Sadness, Ah, Such Sadness

Mount Basdan lay beneath low-hanging storm clouds. Flaming boulders launched by catapults had begun to die out, the flesh clinging to them charred black and releasing the stench of burnt protein into the wind.

Broken spears, discarded shields, and scattered arrows littered the edges of craters large and small. Loose earth had been flung everywhere, burying mangled chunks of corpses.

The once-lush grassland was scarred black and withered yellow. Thick columns of black smoke, produced as damp vegetation roasted, billowed upward like dragons.

Twang!

The smoke of war had yet to disperse when, accompanied by the clear ring of a bowstring, a sharp whistling sound shot from a distant slope and pierced across the battlefield.

Thud!

In an instant, a figure with war paint on his face, lying prone among the branches in the bushes to the side, was sent flying by an arrow and crashed heavily to the ground.

Even in death, the sentry's face retained a trace of shock, without the slightest sign of a death struggle.

Clearly, the archer's skill was superb. From a high slope a kilometer away, he had not only accurately struck the barbarian scout hiding beneath the leaves, but killed him instantly.

"Sadness, ah, such sadness..."

On the high slope, the handsome red-haired youth seated upon his warhorse exuded an air of melancholy. As he murmured unconsciously, he closed his golden eyes, so delicate and rich in feeling, as though unable to bear witnessing his target's fall.

"A melody that brings happiness has become a mournful song that takes lives upon the battlefield..."

With a faint sigh, his slender fingers lightly plucked the longbow's several strings, which resembled those of a harp, playing a mournful note for the dead.

Still, once this battle was over, his music would finally no longer need to