, and broken corpses. Some even said they couldn't follow his movements through the battlefield because of his speed."

Prince was getting headaches. He rubbed his temple slightly. 'He is powerful. Something I need most right now is men like him. If I want to build a continent-spanning empire, I need men like him. Although I am powerful enough to handle many of the ability users out there, it's better to have someone else beside me handle those kinds of situations," he thought.

"Well done. Now go and rest, you must be tired." The duo bowed and left.

The prince eased into his chair as he looked at the letter on the table. 'How could Mariuru order him around?' he thought as he read through the letter.

'My spy is saying Mariuru brought a new woman to the palace. He says that several days before Mariuru's return he met a commoner, a young man with black hair.'

'Apparently this young man was the guard of this woman Mariuru brought.'

He narrowed his eyes at the information, "And this woman….. she is… interesting." His lips slowly curled up as he smiled amusingly. He then licked his lips and murmured, "Let's see how much you will hold before breaking…."