Abe the Wizard

“Amey. I thought Harvest City belonged to Grandmaster Abel and his family.”

The person asking was called Buford. Buford was a regular knight that lived in the duchy of Laka. It wasn’t his first time in the knight’s army. He previously participated in the invasion of the duchy of Keyen.

This time, everything was kept confidential. He was simply told to follow the people in front of him. He didn’t even know what their destination was. Head Commander Job made a very motivational speech back then. Still, while the majority of the knights were very excited to throw their lives for their families, there were still quite a few of those who thought with a clear head.

When he heard “Harvest City,” Buford almost froze at where he was standing. As it turned out, he was going to take part in attacking the duchy of Carmel, which was the only human territory that had a grandmaster blacksmith. Abel was a legend throughout the Kingdom of St. Ellis. To become his enemy wasn’t just something to be afraid of, but it was also something that he couldn’t help feel guilty about.

Amey was quite confused as well, “Yes, Harvest City belongs to Grandmaster Abel and his family. If you are asking me, I have no idea why they are trying to go after him.”

They didn’t know why they were after Abel. Actually, they didn’t even take part in any of this, but this was the military. There were only disciples. Orders were the only thing that mattered. The leading commanders of the five duchies were very strict, but there was something that they were missing. Abel was a well-respected man in many fields. He was respected by many out of the fourteen thousand knights, and he was respected by the five intermediate wizards that were sitting in the carriages.

A Wizard from the duchy of Tex asked Wizard Mallory of the duchy of Thunder, “I’ve heard that you’ve faced against Abel before, Mallory. What do you think of him?”

The other intermediate wizards all wanted to hear about Abel. As for Wizard Mallory, he preferred not to talk about the unpleasant memory that he had. His “instantaneous movement” spell was interrupted by Abel’s “telekinesis.” He had no way of reacting to his overpowered opponent. To be frank, he lost without even knowing why.

Wizard Mallory tried to articulate himself, “I don’t… He’s fast. That’s all I can say. He’s fast at everything, even when he’s casting the spells. I don’t know if you would believe this, but he can cast spells within less than a second.”

One of the intermediate wizards tried to cheer things up, “Wow, are you serious? What if it’s the five of us casting the same spells? Would he still be faster?”

“Yes,” A wizard from the duchy of Larvid nodded, “From what I’ve heard, Abel possesses a few very powerful summoned creatures. The only way we can win is to end it quickly. Once we see him, we’ll surround him and finish him with our ultimate spells. We have to make sure we’re fast and give it everything we’ve got.”

The wizard from the duchy of Koror responded, “If we do that, he won’t be able to do anything to us. Without his summoned creatures, he is just a beginner wizard. We shouldn’t be afraid of him when he’s alone.”

From Wizard Mallory’s perspective, the other wizards weren’t trying to belittle Abel. Rather, they were trying to relieve their stress through talking. Abel was a terrifying enemy. They all understood that. If someone wanted his honest opinion, he would’ve definitely said no to attaching the duchy of Carmel for this.

Still, if Wizard Mallory couldn’t get past the trauma that was Abel, he would’ve been stuck for the rest of his life. In fact, he had been stuck at his current level for some time already. Perhaps this was an opportunity. By joining the five duchies, he was given a chance to surpass his current self.

Wizard Mallory tried to think positively, “Abel’s stronger as a knight. He’s not that capable as a wizard, so if we can slow him down, there will be plenty of openings for us to take.”

The wizard of the duchy of Tex spoke, “Abel will become a man of the past. The duchy of Carmel will become a thing of the past. We will be the ones to declare glory in the end.”

“Yes.”

“Indeed.”

“Yes.”

The other intermediate wizards continued. It was as if they wanted to kill Abel with words of curses rather than actually fighting him.

—

Unlike the other major cities, the duchy of Carmel was peaceful, prosperous, and safe. It wasn’t just that, though. In each of the cities, he installed one teleportation circle by spending the points he earned from Liante City. Of course, he wasn’t going to publicize the location of these circles. They were supposed to be underground channels for him and the intelligence agency.

In Neking City, four of the knight domains belonged to Head Commander Bodley. This was where his family lived. Through Abel’s teleportation circles, he received a direct order with no delays whatsoever. To be specific, that order was to call Head Commander Bodley to evacuate his family from Neking City.

“Quick! It’s a command from his Majesty! We have to defend Neking City before reinforcements come here!”

Commander Harold was the lord of Neking City. He just became a member of the Bakong City’s Harry Family, and due to the recent rise in their status, he was elected to be the ruler of this newly developed city. As rosy as that sounded, he only had ten death warriors and some scholars with him. The soldiers he commanded were all recruited locally, while the leading officers were noblemen that lived in Neking City.

Abel knew what was going on here. The duchy of Carmel lacked a lot of things. Neking City was new territory, and he couldn’t send too many soldiers. His diplomatic strategy was to form an alliance with the duchy of Thunder. Putting too much military presence would only sour things up. Also, it wasn’t all that easy for one city to assimilate into a new state. It took a lot of time, so from his point of view, it was better if Neking City retained a high sense of autonomy.

The lack of produce gave Abel a very good chance to win over the populace. Despite being new to the duchy of Carmel’s rule, the people of Neking City welcomed their king for his competence and reliability. They were provided with a stable source of food. If other neighboring states threatened their well-being, the king would dispose of their worries with his growing military.

As things were, it would probably take just two years for Neking City to become a permanent part of the duchy of Carmel. That was how things were supposed to go, but the five duchies were ruining everything. Their incoming invasion scared everyone. The commoners and noblemen that lived here had never been starved before. If things got rough, their instincts told them to side with the strong. It was basic human nature.

Commander Harold stood on the castle wall. He needed to defend Neking City. There were about fourteen thousand soldiers coming here, but he wasn’t afraid of them. Soldier lives were expensive. He didn’t think that the incoming army would want to invest too much into taking one city.

On his end, he had an army of several thousand well-trained warriors. They all receive training to defend the fort. If they could hold on for a few days, reinforcements from the duchy of Carmel would change everything, no matter how dire the situation could become. More importantly, Commander Harold trusted Abel. Abel was a hero to him. If Abel decided to go in, he didn’t think that anything could make them lose.

Soon, all fourteen thousand knights stopped before Neking City. They were waiting for the command to attack.

Head Commander Ewall said enthusiastically, “My men are already at work. Their objective is to open the castle gate after half a day. When the time comes, we’ll reclaim the land that we once lost.”

Head Commander Job replied, “We’ll wait for now. Everyone, get down your horses! Feed your horses and let them rest!”

There were barely any official knights in Neking City. The knight army had plenty of time to replenish themselves. They weren’t in a rush to start the war. The intermediate wizards didn’t need to open the city gate, either. In fact, the wizards could only participate if the enemy sent out its own. Wizard Dunn might not have the power to interfere with regular wars, but he certainly had the power to punish wizards that violated the Wizard Union’s rules. It was the reason the wizards continued to sit inside their carriages.

On the other hand, Commander Harold was infuriated. He watched as the knight army made camps to rest their soldiers. The guards of Neking City were being looked down upon. As he stared at the enemy troop in rage, he ordered his warriors to set up their defensive formation. While the soldiers continued to carry in ammunition, the higher-ranking officers had light flashing out of their eyes. They were watching in case the enemy decided to try anything smart.

After spending hours preparing, it was now afternoon. Commander Harold was perplexed with the enemy troops. Shortly afterward, he was even more perplexed to see that the number of his men were decreasing.

Commander Harold ordered one of his death warriors, “Where are the officers? Find them.”

With a bow, the death warrior quickly disappeared from the city wall. When he was getting close to the city wall, he saw that five hundred well-equipped soldiers were marching towards the gate. With noblemen officers to lead them, there wasn’t anyone that bothered to stop them.

The death warrior was terrified to see this. He ran desperately back to the city wall. He wanted to tell what he saw to Commander Harold.

One officer recognized him, “He’s the personal guard! Kill him!”

The archers shot the death warrior. The death warrior blocked the first one, but the other three arrows pierced through him right from his back. The impact pushed him to roll to the front. It killed him, but it was also what Commander Harold saw.

Commander Harold understood quickly, “Treachery! Treachery! We’ll assemble a special unit now! First squad and second squad, come down the wall with me!”

But the guardian warriors were just standing there. Everyone ignored Commander Harold’s orders. The higher-ranking officers were bribed behind his back. The soldiers never felt a strong connection to the duchy of Carmel, so there really wasn’t much chance that they would want to help defend against an army of fourteen thousand.

This was the scene that Commander Harold was looking at. He felt his heart shatter. The duchy of Carmel was better to these soldiers than the duchy of Thunder. Yet, these soldiers were still stuck in their old memories. The duchy of Carmel was not as prosperous as the duchy of Thunder. It was a belief that they’ve indoctrinated themselves for their entire lives, and they didn’t plan on seeing things differently.

Commander Harold decided to speak only to his trusted death warriors, “There are nine of you, aren’t there? Come, fight with me!”

The nine death warriors screamed at the top of their lungs, “To the death!”

With that, Commander Harold rushed down the castle wall. At the same time, he called for his black war horse with his sharp whistle. Once he got on, he deflected two arrows with the knight’s big sword in his hand.

“My honor is my life!”

He took out a shield from his saddle. Despite having checked that there were five hundred soldiers that were opening the gate, he continued to activate his charging technique. One man was no match against five hundred, but knights were much stronger than warriors in their overall fighting capability. As he would have it, he wanted to kill as many of these traitors as he could.

The nine death warriors followed him from behind. They didn’t chant out anything. In silence, they continued to swing the weapons in their arms. Commander Harold was late. After being held down by some of the traitors, he was forced to watch the city gate as it was forced open.

When the city gate was opened, a gigantic knight’s big sword appeared in their sight. Fifteen head knight commanders were rushing in through the city gate. By joining their combat qi together, they killed the traitors in their sight. While some fell without knowing why they were killed, the others screamed and tried to identify themselves.

“Stop! We’re here to open the gates!”

But that didn’t stop the blades from killing them. Soon, all five hundred traitors were mowed down within a few breathes.

“Knight’s charge!”

Commander Harold didn’t stop. He knew that it was his last time to perform a charging ability. He could feel his heart, the family crest he wore on his chest, and his boiling blood burning with determination. He was going against fifteen head knight commanders, and without any surprise, his body flew and slammed against the city wall.

The nine death warriors did the same. Soon, their corpses flew out as they followed one after another.

Commander Harold smiled as he drew his last breath, “King Abel will make you pay. Remember that.”

Head Commander Ewall raised his blade towards Commander Harold’s dead body. He didn’t like the smile this dead man had. Something about it made him afraid.

“Let me change that smirk on his face!” Head Commander Ewall said angrily.

“Stop,” Head Commander Job blocked the sword, “This is a knight’s corpse. There are fourteen knights that are behind you. Make sure you set a good example.”

“Sorry, I… I don’t know what came over me.”

Head Commander Job turned to one of his officers, “Send my words out, soldier. Give everyone an entire day to claim this city.”

“Yes, sir!” the officer said gladly. This was a city of wealth in front of him. Of course, he’d be glad to tell the others about it.

“What?” Head Commander Ewall couldn’t believe what he heard, “This territory belongs to the duchy of Thunder! How can you send an order like that?”

Head Commander Job screamed back, “THIS IS THE FIRST CITY WE TOOK! Ewall, I’m only going to say this once. Let go of your selfishness. The soldiers need something to keep them moving. Tell me, if you are going to claim rewards from the start, then who will be willing to die for this war?”

Head Commander Armand agreed, “I’m sorry to say, Head Commander Ewall, but we are just starting to fight a very gruesome battle. We managed to get the duchy of Carmel at its most vulnerable, but things will only get harder. Job is right. The soldiers need something to keep them going.”

Head Commander Ewall wanted to speak back, but it was too late. The fourteen thousand soldiers were busy claiming Neking City for their own. So far, the only thing that they were concerned with was taking as much wealth as they could.

Head Commander Ewall murmured to himself, “But I’ve made promises to the noblemen….”

Neking City had forgotten about how gruesome war could be. The noblemen were the ones who sold it to the duchy of Carmel, but now that the duchy of Carmel was being attacked, they were thinking about coming back as heroes who, supposedly, “liberated their homeland from its colonizer.”

Countless knights rushed in when the noblemen’s houses were opened. They robbed everything. Even the women were all taken away. The food was the first to be taken. After that, it was the jewelry, the gemstones, and the art pieces. Everything was taken with war horses. If they couldn’t take something away, they would just destroy it on the spot. Any noblemen who tried to resist was killed.

The residents screamed and cried, but after a day, things became quiet. Things became so quiet. One would think that everything here died. Head Commander Ewall sat inside the lord’s estate. There were three local noblemen that were standing with him, their jewels stripped from them.

An old nobleman inquired mournfully, “Is this what you promised us, Head Commander Ewall?”

Head Commander Ewall couldn’t look him in the eyes, “The duchy of Thunder will pay you for your losses.”

Another nobleman said with red eyes, “Pay? Is the duchy going to pay me for my two sons?”

“My daughter…” another said with a very weak voice, “My daughter just reached her years. I don’t know where she is now. Curse you, Ewall. Curse you.”

Head Commander Ewall was on the brink of his sanity, “The duchy of Thunder will pay for your losses! I swear it!”

Even he couldn’t believe his own words. When the duchies left Neking City, there not a crumb of food left. Everything was smuggled. A few hours after the invasion, the angry commoners killed the treacherous noblemen with rocks. Everything fell into disarray shortly afterward.

Abel sat gloomily inside sky ship 01. If he wanted to respond immediately, only three hundred knights could be deployed. He could call out three hundred more, but there wouldn’t be enough time to make it.

The three hundred knights were all waiting inside the portal storage room. The three sky ships hovered over Morry City. He didn’t plan on landing here, though. He didn’t need a city to defend against his enemy. As he would have it, he needed a victory, the Duchy of Carmel’s victory. Not his.

“Neking City was raided!” Abel read out the report he received. He was angry and sad. The information came from Morry City. The sphinx knights were the ones who brought it to him. He no longer had to hide the fact that he had his own sphinx knight squad. It was now time for all of the Holy Continent to understand the might of the duchy of Carmel. If he didn’t teach his enemies pain, they would just come after him again and again.

Now, three hundred was not a big number at all, but Abel had been investing in training this army of elites. Almost everyone was above the intermediate level. Half of them were advanced knights, actually. This ratio was the first of its kind in history. In the fourteen thousand he was facing against, only two hundred were advanced knights or above.

Head Commander Bodley thanked Abel with a bow, “Thank you so much, your Majesty. If it wasn’t for your signal, my family wouldn’t have been able to evacuate.”

Abel was more concerned with something else, “The duchy of Carmel has far to little control of Neking City. The original plan was to complete the integration process within five to ten years, but the war came and ruined everything.”

Abel was right to have warned Head Commander Bodley. The five duchies wanted a full-scale battle. They didn’t plan on taking hostage of people from the duchy of Carmel. They wanted everything that the duchy of Carmel had. They were even willing to ignore the tenets of knights for it. What happened to Neking City gave Abel the moral high ground. As far as he knew, his enemy was a massive group of thieves and robbers.

Head Commander Bodley spoke, “Our numbers may be few, your Majesty, but I have confidence that we can hold against at least ten times our total number. With the sky ships and the help of the sphinx knights, we have a pretty good chance of winning.”

Head Commander Bodley wasn’t as confident as he needed to be, but his report wasn’t quite off from the truth. All three hundred knights were wearing magic knight equipment that Abel made. The mounts they rode grew up eating wheat that was grown in a mana-rich environment. Their diet made them much sturdier than the vast majority of war horses that lived on the Holy Continent.

Abel could go on and on to persuade Head Commander Bodley, but he decided to stay quiet now. It was much better if he would just show that he was well prepared for this battle.

Once Head Commander Bodley rallied up the three hundred knights, the three sky ships also ascended into the air. To make sure that they weren’t easy targets, Abel opened up defensive circles and camouflage circles that covered up the entire vessels. It wasn’t enough to make them become invisible, but it was enough to change their black cover into the same color of the white clouds floating about.

The fourteen sphinx knights docked at the sky ships. Abel didn’t plan on just intimidating his enemies. He wanted the enemies to come in as close as possible. That way, he would deliver them a blow so devastating that they couldn’t recover from it.