Westwards of Muzou, stood twelve thousand soldiers, under a banner with a white wolf.

Similarly eastwards stood ten thousand soldiers, with a banner of a phoenix.

Both armies had divided themselves in multiple units.

Nivalis’s main unit consisted of five thousand men and were led by Ran.

Then there were two units directly next to it, both consisted of twenty five hundred soldiers.

The unit on the right was led by Hatsu. Normally a direct aid to a Great Lord would not leave their side. But both were needed on separate battlefields.

And the unit on the left side was led by another esteemed general.

Lastly two thousand were placed behind the main units.

They were reserve soldiers, should a unit need assistance they would be deployed. This way breaking formation would be prevented and fatalities would be significantly

decreased.

Each unit consisted of multiple smaller units so it had higher mobility.

People with blessings were mostly given either a leading position or one adjacent to that.

Right in front of the main army stood a man in flashy silver armor. Seeing him on his snow white horse made the sight of him ever more impressive.

Morale could not be higher, a gracious yet powerful being who leads every men on the battlefield.

But morale this high is a double edged sword, if something were to happen to Ran, Nivalis’s entire army would fall to their knees.

This is why it was a high risk, high reward strategy.

Normally the general would be stationed somewhere in the back of the army to remain safe.

Or he would place himself in the middle so that commands could be swiftly given and executed.

The front of the army neither had safety, nor strategical advantages.

Even though nobody showed it the soldiers most soldiers were terrified knowing the burden of this battle.

To his men Ran was a beacon of light in an endless night that would lead them to safety.

When he raised his hand, the sound of trumpets resonated through the plains.

Saving not a single moment Ran charged straight ahead.

As his horse galloped, thousands of others followed mere seconds behind.

Ahead of them was the Falak army of ten thousand. Split into three units, one of four thousand and two of three thousand.

It would be obvious that Ignus would be leading the largest of the units.

This suspicion was confirmed when Ran saw the person in front of the largest unit.

A knight in black and dark red full plate armor sat on his horse.

But what was most noticeable about him was his weapon, it was created using an extremely rare metal named Iravu. This was known by its incredible toughness, but even more than that this metal held a natural black color.

Imbedded in the hilt of the black sword were five rubies organized in an pentagram formation.

When they saw the approaching Nivalis army, Ran signaled his men and they began the retaliation.

The respective armies met with one another and the long awaited battle finally began.

While most battles started of moderately normal, the right wing led by Hatsu was met by an unexpected opponent.

At first it looked like a wall of shielded units, but those who blindly charged ahead failed to notice the animosity behind them.

Thirty somewhat wolf like creatures, their blue and yellow furs stood straight up.

Several people got fried while their horse fell onto the ground.

Those who saw what had happened, recognized the light which came from them as a hazard.

‘’All men halt! Do not get close to their soldiers!’’

Having quickly grasped an idea of the situation, Hatsu gave, made his soldiers keep distance.

They were outside the reach of the Raius but within the range of their archers.

Turning around and trying to take some distance between them was not an option, this would only expose their backs.

For the moment Ran could only think of their survival.

‘’Prepare to fire the arrows, aim for those wolves!’’

Soldiers readied their shields for protection, but left the to Raius fend for themselves.

Though the beast barely gave a reply. All they had to do was curl themselves up and let their fur protect them.

There were a few who fired lighting at the arrows and turned them into dust before they started their descend.

It appears that even these beast have their own personalities of how they complete their task.

‘’Curses, captain notify sir Marudo we’ll need his assistance of taking these beast down.’’

Within two minutes the man Marudo arrived. ‘’Sir Hatsu, is it time for my blessing already?’’

‘’How long can you keep it up.’’

‘’I can keep it active for three hours at a time. But those enemies will be tough, I’ll need to use more power than usual, so maybe around an hour.’’

‘’Then we’ll finish them within the hour.’’

‘’Sir are you really using your blessing already?’’

With a powerful voice Hatsu reassured Marudo. ‘’Do not worry yourself, without it we’ll still be able to fight these beasts.’’

‘’Understood then if you’ll allow me.’’ Marudo closed his eyes and held out his hands ‘’Spacial Force.’’

Marudo slowly advanced forwards, a rain of arrows was constantly coming down but none came close to hitting him.

While moving his hands around two Raius came out of the crowd, to confusion of the Falak soldiers.

Somehow they looked odd. Neither of them were actually walking yet they were in motion.

Their front paws were firm on the ground to keep themselves from moving.

‘’Archer take aim!’’

Sparks from the Raius fur started striking the ground but none were able to leave their bodies.

‘’Fire!’’

As Hatsu gave the signal arrows started at their single venerable place, their faces.

With arrows sticking out of their faces, the creatures were no longer recognizable.

What happened was surprising none the less, without their own will, the creatures were pulled out of the crowd. Not being able to defend themselves led to their demise.

Yet not a single change on the Falak soldiers faces.

Their mental fortitude was great, Lord Falak made sure to train his men to remain calm and composed.

If a general were to fall their morale would take no hit whatsoever. Simply the next in line would take over and resume the battle.

Wild beast on the other hand were different, they relied only on their instinct or their leader.

Multiple Raius started firing lightning at Marudo, apparently they figured out that he was a threat.

As if there were a shield around him all lightning bolts changed direction away from him.

Once again two more Raius were pulled out of the crowd.

A howl could be heard from further inside the army and four Raius bolted towards Marudo.

‘’Wha!’’

‘’They figured it out already, you three come with me!’’

While the Raius that Marudo held were killed by oncoming arrows, four more charged at him.

Before he was able to protect himself from the rain of arrows and lighting strikes.

This was because his power redirected all oncoming projectiles, he did not have a shield that covered him.

Hatsu had learned the strengths and weaknesses from all known blessed in the Nivalis army, so his decision making was quick.

Since the Raius were focused on Marudo, Ran and his men were able to attack somewhat unnoticed.

Two were struck down, but the other two survived.

Their fur stood up and sparks started to form. This is a dangerous situation.

Luckily the two Raius which Marudo held down were killed, so he was able to move his hands over to the remaining two and he was able to prevent a discharge.

But it turned out to be more troublesome situation then they had thought, as the two rolled themselves up into balls.

Hatsu and his men were striking their weapons onto the now rolled up Raius, but this was without progress.

Fur the strength of a brick wall protected them from any harm, the only place not protected were their faces.

‘’Marudo open them up, we have to kill them quickly.’’

But Marudo just painfully shook his head. ‘’It’s no good, they keep discharging lightning, the moment I stop keeping it contained we’ll be struck.’’

Hatsu fell silent for a moment. ‘’Then we have no choice.’’

‘’How long sir?’’

‘’One hour if I am conservative, anymore then that will put me in severe risk.’’

‘’So we’ll be going all breaks loose from now on.’’

‘’Yes we have to finish this battle quick and meet up with Lord Ran.’’

Honestly they were not great odds, to defeat a unit of three thousand men would normally take at least a full day and Hatsu meant to do it in less than an hour.

Nonetheless he was one of the most powerful blessed in the continent, ranking only below the Great Lords.

His blessing was special in a way, for he had gotten it from another human.

‘’By the contract with my master, empress of the frozen mountains heed my voice. May my foes whom disgrace the artic land be struck by thine bow, Skadi!’’

Cold winds started surrounding Hatsu, as a cool blue light dimly shown off him.

Mumbling could be heard from the soldiers behind him.

‘’Is that the famous power?’’

‘’It has to be, right?’’

Skadi was the name he invoked when he called forth this power. It was that of the one who had formed a contract with Ran and made him into a Great Lord.

It is information unknown even amongst those with blessings knew not of these possibilities.

These special blessings are referred to as a servant pact.

Yet why was it so unknown? It was very simple really, most people who attempted to abuse it would perish.

Blessings are not something everyone can handle. If the vessel rejected to power, he and his contractor would die. Because no one used it the information was quickly forgotten.

But should one against all odds be a true vessel a terrible threat would be created.

Of course one would not be able to come into the domain of the original user. However depending on the power, a combo between the two could become two maybe three times as strong.

‘’Now as for you two.’’ Icicles formed out of thin air, coming into contact would be enough to freeze just about anything.

Penetrating through the Raius thick fur was an easy task for these icicles.

Eventually their entire bodies froze over and shattered into thousands shards of ice.

‘’Sir Marudo, I’m going to make quick work of these beasts.’’

‘’Understood, please act with caution.’’

Multiple icicles were created, at this point Hatsu could be counted as a one man archer unit.

Once again a howl was heard from inside the army.

When the icicles blasted forwards everyman who stood in their way was killed instantly.

Ordinary people had no hope of surviving this onslaught, shields were destroyed and armor was torn through. Raius were running deeper into the army, most of them were unable to escape and killed by the icicles.

Along with two hundred soldiers half the remaining Raius were killed.

‘’What incredible power, surely all those beasts have perished.’’ Marudo was perplexed when he saw Hatsu’s blessing first hand.

‘’No something is wrong. Did you hear it, after that howl the beasts started running away. Some of them still survived, we can no longer delay our shelves. Captain please take care of our men while I make preparations.’’ Around Hatsu gusts of air kept blowing it seemed that he meant to end this with one last blow.

Meanwhile both armies resumed their normal battle.

Thanks to Hatsu and Marudo their soldiers were able to fight without having to worry about getting struck by lightning.

‘’Mhm it appears we have a troublesome foe at our door. It will soon be time, shall we go on with our plan Sanda.’’

*Wooooh*

Laure who had taken command from one of Falak’s armies was stroking the fur of the Raiu leader.

‘’He intends to kill a great deal of us with his next attack. Someone with that much power is probably a Great Lord’s retainer. I’ll have to show them my power as well.’’

Laure snapped his horse’s reins, Sanda followed behind him.

‘’By the contract with my master, he has was casted down from the heavens obey my will. Burn all who oppose my will and light this plain of existence with your everlasting flame, Lucifer!’'

When the invocation of his blessing finished Laure had reached the front of the army.

Hatsu noticed a strong existence and locked his eyes on him.

Countering him was impossible lest he wanted to kill his allies.

‘’Surging Inferno’’

What destruction thought Hatsu. A wall of fire now separated the two armies, neither in height nor width could the enemy be seen.

‘’That man killed his own men without batting an eye. Falak’s men are dangerous indeed.’’