Chapter 100: Never To Humiliation

"It wasn’t Ayyub, my Sultan."

Early in the morning, that was one of the first things Malik had heard.

The words cut through the quiet of the Sultan’s Hall, delivered by the kneeling Kabir with Rami and Sarah doing the same behind him, their heads bowed.

From the throne, Malik’s golden eyes fell upon Kabir and the others.

He had been expecting this report, waiting for it since he woke, but the news still caught him off guard.

’Hm, that’s a little surprising.’

Though Malik had them investigate it to be sure, he believed that Ayyub was the traitor.

The man’s history, position, and access to sensitive information...

It all pointed to him.

"It was Farid, his aide."

But apparently, it wasn’t.

"The eastern outpost received the warning. The others remained unchanged."

Malik’s expression did not change, but his mind definitely revealed his surprise.

’So the Former Sultan did all of that, giving that man every reason to resent us, and yet he remained loyal to the Sultanate?’

Ayyub seemed to be a man of greater character than Malik had once thought.

Despite the betrayal, when given the chance to turn against the sultanate, he had stayed true.

’Either he’s a fool, or he’s more honorable than I and the others gave him credit for.’

"Deal with him."

Malik glanced at the high windows.

"We’ll begin our operation by the Suns’ peak."

Kabir bowed his head.

"My Sultan!"

Rami and Sarah followed suit.

"My Sultan!"

They rose and departed, their footsteps echoing off the walls. Malik remained alone, staring at the empty hall.

’One... traitor, and the campaign hasn’t even started yet.’

...

Hours later, the Suns began their climb to their highest point, letting great heat shimmer down on Devil’s Maw.

A single figure stood at the edge of a clearing, hidden by a cluster of rocks.

He wore the armor of the Sultan’s army, dark steel under thick cloth.

Duban.

A general who had once stood alongside Zafar...

Who had once called himself a friend of the Sultan.

That was a lifetime ago.

His Ascension ended their friendship, but it had not ended his loyalty.

He would bleed for Devil’s Maw as long as he were able.

Scheherazade was Malik’s only friend now...

After all, how could Malik be friends with those he ruled?

Those that are too far from being equal?

Duban had blonde hair and blue eyes, with the kind of princely demeanor that made him look like he belonged in a palace rather than a battlefield.

He looked younger than most in his position, but that only showed how talented he was, having Ascended much earlier in life, retaining his youth.

Before him, a fortress rose from the sand.

It was not that large a structure, perhaps a hundred feet wide, with walls of rough-hewn stone and a single gate facing south.

But it was well-defended.

Archers patrolled the battlements while sentries stood watch at the gate. Smoke rose from within, suggesting a sizable garrison.

This was one of the Order’s forward bases.

A staging ground for their raids into Devil’s Maw.

A tiny thorn in the sultanate’s side that had festered for too long.

"It seems we’ll finally fight something other than Demons, huh?"

Duban sounded slightly too casual for what was about to happen.

"Indeed."

A soldier beside him nodded.

"Perhaps with this, you might have the honor of reuniting with the Sultan, my Lord."

Duban’s face softened.

"Oh, how I wish that were true."

The princely man didn’t seem at all fazed by this. Rather, he soon stood in silence, lost in memory.

There had been a time when he fought alongside Malik as equals.

When he, his martyred father, Hasan, his martyred friend, Faqir, and once close ally, Safira, had watched him turn the tide of battles that should have been lost.

What a time it had been.

What a time that had passed and would never return.

"Well..."

Duban broke the silence.

"At least I know that he trusts me enough to allow me to lead the first attack."

The soldier nodded once more.

"Yes. And we shall make him proud, my Lord."

Behind them, Duban’s platoon waited in the cover of the rocks. Three hundred soldiers, every one of them a veteran.

Much like their Sultan, they had faced Demons, invaders, and traitors.

They had seen things that would break greater men, and now they waited, their weapons ready, their eyes fixed on the fortress.

Far from nervous or afraid, they were excited, just like their general.

Finally, they could begin driving out these invaders once and for all!

Not before long, a shadow shifted at the edge of the clearing.

Duban didn’t react to it because he was expecting it.

A woman emerged from the darkness, her black cloak blending with the shadows.

She was one of the Guard of the Fifth, the Sultan’s closer shadows, Sarah.

"General Duban, I’ve received word from Shadow Kabir. You can begin the attack whenever you are ready."

Before Duban could nod at her, the woman melted back into the shadows, disappearing as if she had never been there.

Chuckling at that, he casually stepped to the front of their platoon.

"You’ve heard the shadow, brothers!"

He raised his sword, the steel catching the sunlight, gleaming bright against the afternoon sky.

"It is time!"

It was time, indeed.

"Who are we?!"

Duban’s blue eyes swept across his soldiers’ ranks, meeting their gazes one by one.

"We are the people of Devil’s Maw!"

The soldiers stepped hard into the ground.

"We are the children of Lady Layla and Lady Safira!"

Another step resounded, making the ground tremble.

"These bastards have given us a choice between the sword and humiliation."

The soldiers raised their blades as their banners unfurled in the wind. White crescent swords, the symbol of their resistance.

"Far from us is humiliation!"

A thunder-like bang echoed as all three hundred soldiers charged at once.

"Far from us is humiliation!"

"Far from us is humiliation!"

"Far from us is humiliation!"

The chant rose from their throats, a single voice made of many.

They tore through the sand like bulls, kicking up a storm of dust.

Before them, the fortress walls loomed.

A sea of arrows rose from the battlements, dark against the waking sky. They fell towards the charging soldiers like rain.

"We will never fall!"

This would be a day forever remembered.