March to Dentor Pass

Neil quickly scanned the damage done by the Neothaliyan army; he muttered, “Neothaliyan beasts have entered Acroniya. Does that mean they are also here? This is bad.”

He grabbed a brown gem from his pouch; he replaced it with a red gem placed just before the blade. After aligning all seven sides of the gem with the pattern on his blade, he moved a little to a relatively empty area.

He stabbed his sword into the ground; the gem started to glow, and then he closed his eyes as he started to mutter words. The area started to shake, and the sky started to turn dark above Neil's head. He opened his eyes, cast his spell, and muttered, ”Earth magic: Spirit of Azur".

When he finished his spell, the earth stopped shaking for a little while, and the sky started to clear. It felt like he had failed, but then immense pressure fell on him, and then it started to spread in all directions.

Before anyone could be hurt, Neil concentrated all the pressure on himself; the pressure was so strong it could break anyone, but Neil stood unaffected by it.

The pressure soon disappeared as the ground started to glow. An ancient creature appeared; his lower body was made of a translucent, ghost-like substance, while his upper body was made of hard rock. That creature crossed his hands; his eyes met Neil's eyes, and then a strange voice reached Neil's ears.

Even though Neil had never heard those voices before, somehow he was able to understand what they meant. Neil greeted that creature and said, ”Lord of the Earth, lend me your power; show me their location“.

That spirit remained silent for a moment, and then all of a sudden, his power started to increase; the spirit's hair, which was bundled and tied together, freed itself. His hair spread in all directions and started to move in that mystical power.

The pressure reappeared, but this time only Neil was affected; as the pressure started to increase, Neil's body started to bend a little, but he was still firmly holding his ground.

Within a few minutes, the pressure turned so high that the ground below Neil started to crack, the armor around his body started to bend, and his body started to shake. His lower body was getting numb, and his vision now started to blur.

When Neil was at his limit, the pressure disappeared; when all that pressure suddenly disappeared, he wanted to lie down, but he stood his ground. He was still in that position, firmly holding his blade, straightening his back, and looking forward to where that spirit was floating.

A little time had passed since the pressure disappeared. A crown-like thing started to form on Neil's forehead; a crown resembling Azur's head was materialized.

Neil closed his eyes; he saw grasslands, beautiful rivers, and dense forests of Acroniya. A few animals were peeking out of the trees and grass in response to the strange presence of Neil.

A smile appeared on Neil's face; he continued his search. He saw long mountains standing still for ages, water flowing through the mountains and then falling into the lake below. When the water left the mountains, mist rose, adding a mystical glow to the mountains.

His face turned serious as he saw their feet touching Acroniya. The wind started to move strangely, the rivers started to run wild, and the earth started to shake like never seen before. It felt like the natural forces were corrupted by the evil they carried.

He breathed a sigh of relief as the people somehow pushed through it, and where they failed, it was utter devastation. Neil took a long breath to control his emotions and continued; he saw the pride of Acroniya never-ending forests which had created paths for them who brought death to Acroniya. The high ground of Acroniya, which had shielded them until now, had become their prison.

Controlling his emotions, he continued searching for the source of this chaos and destruction; after searching for a while, he found them.

He opened his eyes and sat on a nearby rock; as he started forming a plan, his head leaned on his hands. After ensuring his plan was good enough, he stood and started to head towards his soldiers. He issued an order to one of the soldiers, and then he started to move through his soldiers.

When he was roughly around the center of his soldiers, he stopped; after looking at his soldiers, who were filled with courage and energy, he started discussing what he saw.

”Neothaliyans have entered Acroniya along with Neothaliyan beasts; they are divided into three units. Out of them, two have established their camps, while one is heading towards the Royal Capital.”

He took a moment to breathe, then continued, ”I am unable to find their numbers, but judging from their size, there is no need to mobilize the entire army. Five thousand soldiers will follow me, while the rest stay here. If things go wrong, you are the final line of defense.”

The soldiers nodded their heads in agreement. ”Good then,” Neil said while searching for someone in the soldiers' crowd. ”Zellto,” he called a name.

A man in his late twenties came out; he greeted Neil and then patiently waited for his order.
”Zellto, I want you to ensure the safety of the people; help them to get to safety. Don't engage in useless fights. Once you accomplish your goal, help Julicous with setting up defenses at the entrance of the Royal Capital.”

Zellto nodded his head in agreement; after a little while, he gathered 100 soldiers ideal for this task.

He turned towards them and addressed them, ”It's been a decade since the last time we had any major conflict, but we are trained for this every day. Remember what we are fighting for, and now...” He paused, waiting for Neil's order.

The soldiers moved a few steps back, giving Neil room. ”Neothaliyans attacked our people, but they haven't won yet, and we will not let them. They assume us to be weak, but we aren't weak. Let's show them the power of Acroniyans and win this fight.”

”Yes, Commander, we will be victorious!” the soldiers shouted in a single voice, and added, “Long live our commander! Long live Acroniya!” The area was filled with their combined voices, attacking the sadness and hopelessness of their people.

Neil waited for a while, then looked towards the soldiers standing behind Zellto. He addressed them, ”He was also once an ordinary soldier, but his contribution wasn't forgotten. Even today we remember him for his contribution in the darkest period of Acroniya.”

Neil took a pause, looking at the faces of those soldiers. ”As for you, you all are walking in his path. I, the First Commander of Acroniya, give you a name: the Hope of Acroniyans. You shall be called Kazos from now on.”

”Yes, Commander!” all the Kazos reacted in sync. All their faces were filled with a strange yet smooth glow; some tried to hold their tears, while some let them flow. Even though their faces were plain, with no emotion, yet their eyes told another story of their own.

”I believe in you, Kazos. Do your best; the people are counting on you,” Neil finished his address.
”Yes, sir!!” Zellto and the Kazos answered in a single word.

”Kazo warriors, on horses now!!” Zellto ordered. After a few minutes, everyone was on a horse. Zellto continued, ”All Kazos, after me!”

The Acroniya army moved, making a path for the Kazo warriors. Neil, looking towards the Kazos riding on horses, said, ”Well, one of us has moved to complete their task now; it's our time to do the same.”

He started briefing his plan to the Acroniyan army. The supply carts had reached by this time. Neil nodded while continuing his briefing; after a while, when they understood his plan, he unsheathed his sword, raised it towards the sky, and shouted, ”Acroniya army, all head towards Dentor Pass!”

Neil started moving towards Dentor Pass followed by 5000 soldier starts marching behind him, 100 pair of Oxen pulling carts loaded with food and supplies, and finally 200 horses followed them in their respective sequence.

After around one hour, Neil's wing reached near the Dentor region. Around this time, the area was completely covered in darkness; to avoid detection, they marched without any source of light.

”Everyone rest for a while; long battles are waiting for us,” Neil said. The Acroniya army quickly prepared a temporary resting place.

They made little to no noise; to prevent enemy detection, the supply carts and horses were stopped a little away from the main army.
Special items were used on the oxen's mouths; these items covered their mouths to seal their voices, but they were able to move a little, which was enough for them to ruminate.

The horses' mouths were also covered a bit. Even though these horses were war-trained for the same, yet measures were taken by the soldiers. The soldiers ate roasted grains, pulses, and the like.

Ten to twenty soldiers were spying on the enemy while the rest were sleeping to save energy for the upcoming battle; the Neothaliyans were lacking a proper night watch, and as a result, the Acroniya army was undetected.

The next day, in the dark, Neil addressed his soldiers, ”Get ready; take your formation.” It took the soldiers some time, but they were in formation. Neil looked towards the sky, which was starting to lighten.

“Is it just me, or did something actually move there?” one of the soldiers on patrol said. “What are you saying?” Another soldier moved towards him; he looked there for a while. His expression suddenly changed. “What were you even doing?!” he shouted at that soldier.
He turned and shouted, “Blow the horn!”

The area exploded in a harsh horn sound, followed by the Neothaliyan soldiers' footsteps. After 15 to 20 minutes, everything was clearly visible.

The Neothaliyan soldiers sped up their formation; within 15 minutes, 800 soldiers were standing in their formation.

One of them ran towards their Commander's tent. The area was filled with a strong stench of blood and alcohol; a normal person could not stay there for very long, so the soldier repeated what he had prepared: “My lord, we are under attack.”

”WHAT!! Who dares to challenge me? I am Zacktor Neckran. Do they know who they are against?” the Commander replied to that soldier.

The Commander glanced at that soldier for a bit, then started walking towards him; he exploded in laughter. Raising that soldier's head high, he added, "You are covered in sweat; what's the point? Are you afraid of something?”

“No, sir...” that soldier quickly replied.
“Oh! I see clearly now.” He spoke slowly, gently, and calmly for a while, but later returned to his heavy voice. “Make sure only their dust remains.”

“And can you wait? I have a gift for you.” The Commander, with a sweet smile on his face, walked towards the corner of his place. His hands started to move over a pitch-black cloth; he grabbed the cloth and threw it back. The cloth flew for a while, then started to descend.

The soldier started spilling blood out of his mouth; he slowly turned his gaze down and saw a sword piercing through his chest area. Blood was dripping, making a tiny pool of blood around his feet.

The sword was pulled out; as a result, pressure was released, blood sprayed out, and the soldier's face turned pale as blood was gushing out faster than before.

His vision was fading; with the remains of his hearing, he was barely able to understand what went wrong.

Zacktor, holding his sword on his back, walked out of his tent; he turned his head. His face was filled with a sweet smile, but it started to turn dangerous. He looked towards the lifeless body of his soldier and added, “That's why you never cut off Zacktor when he's talking.”

The armies were ready to face each other while the people were still trying to save their lives. From the start of this attack, casualties had increased to a dangerous level.

However, the efforts of the Acroniyan army, the Kazos, and others started showing results; casualties started to fall, but this was still not enough.

The Kazos had spread thin to cover a large area, while the Acroniya army was ensuring the safety and integrity of the shelters.