Chapter 39 True Reality #3
Gerald was reluctant but nodded eventually.
We had already discussed this beforehand.
At the beginning, I would have to play the leader.
I would have to stay safe and command my troops.
But we both knew that this wouldn't last forever.
We both knew I would have to join the war eventually even if I didn't want to.
There were simply too many Stone Ranks and our Town couldn't handle them all.
So we split up–Gerald east, and me west.
Fortunately or unfortunately, none of my soldiers needed any more commands. There were no more tactics. No more games. No retreat. All that was left was to either fight and win or die.
And all of us knew that.
I sped up as I watched a Stone Rank Boar pierce one of my soldiers with its horn. The man was lifted off the ground and thrown through the air, a gaping hole making him bleed viciously.
I arrived in front of the boar, Mana Strike empowering my fist before I threw a wild haymaker towards the monster's midsection.
It didn't see me coming. The attack landed without any issue or resistance, and the innards of the boar imploded.
I kicked the boar's front legs, breaking them with normal Mana-infused strikes. Then I broke its hind legs.
It would bleed out on its own. I could tell by its sharp, raspy breath and whimpering as it lay on the ground. Instead, I went towards my man on the ground. His eyes had a hazy look to them, as he kept muttering something. I looked at the wound and clenched my jaw.
He wouldn't make it. The hole was the size of a basketball, and I could see right through him.
I grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to get his attention. It didn't work. I slapped him across the face, and finally the haziness from his eyes disappeared, and he looked at me in confusion.
"Lord?" He asked in a weak voice.
"You are dying, soldier," I said with great difficulty, each word sending a jolt of pain through my throat. "What's your name, and do you have a last message to your family?"
"I am dying? Who said I am dying? Why—?" He rambled on, and I simply pointed at his stomach.
He lifted his head, paused, and then let the back of his skull hit the ground.
For a minute he stayed still and said nothing.
I let him. Then tears began to fall down his face, and he sobbed. He sobbed like a little child.
"I don't want to die. Please, Lord, I don't want to," he said between sobs. I didn't know what to do and simply hugged the man. A grown man sobbed inside my arms as he laid down on the battlefield, bleeding out.
It felt like an eternity, as the man clutched my shirt tightly. I could feel his unwillingness to die, and yet there was nothing either of us could do. He would die. It was just a matter of when.
"My name is Anthony," the soldier finally said.
"My wife's name is Lisa and my daughter's name is Kayla.
Tell my wife and daughter that I love them.
Tell them that Daddy is sorry he couldn't keep his promise and that he will wait for them in heaven.
Kayla, tell Kayla to follow her dream. Tell her that I was wrong.
And that I was sorry for yelling at her before leaving.
Tell her that whatever it is that she wants to do in life, she should follow her dreams without doubting herself. "
He looked up at me, his eyes red. It was then that I saw the life leaving his gaze. With one final struggle, he said, "And tell Lisa that I will love her even in heaven–"
Then his body turned limp inside my arms.
I wanted to ask the man so many questions.
Why did he yell? What was his daughter's dream?
But I couldn't. It was too late. Too damn late.
All because fate dealt us such a shitty hand.
In the end, I simply shoved all of these thoughts away, and simply looked at him for a brief moment.
I imprinted his face and words into memory.
I promised to deliver his message.
I stood up, making sure the body didn't just drop to the ground and looked around. The battlefield around me was littered with corpses. Men and women lay on the ground limply. Beasts and animals all around them.
The emotions came to me all at once. Shame. Anger. And sadness. All of it plagued my mind as I took in the scene in front of me. Shame because I couldn't save them. Anger because we were put into this position and sadness because these men and women weren't just a statistic.
They were people with families. Their own dreams and problems. They were human and not just some kind of number on a battlefield report.
Yet, I had to push all of these emotions away. And I did. I did so without hesitation. I put them into a compartment of my mind I hoped I would never have to look at again for the darkness inside it might just overwhelm me.
I walked over to the whimpering beast that was still alive. Mana flowed through my leg and I snapped. My shin smashed into its skull blasting it into bits and pieces.
Then I was off again.