The Trials Of The King Chapter 7
When Chaos Reigns, It Pours!
By Nanaki
Late June 16
"They've got Zenan Bridge sealed up tight. If we want to cross, we're going to have to fight." Omi informed Zeik as he looked through his binoculars. "Several hundred men, and with this dense forest, there's probably a lot more not too far away."
"We've got more than several hundred men here." Zeik grinned. "How quickly can we get across?"
"If we don't stop to take prisoners..." Sira shook her head strongly. "Um... Well, I think this is where the battle is going to be."
Zeik sighed, and his smile vanished. "I suppose. I was hoping we could get closer to Guardia Castle."
"You will, eventually." Sira assured him.
"Holy...!" Omi suddenly cursed. "Zeik, take a look at who just arrived on the scene!"
Zeik picked up the binoculars and scanned the bridge area. He spotted a very recognizable individual organizing the defences. "Th... That's Vincent!"
"What?!" Kaneta jumped up. "The head of the special agents Vincent?! The Vincent who's men killed our parents?!"
"Yes, that would be the one." Zeik replied, regaining his composure.
"If Vincent's here, Lucca can't be far away." Sira informed them. "And my parents probably are close by too."
"Can you do the summon right now?"
"I'll try..." Sira closed her eyes, and concentrated deeply for several minutes, before sighing. "I'm sorry. There's just not enough power in the area."
"Would there be enough power somewhere else?"
"I can't say. It's a distinct possibility."
"Hmm... I suppose we should save it for when we really need it. Well, there's no reason not to attack now. Men, ready your arms!" The call was passed back through the field. Zeik slowly walked to the top of nearby rise, so nearly all of his men could see him. He slowly drew his ancestors' katana, and raised it high. "This is the Murasama! In the name of Matuyama, I will use it to destroy those who have oppressed us for a thousand years!! Now, forward!"
"Matuyama!!!" The ancient battle cry echoed across the field. By this time, the Guardian soldiers had of course detected their presence, and hurriedly assembled to meet the charge. Zeik sighed as his men surged past him, and pushed him back. Now would hardly be the time to talk them out of protecting him, but still, he wished he could be at the front with Omi and Kaneta.
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Vincent rushed up the hill to where Lucca, Nadia, and Crono stood by the Pulsar Cannon. "Is this thing ready to go?"
"Yes. It's completely charged up." Lucca reassured him. He nodded, then began to charge down the hill. "Hey! Where are you off to?"
Vincent paused momentarily. "Those bastards, or their parents, at least, killed some of my best friends way back when I was in the service! I'm not just going to stand up here!" He reached back, and pulled out a rather large gun. Lucca had modified her gun designs over the years, so they were no longer the odd, bulky things they had been at first. The weapon Vincent loaded now was long, sleek, and packed a lot more power. It was also possible to fire many shots in a short amount of time, simply by swinging the gun in a circle after used so as to load up a new shell.
"All right, but be careful." Vincent nodded, then charged into the fray. Crono viewed the scene carefully.
"All right, they're close enough now." He judged the distance between the Matuyama clan and the Guardian troops. "Signal Ozzie. We've got a surprise for them." Then Crono began to charge down the hill too.
"Now where are you going?" Nadia demanded.
"I'm one of the few people with enough skill to disarm the leaders without killing them! I have to help out!"
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Kaneta and Omi, and the men right behind them, hacked their way through the initial resistance with relative ease. The Guardian troops had obviously never seen battle before, while they had had a lifetime of training, plus plenty of real life experience with special agents. They didn't charge right for the main mass of men, coming from the Dorino coast, but rather, straight for Zenan Bridge. Even after running into heavy resistance, they continued to progress steadily, with Kaneta and Omi not even touched by one enemy blade. Of course, Omi's incredible reach with his spear helped that cause, but it still took skill while they were nearly completely surrounded.
Suddenly, when it seemed that they were in the clear, a white light blinded them, and they stopped in their tracks. When they could see again, three blue skinned creatures stood in front of them. "You take care of these guys, I'll go after the Matuyama." The largest of them said, then the white light flashed again, and he was gone.
"Whoever you are, I'd advise you to get out of our way, now." Kaneta growled.
"Oh, I think you've got it backwards." The one in brown armor growled back. "You're in our way. Isn't that right Pillage?"
"You got it Plunder." The one in green responded. "We're going to carve our way to your leader, whether you like it or not!" With that, Pillage launched himself at Kaneta, and Plunder at Omi. Omi's spear was not quick enough to parry Plunder's vicious strokes, so he quickly dropped it and drew his katana. The four opponents battled back and forth, each swing of the sword being met by an equal swing. "This is getting us nowhere!" Pillage cursed. "Plunder, time is of the essence."
"For once brother, I agree with you. Time to unleash our power!" The two mystics jumped back for a second, then suddenly, fire roared down their swords as if they had just dunked them in gasoline. "Pillage, Fire Strike now!"
"Affirmative brother! Heyaaahhh!!" They both jumped at Omi, who raised his katana to defend. The flaming swords shattered his blade and carved deep into his skin, the fire cauterizing the gaping wounds even as the swords made them.
"Aaauuugghhh!!!" Omi collapsed to the ground.
Plunder looked scornfully down at Omi's broken form. "I think that's enough for the opening salvo. Let's go see what Ozzie's up to." With that, they both teleported away.
"Omi-san!" Kaneta ran up and kneeled by him, heedless of the few Guardian soldiers still around. "Are you going to be all right?"
"I am all right." Omi assured him, slowly rising to kneeling position himself. "It was quite a shock, is all. I thought I could hold them off."
"I thought you could too..." Kaneta frowned. "Can you stand? I think those guys are going after Zeik!"
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Pillage and Plunder arrived at Ozzie's position farther down the field just in time to see him fry a dozen Matuyama troops at once with his own unique fire spell. "Ozzie, my man!" Plunder ran up to him. "That was most cool. How're they fighting?"
"The Matuyama clan is kicking the Guardians' butts."
"Is that their leader I see over there?" Pillage pointed to where Zeik was running forward, surrounded by his men.
"Yep. He's the kind of guy you just have to beat without magic, out of respect, and I don't care to tangle with him directly."
"You want us to handle him?" Pillage asked.
"No." Ozzie shook his head. "We need to get back to the front to lead our men in. They definitely need our help. Right now, in fact."
"Do I see a white lady over there?" Pillage squinted.
"I dunno. Let's get going though."
Plunder grinned as Zeik neared his first taste of battle; an especially sturdy group of Guardians had clashed up against his men, and was actually breaking through. "Aw, but the leader hasn't done anything yet! You know when he does, it'll be really good!"
"Let's go, Plunder!" Ozzie snapped.
As Plunder turned to begin teleporting, an exceptionally loud cry rang across the field. "Heeee-yaaaaaawwwwwhhhhh!!!!" Plunder stopped his own magic as Ozzie and Pillage disappeared. Turning quickly, he saw over a third of the Guardians lay sprawled on the ground, and the rest were dropping their weapons and kneeling in surrender. Zeik looked extremely tired, but held his sword forward in a ready position.
'I missed the whole thing! Damn it!'
"Now Plunder!" Ozzie reappeared and grabbed him, then teleported both of them away.
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"I'm not like that. You see, I like to fight fair." - Rubicant
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