Audrey felt numb as she flew high into the sky and shot arrows down below. She moved without a specific pattern so that arrows wouldn’t find their way to Caleb. He flew high up then immediately dropped, crushing multiple enemies. The opposing side couldn’t withstand Red’s fire nor Caleb’s giant form. It was impossible to penetrate their scales, for Audrey had created armor to withstand the poisonous arrows.
However, Audrey and the emperor noticed that the soldiers’ numbers were much smaller than they had expected. The battle was far too. . . easy. Hellen was clearly winning, yet some of the Zionitte soldiers had been rather weak and timid. At first she assumed it was because of the two dragons on their side. Adrenaline rushed through her veins and she couldn’t properly observe her surroundings. The world was too chaotic for her as she continuously brought down the enemies from left to right. However, Audrey felt a strange sense of discomfort.
Caleb flew up into the sky and Audrey was finally able to see how small the Zionitte army had become. It was less than half of the soldiers she had seen right before the horn had blown.
Where did they all go?
Audrey looked down to inspect Debbie’s face and her frown only deepened. Although Debbie’s eyes narrowed in surprise by their sturdy weapons, she still smiled arrogantly as if she had already won.
By the time Audrey and Kohtaro realized something was amiss, it was far too late. The high pitched screams began and sharply rang into their ears. However, it came from behind the Hellenn infantry and cavalry. The soldiers stood frozen, and the Zionittes slowly retreated, signalling that the battle for today was over.
Confused, Audrey stood dazed as the opposing side withdrew abruptly. It hadn’t been long since the battle started and there was no clear winner until a side forfeited, although the situation had been favorable to Hellen. The group wondered where the screams were coming from and why it was so faint from the battle scene. It only took the Hellenns a second to realize that the Zionittes had suddenly appeared from the side and encircled the army, avoiding a full on frontal attack. Instead of fighting fairly, the Zionittes went in hot pursuit towards the defenseless healers and young teenage boys back at the campsite. They were unprepared by the surprise tactic, and the Zionittes showed no mercy towards the defenseless men.
The act was unspeakable and evil at heart. Each country’s goal was to assess any course of action to prevent any unnecessary loss of innocent lives while finding a way to win. Kingdoms fought for their respective countries to prove their unrivaled strength and sometimes accepted peace treaties. Any sort of surprise attack was frowned upon and avoided at all costs because soldiers were meant to fight with equal strength to determine who truly was the strongest. Such dishonorable tactics were forbidden, and each warrior was thoroughly disciplined and taught to uphold a moral code. Healers and young boys who wouldn’t participate in the battle scene were to be left untouched, for it was extremely shameful and dishonorable. No one wanted to kill healers and children anyways.
The Zionitte empire especially prided themselves with the code of chivalry. Therefore, no one could have guessed that the Zionittes would kill every single one of the defenseless boys and healers, then immediately retreat like cowards to their dens. It was a deliberate move to weaken the army and crush the fighting spirits of the men.
Time seemed to slow down as Audrey and Kohtaro flew as fast as they could back to the campsite. They were the first to reach the messy scene, and they first scanned the site to look for survivors. However, the scene was gorey and inhumane. The green grass was stained with blood and the stench of death filled their noses. Audrey slumped to the floor as Kohtaro cursed the gods and furiously carried out orders. Some soldiers yelled in pain, while others fell to the ground, nauseous and throwing up on the side. The disfigured children were images that could even make the strongest man churn with disgust.