20.

The soldier's frantic footsteps echoed through the desolate terrain as he approached the carriage.

"General, you're finally here," he panted. Egreog stepped out, his eyes scanning the surroundings. "What is the situation?" he demanded.

The soldier's voice trembled as he spoke. "Sellihca launched an offensive and moved his troops from their camp. We tried to respond, but it looks like we will lose." Egreog exchanged a glance with Sett and Fox before following the soldier toward the commandment tents. As they entered, the scene before them was ghastly. The wounded were being carried away on stretchers, and the cries of the dying filled the air. "The enemy wants to trample over our base in one full sweep," commented Egreog grimly.

They made their way to the commandment tent, where thay could view the battlefield. The enemy troops moved slowly from the hill, taking formation. A group of soldiers in three rows stood before "Frisian horses", reloading their muskets. Egreog's eyes widened in horror as more units from the enemy base slowly started coming towards the battlefield, flooding the hill in a sea of red uniforms.

"It's Selihca," said the general through gritted teeth, his gaze fixed on the enemy troops. The first volley of shots from the enemy soldiers rained over our forces, causing panic and chaos among them. They fired back, but before they could reload their weapons, the second and third rows fired another volley of bullets toward already decimated troops.

One of the foot soldiers turned around and started sprinting back toward our camp. "That idiot, I will have him under the martial court," screamed Egreog, slamming his fist on the table.

The situation was dire, and it only took one person to falter and run back to make all the troops do the same. "Fuck, it's over," the general said, looking at the retreating soldiers on the battlefield, being killed by shots in their backs. Sett interrupted their thoughts. "I will get to work then." Before anyone could react, he left the tent, heading towards the battlefield.

Sett emerged from the tent and strode between the two soldiers who guarded the entrance. They watched him silently as he walked through the mass of deserting soldiers. He walked calmly, his feet crunching on the scorched earth, leaving behind the watchtowers and the last remnants of safety.

"Hey, hold it," one of the soldiers called out to him, gesturing towards Sett. But he ignored him and continued on his way.

Ahead, Sett saw a clearly terrified horse, the reins flailing as the animal tried to break free from its owner. Sett made his way toward the horse, intending to calm it down. One of the soldiers, thinking Sett was making a run for it, grabbed him by the chest and tried to stop him.

Sett shrugged him off easily, and his eyes focused on the horse. He reached out with his Haki, the invisible force of his will, and immediately the horse stopped struggling, its wild eyes calming as it looked up at Sett.

Without wasting any more time, Sett mounted the horse and kicked it into action. They rode along the wall of earth that surrounded the base, jumping over the "Frisian horses" and taking off toward the enemy lines.

The sound of the enemy cannons firing filled the air, but Sett lay low on the horse, making himself as tiny target as possible. The cannons missed him, but the shells exploded all around, sending dirt and shrapnel flying everywhere. The ringing in his ears was almost deafening.

As the smoke from the explosions cleared, Sett saw the red troops aiming at him. The officer calmly gave the order to fire, and the volley of bullets flew toward Sett. He ducked down behind the horse's mane, his heart racing as the horse faltered.

Sett calmly rolled off the dying horse, his eyes scanning the enemy lines. He ran towards them, dodging bullets and shells as he went, taking covers to avoid them.

The red-colored officer watched Sett's charge, his eyes cold and calculating. He gave the order to reload, and the troops began to obey, their fingers working frantically to prepare for the next wave of Sett's attack.

As the smoke cleared, Sett suddenly emerged from the shadows, landing in the middle of the enemy formation. The officer's eyes widened as he saw Sett standing there, a smile on his lips.

Back in the tent, the general watched Sett's charge through his telescope, his heart pounding in his chest. He knew that Sett was a warrior like no other and was paid by them a lot, but even he had not expected this level of audacity. The soldiers around him looked back at the enemy lines, their eyes wide with disbelief as they saw the chaos that Sett had brought. This was war, and Sett was willing to win it singlehanded.

Sett landed on one of the soldiers, grabbing him by the head and delivering a fast and brutal blow that crushed his skull, killing him instantly.

The enemy standing just in front of him swung his musket over his shoulder in a predictable manner, but Sett was quick to react. He grabbed the musket mid-swing, pivoted over his left shoulder, and ripped the bayonet from its owner's grip. With lightning-fast precision, he plunged the bayonet into the man's chin, driving it up into his brain and adding a few grams of lead by pulling the musket's trigger.

Sett turned around and blocked a bayonet thrust from another soldier, then countered with a vicious blow using his musket as a bludgeon to the man's temple.

The musket fell off Sett's hands, and in that moment of vulnerability, Sett received another thrust. He dodged it and swiftly grabbed the musket still held by the enemy, overpowering him and striking his face with the side of the musket. With this powerful strike, Sett knocked the soldier back, causing him to lean on one of his comrades. In a flash, Sett thrust the musket through both men, pulling the trigger to ensure they were dead, unleashing a shower of blood.

With the same fluid motion of removing the musket from the fallen soldiers, Sett swung it to his right, beheading another man charging toward him.

Sett set forward, but the rest of the enemy troops had enough time to respond to his action and took aim after Sett slashed one of their own and started firing. He grabbed the still-standing body of the man he had just beheaded and used it as a shield, absorbing a wave of bullets. The body was riddled with holes, and blood spurted out of the wounds, covering Sett in a gruesome and macabre way. Sett's eyes locked on the one-handed battle axe and knife secured behind the belt of his last victim. As he pulled the weapons free, the corpse fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The battlefield was now a scene of chaos and carnage. The sound of gunfire and screams echoed through the air as Sett continued his relentless assault on the enemy, cutting down anyone who stood in his way. The stench of blood and death filled his nostrils, and the taste of copper lingered in his mouth. Sett fought with ferocity and brutality that terrified even his allies, but to him, it was just another day.

With a determined look in his eyes, Sett charged toward the enemy, wielding the knife in his left hand and the axe in his right. Seeing they didn't have enough time to reload, the troops decided to engage in close combat. Five soldiers charged towards Sett, hoping to halt his advance while the rest of the forces supplied their weapons with ammunition.

The first soldier charged at Sett with a sword, swinging it from high right to low left in an attempt to kill him. Sett calmly leaned to his left, dodging the blade by millimeters, and moved past him, charging at the second enemy who decided to thrust his sword at him.

Sett used his left-hand holding the knife and redirected the enemy's blade away from him. In the same movement, making a rotation by his right shoulder and taking a step forward, he immediately stabbed him in the kidney with his knife, causing blood to spurt out like a fountain.

Sett fast moved past the last soldier on redirected another sword already making its way toward him with the ax. Making his posture unstable, he instantly used his other hand to open his enemy's throat.

Sett looked behind his shoulder to find the first enemy charging toward his back. He turned around instantly, lifted the axe with a beautiful arc over his head, and took a step back, making the enemy stumble towards him and plunging the axe into his skull, causing it to split open and blood to gush out.

Meanwhile, the troops, seeing Sett tire out the enemy's lines, began to believe in victory again. "Attack!" screamed Egroeg to his troops, who finally regained their morale and charged towards the enemy with the same recklessness seen just a few seconds ago in Sett, who now stood alone against the army slathering them all. "Fire the cannons!" ordered the general, looking through his telescope at Sett's position.

Sett looked ahead and realized that the rest of the troops had already reloaded their weapons, and all of them were taking aim at him. Desperately looking around for cover, Sett didn't find any. Sett remembered his mother's words and plunged the knife into the side of another soldier. With both of his hands now free and pulled in front of him, he willed them to turn black, believing that they would and protect him from the oncoming hail of bullets.