Roaring Thunder

Chapter 1: Strike Like A Wolf; Leave Like A Wolf

We glare down at each other. Me at him and he at me. It isn't long before one of us speaks again. This time, it is him with his reply to my words. Or, to be precise, he is challenging me.

'Don't mess with me, you fool!' He jumped over the fence and almost immediately, he follows it up with a torrent of punches launched at me. One, two, three, four, … : his punches seem never-ending at first but no longer than about thirty seconds later, the initially fast and aggressive punches are now mere swinging of his already worn-out arms, aimed at me. His attacks are constantly monotonous which is why all I need to do is to capture the speed of them and time my movements accordingly as I turn my body to the left and to the right, swiftly dodging the punches. He soon realises that he could not stand up against me, at least not alone. With a wave of his hand, his similarly rude friends climbed over the fence and land on the ground in my farm. Too many people to handle or perhaps...

Too little for me to even bother to handle seriously!

A quick shift of weight as I lower myself and sweep their feet of the ground is all it takes for me to take them down. Just one swift motion to let their arrogance collapse in a matter of seconds.

'That's all, young men? Pretty arrogant of you even with this level of fighting abilities, aren't you?' The attackers can barely move their bodies, less so their mouths. At that moment, they can only do one thing: Stay and listen.

The sight of the men lying down on the ground somehow reminds me of those times when those times of war raging here and there. Countless men of courage were killed and their lifeless bodies were left sprawling on the soil bathed in the blood from their battles. Some were battered so badly that their faces were unrecognisable while some were forced to sacrifice their future in a pointless war. Only, this time, the eyes of the men lying on the ground are alive in contrary to that from the time of war. I am about to lift my left foot to move forward when an order is shouted at my back.

'Stop at your track, Mister Rex! Move and you shall be executed at once!' The voice seems to be muffled by something. Something thick and solid hard. 'And who might you b..' My reply is cut short by the unexpected flying dagger slicing the air beside my head at the proximity of a hair's breadth and buries itself into the earth bearing the weight of the young men.

'Stand up, fellas! Or do you want me to carry your ass back to the mansion?! ' He paused as he watched the young tax collector struggling to rise and get back on their feet. Before they leave the vicinity, they managed to steal a glance of me with a sour look on. With their leave, he resumes his line. 'Sorry for the misbehaviour of those youngsters. Oh yes! And forgive me for my rudeness for not introducing myself beforehand. My name is Sir Frederick of the Claudia Castle serving as an aid to Lord Mecci, the baron of the town of Drago. Pleased to make your acquintance.'

'For a knight to come all the way here to this side of the town, it just makes me wonder if I can do anything to help you?'

'Not me but Lord Mecci. He wished to meet you at his mansion immediately.'

' Can it be tomorrow? Or maybe another... day? I have got a farm to tend to right now.'

'Immediately!' He stresses on the word as he replies.

With his firm grip around my wrist, he pulls me over to his horse and brings me all the way to the mansion at the end of the town on a ride. A massive building with pillars erecting from the ground where they stand and with statues of Lord Mecci, I assume, standing proudly at both sides of the stairway's top. This guy must be really full of himself to do so, I thought. The galloping horse comes to a stop just right before we crashed into the wall beside the stairs.

'Go up the stairs, Rex. I will join you later when I am done preparing myself!' He said as he pulls the rein before kicking the back of the horse to ride it forward. Preparing yourself? For what? Again, my mind is filled with questions and doubts to be answered. With the knight now gone, obediently, I climb up the stairs and soon, find myself to be standing before a massive, bronze door. Potraits of angels and devils alike were carved into the door surface like...like The Gate to Hell and Heaven! My Lord! Just don’t let It be mine. I push the door open.

Seconds ago, I was standing in front of the door and now, here I am, in the middle of a room which looks exactly like a ballroom: A chandelier with candles lit hung at the ceiling over me, two stairs spiraling upwards fixed to the to a large section of the wall opposite me and three golden doors at each side of the four-walled room. 'Welcome, Monsieur Rex!' And down come the man of the mansion, Lord Mecci from the right spiraling stairs. 'Welcome and... what is it again? I am so bad in remembering words!'

'Ah yes! Welcome and farewell... Rex!'

Ten knights barge into the room using the three doors surrounding me. Each carrying a shield in one hand and a lance in another. And one of them, undoubtedly, is Sir Frederick. I guess that's what he meant by preparing. To put on an armor and to arm himself with both a shield and a weapon. This is really bad, I mutter. I should have run just now.

'My bad for not warning you beforehand. Prepare to die!' Sir Frederick grins.

'Attack on my mark!' The knights position themselves around me with each of the five sides consisting a pair. Hiding behind their shields and an arm curling up the lance handle, their sights fall on me. I am their target. And...' Forward!' And, there's no escaping this flawless 'cage'. I will have to fight.

For the first thrust, I sidestep to the right to avoid it and just before it passes by me completely, I grab hold of the knight's hand holding the handle. With small exertion of force, I pull and direct the attack to the knight with the second thrust running towards me. And... bang! Two steel guys clash into each other. And for the rest of the thrusts, I bring forth the same counter against them. Except for that of Sir Frederick and his assisting knight. They are the perfect pair, to be put simply. From the execution of their attacks to the end of them, everything is almost perfectly planned out beforehand. Whenever I reach out to grab the handle in the middle of the thrusts, the other will have already been in the midst of dashing forward to break us apart. Whenever I sidestep to the right when he thrusts into my left, the other will follow through with a chain of strikes to the right. To master the usage of lance to such extent is simply superb. For the lances not to hit each other despite the simultaneous attacks, the knights have definitely proved their worth. And as a former knight who not only fought in a war once but also survived it despite the countless casualties, I shall not lose my face here. Or else, my friend's death would have meant he's just another weak, small fry.

The tip of the lance piercing towards him and the other lance moving into him at a considerable pace, I have no choice but to do this. Splash! The sharp tip of the weapon pierces through my palm as I clutch the weapon's end in my fingers. Blood constantly flows along the curve of the end and drips little by little to the marble floor below my feet. The sight of blood, how I long to not see it again. My right arm stretches out into a solid straight punch flying into the face of Sir Frederick. He lets go of the weapon as he flies backwards to the floor, his arms pulling the shield to his face as he lands with a large impact. His assisting knight stand at a few meters from me. The look on his demeanour is clear to me. That he has lost all hopes of defeating me.

'Bravo!' A voice behind me said out loudly. 'Just like what those young kids told me! You are indeed a magnificent man that never stop to excite this frail heart of mine.'

'Nice try, Lord Mecci. Are you trying to pretend that all those attacks just now have never happened? I have got evidence here in my palm and that, you cannot erase. '

'It's just a test, Rex. To see if the news the kids brought to me were true or not.'

'A test? With those deadly weapons flying across the room towards me?'

'Yes, monsieur! A test it was and a test it would be. Also, I hereby proudly announced that you, Rex, have passed the test!'

'Survived the test!' I corrected.' So, what is my reward for sacrificing my palm for this "test" ah?'

His lips curls upwards into a grin. 'Looks like all men are the same after all. To expect a reward for every pain one has suffered is very humanely, don't you think? ' Somehow, for a split second there, I could have sworn that I sense a really menacing aura rising up around him as he said those lines. Somehow, an unpleasant feeling starts to surface within the room. 'Oh yes, before I forget it again, let me give you a piece of advice before you...let's keep the surprise for the last, shall we?'

'Idiocy and courage are two separate things. And yours is merely idiocy.' He pauses momentarily to catch his breath. I gulp as soon as I start to realise what that line truly means. 'To stand up against your baron... Do you really think that a farmer like you can truly do it? Bannir! From today onwards, you shall not set foot into this town, Monsieur.' With his true intentions finally revealed, he laughs out a wicked laugh. And there, I see my opportunity. His opening.

In a lightning-like motion, I zig-zag, tiptoed, across the room. An injured hand flying backwards and another hand to my back, I move as swiftly and silently as I can. From my back, right under my tunic, I pull out a hidden dagger the size of a forearm. Operation 'Silent Kill'. One of the skills I have acquired during the invasion of the assassins' village, hidden behind the mountains and under the cloak of the trees in the forest. Beginning with a quiet approach towards the enemy, concealed within the shadows, and ending with...

'This shall be your end!' A stab to the opening given to one, be it a conscious action or an accident merely by chance. But one chance is enough to do the job if the opening is at the vital point. For instance, the...

'My eye!' Lord Mecci screams in a never-to-be heard before pitch. A soft spot like the eye can always make a great entrance for something sharp. All that's left is a slight push into the brain. And, it's over.

Farewell, Mecci. With that, I push the dagger into his eye socket and into his head.

Frederick gape in horror at the sight. So are the rest of the knights. But, I am different. Knowing that I have killed the baron of the town, the fact that my life as a farmer ends here and now is unavoidable. I pluck out my dagger and slide it back into its sheathe. Looking at the terrified look on Frederick and his knights somehow trigger the sentiment in me. I somehow feel like sparing their lives.

With them kneeling on the floor, still traumatised by the grueling scene that unfolded before them, I pick up a lance and soon, I will be finding my way to a new home.

To a new life.