Chapter 27 - All is Fair

*clang* *clang*

The sound of metal spear points making contact reverberated throughout the narrow battlefield

"Hold the line! Don't give them a single inch!" shouted General Louis Constanza from the 4th row

He had volunteered to take command during the initial battle with the Empire. Though unlike some others, Louis was not the type to lead directly from the front. In his mind, a generals duty was to inspire his men to greatness, which would be impossible if he were to die at the onset of combat.

Some may have seen his actions as cowardly, but this was not true. He was in fact quite willing to lay down his life for the Kingdom, just not before expending every possible option.

"Aaaah!"

"ack!"

Suddenly a scene of chaos entered his view.

A single enemy had somehow broken through the first row of his mens formation and was beginning to cause disorder within the ranks.

If this continued, fear would soon spread like a wildfire, and what may have once been a victory would become a route.

"Quickly, surround that man! He must not be allowed to live!"

several soldiers gathered to engage the wild man whose spear was now glistening with blood as he stabbed and swung like he was possessed.

"Louis! Fight me yourself you coward! Or do I need to slaughter my way to you for you to take me seriously?!" roared the beast-like individual

It was then that General Louis realized who the man was.

There was nobody on the continent that didn't know the name Taros Geln, a.k.a. 'The Ghoul'. A man who lived up to his nickname in every way. Violent, bloodthirsty, and nearly impossible to stop or slow down.

Louis now had a difficult choice to make, either fight him head on and possibly die, or send his men to the chopping block and lose gods know how many before he's defeated.

Gritting his teeth, he decided "Stand aside! That monster is mine to defeat!" He yelled, causing his men to stand fast, allowing Taros Geln to make his way past.

The action quickly died down as both armies stopped fighting in order to watch the duel that was about to take place

"So I'm a monster now am I?" Taros said with a sneer as he approached Louis

"We are what we do." Louis replied directly

"Hoh? Then does that mean you admit to being a coward?"

"Maybe you should ask your left ear. I seem to remember you left it behind the last time we fought, no?" Louis said, recalling a skirmish they had at the border nearly 8 years prior.

Taros began fuming at the mention of his missing ear. Although he considered his missing parts as a badge of honor, it didn't mean he enjoyed the fact that it happened.

"Raargh!"

Taros suddenly swung his bloodied spear in a downward arch, hoping to take Louis by surprise

*shrr-k* *clang*

Sparks flew as Louis barely managed to bring his weapon to bare. His arms trembled under the weight of the strike, and a streak of blood ran freely from a small cut that was now on his forehead.

*bam*

"Ooof!"

Taros let out a lung full of air as Louis managed a kick to the abdomen, pushing him back on his heels

*cling* *clang*

The two then exchanged another series of quick blows, neither being able to out maneuver the other until Taros began to lose balance

Louis seized the opportunity, turning his spear horizontal to strike at Taros' head. However, it was all a feint to get the other to overcomit. Taros ducked the incoming blow, turned his spear downward and sliced Louis in the thigh.

"Gah! Rat bastard!" General Louis Constanza howled in pain

"Haha! Does it sting? If you give up now, I'll at least make your death painless!" General Taros Geln shot back

"Like Hell!"

"Good, It's more fun if you don't give up so easily."

They then began to circle each other, both looking for the slightest opening in the others defense.

Taros moved first with a staggered thrust, testing the waters

Louis intercepted the attack, pushing it wide, but refrained from directly counterattacking. Instead he took advantage of his wounded leg by wincing in pain and falling to one knee, baiting Taros to attack.

The other obliged, stepping in to pierce his chest. However this was what he was waiting for. Louis suddenly threw a handful of sand towards Taros' face, trying to blind his one remaining eye.

"Coward! Shameless!" Taros roared as he was momentarily rendered blind

Unfortunately for him, his protests ended quickly as a spear thrust entered his throat, stealing his life.

'All is fair in war...' General Louis thought to himself as he stood over the body of Taros Geln

"Attack!" He ordered his men, hoping to capitalize on the death of the enemy general

The soldiers of the Syrena Kingdom were filled with a renewed strength as they pressed the now disheartened Imperial troops

Arrows flew, claiming the lives of many in the back rows, while spearmen and swordsmen slashed and stabbed relentlessly

The battle raged on in this fashion for some time, bodies littering the ground by the hundreds or thousands, and blood turning the dirt into a grotesque muddy mess.

"Halt!" General Louis commanded as his men had pushed the Empire back to their end of pass, forcing them to retreat.

As much as he would like to continue forward, that was not his mission, so he ordered a return to their side.

As soon as they returned, the injured were allowed to return to camp for treatment. Luckily the total amount of dead and wounded numbered less than a hundred, while the Empire had suffered many more, at least five thousand.

"Excellent! I knew you would be victorious, I just wasn't expecting such a critical blow so early!" King Alexandr exclaimed as General Louis recounted the mornings first battle.

"You over praise me, your Majesty. I was simply doing what I must as a loyal subject." He replied

"Nonsense! Not only did you slay so many enemies, with minimal losses, you even killed that Ghoul, Taros Geln!" Alexandr said with a beaming smile "If you don't deserve such praise, then who would?" He added

"Indeed, truly a feat worthy respect." Said General Vincenti Derrean from behind which garnered several nods from the other gathered officers.

"Go and rest for while, and don't forget to have your wound looked at." King Alexandr said after noticing the gash on Louis' thigh.

"I'm fine my Lord, it's only-" Louis suddenly stopped speaking, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.

"Louis!?" shouted Alexandr in surprise

"Bring a doctor, quickly!" yelled General Vincenti

One of the lower ranking officers sprinted from the tent, returning just minutes later with a old and grey looking doctor. By this time the king had had Louis moved to his personal couch.

The doctor quickly got to work inspecting the fallen General. He was sweating heavily, his lips and nails were turning purple, and dark veins were spreading up his leg from the small cut.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Alexandr, his voice full of worry

"Poison." replied the doctor solemnly

"Can you treat it?" asked Vincenti

The doctor shook his head "The most I can do is make him comfortable. He has a day, maybe two at most."

"What do you mean!? Why can't you cure him? What poison is it?" Inquired King Alexandr

"Based on his symptoms, I would say it's most likely 'Soul Encroaching Poison'. It's a slow moving, yet highly effective poison designed to maximize the suffering of those infected. Perhaps if he had returned sooner I could have drained his blood to remove some of it, but it has spread to far for that. Now it is only a matter of time."

"Gods Damn it!" the King roared "Is there truly nothing that can be done?!"

The old doctor was silent for a few moments, pondering about any possible solutions "If you can find the one who infected him, they may have the cure. Most Soul Encroaching Poison is custom made by the user after all. So if you find them, there may be a chance."

"The Ghoul! Louis said he was wounded during their duel. I'd bet anything that bastard was using poison on his weapon!" exclaimed General Vincenti

"Find his body and bring it back, no matter what it takes! That's an order!" Commanded King Alexandr

"Yes my Lord!" Said Vincenti before hurrying out to track down the body of Taros Geln.

-----

"Hateful!" Emperor Nikalos shouted as he knocked several items flying off his map table after hearing about the death of Taros from commander Piro

The day had started out so well when he had heard the report about the hidden path from his sons' messenger, but now he learned about the loss of his most trusted General.

"Where is his body? I wish to see him." Nikalos said after he managed to calm himself.

"My Lord, we...umm..." Piro stammered, not wanting to say they had left him on the battlefield

"Spit it out! Where is he?!" The Emperor roared, now seething with rage once again for being kept waiting

Commander Piro fell to his knees and trembled "Forgive me, Your Excellence! General Taros was left behind in the heat of battle!"

"You left him behind?! Why didn't you try to retrieve him?!"

"The enemy was too fierce. We were unable to resist. If we had tried to get to his body, we may have all died!" Piro explained in desperation

Suddenly a dark energy left Emperor Nikalos' body and wrapped around commander Piro's throat, lifting him from the ground

"Then you should have died!" Nikalos shouted "Better to die fighting than return empty handed!"

The Emperor then released him "Go! Retrieve his body and return it to me, or not just you, but your whole family will face the consequences!"

"Yes my Lord!" Piro shouted before running away to carry out the order.