Hiroki explained to Thunder that he was to join him west of the battlefield, hidden away in the brush with the thousand men that Hiroki commanded, when Hiroki and the War Hogs were to charge into battle Thunder would still remain behind and Hiroki would signal him to join via the dragon flute when the time was right.
“I’ll charge into battle with our men and leave you alone in the brush Thunder, wait there until my signal, I will play our melody and summon you. When you attack, burn them, burn them all to a fucking crisp with your green dragon fire . . . these men are monsters . . . what they do to women and children is evil. Kill them all!”
Hiroki petted Thunder once more then placed his kabuto helmet upon his skull and mounted upon the brown and white warhorse that was tied to the tree, he then rode off to join the one thousand men who eagerly awaited his command. Thunder flew by his side and Hiroki began readying himself mentally this is it, my first battle in command of a group of men, the hardships endured, the brutal training, it all led to this. When this is over though, a bigger task awaits, the unification of the Centre Plate. The wolfmen, blood maidens, woodlanders, mages, and elves . . . will they unify to save our lands, or will the racial hatred prove too strong and drown us all. I can’t think of that, not now, not with this battle on the horizon. The darkness within me seems to be surging, I feel I’m going to enjoy this bloodshed . . . but why? Am I a monster too, or is this merely my swordsman mentality? Angelika, I wish you were here, I still remember what you said . . . evil always succumbs to serenity. We will see soon enough!
Hiroki turned to his bonded dragon. “Thunder! The time has come to rid our lands of these two evil scums. My sword is yours, your fire is mine, and we are one!”
Chapter 20:
The Bronze Giant and The Raging Lion
The sun had reached its peak and shone down upon the green open plain, the soil was hard and tough and the grass was of an off green due to the lack of rain, patches of brown dead grass was visible which bared testament to the heat that had battered it over the course of several days, the ground was now a combined mix of brown and light green though no doubt the floor was to be red with blood within the coming hours.
Thousands upon thousands of soldiers had emerged onto the battlefield, armed with swords, shields, axes, bows and spears, roars of wild warriors were heard and all of the giants and lions men seemed to had become more feral than human as the sun beat down upon their bodies, punishing them with sweltering heat and angering them even more. Banners and flags were displayed in their masses by Yoshihiro’s men, the War Hogs donned their black flags and banners, the War Hog sewn in red seemed enraged in the bright sun and glared upon the rival warlords. The soldiers of the War Hogs wore their usual black steel armours and helmets, though some had decided to battle without their helmets, greaves and sabatons due to the heat, opting for visibility and flexibility over extra heavy armour.
Two lines of a thousand men stood in wait, one in front of the other as Yoshihiro had instructed, the first wave of a thousand men stood firm and ready for their first charge, armed with shields and spears, the experienced first wave of the War Hogs were famed shield wall breakers and were experts in smashing apart complex defensive formations.
There was slight discomfort within the first line, Jadar stood alongside her men on the front line however Tatsuya was nowhere to be seen and had disappeared after leading the men to the battlefield.
A brutish spearman spoke to Jadar. “Where the fuck is Tatsuya?”
Jadar’s tone echoed great anger. “Fuck do I know? He was here wasn’t he?”
“Aye,” said the brute. “He was, but claimed he was returning to the forest to meet Yoshihiro, he never came back.”
“What the fuck are you playing at Tatsuya,” mumbled Jadar.
To Jadar’s surprise Terrance had appeared and pledged his services to her in the first charge. “Jadar, I’m now of elite rank, Astaroth promoted me before he left to venture eastwards. I will serve by your side.”
“My brother, we shall fight together Join my side and ready yourself,” declared Jadar.
Another second wave of a thousand men stood some fair distance behind Jadar’s front line, Archie and Crow waited patiently within the second wave. The second line boasted a vast array of armed soldiers and mounted cavalry, and as planned, a few hundred bowmen were present, ready to bombard the enemy with their explosive ruby tipped arrows. The arrow heads were razor sharp and at the tips, crafted on expertly were rubies.
Rubies are used by elves for ferocious fire magic however humans and other races who cannot wield magic can coat them in an explosive powder which also works to draw out the fire power that resides in the rubies, Ragrim had also used his dwarven powers to abstract the power from within the stones. The archers were to aim the arrows high into the sky and upon their fall to the ground the rubies were to explode and burn to a crisp the first wave of the giant and the lions attack.
“Remember, wait for Jadar’s signal before you fire your arrows men.” said Archie.
“This is gonna be quite the sight when we burn these fuckers to a crisp,” cheered Crow, he continued, “Risky plan though, we don’t want to hit our own, Jadar’s call will be vital.”
At the rear of the formation Yoshihiro stood with his five hundred men and Ragrim. The positions had been assembled and the War Hogs were in perfect formation however Ragrim was furious. “That cunt Tatsuya, I told ya we couldn’t trust him didn’t I. What did I say for so many years, I told ya Yoshihiro didn’t I! I bet his family weren’t even killed by Darius, that was probably a lie as well. Cunt . . . fucking traitor piece of shit fucking cunt—”
“Enough Ragrim!” roared Yoshihiro. “I will deal with him later . . . He hasn’t left us, not completely anyway. I’d imagine the urge to slay the man that murdered his family was too strong to ignore. He probably returned to Cutthroat’s Grasp to kill him, maybe I was the fool . . . to bring a man to within touching distance of the monster within his dreams and expect him to carry on as normal . . . that was unwise of me, I should have killed Darius first.”
Ragrim sighed and looked down to the floor, pondering his relationship with the mysterious ninja who had been with them for so long, but seemed to be a stranger. “Fuck it, fuck it all. Let’s focus on this battle first. Our men are in place, the time is now.”
Yoshihiro began to raise his hand and commence the first attack until a mighty horn was heard from the enemy’s side of the field, the giant and the lion began riding into the centre of the battlefield with their respective bannermen riding beside them, they halted and began waiting.
“They still wish to have an audience with me, very well. I’ll make this quick,” said Yoshihiro in an excited undertone, the thought of finally meeting the two famed warlords seemed to excite him. “Wait here Ragrim,” ordered Yoshihiro who began making his way to the centre of the battlefield.
Yoshihiro’s horse picked up speed and galloped to the centre, Yoshihiro’s smile broadened, and excitement surged through his body as he approached the enemy until finally, he halted a few meters from the warlords. The two warlords glared upon Yoshihiro, Jerome smiled spitefully, the giant bore no expression at all.
Jerome looked to be the prominent warrior the rumours had depicted; he was tall, broad, strong, and looked battle hardened. His silver longsword was grasped within his hand, the razor-sharp blade glistened against the sun’s rays and the hilt of the sword bore the carving of a lion’s head. Jerome wore a short kilt made from animal fur which matched his short fur waistcoat, the waistcoat was opened and exposed his firm muscular chest, his black leather leg greaves were covered in red fox fur, as were the black leather gauntlets upon his broad forearms and beads of sweat were visible all over the black skin of the mighty warlord. Jerome seemed agitated by the heat and leaned back onto the black saddle of his mighty land lion which was as big as a destrier horse, the lion gave out a blood curdling roar as it arched back onto its hind legs, the roar echoed throughout
the mass battlefield of the now silent warriors who watched on as the opposing leaders met.
Jerome’s lion was in every way as ferocious as it was rumoured to be. The mane was blood red, as were its eyes, and its darkened brown fur seemed thick and in the sun it seemed to be more like a golden brown, the lions teeth were thick and sharp and it snarled at Yoshihiro and glared at him, the lion stared deep into Yoshihiro’s eyes as if its gaze was trying to protrude into the very soul of the famed swordsman.
Yoshihiro gazed upon the raging lion's bannerman, the young man avoided eye contact with Yoshihiro and gazed off into the distance, the bannerman also rode a lion, the lion was much smaller than Jerome’s though it looked every bit as vicious.
Jerome’s sigil was expertly sewn onto the flag which was black with a red diamond placed in the centre, within the diamond was a golden lion and in either corner of the black flag were severed limbs, one arm in the top left, another arm in the top right, a leg in the bottom left and another leg in the bottom right of the flag.
“That’s a nice lion, can I stroke him?” joked Yoshihiro.
Yoshihiro’s joke was met with laughter from Jerome and finally the Raging Lion said, “Yoshihiro Hiroto . . . I’ve heard about you; never thought I’d face you in battle . . . life has a funny way of bringing people together, especially monsters like us.”
“Yes,” replied Yoshihiro. “And here I stand facing two monsters who are just as volatile as me, a rarity indeed. I’ve spent many years slaughtering, I now I see two men who are very much my equals, it’s like I’m looking into a mirror.”
Jerome’s smile vanished and his tongue took a more serious tone. “Let us be clear, we desire to conquer as much as we can and have unified our clans to do so. Darius owns fertile lands to plunder, wealth to be stolen and women mount. Step aside and surrender Darius to us, in return you and your hogs can ride off and avoid the bloodshed . . . for today.”
“You’re a fucking fool. I’m Yoshihiro Hiroto, the greatest swordsman that ever lived and my sword knows no equal. I’m going to take your head and that power cube.”
Jerome seemed taken back by the fact his possession of the power cube had become common knowledge, he regained his composure, smiled, and clicked his fingers, the bannerman then revealed the power cube from the saddle bag of the lion.
The power cube was placed into Jerome’s callus covered palms and he spoke again. “The power cube? Oh, this thing here.”
The power cube was thick and seemed to weigh heavy and was slightly bigger than a fist, it was platinum and infused with mass flawless diamonds, ancient carvings had also been etched into it, Yoshihiro was unable to make out the language but assumed it must have been an unknown language which dated back to the early years.
Jerome placed the cube into a small brown leather side satchel which was tied to his lion. “You fucking idiot,” roared Jerome, his shout was matched by another roar from his mighty land lion that had not taken its eyes of Yoshihiro. “You’ll throw away everything for this and Darius? So be it, DIE! I expected more from you.”
Yoshihiro jousted back, “I'm the greatest swordsman to grace these lands, I do not fight for Darius, I’ll kill him myself when I’m done with you. I need that power cube to protect our lands, to protect all of us as I know the legend of their power. You know of the threat from the East, why fight your fellow men when you know the East will slaughter you upon arrival?”
“Because when WE plant to secure all four cubes, we will use their power to rule all,” boasted the Bronze Giant in a deep beastly voice who had now finally decided to speak.
The giant was covered from head to toe in thick bronze armour, sabatons, greaves, cuisses and pauldrons, his breastplate was thick and made the giant of a man look near unbeatable. The giant removed his thick bronze helmet which was shaped to mimic the head of a bear and to Yoshihiro’s horror, his disfigured face was grotesque and seemed to send a shiver down the spine of even Jerome and the bannermen.
The giant was a monster, his face was covered in scaly warts, he had no top lip and half of his bottom lip had not been formed and was missing which revealed his black and yellow teeth which had been filed down and sharpened into fangs, red flesh that looked half cooked covered his forehead and his bald head was covered in calluses. Multiple lumpy cysts sprouted from under his scalp and as he exhaled the smell of rotten flesh secreted from his mouth, the giant was beastly and even Yoshihiro could never have fathomed that such a monster of a human could exist.
The giant dismounted from his horse and pulled out a severed human forearm from his saddle bag, the arm had been roasted and the giant took a bite out of his favourite cuisine, the giants sharpened teeth tore through the flesh and he began to eat and swallow as he approached Yoshihiro, his near seven-foot frame harboured a bloodstained aura which was overpowering, and Yoshihiro could only imagine the macabre fates of the women and children that this monster had slaughtered and raped.
The giant stood in front of Yoshihiro’s horse and continued, his deep beastly voice seemed to batter Yoshihiro’s ears and his brown soulless eyes glared into Yoshihiro. “We will use the power cubes to summon the rumoured mighty dragon and wipe out the East then dominate the Centre Plate as well as the western elven lands which will be bought to their knees. We will rule all, men will be slaves, children will serve, and women will be my playthings, my pets to do as I please. Lucky for you, you’ll die today.”
“Yoshihiro, why do you shudder at violence? You're a monster like us,” said Jerome playfully. Yoshihiro looked up to the sun, closed his eyes and smiled as the rays caressed his face, he then looked down upon the giants bannerman who held the giants flag, the flag was red and sewn in brown was a giant bear sat upon a pile of dead bodies, a most fitting sigil for a monster.
Yoshihiro addressed the two warlords for the last time. “It’s true, I’ve done horrible things, committed terrible acts, not because I wanted to, but because I had to . . . because of men like you. When I finished my training on Swordsman Shores and returned to the Centre Plate, I realised very quickly I’d have to become a monster to beat the monsters. I slaughtered many and built the War Hogs to reign supreme. Now, finally . . . just as we could be utilised to bring peace to the Centre Plate another threat emerges, the warring royal families of the East and their grand dragons.” Yoshihiro began to smile. “I will still succeed. The two of you and all the other monsters will be annihilated and I will unify all the races of the Centre Plate and lead us to victory against the East. There is much blood on my hands, but these bloody hands will purify and bring peace to the known world just as Storm did many years ago.”
Yoshihiro turned his horse around and began to make his way back to his side of the battlefield, the giant roared, “I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you today! Your men will be tortured for days and your very existence will be erased, Dragons Continent will forget you ever existed Yoshihiro Hiroto!”
Yoshihiro’s response was sharp and true. “My swordsmanship is legendary and knows no equal, however today . . . today my legacy begins and the two of you will become nothing more than a small chapter in the greatest tale ever told, the tale of Yoshihiro Hiroto.”
Yoshihiro and the warlords returned to their positions to commence the battle.
The front line of the War Hogs was poised and ready to charge, a roar was heard and off into the distance the brutish marauders who served the Bronze Giant and fearsome lion riders of Jerome Gillie’s clan began to charge.
Jadar’s eyes began to glow, she turned to her men and shouted, “First wave, follow my lead.” Jadar’s commands were met with a mighty roar as thousands of men began charging towards the enemy alongside the mighty commander.
Grunts of rage bellowed from the brutish first line of the War Hogs as well as thuds from thousands of feet that charged in unison. “Stay with me,” bellowed Jadar as the front line charged closer and closer to the first assault from the warlords, Jadar looked ahead at bronze cladded foot soldiers, their armour
s were a bronze wall of rape and genocide that was headed her way, the lions roared and bared their teeth as their riders howled with rage and the two factions were seconds away from conflict.
“Raise your arrows men.” shouted Crow who stood in the second wave.
The ruby tipped arrow heads were aimed into the clouds and awaited Jadar’s command, Crow and Archie looked on nervously as the front lines edged closer and closer.
“Halt,” roared Jadar, her men slid to the floor and raised their shields high. “Archers, NOW!” ordered Jadar.
“FIRE,” commanded Crow. “Burn them all.”
The archers fired the explosive ruby arrows high into the sky, hundreds upon hundreds of arrows soared high, the rubies began to glow and looked like red shooting stars as they began raining down. The lion riders and bronze foot soldiers roared no more, their faces bore looks of despair, they knew they had been had, tricked into a trap of fire and explosive ruby magic, the arrows landed, tearing through flesh and exploding on contact, burning alive lion and man, those that missed the arrows could not avoid the mass explosions of fire rubies.
Men were knocked off their feet, lion riders had their skin burned and melted, cries of agony bellowed through the ranks and even land lions laid dead upon the floor, roaring until they could no more with burnt fur and charred flesh. The explosions shook the ground as the giant and Jerome looked to be in a rage.
“It worked,” cheered Archie. “Good girl Jadar!”
Jadar and her men rose again, she yelled her next command. “slaughter them, all of them.” the War Hogs began finishing off the soldiers that had luckily avoided the exploding arrows, they could not avoid Jadar and her men.
Killing Monsters Page 22