Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

92  Self-loathe

Right after cutting the man down, Henry held his attacking stance, seemingly mimicking the statue above him slaying hundreds of dragon's heads with a single slash. The fire covering the small sword gradually dwindled, revealing the original silver color, and leaving an exhausted Henry to his knees, using the weapon to support himself.

*Huff*

He took a deep breath, trying to recover his Mana and stamina, while his eyes wearily roamed the chamber until it rested upon the lifeless body of his enemy. There was no blood gushing out of the dismembered neck, something that Henry had already expected, since the enemy wasn't a human. There was no one who could stand a direct attack on the jaw and stay unharmed.

"Wood..." - Henry thought tiredly, as he observed the splinters of wood scattered across the ground - "I've never seen such thing."

He wanted to get up and inspect this marvelous machinery, but as soon as he tried to stand, he felt all strength leaving his body, causing him to fall once more onto the chamber's floor. This movement was enough to intensify the burning pain spreading through his overloaded Mana Circuits and his tearing muscles, rendering him powerless.

Leier, who had watched the whole fight from a distance, hurriedly approached to support her king, trying to help him stand up – "I will help you, my liege!" – she said, but stopped upon hearing the king's words.

"I AM FINE!" – Henry shouted, raising his hand to stop her from getting closer, attempting to rise on his own, fueled by sheer determination to overcome the excruciation pain. However, his legs betrayed him halfway, causing him to stumble. Without hesitation, Leier's figure flashed and appeared beside him, offering her shoulders to support him up.

In that moment, Henry's grey eyes shifted to the small woman, falling upon the cauterized injury that had robbed one of her clear blue eyes. It was an image that brought a profound sense of self-loathing and disgust at his incompetence in protecting his subjects, an image that he didn't want to face right now. The king guiltily turned his head and took a step towards the doll, who was under the feet of the giant man's statue, unwilling to face his own mistakes.

Their footsteps echoed throughout the frozen chamber, giving some sort of life to this hollow place. Leier's remaining blue eye remained fixed on the ground as she held the king's feeble body, feeling his deep breaths near her ears while looking out for anything that might cause him to stumble down. She had never been so close to him, causing a strange feeling to permeate her heart.

Leier didn't regret sacrificing her vision to save the king. In fact, if it meant being this close to him once more, she would willingly give up her remaining eye. While she had come under the king to seek strength, her objective had somewhat changed. Leier felt ready to give up her revenge if it meant assisting Henry into achieving his objectives. He was her guide and her light, the one who had given her a different sense of purpose.

In silence, the duo reached the enemy's lifeless body, each lost in their own thoughts. As they arrived, Henry raised the small sword and impaled the severed head with a furious strike, an attempt to exterminate the self-loath out of his heart. This time, the blade effortlessly pierced the doll's skull. He then raised it to his eyes, closely analyzing this peculiar and enigmatic object, momentarily forgetting about his incompetence.

"It's actually made of wood," Henry muttered, his voice loud enough for Leier to hear. He turned the head around, revealing a pale red triangle on the back, something he had never seen before.

"Luna might have some knowledge about this" - He thought, remembering the enigmatic magician who had appeared in his kingdom's lands, offering her services for a few Torch Tree Seeds.

"Hold this," Henry ordered Leier, unable to meet her gaze directly.

The command snapped Leier out of her thoughts, forcing her to look at the stretched sword close to her.  With one hand, she took hold of the head and carefully removed it from the sword, cradling it under her arm in silence. Meanwhile, Henry shifted his attention to the remainder of the body, silently resolving to return for the rest, when everything was over.

Then, Henry's gaze settled on the words 'Library' carved into the stone above a huge metal door, which maintained its metallic color. He took a step forward, forcing Leier to follow, remembering to draw in the Mana to his heart. He had to check everything out and find a way out of this situation.

-x-

Deep within the West Mountains, four days had passed since Henry had thrown the Torch Tree Seeds and caused the massive snowslide. Grok and Zahra, alongside the others, had patiently waited for the return of their king, but the lack of food and the bone-chilling cold seeping into their bones took them to the extreme limit. They could no longer stay inside the freezing cave.

As the main leader, Zahra led the group down the mountain, fighting against natural obstacles on their way, created by the massive snow wave, which had significantly altered the surroundings. It was a difficult descent, their days without food had taken a toll on their bodies, but they managed to safely reach the mountain's base, weapons in hands, ready to fight against the enemies.

However, when they arrived, it was eerily quiet, and the scene looked almost like the end of the world. The nearly one hundred soldiers from Stahl couldn't spot a single tree on the horizon, just a few branches barely poking out of the snow. As they moved forward, they also noticed human limbs sticking out of the snow, showing the unfortunate victims who were buried by the massive snow wave.

However, what greeted them was an eerie silence and an almost apocalyptic scene. The group of nearly one hundred Stahl's soldiers couldn't spot a single standing tree on the horizon. Instead, there were just a few branches poking out of the snow, stubbornly trying to survive. As they moved ahead, they noticed arms and legs stretching outside of the white mantle, humans that tried to dig their way out of their sure deaths, ultimately being buried under the massive snow wave.

"Chief Zahra…" - One of the soldiers said, touching Zahra's shoulder with a trembling hand, proof of what they faced while getting down of the mountain and, maybe, his fear of the surroundings. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Zahra appeared lost in thought, her gaze fixed on the ruined landscape as if searching for the king's silhouette. She only snapped back to the present when the soldiers asked once more, gently shaking her shoulders - "Chief Zahra, what should we do next?"

Zahra paused to look at the area once more. This massive snow wave might have defeated the enemies, but also meant that nearby villages were affected, causing hundreds, if not thousands, of casualties. However, this wasn't important right now, they were at a war and without a king. It was crucial to seek the Generals and let them guide the soldiers towards the future and seek for the king.

"We're dividing into two groups"- Zahra announced - "Half of the soldiers will accompany Grok to Mirante, while the other half will come with me to inform the General Luther. We need to alert the three Generals, locate the king, and prepare for the future."

The soldier nodded and turned his gaze away, looking at the desolate landscape left after the king's actions. It was a scene that could only be created by a dragon. A chill wind swept over him, prompting him to pull his tattered fur coat tighter, in a futile attempt to shield himself from the cold.

"We're in the midst of a war" - Zahra murmured - "but without a king."

-x-

Zuna gazed at the ruined camp before her, her eyes ablaze with anger, without a way to vent it out. The massive snowslide had reached Luak's encampment, but the surrounding trees and the great distance had shielded them from utter destruction. However, they still lost hundreds of soldiers.

"Gather everyone!" - Zuna's voice grew louder, her fists clenched in frustration - "We're heading for the capital! Staying here is not an option, and we need provisions!"

Zuna had a strong hunch that Aritreia's army had already invaded Stahl's lands, leaving them with no fortified defenses to fight against this third force. Furthermore, the snowslide had probably buried all the local wildlife, offering them no option but to raid the surrounding villages and launch a full-scale war against Stahl. Zuna couldn't afford to remain idle while swallowing this kingdom.

"Are we going against the ancestors? Should we really be at these godforsaken lands?" - Zuna wondered, clenching her fists as she contemplated about the events that had transpired since they first set foot here, a decisive light flashing in her eyes – "They are only spirits, who had lost their timing to create their legends and are waiting at a bonfire. They won't stop me. I will create my own fire if necessary!".