Alistair summoned his Rune Sword, landing on the ground swiftly.
Soldiers of Therasia shouted as they charged from behind, going head to head with The Sunborne while passing through Alistair.
Alistair had no reason to help Therasia defend its city, since neither he nor the Thorne Clan holds any kind of ties with them. However, that wasn't stopping him. In fact, it was what pushed him to face an entire army alone.
'Right… How could a faction survive if it has no allies?'
There were more reasons for his actions, but he had no time to think about them.
Quickly, he put himself into a combat stance as soldiers of The Sunborne ran at him, all at once.
Alistair inhaled deeply, catching concentration at a place where chaos lingered most.
His eyes glowed the same color as his hair for but a moment, then, instantly, he threw his arm holding his black sword towards one of the soldiers.
The soldier of Sunborne raised his sword, blocking Alistair's attack, unleashing a loud sound of metal colliding with each other.
Alistair's grip tightened heavily, his gaze falling upon the soldier, sending him into a daze as he stared into his eyes.
The soldier clenched his jaw, his hand shaking bitterly. Until his blade had started to break slowly.
Seeing this, two other men ran toward Alistair, who was busy fighting the first soldier.
Unable to handle all three at once, he pushed the first one, then turned quickly.
Blood splattered, and the anguish of the two soldiers could be felt throughout the entire battlefield.
'I was able to slash through them? Was the Aspect cast on them too weak?'
Alistair slashed through their stomach before they'd realized it, giving him time to slay the other soldier of Sunborne.
However, when he'd turned, the soldier was on the ground, his eye shaking as if he'd seen a monster.
"Don't kill me…. please. I just became a father," he pleaded.
Alistair furrowed his brows, grabbing the soldier upwards.
"Which of you people has an Aspect?"
The soldier stuttered for a few moments, unable to let the words out.
"I don't know! I really don't! I'm just following orders!" the soldier shouted.
Alistair sighed disappointedly, throwing the man to the other side. "You're not fit for war."
The soldier looked at him for a few seconds, frowning, a face of despair and regret. It almost seemed like he had much to say, but couldn't.
Regardless, he ended back on his feet and ran backwards to where he came from.
Alistair's eyes narrowed as he looked around the battlefield.
"This will cost me dearly, but it's a small price to pay compared to extinguishing the lives of these soldiers. I had anticipated stronger opponents, given their imposing armor, but it appears I was wrong."
The men of Sunborne stood clad in shimmering silver armor, each chestplate emblazoned with a vivid green and yellow sun that radiated an aura of strength.
But Alistair was unfazed. In his eyes, the world shifted into shades of grey, intensified by the looming challenge.
Drawing on his Core Characteristic, Equalizer, and harnessing the Law of Convergence, he honed in on those who wielded true power.
This power wasn't just raw, it spanned the realms of Aspect, Characteristic powers, and everything in between. The battle was just beginning, and he was ready to take it on.
He closed one of his eyes and made a circle using his hand, bending his fingers, then he casually put it in front of the open right eye.
"Let's take a look…"
What he saw was only grey. Both men of Sunborne and Therasia seemed to have only a little raw power, some stood out with more raw power, but nothing extreme.
After an entire minute of inspecting, he saw nothing out of the ordinary, sending him into confusion.
'I don't understand. How did the arrows phase through them then?'
Unable to give it much more thought, he headed into the battlefield to fight, wasting no more time.
In a moment, he slashed quickly through one of the soldiers, their blood splattering on his dark armor.
Using Equalizer once more, he was able to gain more power.
'Three. Five. Ten.' Alistair counted how much his power was multiplied by.
He took a deep breath before moving deeper into the battlefield, where everyone was engaged in fierce combat.
After battling a few more opponents, Alistair faced a muscular man with a masked face.
As he assessed the man, Alistair realized that his strength exceeded that of the average fighter he had encountered.
Raising his brows, Alistair asked, "No weapons?"
The man growled, his armor straining to contain his powerful build. In an instant, he threw a large fist toward Alistair.
Reacting swiftly, Alistair drew his sword and struck the man's hand, slicing off a finger that was encased in metallic armor.
The large man roared, the sound intensified by the searing pain he felt.
Without hesitating, Alistair quickly followed up with another slash.
To his surprise, the large man moved faster than expected and delivered a powerful kick to Alistair's side, sending him sprawling to the right, rolling awkwardly on the ground before getting back up.
Fortunately, Alistair was able to react quickly enough to block the attack with his blade.
"What even are you?" Alistair muttered, his curiosity piqued.
His eyes began to glow, and he felt his power equalize with that of the large man. Combining this newfound strength with his own experience and the raw power he had gained from other soldiers, Alistair prepared for the next move.
Swiftly, he moved to strike again. The large man roared and swung his armored fist once more.
Unfortunately for him, he missed and hit the ground, tripping over himself. Alistair, however, was positioned above him, successfully baiting the man.
Without hesitation, he sliced the man's head clean off using the sharp edge of his black blade.
***
Alistair plunged his sword into the heart of one of the soldiers before letting his body collapse to the ground.
As he caught his breath after an intense fight, he heard the commander of Sunborne shout for a retreat, even though they had managed to break down the city gate.
Alistair couldn't see anything unusual about the commander.
However, he had exhausted too much of his Equalizer, a power that granted him strength but at a high cost of energy.
Reluctantly, he let them go. The sun was setting, and the air was thick with the stench of blood and dead bodies, and even the once beautiful wheat fields were burned down to ashes, leaving only a large wasteland.
Alistair drove his sword into the ground and gripped it tightly to keep himself upright.
Looking around, he noticed that most of the bodies belonged to Sunborne, not Therasia, whose soldiers wore different armor.
Suddenly, the sound of a horse's footsteps caught his attention.
When he turned around, he saw the man in silver armor — the one he had met upon his arrival.
Alistair's eyes widened, and his grip on the sword tightened.
"Ah… I never told you my name. I'm Arphus. Thanks for cleaning up this mess," Arphus said with a smile, flanked by Therasia's soldiers, who showed no signs of exhaustion or battle fatigue.
Alistair's gaze shook for a moment before he activated his Characteristic to assess Arphus's power.
He'd been watching for the entire battle, from the moment the horn sounded to the moment the Sunborne retreated.
Arphus had been watching and waiting and saving himself for exactly this.
Furrowing his brow, Alistair finally spoke, "You have no honor," allowing his hand to drop in front of his face.
Arphus chuckled. "There is no honor in war. I wouldn't let a man of Thorne escape easily. Please, don't take it to heart."
He said it pleasantly. That was the worst part. The complete absence of discomfort in his voice, the smile of a man who had done the math days ago and was simply watching it complete.
Alistair narrowed his eyes as he looked at the setting sun, recalling similar moments from his past.
'I shouldn't have been so rash. I might completely exhaust my energy if I use Equalizer against them.'
He shook his head, withdrawing his sword from the ground and pointing it toward Therasia.
With each loud inhale and exhale, he struggled to steady himself.
'Five hundred soldiers,' Alistair estimated quickly using Equalizer.
Arphus grinned. "You're going to make the same mistake again. Kneel to Therasia."
Alistair straightened his back and aimed his sword at the approaching army.
After finally catching his breath, he spoke in a low voice, "I would rather die standing than live kneeling."