Episode 18.

Max: 『 Everyone, just carry the basics!!! Forget about furniture, souvenirs or anything else that is not essential!!! Just some food, clothes and also a few blankets!!! 』

The villagers of the colony went from one place to another, entering and leaving their houses carrying as much as they could in their arms, loading it onto the two cargo carts that were available, and although we ordered them to carry only the essentials, there were those who didn't comply the orders.

Max: 『 Mrs. Kappel, what do you think you're doing?!!! 』

Mrs. Kappel: 『 B− But, they're my husband's things! Here I have his memories of when he was still with me. 』

Max: 『 That box is too big to put in the car. You can't bring it. 』

Mrs. Kappel: 『 Please, it's the only thing I have left of him! I−If necessary, I will carry it myself−! 』

Max: 『 If you carry it, you will be left behind in the group. I can't let you that. 』

No matter how much the poor old lady insisted, Max wouldn't grant her whim. We barely had space for so many things in two miserable food carts pulled by lazy donkeys.

Everyone was baffled by the evacuation. It was too difficult for them to suddenly have to part with their things and their homes. Everything they worked and strived for, what they did with so much effort to achieve it, for which they had great esteem and pride.

The love letters of a young couple, the wooden horse of a little child, the portrait of a deceased father, the cane that a husband left for his beloved, the rag doll of a sweet girl; Even though it was very painful, everyone had to leave something behind, even us.

Max: 『 Mrs. Kappel, I already told you, you can't...! Huh? 』

At the entrance to the colony, some quadrupedal silhouettes appeared, trotting among the residents and coming towards us. Several looked at them in amazement, some as if it were the first time. They were Tzar and Snel, they had returned to the castle alone, with their saddles empty and stained with blood. Their pupils were very dilated and they were breathing quite agitatedly, something or someone caused them to get scared and run away.

Shun: 『 Hey, you're back! It's good to see you're alright! 』

Max: 『 Shun, this blood... 』

Shun: 『 Yes, probably it could be that. 』

Max: 『 God! What happened out there? 』

("BOOM!!!"). Without warning, a loud bang echoed near where we were. It was like a rewind of the previous scene. A huge rock bullet covered in flames pierced the subwall that separated the colony from the military school, rolling into the crop fields and creating a huge hole in the foundations of the thick fence.

It completely ruined the crops, leaving a trail of black ash in the middle of the earth, until it ended its journey when it landed in the canal, completely drowning its flames.

The loud noise upset the horses, making them neigh and jump. We calmed them to prevent them from fleeing. Another projectile like that and they would run away. We couldn't let them leave, we needed their help to pull the carts.

People were also alarmed and petrified seeing the damage caused by the large rock. Such an image caused them to be distracted and unfocused on carrying the necessary supplies to leave on the trip.

Max: 『 Don't get distracted!!! We have to get out of here quickly!!! FASTER PEOPLE, FASTER!!! 』

The people came to their senses and hurried again. For our part, we took the saddles off the horses and tied them to the carriages along with the donkeys, so perhaps they would be motivated to move the large piles of things. I was just worried that Snel wouldn't be able to do it with his present injury.

Shun: 『 Sorry, friend, but I need your help. 』

Max: 『 Ready, Shun?! 』

Shun: 『 Ready! 』

Max: 『 Good...! Everyone stay together!!! We will go as a group towards the North and−!!!』

Terrified castle soldier: 『 AAAAAAAAAH!!! 』

In the distance, screams of pain and agony, and the loud echo of metal colliding together reached our ears. We froze for a moment wondering what that was. The noises became increasingly intense and more screams of suffering approached through the hole.

One of the academy soldiers appeared from the hole, backing away desperately and shouting: 『 SOMEONE HELP ME!!! 』; He tried to get through the opening, but before he could set one foot on the scorched earth, a spear pierced his chest and he fell suddenly as blood poured out from between his armor.

A small platoon of four soldiers, dressed in gray armor and helmets with short red plumes, emerged from the cavity and stared at us. One of them picked up the spear impaled on the poor officer and the others drew their swords; He raised his weapon and shouted into the air with great emotion, inciting his companions to do the same and run against us, showing their weapons and their thirst for blood.

The villagers ran and the invaders followed them. They screamed in terror and dispersed, some went back to their homes to take shelter, others decided to escape on their own outside the complex. Several were stumbling nervously and colliding with each other, desperate to escape anywhere.

I took a shovel from the cart and one of the invaders appeared in front of me, attacking me without consideration with his sword. I blocked his blow and responded twice to disarm and knock him out. Two others came behind him and charged at the same time, I crouched down to dodge and hit the first one in the shins and the second in the back of the head, finishing with one more blow to the first one's face.

The fourth appeared behind me with his spear about to pierce me, but surprisingly, he was hit by a metal spike in his torso before me. Max had taken the pike and stabbed the sharp tool into the attacker, knocking him out of action. Confirming the execution, he removed the improvised weapon from the body and staggered a little, holding himself upright with the help of the instrument's handle.

Shun: 『 Max, are you okay?! 』

Max: 『 I was going to ask you that, but I see that I'm worse. That was harder than I thought. 』

Shun: 『 ... Well, you're going to have to get used to it... More are coming. 』

We didn't have time to assimilate or take a break, more soldiers kept entering the colony. Max stood up and forgot his slight nausea to help me contain the invaders as much as possible.

Two of them came against me in a staggered formation. The first tried to stab me with a horizontal cut that made me step back, the second wanted to take advantage of the moment and attacked me from the side. I pushed the sword held at my side to unbalance the soldier and place him in front of his companion, hindering him and colliding both. I hit them hard with one move and they went to the ground.

Max seemed busier than me. As if it were a long waiting line, one by one went against him trying to land a cut on him, but it was impossible due to his extraordinary reflexes. Although he didn't have as much practice and combat skill as me, he dodged and countered the attacks very easily, it seemed like he was an expert warrior giving a lesson to a bunch of novice recruits. They all fell to the floor after the cuts and blows that Max caused them with the long weapon-tool.

However, two shooters standing over the opening were aiming their long carbines at Max, ready to pull the trigger and shoot him. I didn't think twice and threw the shovel towards them. The edge of the wide blade pierced the neck of one, pushing him into his partner and ruining his shot. I went at him and kicked him in the jaw, taking away his weapon.

From that position, I could see the mess that was going on at the military academy. Many cadets, soldiers and senior officers were fighting against the huge battalion of invaders. Dozens of bodies from both sides lay on the ground covered in blood and lost weapons. It was like a huge slaughterhouse where there was no discretion.

While I was watching the merciless battle, a shot passed near me and made me react to another group of invaders coming this way. I loaded the carbine and aimed it at the group's sniper who shot me. I set the scope and fired, feeling a strong jolt on my shoulder. The bullet pierced the shooter's armor and skin, killing him instantly. However, his companions were not fazed by the shot and continued advancing.

Taking advantage of the use of the weapon's bayonet, I waited for the men in armor to attack them with the edge of the blade and prevent them from passing. I pierced the first of them in the stomach before he approached me. Two spearmen lunged at the same time, I ducked to avoid them and cut their shins to prevent them from standing, then hit them with the stock to knock them out.

I hadn't realized there were two more, but Max stopped them a few meters from the hole, sticking a pickaxe into their legs and hitting them squarely in the face. Unfortunately, neither of us could take a breath, it seemed that for every enemy we defeated two more replaced them. If we continued at this same pace, we would end up completely overtaken in a few minutes.

We needed to find a way to close the hole so they would stop coming. I was looking for something around to help us, then I saw, in the shooter's bag that I knocked down, a fuse grenade. If we exploded it at the top of the hole, we could collapse part of the subwall and block the access.

However, there was a problem, we had nothing to ignite it with; The bags of the deceased shooter were empty, they didn't even have gunpowder. I checked the other body's and they were the same.

There was no other way, I had to go look for something to light it with, but I couldn't let Max fight alone while I searched. However, it would be much more viable if we switched the roles.

Shun: 『 Here, find something to light it and blow up the hole! 』

Max: 『 What...?! Hey, wait!! Where are you going?!! 』

Shun: 『 I will stop them as long as I can!! 』

Max: 『 Are you crazy?!! You will be stuck on that side!! 』

Shun: 『 There's no more time, Max!!! You have to do it...!! 』

Max: 『 ... 』

Shun: 『 Trust me! 』

I know how risky it could be, but it was the only thing we had. Even if it cost him, Max had to trust me on this, for everyone's sake.

Max: 『 Aaaah, Shit!!! I'll see you at the North intersection, DON'T MISS IT!! 』

Shun: 『 I'll be there! 』

We separated on different paths, Max went towards the colony and I entered the military zone infested with invaders. They came from inside the castle and from the entrance of the academy. I realized that that secondary door was also destroyed, the projectile that collapsed it must have rolled to where the subwall was; and inside the palace, the holding forces must have fallen.

That assumption made me think: 『 What happened to Lidia and my mother? Have they escaped all this? 』I tried to stay positive, and I believed that was the case, although deep down, my uncertainty made me think otherwise. I had a lot of things on my mind, but I couldn't be distracted. A false belief prompted me to fight in order to persevere and gain time for the people of the residence.

I was heading straight into a sea of gray armor with nothing but an empty musket. First, I confronted the front group; I hit the carbine so many times that I ended up breaking it on one of them. As soon as an opportunity opened up, I stole a sword to continue fighting and make things easier for myself.

I zigzagged everywhere, dodging and countering the rapiers and spears of the enemies around me. I counterattacked as quickly as possible so as not to give them time to react. I cut almost like a frantic maniac who couldn't stop, more than one arm and leg ended up severed on my account. I jumped over them and attacked them before they could turn around, confusing them with my speed to unbalance and make them collide so that they would stab each other.

But, although what I did sounded easy, it was not. Constantly making sure not to get slashed while fighting more than 10 men at a time was starting to exhaust me physically. It demanded more than one hundred percent of my body and mind. When I defeated a platoon, another one came to reinforce them. It was starting to get difficult for me to stop them all, there were some who just passed by and took advantage of the fact that the opening was uncovered.

The cuts on my clothes and limbs showed me that I was losing speed and stamina. Each time the difficulty increased and I had a hard time keeping up. But I couldn't stop, I shouldn't stop. 12, 15, 18, 20...; I had to go faster, much faster, I still had more to go. The spears and swords were duplicated and attacked at the same time. The fatigue in my arms was increasing and my legs were beginning to tingle.

I was only thinking about how to get out of that compromising situation. I felt like I was close to throwing in the towel. The tremendous constant effort drained me and my breathing accelerated. I was a rabbit among a pack of wolves, running and jumping to escape.

I stopped a last-minute sharp slash that took me to the dusty pavement. They tried to give me the final blow while I prostrated on the ground, tilting my body like a worm so they wouldn't hit me. I kicked to get away, but the soldiers wouldn't allow me to get up and before I even made the effort, another guy appeared on top of me with his spear.

It seemed impossible to dodge it, the edge of the blade was already in the middle of my face, when it suddenly stopped. A long, rusty metal bar got in the way and deflected the blow. He took the others away from me and gave me a chance to pull myself together. I thought it was Max who stopped him, I was about to scold him for that: 『 What the hell are you doing here?!!! I told you−!!! 』; but when I realized who it was, my words were left half-finished.

Mr. Jakob: 『 What a way to thank me, boy! ¡¡¡Come on guys, don't hold back!! 』

It was Mr. Jakob along with three other men I easily recognized: Mr. Evers, the butler Ventura, and Mr. Heeren; all fighting with conventional tools and wearing chests and shoulder pads from old armors, taking the invaders by surprise and giving them a good beating. Although they were ordinary workers, their movements seemed to be those of expert martial artists, lecturing the gray soldiers.

Shun: 『 What are you doing here?! You should have escaped! 』

Mr. Jakob: 『 True, but−(!)... we couldn't stay doing nothing. After how much you two have helped us−(!)..., we had to return the favor. 』

More than his words, I was amazed by his combat skill, he passed through a couple of soldiers as if it were nothing while speaking with complete calm. The four of them defeated the huge group that surrounded me, without breaking a sweat. Thanks to them, the advance stopped a little, but more were coming, we still couldn't let our guard down.

Mr. Jakob: 『 Leave the leftovers to us! ¡Run straight ahead and eliminate as many as you can! Just don't stop until you reach the door and get out of here! 』

Shun: 『 But, you−! 』

Mr. Jakob: 『 Don't worry about us! We may be old, but we know how to get by!... Now go, boy!! 』

The confidence that radiated from his gaze infected me. A third batch of invaders was approaching so, just as he told me, I ran straight ahead, without stopping. I attacked the legs, trunks and arms of as many invaders as I could, in order to reduce their number and lighten the load on those four who offered me the favor of covering the aperture.

I ran until I reached the epicenter of the battle. I tried to ask for help to send reinforcements to the back of the area and to the road that connects directly to the palace, but no one listened to me, as if I were a mere post. Everyone fought and massacred each other, our numbers were lower than those of the enemy and the superiority in strength and level that they had was noticeable.

Therefore, I decided to even things out. I attacked by surprise several of the gray armor that surpassed the silver ones, interfering in the duels and saving some overwhelmed cadets. Once the number of enemies was considerably reduced, I managed to draw their attention and give notice of what was happening behind them: 『 THEY ARE ENTERING FROM THE PALACE!!! HURRY AND GO BACK!!! 』

They stared at me, absorbing their surprise at seeing a peasant defeating such a large number of enemies and giving them orders. At least they turned to see where I pointed and understood that it was true. They concentrated on fighting in the back and thus prevent more intruders continuing to come from the palace.

I was a little relieved to see there was already attention to that part. It seemed that the last fraction of invaders entered through the door of the area. Hidden in the forest, one of the catapults they used to attack the castle could be seen, with no one to take care of it and no more projectiles, that also gave a bit of relief.

I noticed that two invading soldiers were entering the alleys between the school buildings, they were in a hurry to reach something, I assumed it was some cadet they were chasing. I sprang into action to help the possible soldier in trouble. I caught up to one of them and knocked him off his back with a jump and a knee strike, knocking him out with the pommel of my sword. I thought that his partner would notice him, however, he focused more on his goal and forgot about him.

I followed him then to know where he was going. I heard a scream coming from behind the prison guard tower. I approached and took cover in a corner to be more discreet and see what would happen. I poked my head out slightly and could see him, holding one maid and struggling with another. I couldn't see her face, however, when he pushed her to the ground, I realized what was happening.

Invading soldier: 『 Seriously, the women here are cute but very annoying. I think I'll have to teach them a little discipline. 』

I ran at full speed to catch up with him, and before he could lower his sword, I determinedly cut his forearm, sending the limb flying, dripping with blood.

Invading soldier: 『 AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! M−MY−MY ARM!!! .』

Lidia: 『 S−Shun!! 』

Shun: 『 Lidia, step back! 』

The invader released Lidia and knelt in pain as he pressed his wound tightly with his remaining hand.

Lidia walked away from him and helped my mother get up. I was furious, he had dared to hurt two of the most important people to me, and if that wasn't enough, he tried to murder one of them. I wouldn't let that go overlooked. 

Invading soldier: 『 YOU BASTARD!! WHEN DID YOU APPEAR?!! 』

Shun: 『 Never... dare to touch them, did you hear me? 』

Lidia: 『 ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!! THAT'S THE ONLY THING YOU SAY AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO ME?!!! THEY'RE JUST DIRTY WOMEN, THEY SERVE NO PURPOSE OTHER THAN WORKING AND FU−KAAAGH−AAAGH!!! 』

I couldn't stand his vulgar and out of place words. I slit his throat and made him shut up. I would not tolerate him addressing Lidia and my mother in that way. My blood boiled and my face hardened with hatred. I stayed with my back against the two so they wouldn't see my reaction and get scared.

Lidia: 『 S−Shun...? 』

Shun: 『 *Deep breath*... 』

I raised my head and took a deep breath to clear my thoughts. I cleared my mind and the angry thoughts dissipated. I pretended as if nothing serious had happened and asked about their condition.

Shun: 『 Are you okay? 』

Lidia: 『 Y−Yes, we are fine... T−Thank you for rescuing us. 』

Shun: 『 Don't thank me... If I had looked for you before, this wouldn't have happened. Please forgive me. 』

At that moment, I thought that perhaps it was better to have found them before preparing the evacuation. If I had done so, they surely wouldn't have been injured and would not have been captured.

Veronica: 『 ... This is not your fault, son... Ah, ¡thank goodness you're okay! 』

Mom hugged me warmly and sighed in comfort over me. That helped me calm down and stop my body from boiling.

Lidia: 『 Shun, where is Max? 』

Shun: 『 ... Evacuating the workers. I agreed to meet him at the North intersection...』

Lidia: 『 *Sigh* Thank goodness he's also okay. 』

Veronica: 『 We have to get out of here, then. I need to see your brother as well. 』

Shun: 『 Okay..., then let's get out of here. 』

Lidia: 『 Yes. 』

I waited for them to go through that strange door that I just discovered. I stayed only a moment to shake off the blood that was stuck to the sword so as not to show the repulsive image to both of them.

I finally had a great opportunity to get out of that hell, but I was worried about what would happen to Mr. Jakob and the others, they were facing the enemy soldiers alone to buy time and defend their families. I doubted whether escaping would be ideal. Then I remembered the words he told me, to trust in them and move on without stopping.

I had to move forward. All I had to do was believe in Mr. Jakob and believe in my brother. They could do it; I knew they could. Now I had to protect Lidia and my mother.

Lidia: 『 ... Shun, is something wrong? 』

Shun: 『 ... It's nothing... Let's get out of here! 』