One week had passed since Arlan’s venture out into Galdo City. Duke Louis and Count Emile were informed of the exchange between Arlan and Ralph Pennington at the tavern. They both applauded Arlan for his response in defending JD, loyalty to the soldiers was important to the Reeves. A privilege of being in one of the most powerful houses.

A more powerful house could overrule the smaller houses, which had its pros and cons. If exercised right, it would keep the other houses in check. If wrongly used, it could lead to corruption and abuse of power.

For the last several days, Arlan had been training with the Duke and following lessons with his uncle. The young baron was able to strengthen his core from orange to yellow. A familiar voice announced that he advanced to level 6. Arlan figured there was some kind of correlation between his core and his “levels” but it seems like he was the only one aware of these levels. Arlan was starting to adjust to this cycle as he only had two months before he had to head to Lancel High Academy.

Another week had passed and Arlan was summoned to accompany the Duke. They were to remove the bandits in the Dolaga Fields. The young baron donned full steel armor. In the courtyard, Arlan was introduced to his dark stygian by his father. The Duke said to Arlan, “He’ll respond to your essence that you channel. Dark stygian are not easy creatures to tame. But with your abilities, you’re already more powerful than the average knight. Give it a name. He’s yours.”

Arlan leaned in and whispered into its ear as he channeled his essence. He named his new partner, Kage. Arlan could feel Kage responding to his essence welcoming Arlan to climb on the saddle. As the young baron mounted the horse, the servants, guards, and other knights were greatly impressed at the feat.

As the gate of Highmane opened for the morning, Duke Louis and his son left the city accompanied by a hundred Heracul Knights. They rode out west for a few hours and stopped at a small creek. The area was a vast grassy plain with a handful of trees. A clear blue sky blessed them on their journey. The sight would’ve been more enjoyable if it weren’t for the promise of violence to come.

Arlan led Kage to the river to drink water as the rest of the knights were doing. Arlan joined the Duke as he was sitting on a nearby log overwatching the creek. “My boy, you amaze me by the day. You can now ride a dark stygian. You’re the youngest rider I’ve seen.” exclaimed the Duke proudly.

“I hope I can continue living up to your expectations,” replied Arlan.

“The bandits have a hideout nearby that borders the Dolaga Fields. We’re close. I know your abilities are far greater than even some of my knights. The way you killed the goblins when we met, I know that you’ve taken lives before that day. Something tells me that there’s more to you than I know. So I brought you along to fight the bandits as well.”

“I will fulfill my duty as a Reeve. But I have one request, I wish to lead my own small banner.”

“Twenty Heracul Knights will be assigned to you from my banner. They will form your detachment. I was going to assign a few as a personal guard but I can see the fire in you. You’ll assist on the flank of the battle formation. I’ll send them to you before we head out.” responded the Duke as he patted Arlan on the head. The son saluted his father with respect and left for his steed.

Arlan returned to Kage and mounted his steed. The young baron turned around to see twenty knights awaiting him. When Arlan was back on Terra as Rove, meeting new soldiers or being assigned to lead entirely new units was normal.

“Knights! I will be leading this unit during this next battle." proclaimed Arlan to his subordinates. All twenty knights saluted and replied.

“Our lives are yours to command!”

The Warband continued its journey with Arlan and his twenty knights on the right flank in a column formation. They rode for another hour before they spotted smoke in the distance. The smoke was too dark and too heavy for campfires.

Duke Louis Reeve sent a few knights to scout the smoke. These knights were veterans in all manners related to war, even reconnaissance. After ten minutes, a scout returned and kneeled before the Duke.

“My liege, not a single bandit remained. Their bodies have been ravaged. We found traces of orc prints and weapons. An orc war party must’ve raided the bandits.”

“I see. Return to your unit.” replied the Duke with a puzzled look. Arlan overheard the report and rode up to the Duke to inquire about the strange report.

“Father, your orders?” asked the young baron.

“We will ride out in search of the orcs. We need to find out how many have come to Dolaga Fields. Whoever spots them first, will fire an illumination spell into the air.” ordered the Duke confidently.

The hundred-strong unit was split into four groups. The Duke led the main group of forty Heracul Knights to search further west. Arlan’s troop was tasked with heading north. Another twenty knights led by a senior Heracul Knight headed south to search the meadows. The remaining twenty held their ground as reserves to assist in the event of an ambush.

Arlan began by leading his knights north through meadows and patches of trees. All of the knights under his command were veterans of multiple wars. They showed no signs of weakness or cowardice. This gave Arlan a confident feeling that they would not falter at the first sign of battle.

Any soldier who's a virgin to battle may freeze at the start. This was extremely dangerous to that soldier and his troop. Soldiers rely on each other to cover their responsibilities and sectors. Without this sense of duty to their brethren, that unit is at risk of falling apart.

Arlan was also quite impressed that these knights dare not question that they were being led by a fourteen-year-old. The Duke’s commands were absolute, they were to obey Arlan in battle. To attribute to this confidence from his unit, every Heracul Knight has heard of the young baron’s ruthlessness against the goblins when he first met the Duke. He was no ordinary fourteen-year-old. He was a soldier in his past life and now he’s a Reeve. His subordinates understood that quite well.

The twenty knights and the noble rounded a path revealing a meadow. Arlan’s eyes immediately widened at what was in the green clearing. A merchant’s caravan of ten wagons was under attack by at least fifty orcs. There were at least a hundred elves but only half of them were alive.

Orcs were at least a foot taller than most humans. They were muscular, spoke their own dialect, wore janky armor, and wielded heavy weapons. Orcs were powerful with essence but could control little mana. Some orcs were gifted with vast control of mana and were tribal seers. But these kinds of orcs were rare. This raiding party in particular did not seem equipped well enough to be considered by the Rhota Tribe. They were likely a nomadic bandit tribe.

The survivors were trying to regroup on the west side of Arlan as his group was on the south side. The caravan was still at least a good two hundred meters away. The east end of the caravan was where the orc raiders attacked from.

“Knight Jocko, send the signal to the others. Knights, prepare for battle!” ordered Arlan as he drew his mithril sword. Jocko was the appointed knight who was to signal his illumination spell. Arlan had gone over contingencies and formations prior to moving out. This allowed Arlan faster response and movements instead of having to plan on the go.

Arlan needed to act fast to save as many elves as he could. But charging in without a plan could end in his death or others. One of the contingencies Arlan went over with his unit capabilities. While they were among the best, they could only fight two orcs at a time. Three orcs could easily kill a Heracul Knight.

I just need to stall long enough for reinforcements. The reserves should be here in seven minutes but the rest should be here in around fifteen minutes. Alright, this is doable.

Deafening screams could be heard as Arlan formed his knights into a wedge formation. The young baron was at the speartip as they began their charge. Thunderous hooves slamming into the green meadow could be heard. Some of the orcs began to notice while others were still ravaging the elves.

Before the orcs could organize a counter, Arlan had already reached the center of the Caravan. Each wagon had enough room for at least two horses to ride in. The young baron was the first to clash through the center, Kage slammed into the first orc shattering his bones and his head was separated by a teal-bladed weapon. It was Arlan’s mithril sword.

The rest of the knights clashed with the orcs while avoiding the elven merchants. The initial clash took out ten of the fifty orcs. The knights positioned themselves between the orcs and elves. Arlan turned his attention to the center of the remaining forty orcs who started to form a phalanx. Arlan reactively ordered his knights to dismount and send their horses back the way they came. They could not fight mounted if they were to defend the elves.

There has to be some kind of commander or leader on their side. If we could just destroy their echelon, it would greatly reduce their ability to organize.

Arlan reformed his knights while shouting to the elves to stay behind them. Arlan appointed four knights to protect the rear and sides of the remaining elves. There were about forty elves left alive.

The orcs began to chant together in unison, they were rallying for a fight. A particular orc in the center with a red-horned helmet stood out and pointed his massive two-handed greataxe at Arlan. This signaled the orcs to begin their charge while roaring out battle cries. This clash was dangerous. They were outnumbered greatly and they needed to hold out for at least another six minutes before the reserves would arrive.

Arlan had about twenty-five seconds to rally his knights. “Knights, hold this line through your dying breath and you will live forever!”

Arlan’s words echoed in the hearts of his subordinates. Emotions of duty, honor, and brotherhood reverberated to each soldier. This was the kindle needed to light the fire that burned heavily into their hearts. Weaponized emotions are important on the battlefield.

Each Heracul Knight was armed with a kite shield and sword. Kite shields aren't large enough to form full shield walls. Arlan ordered each knight to counter the initial push with the shields and advance thereafter.

As the orcs reached the knights, Arlan ordered “Now!”

A symphony of battle rang through the field. Battle cries were the strings and shields were the percussion. All the knights channeled max essence and synchronized a Mar-Tech called [Shield Strike]. A cone of kinetic energy erupted forth from the shields. The force continued beyond their initial targets, which countered the orc’s momentum.

The orc’s front rows were splattered to the ground with crushed spines or caved chest cavities. The rows behind were hit by a concussive echo and knocked on their backs. Before they could even get up, the orcs were relentlessly executed without remorse by Arlan and his knights. This left only twenty-two orcs in the fight.

We can at least safely hold out now. We just have to--Fuck!

Arlan’s [Battle Trance] picked up another fifty orcs from the east. They had just arrived within range.

This must be the group that wiped out the bandits earlier. There’s no way we’ll hold out against them if we hold here. They’ll overrun us even with the reinforcements.

Arlan used [Trifecta] to strike down an orc in front of him and it took all three strikes. These monstrosities were at least tier 2 in essence. Arlan could sense the orc commander was at least a tier 3.

The momentum built by the young baron and his knights became the deciding factor in the initial clash. They continued to push against the remaining orcs in front of them as they struggled to reorganize from the Mar-Tech earlier. Abilities and attacks that are powerful on their own, have even more destructive force when synergized with others.

“Push onward and stay as a unit!” ordered Arlan as his knights obeyed.

We need to deal as much damage as possible to the orcs in front of us, it’ll reduce their numbers when their other unit arrives. We may hold the line if we’re fast enough. I’ll need to push myself past the limits as the spearhead.

Arlan channeled maximum essence and strengthened his body beyond his limits. The orcs and knights alike could feel the tremendous killing pressure originating from the young baron. Everyone could tell Arlan was no ordinary fourteen-year-old boy.

Some orcs felt challenged and some orcs felt fear. The knights could feel victory on their side with such a powerful presence. They were only used to this kind of presence from Duke Louis Reeve.

The Knights and Arlan cut through waves of orcs before reaching the remaining nine orcs and the orc commander. Arlan wasn’t sure if the orcs would retreat or stay. But based on what he learned about orcs in books, they rarely retreated. This kind of fanaticism was dangerous to both parties.

“Fall back!” ordered Arlan. Both the orcs and knights were confused alike but the knights obeyed within seconds. The Heracul Knights began retreating to the original treeline where they first saw the battle. The Knights stopped halfway realizing that Arlan stayed behind.

“Milord! We cannot leave without you!” yelled a knight who was conflicted by the orders and his duty.

“I will buy us time for reinforcements! Go now!” replied the lone warrior. Normally, the Knights would’ve disobeyed the orders but they could feel the confidence, fire, and power that emanated from Arlan. They made sure to fall back.

Arlan only had two minutes before the platoon of orcs would reach his position. He had to strike down the orc commander before then to reduce their effectiveness at a counterattack. The orcs began to surround the young boy. The orcs were cautious as they did not sense any fear from the young boy. They witness his power by cutting down an orc in an instant with [Trifecta].

Arlan could only tap into seventeen percent of his essence. His core defined how much he could use. Three orcs went on the offensive as they raised their mighty clubs and hatchets for vertical attacks at Arlan.

They were on all sides of Arlan except his back. But with enhanced strength and speed, Arlan dashed past the orc on the left and counterattacked with a horizontal slash. The other two orcs missed their mark.

The orc struck by Arlan’s sword was horizontally severed in two. It was crawling towards its brethren but helplessly died in mere seconds. When in shock, orcs behaved like any other creature that didn’t want to die.

Arlan reversed his direction and flanked the center orc. A thrust into its right arm caused it to drop its hatchet. Arlan caught the oversized hatchet with his left hand and drove it into the center orc’s face. Even after Arlan released his hand, the hatchet was still lodged in the cranium.

The third orc readied its club overhead but Arlan was too fast. With both hands, he’d already thrust his sword deep into the orc’s stomach and then forced his weight on the hilt. The teal longsword sliced back out with purple guts, like a pinata.

Arlan’s [Battle Trance] warned him of impending danger, so Arlan side-stepped from his position. He barely caught sight of a clever flying through where Arlan’s head stood moments ago. The orc commander had sent his regards, hoping to maim or kill Arlan from afar.

Arlan was fatigued from overloading his body with essence. But he ignored the pain and hacked his mithril sword into a wooden club that was mid-swing. The teal blade buttered past the maul and killed the orc wielder.

The young baron decided on one last blitz to kill the orc commander. With his last bit of essence, he maximized his speed and he sprinted toward the orc commander. His opponent readied his massive greataxe. If Arlan was struck by it, he would die instantly. The young lion sprung high into the air with both his arms over his head. The orc commander responded by swinging his greataxe upwards, toward the fourteen-year-old Baron.

This was the climax of the entire battle. Any mistakes or hesitation would result in Arlan’s death. His story could end here.