"Out of my way!" Roland roared as he cleaved his way through the ranks of soldiers, decimating those that were separated and had no clear chain of command, forcing them to fight recklessly and unruly.

His platoon, Durandal, was in awe of how he fought. A powerful man that defeated monsters that no ordinary man could even dream of defeating, one of which was the fabled Chimera, a terrifying and ferocious beast that consumed many would-be heroes, ending with Roland as he slew the beast with Durandal, the sword from the heavens.

Their morale was appallingly high, so much that their charge carried terror with them, surprising the enemy, resulting in them to lose fifty men in just that one charge.

The legendary blade shined even after being covered with blood. But along with Roland, the known Dark Knight of legend, their fears escalated even more.

Once words got around the army that Roland the great Dark Knight of Durandal was participating in battle, some men became reluctant to surrender, valuing their lives for they knew that no one was spared under the blade of Durandal, the holy sword.

However, their commanders tried to keep them in line, yelling commands here and there to catch a grip as their armies lost control, where some started to flee, seeing as they were only recruited a few days before, and that their training was not sufficient enough for them to develop a steel will against such odds.

His platoon became all the fiercer, trying to imitate Roland's courage and strength as they cut down soldier after soldier, soon backing them to the wall of flame that the Mage platoon had created to separate the enemy army.

"Don't let up! Get going!" he shouted, receiving a roar of encouragement from his allies, bolstering their spirits even more, and in return, demoralizing the enemy.

The sun was rising, and the battle could now be seen clearly, but even more so as a massive wall of fire stood in the middle.

At the right flank of the enemy, the graceful and charismatic Johann, the man with the title of the Unbreakable Aegis, due to the fact that he possessed a shield, a heart of gold, a face that is the envy of men, strength, and courage.

He was known as the Aegis due to his feat of having defended a town at a neighboring nation from being overrun by countless of monsters along with his party, which were already worn out, leaving Johann to defend the village.

He ended the threat by defeating the largest monster, or the one that they followed as the alpha, breaking their chain of command as forcing them to flee.

After that incident, many became infatuated with him, seeing as he is what you wanted to find in a knight-in-shining-armor. A strong fighter whose heart bled for the people.

"Come everyone! Show them our will! We will not allow them to trample upon those we care about! We shall carry their burdens on our backs, and yours, on mine. Together we shall emerge triumphant!" he spoke before charging, empowering not only his party, but everyone else in his platoon.

Inspired, they moved like well-trained soldiers under the command of a true knight in a campaign, one that displayed gallantry and bravery above all else.

He skillfully struck those in front of him, using his shield to guard not only him, but those that he could defend, offering help to those that fall, or those that surrender, sparing them as they were mesmerized by his benevolence.

"The climax nears! Trudge on!" he raised his sword, urging his platoon to make one more decisive strike to truly break the enemy ranks, and possibly force them to flee instead of having to fight them to the death.

Marco crossed his arms in contentment, having seen the full effects of his strategies and the guild commanders he had employed.

"Now all that's left is to break their morale and have them flee," he murmured, then raising his arm horizontally as a large bird lands on his arm, looking to be transparent like an enigma.

"Good work, my friend. Now, let's see what you've brought for me," the large bird disappeared within him, like a stream of magical energy returning to its source.

Closing his eyes, he looked in his mind, where a series of information began appearing one by one like an archive, showing images of the terrain beyond the outskirts, which were empty and devoid of any reinforcements.

"No reinforcements? It seems that our worries were too exaggerated after all. It must have been a bluff to scare us into giving the city away unconditionally."

He looked at the army, now reduced to nearly nothing as both platoons had succeeded with their primary objectives.

"Roland, do you hear me, Roland?"

"I'm a little busy here. Out of my way, you pest!" Roland responded as he brought down more enemies that came his way.

"I need your platoon to head right and form on their right flank. The battle's lasted too long already, and casualties are getting undesirable. We'll end this with one more plan of action. Can you do that?"

"Yeah, leave it to me."

Marco started chanting to himself, casting a spell that enhanced his ability to see far and wide, and is able to see some things that are normally needed to be seen from up close.

A fresh breeze passed him by, showing the infinite sky, decorated with a few clouds, and the sun itself, shining brightly, illuminating the battlefield.

At that moment, he saw Roland's platoon move to the location that he designated.

"Magic platoon, come in. Rayleigh, do you hear me?"

"I do, Guild master. Is there something you need?"

"Please cease fire. I want you to focus on enhancing the main vanguard's constitution. I want to push them back and force their morale to break. Any more of this and our front lines will take more damage than we could handle. Who knows if this is the last time they'll try attacking us."

"Understood. I will allocate all my units to enhancing."

He pinched his chin with his thumb and index finger, thinking of his next moves.

"Johann's platoon is already in a good position, so all we need to do now is to wait for the enemy to break morale. Their general is incompetent, so this victory is as good as ours," he smiled deviously, taking a great amount of pride in his excellence and achievement.

Just then, the army made a move that he predicted, which was the long awaited outcome of the battle.

The front lines began yelling in triumph as they cheered and announced the result of the battle which was loud enough for everyone outside to hear.

"The enemy is retreating!" they repeated it again and again.

"Well, I guess my work here is done," he exclaimed, taking his stone and channeling magic in it to speak with the commanders of the platoons.

"Platoon leaders, good work. After we've made sure that they're retreated beyond the road, please have all guild members return to the guild. This calls for a little celebration."

He returned to the square in order to report the outcome to Nelson himself, and to ease the unrest of the civilians that were all being safeguarded at the chapel.

With this, the battle to keep the city of Zeal had ended in Zeal's favor, narrowly avoiding an invasion from the radical revolutionaries.

The toll of damages was at the very least thirty compared to the enemy's three hundred and fifty. Yet the massive number of bodies outside the walls of Zeal were many, those of which were unfortunate victims who rushed them to their doom.

The sky loomed down on them, sparing the dead their much needed silence in a land that’s slowly converting to turmoil and strife.

The tranquil fields have been soiled, but will this be the mark of something much worse in the future? Will these casualties not be enough for change to happen? If so, then what will it take?

Meanwhile, near the city of Sor. The group had entered the city without much problem, except with the guards that questioned them, weary of the threat looming in the City-States, as the guard said.

The two captives that they brought with them eventually left with thanks, leaving together as they tried to find a living in Sor, unable to impose on their good will no matter how hard they tried to ask them.

They were allowed entrance once they identified themselves, giving them a chance to rest their worn out bodies, and possibly find out what is really going on in Independence.

Laruse had awoken, and had barely any strength in walking all the way to Sor, yet he pushed himself, not wanting to drag the entire party down with him.

After gaining entrance, they found a local inn run by a gleeful and largely built, brown bearded man, who introduced himself as Reynald Clarke, the proud owner of the sleeping lion's Inn, a place sought after for being cheap and serving good food and drinks to anyone.

The inn was empty at the time, seeing as it was still around dawn, where mostly everyone was still asleep by that time. Yet the Inn Keeper as there, cleaning the tables and other furnishings.

Their sudden entrance surprised him, yet he still welcomed them as customers without distinguishing their image, which was dirty and a mess.

Laruse came to the counter, slamming his hand and presenting six gold pieces-- which were more than enough to let one stay in his inn-- Reynald spoke with a baffled and concerned expression, “What happened to you all? I'd be more than glad to give you two rooms for the men and women, so go rest already. I'll give you something to eat.

They were immediately ushered into their rooms, one for the males, and another for the women and girls.

Immediately after arriving, Laruse slept, and so did the others, who were exhausted beyond compare due to the fact that they were attacked by monsters on the way, and with Laruse incapacitated, they had to put in enough effort in order to at least match his skill with the monsters.

While Cecil, Claire and Robin slept comfortably, the only ones that were awake were Julia and her sister, who was trying to forget the horrors of what happened in Civil, and of Ruslan.

"Again. I want to apologize for not rescuing you sooner. If only I was stronger, then this wouldn't have had to happen," she spoke sadly, demoralizing herself, sincerely apologetic to her.

"Please, raise your head. There's nothing that can be done about that. Some things are simply meant to happen. The only way to avoid another event, similar to that from happening is if we prepare and become better than our past selves," she spoke softly, placing her palm on Julia's cheek, calming her with her serene voice and aura.

"But what are we to do now? You are still intending on taking back the throne, are you not?" Julia spoke in a silent voice, avoiding the others from hearing what she has to say.

"Yes. I can't be put to rest, not until I reclaim the peace that my mother and father had created. I must take it back."

"But how? Farron is searching for us right now, and going to another nation will only spell our doom. The independent City-States is the only place we are safe in."

"For now, we shall let the winds sweep us away. Soon, we might find the way that we are meant to tread."

"So that'll mean accompanying them?"

"Yes. They are skilled, that much is true. I saw for myself a certain someone who displayed bravery and skill, those of which I need."

"Very well. I shall try my best and keep us safe for the time being. Please rest for now, your highness. Let me worry about how we are going to get our country back," she bowed slightly to her, whereas she nodded and laid down on her bed, sleeping and regaining much of her lost energy.

Much time passed, and night came once more. The city was lit up their lamps and lanterns, and the guards made tighter rotations in the area, making sure that there was nothing to obsruct the public peace of the citizens.

Laruss, at this time had woken up with a fresh mind and body, mostly due to Cecil having cast her healing on him many times over, needless to say that the mometary rest gave him some energy as well.

Without anything to do, he went downstairs, where a lively crowd was, drinking and celebrating the night with a cold beverage and hot meals.

A man standing by the counter recognized him, calling out with a hearty wave as the man laughed.

"You're that fella from earlier, aren't you? How are you feeling? Better I hope," he placed his hands on his waist, smiling and looking at the loud customers.

"I'm sorry to say this, but... I don't recognize you," he said looking at him closely, trying his best to rememeber, coming up with nothing.

"Ahaha! I don't blame you, kid! When you came in here, you looked like you were on death's door. I guess you were too tired to mind anything else. How's about I introduce myself again! My name's Reynald Clarke, the owner of the sleeping lion's Inn. Nice to meet you!"

"The pleasure's all mine. I'm Laruse, a freelance. Thank you for giving us a place to rest."

"Are you one of those formal types? I don't really deal well with them, so I suggest that you try and be loose for a while. Makes for a better conversation I'll say," he laughed once more, showing him that he's not the uptight kind of person.

"Dad! Three more orders and two meal set one's!" a cheerful feminine voice could be heard coming from a girl serving the customers, placing their bowls and plates here and there, taking their order at an amazing rate.

"Oh, that just reminded me. Lucia, come over here. There's someone I want to introduce you to," Reynald called over the energetic girl, who happily ran over to him.

"We just met, but he seems like an interesting fellow. His name's Laruse. Laruse, meet my daughter, Lucia. She takes after her mother, bless her soul," he placed his hand over her shoulder, patting it with a certain weight behind his hands, whereas the girl named Lucia stood there, looking at Laruse.

They exchanged pleasantries after small talk, seemingly getting acquainted however awkward their first encounter was.

She briskly went back to work after that.

"She's my pride and joy. Only nineteen, but already taking over the business. If this keeps up, then she'll miss out on a lot of things," Reynald added.

Laruse took another glance at her. A rather slim, but well endowed girl with long, straight, dark blue hair that runs until her waist.

She was indeed beautiful, carrying the fresh charm of youth that seemed to fill you with energy coming from her.

Lucia wore a slightly long skirt along with her white blouse, one that a maid would normally wear, but was customized to be worn as a uniform specially for her.

"Oh, by the way. I think I saw a friend of yours come out a bit earlier. Blonde, wearing a white tunic. I'd be worried for a girl like that. Who knows what kind of person might take advantage of her."

"Is that so? Thank you. Then I'll go search for her if that's the case."

Laruse bowed slightly, leaving for the door as he greeted Lucia once again, replied with a, "Please stay safe and come again!" just like the usual business.