Another sacked village, another tragedy. Gazef dug through the rubbles with his men and a heavy heart. 'How long must this go on? How many more innocents must perish? I heard Emperor Jircniv was a kind ruler who purged incompetent nobles and improved the lives of Imperial citizens. Why couldn't he show the same kindness to the Kingdom's people? They have done nothing to the Empire. The frontier villagers are most concerned with eking out a life, not border politics."
There were no survivors this time, only dead bodies of villagers. Most had nothing in their hands that could be used as a weapon. These Imperial knights have gotten more efficient. What are they trying to do here? Only villages within the Royal territory have been targeted. The fact that Gazef was only allowed 50 men and no Kingdom's treasures hints at some insider scheming to undermine the Crown, perhaps to make the King look bad, and replace him soon with an heir the Nobles supported. Gazef wished he was stronger, strong enough to protect His Majesty's subjects. But one man can only do so much against the powers of Nobility. He cannot blame King Ramposa III for being incompetent. He is a kind king who focused most of his energy on being a responsible monarch. He used tax money to maintain roads that would improve lives and attract merchants, while most Nobles kept all the money for themselves.
As the sun began to set, the small warrior band rested next to their horses. It was clear there is no point in searching further. Plus, they need to conserve their energy to chase the knights tomorrow. They need to make camp soon and wake up early and look for tracks in the daylight. As Gazef drank some water from his water skin, he heard hooves in the distance. The noise grew louder. He turned his attention towards the direction of the noise and saw a bunch of people on horseback riding away. Their shiny armor reflecting the orange light of the setting sun.
"Men! To arms!" Gazef jumped up and shouted. Everyone grabbed their sheathed swords. They had to set them aside as they took turns digging through the ruined village. "Get on your horses and form up after me, quickly! We have just found the ones responsible for this travesty! We will chase them down and kill anyone who resists, and capture any survivors so they can answer for their crimes in front of the Crown!"
Gazef rode ahead of the warrior band, chasing the fleeing Imperial knights. 'This is where it ends' thought Gazef. 'No more innocent villagers used as sacrifices for your petty political schemes, whatever they may be. People have a right to normal lives, no matter what level of society they belong to. You will all pay for what you've done.'
It's hard to look ahead while riding fast, with the dust trails blowing in your face. Gazef and his men had to go where the dust is the thickest, as that is where their target would be. Just as they rode over a small hilltop, Gazef was blinded by bursts of magic as he was thrown from his horse. His entire body felt stinging pain, and his ears were ringing. When he finally stopped rolling and spit out some slimy blood, he saw his men in similar states. A good portion of them is dead or heavily wounded. All their horses that could move ran away. Some dying horses kicked and flailed on their sides, screeching out disturbing neighing sounds, as if they are choking on air.
Gazef grabbed his sword and started shouting orders, "It's a trap! Hide behind something!" There is no way they can catch the knights now. Their first priority right now is survival. 'Did they bring that magic caster to take me out? I must get to safety and report this to the King. This could be the prelude to a full-scale invasion.' Easier said than done. Gazef has no horse to ride on. He's in the middle of a plain with no cover. Between being bombarded by magic, chased by Imperial knights on horseback, and protecting his men, there doesn't seem to be anything that he could do to change the obvious outcome. 'If only I was equipped with even one of the Kingdom's treasures, I wouldn't be in this pathetic state.' More fireballs rained down at the warrior band's position. Gazef ordered them to stay behind the low rise and lie down covering their heads. It is probably not what a proud warrior should do, but Gazef has seen what pride can do to people on the battlefield. When he guarded his King during the annual wars, some overeager conscripts ran ahead of the rest of the formation, thinking they could overwhelm the Imperial knights with their numbers, only to be cut down left and right by the well-coordinated and highly trained knights. 'They were probably fed up with leaving their starving families behind to fight a pointless war year after year.'
Gazef crawled forward slowly, keeping as close to the ground as possible. The bombardment is not continuous. He didn't see any one particular magic caster floating in the air. The attacks came from a distance, with poor accuracy. They only managed to devastate Gazef's troops because they were fired with such high volumes at once. Maybe Fluder isn't here. He wouldn't waste mana missing his targets this much. When Gazef reached the top of the low rise, the bombardment stopped. He hoped the enemy ran out of mana. 'They should send in the knights now to finish the job. I must get my men ready to make a stand using what little advantage this terrain can provide.' That idea vanished along with his hope to save the surviving members of the warrior band, when he spotted magic casters in the distance, with angels hovering next to them. 'This can't be…a Scripture? What is the Slane Theocracy doing here? Are they allied with the Empire? No, those Imperial knights must be fake. It was the Theocracy's doing all along.' There is only one thing left to do. Gazef scurried back quickly and ordered a hasty retreat. There is no way they can win this in their current condition.
As they were running for their lives, leaving behind those they couldn't save, Gazef felt shame for failing so utterly. He could not blame the misfortune of being targeted by the Slane Theocracy, or being forced to deploy while under-equipped and under-manned. He had the choice of returning to E-Rantel to get more men, or abandon the mission when it appeared clearly to be a trap. But he let his pride get in the way, chasing a ghost hoping to save villagers with his sword. Welp, at least the fake knights will stop pillaging villages now, but what will happen after this? If he died, who would protect the King? Gazef is not the sort of person to think ahead in an objective way. That's for cold-hearted Nobles. His compassion to serve the people is his drive. His talent is in using whatever weapon or body part to take down his opponent, not coming up with elaborate plans. He can probably lead troops into battle and earn victories, but he's still not as smart as the generals who organize entire armies, let alone Nobles who spent their entire lives learning the ways of the court.
Gazef and his men didn't get far on foot, before the angels caught up with them. Some of the men turned around to fight the angels. They were trading blood and limbs for time. If this was a normal day, Gazef would face the angels together with his men and fight to the bitter end. But he decided to change his methods. 'I must stop focusing only on what's in front of me and see the bigger picture.' He decided to head south to reach E-Rantel for safety, report his discovery to the mayor or whomever is in charge, then head to the capital and report to the King. The good thing is that E-Rantel is within the King's territory, so no pesky Nobles or their lackies getting in his way, hopefully. The Theocracy magic casters didn't have horses with them. Maybe they needed to stand on their two feet to concentrate. 'How far can they send their angels? Maybe they will stop chasing me if I get out of some unknown casting range.' As he was thinking this, Gazef heard horses running in his direction. 'Reinforcements from E-Rantel?' He was hoping for any miracle at this moment, but a miracle would not come. 'So, this is the end.' He looked down at the ground and smirked. 'I was wondering where those knights went.' Apparently the fake Imperial knights doubled back in a wide loop beyond visual range so they could trap Gazef in a pincer attack. Gazef and the handful of men he has with him are tired. 'If I will not survive to see my King again, then I will die fighting, and take as many of these mother-less scoundrels as I can with me.' Gazef raised his sword and gave one last speech to whoever would listen. He does not recognize his words, only his feelings for his King and country. Activating all his body-strengthening martial arts, Gazef charged at the last enemies he would face in this life.