The Foolhardies 73 A Lesson Before Dying

For a guy with a hole in his chest and only one good hand remaining, Jimmy's grip still felt as hard as steel. His grip tightened on my throat, choking the life out of me.

My first thought was to pull my falchion out of his chest and cut off his hand but I'd lodged the d.a.m.n thing in too deep. It wouldn't budge. Not with my ebbing strength giving way.

Black dots filled my already blurring vision. Using Basilisk's Eye had pushed me over the limit of using Fool's Insight, and my sight was already leaving me. It might only be temporary, but it was still a very frightening prospect. Especially now when I still needed my sight.

"Dean!" Luca yelled.

The worry in his voice was clear. He wasn't the only one.

"Fight back, stupid Commander!" Varda screamed.

"Muddamit! Is he going to lose?!" Qwipps piped in.

"You won't lose after taking us this far?!" Ashley joined.

"He won't," Edo said firmly, and as if in answer to Ashley's question.

Weirdly enough, the one voice I didn't hear was the one I wanted to hear. Although I guess she didn't need to yell out in encouragement. I could feel the warmth from the bracelet she'd given me. Aura, in her own fairy way, was giving me strength.

A sincere desire to survive had replaced the guilt that racked me at the thought of murdering a good man. With it, came a struggling to break free. My left hand reached up to Jimmy's arm. My fingers grasped tightly onto his hand, fumbling to find purchase and break his grip.

But despite my attempts, I couldn't shake him off. Looming death gave him an inhuman strength that just wouldn't give.

My thoughts blurred. My mind swimming between consciousness and unconsciousness.

"No!" I screamed. I wasn't giving in.

The fingers of my sword arm grasped tighter on my falchion's hilt, readying myself to twist the blade or drive it even further in. Anything to stop the pain burning my throat at that very moment.

But then the pain suddenly went away. The tightening of my throat ended. Jimmy had stopped choking me.

My brain, still half in delirium, couldn't begin to guess what just happened. And as I couldn't see clearly enough to tell if Jimmy was alive or dead, I suddenly felt defenseless and lost.

It wasn't until I heard him whispering in my ear that the fear gripping my chest finally eased a little.

"You've done well, Dean Dapper… You are the victor…" His voice was so soft and low that I doubt anyone but I could hear him.

Jimmy pulled me in close. Or did he lean forward? I wasn't sure.

"You've slain an enemy general… this will be a good stepping stone for you… to achieve your goal," Jimmy continued. His voice came between raspy breaths. "But with your victory comes new responsibility…" Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

I felt Jimmy's head rest on my shoulder. Right next to my left ear.

"You now have the responsibility to keep winning… you cannot lose… For your dreams… and mine…" Jimmy coughed. Then he coughed some more. "But I hope you don't mind if I ask for something selfish…"

Jimmy paused. His breath turned ragged. He was nearly gone.

"What is it, Jimmy?" I urged him. My own whisper sounded strained to my ears.

"Find my wife… in Starlight… tell her what happened… tell my family… I love them… I died fighting for something good…" he whispered.

"Jimmy, I…" I sighed. "Alright…"

What else could I have said? It was his last will and testament. I couldn't refuse him.

"Thank you…" Jimmy squeezed tightly on my shoulder. "Now finish it… before my men try to rescue me… spare them if you can…"

I felt hot tears fall trickle down my cheeks. I couldn't help it. The guilt I experienced when I plunged my shadowblade through his chest was back.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"It's okay," he said, his voice sounding firm for the first time in a while. "Finish it."

I grasped my sword hilt with both hands, and with a strangled cry, I plunged it in deeper. As deep as it would go.

Jimmy gasped out loud. His body went rigid. Then, like he'd exhaled a long breath, his body slumped against me, lifeless.

Jimmy Jonas, the Bear Knight, General of the Magesong force's center army, was dead by my hand.

What happened next was more or less a blur although I remember bits and pieces of it very clearly despite how tired I felt and despite how my eyes refused to clear. 

Seeing their general defeated, many of the Magesong soldiers encircling our duel began to scream b.l.o.o.d.y murder and vengeance. It seemed they cared about their leader enough to launch a suicide attack on me.

But that was exactly what it was, a suicide. For as they charged with their blades held high, not even caring about my own soldiers around them, a counterattack arrived from above.

Aura's voice rang loud and clear. "Thom, now!"

A hail of arrows descended from the sky. Shot from the bows of the drows gliding beneath the clouds. Hidden from view until this exact moment. And as each arrow found its mark, more bodies dropped to the earth.

Still, our counterattack wasn't enough. The suicidal soldiers of Jimmy's center army were desperate to reach me. So desperate, in fact, that they willingly charged into the range of Luca, Edo, and Shaqs. All of whom, had come rus.h.i.+ng to protect me while I sat there half-dazed and leaning against a dead man's body.

"No, you don't!" Luca screamed.

I heard the wind whistle as Luca swung his broadsword straight at the incoming foes. I heard metal cracking at the force of Luca's swing. Then the pained screams of a soldier whose side must have gushed out a lot of blood after Luca cut into him.

No, I didn't see the blood. But I smelled it. The metallic iron scent was widespread around me. But much closer now. Of course, this might have just been Jimmy's blood I smelled. I wasn't entirely sure. Too many things were happening at once for me to be certain.

More screams. More yelling. More death. At one point, I could smell something burning, and I knew immediately that Aura had lit someone or something on fire.

There was a shuffling of feet, and a second later, I found myself surrounded by a much smaller encirclement of soldiers. I saw the backs of their padded midnight blue vests clearly enough. Closest to me was the back of the white dress of a s.h.i.+eldmaiden. 

"Raise s.h.i.+elds!" Ashley yelled. "Protect the Commander!"

Despite the numbness overwhelming me, I felt my lips twitch into a smile. It was the first time I heard Ashley call me Commander.

However, my smile quickly turned upside down as the surrounding battle grew in intensity. It was as if the death of their leader had caused the dam on their restraint to break and the Magesong soldiers were h.e.l.lbent on making sure the Foolhardies commander followed their general to the grave. That, in my honest opinion, was a terrible proposition for me.

As if things couldn't get any worse, an even large commotion ensued.

I heard the thundering of hooves as riders charged into the melee of soldiers surrounding me and my s.h.i.+eld guard. Even with the low visibility, I saw the blurry outline of swifthart mounts and armored riders.

They kicked up a tiny dust storm too. Some of which found its way to my open mouth. And I coughed hard as the coa.r.s.e earthy flavor overwhelmed my tastebuds.

Once the dust had subsided and the fighting gave way to the threat of new arrivals, I heard a man order Ashley to step aside. The fact that she followed his order made me hopeful that the danger was most likely over.

"Are you still alive, Dean?" the voice of General Thors asked me.

I nodded slowly. "Is it over, sir?"

"It's about to be," he answered kindly. "Well done, son."

General Thors tapped my shoulder lightly. Then he turned around to face the gathered crowd. General Thors raised his sword high.

"Dean Dapper of the Foolhardies has slain General Jimmy Jonas of the Magesong Clan!" He proclaimed to the heavens.

The roar of victory that followed might as well have been a continuous pouring of thunders.