The next morning, Julian summoned me to the meeting room at the Ice Knights' headquarters. Oliver and Henry were already standing there.
Julian spoke with a serious tone, "We have a mission. Yes, Andrei, you will be going with Oliver and Henry."
Henry smashed his fist into his palm with excitement and said, "Finally! I was getting sick of staying here. A real mission at last to put these muscles to work!"
Oliver grumbled, lazily wiping his glasses, "Why me? Oliver, why can't you get a little excited when going into battle? I am telling you it's time for the muscles to work, and you are just thinking about sleep."
Julian ignored him and continued, "Good. You will head to the Spear Village. Yes, and I will be going with you as your commander for this mission."
He then cast a sharp glare at Henry. "Henry... do not act on your own whims like you always do."
Henry smiled with overwhelming confidence, "Do not worry, Julian. As long as I am around, everything will be solved with a single punch! Overconfident? Perhaps, but it is well-placed!"
Julian turned to me and asked seriously, "What about you, Andrei? This is your first official mission."
I gripped the hilt of my black sword tightly and said with determination, "I am completely ready."
Julian gave a faint smile and said, "Listen, Andrei. If your demonic power is your weakness and your fear, then turn it into a point of strength. How? By making that dark power know that it saved innocent lives, and that it only exists now because of your protection over them. Harness it for good."
I nodded in agreement. "Yes. I will do that."
Julian announced, "Now, Sora will transport you there."
"Ah... Sora? Who is that?" I asked in confusion.
Oliver answered proudly, "He is the Ice Squad's exclusive eagle. His image is printed right there on the cloak you are wearing. Doesn't it symbolize freedom? Yes, it does."
We walked out to the back courtyard, where I found an absolutely massive eagle. Its feathers were dark blue, intertwined with streaks of pure white. It stood proudly, its eyes as piercing as a falcon's.
"Is this him? Incredible!" I said in awe.
"I know," Julian said. "Now, mount up."
Oliver and Henry jumped and easily mounted the eagle's back. But when it was my turn to climb on, the eagle, Sora, flapped his giant wings and suddenly took to the air, leaving me behind on the ground!
I ran after the bird, waving my hands. "Hey! Stop! You forgot me! Stop! You two, make him stop!"
Oliver shouted down apologetically, "Sorry, Andrei! Once Sora decides to do something, he does it! So, you either reach him your own way, or run behind us all the way to the village!"
I stood panting, looking up at the soaring eagle. "Reach him? How? He is at a towering height!"
Then I remembered my grueling training with Volak yesterday. Wait... the skill I learned from Volak! First, I need to gather mana in my feet, even just a little, to form steps on the air.
I focused the mana into my feet as hard as I could. It's working! Now I need something to jump off as a launching point. Fortunately, there are plenty of rocky mountains around here.
From above, Henry asked, looking down, "Oliver, where is Andrei going? He is running toward that rocky mountain!"
Oliver said doubtfully, "But he doesn't possess strong magic. Will he manage to climb it fast enough to catch up to us? I don't know... let's just watch."
I dashed toward the rocky face of the mountain, then used the stored energy in my feet to propel my body upward. I jumped step by step on the air right next to the rock, my power increasing and my movements accelerating until I reached the upper edge of the mountain.
From there, I took a massive leap that hid me among the thick clouds.
Oliver and Henry looked up, searching for me among the clouds, until I suddenly appeared about a meter above the eagle. I continued my descent, aiming my body toward it, until there was only half a meter left before I landed on its back.
But Sora the eagle, in a sudden and deliberate move, sharply ascended until he was above me, and I began to fall through the open air!
I did not give up. I closed my eyes, calmed my panic, and tried to gather as much power as possible again while in mid-fall. And indeed, I managed to form a mana step and launched myself upward until I was close to the eagle's talons.
But the eagle, once again, provocatively pulled his talons away from me!
As I fell for the second time, the ground rushing toward me rapidly, I tried to gather one last burst of power, but it was too weak. There were only a few meters between me and the ground, and I was certain I was going to crash.
Suddenly, I felt massive talons skillfully grab hold of me! Sora the eagle had dove down at lightning speed, gently catching me right before I slammed into the earth. He then flew back up, placing me on his back behind Julian.
Julian turned around and smiled. "Well done, Andrei. You have just earned Sora's respect. The eagle has an unbreakable pride; he loves to possess the sky and the earth, and he only follows those who can prove themselves worthy of possessing them... not those who hesitate or fear the fall. That is why he is the proud emblem of our squad. Do you understand?"
I said, panting and wiping my cold sweat, "So I finally earned his respect... definitely."
"And now, let us head to the village," Julian ordered.
The Spear Village
When we arrived and landed in the square of the Spear Village, the old village chief welcomed us warmly.
"Welcome, heroes! I am Chief Mark, and I am very happy you have come to our aid."
Julian spoke respectfully, "Greetings, Chief. I am Julian, the Vice-Captain of the Ice Knights. This is Henry, this is Oliver, and this is Andrei."
Mark said, "It is an honor to meet you all. It is good that you are here. There are goblins besieging our village every night! They break into houses, destroy them, and eat our winter supplies that we buy from merchants at exorbitant prices."
Julian asked seriously, "Has anyone in the village been hurt?"
The Chief answered in surprise, "Actually... no. They only eat the food and destroy empty houses looking for it, but they do not attack the humans."
Julian furrowed his brows in thought. "That is very strange. Usually, goblins destroy everything in their path and do not care if it is a human or food; they are bloodthirsty creatures. It seems there is a plot being woven here, and we are going to uncover it. But for now, let us lift this siege."
Julian looked at the eagle and said, "Sora, fly up and tell us what you see from above."
The eagle soared high into the sky. I asked in astonishment, "Commander, can Sora speak to tell us what he sees?"
Oliver laughed. "No, but he can draw with his talons faster than anyone! Strange, right?"
I said in awe, "Ah... yes. I will get used to that."
Julian said, "For now, we will wait for the news. During this time, secure the areas and prepare for any emergency."
Henry smashed his fists together. "Alright! What luck, I was itching for a fight and to crush some skulls!"
Oliver complained, "Henry... you are always craving a fight. Be patient and follow the Commander's orders."
"You are right, I will wait," Henry said reluctantly.
From a high mountainous area overlooking the village, a single goblin was watching us closely, before fading into the ice like a ghost.
The Calm Before the Storm
Hours passed. Julian asked, "So, did you find anything?"
Oliver answered, "No sign of the goblins anywhere."
Julian said, "Good, then stay on high alert. It seems you haven't found them yet."
Chief Mark approached with a relieved smile. "No sign of them? Thank God. Since you are our guests today, it is our duty to host you. Please, come with me to eat."
Julian replied politely, "No thank you, we are not—"
Before Julian could finish, Henry grabbed Oliver's shoulder, pushing him forward, and said loudly, "Of course we are very hungry!"
Oliver whispered in a low, embarrassed voice, "Henry! Where are your manners? And besides, we came on an official mission!"
Henry replied, rubbing his stomach, "I cannot fight on an empty stomach! I must eat first!"
Julian sighed in despair. "Oh God... it's fine, Oliver. Let's eat and then continue. Your wish is my command, Henry!"
Threads of the Conspiracy
In a dark area near the Spear Village, a massive scout goblin entered one of the secret caves where the horde gathered.
The goblin spoke with a raspy voice to his massive leader, "They came just as you predicted."
The Goblin Chief turned with a toxic smile to a masked man standing in the dark corner of the cave and said, "Yes, sir. Did you hear? We executed our part and lured them in. Now it is your turn to execute yours."
The masked man, Maurice, said coldly, "Of course. But I only need one of them... the demon's host."
The Goblin Chief replied with apathy, "I do not care who you need or who you kill. Just fulfill your promise that we will own the village and live in it ourselves."
Maurice said, "Of course, that is my promise and I will not break it. When do we attack, then?"
The Goblin Chief ordered, his eyes gleaming with ferocity, "We attack at night. I will give the order... Goblins! We will attack the village in the pitch-black night, defeat those so-called heroes, and the village will be ours!"
The goblins in the cave roared in unison, shaking the walls, "Yeeeeeees!"
The Goblin Attack and the Trap
In the dark of the night, the goblins sneaked into the village quietly to begin their sabotage. But suddenly, an arrow made of blood shot through the air, piercing the head of a scout goblin and dropping him dead!
This was followed by the appearance of myself, Henry, and Oliver from the rooftops of the houses.
Oliver shouted with a sudden, intense excitement that completely changed his demeanor, "Finally, a fight!"
He then added with a strange calmness, pulling a hair tie from his pocket and tying back his hair and adjusting his glasses, "Wait... let me tie my hair first, for I am burning for battle and I will not let my hair get in my way."
I asked Henry in absolute bewilderment, "What? Oliver is excited? Wasn't he refusing to fight just a little while ago, only thinking about sleep and food?"
Henry answered as he readied himself for combat, "My friend, what you do not know about Oliver is that he has two personalities! The first is calm, lazy, and loves food, and the other... is a bloodthirsty battle maniac!"
Oliver gripped two medium-sized swords, then began darting among the goblins as lightly as a shadow, stabbing every goblin he encountered with lethal precision and insane speed.
I said in awe, "What speed! He is moving from place to place like a ghost. Are you just going to stand there watching, Andrei? The battle is calling!"
Henry clenched his fists tightly, and his entire arms turned into solid stone. He then charged like a tank, grabbed the head of a goblin with his bare hands, smashed it into the rock, and began pummeling the goblins mercilessly, shattering their bones.
A massive goblin attacked me from behind, so I spun around quickly and sliced it in half with my black sword in one clean strike.
Henry shouted from afar, smiling, "So, you have learned how to use your sword skillfully! Thanks to Volak, I bet!"
The fierce battle continued until we had eliminated all the goblins that had invaded the square. The village people rejoiced and began chanting our names like heroes.
But... from among the crowds hiding in the dark, Maurice was watching us with a malicious smile.
Maurice whispered to himself, "Enjoy your temporary victory, you fools. For I have not even begun my real plan yet. I just needed something to draw you here... and now, the actual plan begins."
Suddenly, before we could even celebrate, the ground beneath the feet of Henry, Oliver, and me began to glow. A massive, complex magic circle appeared and swallowed us in the blink of an eye, transporting us to an unknown location deep within the mountains!
Maurice smiled wickedly and said, "Now... the second pawn makes its move."