While Nolan feigned death to avoid battle, he finally remembered the day his father told him the words: "Don't be a hero!"
It was about eight years ago during the annual harvest festival in Blackwood Village. The village women danced in pairs around a huge bonfire under the moonlight, wearing long, flowing dresses; they held the hems of their dresses to create flashy, synchronized movements.
Some men played rustic musical instruments and sang old folk songs from the Scarmith Kingdom, which sometimes praised the Scar, and other times thanked it for a successful harvest; they also celebrated being alive for another year.
Most of the men formed pairs, trios, or even larger groups and watched the women dance while seated not far from the enormous bonfire. Their eyes gleamed, admiring the women in their synchronized dance. They discreetly consumed a distilled alcoholic beverage they had made themselves; they did so because drinking alcohol outside of taverns could land them in jail. Among these groups, Nolan, at only 8 years old, stood beside his father with two other old men. They were called the Elders of Blackwood Village.
The title of Elder was only granted to people who survived for a total of 50 springs. A rather rare event in this world, especially for commoners who worked to provide for themselves.
The Elders were also people respected for their wisdom, self-preservation, and good fortune.
But at this moment, Nolan didn't see such respect for the Elders from his father. He drank the sour-smelling beverage and mocked the two Elders as if their titles meant nothing:
"Old John, you want to give me advice on raising children, but you don't even have children!"
"Hahaha"
The other old man burst into laughter at the mockery and then said:
"He's right, Old John…"
"Tsk, I'm not sure if I had children because I left my hometown, but know that I had many women in my bed when I was younger, mainly because I was a Veteran of 3 wars!"
"Wow"
Nolan, who had been listening to everything, reacted even more admiringly, after all, the title Veteran was only given to those who had fought in three wars of the Kingdom, another feat greatly admired by the people of the Village…
"Pff"
Nolan's father spat out his drink upon seeing his son admiring such a feat and reprimanded him:
"Nolan, your father is also a veteran of 3 wars, but there's nothing to be proud of!"
"Oh, incredible, Dad!"
This time, Nolan even opened his mouth in admiration, seeing his father from a different angle and venerating him even more.
"Hahaha"
The other old man, known as Elder Thormand, chuckled again as he took another sip of his drink and said nostalgically and sadly:
"Your father is right, Nolan, being a Veteran is equivalent to being a coward, so we prefer to use the term "Survivor"…"
Nolan, still not understanding, looked at his father, waiting for further explanation.
"During a war…
Don't be a hero, Nolan!
The cemetery of every city and town in the Kingdom is full of heroes…
Be a survivor!"
The two old men showed nostalgic expressions and remembered their own battles in the past, and also the many fellows they had lost.
While Nolan tried to digest the information his father had given him, he continued.
"Now, your father will teach you how to survive a war… First piece of advice, the easiest of all and the one you should use most, especially if you don't know how to fight and don't yet have scars that give you useful skills…
PLAY DEAD!"
***
It had only been 4 minutes since the 1st Battle of Blackwood had begun, and a good portion of the participants were already dead or wounded, agonizing on the ground. Nolan, who only had one eye open, tried to observe the situation. He saw that not only had the enemy leader died, but his Captain had also died.
Several other brave veteran soldiers on the human side had also fallen, and at this point, nothing remained of the two archer lines on either side, with many motionless bodies scattered everywhere...
But there were still some individual fights underway, and to Nolan's relief, one of them was Luna's; she had returned to her normal size, but was still very tall for a woman. And she was fighting fiercely against a gravely wounded Lizardfolk.
On the other side of the battlefield, a redhead in rusty black armor was also bravely fighting a Scar-bearer Lizardfolk. Nolan just nodded internally; that violent woman was someone with a lot of experience, so he knew she would be alright.
What worried him at the moment were two fights very close to where he was, and worst of all, the human fighting in one of them was about to die.
As expected, in less than 10 seconds, the Lizardfolk killed the human, but instead of going to help his companion, who was fighting nearby, he did something that greatly worried Nolan: he had started killing the wounded humans crawling on the ground!
At that moment, Nolan closed his eyes again, held his breath, and remained motionless as the Lizardfolk walked towards him.
"Ugh"
A groan escaped Nolan's mouth! He had been hit!
The reason for the groan wasn't due to an intentional blow, but rather because he had been trampled by the passing Lizardfolk!
He had also been trampled right on his family jewels!
Hearing the groan, the Lizardfolk looked at the ground and saw Nolan place one hand on his genitals while opening his eyes and looking at him in terror. A jagged smile spread across his face, and the two-handed hammer the Lizardfolk wielded descended towards Nolan, intending to crush his head.
Due to the slowness of the blow, Nolan reacted quickly. He rolled to the right and dodged the heavy strike. But immediately afterwards, the Lizardfolk used his superhuman strength and lifted the hammer, delivering a second blow to where he had rolled.
Nolan rolled his body back to where he had initially been lying, dodging the second blow, and tried to stand up when he finally realized that his long spear was no longer with him.
Annoyed and also tired, the green-skinned Demi-Human gave up the heavy hammer and jumped on top of Nolan, trying to prevent him from getting up.
He managed to land on top of Nolan, knocking him back onto his back.
Fists with closed fists tried to hit Nolan's face, but he used both forearms to protect himself.
Nolan felt the pain of the blows as the muscles and bones of his forearms creaked. But this didn't last long; the Lizardfolk was exhausted, and when his punches ceased, Nolan grabbed him and threw him to his left.
Taking advantage of the situation, he used the opportunity to stand up slightly and then climbed on top of the Lizardfolk, reversing the situation.
Refreshed, Nolan delivered his own series of punches, trying to hit the Lizardfolk's face, who, like him, only used his forearms to protect his face. Soon his fists began to ache from hitting the tough green skin, and Nolan decided to change his strategy.
He used his elbows to create space between the Lizardfolk's arms and finally managed to reach his neck with his hands. Then, he gripped the Lizardfolk's neck tightly and began to strangle him.
"Gasp"
Even exhausted, the Lizardfolk didn't give up. He grunted and gasped as he tried to pull Nolan off him or tried to use his tired arms to reach his face. But his exhaustion was too much, and Nolan's arms were longer than his. Slowly, he began to lose his breath, and as the whites of his eyes began to turn red, he was being strangled.
Soon, his arms, which had been trying to scratch and hurt Nolan's face, lost their strength, and he closed his eyes, losing consciousness. Nolan didn't know if he was dead or just unconscious.
"Huff"
"Huff"
Even panting, he didn't waste time. He calmed his breathing, got off the Lizardfolk, and lay down beside him. After all, despite the setback, he planned to continue his plan to feign death. After this desperate struggle, without any useful scars for battle, he confirmed once again that he was right and that he shouldn't risk fighting. But while he was making sure the family jewels were safe this time and wouldn't be trampled again, Nolan heard a woman's scream and, turning slightly, saw that one of the two surviving girls was in danger.
"Don't be a hero, Nolan!"
The inner voice, with his father's tone, emerged again, leaving Nolan unsure of what to do next, but this time, even if he wanted to help, it was too late…