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"You see, I've been training other generals, wizards, and even mentors to replace me. I chose best of the best and taught them, showed everything to them, and explained. I was training and heir to myself, and everything was going well, but... " he paused, looking down on the floor and then he picked it up where he stopped and continued: - You see, a basic mistake, cost everyone their lives…
Thinking about what has happened, about the great losses, about the vain sacrifices that were made to the god of War, Herakl became even more sad, and his comrade, the great warrior Usurper (Zeit) - a loyal friend and colleague, looked into his friends eyes with his understanding and slightly intoxicated look. So many deaths would not leave anyone indifferent. Weakness was rare for Herakl , even when the fate has given him strong blows trying to break him, he stood strong and never shed any tears. He always got up and proudly raised his head and walked forward without looking back. He was a glorious warrior, and the bards would long praise his exploits in their songs. In his battles, he knew no defeat. His sword was always sharp, and when he exchanged his brass knuckles for the king's sword, a gift from the head elf, his strike became even more accurate, strengthened his strength, and his eyes became even sharper.
He has brought many victories to his ruler and his empire. The emplress (aniuta2) was proud of such an assistant, her right hand mand, who always saved and helped in dire situations.
There was a sad pause:
- Hey, musicians, play us something more fun, - a loud voice interrupted the music.
In this tavern, it was well known that if this guy was in a bad mood, it was better not to argue with him. Without thinking twice, the musicians started playing fun music.
- Everything is in the past, - said Herakl , tapping his friends should, whom he knew for a long time and trusted completely.
Gradually, as the number of mugs drunk increased so did the the hero's mood. They left the tavern well after midnight, when alcohol finally hit them in the head. Somehow, whistling a favorite tune, the heroes hobbled to their horses, and went to their houses to sleep it off.
***
Morning. It started to brighten up and the first roosters started singing. An important report just came in. The messenger hurried to the main hero’s chambers. Knocked on the door but it was silent. Gathering up all his up courage, the messenger entered the room pushing the heavy door inside. The heavy spirit of past fun was in the air. Peacefully snoring withi his favorite sword in his embrace with his, the hero was sleeping in his bed.
"Your Grace!" Your Grace! - the messenger tried to wake him up with his thin voice.
Such pathetic attempts failed. Of course, it was possible to get close, shake his shoulders, and wake him up by shouting in his ear, but for such actions you could get yourself killed. The messenger decided to wait a bit. However, the sound of snuffling from the bed slowly lulled him to sleep. His head fell to the side, and the messenger slowly slid down the wall to the floor, his legs spread out on the floor. In this ridiculous position, he dreamed of naked hell demons, and he snored sweetly.
***
Thirst. Very thirsty. He was very thirsty in his sleep. Herakl rose, reached for the jug, and drained it in one gulp. And then his fine ears picked up an extraneous snoring. Even though the alcohol had slowed him down, he shot a quick glance in the direction of the sound. Seeing the ridiculous pose, he smiled involuntarily. He stood up went towards to the door. Despite the nighttime festivities, Herakla was in a good mood. Deciding to play a trick on the messenger, he spoke in a rough bass voice:
"How dare you disturb my sleep?"
The messenger woke up in an instant, and stuttering, began to explain himself:
- I... I ... there ... to you… Say... There.... Neighbour… Urgently… Destroy it... His tongue failed him, and he went limp, fainting.
"Well, that was a good joke.
A threat to our territory.Herakl quickly sobered up... What ? A threat?
Quickly gathering troops, he set out to liberate the territory from the enemies, leaving behind only the destroyed cities .
After seven battles, brave Herakl returned to the capital victoriously, and reported to the Empress on the military operations he carried out. The Empress thanked her glorious commander for the good work done and let him go to rest..
Herakl had not had time to change his clothes for the rest, when there was a knock on the door
Your Grace.....
Yes come in
The messenger entered ,but his eyes were downcast and he was mumbling something guiltily to himself
Report - Herakl shouted impatiently.
Your Grace there is big news
?????????
There .... Monsters......Archiruina ...........excuse me
"M-yeah, monsters again. Well, it makes me tired just thinking about all the ruins and horde of monsters. Ugh, I'm tired of it all, let the others be heroic, it's time for me to go on vacation.
Yawning and stretching, he decided to return to the warm, cozy bed. Closing his eyes, he began to comprehend the text of the report. Like a bolt of lighting from the sky, the thought shot through his half-asleep mind. "Monsters, level seven danger. Nobody in our kingdom can deal with such arch-ruin.". Pushing the messenger aside (he had already forgotten about the unfortunate man), he ran out of the corridor, giving the order to urgently saddle the horse and gather the army. Heavy footseps of army gathering could be heard in the corridors.
"Send a messenger with a letter for my friend,I will need his help with this Arch-Ruin," Herakl quickly ordered, considering a plan of war
***
In another castle, guard at the gate, saw a friendly warrior rushing at him, and did not know what to do. To open the gates, or to sound the trumpet of an attack, the incoming warrior looked very formidable.
- Hey, open the gate, I have an urgent matter for your hero! The rider shouted as he stopped beside the guard.
Hearing that there was no enemity in his voice, the guard gave an order, and the gate swung open. Arriving at the entrance of the castle, the messenger dismounted and went straight to the chambers . "it will surprise him," with these thoughts, he opened the door and went to the back of the room, where he was shown.
"Your Grace, my lord has given you a message about finding Level 7 monsters and is asking for your help, but we must hurry.
- Yes, we need to hurry, and started to calculate time required to travel to his friends city in his head.
"Too long,too long," Usurper said regretfully. And he quickly wrote << My friend, unfortunately the march to my city near you is too long with the army, and we don’t have any time, if your troops are enough to destroy, then I will resort to the help of the portal:
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***
The decision was made quickly and in a couple of minutes everything was ready to go.
Quickly finishing instructing his troops, Herakl gave the command to get ready. His loyal friend resorted to ancient magic by summoning forces supress monsters strength and to reduce their mages ' strength .
He also did not forget to take the wand that gave fear to monsters.
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The horses galloped towards the arch-ruin .
The portal of evil was open, monsters were arriving, their number could no longer fit in the ruin, slowly the monsters began to stick their ugly noses out of the ruin, it was impossible to wait any longer.
***
3... 2... 1 ... Fight!
The army began to advance to the ruin. Some of the terrified monsters managed to quickly jump into the portal before it was closed.
Sitting on his steed, Herakl gave orders. Words like steel, powerful and precise. His armor shone from afar, the god's armor and the king's sword shone even more and gave strength to his entire army inspired by ancient rune magic.
All the warriors were personally selected by him. He could trust everyone with his life. But now the lives of civilians were at stake. Herakl closed her eyes. Inhale, exhale…
"Archers! Aim for the mages! So that their spells do not confuse your mind.
Herakl raised his sword high above him. This sword is not simple. The best sorcerers in the world of Arhon has enchanted it with their best spells. Whack! The arrows shot up into the air. The spell made the arrows invisible to the eyes. For so many years, the weaknesses of these monsters were well studied. The arrows hit the Witches ' Infernal Power Ball precisely. The witches burst into flames, and three seconds later, small piles of ash appeared in their place. But a second later, a gust of wind left no memory of them. Only for the troops, the attack was not painless and there wer some losses.
"Archers! Spears! The next order came in the same steely voice.
The porters quickly took out the arrows that had been enchanted from their bags.
3, 2, 1...
Arrows soared up, and spears flew towards the enemy, hitting them and reducing their ranks. Herak raised his gaze to the sky. The gargoyles opened their mouths, extended their fiery claws, ready to rush down quickly. It was hard to shoot up, the laws of physics and gravity could not be undone. Of course, it was not as spectacular as with the mages, and the arrows did not hit so synchronously. Nevertheless it was an amazing sight. Arrows and spears hit monsters in the eyes, in the mouths, and in the heart. Some monsters were hit by one arrow and osme with a dozen. Herakla's lips whispered incantations to increase the power of arrows and spear, and his hands gripped the sword tightly . When the arrows hit, the gargoyles they let out a wild scream, and then exploded and a cloud of fiery gold feathers and iron claws clattered to the ground. Not everyone could stand the screams. some of the porters fell to the ground with their hands over their ears. Their eardrums were bursting, and blood was flowing from their ears. "There will be another job for our healers. Later, all later."
From such a cry, the Demonic wolves could not sit still, carrying the battle Orcs on their backs, they jumped out of the ruins, and rushed at the brave troops who risked disturbing their peace.
But an experienced hero was not so easy to fool. The helmet not only protected his head from blows but also from the magic of witches. This magical helmet also showed something that is not visible to the naked eye. The Fire Spirits flew after the orcs, rapidly catching up and then overtaking these clumsy riders. The spirits of fire was not visible to the naked eye. Many virgins were taken away by these spirits. But they would not touch young maidens again.
Herak held out his left hand in front of him. The sun played with its rays on his magical helmet. The rays illuminated the spirits, terrifying them with the glow of the helmet. Since these spirit monsters were afraid of silver, and together with the sunlight, this was a deadly weapon against them. The silver sunlight passed through the spirits, and in the blink of an eye, the invisible spirits turned into morning mist, which then settled in dewdrops on the grass. The Orcs, seeing that their strength was drastically reduced, turned back to the castle, hoping to save their miserable lives by fleeing. Archers and cavalry were ready to attack, but as warriors of honor and military training, they were waiting for an order from someone they respected more than themselves, and by whose order they were ready to lay down their heads in battle without hesitation.
"Archers! Spears! Double fire!
Arrows and spears were fired even before Herakl closed his lips. It's hard to beat an orc. Stone armor was more powerful than iron, and the chances of hitting their nasty flesh was too slim. The first wave of arrows killed the wolves. The Orcs rolled head over heels on the ground, smashing their stone armor on the ground. Before they could finish rolling on the ground, a second wave of arrows caught up with them and hit them. "There was an orc, there is no orc," Herakl chuckled proudly, sitting in his steed. But the grin faded from his face as his sharp ears caught the faintest whistle.
"Incoming arrows and spears!"!! He shouted at the top of his voice, raising his shield above his head. But it was too late.
A thousand archers, cavalry warriors from the front rank of his troops had already been hit by the enemy attack and were like porcupines. Dozens of arrows protruded from their bodies. It smelled like demonic blood. In an instant, the wind carried the smell to the ruins where the monsters were hiding. The smell of demonic blood was driving them crazy, and the golems forgot to be careful and began to crawl out of the cracks, wanting to eat fresh, still warm, flesh. The needlosaurs were preparing for the next strike. And everything was going so well. Herakl didn't like to think long, he liked to act. The archers, the warriors of the cavalry, stood as if rooted to the spot, except for those who had fallen under the poisonous arrows of the enemy.
His breath caught in his throat. It's hard to talk when there's not enough air. He took a deep breath.
"Archers! Warriors! We need to kill the needlosaurs! Fire.
The whistling of the demonic arrows did not frighten the golems, they continued on their way to the fresh flesh. But the dinosaurs were not so calm, clinging to the ground with their vile paws for greater stability during the attack, they now could not move from their place to take cover. Their needles fell off, their bodies lay on the ground, the remnants of their poison flowed to the ground, along with the poison, life flowed out of them.
"Well done, my warriors! Now aim for the golems, fire.
Golems were stupid creatures, and acted only on instincts wihtout any thinking. Moreover, there was no reasoning in them. They didn't even realize what had happened. Only the piles of boulders from the cloud of dust reminded of those vile creatures that were coming at the brave people.
That's all. No more scary enemy anymore. All were beaten and destroyed. Dismounting, Herakl and Usurper went to inspect the ruins. The healers took out their healing cases and began to heal the wounded.
"A squad of warriors come with me, and the rest of you gather and make a stretcher for the wounded, and take them to the infirmary." ordered Herakl. They did not have any fatalities. Thank heavens. Porters collected the golden feathers and iron claws that would be useful to them for the development of their empire.
Herakl with a squad of warriors moved to the ruins. Inside, giant gatherers scurried around in search of prey. One word, one simple word. The order consisted of only one word. And they dropped their sacks, and fell down without a sign of life, exuding a foul smell of rot.
Even in the bright sun, the black pearls glittered with an ominous, dark light.Herakl quickly divided the pearls, tied the bag, so as not to drive people crazy, he called the porters for help. There were thousands of pearls here, one couldn't handle it… Already leaving the ruins, he saw a scroll under his feet. He picked it up and gave it to his best friend ,who had fought alongside him.
First aid was provided to the injured, and the porters carried off the loot and the wounded. The archers, warriors, and cavalry, with thoughts of home and families, had already sunk below the morning horizon, and the sun was still rising. No trace of the terrible ruins remained.
– I need a drink-said Herakl and dragged himself with his faithful friend to the tavern.
***
In the tavern. Sitting in his favorite corner, Herakl watched his friend, who never refused his help and supported him in everything and helped him whenever possible, when Herakl was still completely inexperienced and weak in battles.
- Congratulations! Happy victory to you! Let me treat you, valiant warriors!
Little by little, the company at their table grew larger, and Herakl talked again and again about the destruction of the terrible ruin . They drank a little, talked more....
At the next table, a big-eared elf was trying to pull the strap on himself:
- This should have been my victory.
But fortunately for him, the words were drowned out by the noise of the merry company.
Long after midnight, the two old comrades went home.
***
- - After thanking his friend for the valiant victory and sharing the treasure, Usurper set off on his way home.
And the midday rays of the sun fell on the black pearls that spilled out of the bag…