Chapter 94 - 94

Two days into the march after Commander Ishaq made his suggestion. The long line of Ereians continued on their forceful march along the scorching sands of the desert towards the Town of Gilban. Hundreds upon hundreds of the recruited peasants fell down because of exhaustion.

Commander Ishaq was frowning all the way after the two bootlickers drove him away with a threat that he is sure that they can never accomplish. His frown turned to a scowl many times whenever a peasant soldier fell down, he would be the first to assist the fallen soldier.

"Keep moving! Don't give up! The Town of Gilban is already nearby. Squeezed out every ounce of strength that you can muster and focus them all on your feet. Keep your legs moving! It won't be long now!" He tried to lift the wavering will of the soldiers that had trembling legs and even using their spears as walking sticks just to move forward and continue on the march.

"Why that selfish bastard!" Commander Nassor finally can't contain his anger as he unsheathed his sword and kicked the sides of his horse to charge at the prince and knock some senses into his rotten brain. The hooves of his warhorse threw hot sand back as he galloped forward with his sword unsheathed, ready to hack any fool to who will stand on his way to achieve his goal.

"Commander Nassor!" Commander Ishaq shouted in alarm as he saw the back of the oldest commander of the kingdom getting further and further away from him. He quickly passed the fallen soldier to Viscount Redore who quickly caught the knocked out and sweaty soldier in his arms.

Commander Ishaq quickly jumped on the back of his horse and kicked its sides with haste as he pursued his enraged fellow commander. He was devoted to the prince, but he also cares about his fellow commander, who was both a father figure to him and his mentor, who taught him everything he now knows.

Sweat covered Commander Ishaq's forehead, both because of the heat of the Burning Sands and his nervousness. His mentor dying a useless death was the last thing that he wants to witness after his friend and considered brother died during the last struggle for power of the nobles. Those close to him dying under his own blade again were something that scarred him for life. He spent days, weeks and months to free himself from that painful memory, and he surely doesn't want to get it refreshed again and had something added to gnaw at his conscience.

The hooves of Commander Nassor's horse were like the sound of the death envoys announcing their presence. Soldiers in his path were quick to move away and avoided being trampled by the massive horse that was galloping forward with speed. The eyes of Commander Nassor blazed with fury as he saw the prince was only about roughly two hundred meters away from him. His grip on his sword tightened and his veins started showing themselves despite his dark skin. Malice was clearly apparent in his eyes as he stared at the prince. He raised his sword above his head to deliver one surely fatal strike. Everything was empty. He only sees the prince and hears the voice that was repeatedly whispering like it was just beside his ears "Kill him! Kill him! He deserves to die!" that was what he could only hear and nothing else.

His eyes started having a bloody red haze as it contorted his face in both anger and pain. He didn't know what took over him, but he felt surging power, so much power that he felt like he could take on the entire Ereian Royal Army by himself.

"Commander Nassor! This isn't the right way! Did you already forgot what you taught me! Never let your emotions get the best of you!" Commander Ishaq shouted towards his mentor to try and get his attention and perhaps stopped him in his suicidal attempt. He shouted his lungs out to stop Commander Nassor but it was all for naught, the old commander ignored him and continued on his path.

Commander Ishaq scrunched his face in worry as he noticed the bloody red haze oozing from his mentor's body. That was the sign of a demon's influence and the person or creature having that haze means he is no longer in control of himself. He kicked the sides of his horse with more force and flicked the reins to force his horse to move faster.

An evil smile crept up on Commander Nassor's lips as he was nearly only a hundred meters away from his target. The bloody red haze on his eyes became even more intense as his raised sword started emitting a dim glow of red. "Yes! Yes! Kill him! Kill him!" the whispers that Commander Nassor heard continued.

"Protect His Highness! Defensive Circle!" The commander of the Ereian Royal Army bellowed commands. He was one big guy who had a body frame that rivals the big orcs to the north. He was nearly seven feet tall, and a body packed with muscles and even his neck had muscles which formed like sides of a triangle on both sides.

The Ereian Royal Army was quick to form a defensive circle around the prince. They planted their oblong shields that were five feet in height in the sands and their spears laying on top of their shields as they crouched down to brace themselves for the impact of the horse that was under the legs of the enraged commander. The oblong shields reflected the rays of the sun as its rays hit the shiny gold plating of their shields. They also wore on their heads a helmet made of iron steel.

Their bowl-shaped helmets were designed as either high and pointed. They contained a spike socket at the top of the helmet, which resembles a spearhead with a cross-like section. They attached two or three plume holders on either side of the skull, used to mount feathers from birds such as the desert red hawk.

Their helmet had an iron-and-brass aventail that hung at the base of the helmet to protect the neck, shoulders and the temple of the face. The aventail extended down to cover the eyes and the nose. They shaped the low end of the aventail in a zig-zag triangular pattern.

A bar made of iron steel was attached to the front of the helmet with a bracket and could be adjusted in position so when not in use, it could slide upward and fasten with a hook. The Ereian Royal Army also had a secondary weapon which was a scimitar like any the other regular soldier of the kingdom that was on their left waist which would be used if their primary weapon the spear will break in the heat of battle and they also carry with them a dagger which was on their right waist as a last resort. They are heavily equipped infantry that were trained intensely since they were young to be accustomed to their heavy equipment, but also possessed physical abilities way higher than the regular soldiers.

The commander of the Ereian Royal Army smirked as he watched Commander Nassor galloping towards them with great speed, with no care of the wall of shields and spear that was blocking his path. He was smirking because he finally has a valid reason to end the life of the old man who made them suffer while they were still training to be one of the best of Ereia. In many occasions he wanted to avenge the death of his brothers who died because of the merciless means of the old commander to hone them to be the best that they can be but he didn't have a valid reason to do so and now his chance finally arrived.

"Prepare for collision!" He bellowed as he stood behind his soldiers and just in front of His Highness.

Commander Nassor was about to collide with the wall of the shields and spears when someone pounced on him and threw him from the back of his horse. The horse quickly veered away from the wall of shields and spears as dust and sand were kicked up because of its sudden turning. It might not have the complex thinking of humans, but it had enough intelligence to evade the spears that gleamed with danger which would surely end its life.

The commander of the best that Ereia had to offer gritted his teeth in disappointment and anger. This was his chance, his long awaited chance to seek vengeance for his fallen brothers. A chance like this was hard to come by and he was so frustrated that he nearly charged forward through his soldiers to get his hands on the old commander but soon snapped out of it as he realized that His Highness was just behind him watching over the spectacle that was going on.

Commander Nassor and his savior rolled around in the scorching sands for a few meters after he was thrown off his horse. The blade that the old commander had in his hands was long gone from his grip after rolling around a few times. "Argh! Ah! Ra!" the old commander roared as he tried to free himself from the one who was pinning him down.. His growls that sounded like a beast scared those who were nearby as they all unsheathed and brandished their weapons in alarm at the strange behavior of the old commander.