Isra stood at the front of the line, her sword drenched in blood, with a wide smile on her face. She breathed heavily, dodging an attack aimed at her chest. Leaning to the right, she stabbed out with her own sword, piercing the skull of the man. She couldn’t count how many she had killed by this point. Bodies lay all over as the world was drowned in the sounds of metal clashing and men yelling.

Blood coated her armour as she finally had enough and fell back, being replaced. She didn’t want to fall back, but she had to rest. Looking over to where Alfred was, she saw Snowid charging the line like a truck, pushing past his men without regard. It was a strange sight. When soldiers usually protected their king, his men cleared a path for him as if unleashing a beast onto the field. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Her heart sank slightly after seeing Snowid’s target, and she couldn’t help but look away, not wishing to see what had happened.

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Snowid, much like how he opened against Charles, swung his sword down atop Alfred. Jumping back, Alfred felt his heart stop for a second before it beat so hard it nearly jumped out his chest. Other than the time he actually did, that single move was the closest he had ever felt to death. His lips curled into a nervous smile as he realised that Snowid could kill him in a single swing.

’Not yet. It ain’t time for me to go yet.’ Alfred wasn’t afraid of his own death. He knew what came after; he had no reason to fear it. This life wasn’t the end. There was something else. But Edward was only a child, and his Empire had only just started its journey to becoming the world’s superpower. He couldn’t die yet. He still had more to do.

Lifting his sword, he stared Snowid in the eyes, the man looking down at him arrogantly. The fighting around them became a blur, not entering their eyes. Everyone around knew it was a moment to strike the other ruler to end the war early, but no one could bring themselves to do it. Even the Unyeilding, who had been drilled to make the most logical choices in battle, couldn’t bring themselves to strike at Snowid.

For the Commonwealth, it was a matter of pride in their nation. Snowid was the warrior king. Someone who proved their place on the throne with an overwhelming strength in battle. Although he was a good king to them, they always knew that they way he truly kept power was through his sheer presence.

For the Empire, it was about pride in their Emperor. To take the battle from him would be to say they didn’t believe he would win—the Blessed One vs. the Warrior King. Everyone could already hear the stories and songs about the future battle.

The stare down between Snowid and Alfred lasted a few seconds, with Alfred making the first move. He knew he was outmatched against someone like Snowid. In terms of both skill and raw strength, he couldn’t back down. Charles watched as Alfred closed the distance between the two and frowned. He wanted to stop Snoiwd before they started fighting, but now that he couldn’t, he could only join in the surrounding battle.

Alfred swung from below, his sword kicking up dirt as he did. It was quick but ineffective, as Snowid blocked the attack with his blade. The clashing steel sounded like an explosion to the two, making both of them realise that the fight had actually started.

Having his sword knocked away, Alfred watched as Snwoid reached out. Grabbing Alfred on the shoulder, he threw him to the ground behind him, deeper into enemy lines. The Unyeilding quickly became more intense in their fighting, pushing the Cmmonwealth men back who didn’t expect such a change in intensity.

SNowid lifted the Claymore over his shoulder and quickly swung down, wishing to end the fight in one blow. Alfred didn’t hesitate to roll to the side. His face was in the dirt, but he could feel an immediate danger to his life. The claymore carved a chunk out of the ground next to him, and Alfred’s eyes darted across the side to look at it. Snowid didn’t hesitate.

Twisting the Claymore, he pointed the edge toward Alfred and pushed down on him, trying to behead him. Alfred quickly raised his sword to block. He could feel his sword lowering as Snowid men blocked the Unyeilding from getting close. Snowid smiled, baring his teeth at Alfred like fangs. Alfred’s face contorted into that of a demon as he bared his teeth towards Snowid and tried to think of a way to break free.

Pushing against the Claymore, he easily lost in a battle of strength. The world seemed to slow as he thought, and he quickly kicked up with his foot into Snowid’s groin. It had no effect hitting the metal plating around it, and Alfred really felt close to death. Snowid leaned closer, pushing the Claymore inches away from Alfred’s neck with all his might.

In a moment of panic, Alfred bit down on the inside of his cheek as hard as he could. Usually, it would be impossible to actually hurt himself severely in that situation, but the drive to live allowed him to tear a small chunk out, blood quickly filling his mouth. Spitting, he hit Snoiwd in the eyes, distracting him for a second. Pushing the Claymore to the side with his own sword, he rolled to the left and threw himself up.

The Unyeilding saw Alfred get up and push against the Commonwealth forces, making a path for Alfred to return. Alfred dove, with one reaching out to grab and pull him back as the Commownealth forces created a shield around Snowid to block any attacks aimed at him. Looking back, he saw Snowid slowly get up and look at him with arrogant eyes.

The fight wasn’t over, and Alfred knew it. Going back in, he couldn’t risk retreating. The moment he did, the battle would be lost. He would be a coward who ran. His mouth kept filling with blood, and every second, he had to spit to be able to focus. He couldn’t risk being caught again.

Stabbing out, Snowid deflected with his Claymore, pushing the blade to the right and reaching out again to grab Alfred. Dodging underneath it, he slammed his shoulder into Snoiwd’s chest, making him stumble slightly. His left hand let go of the hilt of his sword, and throwing a punch, he finally landed his first hit on Snowid. It felt like deja vu for him. All those years ago, William had done something similar, but this time, his nose didn’t break, only giving him a small nose bleed.

Alfred jumped back and swung his sword across. Snowid was quick and lived up to his reputation. Raising his arm, he let the sword cut and slide across his gauntlet. Snowid countered, throwing a powerful kick at Alfred, pushing back and making space. Grabbing the Claymore with both hands again, he threw a quick jab using the bottom of his hilt at Alfred.

Alfred once again was pushed back but quickly collected himself. He watched Snowid grab the blade with his hand and swing down on him. He took a step back, and a large scar traced down the front of his armour. Alfred knew if he was even a second late, he would have been split in half, and he couldn’t help but realise how outmatched he was. But he never gave up and closed the distance again.

It was the only thing he could do against the Claymore. Snowid wanted distance. He couldn’t afford to give it to him. His swings looked uncordinated, but Snowid knew better. Each one was precise, trying to close the distance and not give him a chance to counter. Once in range, Alfred used all his power and swung for his neck. Lifting his Claymore, the two were locked in place, staring at each other.

"You’re better than that shadow. What was his name again?" Snowid teased arrogantly and saw Alfred’s eyes quickly fill with rage at the mention of his dead friend. Seeing that, he pushed Alfred away and was about to throw an attack. But Alfred swung from the left, forcing him to block, and the two locked up again.

His hateful eyes quickly mellowed, and looking at Snowid, Alfred smirked, blood falling from his lips. "Atleast I’m not a shit father. You know your daughter is in my camp. Ada, was it? Didn’t even need to make her a prisoner." Although the blood filling his mouth made it hard to understand, Snowid clearly did, and it made him freeze.

Seeing a chance, Alfred spat blood in his eyes again and pulled his sword away. Taking his hand off his sword, he threw a jab at Snowid’s left eye, his fingers stretched out. Alfred felt his finger crush something soft, and Snowid let out a pained scream and jumped back. Clutching his eye, he breathed heavily as he tried to collect himself.

His men quickly shielded him, stopping a further attack. "Where... is... my... daughter?" Through breaths, he spoke with a venom in his voice that could kill. He may have been angry with her for what she did, but to leave her with the demon in front of him was something he couldn’t allow.

Alfred smugly smiled as the two armies blocked their respected rulers, clashing with intense fury. Snowid felt the blood slipping through his fingers and knew his eye wouldn’t recover. Part of him wanted to leave and get it treated, but much like Alfred, he knew that he couldn’t leave yet—not until his men broke. The battle was already lost when he couldn’t kill Alfred, but the war wasn’t over. The two stared at one another, blood falling from Alfred’s mouth as he repeatedly spat and blood from Snowid’s eye.