King Marcus held his hand and the army came to a halt. He narrowed his gaze at the Valorian messenger who was holding a letter in his hands. With a wave of his hand, a Knight stepped forward and took the letter from the Knight before handing it to him. The King’s face grew a few shades darker as he read through the letter, a knowing smile forming on his face before he folded the letter in his hands and threw it on the ground. And adopting a serious face, he said,"Go tell your king that I do not wish to have my daughter back, peacefully as he states. I want his kingdom, his lands and.. Your women." A hysterical laugh followed his words, his eyes momentarily turning white like one possessed by a demon. "Go!"The messenger didn’t wait for another word from him and urged his horse forward. "Let’s see how far you can get," Marcus said. He stretched his hand wordlessly and a Knight placed a bow and arrow in his hand. His gaze locked the target, the strings of the bow emitting a white halo that enveloped the arrow. ’Swish!’ Like a thunderbolt, the arrow sped crazily and found its target. The messenger winced in pain before he collapsed on his own horse headed to Valoria. "What do you see?" Alexander asked the Knight with the telescope. Lowering the stethoscope, the Knight turned to face Alexander and said, "They killed him Your Highness." Alexander drew in a sharp breath but he had expected this. Why would a king cone with such a large army to take his daughter anyways? "Take the first and second squadrons outside the gate. They should protect the city at all costs. The rest of you, come with me." And turning to two of his trusted men, "Gabriel and Vincent, I entrust my wife’s safety to you. Don’t let her come out no matter what!"The two knights looked at each other confused but left anyways. It was strange for his Highness to trust a woman, let alone protect her. A big section of the Valorian army was lined at the front line. Alexander didn’t want the city to be ruined before everyone had been evacuated through the sea route. That was the safest for now. And if things would go haywire, Isadora would have to leave the city as well. He narrowed his eyes at the incoming army. To him, this was just but a piece of cake. The dragons were the greatest threat, and the witches too to normal Valorian knights. Thankfully, he had killed so many of them before so their number was limited. He was certain they’d make at most a quarter of this army. To deal with the dragons, he had to be at his best. That was why he didn’t want Isadora to see the other version of him. He was simply a beast, that he even feared himself. He had always controlled it but he was afraid he couldn’t if he reached his maximum. And today seemed like the day. The enemy army matched forward to only be met by a Valorian knights’ blockade. "Shield!" Alexander called. Confused, the enemies matched forward, towards their death! "Now!" Arrows rained from the city wall strucking the off guard army. At least that reduced their number significantly before they noticed what was happening. In the midst of the confusion, they attacked as well. The war broke out officially! Alexander closed his eyes tightly as the fresh smell of blood filled the dusty filled. His hand on the hilt of his sword, he shot his eyes open, a faint red visible on them. These were the times he felt like killing forever! His beast was already craving for blood abd its scent only acted to drive it crazy. A heavy aura descended on the battlefield as a man dressed in all black gracefully swung his sword, effortlessly dropping heads of the Crescians. His movements were precise and in what could be termed as a blur, he’d kill four to five Crescians. His sword was laced in scarlet and not a strand of his hair was out of place nor had sweat broke on his face. Within minutes, half of the army was down, courtesy of Alexander. "We are losing your Majesty," a witch reported to Marcus who had his eyes fixated on Alexander all the time. "You know what you have to do," he said in a gruff voice. "And don’t forget, I need my daughter alive!" "Yes Your Majesty." And with a snap of his finger, the dragons roaming the sky roared before descending upon the Valorian city. Alexander sliced a Knight into two when he spotted the dragons. "Oh no!" He cursed. A gust of wind enveloped him before he landed softly on the city wall. He had to stop these beings and above all, protect both his home and wife. But these were dragons! He’d get roasted to nothingness even before he could act. But he wasn’t foolish either. To deal with fire, he had to be fire itself first, which meant he had to show a version of himself that he so much feared. He had once burnt a whole forest when he first tested the flaming curse as he had named it. "Kill him!" The witch instructed the dragons through telepathy when he saw Alexander standing on the way. It was one of the gifts that enabled the witches to tame the dragons and control them. ’Roar!’ One of the dragons, a golden scaled one descended on Alexander, it’s mouth wide open. Alexander just stood there with eyes tightly shut, and for a moment, the whole battlefield watched in exhilaration, both foes and friends. The death of Alexander would guarantee Crescia victory without a doubt. He was the only voice of reason to his men and the reason why they were fighting. The dragon released fire directed to a stagnant Alexander. Sweat broke on his face for once due to the incoming wave of heat but never for once did he open his eyes. The Valorians held their breaths hoping for the worst before the flame descended on Alexander. Poignant silence reigned!