Chapter Twenty-Three.

~~~Third Person, Xandar~~~

~~~July 1942~~~

Despite being ten o'clock at night, almost eleven, the streets of the capital of Xandar, the first and oldest of the kingdom's cities that bore the same name as its capital, were full to the brim of movement.

Bars, restaurants, inns, theaters, and even the streets were filled with people padding, no matter the hour, that was a most curious sight, something that in Westeros, was not seen anywhere else outside Xandar, partly because the night was taken to rest, and partly because the lack of sunlight offered little use for most businesses.

By contrast, on Xandar, and throughout the kingdom as a whole, this was not a problem, the light provided by lanterns, lanterns, and the like provided light even on the darkest of nights.

And now, with all of Xandar transported to another world, another universe, those nights began to get darker, in part because of its constantly cloudy skies, which provided a somewhat dark, cold, and secretive atmosphere for some, and with Xandar's new geographical position, that climate weighed more heavily. Largely to the city-states in the southern part of Xandar, such as Silvert Port, Elya, Port Royal, Xandar, Tavalar, Goldenfield, and Esaria.

Even so, and taking out the fact that people would start wearing warmer clothes, which would make fewer people out on the streets late at night, in this case, it seemed that the low temperatures did not seem to influence much, so when the Bifrost arrived at the Royal Forest, many people saw it, and unlike what many would do or show by seeing a bolt of colored lightning fall from the sky.

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A beautiful sight, on the other hand, when the Bifrost arrived, all the passersby were shocked for a moment, not because of the beauty of the beam, but because of what it meant, and you had to be very foolish not to realize that Xandar was being invaded, especially because the colored beam came from the sky, and beyond; from space.

Something that made Xandar very unified was the transparent information to the people in almost all aspects, from the economic, political, and even warlike aspects in some cases. That made the people know the situation of their kingdom, and so far, neither in the newspapers nor in the royal reports, there was no mention of something that made rays coming from the sky.

Contrary to what was expected and seen in many science fiction movies about alien invasions, the bystanders did not show panic, on the contrary, their countenances became cold and serious, and it was because of the martial training that every Xandarian was forced to endure and pass from the moment they reached their five years of age, both in the use of swords, spears, bows, crossbows, horseback riding, letters, handling army codes and even hand-to-hand combat.

And although, for the whole world that was complete madness, and no one would expose their children to such experiences at such a young age, (not counting the Spartans) for every Xandarian, that training was an honor, a complete honor to their homeland, kingdom, and land.

All that training, that the Xandarians had since they were five years old, and that many of the normal 'passers-by' that walked the streets, were still in training because they belonged to an army module, made the attitudes change completely in front of such a spectacle as the possible invasion of their land.

And if in itself, the Xandarians had a history of having earned the recognition of having a reserved behavior towards foreigners, discrimination for everything that was not Xandarian, and repulsion to anyone who threatened their nation, it was evident to know that anyone who deigned to invade Xandar, would not only have to face the army, but all of Xandar as a whole, because every Xandarian was a soldier.

But what stood out most and united all Xandarians, was the love and undying loyalty to their homeland, so when the people who lived near the Royal Forest and the Mines saw a bolt of colored lightning invading their beloved country, they didn't think twice and went in search of weapons.

One thing that Xandar was very similar to the United States was the ease with which citizens could access weapons, although in this case, the opportunity to obtain them was only through the military, plus having served in the military for at least a year.

So it was not uncommon to see some people living nearby coming out of their homes with guns and enchanted shields in their hands, all ready to defend their homeland.

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On the other side, Micaela, who had been the witch who captured Amora and who was still under the clutches of her wyvern, as Micaela saw in the distance the Bifrost falling from the sky.

"The civil guard is already aware of what happened, the Prime Minister has called the entire Xandarian force nearby, they won't be long in arriving, the important thing is to keep whatever I bring in this place and not let it spread." A group of witches arrived where Micaela was. Who did not take her eyes off the Bifrost, which was still not retreating.

"Seize her and keep her under the effects of the weakness potion, she has superhuman abilities, and we don't know what else she can do, send her as soon as possible to the Ischyros cells," Micaela ordered, beckoning her wyvern, which stopped pressing Amora with its claws.

Two witches wasted no time in seizing Amora, and another was approaching her face as she opened a potion and sprayed it at Amora from her forehead, which began to release a blackish smoke the moment it touched Amora's pale skin, with the latter letting out a muffled whimper.

And just as the two witches holding Amora were about to take her away, the Bifrost, who had so far not backed down. It retreated just as it came in the first place, retreating to the stars and taking its transcendence with it.

In his place, there remained the sight of seven men, all exceeding six feet in height, stout and muscular, wearing medieval plate armor, in company with bastard swords strapped to their hips or backs, along with square shields on their arms.

At the same time, the two witches who had Amora imprisoned immediately loaded her onto one of the wyverns of one of them and they both departed for Ischyros, while Micaela was left with five witches, counting the one to whom she had given the potion to Amora moments before.

"They are seven targets, wearing armor and armed, hostile until the last moment," Stephane, the witch who had given the potion to Amora, spoke, as she took her enchanted whip with her right hand, and took a potion with her left hand.

"Rooagg!"

"Rueegh!"

Instantly, growls and roars were heard, and from the forest behind the witches' backs, came a total of eight tattooed lizards, which, after recovering from the combat with Amora, were again ready to fight once more, and this time, with more fury and fury than before.

In the place where the Bifrost had fallen, the field was left burned, leaving as a mark a circle of runes marked in the green grass. As for the Asgardians present, they watched in the distance the group of seven witches and eight tattooed lizards. As they touched the pommels of their swords and tensed a little.

"There's something I don't like about all this, call it a gut feeling, but the air is charged with magic and power" Gudmond, one of the berserkers and leader of the group, said as he became more alert than usual. He analyzed the seven witches in front with menacing scrutiny.

"Don't tell me you are afraid Gudmond, we are in Midgard, there is nothing to be afraid of" Filio, another of the Asgardians, answered him haughtily. Undeterred by the presence of enemies meters away from them. As if their confidence in their abilities was great enough to measure no danger whatsoever.

"Shut up you two" Fabian told them, only for moments later Gudmond to receive severe shots to his chest, forcing him to take cover with his shield, which stopped three arrows, which threatened to start melting the metal of the shield, which spoke of his attack power.

"Turtle position, we're under attack!" shouted Birger, as he grabbed his shield to parry the shots coming from the sky, accompanied by distant roars.

"Filio, Belgar, follow me, we have to find Amora," said Gudmund, then set out in the direction of where Heimdall told them Amora was being taken.

In a show of dexterity, power, and strength, they bent their knees and jumped several meters, reaching several meters high in just a few seconds. While in the air, huge jaws closed on Filio, who, in a hasty movement, grabbed his shield and used it as a lever to avoid being caught in a wyvern's jaws.

Belgar and Gudmond, on the other hand, were subdued with glowing whips from the sky, maneuvered by witches on their fierce mounts, and as these two had no chance to maneuver in the air, they were held by the lethal weapons, which forced them to stop their advance and begin to fall to the ground.

Birger and three other berserkers stayed behind to fight against the witches who were in front of them, and who had not yet made a move. As for the other witches flying on their wyverns, they had the advantage for the moment because they were firing enchanted arrows constantly, while the berserkers, melee fighters, had the disadvantage of not being able to have long-distance attacks.