Nolan positioned himself beside a bush in the forest, observing the other soldiers do the same. Some chose dead or living tree trunks to lean on, while others simply crouched near a pile of dry leaves and bushes, like him.
He listened attentively to his Captain's final instructions, especially the last part concerning Nolan and the three army rookies.
"My Silver Scar allows me to create powerful illusions capable of perfectly deceiving almost all the senses of the Lizardfolk, but to use it in this forest against nearly 30 soldiers, I need you to remain still and wait for the initial ambush to end. Remember, we are at a disadvantage here; eight Lizardfolk are Scar Bearers. We need to reduce their numbers before the battle begins, or it won't end well for us!"
As everyone nodded in response to the Captain's instruction, he glanced at the four archers in the back line, hidden behind the nearly 25 soldiers, and then at Nolan and the three rookies.
"Keep an eye on the rookies; if you notice any of them trying to escape during the fight, shoot an arrow into their backs!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Gulp!"
All the rookies, including Nolan, swallowed hard, and he thought:
"Was this final threat really necessary?"
Immediately afterward, a silent black bird flew to the Captain's shoulder; then he shouted:
"THEY'RE COMING!"
Nolan saw the Captain stand still, and a faint silver light emanate from within his helmet. Then, all the soldiers in the forest began to disappear as if they were mirages in a desert, replaced by new trees, bushes, or simply rotten logs and stones piled on the ground, identical to those that already existed in that area.
In the midst of the unsettling silence, Nolan saw two Demi-Humans for the first time in his life. Despite the initial shock, Nolan already knew all the strengths and weaknesses of this race, which was far superior to humans. He admitted that he was particularly envious of their dark green skin, which had natural capabilities equivalent to strong leather armor.
He didn't hear what the two Lizardfolk were talking about due to the distance, but he already knew all the details of this incomplete army that had already been defeated by another human force, which had fled to this isolated region and ended up massacring and robbing a caravan of human merchants.*
The reason the Captain's group had such low numbers and needed forced recruitment under the law was that before reaching Blackwood Village, they had to fight another battle on the outskirts of Luna Village, where, despite winning, they lost more than half of their numbers…
Soon, under the signal of the Lizardfolk scout, a group of 39 Lizardfolk approached and entered the forest at a slow and careful pace.
Nolan held his breath, afraid he might disrupt the ambush, and his eyes intently observed the leader of this army of Demi-Humans.
He wore no heavy armor, only roughly stitched and patched leather covering his private parts, but he still carried a long, black sword that appeared very heavy and lethal. Although he was slightly taller than the others, he was no more than 1.70 meters.
Even though he was taller than the enemies, Nolan still felt immense pressure looking at them all, as if they were all blood-soaked veterans.
The Lizardfolk leader also proudly displayed 3 Scars, one white on his face and two on his chest that were Bronze and Silver. While observing the leader's face and serrated teeth, he was one of the first to notice that his expression changed when he noticed something, and they were detected before the enemy army was in the perfect position for the ambush.
"AMBUSH!"
Despite the prior warning, 9 veteran human soldiers immediately ambushed 8 Lizardfolk soldiers, causing their deaths, while their Captain also acted, first canceling their illusion ability and then advancing towards the leader.
Nolan left his kneeling position and stood up, but couldn't move. He first observed Zack, who was the most fearless among the rookies; he advanced directly towards the Lizardfolk leader!
The skinny young girl, barely 15 years old, did something that also shocked Nolan…
She raised her shield with both hands and advanced towards one of the Demi-Human soldiers, wielding a heavy mace.
"WAIT!"
Nolan tried to shout and warn the girl not to do it, but it was too late. Amidst the clashing of swords, the sounds of skills, the fearless shouts and roars of the soldiers, his words went unheard…
The Lizardfolk delivered a single powerful blow with his mace, crushing both the shield and the young girl's face.
"She was dead!"
"ROARRRRR!"
Nolan didn't have time to mourn the girl's death. Turning around, he heard a scream and saw the Lizardfolk Leader transform from a short man into a giant over two and a half meters tall. He struck the human Captain with his long black sword, putting him at a disadvantage, and then slashed with his long tail at the cowardly Zack, who was circling him, hoping to steal the enemy Leader's death from the Captain's hands.
Zack flew several meters away, crashing so hard into a tree that it not only nearly broke the trunk in half, but he also fell unconscious instantly. Nolan didn't know if his hated enemy was alive or dead!
Then, Nolan's eyes caught something in the back line of the enemy army, which had barely entered the forest. The last rookie in the group, the mysterious hooded boy, emerged amidst the enemy archers as if from the shadows.
All the enemies saw were traces of a transparent black cloak before he slit a Lizardfolk's throat with one of his daggers. Then, he threw the other dagger, hitting another archer in the eye and killing him instantly!
Then, the transparent black cloak briefly disappeared, and he vanished from the battlefield.
"Incredible! He's very good, he doesn't even seem like a rookie!"
Nolan mentally praised him.
But then, contradicting his praise, the hooded boy proved inexperienced. He emerged from the shadows and used his dagger to kill the third Lizardfolk archer, but the fourth archer was experienced and already awaiting his return. With the arrow already drawn, he fired it into the hooded boy's head, killing him instantly!
"No!"
Nolan lamented as he watched the hooded boy fall motionless on his back. He knew he was dead. The arrow pierced his right eye and exited through the back of the boy's hood… For the first time, his hood slowly fell, revealing a glimpse of his appearance; he had silver hair and a pale face filled with disbelief.
"Don't be a hero, Nolan!"
Due to the terror of seeing the other three rookies die in a matter of seconds, Nolan froze in place and remembered the words his father had spoken in the past…
Those words hit Nolan hard and left him motionless in the middle of the dangerous battlefield…
"Don't be a hero, Nolan!"
Still frozen in place, Nolan couldn't move, and to make matters worse, the surviving Lizardfolk archer who had killed the hooded boy was now preparing his next arrow, aiming at him!
"Don't be a hero, Nolan!"
"Ahhh"
Nolan screamed and rolled across the ground, getting out of the archer's sight.
Just as he was about to get up from his roll, he saw a Lizardfolk with a two-handed axe yelling and running towards him!
"Damn it, I don't have time to get up!"
At that moment, thinking his head would be split in two by the axe, Nolan only lamented his inexperience, fear, and bad luck. Unlike him, the Lizardfolk screamed and roared with his serrated teeth bared; he was a true, fearless warrior, capable of terrifying anyone with his mere presence!
"ARGHH!"
Just when Nolan thought he was going to die, he saw a tall woman block the enemy attack with an axe of equal size and shout fearlessly.
"LUNA!"
"That woman, was she really serious when she said she would protect me in battle?"
Nolan was incredulous for a moment; someone he barely knew had actually put herself in danger to save him!
At that moment, realizing he had almost died twice in a row, Nolan felt terrible about what he was about to do, but he still decided to swallow his pride upon hearing his father's wise voice again:
"Don't be a hero, Nolan!"
Upon confirming that Luna was alright and had even killed the Lizardfolk she was fighting, Nolan took advantage of the fact that he was still lying on the ground and crawled to one of the Lizardfolk corpses, smeared his hands with the greenish blood, smeared it on his face, and then closed his eyes pretending to be dead…
"Screw all this! None of us were trained for this! All the other rookies are already dead! For now, to secure my future and my revenge, I will do anything to survive!"
***
Author's Note 1: The title is a reference to the first recorded battle in the vicinity of Blackwood Village since its founding. It's worth noting that racial wars are uncommon in this region due to the absence of any benefit related to the Scars. Every battle that takes place, regardless of size, is named after a location, village, or town in the vicinity where it occurred. Some are named the 7th, 6th, or even the 33rd.
This simple naming pattern is due to the enormous number of Demi-Human incursions/Raids into the three human kingdoms, guaranteeing a large number of battles annually. The purpose of this naming style is to ensure accurate records of the region where the battle took place, creating a map of invasion patterns for the Kingdom's Generals and Strategists to better decide on troop and resource placement. The naming system is also designed to facilitate the awarding of decorations to survivors.