Sword Versus Dagger

Metal clashed as Sun and Green swing and parried their blades at each other. Sun had the reach advantage with his longsword, with each swing preventing Green from closing the distance. But Green had speed in his side.

Green jumped over Sun and struck his dagger on the red tree's trunk, letting him hang on the stuck dagger above Sun. Now away from Sun's reach, Green gathered the mana in his body and concentrated them on his feet and calves. "Let's see if you can see this?" He yelled with great fervor. The blue mist surrounding his legs transformed into a soft light blanketing covering his lower body. And using the tree as his launchpad, Green blast off to the next tree and another tree with speed increasing for every time he launches himself until his image became a blur.

"So what? You're like a frog that jumps keep jumping from tees after trees. How is that impressive?" Sun said sarcastically.

"You've seen nothing yet!" Green landed on the ground behind, and with the potential energy absorbed during the landing, he lunges towards Sun. He held his dagger in front of him, hoping to thrust it through Sun's spine.

But Sun could feel his presence and reacted as swiftly as he could when he felt the dagger getting closer. Sun pivot his body around the blade, leaving only a scratch on his side. But it was enough to cut through his leather coat and cut his skin. Blood began to drip from his side, but the wound was not big enough to leave a scar, and the bleeding quickly stopped.

Green did not stop. He already knew he missed because of the lack of bloodstain in his dagger, so he continued to jump around. But now, he gathered even more mana on his legs and hip to get even faster. Now his blurry figure turned into a blurry blue ball bouncing around Sun.

He was too fast for Sun to catch up, but he had one trick up his sleeve. Once again, Green landed on the ground and aimed his sights on Sun's back before lunging forward with his dagger leading the charge. Sun stomped on the ground, and mana exploded out from his body as a blue gust of wind, and then he yelled, "Get burned!" Suddenly, the mana surrounding his body burst into flame.

Green saw the wall of flame suddenly appear before him, and he tried to stop his momentum with his lead leg. But he could not control his body, so he braced for impact, shielding his face behind his arms and dagger. When he broke past the firewall, he saw Sun waiting for him with his sword drawn back. "Shit!" Green's mana quickly crawled its way to his arms and dagger, reinforcing it to prepare for Sun's attack.

Like a batter waiting for the ball, Sun kept his eye on Green tightly, holding his sword. Then he swung at Green with his sword at Green's chest. Green moved his dagger to parry the attack but the blade shattered once the sword touched the dagger. Only the dagger's crossguard stood in the longsword's way, but with only one hand, Green lost his grip, and the dagger's hilt went flying. The blade cut through Green's black shirt and chainmail, the metal rings flying off his body. And the leather armor he wore underneath them split like butter.

His body launched across the field, slamming against the base of the Tungstree before falling on his butt. Green leaned against the red trunk holing his open chest wound. The mana that blocked the bleeding on his right arm slowly dissipate into the air, and with no more mana in him, Green knew it was the end.

Sun walked up to Green, sitting on his small pool of blood. He stuck his sword on the ground and crouched down, "You alright?"

"What do you think?" Green yelled, "Just kill me already. Why haven't you lift that sword and cut my head off the same way you cut my hands off?"

"I'll answer that question with my own. There were two goblins you and your brother tortured. And one of them died. Tell me, did he die a quick, painless death?"

"Gagaga!" Green laughed, "No! Gagagaga!" His laughter quickly turned to sobs, and his tears flowed as much as his blood.

Sun stood back up and took the sword out of the ground, "You were a great fighter, but I fought beast far stronger than you. I hope fate ends your suffering because god knows I will not end it for you."

"God? I thought you angels only worship Tinia's lady in waiting."

Sun was startled to hear him think he was an angel. "Yeah, that's what I meant." He said before turning around. Sun wondered what he meant by him being an angel. Was there a race that looked like him? Are they the race his mother showed him in her book? These questions filled the corner of his mind, pushed aside by more pressing matters.

Rock and Stick joined Sun standing in front of Green. Both of them were covered in blood, but it was not their blood. "Those fuckers were stronger than I thought. If only I had my pair of buckles on me, I could easily punch through their shields and block their weapons. But anyway, where's mom?" Rock asked.

"She's safe."

"And where's Smoke and Cossack?" Stick asked.

"They should be with the Black Crows at the entrance. They were going to warn the Black Crows that whatever monster they were trying to choke in that cave was coming."

"And who is that?" Stick pointed behind Sun to the little goblin standing in front of Green's body. He stared at him with fire in his eyes.

"That's Korge, and let's just say he doesn't like that guy very much. Anyway, we need to and meet up with Smoke and Cossack!" The four goblins ran off, leaving Green and his troops at the mercy of fate. Green watched the brothers leave, their figure becoming blurry the farther they get until they were gone.

The three brothers finally reached the entrance, and they were met with a bizarre scene. Sun could sense Smoke and Cossack hiding the bushes next to the Black Crow troop. He could feel Smoke and Cossack struggling, but from what, Sun could not tell. Maston spearmen stood in front of Artio and pointed their weapons at the Black Crows, and a large man was standing at the front. He wore white shining armor that gleamed when touched by the sun. And that man was the Black Crow's, Captain Buchanan.

Artio's arms were shaking while she was aiming her bow and arrow at Buchanan. "Let her go!" She yelled at him. Sun looked at Buchanan and saw Shuja trapped in a rear chokehold.

"Is that?" Stick immediately went to grab Sun's right hand, but he too late.

Sun charged through and leaped into the air. Everyone saw Sun in the air with his sword engulfed in fire. Then he descended next Buchanan, thrusting his sword to the ground and breaking it apart. The ground shook and made Buchanan lose his balance.

Shuja tried to escape while Buchanan was busy, but he quickly grabbed her hair and pulled her to his side while stepping back away from Sun. "Sun! What the fuck are you doing?" Artio yelled.

Meanwhile, Smoke was busy wrestling Cossack, pinning him to ground. When he finally got Cossack under control, he peeked through the leaves and saw Sun challenging the Captain. "What is he doing?" He whispered.

"Let her go!" Sun yelled.

"And what are you going to do if I did let her go? Kill me?" Buchanan giggled, "I don't even know who you are, I can tell you care but this goblin very deeply. Is she your slave?" He raised Shuja in the air by the hair. Shuja screamed while she was grabbing onto Buchanan's hand, pulling her self up.

"Buchanan, just let her go," Artio said.

"Not until you give your answer!" He yelled back.

"No, don't do it!" Shuja yelled.

Sun looked back and forth between Artio and Buchanan, trying to piece together what was happening before him. And he could feel strange things passing through his bodies coming from Buchanan. He wasn't sure what it was, and he was too focused on trying to save Shuja to care what it could it be. He pointed his sword towards Buchanan, ready to strike when the opportunity arises.

The Maston looked at Artio, nodding their heads left and right, trying to persuade her to say nothing. "I'm waiting!" Buchanan yelled one more time.

"Fine, I accept," Artio reluctantly said, "I'll be your wife."

"What?" the brother collective asked themselves.

Buchanan smiled, "Finally!" He dropped Shuja to the floor. She quickly ran away from Buchanan and to Artio's side. The two embraced each other, with Shuja crying.

"Don't go!" Shuja cried out.

"Don't worry. No one is going anywhere with him!" Sun yelled, then he charged towards Buchanan.

"Wait, Sun don't!" Artio yelled, but it was too late. Sun felt a sudden surge of mana travel through his body and forming behind him, and as that mana passes through him, Buchanan disappeared in front of him in the blink of an eye.

"Right behind you," Buchanan whispered to Sun's ears. Sun turned around and saw Buchanan standing right behind him. Before Sun could react, Buchanan planted his fist imbued with mana to Sun's face.

Sun dropped to the floor and was knocked unconscious by that one attack. Rock and Stick immediately jumped in to fight Buchanan, but Artio threw her arrow at their feet. "Don't move!" She yelled.

"Well, are you coming?" Buchanan asked, "Or do I have to kill every goblin here?"

Artio pushed Shuja off her, "I have to go."

"But he's just going to use you,"

"It's fine. I'll get out of this." Artio patted her head to reassure her before leaving her side. "Alright, let's go." She said.

Buchanan removed his white helmet and held out his hand for Artio. Hesitant at first, she placed her hand on top of his before walking away, "As we agreed, in exchange for your hand in marriage, I will leave these goblins alone." He said with a smile on his face.

Rock, Stick, Shuja, and Korge ran to Sun. "What just happened?" Sun asked them. Blood flowed out like a river from his broken nose. Shuja placed Sun's head on her lap and took out a piece of cloth, shoving it up Sun's nose, damming the flow. The Maston women surrounded them and raised their spears to stop the Black Crow from coming to them.

Once the Black Crows disappeared, Smoke walked out from the bushes and rushed towards Sun's side, removing his beany and mask. Recognizing the beautiful goblin, they moved aside, letting Smoke through. "Hold him still," He told Shuja. He placed his hand over Sun's face, and light blue mist began to pour out from his palm. The blue mist slowly transformed into the gentle golden confetti that started to heal Sun's injury.

"Thank you, Smoke," Sun said, "But shouldn't Cossack be with you?"

"Yeah, he should be behind me." Smoke turned around did not see Smoke anywhere. "Oh shit! Where did he go?" Smoke jumped to his feet, "Cossack!" He called out.

Sun got up on his feet, "We need to go find him."

"But what about your,"

Sun interrupted Stick, "It's just one punch. Excuse me, ladies," Sun turned to the Maston women surrounding them, "Could you help us find our friend?"

"Go look for the long nose!" Isla yelled to the women above the canopies. "I saw him follow the Black Crows!"

"Well, that's not good," Smoke said. Everyone followed the Black Crow's trail searching for Cossack. They searched high and low, behind the bushes and beneath logs, but they saw no sign of him. It was not until Korge saw his tribe, the Orgut, did they find him.

They saw Cossack land at the edge of their camp. They believe he was thrown in this direction. His nose and fingers bent in half, head covered in blood, and fresh bruises covered his body. They carried him to one of their tents and covered his wound with mint. The group sat around Cossack's unconscious body while Smoke uses his healing spell on Cossack. "This could have been me," Sun said.

"I'm sorry," Shuja said.

"No, don't be. I wanted to save you. If only I knew what was happening, though, maybe I could have done something different." Sun sighed, "But that doesn't matter now."

"What should we do?" Stick asked.

Shuja wanted to say they must save her master, but she doubts they would agree. It's been a while for Shuja to feel scared, but this fear was also new to her. The fear of failure and self-doubt. She rushed to battle to save her master only for him to appear behind her and held her hostage. Suddenly, Cossack spoke. "We hab tu seb her. Ples," He said through his bloody mouth. The brothers stared at Cossack, struggling to stay awake.

One of the men from the Orgut tribe came in the tent and asked for Korge to come out. Sun and Shuja left the tent with Korge, and waiting in front of them was Arga, the old man Sun met last night.

"Papa!" Korge rushed towards Arga and jumped on top of him.

"My boy!" Arga shouted in glee, "My boy live!"

They dropped to their knees and cried as loud as they could, ignoring the world around them. Sun turned to Shuja, "Do you know why they wanted Artio?"

"They said she was dook's daughter."

Sun heard of the tern duke before from fantasy films and shows in his past life. They were high ranking nobles second only to the king and queen of the country. If it's true that Artio is not only a niece of a count but a daughter of a duke, then the Black Crows switching their target from the trees and to Artio made some sense. The ransom they could get from her house to free her would enormous. "Let's go save Artio."

A single tear came out from Shuja's eye, "Let's go save her." She answered back.

"Yeah, let's go!" Rock appeared behind them and hugged the two.

"We're not letting those bastards go without a fight!" Stick yelled. "Let's go right now!"

"What about you, Smoke?" Sun turned his head towards the tent, "You think it's good to go now?"

"I didn't tell them about the monster coming for them. They must be scared to shit after finding out the monster they plan to kill is closing in on them. They're probably too focused on their trap to expect an attack from us" Smoke smiled, "Let's go rain their parade."

"Then its agreed, we're going to the Black Crow's camp and fuck their shit up!" Sun yelled to the sky.