On the fourth of March, the traitorous Subutei Zangei of the self-declared Mange Kingdom penetrated the outer layer of Vavinia Castle. That rascal resorted to the dishonorable tactic of blocking water from the canal so our troops would die of thirst. High Chancellor Ravio Tonale led his Moonshine knights to break their way through, but even their famed Collective Flair could not trouble Zangei. Tonale and his men were beheaded; their bodies were hung outside of the castle like animals.

We were left with only twenty warriors, rotting to thirst, hunger, and the inevitable looming of death. Nevertheless, though our bodies labored, our spirits never wavered. I bowed before King Igor and sworn to him that we would fight until our last breath. But the Highness burst into tears for the first time since the seize. I understood that he had given up.

He told me, "General. I had served my people as the Crown Prince for two decades, then the King for two more decades. My only regret was that I was never strong enough, never wise enough, and never worthy enough for your loyalty. Since the dawn of time, kingdoms had perished under the hands of incapable, lustful, barbarous monarchs. If the Socenian Kingdom ends with me, it warms my heart to know that I was never such ruler, that I have never once wronged my nation."

The King reached to his Whiplash and tied it around his neck until it formed a knot. It was only then I knew why he was getting so emotional. I tried to persuade him to fight on, but the King was beyond reason. I barely made of his last words, "As of this moment, I abdicate from the throne of Socen. Do not foolishly defend this stronghold and throw your life away. I shall entrust you to keep the last true blood of Socen—a boy of extraordinare—alive. He is now the Socenian King. It is my final wish."

The King then ended his life.

Excerpt from "The General's Diary"

Azra Kolkov

A wall of flaming lava.

That's what I see when I run back to the barrack. A bulwark that's spread over the horizon, standing twice as tall as the highest tree, and is still spanning out to enfold more of the forest.

Pyro is known for many things, and seemingly endless Flair reserves is one of them. This lava wall is certainly living proof of what he can do, and that he is here.

My instinct urges me to head to the Training Ground. Eugene and the General are there.

As soon as I break into a sprint, I sense something heading towards me, aiming for my back. I summon a thick mahogany trunk for protection, and whatever coming at me smashes into it with a splurting sound. I turn around and see black, sticky liquid dripping from my shield. It looks like pitch, tar, or a combination of the two, but I can't tell at first glance.

To my left, shrouding behind the thick groves is a dark figure in a literal sense. He cloaks himself in that same black semi-liquid substance, covering most of him apart from his eyes.

"Azir," I said.

"Kolkov." The man nodded. "We haven't forgotten that day when you ravaged us near Mirai mountain."

"You should've left us alone."

"Nobody passes the mountain without a patronage fee. You should've known better." He grunts, his voice turns hoarse.

Our last expedition outside of Mirai mountain was two years ago. The General doubted that Likimi forest wouldn't be sustainable, and sent me leading a five-people squad to scout the region. About a hundred bandits had ambushed us near the forest foot, and I had to shift the entire darkwood to evade them. It seems like Azir didn't take it kindly.

The General's plan to traverse through the mountain was cancelled. Engaging in combat with the bandits would've attracted too much attention.

From all corners, men barge towards me, curved saber swords on their hands and fur hats with a single feature on top of their heads. These guys are Pomelos—Northern bandits often hired as mercenaries—and Azir is their figurehead.

Why is Pyro hiring these Pomelos instead using Tailiahi infantries? Can it be that this attack is not sanctioned by the royal court?

Then we might have a chance.

I raise my shield, looking to lure them in like I did with Bjorline. However, these guys barely glaze their sabers on my defense before drawing back. Then, another duo of bandit does the same, then falling back for another couple to attack.

From our last encounter, I learn that most of these bandits have Speed Enhancement Flair, which is rather mediocre even for a Commoner Flair. If they'd had better Flair, they wouldn't have resorted to looting travellers. But right now, these Pomelos are a real nuisance. They're always moving, always on their feet. They seem to know I don't have an AOE. If they keep doing these hit-and-runs, it'll take me a few more tries to figure out their patterns and knock them off their feet or capture them.

These guys aren't looking to fight me. They're just trying to stall.

An idea comes to mind, and as soon as I see there's enough distance between me and all the bandits, I execute Woodland Matrix.

The scenery before me shifts rapidly as if the trees are spinning around in motion. I can see a tree smashing into a bandit and drags him along with it. As the trees and the grounds beneath their roots are being rearranged, the bandits will be assigned to random locations along this section of the woods, possibly up to a five hundred meters away from each other and from me. Now, I can deal with them one by one. What's more, the trees are now surrounding me, so I won't have to worry about fighting in open space.

However, a snake-like tar streak slithers around the trees and shoots up at my mahogany shield. It morphs into human shape mid-air, and the figure shoots out sticky tar from the palm of his hand.

"Old trick, Kolkov. You're not getting rid of us that easily," Azir says.

I manage to block with my shield, but he jerks the shield away by sticking the tar to it and pull it back. I summon another shield rooted to the earth. He tries to jerk it out of the way, but fails. I summon a horde of vines whipping at him, but he morphs into a streak and drops to the ground, dodging all my restraining attempts.

This guy's Shapeshift skill is annoying. I can't use a Vinestrap Hawser on him.

He morphs into human form again, shooting tar at my feet. I jump back as the vines bunch up to parry. I need to be careful, or else his tar is going to glue me to my spot.

When I jump back, I sense the presence of another figure. No, two, coming at me from behind.

I swing my hip and pulls out King Igor's Whiplash. It elongates as I make a sideway, horizontal thrash. I manage to grapple a saber, forcing the bandit holding it to drop the weapon before I suck him in. The other one charges at me from the flank, but is also pushed back by another horizontal lash. My whiplash's range should double that of their sabers, so I'll have no trouble defending.

But I need to attack.

The two Pomelos who sneaked up on me now resume defensive stances. The bandit who lost his saber pulls out a curved knife. They could totally have placed their backs against the trees to avoid getting ambushed themselves, but they didn't.

That's when yet another figure looms from the deep wood. Red haIr, scrawny feet, and a smug smile.

Eugene.

Eugene dashes behind the Pomelo holding a saber and stabs him on the heart. The bandit lets out a ghastly howl. His legs shake as he drops his weapon, but it doesn't seem like he'll die from that one stab. People with a ton of endurance training has thick enough skin that might not be penetrable by a sword on the first few tries. Even if they're stabbed, they can withstand multiple wounds, even on vital organs, before giving in to the blood loss. High endurance transfer to that high 'hit point' attribute shown on the Companions' stat menu.

He just needs to pull the sword out to suck away the bandit's consciousness. But he's not doing it. He gives me a cunning wink, as if telling me that he's deliberately not withdrawing.

The bandit with a knife jumps at Eugene from behind. It is then that the boy withdraws the sword and smashes the pommel into the bandit's face. He staggers back, and Eugene turns around and feign stab him. The Pomelo tries to pull Eugene's sword from his hand, but the red-haired guy rotates the sword halfway, until his grip meets the mercenary's heel. Eugene swings his sword as if it's a golf club, knocking the Pomelo off-balance, lying on his back. The mercenary scrambles to get up, but Eugene's sword is already on his neck.

"Don't touch my sword again, filthy bum," the boy grunts.

He used his sword and turned it into a lever action. Very solid swordsmanship, that. It takes a typical swordsman at least twenty years to even attempt something like that.

"Stab him. More are coming." I warn. The boy does as told, and it takes him three stabs to send the bandit drifting into unconsciousness.

"How did I do, Captain? I did fine, didn't I? Bet you're glad seeing me coming to aid."

"You could've been exposed with those heavy footsteps. Next time, keep a lower profile."

"Wow, what a spoilsport you are, Cap! Sorry that I have to make footstep noises when I step." He snorts.

Of course, sparks of offensive brilliance won't help leverage Eugene's skills with the sword if he doesn't fix his footwork. He exposes his flank far too often, and trips way more than the acceptable number. The acceptable number is zero.

Another three bandits appear, ganging up on Eugene.

I swing my whip at one of them. My weapon claws its way around his neck, then the thorns sprout and gnaw into his skin. I jolt my whip, snapping his neck, and the mercenary drops face-flat to the ground.

Color drains from the faces of the other Pomelos, and they retreat to the shadows of the forest.

"Look out, Captain!" Eugene yells. I turn back and see a giant tar ball bolting at me. I raise a wooden shield, hoping I'm not too slow.

The tar ball leaps past my shield. I can't parry this!

Something throws a stalwart punch from the side of the tar ball, knocking it astray. The ball morphs back to its human form as Azir smashes his back against a tree. The bandit leader grunts as he pushes himself back to his feat.

That punch comes from the Cyborg Glove V2, made and worn by Leviathan.

"You okay?" Leviathan eyes me up and down as he asks, shaking his head so a split out strand of hair falls back into his comb over.

"Good choice of weapon," I say. His glove is enveloped by a layer of Soul Dust, which prevents the tar from sticking to it.

"Keep chattering, little girls," says the bandit leader as he shoots a shower of tar darts.

Leviathan punches the air, releasing a cloud of Soul Dust that blows the darts off-course. He says as he punches. "We had some trouble searching for you, but when we saw the trees moving, we know you're here."

"There are still at least eight more bandits. Do you think you can handle them?"

"I can," Leviathan replies. "Go now."

"Wait. What do you mean 'I'? You said you'd let me fight." Eugene throws his hands into the air.

"I would let you fight. But since Captain Kolkov's here, his command is absolute." Leviathan says.

"No fair!" Eugene moans."You tricked me! This is just like the time you promised you'd prep me some delish chicken burger but turned out it was just caviar and truffles!"

"Nobody's getting away!" Azir shouts like a deranged animal. He attempts another tar dart attack, but Leviathan repels him again.

I point at the general direction of the Training Ground and tell Eugene, "Go first. No arguments. We're at war."

The boy rolls his eyes but dashes away anyway. I swing my whiplash at a tree branch very high up. My whiplash grapples on it, and I start swinging from branch to branch—the only way I keep up with Eugene's speed.