Star King Chronicles

Nasiah did not raise a sword nor call for battle. Instead he galloped in front of the soldiers who were fortifying the base they were in.

He stopped as the men all readied their weapons by their side. They aimed their spears, bows, swords, and firearms at him, yet he remained unfazed by their actions.

The young boy raised his hand up into the air. At this, the soldiers fell silent as they had fear in their hearts upon seeing their enemy flew a banner with the shards of the Sky Cleaver upon it.

They waited for what the masked figure would say as the realization slowly dawned on them that they were dealing with the Hyena of Nahar. The one, their brothers in arms, saw face down Jossel and Jaguar and come out on top.

The soldiers also recognized Forcas, the she-wolf hand of Forenus. She was known for her own brutality and strength, dominating whole battlefields.

"I have come with an offer. Leave now, run away back to where you came from, and leave this land in peace, or stay, fight, and be captured."

He pointed the banner directly at them. "Decide what your fate shall be. I ask you all to carefully think and choose wisely."

Nasiah studied all of their faces and carefully reviewed what he knew of the men. 

They were soldiers fighting for House Yuseff. He looked at their armor, their faces, their demeanor. They did not seem scared, wary, or tired, meaning they probably had not recently fought.

He turned his gaze to the base they occupied, noticing that all battle marks, such as flecks of blood or gunpowder, burned. He simply found the ones that were extremely faded. 

While yes, they could have all cleaned it up, he deduced that all together, this meant that they probably only last fought seriously when they took over the base.

The next thing to study was how the soldiers reacted to his words. He noticed their eyes would every so often stare at the banner before looking back at him. They flinched at his movements, too.

They definitely knew who he was. How dangerous he could be. Now, what was important is how he could utilize this to his advantage. His first step was to capitalize on their fear.

He made sure to step forward with his horse, inching closer suddenly, which caused many of the men to raise their weapons even further. This was good; it was more confirmation of their wariness.

Now Nasiah needed to evaluate why they were not attacking, and that was obviously because they were afraid of the one-sided onslaught that was sure to occur if they did, so they were staying their course.

The young boy would study further. The reason why they're still unsure of their decision is because of their loyalty to their cause mixed with the fear of their lives. 

Making the first choice would be seen as traitorous by many, but from what he had witnessed in his fight with Jossel and Jaguar, these soldiers believed in retreat as well.

Making the second choice would be seen as foolish; no matter how much pride they have, they know in their hearts and minds that they could not win.

It was an ultimatum but Nasiah knew that he had to push them along, press the right buttons for the most effective and most widespread course of action.

His mother told him they would need soldiers that have retreated to the shoreline, those who still were able-bodied and had at least some modicum of equipment or would know where they were.

He was going to need to play on their desire to leave, to give a show of force and speech enough that they would incur fear but not incur the desire to protect.

If he were to draw his sword or threaten violence, that would scare away a few of the weak-willed ones, but many of them already knew the force he was and still desired to fight him.

Nasiah then studied them further. He noticed the smell of fish in the air, it was very faint, probably the food they had recently.

He noticed that there were no crops around as well. That, coupled with the fact that multiple of their bases have been hit, limiting the supply chain.

It would mean they were going to run out of resources soon.

"Throw upon me your spears and arrows, but you would be wasting them. Even if you were to strike me down, already you've been cut off. How long will it take for you all to starve? For you all to go mad so that you may eat your blades with gunpowder?"

Nasiah studied their reactions. While many were shaken, a few more rigid souls stood firm. "Then we shall dine on the steel and iron that should strike you down."

That rallied the troops, but already doubt was placed in their hearts.

"If that is what you seek. Then eat to your heart's content. We shall enjoy our feasts with our bread and wine; it would be so plentiful that…"

He grabbed a large loaf of bread from his pack and threw it onto the ground in front of his horse, who promptly began to feed on it while the soldiers looked on in shock.

Nasiah then grabbed a canteen of fresh water by his side and poured it on the bread for the horse to drink.

"Even our horses may feast on it. I ask, do you desire to eat less than your fellow animals?" Many of the men look away at this question. The force they were facing had too many connections and resources at this moment, and they had so little after all the attacks.

It was clear they weren't going to survive this at all; nothing good would be made if they decorated the outpost with their corpses. So then it was at that moment they all began to retreat. 

They decided it was far more trouble than it was worth, and for this, they left, leaving Nasiah the victor of this battle, with Forenus and his men taking up the base once more.