Mercenary

Within minutes, Alfred was woken back up by a bucket of water which the guards poured over his face. His neck tightened as his gaze flicked around and then finally rested on Gore who was still sitting on the ground. 

The men were saying that they would bring him to the physician, but he yelled at them. "Back off! I'm fine!"

Alfred stood up with one armored arm against the wall. He removed the gauntlet from his sword hand and then flung it to the mud. 

Alfred ran his fingers over his wrist to see if it was broken. 

Alfred sighed and then turned around towards the wall. He smashed his fast against the stone bricks, and as he did there was pop as his wrist snapped back into its socket. He grunted in pain and then confidently walked towards Gore. 

As Alfred drew near, Gore stood up and faced him. "You were strong for a human. Are all of the knights of the human kingdom as strong as you?"

Alfred nodded. "There are many who are far stronger than me. I did not even use my aura blade; I may have won with that."

Gore frowned. "Aura blade huh? I cannot feel Mana."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "But your brother can?"

Gore snarled. "Don't speak of Doom again!"

Alfred raised his hands. "Alright, alright! I have another question for you then. What was the task that your father gave you?"

Gore yawned. "Oh, he just wanted me to conquer the human kingdom by myself."

Alfred's eyes widened. "You are joking, aren't you?"

Gore blinked. "No."

Alfred took a deep breath. "You know, there are several human kingdoms, don't you? Did he specify which one?"

Gore cocked his head to the side. "I will put myself at the head of them all. I will kill anyone who gets in my way."

Alfred sighed and shook his head with a chuckle. "It's nice to dream big. Your father must have been really drunk. You do realize that several of the kingdoms like Dalior and Svern are allied with other races like the High elves and Dwarves. Furthermore, I could have my men shoot you down where you stand and that dream would end here and now."

Gore grinned and his cheeks stretched abnormally far. "ARE YOU THREATENING ME?!"

His voice boomed through the courtyard and the very stones shivered, as if in fear. 

Spittle landed on Alfred's face, but he did not quiver in fear. Instead, he laughed. "Haha, no. I am not threatening you. I am saying that could happen. What I want to happen is for you to join me as a mercenary for 20 gold coins every week. After all, there is not going to be a tournament held here if that was what you were waiting for, maybe you got the city names mixed up?"

Gore harrumphed. "I never lose my direction… I do need gold though, and I suppose it would be wise to learn a little more of the Human's strengths. When do we go to battle?"

Alfred grinned. "We were all training because we are about to march to meet my father, Dane, the duke of Lexton. From there, we will be laying siege to a city."

Gore nodded. "A siege huh? That will be a good experience."

That night, Gore rested in a bale of hay inside a stable because any sort of inn could not accommodate his massive size. 

Within the span of three busy days, Alfred left the castle and began the tedious journey to aid his father. Their whole party consisted of about 400 men-at-arms, 20 knights, and a single, but massive, mercenary. 

The whole trip, Gore walked. His massive legs carried him further than anyone, but he needed a lot of food. Whenever he got too far ahead of his party, he would chase down a deer and eat it raw. 

Gore was sitting on a massive boulder eating part of a deer, and as he sat there he thought about what his father had said to him when he was only a child.

'Eating raw meat from your kill is what a REAL MAN does. Cooking is for bitches.'

Gore smirked as he thought about it. He wanted to return to his father after successfully conquering the entire human land. 

Behind Gore in the wood, a pair of feet smashed brittle leaves into the dehydrated soil. Gore swung around with a bloody slab of meat hanging from his mouth. He saw Alfred there. 

Alfred had full armor on, but he walked over the ground as if it weighed nothing. He flipped the visor up on his helmet and stared at Gore with piercing blue eyes. 

"Gore, there is a single man on the road who is blocking our path. He is an Aura swordsman. I am the only Aura swordsman in our group, but it would not be right for me to fight. Fight for me Gore and spill his blood."

Gore swallowed the whole chunk of meat in one bite and flung a shard of bone down to the mutilated corpse of the deer on the ground.

He grinned like a devil that had eaten a man alive. "I will kill him for you. I will show you that I was going easy on you."

Alfred smiled forcibly and then offered a towel to Gore. "Aren't you going to clean your hands before you fight?"

Gore laughed. "Why should I clean my hands when I am about to get blood on them again?!"

Alfred snorted. "Have it your way. Follow me."

Alfred flipped his visor down and then began to walk back in the direction he had come. Gore rubbed his bloody hands together and followed on the right side of Alfred like a bear beside a lion. 

As they walked, Alfred tried to give Gore advice. "Aura users are able to slice through blades when they amp their swords with mana especially far. I couldn't feel much Mana from that knight, so I don't think he will be able to use Aura that potently. Dodge his blade when it turns bright."

Gore shrugged. "My blade is one of the few Oath-blades left in the world, so no amount of Mana charged into a blade can destroy it."

Alfred's eyes widened imperceptibly beneath his visor. "Really? I guess that is unsurprising for a Prince of the Giant kingdom."

Gore nodded. "That's right."

Their feet smashing leaves to the ground was the only sound echoing through the trees. All else was silent.