Storming forward with rage on his face, his feet quickened as it rarely did. The young man’s eyes were hostile. A guard saw his approach and feeling his ire drawing towards his general, he halted in his path. Though an armored golem, six and a half foot tall, with a titan’s spear in his hands aimed at the lieutenant, he was pushed aside by his shoulder from a force he had underestimated. Stumbling off from his own weight, the wall he sought to erect had been breached and the officer did not slow. Seeing his strength, no other guardsman braved to hold him down. When the lieutenant was upon the general, he stopped asudden, anchoring his heels in the soil. Against the commander’s face, his breath was inhumanly hot like that of a dragon’s, but a rational one. A bellow from the reaches of his lungs slowly grilled the general’s nerves and boiled the blood near his ears.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCc7iQgrZH
“Then what’s the point in bringin’ ‘em back ‘live?” Adam asked, threateningly. “You could’a just told me ta leave ‘em be.” His words sharpened, annoyed that his time was being wasted more than the impending death of his former cadets.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJYkXEfiM2
Nikola kept ahead, unswayed, when he showed courage to rebuke, “You test my patience, Apollo.”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUkkhDeD0G
A lieutenant general from among the bystanders leaned ahead with his interest perked. Sensing that it was high time to act, he searched around for those he considered ally and foe. Some returned glances unsure and others undaring. It was perhaps not his moment, he thought, when a laugh caught them off guard. They recoiled, and saw before themselves, the lieutenant swaying on his heels and keeping his hands on the sheathes of his blades. His fingers reddened as his grip did not relent even if his face, that harbored all his fire, had yet to change in tone.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvsfeY6BVx
Nodding as if he was agreeing with the general, Adam smiled and returned, “Well, I could send ‘em back,” With an open hand exhibiting an offer, he turned to the squad and uttered freely, “Vasilevsky’s prob’ly still int’rest’d—”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkl8LRB9FZg
“Major Codrington!” Nikola summoned again, stepping away from the lieutenant who stood his ground and gave no chase.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nPgOEQvzV
Braced up, the major had wrongfully determined that he was finally out of the maelstrom, and only when he heard his name then he realized what was trouble.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwAVv70fEvp
“You are to lead the execution yourself by my command,” The general thrusted the shoe of his spear into the ground and declared, “And it shall proceed here in the next minute!”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSy58y7LnjP
The squad of youths, soldiers and lancers, looked up in horror. They could feel their hearts race, their pulses jumping from their wrists. Alexandria could not sit aside immobile neither and moved her hand closer to her sword. Adam turned on his heels and unbuckled the sheathes of his blades, who Nikola knew not of his treachery. Pit in a standoff, it was not clear who had turned against who. From the general’s staff to the junior officers and soldiers alike, they all took a step back. Their eyes flicked between the two parties with questions that became doubts towards the loyalties of their own comrades and friends. Their limbs itched to arm themselves unless there was a clear sign of peace, but the cyclone of madness continued to brew. Though they saw themselves not as allies of the squad in question, the decision of the general would bring about their own demise. Knowing that this was the likely case, came the assuring thoughts of mutiny.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCw7YxSn3T
Out of the fazed, one man soon braver than the rest stepped up and confronted, “Do you think it not wise to consult with the Commonwealth?” The lieutenant general, who had long endured hardship under the sporadic indecisions of the general, spoke his mind, “Or do you seek retribution from the alliance as a whole?”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuul9Cjyjhh
Murmurs filled the air and troops seemed to concur. Even the most faithful and loyal advisor to the general, the brigadier, emerged beside Adam and came to Nikola’s side with his hands behind his back, warm from sweat. He could not contain fact from fiction to appease his commander’s ears for this predicament exceeded the bounds of the military code.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHfLoH6pPm
Both stayed their eyes on the lieutenant general as the brigadier spoke softly, trying to water the general’s flames, “It is unmistakable to keep discipline afloat in our ranks, however…” Over his shoulder, he saw that the lieutenant had been forced on guard. “Even such a minute act would certainly invite the ire of our allies.” Trying to read Nikola’s mind, the brigadier returned to him and explained, waning his anger wherever possible.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVXF7mapZx
“Gen’ral.” Adam interrupted, almost growling, he had not been so antagonized as long as his comrades had known him. “For their rescue an’ yer men’s lives, I exchang’d six hours fer dis army ta retreat b’fore Vasilevsky unleashes all hell on us.” He notified all, calmly, and told his reason, with a finger pinned towards the earth.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6nJAOgWsPQ
But Nikola turned around, astounded by the rogue, bearing no respect for him any more, and approached Adam who kept his posture an arrogant poise. “And you negotiated without my command?” The general raised his voice.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOvEQW7GMe
“You are no commander of mine!” Adam roared as smoke escaped, between his teeth, from his throat illuminated with a glow.
Whispers surfaced, speaking of defiance, as Žižka burst out in laughter. True as it may be, only when the lieutenant had no due respect for a man would he embarrass him before his men. Before long, those troops suddenly found the commander’s adjutants’ treasonous conversations reasonable and was purged of any lingering thought that this man was ever sensible. Detecting an air reminiscent of enemies, the hairs on Nikola’s spine stood. He cautiously revolved, finding his men averting their eyes with few pinned on him, waiting for his response. When he began to see through the skin of his own army, he imagined what lurked beneath: the hearts of enemies.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlSJeJvW4d
Scoffing, the hallucinations of Confederates in his own head faded, but the very same paranoia remained. “The lot of you conspire behind my back as I do what is best for our king and country.” Nikola addressed to their bafflement and made a groundless accusation, “Perhaps in their stead, you all should be burned for treason—”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTEocq07eo
“Now now, Adrien,” An old man amidst the crowd came forth and said. “Must you torture their poor souls with your temper?” His ask was not sweetened.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPwQKbrHKG
Troops turned around and immediately gave way for the elder. He, himself alone, exuded an aura that moved generals and soldiers alike, all lowering their eyes not out of fear but respect as one should have. The old man returned a simple gesture for Žižka who grinned and tipped his head in greeting. As he neared, his shadow from the sun melted and an archer rushed out of the background to see who it was that he recognized by voice alone. When his face was briefly lit by the armor and blades around him, the boy’s face brightened up with joy.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvHDx1xhBB
Slowly marching with his thumb tapping on his hand behind his back, the elder did not seem too pleased with what had unfolded before him. “What have they done except give pause to the Fed’s actions?” Curiously, he wondered.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOowpvEiPLI
“They have threatened the hierarchy,” Nikola responded with a poor choice of words, confused as to why some old man could speak at ease in his presence. “The very structure that keeps an army intact—” Turning to see, the general’s eyes widened in shock.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJFQNaJ0mR
“Any man who speaks of the hierarchy is no general.” The elder corrected him from his abrupt pause.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKukmq0xwqU
Color ran from his face and the Bohemer’s heart beat stopped. His demeanor retracted from bitter madness to total fright. He subconsciously retreated and his hand laid off his spear. It toppled without any support and slammed into the ground, casting a shape in the soft soil. Steel rang in the earth’s veins and a charm of finches fled the distant treeline.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNVxRGSG83
“Warneńczyk…” Nikola addressed his senior.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2HgGmRwsx
Those who did not recognize his face but had heard his name swiveled towards the man who their commanders bowed and saluted for, depending on their courtesies. The surprise of his arrival invited a new crowd who sought to catch just a glimpse of this figure. The squad listened to his footsteps, gentle but forceful, that conquered every other ambient sound. Winds flowed beside him like chariots of ghouls, crying for his attention with shrieks that only demons could hear. He led on with a band of aides who scared away the voices of the dead, even if they could not silence the clamor of allied troops. Among them, two stood out, marching on either flank. One, an academic, with a book often in his hand, for those who did not understand him would think him to only be studious. Another was a hunk of muscle mass, as tall as Miklós, whose old scars from claws came from the beast beside him perhaps. But the creature, a great white bear, two paces tall on all its limbs, was anything but needlessly violent. Yet, these men who exuded an aura of authority and power were overshadowed by their elder who calmly halted his party on the edge of the court before he advanced alone.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiN6cETAzq6
