IronGuard

CHAPTER 16

"Defend the camp!" Lord Harold shouted to the soldiers.

They have been pushed back to their camp and are surrounded. The camp is filled with wounded soldiers and knights including Rithia, she got hit by a spear above her waist while defending other recruits.

Gildas mustered his students and ordered them to defend the camp at all cost while he will be in the front lines.

What made the battle worse was the traitor recruits with Liana, the fanatics gave them the same power of the demons. Now they can disappear and reappear in battle.

Exhaustion taking its toll among them, their arms and legs seem to weigh a ton whenever they try to move. Dello has taken command but he himself has no idea what to do at this point, he was stabbed by a knife earlier and hasn't told anyone yet.

Finn can barely stand, using his sword as a support. They watched as the battle continued around them. Men dying, bleeding, begging for help but no one came. Horns and drums kept battling each other in the air while the desperate voices of officers giving their soldiers orders continously clamored in the distance.

"Where do you think he is now?" Thren asks them, looking at the hills hoping there is a sign.

Dello sighs and raises his head proudly. "It doesn't matter where he is, as long as he comes and we're still here. That's all that matters"

"Easier said than done, fool Dello" A voice behind them mocked. They all know whose voice it is. "How are you all?" Liana asked. Emerging from the tents.

They look at her with great surprise but not because of how she snuck up on them but because of her appearance, pale and sickly. Black veins marking her face from her eyes to her cheeks.

"Now tell me, where is Marcus? She asks, pointing her sword at Dello.

He steps out of the safety his friends and stands just a  few feet away from Liana's blade.

"He'll be here" Dello replies, gripping his sword tightly with an intention to strike Liana first. "Unfortunately you won't be alive when he does"

Dello attacks Liana directly, evading her sword and plans to thrust his sword to her chest but before his blade could touch her, she disappears into thin air and comes back behind Dello and stabs him right through the back.

Excruciating pain covered his entire body and blood poured out of the wound. He could feel Liana playing with the blade while it's still in his gut. He drops to the ground and his face lay flat on the mud

"Get away from him!" Ortos cried out, wildly swinging his sword towards Liana but she disappears again. Thren predicts her next move and he covers Ortos' back and luckily he manages to stop Liana's blade coming out of the shadows.

"Well well" she mutters. Smiling at Thren. "You all have changed"

"Yes we did!" Finn manages to cut Liana's shoulder but her armor mostly kept the blade from cutting deep. She flinched and Merriell pushes her away from Thren.

She tumbles away from their group but only to be recovered by the other traitors. "These peasants still don't know their place" One of them said.

Liana picks herself up and fiercely stares. "Kill them" she ordered and her allies disappears into thin air.

"Back to back!" Finn cried out. Each member slammed their backs to another making sure that they are well protected and just in time too. The traitors emerges and crosses blades with them.

Meanwhile, Liana takes away Dello's sword leaving hers still stuck on his bleeding body. Dello groans and forces his hand to grab Liana's leg.

"And...where do...think you're going?"