Hadjar looked at her. He tried to drive her away… Tried to explain that he couldn’t keep the oath he’d given to her mother, he couldn’t help her become a human. That his life path was at an end. But Azrea continued to swim.It seemed like an even more powerful fuel was burning inside her than had previously burned inside Hadjar. But did the tiger want revenge? No.“No!”Would Hadjar, the Mad General, let the prediction of an old, stupid piece of wood come true? Was that how pathetic he truly was?Hadjar twitched. Through the dark haze of pain and death, he assumed a vertical position. He moved his hands for the first time, trying to swim up toward the light.As far as…Suddenly, the world changed. The darkness disappeared. Hadjar stood on the shore of a small pond and peered into its depths. He saw his parents’ house and his parents waiting for him in front of it. Nero and Serra were with them. They called out to him.Then a maiden appeared from the pond. She was very beautiful. She h
“Everything is going according to plan, my Queen,” despite her tears, Lian’s voice sounded stern. “You have defeated the false Prince and suppressed the uprising. You are the daughter of Primus Duran, the last of the Duran family line. You are the legitimate heir to the throne. The Queen of Lidus... That is the truth that the Empire will be told.”“The King is dead! Long live the Queen!”“The King is dead! Long live the Queen!”Only the tears flowing from Lian’s eyes, saturated with impotent anger, showed how difficult it was for her to participate in this insane plan of the hero who would forever be remembered as a traitor.Wearing a red dress, Elaine stood atop the hill where the castle of her ancestors had once been. It had recently been dismantled for stones in order to restore the Palace and construction was in full swing.It was rather quiet in the Kingdom. Queen Elaine had received a request for a meeting from the ambassador of Balium. The two countries had signed several trade
Elaine, who had spent almost all her power in that flame strike, was breathing heavily. Her main problem was that she knew how to fight, but didn’t know how to fight to the death. She was simply too inexperienced. She sent the sword back into the hieroglyph on her palm.“I’ll kill you,” the Princess said and held out her right hand. She launched a burst of white energy from her palm. Hadjar saw flames and swords inside it.He made the same gesture as his sister — he stretched out his hand and sent out all the energy he had left. A steel-colored energy burst out from his palm, dragons dancing in its depths. Two streams, simple attacks made of pure energy, collided in the middle and whirled madly. They fought for supremacy.Hadjar looked at his sister. He was well aware of the fact that if she faltered, if she lost control over her energy for even a moment, Hadjar’s own power would tear her apart like a furious dragon savaging one of its victim.“The one who wasn’t born will destroy you
Hadjar was well aware that the King couldn’t fight at full power. Nero’s death had hurt him too badly. To a warrior, their physical health, but also their spiritual stability, was vital. When their energy, like their mind, was in disarray, it was very difficult to use even the simplest Techniques properly.Silently, Hadjar forced himself to keep going. They fought in a brutal melee. Each clash of blades caused the remaining walls and foundation to crack even further. Both of them were running out of energy, and the whirlwind of their battle soon began to die down. Several minutes ago, they’d flown around the room and the flashes of their blades had seemed to be everywhere at once, but now they stood on the very balcony from which Primus had recently sentenced Hadjar to death. Like mere mortals, they fenced, using pure skill without a drop of energy. Smoke from cannon fire and the battle that had enveloped the square hid them from the eyes of the citizens and soldiers — the Moon Army w
Realizing that he wouldn’t have time to block, Hadjar pushed off the ground. He soared a few feet into the air, letting the attack pass by under him. Without hesitation, using the fact he was now above his foe, he launched three rapid attacks. With each one, another ghostly blade flew toward Primus, and an enraged dragon seemed to be raging in all of them.The King managed to block one of them and dodge the second, allowing it to knock out a huge chunk of the Palace’s foundation. However, Primus couldn’t deal with the third blade. Such an attack could send even a Heaven Soldier to the other world. The ghostly sword never touched Primus’ mighty chest. It struck a black dagger’s protruding hilt instead. Another powerful explosion sounded and Primus was thrown twenty yards back. Spitting blood, he stood up and assumed a stance that resembled an executioner preparing to end someone’s life.“Army of the Wind,” he said aloud, using every trick he could to help him focus.His hand turned int
Suddenly, Serra emanated a power ten times greater than the Governor’s own. Hadjar didn’t understand what was happening, but the Imperial seemed to.“Stop!” He screamed and tried to lower his blade, but, like Hadjar, he now couldn’t move.Dozens of stone ivy thorns shot out from the floor. Shrouded in blue flame, they wrapped themselves around the Governor. The two legionnaires that were still alive couldn’t resist the spell. They fell to the ground, stabbed through by the vines. Burning in the blue flame, they held out their hands toward Serra as they screamed in agony.Tears of blood flowed down Serra’s cheeks. Her hair turned red. A second sun came into being over the witch’s head. Her red cloak billowed like a strong wind was blowing, and the witch flew across the ground. A moment later, she and the Governor turned into two blue pillars. The burning Imperial screamed something in his final moments. Hadjar saw a slight smile on Serra’s lips.“Don’t forget us...” Hadjar heard.The w
He used the ‘Five Ravens’ Technique and reached such a high velocity that his muscles and tendons distorted slightly, and his internal organs, damaged by the Governor, could barely withstand the stress. Leaving behind a trail of darkness and blood, Hadjar managed to block the strike at the last moment.As the General and the legionnaire fought, deep cracks spread along the marble beneath them. Slabs of marble rose up into the air as the floor was destroyed.Pushing the man back, Hadjar turned and kicked one of the slabs of marble. A large shard ended up lodged in the legionnaire’s shoulder as the man hadn’t expected such a move. It dragged him a few yards through the air, until he slammed into the wall, stuck. The Imperial shouted and tried to free himself, but looked as helpless as a fluttering butterfly. No one — neither the five remaining warriors nor the Governor — were going to help him. His blood pooled on the floor.Hadjar, seeing the remaining legionnaires unsheathing their bl
“You lived with it, brother,” Nero interrupted. “Fifteen years ago, you were obsessed with revenge because you were alone. You were surrounded on all sides by enemies,” Hadjar was startled by these words. “Now you have us. And we have you. Are you ready to give all that up for the sake of revenge? Just to murder Primus? Think, Hadjar. My father isn’t a good man, but he is my father. I won’t let you go any farther, but I’ll be happy to leave with you.”“And you’ll just leave your father?” Hadjar asked. “What will happen when the Moon Army charges in here? How do you plan to stop them?”“I don’t,” Nero shrugged. “All actions have consequences. My father will have to face them. But not you, Hadjar. Because you are my brother and I can’t forget or forgive what you’re planning to do. Therefore, I beg you, let’s leave, together. Just run away. Let’s go on that journey that we’ve dreamed so much about. This is our moment, buddy. Ours and no one else’s.”Hadjar looked into the eyes of the man
The Moon Army and the Balium corps, which had come at the Mad General’s call, followed right behind him.Together, they rushed into the Palace garden and several thousand legionaries immediately appeared to challenge them. The narrow paths of the garden didn’t allow the army to maneuver easily, but that wasn’t necessary.Hadjar’s sword seemed to be everywhere at once. The legionnaires had no chance. A dark shadow flashed between them. Each swing of Hadjar’s blade took several lives; each of his attacks conjured a whole wave of ghostly blades that turned people into little more than mincemeat.A bloodthirsty grin gleamed on the General’s face. The sword in his hand sang and danced. Like a spirit of death, he rushed through the garden, and by the time his people had barely managed to send a couple dozen legionaries to their forefathers, he’d covered the paths with over fifty bodies.Pausing for a moment, Hadjar held his blade in both hands. A vortex of steel energy sprang up around him.