702 One Day Battle
A peaceful week had passed while Daniel played the role of a wise wizard. Yet, in the distance, a storm was brewing.
A large army had been assembled at Ealdorman Norman's camp. Their supplies were minimal, as their target was nearby, and siege warfare was not expected. They believed the war would end in just one day.
In front of an army of ten thousand n, the Ealdorman sat atop his horse, surveying his grand forces. With such numbers, he was confident that even the king's army would need to take him seriously. But… this ti, his target was not the king. It was rlin, the lone wizard residing in the woods.
The witch was the key to his ambitions in the Ealdorman's mind. He couldn't allow rlin to abandon him for soone else. That would be a devastating setback to his plans for the throne.
Raising his sword high, the Ealdorman shouted, "March! Toward the lake of Avalon!"
The army responded in unison, setting off toward their destination. The march took two days before they finally reached the eastern woods, where Thegn Cuthred's people were waiting.
The army halted at the edge of the woodland, and the Ealdorman stepped forward. Taking a deep breath, he bellowed:
"By the authority bestowed upon by the rightful king! Rebel King Arthur and his accomplice, rlin. Surrender and co with us in peace! Or else we will burn this place to the ground!"
This was the excuse he had prepared for taking back what was his. If Arthur and the wizard truly surrendered, all the better. He could use the wizard to aid him in his conquest for the throne. As for Arthur, he would force the boy to hand over that magical sword. That blade would serve as his seal of authority over the others.
But if they refused? That was just as well. He would have the perfect justification to kill the wizard. His spies had reported that the wizard seed to have his sights set on his woman... and that was sothing he would never tolerate.
The Ealdorman awaited a response, but none ca. Not a single person stepped out to greet him. He stood before the woodland for quite so ti as murmurs spread among the soldiers. It's clear that he was being ignored.
Humiliation burned within him. His anger surged as he raised his sword once more.
"Enough! March! Trample the wizard's tower to the ground!" he roared, his voice filled with fury.
The soldiers confidently advanced, with the Ealdorman's elite warriors leading as the vanguard. They marched into the woodland, pressing deeper.
But before they could reach the heart of the forest, they were t by a lone figure... a servant golem standing in their path.
The golem spoke in a sweet, polite voice:
"Greetings, Ealdorman. My master kindly requests that you remove your army from the woodland. Your presence and noise have disrupted the learning environnt of His Majesty Arthur Pendragon and Her Highness Morgan le Fay. Please comply... otherwise, we will have no choice but to use force to remove you."
The Ealdorman's anger spiked to new heights. A golem dared to command him? The humiliation was unbearable. His fury boiled over, and he roared:
"Charge! Trample everything to the ground!"
With his command, the army roared as one. The thunder of cavalry hooves shook the earth as they surged forward, prepared to crush everything in their path.
But… before the cavalry and the army could advance any further, a loud buzzing noise echoed through the air, resembling the deafening sound of millions upon millions of locusts swarming toward them.
The noise grew louder and closer until the vanguard spotted a massive swarm of tallic scarabs flying toward them.
"What… what is that!?" one of the warriors stamred in confusion as the swarm approached.
As the tallic creatures drew within ten ters of the army, unease rippled through the ranks. This was sothing none of them had ever encountered before, and humans instinctively feared the unknown.
Then, when the swarm reached just five ters away, it surged forward in an instant, closing the gap within a split second.
Pierce!
"Arrrrrrrrrrrghhh!"
A piercing scream rang out as one of the scarabs shot straight through a warrior's leather armor as if it were paper. His wound expanded grotesquely, and a sickening crunch followed—flesh being shredded, bones being ground into dust.
"Arghhh! Help! It's eating ! It's eating !" The unfortunate warrior howled in agony, clawing desperately at his own body, trying to pry the tallic creature out, but to no avail.
The tal scarab wasn't truly consuming him; rather, it was rapidly breaking down his biomass and storing it within its own body as material for future use. But to the terrified soldiers around him, the horrifying sight—and the grueso sounds of his flesh and bones being crushed—were enough to shatter their morale.
Panic erupted as the swarm closed in, and chaos consud the entire army.
The Ealdorman, unwilling to wait for his doom, was the first to flee.
The mont his soldiers saw him running, all discipline crumbled. The army collapsed into a frenzied retreat, their flight driven by sheer terror. Shields, weapons, and even supplies were abandoned... anything to lighten the load so they could run faster.
The tallic scarabs pursued relentlessly, and by the ti the swarm had finished its grisly work, more than half of the Ealdorman's army had been converted into raw material, their bodies broken down and stored inside the tal creatures as fuel and resources.
The Ealdorman himself fared no better. One of the scarabs caught up to him, burying itself into his right arm.
Desperate and ruthless, driven by his own fear of death, he didn't hesitate and severed his own arm and fled on horseback, his face twisted in agony.
By the end of the day, the once-mighty ten-thousand-strong army of Ealdorman Norman had been reduced to re thousands. More than 80% of his forces were annihilated, and not a single tallic scarab had been destroyed. Each of them was resilient enough to withstand rifle bullets—let alone the crude, cold weapons of the Dark Ages.
But… there was one thing the Ealdorman had predicted correctly: the battle had indeed ended in a single day. The difference was that he was not the victor. Instead, he had suffered a devastating loss… his army, his pride, and even his arm.
And without his vast forces, his domain would not remain secure for long. The king's gaze had undoubtedly fallen upon him now. Once word of this disaster reached the king's ears, it would only be a matter of ti before the royal army ca to visit... and crush him completely.
Especially now that the witch no longer resided in his keep but had chosen to stay at the wizard's tower instead.
Grinding his teeth in frustration, the Ealdorman led his shattered forces... or what little remained of them back to his domain, his mind clouded with rage and despair.
Unknown to them, the retreating backs of the Ealdorman and his army were under the watchful eyes of the tal scarab that Daniel had sent to follow them. Daniel had witnessed the Ealdorman's malicious intent toward him. He wouldn't let this man survive for long.
— Night —
In the dead of night, a lone silhouette walked toward the Ealdorman's army camp. With their supplies abandoned, the soldiers had no choice but to improvise with what little remained, struggling to stave off hunger and endure the biting cold of the night wind.
The owner of the silhouette was none other than Daniel. Using an invisibility spell, he moved unnoticed through the camp, making his way toward the largest tent... the Ealdorman's tent. No one sensed his arrival.
Daniel silently approached and stood before the Ealdorman's bed. Without hesitation, he drew a knife and slit the Ealdorman's throat, ending his life in a single stroke.
Once the deed was done, Daniel vanished and slipped out of the tent undetected, making his way back to his tower.
In the morning, news of the Ealdorman's death reached Envy. She was stunned at first, but soon let out a sigh of relief. She no longer needed to repay the favor she owed him.
With the Ealdorman dead and no heir to claim his land, his domain was ripe for the taking, opening a power vacuum that other lords would eagerly seek to fill. This also created an opportunity for Arthur, the new king.
This was precisely why Daniel had not outright annihilated the Ealdorman's forces. Instead, he left behind a ager, leaderless remnant to instill desperation among those who had once supported the Ealdorman. With the majority of their army gone, none of his forr allies dared to assu leadership—doing so would an claiming the Ealdorman's domain and inviting attacks from rival lords.
They had no choice but to accept Arthur as their king, as he had the backing of both rlin the Wizard and Morgan le Fay the Witch.
Even the forr king, who once ruled over the Ealdorman's lands, would be unable to act recklessly. News of the Ealdorman's army's fate would soon reach his ears, forcing him to acknowledge Arthur's claim. With no viable alternative, he would have no choice but to allow Arthur to seize a significant portion of the Ealdorman's lands for himself.
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