The Minecraft Story: The Beginning: Chapter 15
The Miter Knights had beaten the main fighting force of the village of Zamafar. The only ones remaining were unprepared for the attack. The two sides once again stared each other down while more knights flooded into the village through the bottleneck.
All Marcus could see was faces of pure terror. He had expected these soldiers to be practically snarling at them with how the Pope and Bishops described the heretics. Their faces reminded Marcus of the villagers of Morzen. They had almost the exact same look of terror. Their faces were replicas of the people of Morzen when facing the monsters.
As much as he tried to ignore it, the image of that woman running to that soldier kept playing in his mind. What if Thomas was telling the truth? He wondered. If that was his wife, then it backs up what Thomas was saying. Everything about this battle seemed much different than he envisioned it.
Marcus had always imagined charging valiantly into battle against the heretics. He imagined freeing the world of these god hating monsters. He imagined bringing peace to the holy lands through their eradication. Nothing about his first kill felt honorable. He almost felt disgusted by what he did. He felt disgusted by the other knight who killed that woman. Marcus didn't understand what was happening to him.
"Advance!" He heard the General scream. "Kill every last one of them! Show them what happens when you murder the people of Notch!"
The shields in front of Marcus began to march forward, never breaking their guard. He marched with them. His sword was held at the ready. They were approaching the soldiers, soon the real battle would commence. Soon, they could have their glorious victory.
However, when they reached the soldiers, they didn't attack. Marcus watched as they kept backing up, the fear on their faces were even more definable now. Any that got too close, or any that felt brave enough to attack were swiftly struck down.
The soldiers kept backing up, soon, they would butt up against the homes. Why won't they attack? He thought. Shouldn't they hate us? They should be throwing themselves at us, trying to kill as many of us as possible. The shieldmen continued to advance until the soldiers were pressed against the homes.
Some began to turn and run, others felt they had no choice now but to fight. A young soldier ran near Marcus's position and attempted to attack. He had never seen such a pathetic attack in his life. The young soldier took a weak and shaky swing at a shield. It bounced off the shield with a clunk. He heard the shieldmen in front of him slightly chuckle to himself.
The young soldier tried again, giving a slightly stronger attack, but once again, it bounced off the shield. Some of the other shieldmen laughed at this. Marcus could see tears begin to well up in his eyes as he was continuously pushed toward a wall by the shields. He was trapped. The shields kept pushing in and soon, the boy could lift his sword to fight, he was pinned. The nearby knights continued to laugh at the boy.
"Look at the boy weep" One knight mocked.
"Nobody told me we'd be fighting women" Another knight chuckled.
"We should cut off his privates, this coward doesn't deserve a child" Another knight laughed.
Marcus stood there and watched as the others tormented the young soldier. He looked around and saw other soldiers being pinned against the walls of houses and being executed. Marcus looked down at his sword, he was the one that had to kill the boy.
Suddenly, someone patted him on the shoulder and said, "Looks like you have the honor of killing this heretic." Marcus looked to his side and saw General Ausmin. He had to suppress a gasp after seeing the General speak to him directly.
"Y-Yes sir," Marcus stuttered. "I do have the honor." His voice trailed off.
"Then what are you waiting for, holy knight?" General Ausmin enquired enthusiastically. "Remove the world of this heretic in the name of Notch." He turned and pointed to the soldier.
Marcus looked at the soldier and then down at his sword once again. "Sir, maybe we could take this one prisoner," Marcus suggested. General Ausmin turned back to look at him. "He's pinned up, he's no longer a threat. Maybe we could make him as a carrier slave."
General Ausmin grabbed Marcus and turned his body towards himself. "You're not saying what I think you're saying boy," General Asumin stared daggers into Marcus's eyes. "Are you feeling sympathy for this monster?"
"I, no, I just, thought that," Marcus stuttered, but he was interrupted.
"Did you forget these heretics burned down and slaughtered five villages?" General Ausmin pulled Marcus closer. He could smell the General's rancid breath.
"No, no sir," Marcus was beginning to panic.
"Have you become sympathetic to the heretics?" The other knights around had stopped what they were doing and were watching intently. "Have you become a heretic yourself?" The General's voice was low and menacing. Marcus saw one of the General's hands move towards his sword.
"No sir, I would never, this heretic is an animal and deserves to die," Marcus was beginning to cave. He formed a lump in his throat and found it difficult to talk.
"Recite the pledge, holy knight" The General kept his hand on his sword, his eyes never leaving Marcus's, not even to blink.
"W-With this sword and with my life, I carry the light of Notch and the will of the Pope," Marcus fought back his tears. "For the words of Notch, I fight, for the safety of the holy land, I fight, for the lives of the believers, I fight," Marcus tried to maintain eye contact, trying to appear as genuine as possible.
"Then take your sword, and fight for the lives of the believers," General Ausmin ordered, finally taking his hands off of Marcus and his sword.
Marcus began to walk over to the young soldier. His tears flowed like a waterfall. The soldier looked up as Marcus walked. Just make it quick. He thought. Marcus raised his sword and pierced it into the head of the trapped soldier. Marcus was struggling to fight back his tears, but he maintained his composure.
"Well done holy knight," General Aumsin congratulated. "All of this is in the name of Notch."
Marcus retrieved his sword from the soldier and watched in horror as the soldier continued to stand there, still pinned against the wall. The shieldmen backed up a bit and the body slowly slid down the wall, curling in on itself. He didn't want to look. He looked away and saw that all the other enemy soldiers had been killed. They had won the fight. But Marcus had a feeling it wasn't over yet.
"Holy knights!" General Ausmin yelled. "It's time we really show these heretics what happens when you attack the Order of Notch! Burn this village and kill every heretic you see!"
The other knights began to take their torches and set the village a blaze. The fire spread quickly. Marcus didn't want to watch. He traveled deeper into the village away from the General and the other knights. He hid behind a house. The screams of people being burned or hacked to pieces were all too familiar. It sounded just like Morzen.