The Clash of Urush

Chapter 18

After a couple of days, we were ready to step foot onto the battlefield. I was a tad disappointed, as the nights following that incident with the female. I could not uncover why she would commit such an act. After that one night, she never returned to the shore, which was somewhat relieving. However, I would be lying if I were to say that it did not concern me that she procrastinated in such attempts to avoid my intervention. There was so much in my power that I could do, and any further investigation would pose some unwarranted consequences for the two of us.

Accepting defeat in that regard, I prepared my weapon as my regiment aligned itself in the front rows, allowing the females to be behind us. Insignificant drops of the rich hreinsa paste dripped from our weapons after being generously applied to the metal.

We remained silent but craved to hear the soft noise of our hearts still beating. The pounding in our chest was the only thing that could fight off the fear. It was the only thing that told us we were still alive, even in this barren place. Dark clouds formed over the ocean, drawing our attention. In the distance, crimson lightning violently danced in the air, sending a feeling of shock down our spine. The wind increased in speed as it beat against our faces with such intensity we were on the brink of falling.

"Theron... What?... What is that?" Rael gulped. "Forming along the horizon?"

"Tsunamis!" I yelled before breaking into a sprint. "Run!"

Frozen by the answer, Rael stood in place while the others fled, some of whom were dragging their fellow soldiers who were paralyzed with fear. Rael watched as the enormous wave fast approached, getting bigger with every passing second. Seeing this, I went back to grab him to drag him away from the waves.

We were fools to think we could flee a force of nature, as the tsunamis washed over the earth and carried us off our feet. With the water blinding us, we could only see a blur of rushing water, dirt and sharp rocks which brushed against our flesh, much of which cut into our skin, leaving a tinge of crimson to infect the clear fluid. The untamed water turned me around vigorously, forcing me to lose every sense of direction.

Amid the turmoil, I did my best to regain control of the direction in which my body was going. To my astonishment, the receding water helped me to escape from its grasp, regardless of how unnaturally fast it was all occurring. The water had left me gasping for air as my head felt like it was about to explode.

Weakly, I got up from the moist ground as I watched the rest of my fellow soldiers gape in fear while they stared at their weapons. With the fierce tsunamis, their weapons were wiped clean of the only thing can defeat our enemies, and ultimately so were their chances of survival. Checking my pockets, I searched to see if I had the box of the hreinsa paste on me.

"Shoot! It's gone," I grumbled.

Without that paste, there was only one way we could pull out of this battle with a victory. However, that would require much sacrifice. A sacrifice that many of us would have no choice but to make. In our present scenario, my fellow soldiers would have to act as bait to lure away the demons until I could defeat the general of the enemy clan.

Pulling my sword from its sheath, a stampede of the horrific demons rushed to attack us. I waited in silence while the rest of the soldiers tried to ready themselves. I wasn't sure to tell the others of the reality before us, that they would most likely die, and only my life, in this case, was worth saving. I wasn't sure if it was a selfish thing to do or plain out honest. No, there had to be some other way. Maybe I may not be able to do something, but surely the deity Cahira could think of something. There would be no way she would let any harm befall these soldiers. Not when we have made so much progress after so many decades of destruction and death.