Further Beyond: Ascension

Solsday, 5th of Maia, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

Gregory stood upon the platform watchtower of his encampment with severe dread at what he saw. Though the darkness of the night had completely set in, the moving shadows and roving torches clearly showed that hundreds of men were approaching the camp. Gregory couldn't quite see the symbol on the banners that the army was carrying but he couldn't help but gawk when he noticed the a hundred warriors mounted upon large tigers.

What was even more shocking to him was the fact that these mounted warriors were armed in clear western-style sets of full-plate armour and burgonets. He wasn't aware of any force among the native Hallack capable of funding such a force but when he looked to his side, he could only see a look of awe in Lasta's eyes.

"...They are the warriors of the great Hulubalang!" Lasta said as a slight tinge of excitement could be heard though it quickly died down when she saw Gregory's confused expression "...They are the warriors of Goria."

Gregory couldn't help but widen his eyes even more. Now that was a name he indeed remembered. The Kingdom of Goria was said to be the most powerful state among all the Hallack kingdoms. Without him having any control of it, his heart was thumping rapidly within his chest. This was it. A force of half a thousand men were approaching his encampment and when he looked back at his own camp, they had barely even eighty men in total left.

The color from his face must've left him as he suddenly felt weak on his knees as his stance became wobbly, only being prevented from falling by Lasta who had helped hold him up. For all that mattered, he was a dead man and there would be no way in hell for him to win this and so the only option left to him would be to escape the situation completely. But even then, it was far easier said than done.

The Hallack had enough men to completely surround the encampment and prevent anyone from leaving but that was only if they were given enough time to do so. Right now, the Hallack were still some distance away and if he were to make a run for it, he might just be able to get away safely. But doing so would require him to just straight up abandon his men and that would leave a bitter taste in his mouth.

As the Hallack army came ever closer, Gregory couldn't help but shake his head before he turned around to face his men. He could see the bandits who had been the terror of so many innocent folk now stood with expressions of despair and hopelessness. It was an expression they were all too used to seeing on their victims but could seldom bare the full weight themselves. Perhaps there was a God somewhere up there like what the priests would say and that this truly was their time to be brought to injustice. Regardless, it was at times like this where hard decisions had to be made and with that in mind, Gregory wasted no further time to speak to his men.

"Boys, I'll be completely honest with the lot of you!" Gregory pointed behind him towards the approaching army "Over there be hundreds of Hallack warriors, all armed in armor better than you'd see on any colonial officer and needless to say, all filled with righteous indignation to end our sorry arses right here and now! It doesn't take a military genius to conclude that each and everyone of us would be so thoroughly fucked if we even dared to fight the savages!"

Gregory couldn't help but present what to him was the unabashed truth of their situation. Some of his men had absolutely horrid expressions, but not a single one of them dared to challenge his statements. Well it was an obviously forgone conclusion even to a child. Suffice it to say, Gregory's more realistic approach to the situation did little to heighten anyone's spirits, in fact having much of the opposite effect. It was then that Gregory had decided to continue with the conclusion of his words.

"And it's because of all these reasons that we have no choice but to make our way swiftly back to Palmerton and maybe from there, with the help of my brother, we'd be able to launch a counter offensive against the Hallack or at the very least mount a proper defense…" Gregory had looked back a few times while he was talking to gauge how close or far the approaching army was "Now, we have a limited amount of horses with us left so I need you all to work together with me here! The weaker among you will take the horses while the aura warriors will form the rearguard to help stave off the enemies for our escape-!!"

As soon as Gregory had started devising a plan of escape to ensure the majority of the men would be able to retreat unharmed, pandemonium erupted once more.

"Out of my way, weak bastards!!" A voice of an aura warrior shouted from the crowd as he shoved away the other bandits close to him before making a beeline towards the horses. This lone action had sparked a cascading chain reaction as all semblance of discipline had broken down within the camp. It was every man for himself.

"Oy, you can't just decide that on your own-!! Arrrghh!!" A bandit had been cut down by his own comrade the moment he was about to prevent the aura warriors from taking the horses. Almost a dozen bandits were killed by their own men due to the disaster regarding the horses.

Gregory couldn't help but drop down to his knees at the sight of the chaos as Lasta could only kneel beside him to provide a miniscule amount of comfort.

"FUCKING TRAITOROUS IDIOTS!!" Gregory had smashed his fist to the platform, punching a hole through the wood with his aura at the breakdown of command but no one bothered to heed him anymore. The fools would rather try and make an escape of their own with little chances of success instead of risking the slightest chance of self-sacrifice. Well, in all honesty, he didn't know what he could expect from a bunch of murderous, thieving, cutthroats. There truly was no honour among thieves.

Soon enough, the twenty horses that were left at the fort - including his own - had been taken and the men were charging towards the gates. Some of the bandits who did not manage to take their own horses tried to bar the gates to prevent the horsemen from escaping but it proved futile as the mounted bandits had used their aura to stampede through the dismounted ones. The gate to the encampment had been broken by the combined auras of the horsemen as they rode out of the encampment and immediately made a turn towards the opposite of the approaching army.

However, Gregory couldn't believe what he saw happened next. As soon as most of the horsemen had made it out of the gates, dozens of fireballs had emerged from the Hallack army, bombarding the horsemen without mercy. Following the hail of fire blasts, dozens of the tiger-riding cuirassed warriors had charged out at breakneck speed from the formation, quickly shortening the distance between them and the horsemen in what seemed to be but a mere moment.

Many of the horsemen who had been bombarded by the fireblasts were now laying dead on the ground with their horses with only the smell of burnt flesh and charred corpses to show for their earlier bravado. Those bandits who had managed to withstand the onslaught with their auras were disoriented as their mounts hesitated to move through the fiery environment. However, it didn't take long for the tiger-warriors to come close to the survivors before they presented their pistols and fired upon the horsemen, killing all the dozen of them in that instant. The accuracy shown by these warriors was no joke especially considering it was during the night and only the flames on the ground from the previous attack provided any sort of lighting.

Gregory was half a mind to order some of his own gunners to shoot the warriors that were in range, but the fact that morale of the men he had left was at rock-bottom, it didn't seem feasible. The tiger-warriors were also quite impressive in their maneuvering as they had quickly turned around and made their escape out of range of the encampment's gunners. Well, even if they remained within range, he doubted his men's capabilities of shooting accurately in dark environments like this.

The enemy mages from a distance also looked like they were preparing to unleash another hellish barrage upon the encampment. Considering how it was mostly made out of wood and cloth for the tents, another barrage like that one would incinerate the encampment, no questions about it. It was at times like these that the lack of a battle mage was fully felt. There was no one among the bandits there who could cast defensive spells or runes but that wasn't at all surprising. Palmerton barely had half a dozen mages in total under its wing and with how his brother was like, it would've been unlikely for George to provide even a single one of them to him for this mission. Gregory could only curse his misfortune.

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Gregory shook his head at the utter hopelessness of the situation. He remained kneeling on the ground as he could only gawk at the onslaught as the rest of the Hallack army had also picked up their pace and were now well on their way to completely surround the fort. Their fates were sealed. They were going to die in that place.

As Gregory was wallowing in despair, an older-looking man among the bandits had walked up towards Gregory and placed a hand on his shoulder. He was followed by other more stoic-looking warriors among their army. When Gregory looked up, he could see his friend Ambrose giving him a difficult smile. He and half a dozen other men were who Gregory had picked as his bodyguard unit as they were among the original deserters from the Newlander army and thus more disciplined than the common rabble.

"It's been an honor to serve besides you, Greg." Ambrose said with a slight chuckle. Unlike the rest of the men behind him who were still shaking despite apparently resigning to their fates, the older bandit looked somewhat serene in his bearings. "If I had the choice of who I would die next to, among all the bastards in our Godforsaken group, it would most definitely be you."

Gregory had stood back up as he held his comrades hand on his shoulder. He didn't know if it was because of the loyalty that Ambrose had shown throughout all this time or if it was because of the precarious situation he was currently facing but Gregory could feel his eyes shaking as his mouth wobbled. He was holding back tears and he could feel it. It might actually really be their last day alive on Orbis.

"You look very calm for a man who's about to die, hahaha…" Gregory was forcing a laugh but he couldn't help but let his tears start to trickle down from his eyes.

"What even is a life like this anymore? Constantly on the run, making my bed with treacherous cowards… The sins I've done and committed. I know you aren't much of a believer, Greg, but I've been talking with Father Hazelby and… facing death from these mortal pyres is much preferable a punishment to burning for eternity in hell. I've made my peace before we set out. I didn't know what it was but I just had a feeling."

"...Aye, I know what you mean…" Gregory inexplicably felt calm after hearing that. He didn't know why but Ambrose wasn't wrong. Say they had managed to escape back to Palmerton, then what? Try to withstand a siege from there? Against a force like the one they were facing at that moment, it was just prolonging the inevitable. Might as well die today on his own terms. Based on everything that's happened, he deserved as much.

Soon after, the second barrage had come as most of the fireballs were aimed towards the palisade walls. A few fireballs were also headed towards the platform they were on, but Gregory managed to unsheathe his sword and exert enough of his aura to disperse the flames somewhat though a few embers caught on to some of the railings. The flames were quite powerful and must've been casted by mages at least of the third or fourth circle because even with his aura, Gregory had felt it.

"Hm, not quite ready for death yet are we?" Ambrose quipped as he stood with his arms behind his back.

Gregory could only scratch his head and laugh. It was a reflex to be sure, but despite what his heart was saying, his mind still had that much will to live left. But it was just a fleeting feeling. There was no way less than fifty men would be able to withstand an army as professional as the Hallack's. With all that in his mind, and with his eyes still trained on the army that was already poised to end them, Gregory couldn't anticipate the slap Lasta had given him.

With a loud *plop* Lasta's palm had cleanly greeted Gregory's left cheek. Gregory couldn't even muster the words to question her before he noticed the fierce look in her eyes.

"Are you all stupid or what?!" Lasta shouted, something that the men their found surprising as they've never heard her raise her voice like that. "You are all talking like madmen! If you don't want to fight, then don't!"

Immediately, the Hallack girl tore off the plain white shirt she was wearing and broke off a plank from one of the railings before she started tying her shirt on to the plank. The now topless girl then proceeded to grab one of the charred pieces of wood and drew a circle with a cross on top of it upon the white shirt - the symbol of the Halak church. After doing all that, like a maniac, she began to frantically wave the flag while shouting at the top of her lungs.

"DAME MA DI HAMU!! MARHITEHITE GOARNI DEBATA SITOLUSADA!! (Peace be with you in the name of the Triune God!)" Lasta shouted without tiring, with only a simple strip of cloth wrapping around her chest which did little to deter her from shouting. "HORAS JALA GABE MA DI ANGKA RAJANAMI!! (Peace and prosperity to our kings!) DAME MA DI HAMU!"

As Lasta started shouting, Gregory noticed the Hallack army also started to quiet down as the mages who looked like they were about to launch another strike were now merely standing at the ready. Gregory didn't quite understand what she was shouting, but he could pick up a couple of words and understood she was receiving the incoming army.

In order to protect her dignity in front of the enemy, Gregory had taken off his dark blue Newlander Republic officer's coat and placed it over Lasta before he yanked the white makeshift flag from her arms and started waving it in her stead.

"WE SURRENDER!!! OYYY!!" Gregory started shouting in Feldonian. He didn't know whether or not the Hallack understood him, but he didn't care. To make Lasta do all of that while the men only gawked was shameful and he couldn't bear to have her do that. "WE SURRENDER!! HORACE ZHALLA GAHBEYY!!"

At this point Gregory was only screaming at the top of his lungs trying his best to repeat the words Lasta was saying. He must've been doing something right, because not long after, laughter and cheers could be heard from the Hallack army along with the roars of their tigers.

"Oy you bastards! Drop your weapons and get on your knees outside the gates! Hands on the back of your heads! If you want to live, do as I say!" Gregory shouted at his men vigorously before he got down from the platform and headed out the encampment's gates followed by his men. All the while he was still vigorously waving the flag made of Lasta's shirt.

Soon enough, all the surviving bandits had exited the fort and just as Gregory had instructed, they all knelt willingly and placed their hands on the backs of their heads as a sign of surrender. It was a humiliating thing to be sure, but compared to being cooked alive by angry native mages, it was much preferable.

At the sight of their surrender, the Hallack army had continued to march towards them in a disciplined manner. At first Gregory was worried that the Hallack would disregard their surrender and kill them, but riding a tiger near the front lines and next to what he assumed were the leaders of the army was a Native Hallack wearing the garbs of a Protestant priest holding a banner with a symbol similar to the one Lasta had drawn on her shirt. A white banner with a black circle and a cross on top of it. Below the symbol, he could see letters written in the Latin script below it, spelling the initials 'H K H P'.

As the army was slowly marching towards them, the priest had led the warriors in song. However, Gregory couldn't help but be amazed at what he was witnessing. Even though he knew that they were fierce warriors, one would be forgiven for thinking they were choir singers dressed as soldiers because their voices sounded better than any other choir he had heard up to that point in his life. Even his flag-waving started to slow down as he found himself enjoying the song.

"~Na ro Pandaoni Bolon i!! (The Great Physician now is near!)" The young priest sang in a loud yet melodic tone.

"~I ma Tuhanta Jesus!! (He is our Great Lord Jesus!)" The warriors responded in a way where they had automatically divided their voices like a choir to sing in complete harmony.

"~Di daoni na marsahit i!! (He heals the weary and the ill!)"

At first, Gregory didn't know what they were singing, but the melody sounded very familiar to him. Soon enough, Lasta had started singing along as she too had dropped to her knees and wrapped her hands as if in prayer as Gregory could see tears forming in her eyes as she sang, "~Hisar dibahen Jesus!! (Made clean by Mighty Jesus!)"

And when the refrain hit, Gregory finally recognised the hymn that was being sung as even Ambrose was singing it albeit in Feldonian.

"~Uli ni Barita i! Las ni Roha Bolon i! O, Sai dipuji rohangki! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! (Oh how wonderful the news! Greatest joy that fills my heart! Let my heart be filled with praise! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!)."

As the song ceased to be sung, the army had stopped just dozens of feet away before what looked to be the leaders of the army rode forth to treat with the bandits. Gregory could only give a silent prayer in his heart that things could turn out better than he expected. If there truly was a God out there, may He have mercy on a poor sinner like him.