So. Welcome back to the second chapter of this two-part action section of this fanfiction. Notice something different about that statement? Well, after careful deliberation; I decided to make it at two chapters instead of three. Why? Well it is simple. I figured you all would like the keep the plot moving. That, and I wanted to have this story make some extra sense seeing how little sense it has. I mean this is a story focused around magic, swords, undead, and other such things… But who cares at this point?! We're already forty-one chapters into this story, might as well keep going with this madness! As such, I'll shut up not and leave you all to it. Enjoy!
Chapter Forty-Two: The Sword, or the Knee
There are many things in this world that can inspire a common man to go above and beyond his or her station to take up arms and fight until their dying breath. One such inspiration is religion. If one is given a free pass into paradise if one was to fight for their Gods, then most regular men would probably take up arms and slaughter any who dare stand in their Gods' way. Another is greed. The prospect of wealth and advancement into a life of luxury is enough to kill a man over, something many bandits and barbarians have in common. One inspiration, the most volatile and dangerous of them all, is the charisma a leader has. If one man, who's charisma and personality, inspires people to go beyond; then he will have mass power in his reach.
There are many ways a leader can have charisma, though their power and lasting rule differ greatly. The first is the most simple, fear. Fear is something no one really wants to face in their life, something that most humans wish to never to have. When a leader uses fear, his people will fight for his cause out of that fear. If the fear that the leader has disappears, then his people will rebel and the leader will become like any regular man. Such was the rule of the Mad King of Plegia.
Another way a leader can have charisma is through religious fervor. If one can claim commune with the Gods, then the people may follow that leader to appease their Gods. Such charisma has been tried and tested throughout history itself with entire kings and kingdoms rising and falling because one man and/or group claimed to be destined by the Gods, or were forsaken by them. Such is the current rule of Plegia under the Grimeal.
One more way a leader can have charisma is by power. Power is one of the strongest and simplest ways a leader can rule. Whether their power comes through a magical item, sheer force, skill, or everything together; a leader can safely rule as long as they remain powerful. However, at the slightest hint of weakness; a leader who needs rules through that power will find themself usurped as they are no longer strong enough to stay in power. Such is the rule of the twin Khans- Ah, Khan of Regna Ferox.
One final way a leader can have charisma is through love. If one was to be so beloved by their people, then they will find themselves a leader. Even if the leader doesn't wish this, they will be the leader who has hordes of loving people ready to lay down their lives to ensure their leader's happiness. It doesn't matter if that person's views are evil or not, as long as they are loved they will be powerful. Such was the rule of the former Exalt of Ylisse.
Yet, what if a leader has all of these sources of charisma to power his rule? Can such a thing even exist? Such power can never be assembled, or so would the normal man think. For you see, one such man has amassed such charisma under his name. One man, who stands in our way right now.
Walhart is a man who has the fear, power, religious fervour, and love to rule. His enemies, and some of his followers, fear him for his power and ruthlessness can destroy entire nations; leaving none alive if he deems it so. His power is god-like, able to destroy entire battalions of trained warriors all by himself. Hell, it took eight Shepherds to defeat him! Eight elite warriors struggled to defeat him, and were only able to after taking heavy casualties! What is even scarier is that he turned his nation, a nation reported to be barely bigger than a simple city-state, and turned into an empire spanning an entire continent. Walhart's religious fervour is nothing that has been seen before. He damns the Gods, believing that he is above them. He is determined to be his own master, his own decider of his fate. And the most puzzling one of them all is that his followers love him- No; they idolize him as a living god. They would not hesitate to destroy the world if it pleased him. They are determined to follow his dreams as he pursues them.
As such, we face a monumental task ahead of us. Walhart hides in his capital building, licking his wounds as he recovers from the earlier battle, and our goal is to kill him. However, an entire city of devoted followers, common men and women of all ages and creeds, stands in our way. These followers of Walhart will not hesitate to lay down their lives if it meant their Emperor was to survive. They will fight, and they will fight us all with everything they have to win.
But, we will do as well. We cannot fail in our task, for the future is at stake.
It was tough getting to the capital building of the Valmese capital. The entire city took up arms and tried to stop us. The young, the old, and even the weak grabbed a weapon and just to push us back from getting to Walhart. Jack figured that Walhart would try to retreat seeing how his citizens would give him enough time to do so, so he was forced to play a dangerous move. The Shepherds would head straight towards Walhart while the rest of the army fends off the citizens. That means our little ragtag group of wounded warriors and soldiers must fight the Valmese elite. All because of the chance that Walhart might escape.
But this is it. If we take Walhart down right here and now, then this damned war will be over! No more lives will be lost in this slaughter! There will be peace once more, until the Fell Dragon comes. Then that will be the true war, and we will win that war. Not like what happened in my children's future, not like that at all. This time, we will win! But first, we have a Conqueror to kill. He will not bend his knee. He will take the sword and fight, and that will be his downfall.
"Is everyone ready!" Chrom shouts out as Frederick, Nowi in her dragon form, and Sully ready themselves to break the throne room's door down.
"Ready!" I answer back along with everyone else, glancing to my left to see Donny do the same. Despite his injuries he still fights. Gotta love this kid for his determination and will to keep on fighting despite his injuries. I'll stick close to him so he doesn't get himself killed. That, and so he can also save me if I try to get myself killed as well! The Robins' pairing system works wonders like that.
"Alright. Now!" The three Shepherds, using their combined strength and their horse's strength if they have one, bash the throne room doors wide open; prompting the rest of us to charge in. As we charge in, the Valmese also charge; rushing down the stairs towards us as Walhart stares at us from the top of the stairs. As the two sides meet in a clash of metal, Walhart simply turns around and heads into the throne room. Looks like he is going to wait for us in the throne room, which means he isn't running. He wants to fight to the death.
"Golly! These fellows are wantin' to die for that there Walhart!" Donny says as we inch closer to the battle that is slowly devolving into a brawl.
"One has to admire their loyalty to such a tyrant… But he only inspires loyalty in some people though." I say, looking around for some place for us to enter into the battle so we can help our fellow Shepherds out.
"Yeah! I reckon we ain't so keen to get with him like pigs to them daily oats!"
"Yeah!" I have no idea what Donny means by that. "Let's kill this fools and end this tyrant's reign!" I say this hopefully as Donny and I aren't exactly in the best shape right now. After all, I have a cracked rib and a sprained wrist while Donny has literal broken ribs. I mean they have been healed somewhat by those magic staves, but that doesn't mean we weren't still affected by our injuries. But when has that stopped us before?!
Don't answer that question.
Anyway, Donny and I encounter our first batch of Valmese scum; a Warrior and a Sage. Donny and I split off as we dodge the Sage's spell, a gust of Elwind, and attack the two enemies. For my enemy, I take on the Warrior and quickly outskill him. With a swift thrust, the Warrior goes down with the bleeding throat while Donny takes out the Sage with a whack of his spear across the Valmese's face.
Our next pair of foes are two Heroes, one with an axe and the other with a sword. I take the Hero with the axe while Donny takes the one with the sword. The Hero and I exchange a few blows, which ends when I jump over his final attack and slice his head off. Donny didn't have as much trouble as me as he simply speared the Hero through the gut due to how long Donny's lance is. One of the perks lances have over swords, I guess.
By now, the Shepherds have been able to scale the first flight of stairs as we slowly but surely push the Valmese back. However, I hear one of the Valmese Generals shout out to his men to get more reinforcements; saying "Rally every last man! We make our stand with Emperor Walhart!" It seems like they refuse to leave their emperor for dead… What kind of man is Walhart to inspire such loyalty?! It doesn't matter in the end. He is going to die today, no matter what!
Donny and I plunge right back into battle and attack that very same General, teaming up to defeat this man in massive battle armor. These Generals are going to be tough seeing how armored they are, and how wounded Donny and I am. It's going to take our combined power to defeat one of these guys. Which is fine by me! I'm used to having the odds stacked against me, no matter the situation!
As such, Donny and I attack the General at the same time; forcing him on the defensive. After battering away at his defenses after a while, I manage to disarm the General's shield out of his hand. Without a shield to defend himself, the General is open to Donny as the farm boy rams his spear through the General's neck; killing the Valmese soldier.
Our next opponent is Hero with a Sniper supporting him, firing dangerously accurate arrows at Donny and I while the Hero charges us. Donny pats my back and gestures me to attack the Sniper before the Hero slams into the farm boy, forcing both of them backwards as they duel to the death. Donny can handle his opponent while I take care of mine. As such, I rush the Sniper; barely dodging to the side as the Sniper fires her arrows at me. I easily defeat her after I get close enough, sliding under her attempt to smack me with her bow as I sever her spine with a swift slice to the back with my blade. I finish her off with a curbstomp, ending her misery.
After I finish off the Sniper, I look up and see Donny still struggling against the Hero; breathing heavily as a bleeding cut graces my friend's side. Looks like he needs help killing his opponent after all! I rush in and blindside the Hero, killing him as I slam my sword into his back and through his chest. After I pull my blade from the corpse, I turn and tend to Donny who is now kneeling on the ground; clutching his chest as he breathes heavily.
"I-I reckon I need a minute. My ribs be actin' up…" Donny wheezes out as he continues to clutch his chest. I pat Donny on his bucket as I stand guard, keeping him safe in case any enemies decide to attack us while he is regaining his breath. This proves to be true as a War Monk charges us, seemingly trying to kill the downed Donny. I easily ward off the War Monk, batting the Valmese's axe away and knocking the woman out with a quick headbut.
I reel back as an arrow slams into my chestplate, barely cutting into my flesh thanks to my armor. I turn and see another Sniper firing at us. Great. Just what I needed! I charge the Sniper, making a deliberate effort to bat away any arrows he shoots at me so Donny doesn't get hit by them. I overpower the Sniper with a two-slash combo, killing him easily. I turn to check on Donny, but I am suddenly slammed against the ground as a gust of magical lava clips me; burning my right arm's armor off and stunning me slightly. I glance to see who casted such a spell, and see a rather ugly Sage fighting Say'ri; the Sage screaming his head off as he wildly casts the same spell to kill the Swordmaster.
I return my gaze back to Donny, and I feel my breath hitch in my throat at the sight before me. I see a General, a rare Dracoshield in hand, bashing Donny to the ground with his shield. It feels like slow motion as I pick myself back up and run towards them, watching as the General rears his Tomahawk back to end Donny's life. I feel like I've been here before… I feel like this has happened somewhere else, and that it wasn't a happy ending… It was like I was too slow to save the day… Too slow to save my friend's life…
I won't be slow this time!
I let out a yell as I slam my foot against the ground, hearing and feeling something tear inside it, and launch myself towards the two at lightning speed. I rear my sword back and scream out "Not in this time!" I then slam right into the General just as he begins to swing his axe towards Donny, my sword smashing right into the General's helmet. The impact of the attack forces the General and I to fly back from each other, the both of us landing harshly against the ground. I did it. Instead of dying, Donny only a nasty wound on his leg. He'll survive, but he is going to be out of the fight. But, I still did it. I saved Donny before this Valmese dastard could kill him.
I did it…
The Valmese General's helmet breaks apart as he stands back up, revealing his identity. At the sight before me, I cry out and say "Cervantes! You're still alive?!"
"And so are you, Aiden. I didn't expect you would have survived and joined these foolish trebels!" Cervantes replied, twirling his axe in his hand as he readies himself for battle.
"'Trebels'?"
"Rebels! Why can't anyone understand what I am saying?!"
"I don't know, and I don't care! You're going down!"
"Ha! That's the fire I wanted to see from you, Aiden. Let's have it then, rebellious scum! Like a flimsy belt around the waist of defeat, you shall buckle here!" What kind of comparison is that?! It sounds like something Donny would say, and Donny says some pretty weird comparisons as times! Ah whatever! It time for me to finally put an end this Valmese fool!
I try to stand back up, but nearly buckle back down to the ground as I try to put weight on the leg I used to propel myself earlier. I think I may have broke and/or torn something in my leg a bit too much… Just what I needed right when I'm going to fight Cervantes! Especially seeing how he has a Draco Shield with him… Why does this shit happen to me!
I block Cervantes' attack with my sword, holding my ground as I struggle against the General's strength. I manage to push him back, giving me a chance to attack. I stumble forward and swing my blade at Cervantes. My clumsy attack is easily deflected thanks to the General's Draco Shield, much to my chagrin. He then slices my chest open with his axe, easily exploiting me due to my leg injury.
I take a pained step back and block his next attack, forcing him to follow his momentum as he stumbles forward. I quickly try to seize this chance, but he manages to block it with his shield once more. He then rams into me, using his shield as a battering ram as he slams into my weakened frame. I am sent flying back, some of my armor coming off in pieces as I hit the hard ground. I am barely able to raise my head as Cervantes rears his Tomahawk back and swings it, the axe heading straight towards my face.
Suddenly, an orb of black sludge appears from the ground and slams into the axe; stopping the attack in its tracks as sharp spikes slam into Cervantes. The Valmese General lets out a pained yelp as he stumbles away from the magic orb. I am barely able to turn my head when Henry suddenly runs up beside me, a smile on his face amidst the blood coating his entire frame. What has this mad man been up to?!
"How's it going Aiden? Did you deliver those pizzas that Dr. Connor asked you to deliver?" Henry asks me, giggling as I look at him with a dumbfounded expression on my face. What the hell is he talking about?
"Why are- Can you- Just, please help me." I say, deciding not to pursue his madness in the middle of battle.
"Alright Scotty! I'll beam you right up!"
"What are you- Whoa!" With a wave of Henry's sinister glowing hand, I immediately feel refreshed and powerful. This power feels awesome! I should learn how Henry does this stuff because I want to keep feeling like this. But first, I got someone to kill. Let's do this!
I stand back up and twirl my sword around before rushing Cervantes, Henry supporting me by casting blades of wind magic to follow after me. I slam into the disgruntled General with all of my weight, throwing him off balance as my sword smashes into Cervantes' Draco Shield. I throw myself to the side after this, letting Henry's attacks damage my open opponent. I then return back to attacking Cervantes by myself while Henry begins to cast another slew of wind spells to ward off some Valmese that are trying to save their general.
The only reason that Cervantes is still alive is because of his Draco Shield, but that won't stop me! I'm going to end this battle in one final attack. No, I need to finish this battle in one final attack. I can already feel Henry's power boost waning. It seems like he wasn't able to keep it up, and that's alright seeing how bloody he is. I bet Henry had to deal with a lot of enemies before he got here. That probably tired him out a lot, causing my boost to be short and sweet as a result. But I only need it for one more attack, so don't fail me now!
I rear my blade back and grip my sword's handle with both of my hands. As I prepare myself to swing, Cervantes lets out a pained chuckle and says to me "Rambling your life on a single blow now? Very well, I'll do the tame!" After saying that, the Valmese General threw his Draco Shield onto the ground. He then reared his Tomahawk back, holding it with both of his hands, and prepared himself to attack me.
After a few tense seconds passed on by, we attacked each other; Cervantes swinging his axe down to cleave me in half while I swung my sword to cut into his gut. It even feels like time slowed itself down as my sword and Cervantes' axe near each other to decide which attack will be the one to win this battle.
My attack won out, barely scraping by the Tomahawk's blade as my steel instead slammed into the axe's wooden handle; cutting straight through it. My sword continued straight towards Cervantes and it finally connects after what seemed like an eternity. My swords digs deep and greedily as it carves its way through Cervantes, spraying blood and gore as it cuts into the Valmese General. By the end of it, Cervantes has a massive mortal wound across his entire torso; cementing my victory.
"I...am finished... Nngh…" Cervantes says as he collapses onto his knees, looking down at his bloodstained chest before looking back at me. "But I have no regrets... I die in the shadow of...greatness…" Much to my surprise, the Valmese General closes his eyes and smiles before going limp; his body slamming onto the floor with a loud clunk from his armor. He died content…? What on earth… Oh wait, I'm joining him now.
I suddenly turn numb as I slam onto the ground after the Valmese General, the rush of power that Henry gave me now gone. I can't feel my legs! Wait… Now I can. Ow…
"You doing okay, Rider-man?" I am barely able to turn my head to the side to look at Gregor. I know its Gregor due to the weird speech and grammar he has. Once I am turn my head and look at the man, the somewhat wounded mercenary kneeling down beside me, I give him a pained smile.
"Everything is... On fire and it hurts… Ow…" I moan out, squeezing my eyes shut after speaking due to the surge of pain racing through my body. Looks like talking is out of the question. Ah, fuck it. I'm going to pass out soon anyway if this pain doesn't go away fast enough. So I better just speed it up and knock myself out!
"Gregor understands your pain. Rider-man looks like he has been through hell. Gregor will take care of you now."
"Thanks Gregor… Is the… Battle over now…?"
"It is ending. Prince killed Conqueror, so enemies surrendering now. Don't worry now and go to sleep Rider-man. You need rest."
"Rest… I'll… Do that… Thanks… Gregor…"
"Gregor needs no thanks. Gregor just happy friend is alive."
"Me too buddy… Me too…"
So. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I suppose with how things are progressing, the story will end soon. Don't worry though, as I have been planning a sequel concerning Andy and Ana. I'm fairly certain many of you know what that story will be, and where it will take place. I'm also fairly certain some of you would rather read their story than Aiden's story. Just hold on if that is the case. We have like six more chapters to go through according to the game, so hold on my readers. This story will be over shortly. Anyways, this is where I will leave you all now as I go to write the next chapter for this fanfic. Do what you guys do normally and we'll meet each other later. Goodbye!
