NOVEL NEXT Chapter 104: Sacrifice
The lone myriad soldier rushed into danger himself. The myriad family was cornered, with some having gashes and visible wounds that were already bleeding. Their cries echoed through the streets, which finally alerted the other fellow myriads.
Horror ran through their expressions; fear and anxiety gripped their hearts as they watched silently and hopelessly what was about to transpire. They gnashed their teeth in anticipation, with some moving their heads away in shame and continuing on with their current battles.
With anger and regret, they pushed forward. They knew—they all knew what was about to happen, but they could not do anything about it. After all, if they moved from their spots, then that would mean certain death. For them, they did not want to be heroes; what they had done was already enough and praiseworthy.
They could not possibly hope to save everybody. Unfortunately, their position was disadvantageous; they too were at a disadvantage as time passed by. Their numbers did not increase, but the ghouls were right here on their very base, which meant they could call reinforcements whenever they wanted.
What they were fighting now was nothing but a mere punitive force, a scouting force within their army ranks. They could not possibly think to overwhelm such creatures; it was just not possible, and with each passing moment, their forces only served to grow.
With each fallen myriad, rose another ghoul to fight in their ranks. A clear problem—hence the desperation and struggle they were currently experiencing. Even so, their hearts ached at the thought of not being able to save more, but then again, their lives were more important.
After all, they had families back in their homes, who may or may not think that they were no longer of this world—mere food, dust in the canals of history itself.
Fortunately for everybody, a lone myriad emerged from the shadows with a blade in hand and an unyielding will. The myriad's bravery elicited approval and nods, and once again they could finally sigh a breath of relief and continue on with their struggle for survival.
The lone myriad, who had taken it upon himself to move forward, dashed through the streets, with other myriads taking his path into consideration and pushing their battles out of his way, so that he would be able to proceed much more smoothly.
In his peripheral vision, a ghoul moved forth toward him in order to block his way. However, he did not have the time for such things, and so, with a twist of his ankle, he moved to the side and leaped toward some wooden obstacles, and with a flail of his hands, swiftly maneuvered over the area, effectively bypassing the ghoul that blocked him.
Unfortunately, he was not able to save much time, but if he had fought the ghoul, he would have significantly lost more time. Thus, he gritted his teeth and moved forward. The ghoul he avoided, meanwhile, gnashed its rotten, toothless mouth and chased after the myriad that dared to bypass it.
With sweat dripping down his forehead, he raised his free hand and wiped it off, which, unfortunately, stung his eyes a bit, as a drop of sweat got into his eye. It felt painful, but duty stood, so he forced it open as tears started to climb out and fall to the ground.
Closer and closer he moved with quick-paced steps, yet, in a single moment, he almost faltered, but was then filled with anger, desperation, and anxiety. The ghouls moved tightly closer with spears in their hands; they moved into formation and were about to stake the entire family from all directions.
With rapidly beating heart and haggard breathing, he let out a final explosive strength and pushed himself to his very limits. The pace quickened into giant leaps, and with force of a mountain, with a single miracle that no one would have thought possible.
Before the ghouls were even able to push their spears, he arrived at the center and pushed the family, who were unable to move as fear gripped every fiber of their being. They were pushed out of the way and thrown far to the sides.
Then, the inevitable happened. In the vision of the young myriad from the family, his vision was struck with pure whiteness, as a figure emerged before him, that was then stabbed on all sides by the ghouls.
The ghouls then removed their spears, which, from the myriad, overflowed with blood and gushed out like rain from his body, to the traumatized vision of the young myriad, who was now frozen in disbelief.
Fortunately, the myriad's sacrifice bore fruit as the family snapped; the father grabbed the traumatized child and pulled the mother back and dashed out of harm's way. The ghoulish formation gave chase but was then stopped by a hastily newly formed formation of myriads who witnessed everything but were unable to help in time.
The myriads were struck with grief, as the brave hero, who sacrificed his life, lay down lifeless in his own pool of blood on the ground. They were gripped with rage and vengeance at the outcome of the battle. They could not accept it, but the truth always seemed to hurt.
They firmly held their swords and shields, tightly nocked bows, and had a deep fire of anger in their eyes. The ghouls witnessed everything and mocked them. They desecrated the fallen myriad by stomping all over his body, and with laughter that seemed to defy any form of definition of insanity.
Witnessing the desecration of their comrade-in-arms pushed the myriad formation to the edge, but the strategist scholar who rallied stopped them. He knew that it was a ghoulish tactic, and they were intimidating and mocking them, so that they would be forced to attack, and then taking advantage of their emotional outburst to launch a coordinated counter.
It was indeed a terrifying tactic that took into consideration their mental state and wellbeing. It was a testament to just how smart and intelligent these ghouls were.