05 |Warriors In Action

The armed masses of Sah' Jangi warriors descended the highlands with their horses, charging at full force.

The Arabian intruders quickly rushed to mount their horses, rearranging themselves into a battle format.

The frontmen of the Sah'Jangi army pointed out their swords and spears, engaging their blades into direct hits with their counters.

Metals clashed, followed by the echoes of grunts and tears of flesh as enemies' bodies began to drop from their horses.

"Ajefe!" Danji called.

"Yes?"

"Protect the villagers at all cost!"

Ajefe nodded.

"Kamyla, attack the moment their formation is broken!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Danji raced ahead, raising his kuiza in the air.

He sliced the necks of those closest — pulling the leather leash of his horse to take a sharp turn and manoeuvre through as he skillfully struck both ends of his weapon on the enemies' back.

He and the rest went neck and neck with the frontmen, diverting their attention from the villagers.

The Arabian archers at the far back drew their bows, aiming their arrows up in the air.

"Commander!" A warrior alerted, pointing at the enemy archers.

"Dispace!" Danji shouted, forcing his men to scatter in random directions — arrows pierced through in the air, striking a few Sah'Jangi men.

Danji tsked. "Attack from the sides!"

"Yes, Commander!"

They divided themselves into two.

Danji's half rushed forward with readied blades, striking and casting their opponents off their horses.

Danji's perfect attacks landed on the precise vitals of his targets, steering his weapons gracefully between his fingers as the edges of his blade grazed deeply into their skins.

Their warm blood slattered over his body — embellishing the uniqueness of his sword technique; truly segregating him as the leader of the army.

He suddenly pulled his horse to a halt — falling flat on the horse's back as a pair of swords sliced through the air, a few inches from his face.

He swept his blade across one's arm, slicing it off as he stabbed the other end in the face of the second.

Their bodies fell to the ground.

Danji turned to look forward, tightening his grip on the leather bridle as he charged forward.

Ajefe, still on his horse at the far back of the army, calmly studied the enemies' movement from higher land, relating their positioning to the safety of the villagers culled in the centre.

He suddenly raised his hand in the air. "Mid North and six to the east. Fire!!!"

A swam of arrows sprouted out from dry bushes and into the lowlands — their sharp blade heads stabbed at the mid-roll soldiers of the Arabians closest to the villagers.

Their formation disrupted.

Kamyla immediately took the opportunity — Rhou raced forward.

Its enormous body broke through the slimmest opening in their human barrier, grasping and crushing the bodies that blocked his way.

Kamyla pushed herself to stand on its back, narrowing her eyes at the closest opponents.

"Cover me, Rhou!" She sprung off the cat's back and launched her foot at the head of the closest soldier, throwing his body to the ground and trampled over.

Kamyla claimed his equine, changing its direction and extending her blade to the skulls of the next.

She decapitated the unfortunates closest to her, charging faster into their population as Rhou's attacks caused more fright and commotion in their positioning.

Kamyla swept her blades, clashing with the sword and spear that launched from both sides. She grunted.

Releasing the bridle of the horse, she leaned to the side and threw a fist at one's face; she grabbed his neck, pulling his body to push to the next and casting both to the ground.

She sliced her blade backwards, detaching the arm of her next attacker. She quickly thrusted it through his throat; his body hung off his horse.

Kamyla grinded her teeth, using his corpse as a human shield, swinging it in a circular motion and pushing it against two others.

ROAR!

Rhou pounced at the three charging at her, seizing their heads in its mouth and devouring them in a snap.

Kamyla smiled. "Good boy!" She jumped off the horse, grabbing its fur and mounting its back.

She rubbed the side of its ear, "Let's go!"

Rhou raced forward, clawing its running preys as he ripped their bodies apart between its teeth.

Kamyla as well took part in the goresome playdate, painting her blade with their blood as their screams and cries showered the air.

She diligently played her weapon like a body part, rupturing everything its curved edges touched — she suddenly grabbed the Kuiza with two hands, detaching it from the middle.

She now held two identical swords.

Synchronizing with her tiger's movements and direction, she leaned slightly to the side, utilizing her twin blades to finish off Rhou's escaped preys and soiling the grounds with their butchered heads.

Her techniques were eye-peeling yet ruthless; being nothing less of the second in command herself. After all, her skills were an almost equal match to the commander himself.

Kamyla snarled, sitting properly on Rhou's back as she re-attached her weapon to a whole and clenched to its neck fur.

Ajefe's sharp eyes continuously roamed the messy battlefield, scrutinizing the ratio of his comrades versus the enemy's population.

He calculated the point location of the enemy majority, directing his hidden archers to ensure the villagers' safety.

"Fifteen to west, three southeast. Seven before north! Fire!"

Arrows shot out.

Watching his subordinates strike his precise locations, Ajefe observed the enemy's number reduce to almost half. But given their skills, they were still a threat to harming the villagers.

Azada suddenly yelled, "Retreat!"

Almost immediately, his soldiers quickly withdrew, running in the opposite direction.

Danji held up his fist, signalling his warriors to stop their attacks.

Everyone froze.

Rhou suddenly turned and leapt at Danji, pulling to a halt to stand next to his horse. Kamyla kept her eyes locked on the retreating army already at a good distance away.

"Are they really running away?" A fellow warrior asked, directing his horse in Danji and Kamyla's direction.

"Seems so", Kamyla stated.

Danji narrowed his eyes, "That seems odd. Why would he want to give up everything so fast?"

"Because we overpowered them, of course!" Kamyla smiled.

"Hm... It seems too easy—"

"Commander Danji! Commander Kamyla!"

They snapped their eyes up at Ajefe.

He raised his hand to point at a distance. "There is another troop heading away from us. They are transporting captives!"

Their brows quirked.

Kamyla furrowed her brows. "Captives... But that means..."

"He raided the neighbouring villages before this one", Danji frowned. "No wonder they gave up so easily. They already have enough people".

"Those pieces of shit!" Kamyla clinched.

Danji then looked up at Ajefe, "How far are their troops with the hostages?"

"A few miles. We can catch up to them if we round them from the woods. Although, their number is equal or greater than ours".

Danji looked down, grinding his teeth as he took a moment to think.

"But, Commander", a warrior stepped forward. "Those other villagers aren't even under Sah'Jangi's protection. We came here for this village. We are not obligated to help them".

"Besides, their number has doubled. I do not think we should take such risk", another chipped in.

"Doesn't mean we will abandon those innocent people at their mercy!" Kamyla snapped with a scowl. "We have to help them!"

"But how, Commander Kamyla?" The warrior asked. "There is no guarantee that if we go head-on with them, they won't threaten or even kill the hostages before we stop them".

"Our heroism might still lead to their death either way. Or even ours", the second grimaced. "I doubt we'll be able to—"

"That's enough!" Kamyla hushed the men. "What sort of warriors are you? Ready to let innocent lives slide under the rug of brutal death!? You all should be ashamed of yourself!"

The men immediately frowned at her words. How bold of her to speak to them like children. Just because she is the second in command and they were forced to obey her?! Tsk!

They turned to face Danji, hoping he'd have more sense and rationality than his deputy. He couldn't possibly agree with this emotion-driven woman.

"Commander Danji, you can't possibly be considering interfering with other lands that are not connected to our Empire, can you?" One asked.

Danji didn't say a word, still staring down with a mused expression.

He then exhaled, raising her head to look at his men. "You heard the second in command. We help them".

Their brows quirked. "But, Comm—"

"If there is a slim chance that we can save them, then we will. Even if it is only two out of all of them, it is better than them being sold as sex slaves across the savannah". Danji pulled his horse's bridle, "Besides, we swore our lives to protect the innocent. Whether of our empire or not. So my decision is final!"

The men grimaced.

"We will divide into two groups". Danji then turned to Kamyla, "You take the left side, I'll take the right. We'll trap them between".

"Ok—" Kamyla froze.

Danji furrowed his brows, "What is it, Kamy?"

Kamyla didn't respond, having her face zone out for a few moments. Her face suddenly lit up.

"I have an idea!"

"What is it?"

She returned her kuiza to her back strap, clutching Rhou's fur and directing him to the right. "I'll be right back!"

"Wait what!?—"

"Rhou!" Rhou instead sprung in command, racing to the woods at the right.

All eyes followed her with quirked brows.

"Kamyla!" Danji shouted. "Where the hell are you going!?"

Kamyla gazed over her shoulder, shouting back, "When you get my signal, aim for their horses!"

"What?..." Before Danji could question her more, Kamyla and the tiger disappeared between the trees.

Danji's brows slowly knitted to a frown, snarling underneath his breath, "This girl..."