TWO DAYS LATER, the group finally reached the Colosseum Empire. After spending cold nights on the road, the group was glad that they could finally rest and eat in a proper inn or tavern, assuming there was one.

“Ah! Finally, a village!” said Riku in relief.

“What’s this village called again, Raijin?” asked Jack.

“This is Traeux XII,” Raijin replied, “One of the twelve Traeux villages. This village is one of the twelve villages located near the border of the Colosseum Empire. These villages are usually populated by the lower class, laborers, and farmers, to name a few.”

“Really? Shouldn’t they station their army on the border and not the commoners?” Riku asked, baffled by the fact.

The people of Traeux XII began to notice the arrival of the group. Four Traeuxians headed their way.

“Welcome, outsiders! I am the current village head of Traeux XII. You can call me Faustus. These are Julius, Emilia, and Quintus,” introduced the leader of Traeux XII.

The leader looked too young to be leading people, but the group didn't seem to have a problem with that. And even though he welcomed the group, he and his subordinates seemed to be on high alert—something that is very common in every Traeuxian village as they are prone to be raided by barbarians.

“T-Thank you. I am Raijin Lee, from Port Royale. These are Daisuke Frühling, Riku Aki, and Jack Thornwood. They are elves from Maria Island. I serve as their guide here in Aria.”

“I see. And if you don’t mind, may I ask why are the elves a long way from their home?” asked Faustus cautiously.

“We’re just passing through,” Daisuke answered. “We’re actually going to the Elysian Republic.”

“Well, as long as we could count on you four that you will not cause any commotion, then you may go on your way,” said Emilia. She was wearing light armor, just like Faustus, Julius, and Quintus, but on her armor was some kind of insignia with an eagle symbol embossed on it.

“Before we could let you in, we would have you register your names and purpose. This is just to monitor the outsiders that come into the empire,” instructed Quintus.

“If you don’t mind, kindly follow us to the head office,” Faustus led them to the office where several outsiders were also being screened.

As soon as they arrived, two Traeuxians came running toward Faustus.

“Faustus! We spotted barbarians not too far away!” said the Traeuxian recon, causing a slight panic from the people inside the head office.

“How many barbarians have you seen?” asked Faustus calmly.

“Around a cohort. Enough to siege the village!”

“Julius, alert the Lagaian XII. They must get here before we get overrun. Quintus, order the men for battle formation. Emilia, prepare for the protective spell. And you four, stay here.”

“Faustus, we can help,” offered Jack. “My friend, Riku, is a great magic-user. Daisuke and I are power-users. You will need all the help you can have to hold this border.”

“Pardon me, Faustus. But the elf is right,” said the other Traeuxian recon. “We only have four contubernium right now. Most of our men were ordered by the emperor himself to patrol the forest west of here. And most people here are farmers, cooks, blacksmiths, medics, who do not have chances in fighting any barbarians.”

Faustus clicked his tongue. “Of all the time our men will be ordered…”

“Faustus, if they want to help, let them help,” Emilia suggested.

Faustus tried to analyze what may happen with the given scenario. Just as when they were short in hands, approximately five hundred barbarians were just outside their borders, ready to invade them. He does not want his men to die without a fighting chance. But what three elves could do to make any difference?

The four contuberium has finally arrived, waiting for orders. From the distance, they could already hear the barbarians' warcry.

“Men, follow me. You three, do what you can to keep those barbarians out of this village.”

As soon as all of them left for the battlefield, Raijin was left at the head office. “But I could fight too…” Raijin whispered.

* * * * *

At the northeastern part of the village, barbarians stood around two hundred yards away. The four contubernium of Traeux XII formed a single file while holding their shields in wall formation. Faustus, Quintus, and Emilia were in front of the shield wall. Daisuke and Riku were at the right end of the wall while Jack was on the opposite side.

A barbarian riding a boar the size of a horse went in their direction.

“Emilia, start the spell now,” Faustus ordered before meeting the boar rider halfway.

“A-Alright,” As soon as Faustus left, Emilia started to chant. “Testudo Lux!” Slowly, a translucent protective barrier formed on the battlefield.

“So this is what Faustus meant by the protective spell,” commented Daisuke.

“It seems that this is to keep the battle here and not let any barbarians leave,” said Riku.

“Yes. With this, even if we lose, those barbarians will not go anywhere,” explained one of the Traeuxian soldiers. “But keep in mind that with a force strong enough, the barrier could be shattered. So try to intercept any barbarians that will try to escape.”

The boar rider and Faustus have now met halfway on the battlefield.

“So, you are the new head of this village. You look like fresh meat to me,” taunted the boar rider. “And same tactic as always. You Colossans really like to trap yourselves with the enemy, don't you?”

“Running away from a fight is not the Colossan way. The moment you got in Testudo Lux, there’s no getting out. So tell your men to surrender and go back to whatever cavern you all came from, or all of you will perish here,” Faustus tried to bluff, hoping it will intimidate the barbarians.

The boar rider burst into laughter. “You’re making me laugh too hard here, kid!! And what can a mere thirty men do against my army?!”

The barbarians behind the boar rider screamed their warcry, boosting their morale.

“Traeuxian forces may not be enough. But soon, Lagaians forces will be here. And you will wish that you have brought even more,” Faustus continued his bluff.

“You people expanded too much but you don’t want to spend proper army to your borders. We’ll see how long this territory of yours will last,” the boar rider then saw a female soldier with blonde hair and a golden spear which was Emilia, smirking at her before going back to his army.

Faustus went back to his men as well.

“So? What happened?” Quintus asked, hoping for something good.

“Men! Unsheathe your swords! We fight until the reinforcement arrives,” Faustus then looked at Emilia who was shaking. “Are you alright?”

“T-That boar-rider…”

A horn sounded from the barbarians. At that moment, all the barbarians charged towards them.

“For the Empire!!” shouted Faustus.

The morale of the contubernium was boosted. They stood their ground and waited for the barbarians. They were prepared to fight and die, but they were astonished when the three elves, shouting their lungs out as well, started to charge towards the barbarians.

Jack and Daisuke used their power to create hundreds of jackfruit and cherry blossom trees near the barrier's end. The trees were so near to each other that they served as a physical wall in front of the Testudo Lux, adding another layer of protection in case the barbarians intended to escape.

Jack then created a jackfruit mace and started to attack the barbarians, hitting multiple barbarians at once. Daisuke created his signature Wooden Arms to smack the heck out of the barbarians. He went through the barbarians in his path until he reached the boar rider. “You're the leader, aren't you?!”

The barbarians were overwhelmed. Some decided to run away and tried to break the trees and barrier, while others continued to fight the elves.

Meanwhile, Riku used her magic to create rose armor. She followed up with a short sword and shield similar to the Traeuxians’ weapons and started to hack and slash the barbarians in front of her.

The Traeuxians could not believe how frightening the elves were on the battlefield. Unlike them who fight in a systematic method, maintaining their formation as much as possible, the elves were rampaging individually, fighting whoever is near them or whoever they wanted to fight. It was their first time to see elves fight and they were totally perplexed.

“C-Come on guys!” shouted Quintus. “Let’s not let those elves take all the fun and glory!!”

The contubernium yelled and charged at the barbarians with Quintus.

“H-Hey! W-Wait for me!” Faustus shouted. “Ah! Stay here, Emilia. Make sure the barrier will hold!”

Emilia, who was speechless due to the commotion, simply nodded.

* * * * *

Julius and the Lagaian army finally arrived, but the battle has already ended. More than a third of the barbarians were incapacitated during the battle while the Traeuxians only received minor injuries.

“Faustus. What happened?” asked Julius, looking at the aftermath of the battle.

“A group of elves helped us win an impossible fight,” Faustus could not help but grin.

Julius looked around and saw the villagers cheering for the elves and the four contubernium that fought bravely.

“Faustus. Can you give us a report on what happened?” said a man in full armor.

“Optio Vitus. Thank you for arriving! I’ll ask Emilia to make a report and send it immediately. For now, we can hand over some of the barbarians that surrendered. They could be interrogated to gain some intel.”

“Very well.”

Evening came and an open fire was lit up at the center of the village. The villagers took out meats, vegetables, and wines to celebrate a successful battle.

“To our elven friends! Cheers!” Faustus raised his wooden goblet.

Everyone raised theirs and drank their wine.

Daisuke and Raijin were sitting near the open fire, barbecuing meat. Emilia and Quintus joined them.

“Hey! Emilia! Quintus! It’s a great celebration you got here,” said Daisuke as he gobbled three sticks of barbecues. “Do you guys always celebrate every battle you win?”

“Of course! Bot not always like this. Today's an exception,” Emilia replied enthusiastically. “Life here at the border is difficult. You never know if today will be your last. So might as well celebrate a successful battle.”

Quintus sat next to Daisuke. “Hey there, elf. Thank you for fighting with us today. But you seem to look different compared to Riku and Jack. Are you sure you’re an elf?”

Daisuke finished his goblet of wine. “I often ask that question myself.”

Quintus and Emilia laughed.

“So what are your plans after this?” asked Emilia curiously.

“W-We’ll just cross the capital quickly, then be on our way to the Arcanas Kingdom,” Raijin replied.

“Oooh. The land of the mages,” said Quintus. “What business you four have there?”

“Nothing really. It’s just the route I planned out to get them to the Elysian Republic.”

“Elysia? That's a long way from here. What business do you have there?” asked Emilia.

“To find a wooden statue,” Daisuke replied. “It’s an old wooden statue of our island. I wanted to bring it back to our village.”

“Must be one heck of a statue, that is,” Quintus commented.

“Yeah. I even agreed to be these guys’ guide here in Aria. For a statue,” said Raijin.

Emilia laughed. “Now that is something new. Are they gonna pay you well?”

“I hope so.”

“Well, you guys know how to fight. Why not enter the Colosseum Arena?” Quintus suggested.

“Yeah. Anyone who can defeat the main gladiators will earn at most ten thousand colossenes!” Emilia added.

“Really?! With that money, we'll be able to pay Raijin in full!,” Daisuke revealed.

“I will not stop you from doing that. After all, Colosseum Arena is famous for its gladiator fights,” said Raijin.

Emilia yawned. “I’m actually tired. If you don’t mind, I’ll be going in first. Enjoy the night!”

Daisuke, Raijin, and Quintus said goodnight and continued eating and talking as Emilia left.

* * * * *

Jack and Riku were at the opposite side of the open fire, having a conversation with Faustus and Julius.

“So, what will happen to the barbarians that were caught and surrendered?” asked Riku.

“Well, some of them will stay here as prisoners, others were sent to Lagaian XII. They will probably get interrogated for us to gain information,” said Faustus.

“What sort of intel?”

“Anything that could help the army deal with the barbarians that keep on attacking us,” Faustus revealed.

“Does that mean Colosseum Empire will wage war against those barbarians?” asked Jack.

“That depends,“ said Julius. “The emperor must succeed first in gaining two-thirds of the senate to vote ‘yes’ to war. Otherwise, the empire will not send its army to fight barbarians.”

“If those barbarians could be dealt with soon, then there will be fewer problems here, don’t you think?”

“The barbarians are not the only problem we have. Engaging in war has its costs. Also, since we are not members of the United Alliance, treasure hunters keep on popping in from time to time,” Julius explained.

“Of course. Treasure hunters,” Jack reacted.

“If I recall correctly, Traeux VIII caught treasure hunters and were sent to Colosseum Arena.”

“Were those treasure hunters turned into gladiators?” asked Riku.

“Yep. And then there was this man who got caught without an imperial pass. He refused to be apprehended and started to attack the soldiers.”

“Yeah. The man who fought three cohorts all by himself,” added Faustus. “We weren’t at the battle when it happened, but we saw the casualties when we were at the Capital for a meeting. No soldiers died, but everyone got wounded pretty badly.”

“It was six months ago. And ever since he became a gladiator, he never lost a fight. Not a single one,” added Julius.

“He must be a born fighter then,” Riku assumed.

“People say that he uses two swords to fight, and holds them in reverse. Very unique swordsmanship if you ask me.”

“Hmmm. Maybe we could watch the fights since we’re already here. What do you say, Jack?”

“Yeah, sure. Let’s just ask Daisuke and Raijin if they want to watch as well. For now, let’s enjoy the night.”