MasukGood morning/afternoon/evening, brave reader 🤩 We meet again… Coffee or wine in one hand, chapter in the other — you’re doing life correctly 😜
Jack and Thomas swept their way through the palace grounds towards their meeting point, slaying those without the emblem but halfway through, their luck seemed to have run out. Jack and his men fell into a 3x3 trapping pit just as they were nearing the meeting point.Thomas and the men following him, who were also approaching the previously agreed meeting point, heard the sound of a door slamming along with hushed cries of alarm and raced to the spot but what met their eyes was the empty, quiet expanse. Thomas and his men walked forward, cautiously scanning their environment, unable to shake of the previous sounds as a figment of their imagination. They edged closer to each other as they moved forward alertly, however they met with the same fate as Jack.Jack and his men, who hadn’t fully comprehended what had happened were still in a daze when the ground above them opened once again. But soon had their answer as they were crushed by their comrades who fell in, on top of them…. Litera
Leal led Cornelius and the men with him through the narrow passage towards the inner hall. Once they reached the inner hall, they dismissed Leal to carry on his tasks as both, Cornelius and Baldwin were more than familiar with the secret passages from here. Cornelius wanted to check on Aglaya first and hence they moved swiftly towards her courtyard.“All of you wait here while I and Baldwin check on Aglaya.” Corenlius instructed the men as they reached a small room mid-way between the inner hall and the queen’s courtyard.They moved swiftly through the rest of the passage. Cornelius heart nearly stopped as he heard the clanking of metals coming from the room outside the wall; his hands that were reached out to press the lever on the side of the wall, opening access from the tunnel to the Queen’s courtyard, hung frozen in air. Baldwin patted his back reassuringly before pressing the lever.The scene that entered their eyes as the door slid open was Aglaya’s swift action of slicing the
“Do you think this princess is foolish enough to walk into enemy camp without sufficient preparation?”Gu Hei lowered his head further but still raised his concern “Princess, I am only concerned about your safety.”“The envoys accompanying me under the banner of court officials are all generals…” Princess sighed helplessly as she started to explain; she could see genuine concern in the commander’s eyes.“Also, my protector will be with me, only 1 step away.” She smiled comfortingly before resuming her arrogant façade “But that is not all, our men have infiltrated into their palace and will be lying dormant, awaiting my commands…. Tell me, commander, with these preparations, am I able to put your concerns to rest?”“It was my fault; I misspoke.” Gu Hei quickly knelt on the ground as he lowered his head, sighing inwardly in relief. He wasn’t sure if the last sentence was to comfort himself or whether it was implying that he had no faith in their imperial family.“Sigh! I wasn’t blaming
“Princess, are you sure we should halt for negotiation?” He raised his head, gathering courage as he spoke “We have the advantage of numbers while they are still caught unprepared and we have already worn them down. Even though we are up against the Zumerongs, Zeke said that they are only half of what they used to be and with the added support, their odds against us are at least 1:50 and I am confident that our men can take them down.”“Don’t count your laurels swatting flies.” Warrior princess laughed scornfully “They are not worth our efforts.”She stood up and walked towards the centre table and sat down as she gestured Gu Hei to take a seat. She poured herself tea and took a sip before chiding “Don’t grit your teeth. Not all battles need to be fought on horseback, nor do victories have to written with blood.”“Defeat that comes from within stings the worst….” Her lips curled up cruelly as she traced the rim of her cup “Why should we expend the blood and sweat of our men when we ca
“Lord commander….” Kenward called out as he noted the pensive look on his otherwise carefree young lord; he had just entered the tent with Gabriel.“That call for retreat….” Humphrey voiced his concern without hesitation; these were his trusted men.“What about it?” Gabriel asked, his face twisted in confusion; there was nothing out of the ordinary about the bugle call, it was a norm for battles that raged for days, at least not in his books…“Don’t you think that the call came too early?” Humphrey hooked his right brow as he turned his gaze towards Kenward.“They were not at a disadvantage although they lost quite a few men while we were nearing exhaustion…” Humphrey continued noting Kenward’s gaze that reflected silent reflection. “There was a chance that they could have turned the tides if they held on a little longer…”“Um….” Kenward hummed in agreement “The young commander of the east kingdom is very ambitious and would never retreat when he could gamble with the odds in his favo
This was probably the worst decision that Gu Hei could have made; his intention was to distract the Zumerong, but it left him vulnerable. Although the Zumerongs had withdrawn from active politics and even left the country, they had never slacked in their training, nor had they deteriorated in their skills. As always, they were in their best form.As the bloody battle progressed, Gu Hei’s original confidence had also begun to waiver. In the beginning, although he knew that Zumerong forces were formidable, he was confident winning the battle, he even smugly thought that he could carve a space for himself in history with his victory over the undefeated forces of the Zumerongs.His confidence was not without reason; in his mind, the Zumerongs who had been in exile, scattered without a master should have long foregone their former battle prowess and glory. However, reality struck him hard in the face; not only were they in their best form, even their strategy was flawless. It seemed like t







