Salute To The General

The dust gradually settled, revealing the land upon which the Hall of Heroes once stood.

Originally magnificent, the structure had partially collapsed. Only half of the hall stubbornly remained, its precarious walls impervious to the howling wind.

There were countless ancestral tablets of the five Reclusive Families on the shrine in front of the ruined building.

Nathan and Theron stood face to face less than ten feet apart before the ancestral tablets.

The crowd stared in petrified silence at Nathan and Theron, who were both completely motionless.

Cheryl leaned toward Colin next to her. "Who won?" she whispered,

Colin was about to say that he did not know when his sharp eyes noticed that Nathan's dagger-wielding hand was empty. Theron, who stood across from Nathan, was holding half of the mahogany sword in his hand.

It must have been Theron's weapon that we heard crack during the battle!

Colin was overjoyed by the discovery. "The old man's weapon has been broken, if I am not mistaken, the general must have won!" he whispered excitedly.

Svend was about to retort when something unexpected happened.

blood. He swayed before dropping down on one knee, supporting himself with his broken sword in his right hand. "Master Theron!" Svend cried as he gestured to the rest of the members of his clan to aid

not before they came close enough to see that he appeared much older than he was before the commencement of the battle. Raising his head, he met Nathan's eyes with a bitter smile. "The title of God of War bestowed upon you is well deserved," he proclaimed in a hoarse voice. "I

Theron personally

in an instant.

not fare much better

tablets of the Five Reclusive Families on the shrines next

thousand years of the prestige of the Reclusive Families have fallen

their knees at the sudden collapse of the ancestral tablets which they construed as a

slightly at the tablets that had fallen to the

he surveyed Theron and the others

others gaped blankly at

ancestors of the Reclusive Families to adhere to the creed of cultivating behind closed doors before descending

to put their

rescuing

have been your creed to live in seclusion in the mountains to cultivate peacefully. Such heroic deeds of your ancestors are naturally revered

added with a look of disgust. "Would your ancestors be proud of the people you have become? Aside from the pursuit of fame and wealth, you