As days pass since the siege of Neer the troops are gathered once more as they march for the capital of Folga, the town of Ceq. They march across the border of the sea watching as waves crash onto the rocks and dissipate into the beaches. Godwine's face is filled with discomfort as they continue to march. His regiment has lost nearly half of its members since the first battle he led. Godwine looks back at the soldiers following him seeing how proud they are of the food that is being sent back home seems to fill his heart with pain before he quickly shakes his head remembering he shouldn't care, after all he is just a merc.
Celina walks up besides Godwine looking at him. "Well after this battle the contract will be over at least. I for one can't wait to find a new contract that doesn't force us to get this risky with our lives," Celina elbows Godwine jerking in pain when she hits his hard steel armor.
"Something is not right with Mihel," Godwine's voice is full of worry. "Why would he be so obsessed with going all the way to the capital and for how much he at least formerly cared for peace? This war is brutal."
Celina chuckles some as they continue to march. "Not like it's our place to get involved, we are simply here to help conquer and that's it," Celina watches Godwine as his face doesn't change, still stuck in thought.
A few more hours and they have reached Ceq. a great wall surrounding the capital of Folga. Mihel can be seen walking ahead of the army on his own pointing his blade forward saying something. He walks side to side pacing angrily. Eventually he raises his blade pointing it to the sky and seconds later the sound of horns fills the air, and then every regiment begins to charge towards the walls of Ceq.
Tasha stays close to Celina and Godwine as arrows begin to rain down on them as they get in range. Godwine holds his shield up protecting the three of them as soldiers around them tumble to the ground as they get impaled by arrows. As Godwine Celina and Tasha reach the wall the crackling of flames grows as Tasha turns around her eyes shaking at the field of corpses behind her.
"Tasha vine wall just like before!" Godwine shouts an order as he holds his shield up defending from the raining arrows.
Tasha nods regaining her focus as vines crawl out from the snaking up the wall until there is a path for the soldiers. They all begin to scale the wall as corpses fall being pushed off the wall. Tasha freezes at the base of the wall watching the bodies hit the ground around her as Godwine climbs the vines and Celina launches herself onto the wall.
The sound of cracking wood is heard next to Tasha as Mihel watches soldiers with various blunt weaponry slowly break the gate. Whenever an archer would peek out of the windows to fire down at them Mihel's flames would move like a leaf in the wind up to the archer burning them to death. "Where is the king of Folga? Bring me Ferentus now and no one else will have to die!" Mihel yells making demands of the defenders as the gate begins to shatter.
Godwine impales a soldier on a golden lance as Celina slices through three soldiers. With a bang Godwine rams his shield into a soldier knocking him off the back of the wall. Several soldiers run at Godwine at the same time. One is impaled on Godwine's lance before he reaches him the next a swift shield bash sends him stumbling back. Godwine quickly dissipates his lance grabbing his sword from its sheath and quickly slicing another soldier. The one soldier regains his footing barely staying on the wall, but before he can react Godwine pushes him off as he advances forward.
Celina stands in a room filled with fifteen archers, as she glances around at them three arrows are shot. She is easily able to deflect one the next she dodges the third is cut clean down the middle. Quickly she jumps on an archer stabbing him in the head. "One," Celina mutters to herself as she throws the dead archer at another one as arrows are shot at her. She ignores them as she quickly moves following behind the body reaching the archer cutting both his legs before impaling his heart. "Two." three archers stand close to one another and Celina rushes them, slicing one's chest then impaling the second and the third in one strike. "Three, four, five."
The gate crumbles and Mihel leads the charge into the capital, his flames gracefully flowing with him. Soldiers bearing the green and yellow of Folga and the royal boat crest of the royal family greet Mihel and his soldiers attempting to stop them. Mihel is unfazed wielding a greatsword he delivers a strong downward slash and as it hits the ground slashing clean through a soldier his flames follow and burst out as they hit the ground causing several soldiers to scream and fall.
Tasha, having finally scaled the wall, looks down at the soldiers who run towards the wall's gate and stairs. Seeing a small patch of grass she holds her hand out and vines burst out tangling around a few soldiers, other vines piercing soldiers covering the vines in blood. Godwine glances behind smiling as he sees Tasha. The soldiers begin to panic slightly making it easy for Godwine to slay those who remain.
Celina swiftly decapitates an archer with ease and grace as another arrow is fired at her which she is easily able to dodge. "Six," without hesitation she quickly uses her magic to push two soldiers against the wall, knocking both of them out. As two soldiers' eyes fill with fear Celina quickly beheads one before swiftly forcing the other out a window sending him flying slamming onto the ground. "Seven, eight."
Slowly Godwine begins to descend the stairs of the wall cutting down soldier after soldier till he steps foot into the capital's market. Vines shot out impaling soldiers choking out others as Tasha follows behind Godwine looking for any grass patches.
Mihel burns the last of the first line of defense at the gate looking behind him, seeing a sea of corpses and the sight of his own men. He turns back around looking into the capital dense with buildings, as soldiers rush through the streets running towards Mihel. Without hesitation he runs forward. "Ferentus! You still hide within that citadel I see! You think the ocean will protect you! But when I break in I will show you the flame you have created!"
Celina quickly slams a soldier's head onto the ground, crushing it as she quickly turns, deflecting the strike an archer attempted and swiftly slicing a deep cut in his chest. "Nine, ten." Celina watches as the two soldiers that were once knocked out slowly begin to open their eyes. She quickly grabs two daggers from the body of one of the archers, throwing them into the two archers' skulls. "Eleven, twelve." The remaining three archers swarm her, swinging their swords at Celina attempting to overwhelm them. Celina watches as she spots openings due to their lack of experience. "Thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen," before they could blink Celina had left a deep cut in each of them and they lifelessly fall to the ground.
Godwine and Tasha scramble around the market as they slay the remaining soldiers advancing towards the seaside citadel. As they advance they see Mihel and his graceful flames slaying soldier after soldier until he reaches the gate. As Godwine and Tasha reach the gate they stand looking at Mihel who is simply staring at the gate. One minute passes and the gate opens as the soldiers of Mihel prepare to charge. Mihel holds his hand out signalling for them to stay as he walks into the gate.
"My old friend, King Mihel, benevolent leader of Osmon and friend of all," a man stands at the end of a dock with no soldiers present anywhere within the citadel, just him standing as the waves crash into the dock. "Why has it come to this friend? Let us come to peace as I now see that we should have never taken Afrium's side in this conflict."
Mihel is unfazed as he walks towards the man. "Old friend King Ferentus. It has been months since we last spoke yet you still hide within the walls of this citadel," Mihel's flames flow around him as he gets closer to Ferentus. "If you hadn't gone with Afrium we wouldn't be here. While I would love to accept your offer and end this peacefully, it was too late for that when you doomed us to starve."
Ferentus looks disappointed as the waves grow and the water begins to flow around him. "That is too bad my old friend," with that Ferentus's water flows towards Mihel which is stopped by his flames sending smoke flowing into the air, a storm has begun.