Night began to fall over the battlefield. The two troops were then forced to return to their respective camps. The wind was freezing, as if even the world itself wanted the battle to stop, but it was already too late. Ario's blade was embedded in Ethan's body, blood flowing onto the ground.
"Damn, you little bastard, so you actually managed to kill Anastasia?"
"What, you're still alive? I really thought you were dead. But anyway, I just ran away to come back and kill you like a traitor, I hope you don't mind, hehe."
"Mhhh… I didn't want to die in the cold. We imagine dying in our bed, at home, maybe outside, but never in the cold. No one wants to die in the cold."
"Don't worry, your body will warm up. Anyway, we have to return to our camps. I'll just bring back your dead body. I'll slit your throat to finish you off."
Ario pulled out a small sharpened blade from a sheath attached near his collarbone. He placed it under Ethan's throat and, with a swift motion, cut his neck cleanly. Blood gushed out, but only for a brief moment. Ario let him fall to the ground.
"Alright, I saved your life. Now you're going to carry him back to the camp with me. Do you know what we get for bringing back a Tribune? Because I'm interested."
The Tribune of the Green Bees looked at Ario. He was embarrassed that a mere boy had managed to save his life and had taken his enemy as a trophy. This victory should have been his. He looked at Ario before answering.
"You will be pardoned, and then you will receive the reward of your choice. What will you choose?"
Ario started laughing.
"Hahahaha, I'll take money and women… actually no, just money. I've found a woman who interests me far more than that. Anyway, let's go back."
In the Silver Needle camp, the daily report was more than deplorable. Anastasia stood before the few men left after the battle.
"Alright, I'm addressing you today. Today was a disastrous day. Ethan still hasn't returned, so it's very possible that he was killed in the enemy camp. They have a man named Ario. He is a formidable opponent. If we don't kill him today, one day he will come back to kill us all entirely. Tomorrow, our primary target is this man. After that, the Green Bees will be much weaker. I will take care of him myself, and this time I want no one to interfere during the fight."
The situation was truly desperate. Everyone had to leave to rest. Tomorrow, a day just as complicated as yesterday awaited them.
Abel and Enette slept in the same tent. Abel was already asleep; the day had exhausted him, even though he hadn't done anything during it.
In his dream, Abel was once again in the strange place where everything around him was shrouded in darkness. This time, the sensation was strange, because it had been a long time since he had been here.
"What?! Oh no, I'm back here. This hasn't happened to me for almost a year."
"Heeey, Qephraï, come talk to me or I'm really going to get bored."
Silence surrounded Abel. He received no response.
"Qephraï? You're not here anymore? Did you die last year? Ah damn it, you promised me your power."
Nothing revealed itself. Had the Qephraï really disappeared from the strange dimension where Abel found himself during his dreams?
"Ah, Sebastian, it's been a long time since I last saw you."
"Huh? Seriously, why didn't you answer me? And don't call me Sebastian."
"Alright, alright. I wanted to be friendly with you, but unfortunately I'll have to call you 'human' again. And by the way, you should also avoid calling me Qephraï. It's like if I called you a big alcoholic piece of shit. Anyway, I don't have time to talk today. Come see me again soon. Also, your friend just got up to leave your tent. I'm waking you up."
"What? But how do you know that…?"
Abel woke up and saw Enette preparing to leave. He had just put on a warm jacket, as the night was freezing cold.
"What are you doing? Why are you getting ready to leave?"
Enette turned around, surprised. Because of the darkness, he hadn't noticed that Abel was awake.
"Oh… you're awake. I was sure you were asleep. If you really want to know, I'm going to the Green Bees' camp. I'm going to kill the redhead who humiliated me the day before."
« Damn it, his pride is eating at him again. It's been a long time since he last committed an act of arrogant stupidity. I really thought that since our fight against the strangler, he had resigned himself to stop acting like that. I'd better tell him the truth so he doesn't throw himself straight into the wolf's mouth. »
"I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, you've already been defeated by him twice in the span of a single day. If you go there and he wakes up during your attempt, he'll kill you. And even if you succeed, all the other members of the Green Bees' troop won't hesitate to kill you. Stay here, rest, and we'll see tomorrow. Avoid breaking the imposed rules."
Enette looked at Abel with disgust, as if those words had struck his ego. He turned to leave the tent. Abel couldn't let him do that. He quickly got dressed and went out after him.
Enette walked with a determined step through the frozen grass. The moon was high in the sky and completely full, casting enough light for Enette to see where he was going. Abel stepped in front of him.
"Stop, Enette. You'd really be better off going back to the tent. If you do this, you're going to die. What's the point? You don't realize how stupid the act you're about to commit is. Follow me, let's go back and rest. Tomorrow, a long day awaits us."
Faced with these words, Enette remained motionless. He didn't really react to what Abel said.
"You… how can a kid possibly understand? Don't forget that I'm still your superior. I may have formed a bond of sympathy with you, but I realize that in reality, you still don't trust me. I'm a genius, but since we've known each other, I've never been able to prove my true worth. That's why you doubt me… Now go back to sleep. I'll make sure not to wake you when I return."
Enette walked past Abel. No matter the words Abel used, Enette didn't listen.
« Why is he like this? He wanted an opportunity to shine. He managed to kill a centurion, yet he still wants more. He's really just a little bastard. I thought he had finally understood that his ego would lead him nowhere but death, but no… Or maybe… he'd rather die like this than look like a coward who proved nothing. That's what he just told me. He's considered exceptional, but in reality he's never proven anything. Is his so called genius just speculation he can't put into practice? Damn it, what am I saying… I have to stop him, no matter the means I have to use. »
Abel charged straight at Enette. The only way to stop him was by force. He delivered a jumping kick to Enette's lower back to draw his attention.
Enette staggered forward a couple of steps to avoid falling, then turned to face Abel with a surprised and irritated expression.
"What the hell are you doing?! Don't deny me my revenge. Now go back to the tent. If I were you, I'd avoid starting a fight you've already lost in advance."
"Unlike you, I don't care about losing to you as long as it stops you from walking straight into the arms of death. So come fight me, asshole!!"
The call to battle didn't hold Enette's attention. He turned back and resumed his path toward the enemy camp.
Abel was confused by Enette's reaction, but he truly had to stop him from doing this. He launched several attacks against him, hoping to draw his attention, but nothing worked. Each time, Enette simply resumed his walk.
« Damn it, nothing works. How am I going to stop him? I need to find another way, because right now he's not wavering at all. »
"Enette, listen to me. If you keep moving forward, I'll be forced to warn Anastasia."
Enette stopped. That finally caught his attention. He turned to face Abel.
"Why are you trying so hard to stop me from killing him? Do you want to do it in my place? Do you want to get ahead of me?! Do you want to shine instead of me?!"
"SHUT UP!! You're talking nonsense. How do you expect me to kill him if you can't do it yourself? And how do you expect to kill him if even Anastasia can't? Go on, answer me. Tell me how you plan to do it. Just because someone surpasses you doesn't mean they're better than you. A fight doesn't define a person. Now let's go back. You have time to become strong. Later, you'll be able to surpass anyone you want."
Enette looked at Abel and responded with a slow nod of his head, then resumed his path toward the enemy camp.
Abel couldn't do anything. He was forced to give up on convincing him. He turned back toward the tent.
If Enette had decided to die tonight, then so be it.
When Abel returned to the tent he shared with Enette, he lay back down on his bed. Sleep didn't come easily because of the stress. Every minute that passed, he hoped Enette would return. After waiting an hour, he finally fell asleep, not knowing whether Enette would be there when he woke up.
The next morning, Abel woke up. His first instinct was to look at Enette's bed, but it was empty. Abel was seized by anxiety.
« No… this isn't possible. The idiot didn't come back. I… I warned him not to go. »
Abel slammed both of his fists against the ground, crushed by the situation. He clenched his teeth, but the worst part was that he would still have to return to the battlefield.
As he stepped out of the tent, preparations were already underway. Everyone was waking up. Abel was one of the last to come out, much later than the others. He imagined the stress he would have to endure today. Now that Enette was gone, he had to manage the unit alone. He didn't know how to organize himself. For the first time since he arrived here, he truly felt like a child.
« Damn it, what am I supposed to do? I'd probably be better off going to see Anastasia to give her a report on the situation. Damn it, how is this possible? How could he die so stupidly? I hope he at least managed to kill several members of their troop to make things easier for us. »
Abel looked around, unsure of where to go. He was lost. Then he noticed someone sitting on a rock at the edge of the hill.
« Huh? What is he doing there…? He… he's not dead?!?! »
Abel was filled with joy. Enette had returned.
He was sitting on a rock, one hand resting on his forehead, lifting his bangs slightly. His posture looked defeated. From afar, he heard Abel shout.
"ENETTEEEE!!!!!!!!"
Enette turned around, not surprised. He had recognized Abel's voice from a distance.
When Abel reached him, the boy was smiling widely, genuinely happy to see him.
"You… you managed to kill him and come back?"
"No, I didn't succeed. I stayed here for the rest of the night to think about an attack plan. I can already feel what you're about to say don't even think that I chickened out or lacked the courage to go through with it. In reality, he wasn't there. I searched the surroundings, thinking he was probably sleeping elsewhere, but actually, he backed off. That guy is a real bastard. He wanted to test our troop, mocked our armed forces, took the money, and ran away. Even for the Green Bees, what he did is a huge lack of respect. Now we have a clear advantage in the course of the battle. Today is the day we win."
"Wait, if he's not there, we need to warn Anastasia. He was the real problem. Now we can launch a frontal attack and force a breakthrough."
"No, I haven't warned her yet. Do it in my place. Today, I won't do anything. I've already given enough yesterday. I hope I can become a centurion after this. The coming weeks are going to be really exhausting to replace all the high ranking officers who died. Normally, this shouldn't have happened."
Abel headed toward Anastasia. There were many people around her, and the noise made it difficult for Abel to make himself heard. But he carried a message of the utmost importance.
He had to overpower all the other voices.
He stepped forward with determination toward Anastasia, facing the crowd. With his small size, he had to pass through everyone. He squeezed his way through the mass until he finally stood before his leader. Facing her, he shouted at the top of his lungs to be heard.
"THE RED-HAIRED MAN WHO CAUSED US TROUBLE YESTERDAY HAS LEFT THE CAMP! HE WILL NOT BE HERE FOR THE REST OF THE BATTLE!!!!!"
Abel's words created a heavy silence. He had shouted extremely loudly. Anastasia looked at him, then ordered everyone to be silent. She lowered herself to Abel's height to speak to him properly.
"Are you sure about what you're saying? How do you know for certain?"
« If I say that Enette infiltrated the enemy camp, he'll be severely reprimanded. I can't destroy his chances of becoming a future centurion. »
"I… I infiltrated the enemy camp myself, hoping to find something interesting. I disobeyed your orders, but I still went there."
"Good. Thank you for being honest with me. I won't reprimand you, because you didn't act with ill intent. Thanks to you, we'll be able to charge forward without any risk."
The battle was about to begin.
Abel was placed at the head of Enette's unit, while Enette remained seated. Just like the day before, he didn't move an inch. He had to stay in the same position as yesterday, which didn't bother him that much.
The two troops clashed as the dominant side intended, which wasn't an advantage for the Green Bees.
After eight hours of fighting, the Silver Needles gained the upper hand over the Green Bees.
Anastasia and several of her centurions stood before the leader of the Green Bees. He was on the ground, crawling, utterly terrified.
"No, no! This wasn't supposed to happen! Ario should have killed you! We won the first day, you won the second let's decide the victory on a third day…"
Anastasia looked at him with a dark gaze.
"No."
The man stood frozen, stunned by her simple answer. He knew it was over for him. Tonight, he wouldn't see the sun set.
"This can't be happening… don't kill me. Kill all the others, but not me. I'll give you my entire troop. One life is nothing compared to several hundred."
Anastasia spat in his face.
"You disgust me. A leader isn't supposed to be a bloated sack of alcohol who can't even fight anymore. I won't even give you the pleasure of killing you myself. I'll let one of my centurions do it in my place."
Anastasia left without even knowing who would kill the leader of the Green Bees. That was the least of her concerns. She had to prepare a report detailing all the losses from the battle.
On the side of the Green Bees, there were no survivors. Out of the initial five thousand, only a single bandit survived after fleeing the battlefield.
On the side of the Silver Needles, the losses were fewer but still significant. Three centurions died, the tribune was also killed, and two thousand men fell over the course of the two days out of the initial seven thousand.
In the coming weeks, the Silver Needles troop would be weakened while replacements were found for the fallen members.
The war was finally over. The Silver Needles troop would return to the city of Aureline.
In the forest, a man walked alone. He had been walking for several days. That man was Ario.
He continued onward after fleeing the battlefield, a large pouch hanging from his waist.
"Well then, these little fights were quite profitable. I'm going to return to the camp and spend all the money I got to treat everyone. The chief will be pleased. I'll have to ask him for information about Anastasia… what was her last name again? Damn it, I'll remember later. Whatever. I hope I can find her again. I hope she won't hold a grudge when we meet again. But her troop is a problem. If I want dominance over her, I'll have to strip her of all her assets. I'll ask the chief to personally deal with her troop one day when we're not busy. Given their level, it won't be a problem for us especially if the chief enters the battle himself."
Ario blushed as he thought about Anastasia in detail. He loved her without knowing why. He loved her face, her chest. He wanted to feel her naked in the same sheets as him.
"Ah yes, that's right… Van Hauban. That's her family name."