Chapter 6: Solo Dance on a Rainy Night

Chapter 6: Solo Dance in the Rainy Night

The battle ended with overwhelming ease.

Drakus had hacked four Sea Guard to death without any effort. Injured? Not a chance. There was no intense reaction after the killing; it was just like slaughtering chickens. Although he had never even killed a fish in his past life, in his dreams, he was a psychopathic serial killer—the kind who used cruel methods and committed a string of crimes without ever being caught.

Renn walked toward the Sea Guard centurion with a serrated dagger, his face grim and malicious. At this moment, the centurion, who was drawing more air in than he was letting out, lay on the ground staring at Renn with hatred, blood bubbling from his mouth as if he wanted to spray it all over Renn’s face.

"Told you to shoot at me. I’m going to use this sharp dagger to peel back your scabbed skin and muscle, slice open your ribs, and once I see your shriveled organs, I’ll use a hook to turn your pathetic face into a mask."

Drakus shook his head upon hearing this and walked over with an impatient look, decapitating the centurion with a single stroke. He kicked the head toward Renn and said, "No time for games, Edmund!"

Edmund, who was in charge of directing the cleanup of the battlefield, ran over quickly after hearing his name called.

"How many men did we lose?"

"My lord, five dead, and over a dozen injured."

Drakus curled his lip, looking disgusted. "Absolute trash. Strip the armor off these Sea Guard. Have some of the crew and the wounded escort the prisoners, armor, and corpses back. If anyone kills the prisoners, I’ll kill them. Did you all hear me?!"

The Druchii cleaning the battlefield responded one after another.

Drakus began unfastening the buckles on his plate armor and said, "Change into the Sea Guard armor. We’re going to circle back."

The group, dressed in Sea Guard armor, took a wide detour and approached the village from the opposite direction of where Renn had gone earlier.

The sky, which had just been clear, began to drizzle as they marched in formation to the base of the village walls.

By now, the rain had intensified. The Sea Guard captain on the wall looked down at the soldiers below and shouted, "Who are you people?"

This time it was Drakus’s turn. He shouted, "We are the Sea Guard from the Yvresse patrol ship *Oak*."

"Never heard of the *Oak*. How did you people from the Kingdom of Yvresse end up here?"

"We were intercepting pirates west of the Cursed Archipelago. A group of Druchii pirates landed here, and our captain ordered us to land in the south to track those raiders. Have you discovered anything? Can we come in to take shelter from the rain and resupply? We have to return before dawn."

"What are the names of the two brothers of the House of Yvresse?"

"Lords Eltharion and Argalan."

The Sea Guard captain nodded and ordered his men to open the gate.

"Come in. We haven't found anything. Those pirates must have landed in the west; a White Lion trial party was attacked."

The gate opened, and Drakus led his men straight inside, heading directly for the wall—thankfully, it wasn't a barbican.

The Sea Guard captain suddenly realized something was wrong and shouted sternly, "Something's wrong! Drop the gate! Fire arrows!"

Two unlucky Druchii below were crushed to death by the falling gate. Drakus raised his shield and drew his messer, charging ahead while cursing in a language neither side understood.

"Diu lei lou mou go go ham gaa caan sei pou gaai!"

He parried a thrusting spear with his shield and cleaved a shieldless Sea Guard to death at close range. Hot blood sprayed across his face, nearly blinding him.

The Black Ark Corsairs charging up behind him shielded his back, dropping their shields to draw dual blades, punch daggers, serrated short blades, and the classic trio, engaging the Sea Guard in brutal close-quarters combat. It was a frantic, suicidal style of fighting, fierce to the extreme.

Alissa quickly cast a spell of Wyssan’s Wildform, buffing the Druchii soldiers who had charged in. She then cast the Savage Beast spell, discarding her golden snake staff as her hands transformed into sharp claws to join the melee.

Drakus grew more courageous as he fought. In a short while, he used the spikes on his shield to pin one man down and hacked three others to death. Under Edmund's leadership, the soldiers who had charged up fought desperately to pull the gate back up, while the Druchii soldiers below, who had been shielding themselves from the arrow rain, swarmed inside.

In the woods in the distance, Renn, who had been playing with the centurion's head, saw the gate open and quickly tucked the head into his belt.

"Charge! Remember the markings, don't hit your own!"

Fifty or sixty Druchii in the woods raised their shields and charged toward the gate.

The Sea Guard in the village, who had been sleeping and waiting for their rotation, were startled awake by the sounds of battle and rushed out of their barracks, forming ranks to charge toward the gate.

Ever since the reforms of the False King of Ulthuan, the Asur had become a nation in arms. Once a male turned sixteen, whether he was a merchant, fisherman, poet, or anything else, he had to undergo military training.

The militia donned their gear and charged toward the gate with spears, shields, and bows.

The Druchii soldiers who had breached the village, led by their captains, charged directly into the reinforcements. The two groups of former kin fought with bloodshot eyes, shields raised and spears thrusting desperately at one another.

Black Ark Handbowmen and crew climbed onto the rooftops to provide ranged support. The arriving militia were mowed down in droves, and some unlucky Druchii archers were struck by arrows and tumbled from the roofs.

Drakus, on the ramparts, saw that the Sea Guard on the walls had been cleared and that his soldiers had all surged in. He shouted, "Edmund! Go below and hold the line! Black Ark Corsairs, with me!"

Alissa’s Wildform had worn off; her hands returned to normal. She picked up her golden snake staff and cast another Wyssan’s Wildform on the Druchii soldiers fighting below.

Drakus led two understrength squads of Black Ark Corsairs, circling through the town. After a while, he saw Renn leading men as well. The two groups blocked the militia from behind, trapping the Asur so they couldn't defend front or back, unable to advance or retreat.

Screams, wails, and the sounds of slaughter echoed through the village. The Asur in the streets fought to the last moment, and as their commander fell, the battle ended. There was no "broken morale"—the units simply collapsed. This was the Asur's home; they had nowhere to retreat.

Drakus raised his messer above his head and shouted, "It’s party time! Capture them alive, don't you dare kill them!"

Isn't this what war is for!?

The Druchii praised Khaine and Drakus in unison. Then, with excited shrieks, they scattered to begin the looting. The spoils would have to be turned in and redistributed, but the process was what mattered.

Drakus walked back to the ramparts alone.

The rain had lightened. A symphony of pain and cruelty rang out through the village. The Sea Guard captain, who had asked so many questions, had been hanged from the gate, his body swaying in the wind. On the ramparts, Drakus looked up at the twin moons.

"If I am not me, then who am I? Only today do I know that I am me? Hahahaha!"

Drakus threw away his messer and let out a wild laugh—a mournful sound, half-terrifying, half-triumphant. It was the kind of sound that could only come from hell, like a voice shared by a soul suffering for its sins and the demon cheering for that soul's descent.

Accompanied by the symphony of slaughter, Drakus strolled, tapped, spun, and leaped in the rain. At times he looked like a fool, at others, he was full of heroic spirit. His heart was stirred, oblivious to the world. He opened his arms in the rain, letting the downpour wash over him.

Alissa walked onto the ramparts at some point, quietly watching Drakus in the rain.

Drakus reached out a hand and said, "Shall we dance?"

"How could I refuse an invitation to dance?"

(End of chapter)