Nighttime came so both units decided to stop in their tracks and rest. The area they stopped in was roughly one hundred and seventy-five kilometers away from the eastern fortress. Calmantos quickly scouted the area out, there were no Oren. He erected a five hundred foot metal wall in the one square kilometer radius he scouted in. The metal was so strong that puncturing it with climbing instruments would be impossible.

He returned to the group. They had a campfire setup. Units one and five were doing their own thing. Unit one was busy scolding Saren as he was purposely trying to provoke Anarion. Unit five were resting by a large tree. Amma and Anarion were making small talk. “No, Anarion! Pork steak is better!” Anarion brought his hand up to his face “While I won’t deny the appeal of pork steak, the best type of steak is beef!” he yelled.

Falcon and Ithilious looked on. “Since when did you two become so friendly with each other?” asked Ithilious. Anarion glared at Ithilious “You should notice the people around you more. I’d say about a month ago?” Falcon laughed. “Wow Anarion, who would have thought you could act like a normal person.” Anarion stood up “Are you assholes Masochistic? Do you miss me treating you like shit, calling you fucking worthless assholes?”

Ithilious pointed at Anarion “Who are you calling a fucking worthless asshole!” Anarion grabbed Ithilious’s shirt “Are you stupid? Is there something wrong in your head?” Anarion looked at Amma “Did your mother drop him on his head?” Amma sighed “Several times.” Ithilious yelled, “What, now you are both picking on me.” Anarion glared at Ithilious “Yeah, got a problem with that?” Falcon was laughing hysterically.

Bwoire said “You guys are noisy. Stop picking on the virgin.” Ithilious yelled “The four of us are virgins! Why are you singling me out!” He looked at Amma and Anarion “Oh I understand, the two of you are screwing when no ones looking.” Amma’s face went red. “No, we are just friends you dumbass.” said Anarion letting go of Ithilious. “We are all in the same boat as you, but it's more fun to make fun of you for it.” said Falcon. Bwoire sighed “Anarion, your so boring lately.”

Anarion yelled “Personal development! I don’t want someone like Ithilious getting ahead of me.” His face turned slightly red, his voice became a little quieter. “Personal development,” he said again. Saren came in for an ambush, he jumped at Amma yelling “I love you Amma! Let’s get married.” Anarion kicked Saren in the face. “Would you fuck off already!” he yelled.

Saren rubbed his face, stood up, and said “You bastard!” He stood there for a moment. He pointed at Anarion “How dare you kick me in the face. I’ve been infected with your failure.” Before he could reply Bernard came from behind and punched him in the face “Saren! I said get along!” Saren stood up and said, “He kicked me in the face.” Bernard yelled “Probably because you were harassing her again! When a woman says no it means no you dumbass!” Bernard punched Saren again, then dragged him back to his unit.

“We should get some sleep.,” said Bwoire. Ithilious sighed “So there is one in every group.” Falcon asked, “What do you mean?” Ithilious pouted “One poor bastard who acts as the group punching bag.” Falcon laughed “No, that’s just our group.” Bwoire yelled, “Go to sleep already!” Everyone slowly fell asleep.

Before the sun rose Bwoire woke everyone up. They were ready to move again. Once everyone gathered together Calmantos said “I would like to get within twenty-five kilometers of this fortress by tonight. We are picking up the pace.” Calmantos was not kidding when he said he wanted to end this war in a week.

Everyone prepared for a hard day ahead of them. They traveled without incident or ambush. Bela and Minas had done their jobs properly. Taking out any ambushes and killing any Oren warriors they could find in the villages along the way. They arrived at their destination late at night, Calmantos once again scouted and set up a parameter for the night.

Once he was done he called both units one and five together for a meeting. They gathered around the campfire while Calmantos spoke. “Unit five will lead the charge, unit one will act as backup. Try to avoid innocent casualties.” Calmantos looked at Bwoire. He was not happy with this plan but since Calmantos was getting orders from the council his word was absolute.

Bwoire said “Help out with the arrows if you can. Amma is our only fire user and she has never had practice doing so.” Calmantos said “We’ll handle all of the arrows. Anarion will lead the charge for unit five.” Bwoire looked like he was about to punch his father. “If you have something to say, then say it,” said Calmantos. “This plan is reckless. Sure Anarion has a lot of combat experience, but the same can’t be said for the others. Even with his combat experience, I feel you are putting my group in unnecessary danger.”

Calmantos sighed. “I don’t like it either. However, orders are orders. I have my orders, disobeying them would be the same as treason.” Bwoire punched the ground. “I know.” Bwoire looked at Anarion. He had a neutral expression on his face. “This won’t be the same as last time. I have a Katarn with me, and people to watch my back. So don’t worry so much.”

Calmantos said “You are only allowed to go second form unless there is a Swordsman. Got that?” he looked at Bwoire again. “Yeah, I got it.” The tension between Bwoire and Calmantos was still there. Falcon said “I hope you report on us as well. I’m eager to show the council that the world does not revolve around Anarion.” he looked at Anarion “No offense.” Anarion said “None taken. If I didn’t risk execution by saying so I’d tell the council to go stick their orders up their assholes.”

Saren yelled “So what if he’s related to Aenos. I’m betting one gold this miserable failure will die on the battlefield.” Amma punched Saren in the face. “Are you even human? What kind of asshole bets on a comrades death!” she yelled. Bernard punched him when he got up. “She’s right you know. You keep calling him a miserable failure. But you are a failure as a human, Saren.” The normally quiet Denethir glared at Saren “Disgusting.” he said in an angry voice.

Saren ran off, no one went after him. He couldn’t escape the perimeter after all. Everyone went to sleep shortly afterward. Bwoire woke everyone up early in the morning like before. They regrouped and began traveling towards the fortress. When they arrived within view of the fortress they stopped. There was a massive set of stairs leading up to the main gate. The fortress was constructed similarly to the previous fortress, made out of stone. Moss had covered the entirety of it. Outside guards were stationed, the walls did not have as many archers as they thought.

“We have the element of surprise,” said Falcon. Anarion took of his shirt. Amma’s face turned red, everyone was busy looking at all of the scars. Saren was amazed that someone his age could have so many scars on his body. “I’m leading the charge, right? My shirt restricts the rotation of my body, the seamstress didn’t measure me properly.” Ithilious laughed out loud “Stop trying to show off in front of my sister.” Anarion punched him in the face “Be quiet you moron! Do you realize how close we are?”

Ithilious was indeed heard by the guards at the fortress. A bell was rung, the gate opened and soldiers marched out. “Ithilious you dumbass,” said Falcon. “No time like the present,” said Anarion. He then yelled “Charge!” Anarion began sprinting towards the fortress. The others followed behind.

As Calmantos promised, the arrows were being melted in mid-flight. Anarion started running up the stairs. The Oren met him and the other units there. He began cleaving through the enemy forces like a knife through butter. Anarion was like a man possessed on the battlefield, showing no mercy even as more Oren came out of the gate like a flood of water.

Amma stayed close to Anarion. Cutting down every foe he couldn’t. Bwoire, Falcon, and Ithilious formed another small group cutting down as many Oren they could. Group one charged in from behind. However by this time, unit five cut down a quarter of the enemy force, Anarion had killed the bulk of them.

They pressed through the gates and into town. Cutting down all Oren wielding any form of weaponry. No one who could go second form did. Nine swordsmen were overkill in this case. The last of the warriors attempted to flee but Anarion cut them down regardless. All of the warriors had to die, those were the orders.

By the time the battle was over the eastern fortress looked like a river of blood. The women and children hid, afraid for their lives. Anarion was covered from head to toe in blood. At the end of the battle, unit five killed seventy-five percent of the Oren. While the numbers are not precise, Anarion killed around fifty thousand. Bwoire killed around ten thousand, Amma, Falcon, and Ithilious killed around five thousand each. Of course, these are rough numbers.

There was a well in the middle of town. Anarion used it to wash all the blood off himself and his blade. Calmantos approached “We held back Anarion, but regardless I am impressed. You killed so many without a single scratch on your body.” Anarion glared at Calmantos “Shut the fuck up. I did my job, but as far as I am concerned you can kiss my ass. I’m not some tool the council can use for its genocide. Feel free to tell them that.”

Calmantos glared at Anarion “Don’t tell me you feel something for these monsters?” Anarion punched Calmantos in the face. “They had families and loved ones. We just ensured an entire generation of Oren will grow up hating us for killing their fathers. Do you expect me to feel nothing? The attack on Holsten was different, I did what I had to do. But this? If we are so desperate to kill all Oren Swordsmen why do we have to massacre all these people?”

Calmantos yelled “I was ordered to. Just like you were. It’s treason otherwise. The Swordsman Order doesn’t take kindly to people who don’t follow their orders. They execute those people.” Anarion said “So you are afraid to die? I bet the people I killed were afraid of the same thing. Stop trying to justify murder.” Calmantos sighed. “Let’s get back. We still have two more fortresses to take out.”

Calmantos left without saying another word. Anarion finished cleaning the blood off himself and returned to the group. He didn’t speak with anyone for the rest of the day. Like he did in the academy he lamented his destiny. He hated killing. He hated being a tool for the Swordsman order more so.