Chapter 8: The Dual Stand and The Silver Shield
I. The Calculated Chaos
Evan's intervention, driven by the need to secure his future Captain, was reckless but effective. The sudden presence of a Prince—a figure of high authority—created just enough strategic confusion among the rioters and the Volkar scouts.
William continued his defensive rampage, clearing the immediate threat, but he was livid.
William: "Your Highness, this is no place for court games! You risk everything!"
Evan: "Then end this quickly, Captain! The rioters are not the enemy; the scouts are. Focus their fury!"
Evan was fighting defensively, relying on the Stand and footwork drilled by Kaelen. He used his blade to deflect and redirect, deliberately avoiding lethal strikes, forcing his opponents into William's path. William, watching Evan's surprising ability to survive and influence the battle flow, began to understand the Prince's strategy—a politician's ability to manipulate the battlefield.
The collaboration was brutally effective: William provided the overwhelming, necessary force; Evan provided the calculated movement and political direction. They fought as a dual unit: the Silver Tongue dictating the flow, the Longsword enforcing the consequence. The remaining Volkar scouts, realizing they were exposed, began a tactical retreat.
II. The Scolding and The Respect
As the remaining scouts vanished into the forest, William immediately turned his fury on Evan.
William: "That was insanity! You risked your life against armored invaders with a training sword! Who taught you that madness?"
Evan: "My Master taught me efficiency. But my political acumen taught me you were too valuable to leave to the whims of chance, William."
Evan deliberately used William's name and addressed him as an equal in terms of battlefield assessment, bypassing the royal hierarchy. William, used to being dismissed as mere muscle, absorbed the quiet respect in the Prince's voice.
William: "The commoners..."
Evan: "They are misled, not evil. They were fighting us because they fear the Magic. The scouts were exploiting that fear. We must separate the treason from the fear."
Evan stepped away from William and approached the remaining rioters, who were now paralyzed by the sight of the dead Volkar scouts. He intentionally sheathed his sword, showing trust and vulnerability.
III. The Silver Tongue's First Battle
The Prince stood before the weary, terrified crowd of farmers and laborers. The core of the mission was now at hand: the Silver Tongue against the mob's fury.
Evan (Voice commanding, yet empathetic): "I see your fear! You look at the death here today, and you are right to be angry. You are told this is a battle against the corrupt Magic. But look closely! The men who bled here are not Magic users—they are the invaders! They are Volkar's agents, who profit from your panic!"
He held up the distinctive Volkar insignia he had retrieved from a fallen scout.
Evan: "Volkar did not send their assassins to kill Magic users! They sent them to kill you! They sent them to burn your watchtowers and block your passes so they could starve you into surrender! Your anger is justified, but your target is wrong! Minister Garrick funded this chaos, not to rid you of Magic, but to deliver your land to the enemy!"
Evan's words hit them with the political force of undeniable truth. He took their righteous anger and redirected it from an internal civil war (Magic vs. Commoner) to an external war (Mecklace vs. Volkar).
Evan: "Your King did not send me to crush you with the Royal Guard. He sent me with my voice to ask you: Will you join me in defending the passes against the true enemy, or will you continue to fight the shadows your enemy cast?"
The collective fury of the mob, fueled by fear, began to dissipate. They saw the proof of the Volkar assassins and heard the logic of the Prince. The Silver Tongue had won its first major confrontation, saving the situation without military force.
IV. The Strategic Aftermath
With the initial threat neutralized and the mob placated, Evan took tactical command. He directed William to secure the pass and establish a triage area for the wounded, ignoring the protests of the surviving local militia leader.
As they stood watching the remaining commoners slowly turn from rioters to loyal recruits, William looked at Evan with a deep, newfound respect—not for a Prince, but for a leader.
William: "You didn't use power, Your Highness. You used their anger itself as the weapon. That voice of yours... it is more dangerous than my sword."
Evan: "A sword can only kill one person, William. A voice can change a thousand minds. But a voice needs an unshakeable shield. I saw your strength, William. I saw your loyalty to these people, fighting alone for this pass."
Evan had his moment. He had observed William's strength, seen his loyalty, and fought alongside him. The recruitment was earned.
Evan: "William, when this is done, you will return to the capital with me. I will petition the King for your direct appointment as my Royal Guard Captain. I need your sword and your unwavering heart at my side. Will you accept that command?"
William, covered in sweat and Volkar blood, gave a simple nod, the political machinations of the capital now secondary to the genuine leadership he had just witnessed.
William: "I will, Your Highness. We have a King to defend."
Evan had secured his first, crucial strategic ally. But the largest part of the Northern mission—pacifying the deeper political chaos engineered by the now-dead Minister Garrick—still lay ahead. And the shadow of Theron's spies, who would report every detail of this skirmish, was growing longer