First Battle (Part 2)

[POV SER RODRIK CASSEL – YEAR 271]

In Aquiles's right hand, there wasn't a weapon, but rather a skinny man, gripped by the left leg and being dragged along the ground. Aquiles wielded the man's body like a club, delivering blows so strong and brutal against the approaching bandits that the sound of the impact was accompanied by the sinister crack of bones breaking, a sound that began to resonate across the battlefield like a macabre symphony.

Seeing Aquiles's brutality, where each blow caused pieces of the corpse to detach and fall, spreading across the ground, the nearby bandits felt such horror that, for a moment, they began to back away and avoid getting close to Aquiles. The brutality of the scene made Ser Rodrik briefly question if what he was seeing was real, unable to believe his own eyes.

"How can such an aberration exist? That man must weigh 80 kg, and he uses him as if he were a rag doll," Ser Rodrik observed horrified, watching Aquiles slam the body against a bandit with such force that the man's spine bent back in an unnatural way, and the sound of bones breaking could be heard. As well as the man's grunts of pain, though these grunts didn't last long; Aquiles thrust his sword into the man's throat with a thrust and pulled to the left, killing him.

Jorik, the leader of the bandits who still stood on the sidelines of the battle accompanied by two other men, felt a shiver running down his spine as he observed the brutal way Aquiles was taking the lives of his men. Realizing that if the big man continued to run loose, they might end up losing the battle, Jorik decided to deploy his two best warriors.

"Rolf, Kromm, you must kill the big man," Jorik ordered the two men at his side. However, witnessing Aquiles's unstoppable fury, the two men felt a wave of terror that paralyzed them. Fear flooded their minds to such an extent that they refused to obey their father.

"Are you afraid? If I knew you were such cowards, I would have brought Dolf. At least he's not a coward who hides from the fight," Jorik stated in an irritated tone upon seeing his sons' cowardice.

Jorik then looked once more at the battlefield and shouted a new order to his sons: "Then that one, kill that one." He pointed in the direction of Ser Rodrik, the second biggest cause of casualties among his men, and this time, Kromm and Rolf nodded and ran towards Ser Rodrik.

Ser Rodrik snapped out of his stupor as he saw two men leaping over the fence and running towards him. Immediately, he prepared to fight, raising his sword forward, ready to face the confrontation. However, the course of the battle took an unexpected turn. Aquiles, who continued his fight wielding the corpse and his sword, saw the two men running towards Jorik and hurled the corpse he was holding. The corpse flew like a projectile towards the two bandits.

Rolf, the slender and agile man holding two swords, managed to dodge the thrown body with a display of sharp reflexes. However, Kromm, the robust man wielding a steel mace, was not as quick, and the thrown body collided violently with him, knocking him to the ground with the dead man's body on top of him.

Kromm took only a moment to push the body aside and try to get up; however, Ser Rodrik also needed just a moment to approach, taking advantage of the distraction caused by Aquiles's previous attack. Before Kromm could get up, Ser Rodrik's sword descended, slashing his throat.

Rolf was greatly startled to witness his brother's throat being cruelly cut, but he had no time to do anything but retreat. Ser Rodrik advanced on him, his sword aiming for his neck, causing Rolf to step back in an instant.

After distancing himself a few steps from Ser Rodrik, Rolf saw his brother groaning amidst the blood, trying to speak while reaching for his neck to stem the flow of blood falling to the ground. "Brother!" Rolf spoke with concern and fear, about to move forward to help him. However, Ser Rodrik stopped him as he advanced towards him.

Upon seeing the man who had slit his brother's throat advancing towards him, fear and concern transformed into a wild flame of fury and vengeance that ignited every fiber of his being. This caused Rolf to tighten his twin swords firmly and retaliate against Ser Rodrik's attack, wielding the two blades with impressive ferocity.

Each strike was propelled by an intoxicating mix of anger and desire for revenge, each movement with such ferocity that Ser Rodrik had no choice but to stop attacking and start retreating, adopting a defensive stance to block and evade Rolf's assaults.

As Rolf attacked with fury, his frustration grew as he realized that his blows did not find the desired target. They were always blocked by Sor's sword, or when he tried to attack from two different angles, the knight would dodge by stepping back. No longer hearing the grunts for help that his brother emitted before, he immediately realized that Kromm had died, and tears of anger began to stream down his face mingled with sweat.

"It seems the cowardly bastard finally died!" Exclaimed Ser Rodrik mockingly and scornfully in his voice, at the same time blocking Rolf's sword. These words rubbed salt into the wound, making Rolf even more furious. Ser Rodrik had been taught from a young age that when someone was driven by their emotions, they were more prone to making mistakes, and in a sword fight, making a mistake was equivalent to death. The knight's strategy proved effective, as when Rolf's frustration and anger reached its peak, he let out an irritated grunt and exclaimed with a voice full of hatred, "You killed him, you killed him, you damn bastard!" With a furious roar, Rolf advanced again.

As Rolf advanced, the swords clashed once more, emitting a shrill squeak of steel scraping against steel as Ser Rodrik blocked an attack coming from the sword in Rolf's right hand. "That bastard got what he deserved, and soon you'll join him!" Ser Rodrik spoke, and Rolf launched a second attack, now with the sword in his left hand, but the attack didn't come as fast and strong as the first.

Seeing the sword approaching, Ser Rodrik quickly leaned slightly to the left and took a swift step back. Thus, the blade from Rolf's left hand passed inches from his face, allowing him to feel the cold wind that the blade brought with it. The blade also brought a sharp sensation of near-death, making his heart race.

After regaining his balance, Ser Rodrik brought his hand to his forehead and wiped away the sweat to keep it from dripping into his eyes as he thought, "That was too close." Ser Rodrik couldn't dwell on it for long, as Rolf immediately charged fiercely at him again, and the fight resumed.

...

[POV AQUILES VIRIDIUM]

Aquiles, who had previously thrown the man's body at Kromm and Rolf, was now being surrounded by a group of six men. Despite the bandits having the numerical advantage, they had seen Aquiles fight and opted for each to attack from a different side. Thus, they circled Aquiles and awaited an opening. However, Aquiles remained still, assuming a fighting stance, observing them. Before, whenever his enemies surrounded him, he used the corpse to attack a wide area and prevent the enemies from getting close, but now he could no longer use that tactic.

The foremost bandit, who acted as the leader of the group, wore boiled leather armor, and beneath the armor, a thick white woolen garment, which had turned brown due to dirt. His hair was black and sparse, his black eyes and bony face seemed to indicate malnutrition. He wielded a sword half the size of a longsword, and this sword was bloodied, showing that he had already taken the life of someone from the village. "Guys, if we don't kill this bastard, many of our brothers will die by his blade!" said the man to the group.

"We already know, damn it," replied a bandit on the left, very similar to the one on the right: skinny, with a bony face, black hair, and blue eyes. He wore another boiled leather armor, but only on the chest, while the rest of his body was unarmored. He wielded a longsword, but his sword showed no traces of blood.

The standoff between Aquiles and the group of bandits didn't last long, as the bandit on the right was the first to muster the courage. With a shout, he attacked, causing Aquiles to step back to avoid the blow. As Aquiles did so, the rest of the gang advanced and joined the fray, forcing Aquiles to defend himself against the six while retreating.

Aquiles was not versed in the art of the sword, but thanks to his sharp instincts and martial arts knowledge from his previous life, he maintained a foundation of Kickboxing and managed to dodge a few times using his enhanced reflexes before one of the bandits circled around him from behind and, with his spear, pierced his right calf.

The pain of the spear piercing his calf made Aquiles grunt in agony, losing strength in his leg and falling to his knees. "Kill him, quickly!" ordered the man holding the spear, as one of the men nodded and began to walk toward Aquiles.

"Die, you bastard!" exclaimed the man as he raised his sword to finish Aquiles off.