CHAPTER 69: CLASH

"We are Thallerion! We will not be defeated!" That was the powerful roar of a soldier in the brutal face of war. They are not like us, who, when experiencing abuse, simply avoid trouble or remain silent even when hurt! For the Thallerion race will not bow down and remain indifferent. As long as death shows mercy, their knees will not tremble. If you took blood from them, blood is also what they desire in return.

No one in the world wants to remain in a somber yesterday, but for them, that is the harsh reality etched into their fate. If you believe that a person’s life is determined by the ugly lines of our hand, so do the Thallerions. They know their lives are merely instruments in the game of war.

Even if a Thallerion won’t admit it, every period of their time is filled with rage. Ask the Thallerion soldiers what kind of life they have, and they will simply go berserk in the middle of a battle. When fate condemns a Thallerion to bear witness before us—to how brave they are—they will tell us: "Even if the blade of our weapon stumbles, we will not retreat!"

The tears of the Thallerions will not flow, because their tears are like hardened butter and their skin is like that of a Komodo dragon, numbed by the many wars they have faced.

They proved their loyalty to us by carving an oath in stone. They are ready to sacrifice their lives and will fight for you until death; that is how intense their loyalty is. Even as their struggle continues against the bear that seems to gnaw at the freedom of Thallerion, they will not turn tail.

Moonatoria and Thallerion are like two stones bound by war, clashing against each other. Their blazing bond will never be severed. Although they both embrace the fangs of war, Moonatoria’s endurance is much greater.

Each bite of the battle they face is bloody, like a woman in labor, suffering. When will they understand that violence brings nothing good to the world?

They gamble their lives in death’s game. Every time the roulette of war spins, everyone screams in intense anger—is revenge the true companion?

With every clang of war, so many soldiers are slain. Yet, they do not stop; hatred breeds new anger.

Even if they are wiped out like the countless grains of sand or the stars, the blazing war will not become a mist. Their eyes are fixed on the sun, hope is now but a phantom image to the soldiers, which they continue to fight for until death, toward the abyss prepared by Moonatoria; a place of no hope forever.

"When will you realize that you are no match for me and Moonatoria?!" That’s what King Hedromus, the king of Moonatoria, said, scratching his head at the Thallerions’ resilience. The soldiers of Moonatoria howl like hyenas. They wear white armor with the face of a Bear on their shields. The mighty Ursa served as the emblem of Moonatoria’s force.

Their conflict is relentless, destined like a planet that never stops rotating. Even if a meteor shower pours down, their hearts will remain unshaken, as dry as the blood that clung to their weapons. Even if thunder strikes Thallerion seventy times, you still won’t be able to stop Moonatoria from achieving their goal.

There is no inscription that will reveal the end of the war between the two nations clashing shields, but as long as we don’t see one of them defeated, their conflict will continue. Their races are considered rivals, like water and oil. Let’s hope the day never comes when a glass is toppled!

Many years passed, and Thallerion seemed to be stuck in a swirling vortex in the desert; there was no longer any light to illuminate their future. This seemed to be the time when the sun would no longer rise from the east, but even if we offered our tears, the claws of war would not pity them.

If we desire peace, so do the people of Thallerion, for they have hearts just like us. Their hearts felt fear for the future of their children. However, the whispers of the enemy are like a striking viper; their venomous attack will never fail. There seems to be no change, only the constant gnawing of worms on the mantle of the great Thallerion.

Even amidst the scorching war, the Thallerions proved to us that fate is truly mischievous. There was still hope that could sprout from a seed that found a bit of soil in the middle of the war. The king of Thallerion fell in love and bore a child. A healthy baby was introduced by the king to the entire Thallerion nation, and he named him—Xerxez.

If they thought no storm could stop the joy of the king of Thallerion, they were wrong! The Thallerion’s saga doesn’t end there, just like a volcano that continues to erupt from its depths—it will eventually explode!

The storm brought by Moonatoria flared up again. From a distance, a rumble echoed along with the sound of running horses, which shook fear into the hearts of the people. Every movement created dust from their arrogant arrival. Their weapons were eager to taste the blood of the Thallerions.

Before the war happened, during the king’s reign, the nation of Moonatoria repeatedly haunted Xerxez’s father in his nightmares. Moonatoria’s threats were relentless, like arrows flying to strike Thallerion. But in Xerxez’s eyes, he didn’t see the threat of war on his father’s face; instead, he saw only a mask of pretense. Even though the kingdom was busy, everyone’s mouth was closed.

King Hedromus of Moonatoria is known as a violent king throughout their country’s history, and the Moonatorians believe he was blessed with immense strength from the gods of heaven or from the ferocity of Ursa. However, the king proved that his skill did not come from any other being. Instead, he showed us that he was no ordinary king to be compared to most.

Moonatoria was the first to light the fire, which was thrown into the middle of the forest. That’s where Thallerion’s bitter fate exploded against Moonatoria. The fire consumed the entire forest, creating the smell of defeat, and even the blood of the soldiers wearing queen-pukang-colored armor, was but fuel for the hell created by Moonatoria.

One can see the gasping trees from the intensity of the fire that blazed, caused by the clashing shields. No one can tell the future. Even the sun turned away and contorted in fear at the thought of seeing lives being destroyed by war. But in the middle of the battle, the loud shout of Moonatoria’s sword rang out. Is this what we feared would happen in each of their lives?

Xerxez vividly remembers how the people shrieked, parents dragging the cold corpses of their children’s bodies, trembling while screaming for justice. The groans of the dying soldiers, clinging to their last breath, were deafening. How long will Thallerion’s bleeding continue?

That war opened Xerxez’s eyes to the lie of the peace he had embraced. Xerxez was still a child then, but he tearfully held a dagger; his father gave it to him to defend himself. He was not yet familiar with that weapon because of his parents’ embrace. But when his mother and father were slain, that’s when he realized what the true purpose of a weapon in the world was. But let’s hope the day never comes when the war continues for the next generation and let’s hope the day never comes when Xerxez becomes like the oppressive Moonatoria!

"The king of Thallerion is dead!" declared King Hedromus. The king of Thallerion had a sword thrust into his chest. "The queen of Thallerion is also dead!"

That was the last war that brought great sorrow to Xerxez. He would never again feel the fifteen years of his father’s and mother’s embrace. When his parents perished, the entire Thallerion was eaten by the fierce bear. The king’s relatives immediately fled. Xerxez was carried away while being dragged toward the forest of Wendlock, a place not covered by the shadow of the king of Moonatoria.

Eventually, Xerxez’s relatives built a fortress in the district of Rigil so that King Hedromus couldn’t track their scent. They built a small town there, which to this day has become the home of a few Thallerions—a camp for Thallerion’s military and soldiers.

As the sun and moon chased each other, the people waited while praying that one day a mighty Orion would come to reclaim the land from the Bear’s hand. But some of them were tired of believing that Orion was real, thinking it was just a figment of old people’s imaginations—if it were true, why were they abandoned in the middle of the war?

After seven years passed, the body of the young Xerxez was forged by his revenge against the king of Moonatoria. He trained in the forest to become a warrior with Matheros, who was older than him, and they formed an uprising movement. Xerxez now proves to us that he, too, is an instrument of war—it’s sad to think that war will truly despise hearts that have been hurt and failed.

Xerxez led those who joined the uprising movement. They secretly entered other districts of Thallerion to incite the slaves. Day and night, the slaves sweat blood that they cannot wipe away with their own hands. The once abundant are now hungry, the once strong are now thirsty, and those who were once fragrant now wear a foul-smelling rag. The dignity of the women is trampled, and the elders are forced to work—how much longer can they endure, if their teeth are already worn down?

The nation chosen by Orion weeps blood in the Bear’s iron grip. Every day, they mourn the welts from the thorny lash that Moonatoria’s soldiers relentlessly strike. Whenever they see the slaves writhing in pain, they snicker.

Thallerion has long been groping in the dark for the sun to rise again, but the night is long. They are cold, like a statue that can do nothing against the vines that bind them but watch the thickening grass. But if there is a night, surely a star will shine in the sky!

When the Bear is inside its cave, it sleeps soundly. So, at nightfall, the Thallerion slaves united with Xerxez’s plan: to revolt against Moonatoria. However, the Moonatoria soldiers merely laughed because they considered Xerxez’s challenge to the king to be like poking a sleeping Bear in Thallerion. They thought that when the Bear woke up, Xerxez would just run away. Nevertheless, Xerxez bravely challenged the King of Moonatoria to reclaim his race and the country of Thallerion because King Hedromus’s oppression of Thallerion was too much.

When the King of Moonatoria discovered that the son of the King of Thallerion was still alive, he did not refuse Xerxez’s challenge. In fact, he truly intended to slay him. In the area located between the districts of Mintaka and Rigil, which is now a full-fledged amphitheater for gladiators, a bloody pact was made for a firm wager.

"Instead of a war, why don’t we make it a game—a duel between the two of us?" said King Hedromus to all who were listening. He lifted his belt and sat on a chair carried by slaves who almost groaned under the weight; weapons were strapped around his waist. "Listen, everyone! Whoever is slain between the two of us—will be considered the winner." Every soldier, even ordinary people, listened to King Hedromus’s words. "Here is the pact: If Xerxez wins, he will reclaim the kingdom of Thallerion; but if I triumph in the fight—the entire Thallerion race will forever pull the ropes of my magnificent carriage!" He let out a snicker, boasting his massive body, and picked up a spicy chicken leg, eating it in front of Xerxez’s allies, a scandalous act of contempt for all of Thallerion. The bodies of the Thallerions trembled at the King of Moonatoria’s challenge.

King Hedromus was highly confident he would win the duel because his body was as big as a mountain, and he undoubtedly had more fighting experience than a young man like Xerxez. His expertise in using a sword and fighting could also not be denied. However, arrogance was his twin, so he underestimated Xerxez’s ability. In King Hedromus’s mind, Xerxez’s life was already numbered.

"I accept!" Xerxez replied. Xerxez stepped forward to show that he accepted the king’s pact, and he took the dagger from his waist and raised it. His one-span dagger shone in the eyes of the people. Afterward, Xerxez slit his own palm. He felt the pain of the wound as the living blood dripped, but it was not visible on his face. But the eyes of his allies seemed to pop out and their mouths hung open at his decision.

All the Thallerions felt a heavy burden, as if a meteor was about to fall in front of them. Even in their dreams, they couldn’t find hope in Xerxez’s decision. They thought the star they looked up to at midnight was just going to commit suicide in the mouth of the Bear. But how could the bear bite Xerxez if its own sword was already in its mouth?

Unfortunately, fate’s judgment was reversed. Between Moonatoria and Thallerion, they witnessed how fate judged—it did not side with the king of Moonatoria.

The fat Bear was slain by Xerxez while everyone stared up at him and turned to stone with their mouths agape. The weapons of Moonatoria were like dead hair that had fallen to the ground. He stood on top of the bear, holding the sword he had thrust into it. The entire army of the Bear trembled and ran like mice as the Thallerion soldiers cheered. Many surrendered and accepted their clear defeat because that was the pact.

"The chain that binds the land chosen by Orion is broken!" a soldier shouted. "Thallerion is victorious! Hail Xerxez!" Xerxez was paraded like a trophy and lifted up by thousands of hands.

Xerxez slew the night until the sun’s rays prospered throughout Thallerion. His own race was free. The slaves released the ropes they were forced to pull to carry King Hedromus’s heavy carriage. It is truly certain that intellect and strategy are sharp; a mind can take down a strong warrior. Xerxez proved that the mind is as powerful as many soldiers, and self-confidence was but an armor Xerxez used to face the king of Moonatoria.

After King Hedromus’s demise, other countries had nightmares about Thallerion when they heard the news of the Moonatoria king’s defeat. Who would have thought that a young man could defeat a king nicknamed "the fierce Bear," which was what the Moonatorians used to call King Hedromus.

After the event, many whispers sprouted like mushrooms and spread throughout the land. Some believed that Xerxez was the next Orion. But others said: Xerxez was the one mentioned in the prophecy.

The memory of yesterday is also quiet in the minds of the people. Nevertheless, the entire Thallerion is wholeheartedly grateful to him because he brought about victory. Everyone is happy because everything that the Moonatoria had stolen has been returned. Furthermore, every Moonatoria soldier in every district, along with the mercenaries in the district of Bellatrix, was expelled without any of their possessions.

In the end, Xerxez was chosen as king by the council, led by Matheros’s parents. That’s where Xerxez’s reign began. He poured his entire strength and soul into serving as an exemplary king of all Thallerion. The army grew stronger, and other countries recognized his skill and genius in creating tactics. Many visited Thallerion to seek Xerxez’s wisdom, so from then on, Xerxez became known to many nations.

Although he won that battle, he still drew a deep breath from his depths. How could the hero recognized by Thallerion be happy—it was like a cry in his heart that no one could hear—he was all alone. His soft eyes roamed the former seat of his father, and even his room lost its voice, which used to be filled with his mother’s voice.

Xerxez realized how much he was enveloped in a heavy truth when he saw himself in the mirror. He was truly handsome, robust, and mighty, but when he looked at himself—he had no one with him; only his own reflection in the mirror.

And one night, Xerxez had a nightmare: from a distance where he stood, a terrifying light hit the sky and the sky was shattered, and the frightening face of a monster peered through!

Since Xerxez felt an extraordinary strength and ability, he wakes up every morning to a man’s voice calling his name. That voice was the same voice that spoke to him by the stream, but now he only hears a call and wakes up immediately.