Chapter 22

Clashing Forces

Shou, Royal Palace

            He is having a terrible nightmare. In his dream he the Crown Prince Yamada is surrounded by war and death. He is standing atop a very tall fortress that appears as though it had risen from the ground. Below him he can clearly see the massive warships surrounding the facade of his fort. He is boiling with anger and hatred; he wants those invaders off his sea and island! There are armored soldiers around him who like him wanted to defend their fort. These are evil invaders his head continuously screams at him while his heart gallantly agrees. He needs to crush them. He stares at the annoying air fleet floating not far from his island.

            “Get off my island YOU FLOATING BALLOONS!” he screams from the top of his lungs but no word comes from his mouth. It is as if his body wasn’t his own.

            “What is going on?” he asks himself. The airships are really annoying him. He wants to summon the waters to swallow them whole. He gathers his strength to do just that when his hand suddenly moves involuntarily and sends humongous vines after the airships.

            “Ha! Feel the wrath of MY VINES!” he yells.

He watches with both excitement and confusion as numerous air ships plunge to the sea. He is about to rejoice when he feels the massive shock of energy being aimed at his fortress.

            “There is no way I am letting you destroy my wall!” He shouts at whoever is attacking but just like earlier no sound comes from his mouth. This dream is really getting bizarre he says to himself. He looks straight ahead to get a clear glimpse of his opponents’ identities. The moment he looks at their flags his breathe gets caught in his throat. Before him he sees the brown flag of Erraius which is sending wave after wave of earthquake at his wall. Next to Erraius is the Rysian warship shooting fire jets at his fortress and those annoying airships are actually the Aonian Imperial Air Fleet! He is fighting and cursing his own kind! He steps back in shock but to his surprise he slides through his armor like a spirit. He glances around him and sees to his horror that he is actually in the island of Sirens! He is not only in the island but he is inside the Spruxian camp. He realizes it when he sees the flag. He is now terribly confused and scared.

            “I don’t want to die! I’m TOO YOUNG TO DIE!” he says while freaking out and screaming at the soldiers to help him but since he is a spirit no one hears him.

            His freak out episode ends when he sees his wall and fortress collapsing. He suddenly has the urge to go back to his body and he has. To his shock he is laying on the ground wounded his body that is. His body is injured and in deep pain but he is perfectly fine. Soldiers are rushing towards him and are carrying him. He stands up and becomes a spirit again. He follows his body and watches with horror as they remove his helmet and he sees that the body is not his. He stands there frozen as he sees his beloved angel wounded and bleeding from an injury in the head. He walks to her slowly his eyes never leaving her bloody face then like a wicked jest he wakes and finds himself in his room. He is sweating profusely from his dream and tears are still in his eyes. His mind feels like it will explode from the realization that his angel is indeed real. She is real and she is in great danger. Without second thoughts he stands up from his bed still wearing his jammies and heads straight to the throne room. He needs to talk to his dad.

            “Wait for me angel I will find you.” He says to himself as he exits his room.

Heiyan Bay, Arachnidan Warship

            Queen Wansun watches with pride as their giant dreads leave their platform bound for the Castle. She has ordered for the dreads to go first since their massive ships are taking a bit time than expected. She will send her dreads first to protect and defend the castle while the Velvereaux army made their way to the wounded Spruxian camp. Meanwhile she monitors the proceedings of the male camp whilst her daughters plan their first attack.

            “Soo I think you should lead the cavalry while Raeyi leads the Marionettes.” Royal Princess Blaze suggested to the Crown Princess.

            “That’s a good idea Blaze. Minjae and Eunhae can lead 2nd and 3rd battalions respectively.” Princess Raeyi said.

            “I will command the footmen while the rest remain on standby.”  Royal Princess Blaze states.

            “I’m fine where ever I am assigned just make sure I get to face Prince Yuto in battle.” Crown Princess Sooyoung said while looking at the map of the war zone.

            “Of course Soo that pretty boy prince is all yours.” Princess Blaze said mischievously.

Isle of Sirens, Narisian Camp

            King Yuichi is clearly not having the time of his life. Moments ago he is scared to his wits because of the Man Eating Plants that the Spruxian army has sent to devour them. He is still in the process of recovering from the plant attack and here comes another frightening sight, the Arachnidan army heading straight to the island. He has to be honest with himself, about the fact that he is dead scared of the Regnum of War. He loves war but the arrival of the regnum of war changes everything for him. He knows how powerful they are. THEY ARE THE KINGDOM OF WAR FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Plus they have giants on their side. FREAKING GIANTS! (The giants that King Yuichi are referring to are actually Dreads/robots/Marionettes)

            He has a seriously sore throat the aftermath of screaming for his life earlier. He can barely speak without hurting his throat.

            “What’s the matter Yuichi scared of the Arachnidians?” King Kazuya teases through the communication line.

            “Shut up Kazuya you are saying that because you are there in your stupid boat while I am out here in the field!” King Yuichi retorts. King Kazuya is dying of laughter because King Yuichi sounds like a frog because of his sore throat.

            “SHUT UP KAZUYA! I swear when I get back I will mummify you in that gold armor of yours!” King Yuichi yells at King Kazuya angrily.

            “Enough with the jokes Kazuya, Yuichi needs to prepare himself for battle.” King Masuda said.

            “Oh relax Masu I am just preparing Yuichi for his battle. You know he needs to be angry to fight well.

            Before King Yuichi can retort to King Kazuya’s comment his worst fear arrives. Red armored giants dock upon the island right in front of the Narisian camp. King Yuichi is frozen in his spot while his men scatter in fear. Everything seems to be a total blackout for him until King Masuda and King Kazuya’s voice bring him back to reality.

            “YUICHI WATCH OUT!” The two kings both scream as a giant swings its blade at him. He barely evades the blade and he and his men gather themselves to fight.

            They bravely attack the giants with the help of their animals. King Yuichi tries to climb the giant’s body but the giant is too fast. They attack the legs but all their efforts are futile since the giants have tough armors.

            “Yuichi retreat! Call your troops back!” King Masuda screams at King Yuichi through the line. King Yuichi rallies his troops and he tries to find their way off the island. Unknowingly he leads them straight into a closed area.

            “Yuichi turn back there is no way out of that place!” King Kazuya is screaming at the line. Realizing the whole situation King Yuichi bravely faces his foes.

            “This is it men! It’s a no retreat no surrender battle! If we die we die with honor!” he said as he charged towards his unbeatable enemy.

            The Kings watching the whole scene are horrified. King Kazuya leaves his seat abruptly and says.

            “Yuto tell your men to fire at those giants. Stall them until my men reach the island!”

            “Just what exactly are you planning to do Kazuya?!!” King Masuda worriedly asks.

            “I am about to rescue a gorilla.” King Kazuya answers then leaves the room to call his men to battle.

Heiyan Bay, Errusian Warship

            King Kazuya orders his men to prepare and tells one of his soldiers to summon his son the crown prince.

            “We have to rescue the Narisian troops.” He commands his men, for the first time in centuries his subjects looks at him with respect and admiration. The Errusian troops head for battle one battalion at a time. The soldier he has commanded comes back without Inoo.

            “Where is the crown prince?” he asks angrily.

            “Your majesty his highness has refused to join.” The soldier said tremblingly. Furious he heads to the crown prince’s quarters and finds his son in tears in the farthest and coldest area of the room. King Kazuya immediately notices that something is wrong. The whole room is covered in ice which he is extremely shocked to see. He is very careful because he is scared of his son’s fox Erraya the creature seems to have a grudge against him. He takes gingerly steps towards Inoo and realizes that the fox is nowhere in sight.

            “Inoo where is Erraya?” he asks his sobbing son.

            “Gone…left.” Inoo answers while looking as shattered as a broken glass on the floor. King Kazuya understood his son’s pain somehow. Inoo had loved that fox more than anything in the world and losing that fox meant losing the world to the crown prince. He quietly steps out of the room but before he does Inoo asks him why he is not forcing his son to join.

            “You are not in the condition to fight Inoo. You need to heal first.” King Kazuya answers then he steps out of the room. He hears Inoo murmur that the wound will never heal. He puts on a different armor as he boards the ship taking them to the island. His mind is on his son. He fears that Inoo will go suicidal if he is asked to be in battle. He cannot risk losing his strongest elemental master nor can he risk losing his son. He knows that Inoo is his only offspring who is capable of inheriting his throne. His other sons are drone material not really king material, this is a fact he noticed only now.

Winaris, El Hazard

            Queen Taehee sits erect as her hands skillfully plays the zither, as the music rises from the musical instrument the queen listens to the thoughts of the warring leaders in the Heiyan bay. Her daughter Seohyun watches the whole performance with analyzing eyes.

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