As the Dark Army came out of the jungle, they found a disastrous scene.
The bridge had been destroyed.
The villages were on fire.
The river was flooding.
And there was no way across.
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The bridge's protectors were huddling close together on a small island of sand that rose up out of the middle of the river, many of them looking like they had been thrown there to die.
"Quickly, get them out of there, "Darkness said to Nightstalker.
The Durahan sprouted wings and signaled to the pixies and dragons to fly out and grab the peasants.
One by one the village people were rescued until all of them were on safe ground once more. One of them walked toward Darkness and said, "Thank you for saving us. I am Mark, the head of my people. We were having our annual barbeque when a great torrent of water came out of nowhere and washed away many of our possessions. The water knocked over one of the ovens, setting fire to the villages. We must stop the remaining land from being washed away!"
"No problem. Lynx, get the Lesiones to get the water away from the villages."
"No problem sir. Tsunami, now!"
The Lesiones created a massive tidal wave, removing the excess water from the river, returning it to its normal state.
"Good. Now then, Mark, how fast will it take to rebuild the bridge?"
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The Bushi- do and an elder from the village sat on a promontory next to the river, watching as tribes people and soldiers worked side by side to restore the land in the river to its natural size.
"You understand that once we have helped you, you must help us ford the river, right?" asked Darkness.
"Well young man, I understand, but the problem is we don't know if we can. The flood washed away the entire foundation of the bridge. Hhahaah. Unless you believe you can split the sea for a couple of days, I hardly think we can rebuild a bridge. Only magic like magic in the days of old could accomplish such a feat."
"You would be surprised at the power we have these days, old one."
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"Nightstalker, come here."
The Durahan stopped yelling out orders and turned toward Darkness.
"I need you to get me the Order."
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"Darkness is coming to this world, my son, and with it comes the one who bears the night of this age on his shoulders."
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Nightstalker flew over a small hill northward, thinking about past events.
"I suppose Darkness wanted the Order to build the bridge. But why is this 'Order' so special that he sent me? I'll have to be careful..."
He didn't even notice the purple haze around him until he blacked out.
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"Lord Darkness, we have the villages rebuilt in the valley."
"Good, good."
"Elder, I have sent one of my best commanders to get a group of monsters, an unknown breed, that I believe has the power to hold back the waters long enough for the bridge to be rebuilt."
"You must be jesting with me."
"Not at all."
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"Young man, I am an experienced traveler. Our tribe only is here because we are shape-shifters. We have lived since the time of creation. God commanded us to watch over the river and keep the an ancient race of horrible monster called the Xycros from destroying all peaceful creatures that remain unbothered by war. I have never seen any breed like that one of which you talk of, and I am the man who discovered worms."
"What? You are indeed a great man." Darkness bowed down to the old man.
"Get up. Now is not the time to pay respects to a doddering old man nor any other type of formality. There is a job at hand, and we should do it instead of reminiscing about old times. Now come. You are a strong leader, and must lead your men."
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Darkness strode into the village issuing commands left and right.
"Icebreaker! Lift up heavy debris and throw it in a pile! SssX, get the Zans to chop up wood for houses! I want this village completed by the time Nightstalker gets back! Everyone! GET TO WORK!"
Terrified people and monsters ran out of tents and rebuilt homes to aid in reconstruction, many of them eyeing the long blades at the dark Samurai's side.
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Nightstalker awoke in a pool of blue liquid. Surprised, he jumped out, spattering many weird looking monsters nearby. An old monster, clearly in command, walked toward him.
"Calm down sir. We are your friends. We know what you came for. I can tell you right now- there is no chance even our power can help you. But we must go help your lord in anyways."
Nightstalker calmed down and let his eyes refocused. They focused real fast- especially when looking at one of the Order.
In front of him stood large, human- like Zans with steel ripper like tails. All of them wore flowing robes and carried staffs.
"We are the Order. Lie down and rest my friend. We must leave soon to help the dark Durahan before it is too late."
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Lynx lounged in the sun, watching the troops, when his armor shook a bit. Worried, the Durahan ran toward Darkness. He took him aside and said,
"I felt a rumble. I think there is an army, coming from the south. A large one. Probably three quarters of a million. They are moving quite fast and are probably only a day or two away sir. What should-"
Darkness turned away and screamed "STOP."
Everyone halted their work and walked toward Darkness. Along the North bank of the river the mass of the army gathered.
"THERE IS AN ARMY COMING. BUILD MAKESHIFT TRENCHES AND WALLS ON THE NORTH BANK. WE MUST NOT LET THEM TAKE BOTH SIDES OF THE RIVER." He turned toward the north bank just to make sure his soldiers had heard. They had. He turned to the rest of the people in the village and said one word.
"Retreat."
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Beaklons and Golems used their large hands to dig giant trenches encompassing the entire North bank as all other soldiers and people used tree sap to make a cement that they then used to bond together stone found in a nearby quarry.
5 Durahans and 1 old man stood watching them.
Inferno laid a map out.
"We need an overhang to protect the troops from projectiles, sir," said Miyama.
"Get on it. Inferno, how do we attack?"
"I've already had window slits made and catapults, as well as large windows for other attacks. This is gonna be a long range battle."
"Very well. See to ammunition and the like, instruct the different types of monsters and the people what attacks to use. Tsapkiro, did you get any information on the enemy?"
"Yes sir. They know where we are. It is a larger army than us, but what is scary sir, is that they are proficient magic users. It appears to be a new army, crafted entirely out of spellcasters."
"••••. Okay, go supervise the trench digging. Lynx, I want you to have your Lesiones make the ground on the north side muddy. Then have your tigers charged with electricity. Maybe we'll electocute some of them."
"Yes, sir."
"Elder, do your people have the ability to shapeshift into walls and take damage like one?"
"Yes."
"Then i want the village people set to replace parts of the wall if it's broken. Go."
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Darkness surveyed the scene. The newly made wall still looked unstable, as any makeshift wall would, and soldiers were still practicing attacks. Well, It would have to do.
"Sir, the army is about a mile away. They'll get here in a couple of minutes."
"Let them come."
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The dark Durahan looked out at the south bank. A huge army of spellcasters was assembled. One stepped forth.
"Surrender and join our army, or die."
"No." Darkness drew a throwing knife and threw it at the messenger's face. He tried to block with an arm, but the knife went through and stopped an inch from his head.
"Whew."
Then it exploded.
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The spellcasters were really angry now. They started moving in countless circles of people, all chanting, "raka shiki tido ne sa res flal rem tu per iy u ohk loc vey m quer SHI!"
Then they stopped and turned toward the Dark Army. As one, they raised their hands, palms showing, arms outstretched, and muttered as a collective outburst, "FARANUKEN!"
A myriad of multi-colored rays flew into a giant disk of light, which then shot a huge blast toward the north bank.
"Were doomed." said Darkness
Monsters screamed and women and men panicked as the oncoming blast drew closer.
Darkness closed his eyes.
To his surprise, he opened them 30 seconds later to find the blast pushing against an unmovable force field that surrounded the defenders in a dome shape.
He turned around and saw Nightstalker, along with all 253 of the Order, still tired after casting the force field.
The leader of the Order stood up and said, "We have found you."
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