Tursed my worid upside down

Egor saw Klaus just before leaving for just a few minutes before he was taken to the food detachment.

"Maybe you'll stay after all?"

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to?"

"I just hoped that this world had left you with at least a drop of common sense. I guess I was wrong, the prince smiled."

"Hey!" Egor feigned offense.

He really wanted to kiss Klaus, because he had a vague fear, or maybe it was his pessimistic side talking, that they might not see each other again.

Klaus watched Egor's fleeting glances and his uncertainty. When the guy had already turned around to leave, the prince grabbed him by the wrist. He didn't flinch. Then he pulled Egor to himself and kissed him himself.

Egor was shocked, but responded to the kiss, and when Klaus pulled away, he blushed to the tips of his hair. They stood among the soldiers and servants, who, without hiding their curiosity, cast glances at the couple.

"What are you doing? There are so many people here!"

"So what? Can't their king kiss the man he loves?"

"Well, that's somehow..."

"Hey, little one. You were running after him like a little puppy, now get what you wanted," August's voice was heard behind him and Egor became even more embarrassed.

"Is everything ready?" the prince turned to his brother.

"Yes, we can move on already, if you're finished." August glanced at Egor.

"Good luck!" the fair-haired man blurted out and tried to hide in the crowd.

"You've completely embarrassed the boy," August sighed. "Is he the same in bed with you?"

"And now you want to discuss my sex life?"

"Not really," August grimaced, "I just still don't understand what you saw in him? That he looks like a girl? So why not choose a woman in that case? And there would be fewer problems."

"Because he is he," Klaus shrugged and left, eloquently hinting that the conversation was over.

***

The first skirmish began earlier than they had planned. The scouts had failed to warn them that a small detachment had been sent ahead of the royal procession.

There were about thirty of them. All battle mages. Their attack was sudden.

"August, protect the food detachment!" Klaus shouted as the first fireballs flew at them.

The captain rushed to the end of the procession. He knew that until the boy was safe, Klaus would not be able to fight at full strength. And why had he given in to provocation and taken him along? The captain had not liked the idea from the start, but there was no point in arguing with the prince.

The food detachment, as agreed, grouped together at the first attack so that August could quickly bury them underground. This was an energy-consuming process and deprived August of the opportunity to use magic in battle to its full potential.

Egor was nervous. They had only walked half a day, and Klaus said that they should meet the king in about four. How could the army approach so quickly and at the same time unnoticed by our scouts? A bad feeling was growing.

"August, is this the king?" the young man shouted.

"No. A detachment of battle mages."

"Then it's not time yet."

Klaus did not want to waste time and energy on this skirmish, but the battle mages turned out to be strong and experienced. Before the rebels had time to strike the first blow, their ranks were significantly undermined.

"Bad. This is very bad," thought the prince. "If we mess around here even longer, then I will come to my father with a pitiful handful of soldiers. Where did he get such a squad?"

Klaus knew all the secrets of the royal army. At least, he thought so. The prince had developed strategies for each of them. He also knew that his father had powerful mages, including combat ones. He took that into account, too.

The only thing he hadn't taken into account was that the king would gather the strongest into one unit and send them forward. Klaus had counted on his father keeping them to himself. An unpleasant miscalculation that brought significant losses to the rebels.

They were able to destroy less than half before the enemy retreated as suddenly as they had attacked. So, they weren't tasked with destroying them completely. Then what? Thinning out the rebels' ranks? Testing their combat power? No, it was something else, and Klaus realized this when, sitting on horseback, he surveyed the battlefield.

Initially, there were about six hundred rebels. Another thousand should join from the underground city in a day. Now half are alive and about a hundred wounded.

No, the king did not want to thin out the rebels or test what they were capable of. He simply showed what he was capable of. Klaus saw how the remaining spirits fell. They were no longer confident of victory. Ichiro had achieved his goal. The spirit of the rebels was broken.

"Fuck old man!" Klaus cursed when August, who had dispelled the underground bunker, and Gorald, who had given orders to those who had survived, arrived to him.

"Yes, an unexpected nuisance," August noted.

"A nuisance? It's a complete failure! They cut us up like babies, and look at them. They are no longer ready to rush into battle. They can see the defeat in advance."

"I told you that going to meet his halfway was a bad idea."

"And you offered me a good alternative?" Klaus quipped.

"We'll be here for a few hours," said Gorald. "We need to send the seriously ill to the underground city. I don't think there's any point in moving on today. Let's make a stop here."

"Yes."

***

They set off at first light. The atmosphere was not the most cheerful. It seemed to Klaus that the soldiers had already resigned themselves to their inevitable death.

Even when another thousand soldiers joined them, it did not help dispel the doubts.

"Something needs to be done about this," Klaus spoke up when the informer reported that a small group of royal soldiers was ahead. "It seems like he is mocking me, sending a handful of warriors to mow down half of my squad."

"These could be the same battle mages. If the soldiers meet them again and the same thing happens..." August noted.

"I know that without you! This time they allowed themselves to be discovered. Wants to show that his mages do not need surprise?"

"What if," Gorald intervened, "this time we don't hide the food detachment in the bunker, but send the captain's forces into battle?"

"It's impossible," Klaus categorically refused.

"But there aren't enough of them..."

"There weren't enough of them last time either, and how did it all turn out? I have another idea."

"What?"

"August, go to the back and take care of the bunker."

The captain sighed heavily, Gorald winced a little, but no one argued.

"Gorald, order everyone to retreat as soon as the enemy appears."

"What are you planning?"

"He showed me the power of his battle mages and lowered the morale of my soldiers. I will show my people who they are following and destroy the king's best mages myself."

"It is very risky. Take at least..."

"No. Others will only hinder me. I cannot control powerful energy emissions. If there are no my people around me, but only the enemy, I will not have to hold back."

"Still, it is very risky. What if another unit comes after this one, and you do not have time to recover?"

"For this, I have you, and more than a thousand warriors behind me. I take on the most dangerous ones, you clean up the rest."

They attacked just as suddenly, but the rebels were prepared for something like this. As soon as the mages appeared in sight, Klaus's soldiers rushed back, confusing the enemy with their behavior. This slight confusion was all the prince needed to prepare.

He stood alone and the enemy did not immediately notice him. Their attacks were aimed at the fleeing rebels.

"This is a traitor! He is alone!" finally noticing the lonely figure, the enemy mage shouted, directing ice arrows at Klaus. The attack crashed into the electric barrier.

"You are too self-confident if you decided that I will allow my army to be defeated again. You were lucky last time."

"Your soldiers left you alone," the second grinned, trying to break through the prince's defense from underground.

"My soldiers are just following orders. Are you ready to say goodbye to life?"

The enemy did not have time to respond. The prince's first attack burst out from under the ground, but it did not completely destroy the enemy. Klaus had expected such a turn of events. A predatory smile blossomed on the prince's face when lightning bolts lit up the sky and rushed to the ground, gathering into an almost solid energy cocoon. It was like a dragon's mouth closing.

Electric energy, like sharp teeth, rose from under the ground, burning all living things. The second "jaw" covered the enemy from above, not giving him the opportunity to escape.

Sweat flowed down Klaus's face, but he stubbornly brought his hands together and this gesture was repeated by the huge dragon's muzzle. The cries of pain were interrupted, the magic dissipated in the blink of an eye. Only handfuls of ash remained on the scorched earth, which had once been the king's elite squad.

Klaus fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Behind him he could hear the clatter of hooves and the cheering of the soldiers. He had spent a lot of energy and was not sure he could stay in the saddle for much longer. But it was worth it. The rebels' faith in their king was restored. The Prince smiled wearily, rose to his feet and turned to the approaching crowd, led by Gorald.