Dawn Of The Dark Dynasty & The New Inhabitant

Chapter Forty-seven

Glory and Despair

Willi Salleys sat near the log fire he had been trying to keep burning from the wind snow that raged the entire night. He needed the warmth for the crucial task ahead that was assigned to him by his superiors. He was one of the many soldiers deployed to repel the enemy forces trying to invade the Maelin Empire.

The enemy attacks came ruthlessly swift and caught the innocent civilians unawares. Many, especially the defenseless mortals, were massacred during the onslaught. Most of the Northern and Western towns lying just beyond the border wall were overran and destroyed. The few survivors that managed to scurry back into the safety confines of the wall, reported to have been attacked by men resembling beasts and mages that could use the winds as blades.

It didn't take long before the Maelin Empire Regime to deduce who the culprits were_ the Wenwei Empire's wind splitters and the Ridgeland Kingdom's shapeshifters. They were a force to be reckoned with. It took the full might of the Empire's army to repel them back. Hundreds of lives were lost during the intense battles.

In the end, the army succeeded in driving the enemy forces back, but not too far away from the border wall. The battles then entered an aggressive stalemate and resulted into a prolonged war. Several days had now passed. At times, there would be some sudden skirmishes here and there. Both sides were trying to size each other by using different types of warfare.

Willi's unit was deployed to defend Hoodwink town; one of the many towns lying just within the border wall in the western side of the Empire. It was a famously known small town where travelers would stop by for leisure purposes. It had all the vices for a 'good time' that mostly included brothels, taverns, gambling arenas, illicit trading shops, etc. Hence, the name of the town.

If it were any other day, Willi and his comrades in arms would have been thrilled to be here, but the circumstances at hand were too grave. No one desired to be near the unsafe border. Even the town itself that would always be lively looked almost deserted. Anytime the enemy might attack, and thus they had to be on the constant lookout.

An hour or two remained before the crack of dawn. While the others were resting for the night in the military camp, setup just a short distance away from the border wall, Willi was out here in the snowy night keeping watch.

It was a burdensome affair since he was no mage and had to bear through the harsh cold with his measly mortal body. The fire he diligently tried to keep burning was also at its limits. It was proving useless with how the thick woolen coat he wore was already covered with snow. His bronze eyes looked severely exhausted while attempting to look around vigilantly. Alas, everywhere was completely obscured in darkness plus the monotonous snowy haze. This was physical and mental torture for the poor soldier.

Luckily for Willi, he was not alone. Sadly, for him as well, his companion sitting beside him was a mage. What's more he was a fire mage. This was evident from how his body was emitting some steam as the snow melted in an instant upon landing on him.

As compared to Willi's youthful appearance, his companion was older with ginger hair and crinkly amber eyes. An amused smile was plastered across his elderly face as he watched the young soldier struggle with the log fire. The two were paired together as commanded by their superiors. Actually, they weren't the only sentries out here. Others were placed in other strategic positions all around. Willi was just unfortunate to be stuck with this old selfish fire mage.

Willi irritably poked the dying firewood and then threw away the stick with a huff. He glared at his older compatriot and directly complained, "You know this would be much easier with your help."