Three years of hard training passed under Manel's command. The group grew stronger. They often practiced duels with him, always losing. Manel's skill was such that the boys wondered why he wasn't the Saqras' leader. He had all the characteristics to be one: he was strong, he had leadership, and a great sense of justice.
Then it happened: one morning, the boys were assigned their first mission as Saqras, commanded by Manel and sent by the leader. They gathered at their lodging's door:
"Our first mission as criminals sent by the leader," Ikari said.
"He may be your leader, not mine," Illari retorted.
"I agree," Mirelle added.
"Ehh, sorry, you're right, that bastard isn't our leader," Ikari corrected himself.
A brief silence fell over the street for a few seconds.
"You're very thoughtful today, Hadrian? Is something wrong?" Mirelle asked.
Hadrian looked serious, more serious than usual, and gazing at the sky, he replied:
"I think... while we're here, he is our leader." The boys looked at him a little puzzled, wondering, Didn't he experience the same thing as us?
"What kind of leader makes children fight to the death! What kind of leader doesn't say his damn name! And only wants to be referred to as 'Leader'!" Ikari said, a little furious.
"He must have a good reason," Mirelle countered.
"You said it, Mirelle," Hadrian replied.
"Luca must be cursing you right now," Ikari said.
Illari watched Hadrian for a few seconds; Hadrian immediately returned the gaze. Then they heard a familiar voice.
"How are the little criminals doing this morning?" Manel greeted.
The boys had reached the main exit door. Illari and Hadrian stopped looking at each other. They all went to greet him.
"Well, what can I tell you, this is one of the easiest missions." Manel calmly explained: "The mission is as follows: at sunset, a wealthy merchant with escorts will pass by. I understand he's from the kingdom of Zylor. He will be transporting gold. The plan is this: I will stop him on the road. Hadrian and Ikari will emerge from the bushes, surrounding him. Illari and Mirelle, stay hidden until I finish negotiating with the merchant. If he agrees to give us the gold without a fight, we will let him go. But if he refuses, Illari will launch a surprise attack from the trees. Mirelle, if there are any wounded, come out and heal them without hesitation. Prepare your weapons and protective gear."
Ikari raised his hand and asked:
"How many kingdoms are there? Information in the town was scarce."
"Focus on the plan!" Hadrian snapped.
"Wait a moment, Hadrian, that's a very good question! Which kingdom has the best healing magic users?" Mirelle retorted.
"I hope he doesn't dodge the question this time," Illari quipped with a smile.
The boys were often reserved with everyone, but with Manel it was different. With him, they brought out their most sociable side—perhaps he was a role model, perhaps he was that figure in whom they could trust the bitter pains of the past that still echoed in their hearts.
"Well, this is the first time you've asked a good question, alright, I'll tell you." Manel sighed. "But... on the next mission!" "Hahahahaha!" "Now get ready!"
The boys, with long faces, began to equip themselves without asking. Manel gave the order, and they all left the Saqras village. They ventured into the forest, located the road, and took their positions. At sunset, they spotted a carriage escorted by knights approaching in the distance. Focused, following the plan, Manel stepped onto the road, forcing them to stop.
The ten well-equipped knights dismounted from their horses, drew their swords, and pointed them at Manel. "I need to speak with one of the wealthiest merchants of the Zylor kingdom, Benjamin!" Manel shouted confidently. "Identify yourself now or we will kill you without remorse!" one of them said. "I'm sure you don't want to do this," Manel replied. "Just let me talk to whoever hired you." "You're finished!" the knight responded.
The knight raised his sword and, without hesitation, attacked Manel. Before he could even strike, Manel, with a direct sword blow to the head, pierced his helmet, killing him instantly.
The other knights were paralyzed. Manel whistled, and from the bushes emerged Hadrian with his much larger war axe and a shield, and Ikari with a new spear, a little larger and with a noticeable edge. Brutally, they finished off four of the knights, remembering Manel's advice during their training:
"A knight's most vulnerable points will always be: the visor, the armpits, and the knees, even if these are covered by chain mail. With the skill and strength you've shown, that won't be a problem for you."
Only five remained. The merchant stayed in the carriage, showing no intention of coming out to negotiate. It was strange, as if he had an ace up his sleeve. Illari fired two accurate arrows from the trees into the knights' visors, eliminating them instantly.
Hadrian engaged in combat with another remaining knight. Ikari, distracted watching Hadrian's power when striking with the war axe, realized that he had stopped following Manel's advice: he was trying to cut his enemy, but his strength wasn't enough like Manel's, so he only managed to knock him down. Frustrated, he kept trying.
At that moment, the knight took advantage of Ikari's distraction and moved towards him, aiming at his stomach. Suddenly, a shout was heard: "IKARI!" It was Manel, his voice annoyed.
Ikari reacted and managed to dodge the attack, but the next second he saw his arm covered in blood. He immediately recoiled in pain. Quickly, Mirelle emerged from the bushes and healed his wounds. "Don't look, Ikari, calm down, this is nothing, you'll recover."
Mirelle had perfected the art of healing. This staff, as Manel explained to her, was a Druid Staff. It was said that in the depths of the forests lived beings who granted certain powers to humans, either for favors or simply because they got along.
Human greed is an infinite misfortune. Nothing more was known about those beings; magic simply appeared in the kingdoms mysteriously. Mirelle, disconcerted, said to him: "It must be another legend, like the one about the dwarves who gave you your sword." Manel just laughed.
After healing Ikari's wounds, he picked up his spear and was ready to fight again. Manel did not intervene; he simply watched how his apprentices handled the fight. Hadrian, with unimaginable strength, managed to remove the knight's helmet and quickly decapitated him. Ikari, with a precise spear movement, struck the knight's visor, but he quickly removed his helmet. This hasty movement caused the knight to trip and fall very close to the carriage.
About to be executed, he screamed in fear. Ikari, spear in hand, didn't really want to do it, until the knight picked up his sword from the ground and, with a strong movement, intended to cut off his head. With quick reflexes, he dodged it. Ikari told himself: "In this world, there are no second chances." And, with a precise grip on his weapon, determined, he threw it at the knight, aiming at his head.
But unexpectedly, a huge sword shot out of the carriage, blocking Ikari's spear. Manel looked on with bewildered eyes. Illari, Ikari, and Mirelle were equally bewildered. "Is there another guard in the carriage!?" Hadrian exclaimed. "That sword... it's huge!" Ikari said. "How did he hide such a sword in the carriage!?" Illari said. "This is not good at all…" Mirelle added. "Fall back now!" Manel shouted.
A two-meter figure emerged from the carriage, destroying part of it. The boys and Manel observed the dead merchant, his stomach completely open. They quickly deduced that this monster had killed the wealthy merchant. "Commander Rob... forgive us!" the knight said.
"I will notify the Kingdom right now, I will request reinforce—"
Before finishing, Rob grabbed the knight's head and, without a word, crushed it. Everyone was stunned.
"It's bad manners for a simple knight to introduce a general, don't you think?" he said in a mocking tone. "Let's begin. I want to take this gold already."
Manel felt Rob's overwhelming presence. Immediately, Illari fired an arrow at his chest; he didn't even flinch. He was wearing what looked like double chain mail; it seemed impenetrable. Rob approached; there was no plan.
"Run, guys."
Manel spoke to them with a voice full of concern, but his gaze did not leave the enemy. But it wasn't an order; it seemed like a farewell. Immediately, the four shouted in unison:
"No! This challenge will make us stronger, we're going to fight!" Manel, with resignation and pride, replied: "Then prepare yourselves. Death comes with him."
Rob, tired of so much talk, made his first sword strike, but the five dodged it. They noticed he was very heavy. Rob had brutal strength, but he didn't seem that fast. They felt they could win, although Manel didn't see it that way: something didn't fit.
The five began to hit him at the same time with axes, swords, spears, arrows... but Rob only laughed. "Thank you, thank you!" he chuckled.
The boys couldn't leave a noticeable wound on him; only Manel had caused him damage, but nothing serious. Suddenly, Rob increased his speed and, with a clean hand strike, sent Hadrian flying, leaving him completely knocked out and bloody.
Everyone was impressed by Rob's increased speed, but there was no looking back. Mirelle went straight to Hadrian in desperation to heal his wounds; she couldn't allow another companion to die, Luca wouldn't allow it; she did it with difficulty. Rob's impact was brutal, but she couldn't do anything to make him get up; he was unconscious. "One less, too bad I couldn't pierce him," Rob said coldly.
With fury, Manel attacked Rob. Illari and Ikari tried to help him, but realizing it, Rob didn't even bother to repel their attacks; he only concentrated on Manel. Stunned, they watched a fight of complete warriors; although they tried to help, they soon realized that they were only getting in the way.
Suddenly, Manel's sword began to faintly tinge purple. Rob noticed the change, but he became more and more frantic, with more strength and much more speed.
Rob turned his gaze towards the trees and saw Illari. Quickly, he lunged at him. Illari barely threw himself to solid ground, where Rob was already preparing his sword strike to finish him. Manel appeared to block it with great difficulty. At that moment, Rob delivered a clean hand blow to Manel's stomach. Manel went flying, wounded, into the bushes.
Mirelle went to Manel to heal him, but this time Rob watched her from afar; he no longer seemed human. His presence could be seen as a dark shadow with throbbing eyes full of satisfaction; all his senses had become superhuman.
"You have a healer..." he laughed. "Don't worry, girl, I'll save you a trip to hell."
Rob raised his sword and swiftly headed towards Mirelle. She was very scared; she stood paralyzed. Manel got up with difficulty and blocked the sword strike again. This time it was clear that Manel's sword was completely purple, but so were his eyes, and as if it were a magic attack, Manel threw Rob back a few meters; Rob was impressed.
"That sword... now I remember! That is one of the eight legendary swords of the kingdom of Zylor! Its bearer disappeared when he was on a mission against the damn dwarves! Bastard, how did you get it! I will gouge out your eyes, I will tear off your legs, then your arms, and you will tell me the whole truth!"
Mirelle, Illari, and Ikari were in shock.
Who was that man?
Was he really a Saqra?
Did a dwarf really give him that sword?
Did dwarves really exist?
Manel brandished his sword, pointing it at Rob, and said: "Silence," he whispered. A strong shockwave completely paralyzed Rob. "Let's retreat for now; I already discovered the source of his power. We cannot win now."
Manel carried Mirelle and Hadrian. They ran until they were deep in the forest. After finding a safe place under a tree, he collapsed to the ground with Mirelle and Hadrian. Looking back, he noticed that the brothers were not there. Manel at that moment became distressed and quickly prepared to return, but, at that moment:
"Manel," said Ikari. "Where did you go! That monster can recover at any moment!" "Forgive us, but the mission was to bring the gold. We failed, we only brought half.
The rest was too close to that monster, we didn't want to risk it anymore,"
Illari said. Ikari nodded. They both showed a few bags of gold. Manel hugged them, falling exhausted under the tree.
"Manel, are you alive?!" Ikari shouted. "Yes, don't say goodbye to me yet," he joked, almost breathless. "I just need to rest... a little."