February 26th, 1846.

  "It's a sure lot of them," Robert observed before glancing back at me.

  Watching from a rock, soon more elves arrived. Thousands, at least. The guard and militia reinforcements had arrived and spent every second fortifying the town into a Fortress.

  From my binoculars, I observed two elves. The same one with the banner and purple hue, and the other wore less armor and no banner; yet the plates that covered him were made of finer steel than those of the banner bearer.

  They argued amongst each other before Jason crept up behind me, clearing his throat as he whispered.

  "Seems like they're arguing. Again. What could it be this time?"

  "Both are officers. One holds a banner, while the other issues simple commands from a distance, judging by his lack of gear. Company captain and a..perhaps general of sorts." I lowered my binoculars and then stepped down from the rock looking toward the village. All possible entrances were blocked off, and militia were holding make-shift polearms while others held their muskets at ready. The national guard themselves guarded the only open entrance.

  And then another rifle cracked. Sharpshooters had been firing on the elves since they got here.

  "So, do we kill them?" Jason asked, taking his cap off as he ruffled ice out of his thick hair.

  "Just study them for now," I said, and then flinched as another rifle cracked. I looked over at Clint, who was crouched down, smoking his pipe, his eyes unblinking as he watched the elves.

  "We should engage."

  "We will not," I said

  "And what? Let those people die?" Clint hissed out, standing up and approaching me.

  "They aren't alone. The guard is with them." I retorted, putting my hand on his chest and taking a step back.

  "We're soldiers, aren't we! What are we doing here living like shadows!?" He swatted my hand away before Robert grabbed his arms, restraining him, holding him back before saying.

  "Lance Corporal has kept us alive. Clint, don't tell me you're going insane now?"

  Clint's head lowered as he stopped resisting.

  "We're scouts. We die, and all our intel goes to hell. So criticize me all you want, Clint, but I'm bringing you alive, and I'm bringing whatever information I can to the Sergeant. We'll support the militia. I assure you that, but we aren't charging headfirst like idiots." I then looked back as the argument between the elven officers got louder. Then the sound of a war horn and the elf with the banner was charging forward on horseback.

  Behind him were hundreds, perhaps a thousand men following him to battle. Most on foot with a select few still on horseback.

  One volley after another, the national guard had formed firing lines behind their barricades. I watched charging elves be diminished to nothing in a matter of seconds.

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  And soon they began to split a classic pincer move attempting to encircle the village.

  My eyes found the elven commander, the less armored one. He hadn't moved nor had his army

  "Now we engage?" Clint asked.

  "Fire and maneuver. Don't get spotted. And pick your shots well! Choose the ones with actual armor and weapons they're the leaders. If we destroy their leadership, forget the battle they'll lose the whole war!" I ordered and stepped deeper into the woods before raising my rifle aiming at the banner leaders.

  My sights were set on his head, and as I squeezed the trigger, my rifle kicked back.

  The inhumans arm raised as he ordered his men just narrowly taking the bullet meant for his head. He fell off his horse, the mount circling him waiting for its rider.

  "He's lucky. I'll give him that." Jason said with a chuckle before firing his rifle. We then dashed toward a large patch of bushes reloading our rifles, watching as militia men used makeshift spears made from rakes, wooden fences, and tree trunks.

  The elves couldn't even run in the snow most fell dead before getting within a hundred yards of the village.

  I raised my rifle once more, aiming at what seemed to be a knight stomping through the rough snow his sword in hand.

  "I want his helmet," Jason muttered with a grin before I fired my rifle, watching the Knight's body snap back and stumble to the floor.

  The elves began to unleash volley after volley of arrows.

  For hours we watched. For hours, we fired from the shadows moving and hiding before killing an elf and once again moving. And soon we watched as the battle began to turn.

  Their commander, the elf who refused to commit, began to fall back. The Banner elf, seeing this, panicked.

  My rifle fired once more, the sharp recoil digging into my shoulder before I watched another elf, this one an Archer stumble around before falling on the blood-stained snow.

  "They're retreating," Jason whispered with a smile.

  And it was true the elves who had been fighting for hours had failed to make a breakthrough. And now they were in panic, and soon the militia began their own counterattack aiming to surround the elves.

  I watched. I listened. My eyes tracked every soul before I yelled to Clint and Robert, who were far to my left, hiding behind thick trees.

  "ATTACK! GO, GO, THEY'RE ON THE RUN!" I dashed forward Jason trailing behind me as I stumbled through the snow, joining the militia charge as the inhumans routed.

  The screams of the inhumans echoed their cries, desperate orders, and frantic yelling as more and more were cut down. Many fled to the woods, and others fled back down the valley. And once they had left, then did we stop.

  I watched an elf ahead of me disappear into the darkness of the forest. I raised my rifle, firing blindly, huffing. I took a step back only to see the field now littered with elven corpses, but many were still breathing.

  The militia men looked at me some with smiles. Others had a grim look. Some were so stunned from battle that they couldn't focus.

  Then, a national guardsmen approached me his rifle in one hand, his hair now dirty, and disheveled his hands covered in blood. He stopped a meter away from me before saying.

  "Only four regulars?"

  I swallowed and nodded before muttering."We're simple scouts."

  He nodded and looked down at his hands, then at his stained uniform.

  "And now?" He asked, looking back up at me, his eyes dim and hollow.

  He didn't wait for my answer he turned around looking at the dimly lit village.

  "We lost some. At least seven.. I swear-I swear on my life on everything I hold dear. I saw one of those things. It shot ice out of its hands it froze one man to death. Another one had his whole right arm frozen. I'm not insane!" He exclaimed and shook his head before looking at me opening his mouth, but I interrupted.

  "I believe you. I.. We've seen it. The Inhumans do things that aren't... natural."

  His eyes grew bigger before he ran to me, grabbing my shoulders as he nodded his head.

  "How do we counter that!? Imagine what else they can do!" The guard croaked, running a hand through his hair before looking back at a dying elf.

  "You just countered it," I answered, and then watched the guard walk over to the elf and began to stomp on his head each bash of his foot driving the inhuman head deeper and deeper into the snow.

  "You! You! It's all your fault! We finally had peace, and you decided to show your ugly faces! It's all your fault! Die already!" The guard yelled while the inhuman's arms flailed around, letting out gasps and groans with each stomp until eventually his arms fell cold.

  And then I listened to the crack of musket fire. I watched a militia man kill an elf at gunpoint, another driving his spear down an Inhuman's chest.

  "Lance Corporal?" Robert questioned. I raised a hand and shook my head

  "What are they supposed to do? Care for the elves? The townspeople will barely survive to Harvest now that they've used all their materials." I stated and began to walk toward the village. Past the bloody snow and the corpses that littered it.

  The entire place was barricaded. Every house was turned into its own Fortress. The southern gates where the elves had attacked had so many dead bodies that many were stacked on top of each other, now frozen blue.

  And across from them lay dead militia and guardsmen. Many were already being dragged away. I personally dragged one to a cart, throwing him atop three other corpses.

  Walking through the village, every wall was stained with blood. There were wounded most already treated.

  "Kasey. This would be a good place to rest. It's safe elves are terrified to come back, and we have an actual shelter." Clint Noted.

  "We can't. Our orders are clear, Clint." I said and then looked back at my team, nudging my head to the forest.

  And slowly, we began our march once more. The dim torches faded as we entered the forest once more. Trailing the army once again. Into a hell, we weren't sure we would survive.