Soldier's fate (Part 1)

**Five minutes ago**

'Wha…?!'

Ophar's head shot to the side, following a tiny yet extremely fast glint. 

In fact, it was the impossible speed of this momentary flash of light that attracted the man's attention in the first place. 

His nervous system sent the proper instructions to his muscles and joints, sending his head to the side, following the path of that glint…

But his flesh was too slow to react. By the time the attack struck, all Ophar could see was a cone of flames that consumed the upper body of one of his sergeants. 

'Artillery spell?!' Ophar stopped his head and reverted it back to where the mercenary army was supposed to set up their camp. 'Here? But who would…? Why?!'

In an instant, thousands of thoughts streaked across the man's mind, filtering through all sorts of patterns and functions, only for the complicated mess of feelings and thoughts to translate into what actually mattered.