Chapter 40: Dark night (2)

Ethan moved his sword with his right hand. The swords of the castle captain and Ethan clashed in the air. Sparks flew as the two swords collided. Soon, the soldiers of both sides withdrew and began to watch this duel. The duel of the two sword masters was not something seen every day. The castle captain continued his attacks with all his might, causing Ethan to step back. It was quite difficult for Ethan's still developing body to respond to these attacks. Fortunately, Ethan had a hidden ability that no one knew about. Ethan tried to read his opponent's mind, but failed. Seeing this, he momentarily lost focus and dropped his sword. Ethan realized at that moment that he had no chance, and regretted not fighting with all his strength. He hadn't used his magic yet and wanted to defeat his opponent using sword movements.

But that was a big mistake. Ethan learned at that moment that warfare tolerated no mistakes. "Pick up your sword, lad," said the castle captain, and Ethan looked at him in disbelief. Just when he thought his second life was over, he heard the captain's words. Why did he give up so quickly and accept his death so readily? Ethan scolded himself and quickly picked up the sword that fell behind him. Both sides' soldiers watched all of this in astonishment.

As soon as Ethan picked up his sword, he made his move. The castle captain, trying to block the overhead strike, noticed something strange about the sword. It was heavier than usual. At that moment, he realized that Ethan was using a gravity spell. Nevertheless, he managed to evade the incoming strike with difficulty, but Ethan attacked again. This time, the fight was in favor of the castle captain. Ethan kept delivering strikes relentlessly and continued to use the gravity spell. Since using his other spells would take some time, he chose not to use them against an enemy so close.

The castle captain struggled to defend against Ethan's relentless attacks. Despite having many wounds on his body, he continued to fight for his life. His arms were now heavy, making it difficult to lift the sword. The skin on his hands had opened because of friction and started to bleed. Although he no longer wanted to endure this pain, the survival instinct prevailed.

But fate does not favor heroes. When the castle captain saw the sword piercing through his chest, he smiled in pain. In his last moments, he remembered the words Ethan had said to him before.

'You're not someone who wants to be a hero in your son's eyes. You are actually an idiot who is trying to give meaning to your worthless life and is ready to sacrifice your life and your son's childhood for it... '

In the last moments, he realized Ethan was right. "I wish I had just left all this and lived a peaceful life with my son..." With these thoughts, his legs gave way and he fell to the ground.

"DAD? No, no NO!" His son, watching his father being killed from the castle walls, tried to descend the stairs in disbelief at the scene before him. But as he descended the stairs, he noticed something blocking him. Two burly men stood before him with a smirk. "Where do you think you're going, little man?"

"Let me go!" he tried to break free from their grip but couldn't. "Hey, you're the son of that dead man, aren't you? Then you'll tell us where the castle treasure is," men said with a smirk. kid causing him to disbelieve his eyes. Just moments ago, his father had been cruelly killed, yet these two men's only concern was money. Looking around at the people, he saw their true faces. Everyone seemed to be looking as if this was perfectly normal. "Hey kid, cat got your tongue? If you don't want to die, you better tell us where the castle's treasure is hidden!"

Undoubtedly, the child was experiencing the darkest night of his life. At that moment, he saw the killer of his father approaching him. "That's enough. Leave the kid alone," he said, and the two men around him backed off. Ethan looked at the child silently for a while before speaking."If you want to live, stay somewhere quiet. I'll come to you later." After saying these words, he approached the body of the castle captain. The child watched in fear, unsure of what to do. In that moment, he witnessed a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life. Ethan had decapitated his father and placed his head on the sword. Seeing his father's expressionless face, the child watched helplessly as events unfolded.

Before ascending the castle walls, Ethan grabbed a torch. When the enemy soldiers saw the head of their leader, they looked at Ethan with fear. Each of them dropped their weapons one by one. As Ethan climbed to a high point, he began to speak loudly and lifted his sword into the air, keeping the torch close to it. A light atop the walls caught the attention of many in the dark night. "THE CASTLE CAPTAIN IS DEAD. THE WAR IS OVER! EVERYONE SURRENDER!" Hearing these words, every enemy soldier helplessly dropped their weapons. Some soldiers began to scatter. On the other side, soldiers of the Asina kingdom shouted with joy. "LONG LIVE THE KINGDOM OF ASINA. LONG LIVE PRINCE ETHAN." These words echoed throughout the castle. Just then, the sun began to rise on the horizon. Everyone was looking at the man holding his sword up high. King Richard also looked at his son with astonishment and pride. Despite the surrounding noise, Ethan silently watched the sunrise. A few minutes later, he calmly descended. Below, he noticed the son of the captain, embracing the headless body of his father, crying.

"My father is dead... my strong father is dead. Why did my father have to die? Why did he give him time to pick up his sword? This can't be true... Why? Why is he alive while but my father is dead? Damn it. Damn everything..." he said, crying. Ethan was observing the child from above. When the child noticed this, he glowered at him and with eyes filled with hatred. Feeling the darkness in the child, Ethan silently gazed at him. The surrounding soldiers also noticed the child.

"Hey, look into this one's eyes! I think he's going to kill us. I'm so scared," said the child. The others around laughed and started mocking the child. Ethan watched all of this silently. The child took his father's sword and looked at Ethan with hatred.

"How dare you kill my father? I WILL KILL YOU. I WILL KILL YOU NO MATTER WHAT!! There's no need for a wicked man like you to live," he shouted. After a moment of silence, everyone started laughing. They seemed as if they were in front of the funniest clown. The only one not laughing was Ethan. After silently observing the child for a while, Ethan approached him.

When the child saw Ethan approaching, he immediately swung his sword towards him. Ethan easily deflected the attack with a simple move, and the sword flew out of the child's hand. The child then tried to attack Ethan with his fists, but Ethan easily stopped them.

"There's no such thing as 'good' in war, kid. If you show mercy to your opponent, you'll be the first one to die. That's why I'm not your father's killer; your father killed himself. Those who don't wake up to the reality of war are fools. War is darkness, kid, and there's no such thing as guilt in war. If you want to kill me, you need to dedicate your whole life to it, but I'm sure your father wouldn't want that," Ethan said, looking at the child, who still had anger in his eyes.

"You know nothing about my father! I'll kill you no matter what!" he said with hatred. Ethan sighed and let go of the child, turning his back. "If this is what you've decided, I hope you don't regret it, kid."