GAMBIT 19 19| Begin

The archers stay on the edges, shooting arrows to pierce the brains of ogres and trolls. Catapults and Trebuchet launch burning metallic spheres towards the enemies. p.a.w.ns like Quartz run with their bare feet, slaughtering those who come across their paths.

As for the pillars leaders, with might and courage, they try their best to help the Phoenix take down the serpent which killed thousands of men and children.

The king and queen also have their respective tasks, and that is to help their army to defeat Vladimir's men. From the hillside, Balthasar Bluemagic can be seen attacking the foes in a peculiar manner.

If the others use brute force, Balthasar uses sorcery. However, he is aware he isn't only the one who could use sorcery.

A witch's laughter suddenly enters Balthasar's ears. He then reacts quickly and looks to the sky only to see Thalia Blackmagic heading towards him. Witchcraft and Wizardry, who would triumph?

"It's been a long time Thalia!" Balthasar greets and points his staff to the witch. It then emits a blue thunder heading towards Thalia. However, it was immediately countered after Thalia's broomstick emits a red thunder.

The two thunders collide, causing the witch and the wise old man to blast off from each other. Returning to the battlefield, the Phoenix and the Serpent start to a.s.sault one another.

The Phoenix spews out a crimson flare and sends it towards the foe although after the attack settled, the serpent can be seen, not having any scars or scratches on it.

u003cBwargh!u003e The snake starts to yell as it dives deep into the Earth's crust. Who knows where it could appear next.

"Yes!" Quartz beams with ecstasy after slaying an opponent's arm from behind. However, the opponent looks behind and stares at the young man. His arm starts to regenerate, giving Quartz an incredibly frightened look.

"You're a hex." Slowly, the young man steps back but the hex continues to advance with his dagger pointing towards Quartz.

Knowing, that the hex can regenerate their limbs, Quartz still decides to chop off the hex's leg to buy him some time to run as the leg regenerates.

On the other corner of the battlefield, Vladimir could be seen, slaying the heads of Pureheart's men in one slash of the sword. He does not even fear the hippogriffs dashing to him.

The stone golems start to attack by throwing large boulders to the heads of ogres and trolls. Centaurs, also help out in the battlefield by lancing the bodies of the foes with either their horns or swords.

"Ah! Run!" Harold shouts after frustrating a large ogre which begins to chase him. He tries to alert Quartz who appears to be in front of their path.

Quartz tilts his head and his mind reacts swiftly. If he remembers correctly, striking the head is the best opportunity but the ogre is too tall for Quartz to reach its head.

He then decides to dash to Harold's direction and aims for the legs instead. In that way, he does not only outmaneuver the ogre but prohibits it from running.

After losing balance, the ogre drops to the ground, giving Harold the opportunity to slaughter its head. A perfect ill.u.s.tration of teamwork.

From the soil, the serpent rises once more, tossing all the nearby men including its own allies. Behind, the princess tries to cut off the tail but it only gathered the serpent's attention.

u003cBwargh!u003eThe snake cries and glares to the princess gasping for air. For a moment, the two look at each other, not minding the siege taking place. It is like time has paused for a while.

Steadily, Jupiter steps back while keeping eye contact with the beast. Without hesitation, the serpent opens its mouth causing Jupiter to smell its foul breath. The breath of dead men.

The Serpent's saliva then drools off, as its mouth craves for the princess. Jupiter loses balance and drops to the ground. She then closes her eyes and covers herself with her bare hands.

When all hope seems lost, a stone golem sacrificed itself by going to the serpent's mouth in order to give the princess a chance to run.

On the northern reaches of the battlefield, the Pillars of Witherstone can be seen. Morgan Storm suffocates her foes by transforming into a smog.

Wulfric Frost brings malice to his opponents by piercing their hearts with his claws. As for Dragoncult, with the use of his reaper, he slaughters the neck of every enemy.

And lastly, Charles Gunner. The man who can transform into a griffin. He fights by choking sentinels with its long and slippery tongue. Sometimes, he would kill them with the use of his horns or daggers.

The fight enrages for more than an hour and Quartz is doing quite well in his first match. With Harold by his side, they slay down ogres and trolls and keep out of the hexes sights.

Although, the past repeats itself and Felix is left with no choice but to retreat with his men. Once again, the serpent finished one half of the army and the young man is lucky not to belong to that one half.

Night falls, and Pureheart surrenders due to the lack of soldiers. The mission has come to a blunder, and Waeldestone has fallen to the opposing kingdom, leaving Pureheart in a Zugzw.a.n.g position.

"Wait, we surrendered?" Quartz queries in shock after seeing the king and his white flag flapping across the battlefield.

"Yeah, tell me how it goes with a pack of b.l.o.o.d.y monsters who can regenerate their bodies, a large serpent, and obese trolls," Kingston replies in a sarcastic manner.

"You have a point." Quartz agrees and tilts his head back to Vladimir one last time before leaving. He hasn't avenged the town, but surely one day he will.

"The serpent must have a weakness, but what and where?" While walking back to the camp, the young man's mind remains unrest. He thought of the enemies he saw today and tried to study the strategies they used in hopes of countering it in future sieges.

"Father, Vladimir has taken another town." Jupiter's horse gallops to the side of his father's horse. She then speaks in a nervous and uncomfortable manner.

"I am very aware of that. Fear not, perhaps one day we'll win a siege."

"Perhaps?! Father, if Vladimir's sovereignty reaches the whole of Sacchi then Pureheart will meet its faith. We should've not surrendered, we could've outmaneuvered them." Jupiter responds with frustration and gallops her horse, surpa.s.sing the king and the remaining army.

"She's just like you when we were young." Felix looks to his queen with a smile.

"Of course, she loves her motherland just like how you love Sacchi too. Don't worry, we'll win next time." The queen smiles sweetly back to his king.

Both the princess, king, queen, and the young man are eager to defeat the opponent, but with a ferocious serpent, their goal seems like a figment of their imagination only. The question is, what is the key to ending the long-enraging war between the two kingdoms?

Perhaps by looking at another angle will change the course of history?