THE AURELIAN CHRONICLES SHARDS OF DAWN

Chapter 8 The Siege of Ignis Part One Betrayal

Head Instructor Vane's head rolled slowly across the cobblestones of the main courtyard. Fresh blood dripped from the severed neck, staining General Valerius's pristine white boots.

From the ruined hole in the dorm wall above, Arthur stared at the scene with bated breath. The night wind blew hard, carrying the thick metallic scent of blood from the hundreds of corpses scattered below. The Iron Assassin army stood

tightly in neat formations. They did not move at all, waiting for orders from the Elf General who smiled calmly in the midst of the massacre.

Valerius looked up, locking eyes right with Arthur. The Elf man raised his bloodstained hand, pointing straight at Arthur.

"Capture that human alive," Valerius's voice echoed to every corner of the academy through a magical loudspeaker. "Bring that vessel of the Dawn Shard to me. Burn the rest to the ground."

Hundreds of Iron Assassins simultaneously pounded their iron chest plates. The booming sound of metal sounded like the thunder of death. They began to spread out like a dark plague, swarming into every door and hallway of the academy.

The blue system screen burst to life again in front of Arthur's eyes.

[Critical Warning. Primary Target Status Set.]

[Valerius's forces have detected your presence.]

[Survival Rate decreased to one percent.]

"Fucking useless system," Arthur cursed with a trembling voice. He swatted the screen away roughly, then turned around and approached Lyra and Finn.

Finn had just opened his eyes. The chubby boy coughed, inhaling the thick smoke left over from the explosion. His eyes widened in panic as he saw the completely destroyed hallway.

"Get up, wtf," Arthur forcefully pulled Finn's shirt collar until the boy stumbled to his feet. "That bastard general is looking for me. If you guys stay near me, you are going to die too. We have to get off this floor right now."

Lyra wiped the remaining blood from her nose. The girl's face was extremely pale from exhausting her magic reserves. "You think I am going to leave you alone, damn it. We are going down together. We need to find the drunk weasel and that

damn prince."

The three of them ran down the remaining intact hallway of the dorm. Fires raged to their left and right. Arthur led the way with his looted short sword, which was already coated in thick blood. They reached the main staircase made of marble stone. The stairs connected the dorms to the ground floor hall.

But the sight on the stairs made Arthur stop dead in his tracks.

Several elite class Elf students were standing on the steps. They held rapiers and magic wands glowing red. Beneath their feet lay a dozen corpses of human and mixed race students. Blood flowed heavily down the stairs like a small

waterfall. Those Elf students did not look scared at all. Instead, they were laughing cynically while wiping the blood off their weapons.

Arthur cursed inwardly. This was not just an outside invasion. This was pure betrayal from inside the academy. The upper class students and nobles had sold their own classmates out to Malakor's forces.

One of the Elf students noticed Arthur's presence. He smiled widely, seeing the target General Valerius was looking for standing right in front of his eyes.

"Look who we have here," the Elf student mocked, twirling his sword arrogantly.

"The trash anomaly who dared to fight Instructor Vane. Surrender yourself, human, or we will slowly chop off your friends' legs."

Arthur ground his teeth. His arm muscles, still aching from the effects of his previous skill, tensed up again. "Lyra, Finn. Stay behind me."

"You are crazy, Arthur," Lyra whispered in a panic. "There are five of them and you have zero magic. Let's just turn back, wtf."

"There is no turning back," Arthur gripped his sword hilt tightly. His eyes glared sharply at the five traitorous students. "We die one by one, or we die together right here."

Right as the first Elf student dashed forward to slash Arthur, a massive shadow dropped from the upper floor through the gap in the spiral staircase.

Crash.

A giant steel sword blade smashed into the Elf student's head from above. The sound of a cracking skull was absolutely sickening. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere, hitting the marble walls. The student's body was split wide open down to his chest before he finally collapsed to the floor.

Bramble stood on top of the corpse. The giant weasel snorted in annoyance, yanking his massive sword out of the pile of meat. His leather armor was covered in the enemy's fresh blood.

"Move aside, kid," Bramble yelled gruffly. He glared at the remaining Elf students, who were now trembling in fear at the brutal death of their friend. "I am not in the mood to play around with you stinking fairies."

From behind Bramble, Prince Kaelen walked down the steps. The silver haired Elf's face looked like a complete wreck. There was no more bored or arrogant expression. His eyes were empty but radiated a very dark anger. His silk robe was torn in several places, and his hand held a pitch black bow.

The four remaining Elf students immediately took a few steps back upon seeing Kaelen.

"P-Prince Kaelen," one of the students said with a shaky voice. "Why are you attacking us. General Valerius has already taken over the academy. We are siding with the kingdom."

Kaelen did not say a single word. He drew his bowstring in a split second and let an arrow fly. The arrow zipped through the air and embedded itself right in the middle of the forehead of the student who had just spoken. The student fell

flat on his back, lifeless. The other three students instantly screamed in terror and scrambled down the stairs, leaving Arthur and his group behind.

Kaelen lowered his bow. His hands trembled slightly. He stared at the corpse of his own kind that he had just killed.

"Kaelen," Arthur called out carefully. He sheathed his short sword. "Your uncle."

"I know," Kaelen cut in with a hoarse voice. He didn't look at Arthur. His eyes were fixed on the blood at the tip of his shoes. "I saw his army's banner at the main gate earlier. That old bastard really opened the path for the shadow monsters to enter our territory. He sold out Eldoria tonight."

"We cannot just stand here," Bramble interrupted, wiping blood from his furry face. "This hallway is going to collapse any minute now. The lower hall is already swarming with iron troops. We have to break through the main courtyard if we want to get out alive."

"The main courtyard, wtf," Lyra protested. "Hundreds of elite troops are lined up there, damn it. That crazy general is also out there waiting for Arthur."

"Do you have a better idea, kid," Bramble snapped in annoyance. "If you want to roast to death in here, be my guest. I am getting out."

Bramble stepped forward down the stairs, completely ignoring the argument. Arthur looked at Lyra and Finn, then gave a firm nod. The three of them followed the weasel's lead, trailed by Kaelen, who walked sluggishly in the very back.

They arrived at the main ground floor hall. Its thick wooden doors were already smashed to pieces. Through the giant doorway, they could see the academy courtyard lit up by the raging fires from the surrounding buildings.

And sure enough. Hundreds of Iron Assassins had already blocked every escape route. They formed a massive circle in the courtyard.

General Valerius stood tall right in the center of the formation. His white armor reflected the blazing firelight. He glared sharply at the hall doors, waiting for his prey to come out. When Valerius saw Arthur step out from the darkness of the building with his group, a satisfied smile spread across the

man's face.

However, Valerius's smile faded a bit when he saw Kaelen walking behind Arthur.

"Kaelen, my nephew," Valerius's voice rang out loud and authoritative, cutting through the roar of the fire. "What are you doing behind that filthy human. Come here. Stand by my side."

Kaelen stopped in his tracks. The Elf prince stared at his uncle with a tightly clenched jaw. His eyes revealed an incredibly deep disappointment that made his chest ache.

Arthur stood silently a few steps ahead of Kaelen. He did not turn around. He let the prince make his own decision. In this crumbling world, Arthur realized that blood was much thicker than a brief friendship. If Kaelen chose to cross over and side with his uncle, Arthur would have absolutely zero chance of

surviving.

"Uncle," Kaelen's voice trembled, but it was loud enough to be heard across the courtyard. "You killed our teachers. You let the students slaughter each other inside the dorms. You brought Malakor's shadow dogs right into our own home. Why."

Valerius laughed softly. An incredibly elegant laugh, yet filled with deadly venom. The man brushed the dust off his white armor casually.

"This world is already dying, Kaelen," Valerius answered calmly. "The elders in our kingdom are too blind to see reality. Malakor will rise, whether we try to stop it or not. Rather than burning to ash alongside those foolish idealists, it is better for us to become the right hand of the new god. We will rule this

world after everything is leveled to the ground. I am doing this for the glory of our pure blood."

Valerius extended his right hand toward Kaelen.

"Come back to your family, Kaelen. Leave that human boy who is already marked for death. You are the future king. Your place is not with a drunk weasel or those primitive monkeys. Your place is right here with me."

The atmosphere suddenly went dead silent. The only sound was snapping wood burning in the fire.

Arthur glanced at Kaelen. The Elf prince was looking down in silence. Kaelen's hand holding the bow seemed to loosen. His brain looked like it was weighing the burden of the world. On one side, there was the throne, luxury, and the family he had left. On the other side, there was Arthur, Lyra, Finn, and Bramble. A small group that kept cursing at each other but had spilled blood together in the arena and the underground armory.

One of Valerius's personal guards wearing gold armor took a step forward. He smiled cynically at Kaelen, ready to welcome the prince back into the ranks of the traitors.

Kaelen slowly lifted his head. He looked at Arthur's face, then shifted his gaze to Lyra and Finn, who were trembling violently in the back. Finally, Kaelen stared right into his uncle's eyes. Kaelen's gaze had now turned as cold as the eternal ice in the north.

In a lightning fast motion that could not be caught by the naked eye, Kaelen pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back, nocked it on his bow, and drew the string to its absolute limit.

Swish.

The pitch black arrow zipped through the hot air.

It did not fly toward General Valerius, but instead pierced perfectly through the neck of the gold armored guard who had just stepped forward. The arrowhead punched clean through the back of the guard's neck. Blood gushed out heavily. The guard choked on his own blood, his eyes bulging in shock before he finally collapsed, hitting the ground with a loud metallic clatter.

Valerius slowly lowered his hand. The smile on the general's face vanished without a trace. It was replaced by a dense, murderous aura.

Kaelen stood tall beside Arthur. He lowered his bow, then spat on the ground with a look full of pure hatred.

"Fuck tradition," Kaelen yelled at the top of his lungs, the veins in his neck popping out. "You are all bastards."

Arthur smirked. He raised his short sword and pointed the tip right at Valerius. Lyra raised both her hands, which were starting to emit small sparks of fire even though her body had reached its limit. Bramble growled loudly and rested his giant sword on his shoulder, his eyes glowing wildly.

They had chosen the path of blood.

General Valerius glared at his nephew coldly. He drew his silver sword from the scabbard at his waist, then raised it high into the air to give the final order of the night.

"Kill them all," Valerius commanded quietly. "Do not leave a single piece of meat to bury."

Hundreds of Iron Assassins simultaneously let out a brutal roar. They raised their iron axes and sledgehammers, then charged forward together to crush the small group into dust beneath their feet. The tension exploded, swallowing the

entire academy courtyard.