Chapter 172: The Legendary Horsemen II

Realms are large. It takes time to reach one’s destination, especially if one has never been before.

The journey can become even more trying when you have a literal army actively trying to stop you from reaching your destination.

But in the face of raw power and overwhelming desire, everything else means fuck all.

“T-They’re coming!”

“This is ridiculous! It has been three days now, why have they not slowed down!?”

“Slowed down?! Why haven’t they fallen?!”

“EVERYONE SHUT UP! They’re here!”

Underneath a sky choked by gray ash, four streaks of light raced forward from the south.

At the head, there was a figure riding on a horse. His very presence was as bright as a clear day.

He looked like a hero from a child’s fable. Black and gold chest armor that stopped at around his lungs, allowing him greater freedom to twist his body.

He wore simple gilded gauntlets and a red armored kilt with its individual tassels being as hard as diamonds.

The dark cape that billowed behind his back, while iconic, was negligible next to the flaming aura that seemed to come from the top of his broad shoulders to the crown of his head.

His voice came out as a booming demonic bark.

“MOVE OR DIE!!”

Several men flinched from the power of his voice alone. With how fast the group was traveling, the elven army knew that they had around ten seconds to make a decision.

The closer that the horsemen got, the easier it became to see what the right decision was.

A quarter of the soldiers lunged off to the sidelines and out of the horsemen’s way.

The rest cursed their companions as the horsemen began their onslaught.

The one they called Mayhem rode to the front of the pack.

She wielded two weapons- a jagged longsword made of bone and a bladed whip. The pair worked miraculously well in concert.

With the handle of her weapon tied with her whip, the scarlet rider swung her weapon in a wide arc. Her whip stretched to an impossible degree, and the ridges of both her weapons cut through elven soldiers like butter.

Some ducked before they could be cut apart by the demonic weapon. As soon as it passed over them, they stood up to attack the riders as a group.

But that was when one of the riders peeled off from the group.

Rather than going in an entirely new direction, the horsemen flee straight up into the air.

He raced ahead of the group, his horse slowly rotating until the Azure rider was hanging upside down from the saddle.

“Ah, this place is too quiet! If you ask me, it could use a little…”

“RIOTT!!” The horse bellowed deeply.

“…The answer was Havoc, buddy, but I’m glad you’re still so enthusiastic.”

The horseman sprouted his powerful white wings. The sight was majestic, brilliant, even divine.

With a single flap, he shot forth hundreds of his pristine feathers. They rained down from the sky, covered in his own azure aura and as sharp as the claws of an adult Cerberus.

The chaos they wrought upon the battlefield was nothing short of biblical in nature. Miraculously, the rider’s control was so fine that he perfectly avoided every single person who had surrendered.

However, those who chose to continue the fight were not so lucky. Most died without even realizing what happened to them.

A very small percentage lived to see what came next.

The rider of amethyst who reeked of shadow. Dakota held up her glowing lantern and some sort of miraculous wispy substance left the battlefield in droves and flew towards it.

Atop the back of Nila’s horse, Raizel watched the entire thing with a perplexed expression.

“Anyone know how she keeps doing that?! ….Or even what she’s doing?!”

No one was feeling very chatty at that moment. Leaving Raizel’s questions hanging in the air.

Jiaoying hadn’t taken her medication in two days. Fury was out, riding behind Solomon atop Mercy.

Her maniacal laughter was bone-chilling, but no one really seemed to think much of it in that moment. Fury was far from the priority.

Raizel looked toward his brother and scarcely recognized him.

Solomon looked like he had aged since this entire battle started. Not figuratively; literally.

He wasn’t certain whether or not this marked some kind of darker change within his brother, or if it was just a fit of stress.

Either way… he hated to think of what might become of him if what they found waiting for them at the end of the road was something unfavorable.

–

“My liege. They are getting closer still.”

Elf King Toussaint ground his teeth together. His fist clenched and he smashed the goblet of wine in his hand.

“T-There’s… there’s more, my liege.”

“SPIT IT OUT THEN!”

The young servant boy gulped, his body trembling like a leaf.

“T-The citizens… those who aren’t fighting haven’t been harmed, but the damage from the invasion has… well… Many have lost their homes. Some are seeking refuge in other territories, b-but by our estimates, roughly twelve percent… are leaving the r- Ack!”

The boy gasped as Toussaint lifted him off his feet. His grip on his throat was so strong that he could have snapped his servant’s neck with the slightest movement.

“What.. do you mean… they’re leaving..?” Toussaint cracked his teeth from clenching so hard.

His attendant could barely speak.

“I-It’s… the fighting..! People want to take refuge elsewhere, but they fear travel with recent reports of the dark fae and amazons making personal attacks on your life..! They do not want to be next..!”

Toussaint roared as he hurled his attendant clear through a bookshelf.

A lie?! His people were leaving the realm all because of a bloody lie?! His master would be furious! This could jeopardize his plans!

Toussaint fished inside his pocket, removing something that looked like a flat onyx stone.

He rubbed it obsessively, with clear panic in his shifting pupils.

“Master… Why do you not answer..? I have them but I need your guidance now more than ever..!”

No matter how desperately Toussaint prayed, he never received an answer from his lord. This troubled him immensely, as his dark master had never been one to ignore him before.

The elf king could feel the walls beginning to close in on him. He would have to take matters into his own hands from here.

With luck, his master would praise him for his ability to take initiative…

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