The knights' formation shattered like glass. Some fled, their courage broken by the sight of their commander's severed head. Others charged forward in blind rage or desperate duty i welcomed them all with my survival instinct
A knight with a warhammer swung at my head with enough force to shatter stone i stepped into his attack range rather than away, moving so close that his weapon's momentum carried it over my shoulder. Before he could recover, my blade found the gap in his armor at the armpit, sliding through with minimal resistance.
"Fifty," I counted mentally
Knights continued to pour in, seeking my neck. Their coordination suggested years of training together. I dropped to the ground, sweeping my leg in a wide arc that caught one at the ankles. As he fell, I rolled forward, evading the strikes of the other two. Coming up between them, I thrust my blade backward into one's gut while the beads pierced the throat of the other.
"Fifty-one. Fifty-two."
The fallen knight tried to crawl away i ended his retreat with a swift downward strike.
"Fifty-three."
But then a arrow whistled past my ear, close enough that I felt its fletching brush my skin the archer stood at the edge of the battlefield, already nocking another arrow. The beads shot toward him, but a knight intercepted them with his shield and the distraction cost him heavily, and I was already upon him in an instant, driving my blade up under his chin to opposite side of head
"Fifty-four."
At some point I had wondered did the counting held any meaning to me yes, for me yes it did. It showed me a clear path to my survival..it showed me I was alive.. living.. struggling
The archer loosed his second arrow and in that Instant this one found its mark, piercing my shoulder and inflicting pain to me, but I didn't falter, I yanked the arrow out and flicked it aside, my expression remain the same never changing
Five knights formed a wall before me, there shields locked together and behind them, the archer prepared another shot I took a moment to analyze the formation with some calculation, identifying the weak point where two shields met and with a burst of tai energy around my legs, I launched myself at that precise spot, my small size becoming an advantage as I squeezed through the gap
Inside their formation, I was a whirlwind of death my blade carved through unprotected flanks and backs before they could turn the beads worked in concert with my movements, striking at exposed necks and faces of enemies
"Fifty-five. Fifty-six. Fifty-seven. Fifty-eight."
The archer's next arrow grazed my cheek, drawing a line of blood. I locked eyes with him, and that second he fumbled his next arrow,evident of fear in his trembling hands before he could recover, I was standing before him, my blade had already slick with the blood of his comrades
"Please," he begged, dropping his bow. "I have a family."
"So do all I've slain," I replied with striking mercilessly
"Fifty-nine."
A knight on horseback charged toward me, lance couched i waited until the last moment before sidestepping, grabbing the lance as it passed the momentum nearly tore my arm from its socket, but I held on, using the force to swing myself up behind the rider. My blade found the gap between his helmet and backplate
"Sixty."
As the knight fell, I took control of the horse, steering it directly into a group of advancing soldiers. The chaos created by the panicked animal gave me the opening I needed. I leapt from the saddle, landing in their midst with blade already swinging.
Three more fell before they could react.
"Sixty-one. Sixty-two. Sixty-three."
A mage unleashed a fireball that engulfed the area where I stood. I emerged from the flames with minor burns, my tai energy having shielded me from the worst of it. The mage's eyes widened in disbelief as I closed the distance between us in two swift bounds his incantation died on his lips along with his life
"Sixty-four."
The battlefield became a blur of motion and blood each knight that fell added to my tally, yet they kept coming. Despite my skills, their numbers began to tell a sword caught me across the ribs, not deep but painful. A mace glanced off my thigh, leaving a bruise that would have shattered the bone of a normal child
Yet I fought on, despite those injury my movements never slowed and my determination to survive were growing over the kille after i killed and killed the knights began to hesitate, fear replacing there duty in their hearts they had come expecting to fight humans or perhaps monsters not this child who killed with the dispassionate efficiency of a natural disaster rudra was basically a demon for all of them
"Formation! Hold the line!" someone shouted, a voice of authority trying to restore order
I allowed myself a small, cold smile because I refused to die here, refused to let anything stand between me and my survival
A war cry brustout from the knights as a fresh wave charged forward i met them head-on, my blade finding gaps in armor, the beads striking with precision that no human weapon could match. Knights fell one after another, their numbers seemed meaningless now against the purity of maniac
Blood both mine and theirs had soaked the ground, making footing treacherous. My small frame was marked with cuts and bruises, yet none slowed me if anything, the pain only sharpened my focus, reminding me of what was at stake as for my injuries they were healing thank to my healing ability
A particularly skilled knight managed to parry my initial attack, countering with a strike that would have decapitated most of the knights, I bent backward at an feeling the blade buzz past my throat. As I straightened, my own weapon found the inside of his elbow, severing tendons and rendering his arm useless
His scream joined the chorus of the dying as I finished him with a clean thrust through the heart.
"Eighty-one."
"Rudra!" Jaipa called from somewhere behind me. "I will join with you !"
I gave him a glance and ignored him, pressing my attack the knights were breaking now, their formation were dissolving into individual fights fights they couldn't win some began to retreat, throwing down weapons in their haste to escape
I pursued relentlessly, cutting down those who fled with the same efficiency as those who stood their ground survival wasn't merely about defeating the enemy before me it was about ensuring they could never threaten me again
"Ninety. Ninety-five. One hundred."
The battlefield fell silent except for the moans of the dying and the ragged sound of my own breathing i stood amidst the carnage, blood dripping from my blade, my small body somehow dominant amongst the fallen knights
A few survivors knelt in surrender, throwing down their weapons. I regarded them coldly my motive from the start was to kill them. If I didn't, I would die eventually
I turned slightly, keeping the surrendered knights in my peripheral vision. "Not all of them are dead," I stated flatly
"You should rest for a while," Jaipa suggested
I considered his words, then nodded slightly the survivors would spread tales of what happened here of how a single child had decimated their forces. Such stories would serve my purposes just as well as complete annihilation. If the king heard about this, he would send more knights out of rage as I wanted him to
I lowered my blade, allowing the tai energy to recede. Only then did I feel the full extent of my injuries cuts, bruises, and strains that would have incapacitated a normal human. Yet they were already beginning to heal, the enhanced vitality of my tai energy working its subtle magic on my broken body and beside that my healing ability was also working it's magic
"Gather what we need," I told Jaipa
"Shouldn't you rest first?" he asked, eyeing my wounds with concern
"The survivors will bring reinforcements," he said. "You should take a little rest until then."
I couldn't blame him for not being able to help me it had to be my battle, my own survival battle. By fighting these knights, there were many benefits I could grasp, but the most precious thing I was gaining from this fight was the unattainable experience for a kid like me
I cast a glance at the battlefield, at the bodies of knights
I wiped my blade clean on a fallen knight's cloak and sheathed it. The beads returned to orbit silently around me, their surfaces now clean of blood despite the carnage they had wrought
"One hundred and twenty-seven," I murmured, finalizing my count "Not bad for a start ! "
Before I could even rest for a second, I heard a sound of thuds countless thuds. My eyes widened as I looked past the fallen bodies of a hundred knights
"Now I think ! the king is getting serious about his revenge," I muttered to Jaipa
"Jaipa!"
"Ha?"
"Drag all of the fallen bodies to the well."
Saying that, I swung my clean blade at the ground and took steps toward the knights heading toward me
"Hey... hey... wait! What do you think you are you doing?" Jaipa asked with a concerned expression on his face
Looking at his face, I felt something like relief, for some reasons that remained unknown
"I need to fight!"
"FIGHT? HA!"
I blinked twice, agreeing on my words and shook my head
"What does that mean?....Are you serious about that?"
Again I shook my head.
"Can you quit doing that? Answer me!"jaipa said that in irritated voice
"I need to fight... fight for us to live "
Saying that, I took a step forward, but suddenly Jaipa screamed from behind me
"YOU BRAT! What do you think of yourself
as ? "
" The most beautiful boy you would ever
see ! " I said, shaking my head to myself
Jaipa raised his head to take a proper look ahead of him
"Hahaha," he laughed. "I was right this kid is a indeed a maniac!"
The reason behind Jaipa's laughter was simple as far as his eyes could see, he could only see knights and more knights. If he had to guess, there should be around five thousand knights surrounding them Looking at Rudra, he laughed again
"My... my... what did I even get myself dragged into ? "