Beneath a seemingly badly-drawn crayon sky, water splashed everywhere as a fairly large river vessel passed, carrying around fifteen armored chickens armed with chainmail, iron helmets, and the most basic of iron shortswords.
Around two dozen cats of varying colors and donning the exact same equipment noticed the huge, rectangular, wooden bucket ship in the distance, their eyes widening after noticing the flag of a white chicken holding an iron sword.
"Nya!! The Clucksons have arrived! Meowlitia, prepare for battle! We must not allow the invaders to enter the castle!" warned the leader.
In the next moment, the "Meowlitia" formed clumsy ranks.
Daru was a bit disoriented after suddenly finding himself in the middle of a war when, just a few seconds ago, he was falling through the silent darkness of the well, awkwardly sitting inside the old wooden bucket that somehow suddenly turned into a warship.
And now, he seemed to be a member of the Clucksons.
A notification appeared in front of him the next moment:
[You've triggered a Dungeon Quest!]
==
Quest Name: Catmelot in Chaos
Description: Rebellion! Restore order in the Kingdom of Catmelot.
Defeat: Rebel Leader - 0/1
Rewards: Catmelot Kingdom Dungeon Clear Reward Pack
==
"General, please give the order!"
Or maybe he was not a regular member…
From what the warrior chicken behind him was saying, he was their general.
Daru chuckled inwardly, finding the situation rather interesting.
Who knew a simple context or story as to why he was fighting his enemies could make the swordfights considerably more interesting?
"Disembark and form ranks!" He exclaimed with sternness and unexpected familiarity that surprised even himself.
It felt as though he had been doing this for a very long time, and his leading an army again, small as their numbers were, simply reawakened his slumbering instincts.
'Strange…'
He had been hooked on swordsmanship for as long as he could remember.
Furthermore, how could he have led an army when the entire world was a supercontinent divided into seven clusters and is currently a single nation: Neo-Earth.
Daru shrugged in the next moment.
'Probably my imagination…'
In the next moment, he, too, jumped down the Rectangular Bucket Warship.
His heart was racing with excitement, and, as he seldom did, he was genuinely smiling this time.
To Daru, the world had turned gray the moment he learned of his parents' death, and it had been that way for almost a decade.
The fact that none of his peers at Ashton High School, not even Cody, was able to measure up to him and give him a challenge only reinforced the dullness of his life.
He had been desperately searching for "colors."
Yet, despite the never-ending gray, Daru kept on looking towards the future, believing that if he kept on surviving and honing his skills, he would one day meet people who could light his heart ablaze and give him the "colors" he was looking for.
He was also grateful to his swordsmanship instructor in Ashton High for always giving him a pat on the shoulder and reminding him that, one day for sure, the loneliness and boredom in his heart would be washed away, though the admirable guy worded it quite differently.
His instructor was right.
While he hadn't found his fated rival yet, he at least found the Myriad Sword Realm somewhat colorful, and it was becoming more and more so the more he spent time here.
He was truly glad that the Sword Trials existed, twisted as his feelings might sound to others.
Soon, the Clucksons, with Daru at the forefront, were finally in formation.
"Follow me, we'll tear through these Meowlitia!"
Warclucks erupted soon after, and Daru and his level five Cluckson Warriors charged forward.
He hadn't even noticed how wide the smile on his face was at that moment.
"Nya!! Cathurians, defend the kingdom!"
In the next moment, the Meowlitia, too, charged.
The warriors on both sides were level five, with only the Meowlitia Captain reaching level 6.
Only Daru was level seven.
Naturally, the instant the two armies clashed, he wreaked havoc upon the ranks of the Cathurians.
He was already killing level six Swordspawns back when he was level one; how could the enemies in front of him be a threat?
Daru slashed a [Meowlitia Lv.5] apart, rushing over to fight the captain soon after.
"Nyaa! Cluckson Commander, prepare to die!" the [Meowlitia Captain Lv.6] snarled, slashing his iron longsword at his opponent.
But with a swift and agile kneeling spin followed by a horizontal slash, Daru easily cut the poor captain apart, leaving him dissipating into the four winds as red cubic particles.
"Nyaaaa!" the Meowlitia Captain exclaimed as it perished.
Almost immediately, the chicken warriors celebrated what happened.
"Cluck!! The commander has taken out the enemy commander! Finish off the supporters of the corrupted king!" clucked one of them in utter delight.
With the morale of the Clucksons shooting through the roof, the Meowlitia were easily wiped out, and of course, Daru made sure to kill as many as he could personally.
The Cathurian dungeon spawns sadly don't drop loot except for Swordcoins, but at least they progressed his experience bar.
Around two minutes later, the path ahead was clear.
Daru raised his head, turned, and gazed ahead, pointing his tachi at the distant castle:
"Clucksons, to Catmelot Castle! We shall take the head of that Corrupted King!"
"Cluck!!!"
With another fiery warcluck, Daru and his chicken warriors proceeded forth.