I.. Am God?

Looking at the soldiers that were trying hard to calm down. Gios sighed and his eyes suddenly turned resolute, "Soldiers of Sarqisi! We now face a powerful enemy that is potentially at a catastrophic level. I am afraid that we are going to face an absolute loss and we would all die. If you think I'm here to cheer everyone up, then you are unfortunately wrong. I am here just to ask everyone this question." He shouted.

"Will you falter in front of the enemy and surrender, or will you stand up, fight, and die for your friends, family, loved ones that are behind you?!" Suddenly, the light in the soldiers' eyes returned.

"Will you bow down to evil and malevolence or fight forever hand in hand with the righteous?!" Their legs stopped shaking.

"Will you live as a coward or die as brave men!" Their grips on their spears hardened and their gazes firm.

"Will you just let your loved ones die knowing that you left them, or will you let them live knowing that you fought for them?!" They banged their spears down the ground.

"We will fight!"

"We will stay!"

"We will protect!"

"We will sacrifice!"

"Glory to the brave men of Sarqisi!" Gios raised his sword up high, symbolising the pride of his race and domain.

"Glory!"

"Glory!"

In all the cities of Sarqisi, the shouts of brave men filled the air with honor, pride, and power.

"This will mark the day that we would be renowned by the realm to have fought bravely in the battlefield, not succumbing to fear and betrayal!"

The gates of the cities opened and the soldiers rushed out with fervidness. With an army of 500,000 from the capital and 100,000 from the other cities, Sarqisi's army reached a number of millions of soldiers, garnering every right to be called the Men that Dominated the South with their armies. The cavalry also rushed out and stayed at the back of the infantry. The archers stayed at the walls and prepared.

From the far horizon where the hills laid down, thirteen cloaked silhouettes suddenly floated up from behind. Looking from the cities, they were like Thirteen deities looking at them like how an Immortal judges a mortal.

From behind the thirteen, another silhouette floated higher than the thirteen. Its cloak– or coat– fluttered with the wind majestically. "In the Old Age, our race ruled over the Three Races. They feared our existence and heard it from all the corners of the realm. The Three Races were our pasture. If it wasn't for your Ancestors, Aqiartha would have still been ours." A deep and raspy voice echoed and reached the ears of everyone.

"In the First Age, your glorious Prince was corrupted and released us from the seal, but you humans still prevailed in the end. To avoid such things happening once again, I shall do what I should've done back then." The voice uttered coldly.

"As payment from your Ancestors, I shall wipe you all out first!" The silhouette suddenly raised his hand and waved it down.

From the hill, a massive black sea of creatures suddenly dove down, rushing towards the cities of Sarqisi. Huge black flying creatures emerged from the back of the hill and flew towards the cities rapidly with the highest silhouette's signal.

Seeing the tremendous force of their enemy, the soldiers gulped audibly but still stood strong. Gios held his sword and entered his stance, looking at the black sea solemnly.

The tide went nearer and nearer, the firmness of the soldiers' hold of their weapons became tighter. They then angled down their spears, pointing it directly at the charging enemies. Shields were also taken out, covering those behind to protect.

The sound of the gritting of teeths, sweats dropping on the ground, gulping, inhaling, and the growls of creatures were the only sounds that everyone could hear.

Some soldiers chanted their personal mantras, prayed, talked to themselves, and some hurled insults at the enemies.

"Oh, thy land! Granted by the gods!" Suddenly, out of nowhere, Prince Gios sang aloud; it was the anthem of their Princedom.

"Men of the South, trampling the wicked evil!" The generals also sang.

"Heaven blesses man, Earth provides home, the races offer peace for thousands of generations!" The soldiers also sang with power and full voice. The bashing of shields and swords accompanied the song.

"Leagues of evil may come upon us, but we will never fall!"

"Realms may go against us, but we will surpass them all!"

"Unity and Intelligence, Gods provided! Strength and Glory, we possess it!"

"Evil and Tyranny, we defy it! For our country, we die for it!"

"Glory! Glory! Glorious Men! Love and Country, we defend!"

"And when we die, we go with pride, blessed by the gods that awaketh, Fight!"

As soon as they finished, "Bang!" The black tide arrived and slammed themselves at the shields and spears.

At first, hundreds of Ichtir died from the collision, but as time passes, soldiers after soldiers were slaughtered by them.

Ichtir were polar opposites of the Spirits, where the Spirits were elegant and glamorous whereas the Ichtir were hideous and dangerous. Sharp nails adorned their fingers, and teeth of all kinds of sizes and sharpness were on their mouth.

The soldiers were scratched, torn apart, eaten, and all other kinds of attack possible with the Ichtir. Soldiers atop their horses were dragged down and were feasted on by the Ichtir. The horses weren't safe too as they were also slaughtered and feasted on.

Seeing the situation, Prince Gios moved forward and slashed at every enemy. He saved soldiers and slaughtered Ichtir.

Hours passed, corpses piled up, blood flowed like a river. But oddly enough, no cities have been infiltrated.

In the Ichtir side, the tide was still present, as if a never-ending ocean of darkness. On the side of humanity, five hundred people remained from the millions of soldiers.

One of them was Prince Gios, continuing their fight against the fierce opponents.

The remaining soldiers hacked and slashed the enemies with powerful assaults. They fought bravely continuously in the battlefield, but mortal men will never win against fate.

Hours passed, and they started to get tired. Their panting filled their ears. Sweat flew behind them as they ran and saved one another from the attacks from behind.

Suddenly, one of the fighting men was slaughtered by several Ichtir who collaborated with each other to kill him.

"Keros!" Another soldier near him noticed it late and shouted with anger and grief. "Bastards!!" He charged towards them and hacked continuously at them, but he was also charged at by Ichtir.

Then, it came all down like a domino. In just minutes, with the pent up fatigue, the soldiers were slaughtered ultimately by the cold-blooded enemies. The last one to be killed had the time to call up to Prince Gios. "Your Highness, it was an honor for us to have fought beside you. May we reincarnate, and without the barrier of hierarchy, be friends with one another." The soldier smiled at him and succumbed to the attacks of the Ichtir.

Prince Gios closed his eyes with grief and looked at the sky. Even if it was day, the solemness of the atmosphere made it feel like it was night. The silhouette's figure and the sun merged together, but it didn't look glorious. Instead, he felt like the catastrophe would come in a more terrifying way.

Gios' memories came up, him seeing his daughter whom he truly loved, the people who praised his rule, and the face of a woman that he would never forget.

"Is she far from here now? I wonder if she is okay. I hope that the prophecy is true.." He muttered while smiling.

But that smile soon vanished as he turned serious and gripped his sword. "AAARGHH!!"

BOOM!

A strong shockwave suddenly blew the charging Ichtir away. Prince Gios flipped his sword with the blade downwards and raised it, "I will never let the sacrifice of my men go to waste!"

The arrows from the walls behind them have already stopped because of the insufficiency of materials. The citizens ran up the walls and saw the devastation below them and they cannot help but cry.

The sacrifice of millions just to save those behind them became memorable for everyone, and The Battle of Faretor Hills would be remembered by everyone who saw and survived.

Prince Gios suddenly struck the ground with the sword upended. Once the sword was firmly standing, all the blood from the men gathered all together like a river towards the sword and Gios.

Gios suddenly changed shape. His whole body grew bigger and muscular, his eyes turned sanguine and his pupils black. The sword also turned into a huge greatsword. He was brimming with power.

The silhouette's voice then sounded, "Hah. You just enlarged your body? What's that going to do? Add food for my minions? HAHAHAHAH–"

Krasch!

Suddenly, Gios disappeared from his position and reappeared behind the silhouette, allowing Gios to see its true identity; Him?!