Chapter 3

Now the first thing you must know is that mercenaries will fall upon their leader like a pack of wolves if he proves himself incapable of leading them. We knew he had no choice but to accept a challenge.

We had set the field to our advantage. The Crooked Lands are full of ridges and have places to ambush an approaching force. Also, it was away from the city where innocents might get hurt. With this one gesture, I had proved to the Feudal Council that I cared for the citizens of Las Veganza. Meanwhile, it was evident that my brother cared only for his power and had played the card of ‘The End Justifies the Means’.

Most importantly, my force was small so it made more sense to ambush a larger force than face it head-on.

According to calculations, we should have won. The first half of the battle turned out as predicted. Mercs fell like dominoes. Lasers of all colours flashed. It was a terrible yet beautiful dance of colours. Flamethrowers spewed fires, torching people; lightning sizzled, electrocuting men and arrows rained, producing sonic waves that rendered our opponents deaf.

They shouldn't have won. Heck, they shouldn't even have survived. But just as we pushed home our advantage, it arrived. A machine, twenty feet tall piloted by a man inside a glass cockpit and carrying enough ammunition to level a whole castle. We didn't stand a chance. It rained hell on the whole battlefield with its cannons and missiles. Only the spot where I and my closest friends were standing remained untouched.

Then the pilot turned a flamethrower towards us.

My best friend, Marco hurled me clear shouting "Run!" just before the flames turned my last remaining Knights into smoking corpses.