The Crimson Prince： Awakening 52 Chapter 23: Thousand Strong Challenge

Will sat up as soon as he heard the iron doors shut. The hour had pa.s.sed faster than he thought it would. He looked around the formation, there was no gap any longer. He looked at Maya to see her also prepare.

"This won't be easy Maya." Will said as she stood and stretch. "If I tell you to take off, please listen." he had every confidence in his own ability to survive the round, but he didn't want to endanger her for his own arrogance.

Maya looked at Will with determination. "Don't make that decision lightly," she said silently to him. "I will always remain at your side, even when you do something foolish." Will was about to argue but Maya raised a hand to stop him. "That doesn't mean I won't do what you say Will." she said with a half smile while she stretched her back. "Just think more about what'll happen after the fight." she gave a playful wink to Will. "After all, you still have to travel with me."

Will rolled his eyes. I am going to need to be more cautious, he thought as he eyed Maya. But not towards the thousand men. He released a small dry gulp as he pictured the many more nights she would accompany him on the journey and realized he wouldn't want to spend that time looking over his shoulder.

"Time's up William." the overseer shouted out from a balcony overlooking the grounds. "The only way you leave this place is in chains now I'm afraid." he chuckled loudly. "I hope you two last long enough to be decent entertainment."

Will smiled his half smile at the slave trader. "You mean to say," he said sarcastically. "The only way I leave here is with a thousand men or in chains right?" he waited for the overseer to regain his composure.

"I don't know if you have a death wish, or if you are just that full of yourself." he said in a mocking tone.

"You don't know the half of it." Maya said as she rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry my dear," the man yelled towards Maya mockingly. "You won't have to put up with him for much longer." he stroked his beard thoughtfully. He was looking forward to sharing her company later.

Maya spat at the ground in front of her, a disgusted look on her face. "Don't think for a moment I will let him fail." she yelled at the man. "The only thing you have to look forward to tonight is the amount of cages you'll unlock for us." she made it a point to wink at the slave trader. She could see his face flush with annoyance.

"Could we get started already?" Will asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I'm getting bored." he glanced upward to the balcony where the overseer kept himself. "Don't worry," he said with a wink. "I'll make it interesting for you."

The overseer laughed for a short time, his face reddened even more as he thought of how fast it would all be over. With a smile of his own, Will jumped into the air and summoned his wind to carry him. To the crowd of guards, it looked as if he was standing on nothing.

Will floated up to the overseer on his balcony and gave the man a knowing smile. "I will be counting, don't try anything that would breach our agreement." the overseer's eyes popped from his head. This once innocent looking teenager floated right before him with a murderous air about him. "After I win this, I might have some use for you. Prepare to consider a new occupation." with that, Will touched back down in the center by Maya.

Just who is this kid? The overseer thought he looked at Will. The seemingly ordinary kid had just flown up to him as if it were nothing. He waved a shaky hand to his thousand men to ready them for the a.s.sault. "Don't kill them, I want that boy in the dungeons for questioning the moment this is finished, you know what to do with the girl!" he released his hand and the attack commenced.

All of the man were in a circular formation, Will sized up what they would be up against long before the battle took place. "You take the thirty on the right," he said to Maya. "I'll handle the thirty on the left." he saw Maya nod out of the corner of his eye.

The first round came at them all at once. Will ducked from the first punch, simultaneously dropping to his hands and kicking out the man's feet from under him. He ended the a.s.sault with an elbow slam to the face.

Will had no time to relish in the first downed man because another instantly replaced him with a sword. The guard sent his weapon in a downward arch towards Will's shoulder. Will stopped the sword at the hilt with his forearm and sent a jaw breaking punch to the guards face.

Maya was more graceful in her a.s.sault. A guard rushed her, trying to tackle her to the ground. She seemed to only tap the ground to send her into the air. She formed a hand stand using the man's shoulders, bringing her feet to rest on the guard's back using it to catapult herself into the crowd.

The two danced around the battlefield as if it were a stage. Swords, axes and pole arms smashed to the ground as they systematically relinquished each guard of their weapons and their ability to use them.

Seconds turned to minutes, turning to hours. The ground began to disappear under the piling ma.s.ses of bodies. Soon Will and Maya stood atop a hill of bodies that seemed to gain a foot every ten minutes.

The pile of guards grew large enough to where the ones willing to fight had to climb to reach the to combatants. Will and Maya waited patiently for each challenge to prepare themselves, always allowing the guards to attack first.

As the bodies climbed, the view became high enough for Will to see the prisoners watching within their cells. Eventually through their success he also heard resounding cheers coming from the men and women.

The early morning turned to dusk in no time at all yet Will couldn't see an end to the guards. How big of a city could this be? Will thought as he kicked a challenger down the literal man made mountain. "Maya fly." His friend looked at him only once before stepping off into the air.

The moment her feet left the ground, Will took a deep breath preparing himself. He felt the wind respond to his need as he called it through his aura. A breeze dried the sweat from his hair and lifted it from his face.

A cold presence replaced his playfulness from the beginning of the challenge. His eyes reflected the complete revulsion he had felt the moment they set foot in the city.

Will commanded the aura to make his body s.h.i.+mmer as if it were made from the very air he now controlled. Taking a step forward, his body reacted faster than those climbing the hill. Using the bodies to balance his lightened body, he surged down the mountain. Every challenger he met got a hand to the back of the neck, resulting in them becoming part of the hill of fallen guards.

When he got to the bottom of the hill, he charged the large group of guards before they could react. It was as if he faded in and out of existence. An elbow to the stomach, turned to the next with an elbow to the face. He dropped to his back and brought his legs up to kick the next one in the gut.

Using his aura, Will propelled himself upward a few feet over the crowd's heads only to five back into the fray.

The overseer watched in shock as the boy created path upon path of unconscious bodies.

Archers shot arrows upon Will from the rooftops of the higher buildings. Will commanded the air to become thick and caught one in front of his face, then parted his aura pus.h.i.+ng the remaining arrows past him.

Using his aura, he commanded to wind to shoot the arrow straight above the overseer's head.

Soon the battlefield was silent. The sound of groans could be heard from a few places, but none of the guards could continue fighting.

Will stood inside a circle of unconscious guards. The overseer had lost the ability of speech as he stared down at the glaring Will.

Maya landed next to her companion and looked him over. Will had not a single scratch. He stood staring at the overseer as though he were a statue. She could see he was no longer the boy fumbling to understand a gift that he never knew he had any longer. He was the master of the affinities he controlled. Not once did he second guess his ability to carry out even the most dangerous tasks.

"I believe that was more than a thousand men." Will said in an icy tone. "I think I'll take all of your slaves now, not just what was promised. You don't have a problem with that do you?" he called out to the overseer.

The man on the balcony gawked at Will, at a loss for words. Looking over the city there were at least a thousand within the mountain of unconscious or dead bodies. Splayed upon the ground were at least five hundred more men he sent in for good measure. "W-who," he tried to regain his voice. "Who are you?" he stayed frozen waiting for Will's response.

Maya had already grabbed Will's jacket and pack when she was sent away. She handed the jacket back to him, but she kept the pack slung over her shoulder.

Will took his time putting his trench coat back on, fastening the b.u.t.tons but never taking his eyes off the overseer. "That's funny sir," he started with a dangerous smile on his face. "I asked you the same thing, but you didn't give me the same courtesy."

With his jacket back on, Will flew up to the balcony and perched himself on the railing. A dangerous gleam in his eyes rested upon the overseer. "I'll ask one more time," he said as he brought his feet over the railing and sat. "What is your name?" he waited for the overseer to find the right words.

"My name is Roland, sir." he didn't know exactly what this kids standing was within the kingdom, but after the first one hundred of his men fell he figured he must have some sort of rank.

"It's nice to meet you Roland," Will started as he stepped into the balcony floor. "It's time for you to find a new profession Roland," he sighed dramatically as he jumped from his perch and landed beside the man. Will put an arm around Roland's shoulder as if to embrace the man. "Slavery has just become illegal." he said as he walked back to the railing of the balcony.

"If I find out you have continued, I will come back." Will brought his hand up without turning around to meet the man's gaze, but knew exactly where the man stood. Without any more effort than what he would use to turn on a light, a crimson ball of flame lit within the palm of his hand. As Roland watched, the red doused out with gold within a split second. He knew beyond doubt he was staring at the royal flame of Ebonhart.

"Who are you, sir?" Roland stared at the trademark flame of royalty.

"Isn't it obvious by now Roland?" Will turned and raised an eyebrow to the man. "I have my father's name after all."

Roland fell to his knees and stared up in shock. "Y-you were gone." he could barely talk as he finally understood.

"True." Will looked down at the cowering slave trader. "But now I'm back," he said as he knelt down in front of the man with the gold flame an inch away from Roland's chest, the gold lit the prince's face in royal light. "And slavery will never again be allowed in my kingdom."