Maius looked behind him and with a sudden surge of adrenaline, the man who stabbed him was forcefully blown away. The situation was immediately noticed by Xenos. He was grinning widely and was ready to thank his friend when he witnessed what just happened.
Xenos sprung into action and sprinted towards the man as his eyes watched the assailant being blown away. With the bloody sword in hand, he went after the man who stabbed Maius. Even without magic, he still managed to reach the man.
With a murderous look on his face, he did not think twice and slashed his sword. The man's head fell to the ground as it was cleanly cut off from his neck. Blood spurted out from the man's neck and stained his face and clothes. He felt nothing as he killed the man without mercy.
This action made those who noticed the situation cringe; some were even staring at their leader in horror. All of this went unnoticed by the leader because his entire body was still taught with the rush of adrenaline. His ears were still ringing and his breathing slowly turned ragged as the blood that was rushing inside his system slowed down.
He was then brought out from his stupor when he remembered Maius. He looked back and saw that he was on his knees while pressing his hand on the wound caused by the sword. Blood was gushing out from his wound and staining the ground.
Xenos ran towards his friend and caught him when he was about to fall. The man's complexion wasn't good and his body was slowly turning cold. He was deathly pale because of the continuous loss of blood.
"Healer!" He roared and this drove the bystanders into moving. They subdued the other man who was fighting the woman who just saved Maius.
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The other mages also came and kneeled before Maius and the leader. One of them casted healing magic on Maius and slowly the wound closed. Even after that, the mage's condition did not change.
"Leader, we need a doctor to take a look at him. Although I managed to stop the bleeding, considerable damage has been done. We need to move him to the city." The mage suggested because the mage wasn't looking good.
Xenos looked at his friend's face and with gritted teeth he nodded. "Alright, I'll entrust him to you. I need to stay here and sort out the aftermath."
"We will do our best, leader. We won't let anything happen to our commander." The man nodded and with one look at their subordinates, they immediately took over and held Maius.
They were then teleported back to the city with the mage in their hands. They did not waste time and went to the nearest clinic. A doctor immediately came to meet them and when he saw who it was that was on the bed, he frowned.
He looked at the three other people who were with him and saw that they were battle weary. He did not speak and just went to check on the patient. Maius was pale and his skin felt so cold that even his breathing was labored.
He looked up once again, "Tell me what happened." The bloodstains on the man's clothes were proof enough that he sustained a fatal injury. Aside from that, it was still damp which meant that he sustained the injury not long ago.
"The commander depleted his mana and that was when the remaining enemy came and attacked him. He was stabbed in the stomach and already lost so much blood when we arrived to heal him. I've closed the wound but his condition did not improve." The man who healed him answered with all honesty.
The doctor frowned because it was exactly a situation that he did not want to hear. He was not adept into diagnosing mana depletion but he knew the symptoms of it. Maius was already in a weak state and yet he still sustained a fatal injury. He was lucky that he was still alive.
"Leave him here and I'll do what I can." The doctor looked at them with a serious look on his face. "I know that you are busy and you have a place where you need to be. The commander just needs to rest since the issue with his injury is already solved."I think you should take a look at
The commander's subordinates looked at Maius for one last time before they nodded their heads and left. The doctor's frown deepened even more after they left before it softened when it landed on the sleeping figure of the mage. He got himself a chair and sat down beside the bed with a sigh.
"You are destroying your body but overworking yourself sir. If you continue with this kind of work, you will eventually reach your limit and the end of your life." The doctor mumbled to himself.
Maius was famous, especially to those who lacked power. He was the very image of hero they pictured in their minds. He has the looks, the power and the position to back it up. Together with Xenos, they were known as the two heroes who united Lunaira.
The doctor sighed once again because he knew that even though they were considered heroes, they were still humans. It was no surprise that one of them would eventually fall. The other warriors and mages must have been shocked to see their commander, a pillar of Lunaira, passed out. After keeping vigil for a few more minutes, he finally stood up and left.
Xenos made sure that none of the barbarian's remnants remained on their border. He ordered the warriors and mages to collect all the bodies and even the armors were taken to one place. After everything was placed in one place, the mages started to burn all of it too.
Black smoke rose to the air as the disgusting bodies were burned. While this was happening, Xenos went to the place where they held the man who tried to kill Maius. He looked at the culprit and sighed because of how young he was. Xenos could already tell that the man hasn't reached his thirties yet.
"Are there any more like you? People who can control the dead?" Xenos asked the man who refused to look him in the eye. They remained in that impasse for a full minute before the leader lost his patience.
The leader crouched down and squeezed the man's chin just so he could raise the man's head. Finally, their eyes met and the man shuddered. He was staring at the leader's black eyes and it felt like he was getting sucked into an endless darkness. The man couldn't understand what was happening and he was already opening his mouth and speaking.
"No more, I'm not sure. We were the only ones who were found to fight against you. It was a test of some sort and yet we failed. We can't go back to our village now and would rather be dead." The man answered Xenos's question.
Xenos let go and stood up. "And what are they planning to achieve by attacking Lunaira and attempting to kill Maius?" His voice was full of hate and cold.
"They were hoping to weaken your ranks once the mage dies. He was a threat that they couldn't defeat in the past, that's why it was imperative that we get rid of him." This time the man did not hesitate to answer.
Yes, it was true that Maius was a talented and powerful mage. Lunaira was lucky to have an awakened mage like him. To think that they would go to all this trouble just to kill Maius was something that the leader found outrageous.
His gaze then landed on his warriors who were resting and realized that he needed to train them with more intensity. They couldn't just rely on the mages forever because they too have their own limits. He clenched his fists and promised that once they got back, he would definitely train them harder.
Xenos turned around and walked away while giving a signal to the warriors who were guarding the man to kill him. The warriors did not hesitate to behead the man and let the mages take care of his body. Xenos walked away from everything and stopped as he stared out into the horizon where the sun was already setting.
The wind picked up and blew over the prairie carrying with it the horrid smell of burnt flesh and the faint scent of grass and damp ground. It was nauseating and at the same time pleasant. Xenos raised his hands and had a long look at them before letting them hang on his side. He took a deep breath and raised his head to the sky with his eyes closed.
"This war won't be over, not until I show them what we are capable of. They need to fear us and the power we hold, not just magic but also the power of forces." He mumbled to himself and repeated it a couple of times before he was satisfied.
