Chapter 79: Self-Doubt


    The evening finally arrived, and those soldiers came afterwards. The king held the battle without the sun, considering that Merleen used light, and it was weak against the darkness.


    Despite these constraints, the two of us stood alone on the battlefield. We had no one by our side but our trusted stave and sword. As I nced at Merleen''s side, I knew it would finally be ourst battle.


    I did not even dare to visit Merchant, considering that he was still resting in his bed. Even though I would meet him in the middle of this battle, Merchant would give me lousy advice about staying far behind the walls. He was the Merchant, and I was a knight. So he would choose to hide himself to safety, while the rest of us would fight to protect them.


    All the vigers found their way outside the borders, with the eight mercenaries protecting their back. Those warriors gathered the people who could walk and escape the town. However, when they left the ce, they also abandoned the wounded vigers who could not walk on their own.


    Galehaut and his family were the only ones who nursed the injured people. The rest of those caretakers left the ce, since they did not want to die from the arrows and swords.


    But I never med them for running away, since they were still human beings with a heart. If I were also in their position, I would have done the same to save my family.


    Merleen and I stood in front of the gates to protect the immobile vigers with disabilities. Those who could not run with the fleeing townspeople were our utmost priority.


    We did not know where Fenrir went. But she had an original n to do, considering that she was not part of this battle. I cared little, but it would be nice to have an extra arm to protect the ce.


    "Are you ready, Merleen?"


    "Yes, Arthur."


    The hornsing from the soldiers red in our ears, signalling the start of our battle. Upon hearing those sounds, we prepared our stance and faced the army. Merleen waved her hands and conjured two magic circles in front of her palm. She conjured a gigantic shield made of the four elements that I taught her. It was not as strong as her light magic, but it would do against those arrows raining above us.


    "Remember, Merleen. Make them unconscious. Do not kill the soldiers. We do not kill. We just protect the vigers," I said, and raised my sword.


    We did not want to kill these soldiers, considering that they were also people like the vigers. Those mages and knights had families to feed and children to meet after the battle. Killing them for their own selfish deeds would only stir trouble and endless revenge from these people.


    However, adding those selfposed rules challenged us to win this war. If we could not kill these knights, I did not know how to deal with them. If worsees to worst, Merleen and I could protect the vige until the end of our lives. But I doubt we would still be alive after all of that.


    One thousand knights and one thousand mages shouted their battle roar and dashed straight towards us. The arrows also finally came into sight and would hit the entire vige within seconds.


    But thanks to Merleen, those sets of arrows got obstructed by the four elements circling the vige. Those darts stood no chance against magic, but the next ones would scar us for life.


    Those bowsing in hot had magic imbued on their sharpened edge. The knights coated some bolts with fire, twirling towards us, while others had wind enhancing their speed. There were also shadowy figures lingering in the back alleys, but I focused on the ones in front.


    Those spells Merleen conjured shattered the arrows before they could evennd at us, despite the elements coated in their bolts. However, some of them passed through our defences, destroying the outside borders.


    Merleen gritted her teeth as she maintained the magic to block those attacks. Billions of sweat beads dripped from her face, drenching her body. But that mage girl paid those no mind and remained unfazed from the war.


    I rushed towards the front lines and attacked the knights and crusaders. Some of them used hammers as their weapon, while others used the bastard sword. The soldiers also used some shields to protect their mages. I, who wanted to aim them first, had trouble breaching their formation.


    And I should not kill those knights even if I would try, considering that was our rules. Merleen and I vowed to spare the kingdom''s lives, since all of them were also living beings.


    Thanks to our conviction, rent gave a boost and enhanced my skills, even better than I experienced from before. Power surged through my veins, granting me the strength to bash my enemies away without taking their lives.


    My eyes glowed with bright, white colour, showing my excess arcane. Merleen also added some magic enhancement to me, granting me the power of levitation and extra speed boost. I would need these skills to outspeed my foes and knock them out without letting them blink.


    However, I underestimate their numbers, considering it was a fight of two people against the world.


    I mmed the pommel of my sword to my opponents and shed their weapons in a single strike. The swiftness of rent enabled me to tap its potential. But this power was just twenty percent from what I had before.


    However, beggars did not have the luxury to choose. So I had no other choice but to use this limited power to my disposal.


    And within a few seconds, the war looked one-sided. But it turned out that the king had prepared something behind his sleeves.


    Those arrows we witnessed before ceased to fire in our direction. Even Merleen widened her eyes when the bolts nevernded at us.


    But it was all part of the king''s n.


    Instead of shards of pointed sticks, those knights threw rocks at us. They used a catapult tounch their stones, enhanced with various elements that amplified their powers.


    The dome Merleen created to protect the shelter wiggled upon contact from the rocks. Merleen even shrieked in pain after getting hit by the rubblesing from those hurled boulders.


    "MERLEEN!" I shouted.


    But upon turning around, assassins came at my nk and cut my skin. Blood finally dripped from my arms as their des hit me.


    When I swung my de, those assassin''s had already left my vicinity. As I squinted my eyes, those dark shapes headed forward to the vulnerable Merleen.


    I disregarded the sea of soldiersing in our way and rushed towards Merleen''s side. But the assassin''s were already beside her, with their des aimed at her chest.


    Time stopped around me, with the image of those assassins nning to kill Merleen. There was no chance for me to reach their height.not unless a miracle would happen.


    "Merleen...Please..Anyone. Don''t kill Merleen I want to protect her! I-I WILL DO ANYTHING TO SAVE HER!" my mind shouted, hoping to be heard.


    My prayers reached the heavens as my rent gave the glittering hope I needed. Within moments to spare, I rushed towards the assassins and thrashed them with my weapon. When rent hit them with its side, those assassins rolled over to the side and mmed their heads against the wall. Two of them got killed, while the other got badly injured.


    My eyes expanded when my vision became blurred and filled it with a crimson hue. The colour almost tasted like iron and other minerals I knew of.


    And when I gazed in front of me, the two assassin''s necks kissed the ground in a ....horrifying manner.


    "No.NO, NO, NO!" I screamed, while looking up at the sky.


    These two strangers were nothing special to me. But my hands reminded me about the rule I just broke, with the dead bodies staring back at me. They met my eyes and med me for their deaths.


    I did not know that killing someone would affect someone''s mind and soul. Whenever I watched dramas and action movies, killing someone was like a chore for the characters. However, as a boy who lived a peaceful life, the effect came different for me.


    Every muscle inside of me quivered like a jelly bean, and my eyes became swollen. This sea of sweat drenched my face as it slid from my lids. It almost looked like I mourned the death of these knigths.


    And that was what I did.


    Merleen finally arrived beside me and nced at the two corpses. She gasped in shock, but averted her gaze afterwards. That mage girl wrapped her arms around me, hoping tofort my depressed state.


    I painted my hands with blood. But never did I wish to kill someone, especially a human like me. With all that said, rent withdrew its power and took it away from me amidst this war.