Chapter 54: Painful Than The Death

Just as the battalion reached the royal troop, a number of men soon came out behind the rows of huge rocks. They were wearing black military clothes, which was the uniform of the Megaris army, unlike those knights from the royal troop, who were still wearing the same clothes that they used to disguise when they sneaked inside the Barknor Fortress.

The battalion under the colonel had a thousand soldiers, while the soldiers from Megaris were only in the hundreds, meaning Thevailes had an advantage when it came to numbers. However, the army of the Kingdom of Megaris was known for their fighting prowess, and it would not be a problem for most of their soldiers to take on one-on-three the ordinary soldiers from other kingdoms. Not to mention, the men who were chosen to join the allied rescue troop were knights, elites from the three allied kingdoms who had earned prestige on the battlefield. 

It would appear that Thevailes had a poor chance of winning over their enemies.

"When did the Megaris' military reach here? Aren't they still busy at the eastern border?" the colonel asked. 

"Colonel, do we order a retreat? They sneaked secretly to rescue their king," said the subordinate. "More enemies might appear."

The colonel chuckled as an evil smile painted on his scarred face. "Rescue their king? In their dreams." He gripped his sword. "I'll get the King, and you make sure to capture those two princes."

By the time the colonel charged over, the fight had long begun. As expected, the fight was fierce, and corpses had littered the barren land. With his subordinates making way for him, he continued to slaughter his way towards the area being protected by the Megaris soldiers—the wooden cart tied to the war horses.

When the colonel reached the innermost circle of the enemies, he and his men were stalled by the more powerful and experienced knights from the allied troop. The knights were calm as they surrounded the cart while on their horses. However, there was a weird situation in front of their group—Marquis Percy was treated like a human shield, tied on a horse with injuries from stray arrows as if Megaris was mocking Thevailes's colonel by showing such an important man held captive in their own territory and in poor condition.

"Where is your king?!" the Thevailes colonel roared as he couldn't recognize Drayce among them. 

"We don't need our king to deal with a weakling like you," replied one of the men who looked to be the leader of the knights.

The vice-commander of the royal knights of Megaris was a tall, robust man who carried the same aura as his commander, the infamous Slayer, and had long held rage in his heart after what happened to his respected commander. 

Seeing the red-eyed king had not made his appearance, the Thevailes colonel sneered in the direction of the cart. "Seems like your king likes to hide like a woman."

"That cart is for you to hide when you have lost face to show your king after this shameful defeat," the leader of the allied knights retorted and was ready to attack. 

Although the royal troop was tired of the continuous fighting and traveling for days, there was no way any of them would show mercy to their enemies.

"We have to reach that cart. It looks like their king is hurt, and they are trying to protect him," the Thevailes colonel instructed his subordinates after realizing that none of the reported royals were present. Even though he might not recognize a disguised prince from Abetha or Griven, it would be impossible to hide the trademark red eyes of the King of Megaris.

The clash between the two groups intensified, and painful screams filled that deserted place. 

When the colonel managed to reach the carriage, he got the shock of his life. 

"It's empty," he mumbled. 

"Seems like your empty brains still didn't get anything," the vice-commander from Megaris said as he stopped fighting for a bit, giving their enemies a chance to process things. 

"It was only to divert us here. They never came here," the colonel said in disbelief. His dream of catching the King of Megaris shattered into pieces.

"Finally?" the knight gave him a mocking sigh. "So, that top part of your body is not empty."

Realizing how they were fooled, the Thevailes colonel turned angrier and looked at his subordinate, "Send someone to inform the army."

The subordinate turned, but the next moment, a sword pierced his stomach. 

"There is no use even if you go back," the knight said as he pulled his sword from the body of the colonel's subordinate.

The colonel marched towards the knight, but the skilled knight dodged his attack. The vice-commander was one of the best knights under Drayce; if not, how could he have been given the responsibility to lead the important part of their escape plan?

The leader of the allied knights fought gracefully, and the colonel had difficulty tackling him. Soon, the colonel was forced back towards the horse that had Marquis Percy tied on it. Their sights met, and the colonel could see that the Marquis's eyes looked empty. Although he was alive, his gaze was hoping for nothing but to lose his life soon. It felt like Marquis Percy was begging him to kill him.

Seeing the Marquis like this, the colonel turned in rage and attacked the damned knight who had kept on taunting him. However, the vice-commander dodged skillfully and kicked the colonel on his chest, which made the man lose his balance and fall on the ground. 

The knight pointed his sword towards the Thevailes colonel's neck and glared at him. "If you have seen carefully what we have done to this monster, I'm giving you a chance to leave. If not, you are welcome to die along with him."

The colonel felt cold sweat. If they could turn this cruel Marquis like this, what would they do with him? 

However, as a military man, he was not scared of dying in the hands of the enemies. 

Seemingly understanding his opponent's thoughts, the vice-commander pushed away from the colonel's sword. "Let me tell you what we plan to do with the old rag." The knight leaned down and said something to the colonel in a low voice that only he could hear. 

The colonel's eyes widened. "You can't. We will let you win, and you will give us Marquis Percy."

The vice-commander of the knights chuckled. "Let us win? I don't think we are on the losing side, though." The knight deliberately looked around, and the colonel followed the knight's sight. 

Thevailes was definitely on the losing side, and the colonel could only curse his soldiers in his mind. The colonel looked at the knight again. "The rule is to respect the superiors on both sides. Godfrey Percy is a high noble of the marquis rank. Make him a prisoner of war that can be exchanged once diplomatic settlements are made after the war."

"That old rag is an exception," replied the knight and warned, "Leave, or I might plan to do the same with you. Enough bloodshed for the day."

The colonel stood up. "I won't forget this. One day, we will meet, and that day will be the last day of your life."

"I will surely wait for that day. Don't forget to call out my name when we are on the battlefield again," the knight replied. "Azer Brayden, that's my name."

"I will remember it for sure." The colonel returned to his horse as he signaled his soldiers to retreat. Soon after, the sounds of sword clashing stopped, and both sides separated from each other.

When the colonel left with his remaining soldiers, the vice-commander of the royal knights of Megaris went towards the Marquis and gave him a mocking look. "How did it feel when your men abandoned you here to die a painful death without even fighting to the death to take you back?"

With his tongue cut, Marquis Percy couldn't talk, but the disappointment was evident in his eyes. His own men abandoning him would be the most hurtful thing for any leader, even more painful than being pierced by an enemy's sword.

Azer smiled coldly. "It's just the start of your pain, Marquis. The best is yet to come."