Page 267 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
The main difference between their armies was how disparate the enemy’s was.
He couldn’t even begin to guess how many different tribes they were facing, but as they got closer, it became evident that unlike the Munsa, who had made a point to blend in with his men, their tribes weren’t even trying to be homogenous, making them look as uncoordinated as possible.
Each group among the gathered men had distinct features, such as tribal paintings, piercings, color-coded accessories or clothing, specific hairstyles, or face tattoos. There were evenwhat looked like dogs in a corner, held on a leash by one of the tribes and growling in warning; one glare from Kassein had some of them stop and whimper instead.
“Wait,” Kassein said aloud as he saw the Munsa Tribe’s male leader step forward.
He raised his hand, and his army stopped as one.
Both sides now stood at a distance, facing each other with a stretch of muddy ground between them. It was a gap that a running man could cross in under a minute, yet it felt wider than ever.
Tension rose again as thunder cracked above their heads, followed by a flash of lightning that lit up the field for a heartbeat.
It felt like the calm before the storm, but the storm was already raging angrily above their heads in anticipation of the fierce battle.
And yet, there was this eerie pause, during which men on both sides considered one another, staring, gauging, tensing up as the inevitable loomed closer and closer.
Eventually, the Munsa Tribe leader next to him cleared his throat.
Kassein turned to watch as the man stepped forward, just enough to make his voice carry across the field. He shouted toward the enemy line, loud enough for the front ranks to hear. His words echoed against the stone walls that bordered the ravine, cutting through the wind and rain.
He could guess it was a last ditch attempt at peace, although it felt far too late for that. Not now. Not when both sides stood ankle-deep in mud, armed and ready for blood.
Still, Kassein waited patiently, using that brief pause to gauge their enemy tribe leaders with his eyes, wondering which of them had hurt Alezya, which were the ones he had to kill first, and those he could let die a slow, painful death. He hadno personal vendetta against any of those men but the ones who had injured Alezya and made her cry. He would ask for no unnecessary deaths so long as her abusers paid. Although most eyes were on him, their gazes ranging from fearful to excited, they were all listening to Ekut. Some of the men had their fear written all over them, Kassein thought. Some of those men might run before the battle began if there was anywhere to run.
As a man on the opposite side also stepped up, the shouting between both sides went back and forth for a while, but their demeanors showed little promise of stopping this war. Many of those men looked determined, while the Munsa Tribe’s male leader’s tone sounded pleading. Kassein didn’t need to understand a word he said to know he was pleading with them to give up and surrender before they launched into this war. While he could see many fearful faces, more men looked determined, especially those who appeared to be the leaders.
Kassein let out a faint sigh; only foolish leaders would lead their people to a certain death.
“They’re not going to give up, are they?” Kiera muttered lightly as if she were commenting on the weather.
“Doesn’t look like it,” Sazaran nodded. “Well. We came all the way for this, didn’t we? Might as well show them how we–”
“Don’t kill them all,” Kassein cut him off, their gazes snapping to him. “Lots of them are scared. Some will flee. Some will try to survive. Only kill when they don’t give up.”
“Are you sure?” Kiera raised an eyebrow. “They surrounded us down here; I doubt it was to extend the same courtesy.”
“Alezya was forced to flee by her tribe,” he said. “Look at those men. They’re terrified. Their leaders forced them into a fight they already have little chance of winning in a place like this.”
“Since when do we care?” Kiera groaned.
“Since Alezya does.”
His sister rolled her eyes. She didn’t say anything for a while, and Kassein could feel she was also scouring the ranks, glancing up at the men standing in the deadly heights or hiding between crevices. He had often cared very little about their opponents’ survival, but things were different since he had seen things from Alezya’s perspective. She had done everything she could to prevent this fight. She had been the first one horrified by the battleground and what it would imply too. He had mastered very little of their language, but if he had understood one thing from all their exchanges and what he’d observed, it was that this battle had not been her and her allies’ doing; they had sought peace as much as they’d been able to until this very moment.
“...Fine,” Kiera finally sighed. “There’s no fun in fighting cowards anyway.”
“Target the leaders,” Kassein hissed, his tone getting angrier as the negotiations seemed to reach a dead-end. “From what we’ve seen of the tribes, they’ll be in disarray once we get rid of their heads.”
“That I can do,” Kiera grinned. “...Any idea which of those dragon dungs is that Darak bastard?”
“Not yet,” he groaned.
Alezya’s and Lumie’s fathers were his priority targets, but for now, he had no idea where they were in the sea of men. He would have expected the man who had initiated this war to be at the forefront, but none of those men seemed to look anything like Alezya, and he couldn’t pinpoint anyone who looked like they belonged to her tribe.
He leaned toward the Munsa Tribe’s female leader, Ekata, to ask.
“DeklaanKulani?” he did his best to pronounce it right. “Darak?”
