The World Of Steam

24

Xavix walked down the pavement of the war-ridden street, having no fear of death. Night attacks were quite uncommon. Both armies had to hunt for corpses as a source of food. Dead comrades were turned into dinner, cooked in the skeletal ashes of those that had already been devoured. They had to lay their sacrifices to rest and think about themselves and how they were going to survive the next day. Night battles were not important, nourishment was. After all, an army marched on its stomach. What use would they be if they were half-starved? Plastic jugs of polluted river water were filtered as much as possible, giving the people at least some sort of hydration. The night was a time to scavenge for any resources and sources of sustenance. It was a dirty job, but it had to be done. Both armies maybe at least had some sense than to start a battle in the night. With limited light, there would be high chances of them killing their own comrades. They could not take that risk and needed all of the numbers that were possible. It was now a race to see who would snap under pressure first and surrender. Would the country return to a glorious kingdom? Or would it turn into a republic after 1143 years? The only thing that Xavix feared was random night looters that would not hesitate to end any life that they came across. They were all driven mad by greed, killing people over the sake of a single shiny ring. They did not distinguish friend from foe, only caring about amassing vast piles of wealth. Xavix quickly spotted what it was that he was looking for and made his way over to the scene. He stopped at the destroyed, broken home that was well beyond repair. The only thing that it could be used for was firewood. The foundations and bricks were splintered and cracked into pieces, turned useless. Walking into the ruins, he looked around, stepping over broken beams and being careful not to fall into the open basement below. But with a giant pile of rubble blocking up the entire room, that was almost impossible. But still, a twisted ankle leading to a broken neck would be quite problematic. He looked at the bricks that were scattered everywhere and the door that laid snapped in two. With there being nothing of use to him, he turned and left the destroyed home.