Further Beyond: Ascension

Tynesday, 7th of Maia, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

One of the bandits who were on the carpet had tried to strike out against the Halak warriors as he screamed while trying to charge at Gregory. Josias saw this and immediately rushed towards the bandit, using his aura to sweep the bandit's legs before stomping on his throat. The bandit seemed to be a second star aura warrior, but seemed older and bloated, not bothering to train his aura so Josias had easily overpowered the scum and killed him in the process.

Josias was still quite unused to the act of taking a life, but at least, this time wasn't as messy as the first as the bandit had suffocated from a crushed throat and it wasn't as gruesome as a slit one. Well, besides the bulging eyes that is. And the severely damaged blood vessels. And the wheezing and exasperation before death. Nevermind, any sort of killing was still a gruesome business.

At the same time, Josias could see Lords Mardomu and Ronggur step into the carpet area and on their own easily dispatched the remaining half a dozen bandits with only their bare hands and aura. Lord Mardomu's affinity with wind made him a green flash while Lord Ronggur's affinity with lighting made him equally as fast, striking the bandits down with literally thunderous swings of his arms that looked like lightning sparks.

The naked women in the hall - who couldn't afford to dress themselves with all the uproar that the warriors had caused - couldn't help but tremble while embracing one another in panic. Some of them even started crying while others even had their bladder break with all the killing that was happening.

Sadrach had immediately rushed in to settle the situation and announce to the girls - who were mostly Halak - that they meant no harm to them. "Unang ho mabiar, ale akka boru ni halak na hinaholongan! ( Don't be afraid, O beloved daughters of the Halak!)" Sadrach shouted as he cupped his hands over his mouth to strengthen his voice "We are warriors sent to you by the Gracious King of Hutangali and the Great Hulubalang of Goria to free you from your foreign oppressors! Stay calm and no harm would come upon you in the name of the King and of the Blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!"

As soon as Sadrach had announced that, many of the girls and women had started to calm down but some still remained somewhat inconsolable, but that was to be expected. Sir Ambrose had induced most of the armed bandit guards to surrender their weapons and at this point, it was safe to assume that the king's hall had been secured and was well within the control of their forces.

"There are some more weapons and armor in George's armory on the second level! If you want to arm yourselves more, follow me!" Sir Ambrose had called out to which Lord Ronggur nodded as he led several warriors to follow suit.

Lord Mardomu had quickly gone to the iron cage where the priest was being held captive and with a powerful swipe from a dagger he had picked up from one of the bandit corpses, he had opened the cage and freed the priest.

The surrendered and unarmed bandit guards chose to sit down on the ground as they let the Halak warriors and the defectors secure the perimeter. It was apparent that they had little actual loyalty to the bandit king and that the moment their safety was guaranteed in a surrender, they had chosen to lay down their arms. It was a reasonable choice, all things considered though. Josias couldn't sense the slightest bit of aura from most of the guards and while if they ganged up on a single aura warrior, they might have been able to win somehow, in the current situation, they had no chance in hell.

Speaking of the bandit king, he was the only remaining hostile element left within the building. Struggling as he might against the hold of Josias' father, the gap between a fifth star aura warrior and the tier previous to it was far larger than any of the previous gaps between levels. There was no hope for a fourth star warrior to try and overpower a fifth star unless their opponent was severely injured or were exhausted.

If the bandit king were to be killed then and there, the struggle would be completely over. However, it's already been a few minutes and the bandit king George was still struggling. Josias doubted it was because of some form of ability of his and concluded instead that his father was deliberately avoiding killing the bandit outright. Regardless, Josias didn't think too much about it. His own task there was to secure the perimeter and that was what he was going to do. Anything else was the problem of his elders to deal with unless he was specifically ordered otherwise.

***

"B-brother…!! Look-..!! LOOK AT ME!! *gasp*... Arghhh!!" Try as he might, George wasn't getting out of the Halak lord's hold upon his neck. All this time, even while struggling, he implored Gregory to help him. "Are.. y-you! Hah!! Are you.. Going to.. Let these SAVAGES!! K-k-kill me..?!!"

In his heart, Gregory knew what was to be done to his elder brother. Even if they somehow managed to escape, what place would take them in? They would no longer have a solid power base, they would be wanted in several realms, and they'd be back where they were at the moment of George's first arrest. This had to stop, and Gregory had to steel himself.

"...Lord Parulian, if I may ask but one final clemency for my brother…" Gregory finally gathered the courage to speak, no matter how much his hands were shaking and his body was trembling - both from the sheer emotion and from the amount of aura that the Halak warrior was exuding from his body. "Please don't torture him any further… and just end his life quickly!"

At Gregory's request, George's face whitened instantly as it seemed to have dawned on him that Gregory wasn't willing to help him. In that same instant, George had seemed to have stopped struggling against the hand that was choking him as he gave one final sigh before once more turning to his brother. "...End of the road, huh…? Pfft… I only earned myself… another year!! Hahahaah!!"

His brother seemed to have gone mad as he was laughing while being choked. Finally, George bellowed out as he spat and unleashed what looked to be the entirety of his aura. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, SAVAGE?!! KILL ME NOW!!!"

Just as George was intent to go down in a final blaze of glory and defiance as he looked intent on exuding as much of his energy as possible to at least damage Lord Parulian, the Halak warrior only shook his head and gave him a smirk.

"Fool. I'm not going to kill you." Lord Parulian said derisively as he unleashed even more of his aura to quiet down the volatile bandit. "No, that prerogative belongs to the King of this realm whom you have done much damage to."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Wait… what…??" George couldn't help but ask exasperatedly as sweat was pouring profusely down his face after exerting all that energy for a futile last attempt to damage Lord Parulian.

"It's exactly as I said. Your life will be in the hands of the king of Hutangali. But, in order for us to have a safe trial, we must of course make sure that you won't be a threat to anyone." Lord Parulian gave a cheeky grin before he called out to Lord Mardomu. "Oi, Domu! Tasega mualna! (Oy, Domu! Let's break his core!)."

Right after Lord Parulian had called out to Lord Mardomu, the other five star warrior had jumped over from his position several feet away in a gust of wind before placing his palm on where George's heart would be from the back. At the same time, mana was gathered in Lord Parulian's hand as well before he slammed it to the front of George's chest where his heart would be.

The combined power of these two warriors caused George to writhe in pain as their elemental auras visibly focused in on his 'aura core', the innate center where a warrior's aura essence was stored. Gregory had seen a core-breaking a few times before, mostly done by the republic against criminals of high political value to neutralise them as a threat without killing them. It was a useful tool indeed and had several methods on how it could be done. One of the most common methods would be overflowing the core externally, thus breaking it. And it was that particular method that Lord Parulian and Lord Mardomu were using at that moment against George.

George had begun convulsing as if he was experiencing a seizure. His eyes went white while glowing vein-like patterns started to appear on his body. Soon enough, the light had dimmed and eventually faded from him as his body stopped convulsing. Lord Parulian had quickly thrown George to the ground as if he was a piece of garbage. Gregory could only gulp as he approached to see whether or not his brother was still alive.

After a few moments of waiting, George had given a weak gasp as he had a dull gaze towards him. This gaze sharpened however when he saw Gregory who was now looking over him. If looks could kill, George would have committed fratricide a thousand times over. If it weren't for the pain of his now weakened body and destroyed core, George would have most definitely strangled Gregory in spite.

The area of his chest where his mana-core was located now had a large distinctively burnt-looking scar. Gregory didn't know whether or not a broken or destroyed core could be repaired or healed, but from what he had gathered thus far from asking people, the answer was a resounding no. And with his core destroyed, George wouldn't be much of a threat to anyone anymore. Though, Gregory still believed he'd be executed soon enough. It didn't make sense to leave a notoriously unrepentant criminal like him alive especially when he no longer had any use both martially or politically.

As Gregory was mulling over his brother, returning George's hostile gaze with his own look full of regret, he noticed a hand laid on his shoulder. Lord Parulian had placed his hand on Gregory's shoulder with a consoling look.

"This must be hard on you. While I can't say anything to ease the pain, I empathise with you, Lord Gregory. Losing a brother is…" Lord Parulian looked like he was about to say something but he stopped himself before shaking his head, smiling, and patting Gregory's shoulder as he moved on to give the warriors in the room their orders. "Josias! Hese! You two guard the bandit trash. Stand him straight. I want him to see his legacy crumbling beneath him with his own two eyes."

With Lord Parulian's command, Josias and Hesekiel immediately complied as they picked George up and held their weapons close. Soon after, Ambrose and the warriors that had left to loot George's armoury had returned with an assortment of all sorts of weapons. They distributed sabres, spears, and even muskets among the warriors there.

Loud, frantic bangs could be heard from the main doors of the Great Hall from the outside. It would seem that the remaining bandits who were outside the gates had already gathered. The doors shook as it was apparently being rammed from the outside. Many of the Halak warriors began throwing their weight to the doors to prevent the bandits from entering.

"Men, prepare to open the gates!" Lord Parulian said as he was about to gather his aura once more to face the bandits outside of the king's hall.

"Wait, my lord! I have a better idea!" Gregory said as he caught the Halak warrior's attention. "Fighting those men outright would risk harming them especially if you unleash your aura. I suggest we go to the balcony on the second level and address them from there while you present my brother towards the men! I'll try my best to assuage their discontent."

Lord Parulian exchanged glances with his lieutenants before nodding to Gregory's suggestion. Hurriedly, they made their way to the stairs unto the second level before finally arriving at the doors to the balcony. When they got there, Parulian had kicked the doors in, letting the light of the afternoon sun shine through inside the hall. Once they had set foot on the balcony, the situation and commotion outside the halls came into full view.

Hundreds of the bandit soldiers were already gathered outside the halls with a dozen or so of them carrying a large log and using it as a battering ram. Coordinating the attack below were the rest of the Newlander Army veterans that were not yet aware of the situation that had transpired inside the gate, including Henry.

Lord Parulian finally spent another significant portion of his aura to unleash it against the bandits and push them back just enough to startle them but not do any significant damage to them. Finally, when things started to quiet down as the men below were struck by confusion, Lord Parulian looked over to Gregory as he nodded.

Gregory and Ambrose rushed to the edge of the balcony next to Lord Parulian followed by Josias and Hesekiel who were dragging the now exhausted and limping George with them. With a loud voice, Gregory had caught the attention of the bandits and his former comrades below. He gathered the energy within his body to enhance and strengthen his voice before he shouted, "STAND DOWN MEN! STAND DOWN!!"

The rowdy bandits looked like they were thrown into more confusion when they spotted him upon the balcony with strangers holding his brother hostage. In the midst of this - where the bandits were starting to murmur amongst each other - three of the former veterans had come forward, representing the rest of the bandits.

"What's the meaning of this, lieutenant?!!" One of the veterans shouted "Why are you standing there with the native savages?!"

"Has he betrayed us? What's going on?!" Another of the veterans asked in confusion.

Finally it was only Henry left who'd placed his hands on the two other veteran's shoulders. "Both Ambrose and the lieutenant are up there… We should at least hear them out… What say you, Greg?! What's the meaning of all this madness?!"

Just as Gregory was about to start, from afar, the sound of warhorns could be heard and from the hall's balcony, he could see the main Halak army had arrived in all their fanfare. Half a thousand warriors, dozens of which upon fierce tiger beasts and armed in that distinctive blackened full-plate armour, and carrying all of those imposingly gaudy banners.

The great hall being upon a mound, many of the bandits could also look back and their expressions betrayed the feeling of horror that they were experiencing when they saw the army approaching. Even the veterans couldn't do much but gawk.

As this was happening, Gregory had quickly mentally adjusted the long-winded speech that he was preparing in his mind and instead opted to solemnly proclaim these words instead. "THE FREE KINGDOM OF PALMERTON….IS NO MORE!! LONG LIVE THE KING OF HUTANGALI!!"

When Gregory had finally said that, his former veteran comrades looked like they had finally understood the situation. Most of the rowdy bandit group had also lost their luster as they saw the Halak army approaching. Many of them even started to drop their weapons, unwilling to engage in a futile struggle. Finally, Gregory could see Henry looking up towards the balcony to the people there before he voiced out what all the other bandits could only be thinking about.

"We surrender, unconditionally!!" Henry said as he dropped his sabre before slumping down in exasperation.

Gregory could only nod before he gave a quick glance to his captured brother who couldn't have had a more crestfallen expression on his face. The final nail had been hammered into the coffin. Their bandit kingdom has fallen.