LOST WARRIORS (ONGOING)

King's Divan, Sparta

"Lord Williams requested soldiers from us, I mean seriously? They are so overpowered right now, why do they need more troops?"A worried frown appeared on the minister's forehead.

"They don't want to give any chance to their enemies, no matter how small. Anyways, they have helped us in so many ways over the years, we cannot ignore that. We must help with their needs." Another minister made his statement.

"How much exactly?" King Peter seemed oblivious.

"Your Majesty?" The latter asked.

"I said how many soldiers they asked from us?" King Peter's voice roared with irritation.

"A couple of thousand, my Lord." Minister Warres gulped.

The King looked confused. The members exchanged their visions. A few moments later, the king seemed to get something. His face lit up. He ordered the members,"Send letters to Lord William that the troops will arrive in due time. Send them the best ones."

Tursia Palace, near Battlefield

The war situation was not favorable to Tursia and the king guessed that from the previous and sent his two children and queen to Velmor. But he didn't give up at all. He convened an all-night meeting of his intellectuals to discuss war strategy.

The King was able to see the conditions and being farsighted, ordered the Commander to attack by water because he knew the enemy's weakness.

Standing by the cornice of the palace roof with a cup of tea in hand, he contemplated the next step in the war.

"Five warships are sent towards Barren. I hope they will bring good news. Jamie is a gem of our kingdom. He gathered intels from among their armies so we got to know their relying upon old tactics. No doubt, their ground forces are devastating but in terms of water war, they will not stand any chance. They will not last even a moment. Our warships will crush them." King's courtier, saying the words in one breath, he stopped to see the King's expressions.

Hearing all of that, the King smiled without looking at him and put down the cup of tea.

Henry the VII looked at the courtier and smilingly said,"Do you think they don't know about the attack? Even if they don't, they must have their backups prepared. It's not an easy win, you know. You're probably forgetting they've only lost one battle so far. And that's not a normal one. They had fought against more than a hundred thousand soldiers having only twenty five thousand soldiers. But they had handled the situation and managed to give a head-on fight even though they lost the battle. So, I doubt that we will win so easily with having half of their soldiers."

Then he thought for a while and said,"Never mind. We will fight till our last breath."

"I really appreciate your spirit, my Lord. I will inform you about the future news. Order me to leave." King's courtier bowed down his head.

King showed his hand as an indicator for him to leave.

The courtier came down with multiple questions in his mind. Will we win? If yes, then when? How many people do we have to sacrifice to get the victory? If not, then how long will we be able to resist and counter the attacks? And the last but the most important, is the war really worth it? What is the benefit of the common people like us by the war?

Various questions arose, the answers to all of which were unknown to him then. His brain was giving only one command and that was to go ahead and not worry about the consequences.

Arizona Village

"Simon, I have something to say." Massimo said, looking at Simon.

"Tell me what that is." Simon asked.

"Can you give me a little help?" Massimo asked.

"Does it have to be asked? We are friends now." Simon seemed impatient.

"I need your desert vultures, to be exact, five of them." Massimo said quickly.

"You can take how many you need. There are hundreds of them. But can I ask why?" Simon asked curiously.

"You guys have trained them very well. They are very useful in the war-situations. And as the war has started, I have a really great idea to use them." Massimo said.

"You can but I doubt they won't listen to your orders." Travis said and added,"They don't listen to anyone except the three of us."

"But what's the harm in trying?" Just after saying that Massimo called out loudly in a vulture's voice. The voice was exactly like a vulture. It was not possible for someone to hear from a distance to tell the difference. Hearing this, vultures responded. They came nearer flying in a circle. As they came closer, Emma and Lucifer feared and shifted a little further. A lot of vultures sat near Massimo like he was their King. Everyone was shocked except Lucifer and Emma. They knew this talent of Massimo beforehand.

Stella was most surprised among them all. The more she looked at Massimo, the more surprised she became. She didn't expect that one can tame the vultures so soon. She became enamored with Massimo.

"We have to go now. War awaits us. But before that there is an important task. We have to sabotage the enemy's communication lines." Massimo's voice is sharp and resolute.

"How exactly?" Lucifer asked.

"Just wait and see." Massimo seemed ebullient.

"We will leave you to the mouth of the cave. But before that you have to accept a gift from me." Saying that, Simon shared eye gestures that Travis seemed to understand. Travis got up to his camel and moved. After a few moments, he came back with a chest. Opening the chest, he took out two swords. Mike asked,"How did you get them? Both are marvelous."

"My father gave me one of them. He was one of the greatest swordsmen. But I don't know how to wield a sword. That's why I am giving to you." Simon extended the sword towards Massimo.

Massimo, taking it, observed the sword, then gladly said,"Firstly, a great thanks to you for giving me the sword. And I must say the swordsmith was pretty much skilled. The smooth curved edge is the proof. I will definitely use this in future."

"And what about the second one?" Adam asked curiously.

"This is for you, my friend. Aaron had used this sword before he stole the sword of Henry the V." After saying, he handed the sword to Adam's hand.

Adam swung the sword twice with his expert hands. Then said,"Thanks for this. Anyways, we have to go to the Battlefield. Let's go."

Like they came, all of them rode their camels respectively. Five vultures followed them. When the sun was about to set, they reached the cave mouth.

Simon said,"It was very nice to meet you. I hope we will meet again soon. Goodbye my friends"

Travis and Stella also bade goodbye. She had grown so fond of Massimo in these few days that she was unwilling to let them go so soon. But she said,"Goodbye all of you. You will reach the other end at the night. So, you will reach the battlefield the very next morning. I hope you guys will win the War. Go crush the king Henry. Massimo all the best-"

Massimo was shocked. He was not prepared to hear his name that specific at that moment. But he did not disclose. Instead, swinging his new sword in the air, he said,"Yeah, we will. We are also glad to meet you. Simon, thanks for the gift."

They all entered the cave with five vultures with them. Simon and his friends stood there, watching them until they slowly faded into the distance.