I went back to my room and packed my stuff. Art invited me to sit down with him and Fin and eat some dried grapes but I refused. In the past, I would never have refused free food, but all of this action has affected my appetite.

  ‘Am I really going to join a war?’ I was stressing about this upcoming war. Art noticed my unfocused look so he tried to comfort me.

  “Don’t worry, the Bara’s may be strong but they don’t have people with innate abilities.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because there isn't a single dungeon in their lands.”

  I calmed down a bit at Art's words. Fighting normal humans was always more welcome than fighting ones with abilities.

  “How did they manage to breach the defense line if they don’t have abilities?” I asked.

  Art looked reluctant to answer, which got me worried.

  “The Baras have tamed big Hawks, called Shareef Desert Hawks. These Hawks can fly with up to two humans on them. The Baras have used their air superiority to make themselves formidable foes, even without having abilities.”

  ‘God dammit!’

  ……….

  Black Eye returned an hour later. He ordered the group to pack our stuff as we were invited to the Count’s palace.

  Walking the streets to the count’s palace, I saw only guards. Houses’ windows were barred with wooded slabs. I could feel the tension in the air.

  Soon, we reached the same gates we were rejected entry at the last time. This time there were a lot more guards standing. The guards looked to be on alert.

  ‘Is the situation this bad?’

  We didn’t get stopped this time. As we entered I was stunned at the beauty of the palace’s lawn. Every tree was immaculately cut. There were fountains everywhere, decorated with stunning statues depicting different animals. Even the pathway we were walking on was made from white marble. The marble looked alive with black and yellow veins running through it.

  In front of the palace, there was a big square holding tens if not hundreds of soldiers. I saw the count standing with two men and one child.

  The Count had a big smile on his face as he said, “Greetings Captain Black Eye. I see you have brought your courageous entourage with you.”

  “Of course, they all agreed to defend the city. We will be in your service.”

  We all shook hands with the Count. We also greeted the people next to him, exchanging names.

  “You’ll be rewarded handsomely for your help,” The Count said.

  “Let me reintroduce you to my army general as last time we were in a hurry. General Samir served in my father’s army. He was one of the strongest soldiers on the battlefield, killing uncountable numbers of the Baras. After my father died, I promoted him to army general, and to this day, I think it was the best decision I’ve made.”

  The General didn’t smile at the praise of the Count. He had a stern look on his face.

  ‘I think he doesn’t trust us.’

  The Count continued, “This is Advisor Zakei. He is a smart and educated man. He got his degree from the Theoretical War College, in the capital.”

  Advisor Zakei was the tall and thin man standing next to the general. He seemed nervous. I also could see his hands trembling a bit.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Finally, this is my son, Walton. His eight.”

  The young kid looked happy at his father’s introduction.

  ‘He probably doesn’t know what awaits his father.’

  “Walton, how about you take the Adventurers to their rooms while I discuss work with their Captain?”

  “Yes, Father!” The kid spoke enthusiastically.

  ‘… He definitely doesn’t know what’s happening.’

  “Follow me,” Walton said as he took off walking to the estate. But, upon noticing no one was following him, he stopped.

  “Neymar come with me. The rest of you, follow Walton. The Bara’s might reach Hama today at night so stay alert.”

  We followed Warton to the estate. The inside was no less grandiose than the outside. The guests’ rooms were close to the entrance. Each one of us was given a room. Mine was small. It had a bed, a seat, and a table. I also had a big window overlooking the square.

  ‘This seems nice,’ I thought. The room was good for my needs.

  I put my stuff down but didn’t take off my armor or sword. I decided to lie down on my bed.

  ‘I’ll rest a bit. I need to be at my full strength to face any challenges up ahead.’

  ………..

  “SHAREEFS!”

  I awoke from sleep, shocked at the loud sound.

  ‘I must have drifted asleep from all the stress.’

  “ARCHERS!”

  ‘What the hell is going on?’

  I walked to the window to see what was happening outside when a huge shadow hid the sun, turning my room dark.

  ‘What was that?’

  A man dropping from the sky slammed into my room’s window, breaking it and hitting the ground before me.

  I was stunned and didn’t know what to do. The man stood up and rushed me. His curved blade hit my neck but he didn’t stop at that, in one continuous motion he slashed my stomach.

  After the second hit, I came back to my senses. I unsheathed my sword and shot it at the aggressor's stomach. The man was surprised but still managed to respond, he stepped back narrowly avoiding my hit.

  After escaping my hit, the man backed up. We had a stare-off. The Bara seemed to be assessing how I was still alive, looking at my transformed wounds.

  ‘I should stall for time. Help will be here any second,’ I thought as I reverted my transformed parts, trying to save up one Mana.

  The man seemed to sense my intention. He took out a hidden dagger and threw it at me. I swatted the dagger with my sword but that left open to the man’s attack. He sliced at my leg, severing it. I immediately lost balance and fell to my arm’s side.

  The man started hacking at me and I couldn't respond as all my weight was on my hand.

  ‘I need to do something!’

  I decided to turn my whole body into a transparent liquid form. I immediately lost all my senses. The mana drain was huge. But thankfully my severed leg rejoined my body in liquid form.

  ‘I can’t stay in this form for long.’

  Using my awareness shaper skill, I pinpointed the man’s hand. I waited for the right moment then untransformed myself but this time my sword was on the path of the attack, not on the floor under my body.

  'I didn't know I could do that.'

  I swatted the man’s sword to the side then, with a jump, I hit his chin with my head. The man was stunned and I took this opportunity to shove my sword in his neck. My sword went through one side of the man’s neck and out at the other side.

  The man’s eyes were opened wide in disbelief. But he still had a fighting spirit in him. He got his face close to mine and took a chunk of my face. He managed to sever the entirety of my nose before he lost his strength and his limp body slid over me, hitting the ground.

  I took my sword out of his neck and jumped back, avoiding the blood that gushed out.

  Thankfully my nose reformed in its transformed form, which ended the remaining mana I had.

  ‘I just killed a man,’ the thought passed my head. But, I swatted it away, happy at my survival and my win against the Bara.

  ‘These bastards are really savages.’

  ‘I need to know what’s happening.’

  I went to the broken window, stepping on glass shards.

  Looking outside, I saw a group of twenty Baras fighting an entire army. The Baras were losing a soldier every heartbeat. I also saw arrows raining down from the sky on the Count’s soldiers. Upon looking up, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Small Birds, no, big birds, but from a distance, they looked small. The birds had humanoids on them shooting arrows and throwing rocks at the Count’s army. I also saw a bird sore to the ground, hit a man on his head, and fly up again. The hit soldier dropped dead, his head matter coloring the marble floor red.

  ‘I’m definitely not going outside.’

  “Haitham!”

  I looked to my left to see Art pocking his head out of his room.

  “Go find Naya, we need her help in sniping those birds.”

  “What about Black Eye? Where is he?”

  “He is with the Count inside, fighting a Shaman.”

  “What Shawrma man? Who is that?”

  “No time for speaking! Go look for Naya,” Art said then shot a spear at the sky. The spear looked like it wouldn't hit the Hawks. But through Art’s ability, it didn’t lose velocity. It continued soaring high and even changed direction before hitting a hawk.

  ‘What a crazy ability he has.’

  BOOM

  An explosion coming from inside the palace shook the ground.

  ‘That must be Black Eye and the Count. They are having a crazy battle if they are producing sounds like that.’

  ‘God dammit. I’m rooting for Black Eye for the first time in my life. I hope he and the Count win or we might be in deep…’