CHAPTER 168: GENERAL HUGO

The Saint pulled his foot from the narrow hole and lunged toward Sairi, who retreated among the oasis trees. The Saint cleaved the first tree with his sword.

Sairi leaped high, pushing off another tree to gain distance, but the Saint also cut it into wooden pieces with the great speed of his sword.

Sairi somersaulted backward, avoiding the Saint’s blade, which moved as if it were multiple, successive swords, shredding everything to pieces at astonishing speed. He watched as the trees fell, one after another, under the weight of the sharp, mighty blade.

Sairi jumped, grabbed a branch, swung skillfully behind the tree, and launched himself back at the Saint, kicking him hard in the chest and sending him stumbling back. A second later, he directed the sharp, pin-like tree splinters at the monk. Some pierced his body, while the Saint quickly deflected the rest with his sword.

The Saint grunted in annoyance and saw Sairi pouncing on him from above with his sword. He parried the blow, then headbutted Sairi, a strike so hard Sairi felt his skull almost shatter. He fell back, dizzy, and crashed to the ground.

He saw the Saint as multiple figures, all moving at once, but he noticed they were all doing the same thing: sheathing the sword. Sairi slapped his own face to clear his head. He knew the Saint was about to use that technique—the one that let him cut everything to pieces from a distance.

Sairi leaped to his feet, turned into the small thicket, and began to run. The trees started falling behind him. He heard the sound of dozens of blades slicing through leaves, trunks, and branches, as if he were caught in a storm of swords.

He thought that if he ran far enough, the Saint’s sword strikes wouldn’t reach him. But no matter how far he ran, he felt them pursuing him. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder, and his jaw dropped at what he saw.

He saw a large, blue sphere, and inside it, dozens of blades moved rapidly, cutting everything. Then he saw this sphere suddenly disappear, only to reappear in another location closer to him, shredding everything in its radius.

He looked closely and saw the Saint sheathing his sword, causing the sphere to vanish. Then, the Saint would draw his sword again, pointing it toward Sairi. A blue light would extend, approaching Sairi, and then transform into that sphere of blades.

"What terrifying power," Sairi said in awe. "That sword is magnificent. It could help me defeat our enemies and reclaim planet Earth. I must have it."

Sairi decided not to run. He would defeat the Saint, no matter what it took.

***

Noor and Tulkas moved through the lands of the planet Ghlizan until they reached a high hill. They stood looking down at a village that the Franks were violently raiding with artillery machines.

These were machines with two robotic legs and a single large cannon on top, designed to bombard villages and cities. They were designed with legs instead of wheels to navigate the diverse geography of Ghlizan, which was full of swamps, canals, rivers, valleys, hills, and highlands. This design made it easy for them to move and climb any geographical obstacle, and it was difficult for them to get stuck in a swamp, sand, or otherwise, unlike wheeled cannons and vehicles.

The artillery machines had both automatic and manual piloting modes, serving all conditions. Some battles required direct intervention from Franks soldiers to aim the cannons at a specific location to execute a specific breach plan or to destroy obstacles that the autopilot, which focused mostly on moving targets, might not destroy.

Using his power of imagination, Noor created a pair of binoculars and watched the Franks soldiers. They were in the middle of a large, sprawling agricultural field filled with yellow, blue, and orange crops. They stood at a distance from the village. Some sat on a seat behind the large cannon, moving it with control levers and bombarding the village in synchronization with their commander’s orders.

Noor watched the cannons simultaneously bombard the village. Wooden houses collapsed and burned, bodies scattering. The people of Ghlizan were fleeing, carrying their children and livestock, helping the elderly escape. Then a shell would land on a group of them, obliterating them into dust.

Noor gripped the binoculars tightly, seething with anger. He looked at the Franks soldiers again and saw one of them standing behind them at a safe distance on a small hill. He had a blank white canvas placed on a tripod, overlooking the village, and he was painting the ongoing battle with his brush.

Noor was astonished by his action and his coldness. How could he paint something so horrific without batting an eye? Or perhaps he was painting and documenting the Franks’ crimes to broadcast them to the universe. An artist is a mirror for the weak, painting their suffering and pain. But if he was going to expose the Franks, why would they let him paint what he was seeing now?

Noor pressed the binoculars to his face. He saw the man had a crystalline face with a thin, black, curled mustache extending from the right and left. He wasn’t wearing a military uniform like the soldiers, but rather an aristocratic red suit. Noor watched him dip his brush into the liquid paints and then begin to paint. Beside him, the Franks’ flag fluttered—a blue flag with three yellow, three-petaled flowers in the center.

Tulkas noticed Noor looking at him. "That’s General Hugo," he said. "Commander of the Franks’ Third Army. He began his life as a painter and artist, then participated in the wars of the previous Emperor, Darleon. He proved his bravery in battles and won several, so Darleon promoted him to Commander of the First Army and he became his right-hand man. Then the current Emperor, Darleon III, sent him here and made him commander of the Third Army because he was wanted by the Zurix empires after the defeats he inflicted on their armies. That’s why the Emperor got rid of him and sent him to the planet Ghlizan, to avoid controversy and threats."

Noor pursed his lips. "So he’s painting what’s happening as a great military victory for himself! Killing unarmed innocents is a victory for him after they sent him here. What a wretch."

Tulkas sighed. "That is the universe. Either you eat, or you are eaten."