Chapter 25

“No one gives up! We will not give up on people who are ungrateful to others!” I shouted to fire up the soldiers who were with me.

The air was getting heavier, our breathing began to catch, but we continued to endure. My body was covered in sweat, my hands trembled as I gripped my sword, but I couldn’t stop now. Around me, my soldiers were equally exhausted, their faces pale and tense. Attack after attack from the Cheza tribesmen had not stopped, and we were now on the edge.

“We will remember your kindness, Prince Dean,” the Cheza chieftain’s voice echoed through the tense terrain. His voice was cold, hateful. He stood in front of me, his eyes looking at me with deep hatred, as if he knew victory was already in his hands. “Goodbye, Prince Dean. With your destruction, we will be rewarded by our King.”

The man’s voice sounded so loud and he grinned so wide with a sinister face. I honestly felt trepidation and fear because even though I had been living in hardship, I hadn’t come face to face with things that jeopardized my safety like this.

Is this the end of my real life? But if I really ended up here then that meant I wouldn’t be able to return to my home world either. For a moment I frowned at myself for taking such a risk. Going and doing dangerous things with no regard for my safety and the risks I would incur was probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. But I also didn’t understand why I could be so determined and make such a decision.

My throat was constricted. I knew this could be our end. They were already preparing for the final assault, and my soldiers were already starting to run out of steam. My sword was still raised, but I honestly wasn’t sure how much longer I could fend off those attacks.

Instantly, Cheza’s people moved forward in unison. I could hear the sound of their footsteps, the heavy breathing, and the unstoppable sound of shouting. They were going to attack us together, wiping us out in one fell swoop.

I took a deep breath, preparing for the final battle. “Get ready!” I called out to my soldiers, my voice nearly breaking with fatigue. “Protect yourselves as best you can!”

But then, suddenly, something strange happened. A thick fog began to descend from the sky, enveloping the area around us. It appeared so suddenly, as if it came from nothing. I blinked, bewildered by the increasingly dense fog, until I could barely see anything in front of me.

“What is this?” one of my soldiers asked, his voice sounding worried.

Many of us felt both confused and panicked as the fog suddenly surrounded us all from different directions. It was as if we were suddenly sprayed by a thick fog from all sides. We looked around but there was no sign of the person who did this. But why did this happen?

I was also confused. This mist came in an unusual way, spreading so quickly and enveloping us in an instant. However, before I could understand what was happening, the sounds of clanking weapons and the shouts of Cheza’s people began to fade.

In the mist, I vaguely saw them fall one by one. There was no attack, no resistance. They just... fell. One by one, the Cheza people fell to the ground, collapsing as if they had suddenly lost consciousness.

Seeing that I also shuddered because it meant that the fog that began to surround us contained a substance that could harm us all. There could be a group of people who deliberately waited for a moment like this to spray this fog so that we were all trapped in this dangerous fog.

That’s still my assumption, I see from the events that are happening now and the people of the Cheza tribe who are falling one by one.

I stepped back, my heart racing. “What’s going on?” I looked at my soldiers, hoping that someone could give me an answer. However, they were equally confused. One of them covered his nose quickly, thinking that this mist might contain poison. I followed his movement, covering my nose with my sleeve, worried that we might suffer the same fate.

“This mist... could be poisonous,” I said quietly, my eyes not leaving the Cheza people who were already lying unconscious on the ground. “Don’t breathe too much. Protect yourself.”

I immediately covered my nose and the hole leading to my breathing apparatus. If there wasn’t a special tool to do that but at least I covered my nose and mouth with a cloth and held my breath for some time.

My heart continued to feel uncomfortable and also worried because I had also inhaled the fog for a short time but until now there were no effects that I felt, hopefully my fellow soldiers and I were fine.

We all remained vigilant, trying not to breathe in the fog, though I slowly realized something. No one had fallen unconscious among my soldiers. The mist did keep us on our toes, but so far, there were no ill effects that we felt. I looked around, trying to ascertain what exactly was happening.

After a few minutes passed, I began to feel more confident that this mist was not harmful to us. I lowered my arms slowly, then signaled my soldiers to do the same.

“Is this mist... protecting us?” I muttered softly, trying to analyze the situation. This was very strange. No one could explain why this mist had appeared, or why only Cheza’s people were affected. I walked slowly, checking on the few people lying on the ground. Their breathing was still there, but they weren’t moving.

“Soldiers,” I called out to one of the guards still standing tall near me. “Check this village, make sure there are no other dangers lurking. We must know what is causing this fog.”

He nodded and immediately carried out my orders. A few other soldiers followed, starting to check around the village. But after a while, the results remained the same. There was nothing. No one could explain this fog, and there was no source we could find.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered, shaking my head. “Where did this mist come from?”

My soldiers were just as astonished. They regrouped around me, confusion clearly printed on their faces. I knew they felt the same as I did: relief at having survived the attack, but also fear of the mystery that surrounded us.

However, despite the astonishment, we couldn’t linger here. This was our chance to leave, to leave this area before something else happened. I decided that we’d better leave this place immediately before the situation worsened.

“We have to go,” I said finally, my voice steady. “This is our chance. This fog might protect us, but we don’t know how long. We’d better leave this place before anything else happens.”

I quickly gave the order so that we wouldn’t waste any time. Perhaps this was a form of help for us as well so that we could quickly escape from this place and leave the people who were dangerous to us.

I also didn’t want to waste time because there were places my soldiers and I had to go again after this and our journey wasn’t short.

The soldiers nodded in agreement, and we prepared to leave. But before that, there was one thing I had to do. I took a piece of paper and a pen from my pocket, writing a short message to King Domiano.

“The people of the Cheza tribe have proven to be traitors,” I wrote quickly, though my mind was still filled with questions. “They should be exiled from the southern region of the Kingdom of Bordan. They have attempted to kill the crown prince and his soldiers. We are lucky to have survived, but this situation cannot be tolerated.”

After writing down the message, I called out to one of the soldiers holding the message pigeon. “Send this to King Domiano immediately,” I ordered. He nodded, and quickly tied the message to the pigeon’s leg before releasing it into the air.

After the message was sent, I breathed a sigh of relief. At least now King Domiano would know what had happened, and he could take appropriate action to resolve the matter. But our job wasn’t done yet.

“We will leave this place now,” I said, looking at my remaining soldiers. “And our journey is still not over. There’s another problem we need to solve.”

As we began to move to leave the village, one of the soldiers walking near me glanced at me curiously. “Your Majesty,” he said slowly, his voice full of respect. “Where do you intend to go after this?”

I paused for a moment, thinking about my answer. I knew what we had to do, though misgivings still plagued my mind. But I had no other choice. This problem had to be solved.

“We’ll go to the southeastern area of the Kingdom of Bordan,” I replied finally, my eyes gazing toward the horizon. “I found out there’s a problem there too, and we need to find out what’s going on.”

The soldier nodded, accepting my decision without further questioning. We continued on our way, leaving the village behind us, with the fog still enveloping everything behind us. Although I was relieved to have survived, my heart remained uneasy. Something wasn’t right with the mist, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that danger still lurked ahead of us.

Living amidst so many threats and conflicts made me start to think that there would always be danger from the unexpected. It’s hard to live in a situation like this.