User blog:KingMaster TOG/A Warrior's Path- Chapter one preview


 * Rumble rumble rumble*



A large, armoured vehicle rolled across the rocky ground. Carrying 10 men, all sat down, ready to jump out at a moment’s notice. Their swords drawn, ready to charge. This was by no means a stealth mission. The scout force sent just weeks ago was caught and utterly obliterated by the Ginsese resistance. The invasion plan was leaked, they were expecting the assault, just not so soon….

*Whrrrr…..TCHK!*

“What the hell was that? Why have we stopped?”

“Dammit, the engine isn’t working!”

“Then go look at it! You’re the engineer!”

“The emperor will not be happy...”

One man got out of the vehicle. He wore little armour and only carried around a small knife around for self-defence. He walked out with a large tool box and looked around. All ten transport vehicles stood motionless. This was no uncommon occurrence. The engines and mana generators used in the transports were primitive at best. Low quality, mass-produced machines pieced together by reverse-engineered Ginsese technology. They held the superior tech, despite being an island nation with limited resources. But that wasn’t going to stop the invasion from proceeding. Ginsai and Longsia have been at war for as far as anyone can remember, and this could be the silver bullet to put an end to it all.

The engineer opened the engine compartment, he couldn’t see much wrong with it, but the mana generator’s compartment seemed stuck.

“I think it’s jammed!”

“Then unjam it, dumbass!”

The engineer sighed, his squadmates were annoying as ever. They always looked down on him, for not serving his country as he should, for not fighting in the frontlines. They followed a strict warrior code and they thought little of what they perceived to be cowards.

He moved a couple of things aside, dismantling the generator, upon a closer listen, he could hear something almost like a very small clock was…ticking…

*tick, tick, tick*

Is this…what he thought it was…?

He ripped the jammed pump out of the generator and removed all the mana, dumping it in a pile on the floor, this was liquid mana, the most viscous form, perfect for powering engines. However, he was not here to ponder it’s properties, he inspected the mechanism, until he saw it.

<p class="MsoNormal">The problem was staring him right in the face. “IT’S A BO-“

<p class="MsoNormal">*PEW!*

<p class="MsoNormal">Before he could even finish the sentence, the charge exploded in his face, killing him before he even realised what had happened.

<p class="MsoNormal">As they were driving, a group of infiltrators must have planted bombs in the most flammable part of the vehicle. It was a massive overlooked design flaw in the vehicle, the mana generators were left wide open for anyone to sabotage, despite all of it’s armour, one individual stealthy enough or even one good shot from even a crossbow would set alight the entire vehicle. All this happened in less than a second, luckily for one young infantryman, he was able to react as the engineer spoke his final words, sprinted towards, and opened the release hatch. He was just outside of the blast radius as the charge exploded, along with the rest of the transports, some did make it out in time, and were in a position to fight. Unfortunately, his squadmates were incinerated on the spot. He never really liked them anyways, arrogant, rude, and often times abusive towards the young soldier. At least, that’s what he would think, if he hadn’t had other things to think about.

<p class="MsoNormal">Both his legs were broken, as well as his left arm, he also had serious burns all over his back and chest. He groaned, trying to crawl away from the wreckage, his cries of pain becoming softer as he tried to ignore it. He had little training with his soul energy, but tried to make use of what he knew. He tried to control how he thought, to control his injuries, to ignore the pain. He had been inspired by those who had learned to control their soul power. They were absolute monsters on the battlefield, able to take a blow like that without so much as a scratch. Now was his time to prove that he could do that, that he could bear through the pain. This is the redemption for all the times he had been ridiculed, all the times he had been called weak.

<p class="MsoNormal">He barely stood up on his horribly-damaged leg bones and tried to assume a fighting stance, although he was clinging on to dear life. He drew his blade in his only working hand and raised it weakly. He looked like a brittle old man at the end of his days,  yet he could muster all the rest of his remaining strength and put it to surviving the ensuing fight, he was going to defend his country, his honour, himself.

<p class="MsoNormal">Suddenly, the group of infliltrators who blew up the invasion force popped out of the surrounding jungle and attacked the survivors, they were there to finish the job, many of the soldiers were dazed and confused, and were picked off without so much as a sweat. Others, who were in better shape, were able to return blows quite effectively, before finally being put to rest. One of the infiltrators, dual wielding short blades engaged the young infantryman  and rushed toward him, the weak Longsese boy was just able to raise his blade and block the incoming strike, landing on his back foot and twisting it with a disgusting SNAP. He fell on the ground, still being to kneel and dodge the next attack by headbutting his assailant, who barely even flinched. The longsese boy then took his blade and tried to perform a slash to the enemy’s torso, but barely ended up grazing his stomach. He was then kicked into the jungle, causing even more bones to break. He had almost passed out when he looked up and saw his adversary trying to jump on him, blades raised, ready to deal the killing blow.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">With the last of his strength, he half-rolled sideways, and raised his blade at the last possible moment. His assailant, being inexperienced, fell onto a rock, hitting his head on the hard surface and being stabbed through in the stomach. However, not before lodging both his blades in the right shoulder of the poor boy he was fighting. He was knocked out cold instantly.

<p class="MsoNormal">The boy closed his eyes, and wondered if this was the end.

<p class="MsoNormal">No…

<p class="MsoNormal">I cant let it be…

<p class="MsoNormal">I…Cant…let….this…