Hope

**Prince Cedric's POV**

I looked around me and all I could see was suffering, suffering that wasn't to the advantage of either party. My soldiers were dying but strangely, no emotion resonated with me at the site of their demise, but why should that be strange they are soldiers who knew the risks of what they did, yet they volunteered.

My internal dialogue ceased as an attacker came rushing towards me, sword in hand. After I defeated the Fomorian the battlefield turned into a slaughterhouse, where tactics played no role in anything, we were all fighting for survival and it was by no means an easy fight.

"Ahhhhhhh, die you Brizian c**t" he roared quite pointlessly.

He came rushing in with mediocre sword skills equal to that of a mere proficiency stage expert hoping to injure an ascendancy stage expert.

"What a fool" I muttered as I sidestepped his attack.

I had no time to waste on a small fry, so I quickly grabbed his hands as his lunge caused them to appear where my chest was a second ago, I then held them above his head and slashed my sword across his torso, causing his intestine to stain my boot.

I threw what was left of him away and prepared myself to continue chipping away at Capat's forces. There were hundreds of soldiers waiting to kill me, I could only sigh at how bothersome it was.

As the small fry's top half touched the floor, three more attackers charged at me, one from the front and two from the sides. The first man reached me the fastest, his sword swinging downward. With a calculated step forward, I skillfully intercepted his attack, our swords meeting in a clash of steel. Utilizing the momentum, I deflected his weapon above his head, leaving him vulnerable. Nimbly, I spun behind him, evading the oncoming blades of the other two attackers, causing them to collide with each other in confusion. Making use of the heft of my large sword, I drove it upright into the blood-soaked grass, freeing my hands to engage the remaining adversaries with the dagger securely lodged in my belt.

As the attackers regrouped, they charged forward individually. The first assailant's sword sliced diagonally, aiming to strike from my left shoulder to my right hip. Swiftly, I deflected the attack with my dagger's blade, smoothly maneuvering it along the length of their sword. Seizing the opportunity, I closed the gap and drove the dagger's tip into the side of his neck, after which the next attacker's blade graced my sight to which I responded by quickly summoning aura into my hands and grabbing the blade by its edge and sank my dagger into his chest.

He looked down in horror at what I'd done but I had bigger problems as the third attacker came at me aiming his blade at the right side of my neck. Quickly pulling out my weapon from the man's chest, I managed to block the attack in time, and using the sword in my left hand, I drove the blade through his ear.

With those three down I knew I had more work to do, my army was currently on the back foot, and I couldn't let these Capatians beat us. I put away my dagger and picked up my sword, ready to tear down anyone who stood in my way. I gathered aura into my legs and took off, displacing the tiny pebbles on the ground and indenting the earth with my footprint.

I ran to the areas where it looked like my army was having a hard time fighting and I aided with the edge of my blade. Everything seemed so slow around me as I sped through the field littered with the corpses of beasts and men, my blade managed to repossess the heads of a few dozen Capatians before I had to stop due to my aura being exhausted.

"Thank you for your assistance, Your Highness" muttered some random soldier,

I could only grunt a reply with the only thing preventing me from falling was the hilt of my sword. The effects of fighting nonstop for hours were hitting me, I only had so much left in me.

"WHERE THE HELL IS LUCIUS!!!!!" I roared in anger,

This only drew attention to me,

"Oye isn't that the Brizian who took down the Fomorian"

"I think he's their leader"

"Interesting"

These despicable creatures eyed me with a voracious hunger as if I were mere prey ready to be ensnared. The feeling of helplessness gnawed at me, fueling a boiling rage within. Yet, I knew better than to unleash my anger in this dire situation. Surrounded by at least twenty men, with only five loyal Brizian soldiers at my side, and far from the protective walls, I was nothing more than a vulnerable target. I was a sitting duck, and they reveled in their advantage.

They came in and charged at us, swords in hand, aimed at our hearts leaving me no choice but to muster the remaining strength I had in an attempt to survive. With each strike, I fought valiantly, utilizing every ounce of strength I possessed. I dispatched my enemies in gruesome and merciless ways, and my sword and dagger found themselves piercing and cutting hearts, eyes, brains, and ears, At that moment I had no qualms about sending these men to the afterlife, I was determined to survive against all odds. However, the relentless onslaught drained me of my energy, leaving me exhausted and defenseless.

As the dust settled, I found myself encircled by five men, their eyes gleaming with the anticipation of my demise. I was well and truly near the brink of defeat and the emotions that I once thought left me, came surging through me and in that desperate moment, a timely intervention occurred. The ground beneath me rumbled, resonating with the coordinated march of boots and the thunderous gallop of horses. A resounding cry echoed through the chaos, piercing the air, "More Brizians are coming!" It was Lucius, arriving at the perfect moment.

Without wasting a breath, Lucius sprang into action, his soldiers charging forward with unyielding resolve. They struck down any Capatian soldier in their path, their infantry displaying ruthless efficiency while the cavalry charged with unmatched speed, delivering deadly, precise blows that erased anything standing in their way.

The tide of battle stood on our side and I had no intention of losing it. With renewed vigor, I charged at the men who encircled me, my sword in my right hand and my dagger in my left. I slashed crudely at the man directly in front of me, causing my blade to pierce his collarbone and extend vertically until it stopped at his last rib, the man directly to his left hurriedly attempted to strike the back of my head but my dagger stood in his way, which prompted the man to his right to have a swing, but my sword, now freed blocked the incoming attack. Not wanting to be attacked from behind, I summoned the droplet of aura I had remaining and pushed away the two men, after which I focused my senses and attempted a sword skill [Blade of Arcane Fury], I attuned my senses to the flow of energy in my surroundings and gathered the ambient Fire elemental energy causing my sword to shimmer. This process took all of one second and in another ten seconds, I knew I'd run out of the power to maintain it. So I attacked, faster than I have ever done throughout the course of this battle, the feeling given to me by this skill was euphoric, my sword felt as if it were an extension of my will, as it connected with its target it released a surge of fire elemental energy, enveloping the target, burning him alive, but I hadn't stopped there. In a series of lightening fast strikes, I decimated my opponents, leaving them charred and burnt laying on the cold, hard ground.