Tales of Astora: Legacy

Chapter 94: Beleaguered

Chapter 94: Beleaguered

"What the hell have you done?" King Charles raged, yelling at the representative of Dor in charge of their army in this war.

"What do you mean, your Majesty? Killing the enemies of course!" the dwarf answered. For someone who was in the military, his shining expensive-looking armor seemed too much of a decorative piece of clothing rather than for actual defensive purpose. It made one wonder if he even knew what was happening in the battlefield where the men were fighting for their lives.

"Enemies? Are you blind? Do those men outside this tent look like enemies to you? You bombarded the entire battlefield indiscriminately without knowing allies or foes. You used them as bait. You are the reason a quarter of my army was gone." Charles shouted angrily.

"Such is the cost of war, your Majesty! Soldiers die. It's as simple as that. However, what matters is that more enemies died than us. Morrigan's army is now in disarray and in retreat thanks to our superior weaponry. Instead of blindly accusing me of the natural fact in every battle, you should celebrate and be grateful for our presence here. Else, you would not have the luxury of standing there, contemplating on what is right or wrong." The dwarf spoke.

This kind of scene seemed almost too frequent these days between the dwarves of Dor and the King of Ceadric. By attacking him due to his young age, spouting about his 'inexperience' and taking advantage of the fact that Ceadric was dependent on them, Dor has become so arrogant that they practically ran the country right now. That was not to say that they were all bad. Some genuinely wanted to help the country simple out of sympathy. However, their voices were usually so quiet and few in numbers, in addition to the fact that their current higher-ups did not share the same opinion.

" *teeth grinning sound* " the king just wanted to get on this table in front of him and beat the shit out of this arrogant dwarf. If not for master Ganon who has firmly put his hand on the king' shoulder as a gesture to wake him up from his rage, perhaps Charles might have just done that. "So what is your next move?" Exhaling a deep breath, Charles asked in the calmest voice he could at the moment.

"We must exploit the victory we just had and push it even further. I intend to launch a pursuit at their army right away. If we are lucky, it would be the final battle of this war." Explained the dwarf general.

"I think it is risky to do that. While Valhalla has retreated, we cannot afford to underestimate Morrigan and her servants. Furthermore, according to our scouts, their last known coordinates was near the Great Swamp with a high possibility of them seeking refuge there. If that is the case, it would be impossible for us to find them in there." The headmaster of Helios explained.

The Great Swamp was a wet piece of lands filled with dense vegetation situated in the southern borders of Ceadric and shared borders with the Whispering Forest further south and the old Empire of Zagon to the west. Unlike any other swamp, this one had a peculiar feature that could only be found in this place. Lying deep in its underground, a special mud, mauve in color, was mixed among the soil, rendering the earth and even the vegetation growing from it to take on the dye of a purple color. Furthermore, the Swamp was under constant darkness as if it was night time because of the dense tall trees growing their peak in a horizontal way, shielding the entire land from sunlight, creating a sense of night time even though it was actually in the middle of the day.

Because of that, it was very easy to lose your sense of direction inside the Great Swamp, giving it a nasty reputation. Only fools would dare to tread upon this land without a proper guide or a way to get around the freaky landscape that has claimed the lives of many before.