Part 2, Chapter 46

Confrontatio

Ch 46

Jinanyu and Jiangou prepared to meet on the battlefield, but only Jianyu knew who he was truly facing. He and his Uncle raised their swords and charged.

Jianyu fought as he had been trained, with sword and magic. No normal soldier could do more than parry his blows, but Jianyu tried hard to disable or knockout the soldiers of the opposing army rather than kill them, after all they were his own men. The God of War followed his lead, although he grumbled about the inefficiency and added danger of leaving live enemies in their wake.

 Jiangou was not a good fighter, and never had been. 

The pain he had felt in his back the night of the attack had turned out to be nothing more than a fallen tent pole that had struck him after he had pulled loose its supporting line in his flight. The blow had pushed him down and knocked him out while the flapping tent fabric had covered him. The ruckus he had caused had drawn the soldiers and the confusion of the tent falling had protected him from the assassin’s blade.

The wound in his right arm had been more serious. As hard as he had tried he was not able to hold his sword. Instead he hacked about him with a silver war axe given to him by his grandfather using his left arm, but it wasn’t much good. Enemy soldiers pushed in on him from all sides and he was certain he would die in only a few more moments. Suddenly the press of fighters fell away from him and Jianyu stood before him, the flames of his sword only dimly visible in the bright morning light. 

The first thing Jiangou felt was relief. His brother was finally back and could take over this hated position. Jiangou had never been meant for the throne or great glory. He was a philosopher and a mediocre poet, not a fighter. 

The second emotion that washed though him was fear. If his brother was here and fighting this well then the spell must be weakening, if not almost gone. His hand reflexively clutched at the red jade pendant still tied to his waist. He saw his brother’s eyes flick to the movement and fill with a grim satisfaction.

In the final moments before Jianyu struck Jiangou felt a desperate determination. He may not be much of a leader, but he would protect his family. If his brother returned to the throne, his wife, his child, and his mother would all be forfeit. Jiangou raised his axe and charged.

The fight lasted only a moment. A controlled flick of his wrist and Jianyu neatly severed the hand that still covered the pendant and sliced the pendant in half on the return strike. Jiangou screamed. His axe forgotten as he gripped the stump of his wrist. Jiangou’s wrist didn’t bleed, the heat of Jianyu’s sword having cauterized the wound even as it was made.

Jiangou was so wrapped in his pain he didn’t notice what happened as the pendant was destroyed. A duel wave of magic and reality spread rapidly across the battlefield before continuing to ripple throughout the entire realm. Soldiers on both sides drove their sword tips into the ground as they knelt before their returned Emperor. 

Far away to the north a general who had been prevaricating over two sets of orders, one demanding that he reinforce the Emperor to overcome the traitorous God of War and one commanding him to prepare for attack from the desert tribes, slammed the order from the fake Emperor onto the table and called out orders to double patrols. The Heavenly Army would be ready for battle when it came.

In the Heavenly Palace the King of the Merfolk snarled and surged up from his stolen throne. Furious he turned to dash the now useless infant to the floor, but Namu, who was wise to the ways of her husband’s family, had already fled into the depths of the Palace. The King of the Merfolk growled his frustration and commanded his soldiers to solidify their hold on the Palace while they waited for reinforcements before sending a letter to the desert tribes. If their joint forces didn’t attack now it would be too late. If it wasn’t already.

Quite close to the battlefield, in the boarder home of the God of War, Xun put down her embroidery in a frighteningly calm manner, walked into the bedroom, and withdrew her marriage contract. Opening it she read the name written next to hers. Jianyu. She had married the damned Emperor. Shivering softly, she put the contract back and went back into the yard to wait for her husband.