So. Here is the next chapter of this fanfiction. I hope you all enjoy action and fighting because this and the next two chapters are going to be full of them. Just another warning in case you didn't see the one at the end of the chapter before this one. So if any of you don't like intense action, don't bother reading the up and coming chapters. After all, don't read what you don't like. Unless you like that sort of thing. In which case, you do you buddy! As such, I will shut up now and let you all do what must be done. Enjoy, I hope.


Chapter Forty One: Blood on the Plains

It has been a long time since I've been a part of such a grand-scale battle. The last time I was in such a battle was back when the Shepherds fought the Mad King of Plegia for the last time, back at his fort in the middle of the desert. Now, it seems like we have a new king to kill, and his name is Walhart the Conqueror. I do believe that Walhart is going to be a hundred times worse to take down than Gangrel. Unlike the Mad King, Walhart's forces are well-equipped, skilled, and they are loyal. So loyal, that they will give their lives just to see their Emperor's enemies dead and they will fight to the death even when they know they have lost! That is nothing like how Gangrel was back when we fought him. He was poorly equipped, his soldiers were conscripts and religious fanatics, and his armies were deserting on mass. The Mad King of Plegia is nothing compared to the might of the Conqueror of Valm.

But, we Shepherds have been known to do the impossible. Thanks to the combined skill and talents of everyone in our army, we have been able to get where we are today. I think that if it was any other army; I probably would have been forced to stay a Valmese soldier. As such, I must do my part in the coming battle. And that part will be me killing as many Valmese bastards as I can until Walhart is dead! After all, it's not like he has an infinite supply of men that can just appear out of nowhere. That would like a game where you get rushed by everlasting reinforcements at the final boss! That would never happen… Right?

I should probably focus on the task at hand. The up and coming battle is going to take a whole lot out of me. Hell; I'll probably be knocked out for a few weeks if I push myself too much, or get too injured during the battle. I'm not going to die, I simply refuse to die. I got a wife and now two children to live for, and that means I can't die! If I die, Anna will probably kill me… I just realized the fallacy of my words just as I said them, but you get what I'm talking about!

Anyways, I should really get ready for the battle in the coming hours. It is going to be a bloodbath of epic proportions, that much is for sure. I just hope that the battle swings in our favor…


The sun is shining bright in the middle of the sky while the silent combined Shepherd-Ylisse, Ferox, and Valmese rebel army is standing outside of the walls of Walhart's city; our blue banners slowly flapping in the wind. I've been paired up with Donny for this battle, and I can already tell that he is nervous for the battle ahead. Can't say I blame him as we haven't seen a single hint of Walhart or his army. They aren't on the walls, nor are they on the field waiting for us. They are just… Gone… Where are they? Did the Robins miscalculate? No way! They can't have messed up something this important!

"A-Aiden. Do ya reckon that they could be buyin' time?" I turn to face the shaking Donny, decked out in armor yet still wearing his damn bucket, and see him squint at the capital before us.

"'Buying time?' What on earth could they be buying time for?" I ask, scratching my head as the ordered ranks of the sizeable army around us begin to fidget from the lack of activity.

"I ain't got a clue. I'm more stumped than a fisherman decidin' on what kind of fish he want to eat for some dinner." Donny says, starting to fidget alongside the others.

"That's a really weird comparison… Do you have experience in that department?"

"Well-" Just as Donny was about to launch into his story, a loud creak echoed all over the battlefield. I turn and watch as the gates to the city slowly begin to open up, the ancient wood and iron creaking and groaning like crazy. Once the gates were opened enough, the Valmese army finally appeared; marching straight out of the door in perfect formation and unison as wave upon wave of soldiers left the confines of the walled city. You know, why even build walls if you aren't going to use them? At least it makes it somewhat easier for us. As the Valmese form their battle lines, maintaining that perfect cohesion and formation while doing so, I see finally see Walhart.

The Conqueror himself leisurely trots out of the gates and onto a nearby hill in the center of his army, the massive man clad in his iconic red armor and onto of his black horse. I see his infamous weapon hanging loosely off of his side, almost as if he is ready to swat some annoying flies into dust. I bet he considers us worth as much as the dirt under his horse's hooves! Or, due to our continual survival, he now considers us worth something.

"You do your sister's legacy proud, Prince!" Walhart suddenly exclaims, his voice booming across the battlefield. "But humanity already has a savior. A conqueror who broke stronger men than you when they refused to bow. Warriors of Valm! Ride with me now! Together we still stamp out this final pack of insurgents and unite the world!" After saying that, Walhart spurred his horse forward and charged straight towards us; letting out a fearsome battle cry as he did so. The Valmese army followed close behind him, letting out various battle cries as they raced towards us.

"For Peace! Charge!" Chrom soon shouted out, creating and leading a stampede of Ylisse, Ferox, and anti-Valmese soldiers as we all charged towards the charging Valmese army. This is going to be a clown fiesta and everyone knows it, I think they know it anyways. I just have to stay close to my battle buddy, Donny, and I should be fine… Right? Right.

The two opposing sides met in the middle of the battlefield, slamming into each other with the sound of a ship crashing into a reef bed. Steel met steel as both sides grinded against each other, not wavering in the slightest as they fought for their lords and their beliefs. To my surprise, I do believe we're equal to the Valmese army's power right now. Of course that will change if the Valmese get reinforced, to which will put make us as the underdogs of this battle. Though… We've been the underdogs for a long time. I'm pretty sure that we can win with the Robins strategies and Chrom's iron will. That's how we've managed to win all of our battles so far!

Anyway, Donny and I stick close together as we fight any and all Valmese soldiers trying to kill us. I handle the axe users while Donny handles the sword users. If a spear user comes after us, then we fight the enemy together. That's they system we work with, and it will be our strength! That, and a great amount of luck and favor from the Gods.

Our first opponent is a Fighter, to which is my enemy. I batter the Valmese's axe away with my shield, leaving him wide open for me to stab my sword through his chest. After doing so, I back up as a Hero wielding a sword attacks. I let Donny take care of him, keeping guard of Donny's flanks as he takes care of his opponent. After her takes care of the Hero, another Fighter charges at us. I easily kill him by stabbing my blade through his throat before smacking him in the face with my shield.

Suddenly, Donny and I are forced to move a bit inwards as our right portion of our battle line begins to falter; overwhelmed by the mass of Cavaliers there. I turn to Donny and silently ask him if we should help them, who swiftly nods in response to my silent question. After our brief exchange, we move to reinforce the position before it is overwhelmed; hewing our way through the encroaching Valmese as they try to push us back.

We arrive onto the scene and we immediately spring into action with Donny toppling a Cavalier by killing his horse, and I killing the actual Cavalier with a quick swing of my sword. Just as we get ready for another Valmese to try and attack us, we start to hear a set of particularly loud screaming from the center of the battlefield. I risk a glance and pale slightly at the sight. Walhart is battering the center of our forces like it was nothing, killing mend left and right with mere swings of his weapon! I can also see Chrom, all alone, slowly approaching the Conqueror; trying to carve his way through the enemy to get to Walhart. The mad man! He'll die if he tries to fight him alone!

"Donny!" I shout at my friend, trying to make my voice be heard over the horrific sounds of battle all around us. "We need to go help Chrom! He'll die if he fights Walhart alone!"

"Alrighty then. I reckon I'll- Watch it!" Donny says, dodging to the side as a Paladin charges through the fray and thrusts his lance towards me. I have no time to dodge as the lance slams into my chest plate, the tip of the weapon shattering on the metal. I am sent sprawled on my back, a great pain forming around the place the lance hit me, as the Paladin rides past me and turns to do another pass; this time by using his sword. Donny wastes no time as he rears his spear back and throws it at the Paladin, catching the Valmese off guard.

The Valmese soldier falls off of his horse right beside me, dead, with Donny's spear sticking out of his chest. I didn't know Donny was skilled enough to use a Brave Lance, much less that he was able to throw it. But I am thankful for his quick action with that Valmese Paladin.

Donny helps me up and I feel a sharp pain race throughout my chest. I think that attack may have broken a rib, or at the very least bruised it. Thank Naga for Ylisse-made armor! After I steady myself enough, Donny and I begin our journey towards Walhart and Chrom. As we cut our way through the Valmese, I start to see small hordes of what seem to be Villagers sneak out of the city and join the battle on the Valmese' side! Is Walhart that powerful that even common citizens who can barely use a lance will give their lives for him? That man is nothing but trouble! He needs to be put down!

Donny and I manage to make it right as Chrom also made it to Walhart, right at the edge of a little ring that the Conqueror had carved out for himself. I make eye contact with Chrom, who looks back and stops from charging in with a swift gesture from me. If all three of us attack him at the same time, then we'll do damage to that mad man! As soon as Walhart's back was turned, I gesture for Chrom to begin the attack. The three of us race forward and strike towards the Conqueror; Chrom's Falchion, Donny's Brave Lance, and my sword aiming straight in the middle of his back.

Suddenly, Walhart swings his axe right around and catches all three of our weapons; trapping them in the nix of his axe. He then pulled us in, bringing the three of us in so we all can meet face to face. As he glared at the three of us, we desperately try to pull our weapons out of his grasp.

"You're still alive… I'm surprised by your constitution, Hero." Walhart says, sending chills down my spine as he authoritarian tone addresses me.

"I've been told that a lot." I answer back, trying even harder to get my sword out of his axe's nix.

"Then I will make doubly sure of your death by cutting your head off!" The Conqueror shouted as he suddenly let go of our weapons, catching the three of us off guard. With this, Walhart easily exploited us through a three moved attack. He bashed Chrom away with his free hand, he smashed his axe across my shield, and his horse kicked Donny in the chest; sending all three of us flying back in pain and shock. I'm fairly certain that he sprained, if not broke, my hand. But, I'm more worried about Donny at this point in time seeing how he just got his chest kicked by Walhart's horse.

Once I land on the ground, my shield slipping from my grasp, I look over to see if Donny is ok. I pale slightly at the sight of him puking up some blood, making me scramble into action. I crawl on over to him and I essentially shove my emergency vulnerary down his bloody mouth; healing him at the cost of my entire vulnerary. After Donny stops puking and/or coughing up blood, I help him sit up as I watch Chrom face off against Walhart.

"Why do you resist me, little Prince?" Walhart suddenly ask, surprising me as Chrom simply glares at him.

"You enslave the weak and kill the able. You are the enemy of peace." Chrom replied, leveling his sword at the Conqueror.

"I would end the reign of the gods, and you object on moral grounds?! Blood is spilled in any new birth, Prince. And in many a just cause, as you know…" Don't tell me Walhart is going to go all philosophical on Chrom! He can't handle that!

"There is no justification for what you've done."

"By whose laws do you judge me? Yours? Your sister's? The gods'?"

"You cannot—"

"Look at you! Are you not ashamed? Your mind is filled with nothing but secondhand beliefs. You dance upon the stage of your gods like a mindless puppet! THAT is what I reject: being a slave to tradition, to obligation. The old ways. Damn the gods! Damn their fates and their destinies! I will have true freedom! And man who offers less is my enemy." Oh my Naga! Walhart is both right and smart! He really is the strongest enemy we have ever faced!

"Enough! I don't require every detail of your twisted philosophy. You're a villain and a murderer, plain and simple. And I am the justice you deserve." Chrom shouted as he charged forward, swinging his blade at Walhart.

Walhart simply blocked the attack, leaning his face close to meet Chrom's, and laughed. "Ha ha ha! Better, Prince. Much better! Be not an agent of someone else's justice, but justice itself! Now, let us fight as two great men, freed of their gods. I grant any challenger the chance to test his will against my own... But you, too, shall be found wanting!" With that, they two lords began their duel; trading blows and dodging their opponent's attacks.

It is clear to me that Chrom will not win this fight all alone. He is simply too weak to match Walhart's overpowering strength and speed. I hate to disappoint, but I'm going to intrude on their duel!

I let go of Donny, who is still catching his breath back, and rush into the battle. I may not be much, but I can do something at the very least! I let out a battle cry as I leap forward and swing my blade at Walhart, trying to force him to pay attention to me. It manages to work as he is forced to bat my sword away with his free hand and attack me. I jump back, barely missing his attack, and watch as Chrom charges forth to attack next. Walhart quickly counters Chrom's attack as well like he did with mine.

Chrom and I continue to do this, trying our hardest to defeat him as he simply blocks our attacks with ease. As we fight, I see Donny stand back up and charge into battle; trying to spear Walhart's horse. Walhart, being the god as he is, manages to block Donny's attack with relative ease. However, I start to notice a little bit of straining coming from him. I think he is getting a bit tired from all of this battling he has done. If we wear him out, the maybe we can kill him!

As such; Chrom, Donny, and I continue to attack Walhart with everything we got. With our determination, we can put an end to this monster! As we continue our struggle, I notice Kellam of all people clank up and start to help us out. The bloody Ghost of all things, and I can finally see him as well?! Ah well, I'm not going to refuse help taking the Conqueror down.

Say'ri is the next jump in help us, saying as she runs up: "Walhart!"

"Hmm? The princess of Chon'sin? It's a wonder you still live." Walhart answers as he hit Chrom with a lucky blow, delivering a rather bloody wound across the Prince's chest.

"I have survived your gauntlet of betrayal and death, tyrant. Shall I describe to you now the searing pain of it all? The torture of watching friends, family...my entire kingdom perish? The fresh hell of each new day, with no respite in sight?" Say'ri asks as she finally reaches the fight and swings her blade at the Conqueror.

Walhart blocks the blade, and shouts to everyone "Pain is a concern of men. And respite? Beg that from your gods. Your concerns are not mine. I have risen to a higher plane of existence." The Conqueror then spun his axe around in a mighty arc, forcing us all away from him to give him some space.

"Then today you come crashing down to the hell you've made of this one." Say'ri said as she recovered first from the Conqueror's attack and charged forward, intent on ending Walhart's life. The rest of us follow in behind her as she is knocked back by Walhart's defenses. By now, we have five people fighting the Valmese Conqueror at once, and Walhart is somehow managing to handle all of us! This guy is so powerful! How can someone become so powerful?!

As the five of us are sent back again, I glance at my four comrades by my side. Out of all of us here, Chrom seems to be the worst wounded of the lot. Donny seems to be the most tired with him breathing heavily, sweating like crazy, and his face red from all of the effort he is putting into this. Kellam and Say'ri are a medium mixture of Donny and Chrom's extreme, and I think I'm also a part of that medium. We need to end this, and fast. But how do we… I have an idea!

"Let's topple this man from his high horse guys!" I shout, standing back up to get ready for the next attack. I'm trusting everyone to do their part to get Walhart off of his horse with this next series of attacks. If we get him off of his horse, than I believe that we can easily beat him then!

Say'ri starts off the attack, being the fastest person in our group, and charges Walhart. She swings her blade at Walhart's empty hand, prompting him to grab her blade. With him distracted by that, I join Chrom as we jump up into the air, Chrom getting boosted by Kellam's shield while my Mercenary skills come into play. We then launched ourselves toward Walhart, bringing our swords down to slam into the man's defenses. The Conqueror responds just I hoped he would, using his weapon to block our attacks; giving Donny and Kellam the perfect window to attack! The two take that window, thrusting their spears straight towards Walhart's horse.

Donny and Kellam's attacks hit, killing the horse as it buckles its master off of it. The area around us goes silent as Walhart is send tumbling into the dirt, coming to a stop that creates a cloud of dust. With him toppled from his horse, the Valmese will undoubtedly start to waver in their battle- He's getting back up!

I watch in fear as Walhart slowly stood back up, dust and dirt coating his blood-red armor as he glares daggers into us. I think he is not happy that we killed his horse. I then stare in awe alongside the others as Walhart passes his axe to a nearby Valmese soldier, who immediately bows and retreats from battle, and begins to stretch. Why is he stretching in the middle of a battle?! His stretching doesn't take long as he then grabs a piece of his leg armor and pulls it, revealing a massive sword to the five of us. I didn't know he had a sword!

"Sol. The ancient name of the sun. The bringer of life and death." Walhart suddenly says as he examines his blade, pointing its tip to the blazing sun above. "And, the name of this blade!" After saying that, Walhart gripped his blade's handle with both of his hands and let out a fearsome yell as he leapt towards Kellam. No one has anytime to react as the Conqueror slams his blade against our Ghost; shattering his armor, cutting a massive wound across Kellam's chest, and sending the poor unconscious Shepherd flying back while the rest of us watch in horror. Not only that, but it seems as if Walhart was just sparkling; meaning only one thing. He had just used that ancient Sol technique to both knockout Kellam and restore his energy.

I think it was a mistake killing his horse!

The remaining four of us finally react as he rush Walhart, who is simply waiting for us to attack. Donny thrusts his lance towards the Conqueror's side, who easily dodges it and slams his fist down on Donny's pot; instantly knocking the poor boy out. Walhart then bats away Say'ri attack and grabs her by the face, lifting her up as he turns to face me. He then throws her like a pebble at me, stopping my attack and forcing the both of us to the ground. The Conqueror finishes his defense off by knocking Chrom's Falchion out of his hand with a simple swing of Sol, and then pinned the Lord to the ground by stabbing his blade through Chrom's shoulder.

Just as Walhart is about to curbstomp Chrom's face in, Lucina suddenly enters the fray; leaping towards Walhart to save her father. It seems like she had just managed to finally cut her way through the enemy to us, and it seems like she is going to learn like the rest of us. The Conqueror catches Lucina by her throat, stopping her attack instantly as he threw her away. Just as Say'ri and I stand back up, Lucina slams into us; sending all three of us back to the dirt. I so do love the dirt and the sense of being outmatched by my opponent!

As I try to untangle myself underneath the mass of females on top of me, I watch as Walhart lifts his leg up and aims his foot at Chrom's face; saying to him "You've failed, Prince. Conquest rules over peace!"

"It's time to tip the scales!" Suddenly, two massive bolts of lightning, Thoron I think it is, slammed right into Walhart; forcing him away from Chrom as the Conqueror shook in pain from the lightning racing through his body. I turn and see the Robins standing there, yellow tomes in their hands as they charge up for another attack. Out of everything to hurt him, why is it magic? Is it because he has been fighting without magic, that he doesn't have much resistance to it?! It now makes sense why he could easily handle so many non-magic warriors at once! But when faced with someone who can use magic, he is like anyone else!

I scramble out of the tangle, leaving Lucina and Say'ri in the dirt, and I rush Walhart while he is defenseless. I rear my sword back, yelling out "I'll break you!", and swing my sword straight as his chest. He is unable to react in time as I finally manage to wound him, carving a nice scar across his armor. Chrom joins me, fighting through the pain as he joins me into beating Walhart down.

The two of us carve out about four blows before Walhart recovers enough to defend himself. As he did so, we rolled to the side as the Robins launched another wave of Thorons at Walhart; sending him back into his paralyzed state. After he is paralyzed again, Chrom and I went back to work and continue to attack the Conqueror; Lucina and Say'ri joining us after the third time. As we do this, pushing Walhart back to the gates of the city while we beat him into a bloody pulp, the battle lines around us starts moving; the Valmese army getting pushed back by the Ylisse-Ferox-Rebel forces.

Eventually, Walhart is reduced from his refreshed state into a badly wounded one; his armor scarred from our attacks. His army matches his wellbeing as well, tattered and wounded like crazy. I do believe the battle is now ending, and that we've won! Now, to kill this Conqueror and end this costly war once and for all!

Chrom, Say'ri, Lucina, and I rear our respective blades back and charge Walhart for the final time; swinging our blades to land the killing blow. Somehow, Walhart forces himself through the paralyzation and blocks all of our blades, growling at us.

"Nngh... You think you have won? You blow as if to douse a candle, but you only stoke the fires of hell!" Walhart said to us before using his strength to send us flying back, giving him enough room to breath. The Conqueror then turns and begins to retreat back to the city, helped along by some Valmese soldiers. We try to pursue, but the Valmese army seems to have other ideas.

"For the Conqueror!" The Valmese army roars out, seemingly refreshed as they counter-charge us and attack. Our line is pushed back in the center, creating a mighty bulge in our line as we try to fight off their attack. They are willing to sacrifice themselves just to give Walhart enough time to escape! How can one simple man inspire such fanatical loyalty in so many people? Is he that powerful and mighty of an emperor?!

How can Walhart be as unifying as Exalt Emmeryn was when he is a man of war, not peace?


After another hour of fighting, we finally won. We had to kill every single Valmese soldier to achieve this victory, but we did it. We took some pretty heavy losses ourselves, but we did it. We did it… But we still failed. Walhart is still alive, holed up in that walled capital of his. We now have to go carve our way into the city and to him, meaning we have to essentially butcher an entire city of fantic followers of this evil Conqueror! Thankfully, a whole horde of rebels just showed up to help us. Apparently, they were the same guys who betrayed the rebels for Walhart out of fear and loyalty to Yen'fay. With him gone, they have no reason to be with the Valmese and have now joined us to kill Walhart!

But first, we have to rest and heal up enough to attempt the attack. I mean when I say that one out of every three soldier in this army has been wounded in some way, and I am one of the unlucky. Thankfully, my injuries aren't exactly so bad that I have to sit the rest of these battles out. I have a cracked rib, a sprained wrist, some cuts, and a good amount of bruises. Surprisingly light seeing how I essentially fought Walhart for the majority of the battle.

The others who fought Walhart are mostly okay. Kellam got pretty badly wounded so he has to stay out of the fight for at least an entire month because of how bad his wounds are. I should probably go see how Kellam's doing after I get my dosage of healing. Donny is doing ok as well. He has a few broken ribs and a pretty nasty concussion, but he is still alive and he can still fight if he wants to. He'll just have to stick with the reserve lines due to his injuries. Chrom is pretty torn up, but he'll find a way to fight in the frontlines so I won't worry about him. Say'ri and Lucina got out of the battle the least wounds with some bruises and cuts. So most of them are going to be joining in on the assault on the capital.

Can't say the same for my children though. Apparently, Ana got her leg broken during the fighting along with getting a pretty deep stab wound in her side. She has to rest up for the next two weeks while healers mend her leg's bones back together. Meanwhile, Andy broke his hand and received a nasty concussion; putting him in the same boat as Ana. At least the two can keep each other and my wife, who is busting her ass healing people, company while I go off and fight. Ending on that, I should probably go and check on Kellam now seeing how I've gotten my dosage of healing for the hour.

I maneuver my way through the massive field hospital erected on the outskirts of the city, right behind the catapults and siege engines that the new Valmese rebels erected to wear down the city's defenses. After a few minutes of among among the wounded, I finally come across Kellam. I guess that due to him being wrapped in bandages from the neck-down, people can be able to see him pretty easy. That's a pretty horrible thing to say, I know. But it's true apparently!

"Hello Kellam, how are you doing?" I ask, sitting down beside his bed. The Knight turns to look at me, surprised at how I was the one to engage the conversation.

"Y-You can see me?" Kellam asks back, making me awkwardly smile in response.

"Pretty hard not to notice you when you're a mummy."

"O-Oh… Yeah, that is a good point." Kellam says, looking around as various healers of many classes run around the field hospital.

"So, how did the plan go?"

"The plan…?"

"Yeah, the plan to get people to notice you! Did anything happen since the last time we talked?"

"Oh that! Well…"

"It didn't work did it?"

"Yep. Nothing changed." I let out a disappointed sigh at Kellam's words. Well, there goes that plan for Kellam to get noticed.

"Alright. Seeing how that plan failed. It looks like we'll have to-"

"Aiden, I think we should stop." Kellam said, stopping me before I could continue.

"What?! Why should we stop, Kellam?" I ask, wonder what Kellam is thinking. Doesn't he want to get noticed by the others? Does he want to stay a ghost?

"I sort of like not being noticed. It allows me to do some things most people wouldn't."

"What are you referring-"

"What I am saying is that you don't have to do anything for me. I'm fine as is."

"Alright… If you say so."

"Besides, I do enjoy scaring people."

"I knew it!"

Aiden and Kellam attained Support Level A


So. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It totaled to nine pages and about 5,700 words. Nine pages of 5,700 words of action. I hope you all enjoyed that experience. If not, then you'll probably won't like the next two chapters. Or one. I'm deciding on that because I sort of don't want to waste your time. Also waste mine, but you're more worried about this trash story than me. I understand your concern, and I will do what I do best. Write this stuff. So do what you do best, and I'll do what I do best. Also, if any of you have anything to help me improve this dump of a story; leave a review. I appreciate it, unless it is saying something "I like pineapples." That doesn't help me at all.