No. You can't let them take you like this. Standing there with bloody sword raised, you speak slowly, "I don't want to have to kill you both. Leave now and never return." There's a tense moment for a while as you stare at the two of them and they stare back. They're too scared to make the first move, and you don't want to make it. The standoff lasts for a moment longer, then...

"Oh screw this!" Miller's ally yells, before rushing at you with a shout of rage. He swings his sword, which you easily deflect, then duck down for a sweeping slash that cuts through his abdomen. Clutching his wound, he collapses to the ground, writhing and moaning in agony as he slowly bleeds out. Miller stays back, examining you.

"Your buddy won't die with that wound. It'll take a few days for him to bleed out all the way. Take him and go, if you know what's good for you," you say, giving Miller his last warning. Miller looks down at his companion, as though considering it. Then he shifts his gaze back to you, looking more furious than ever.

"I won't let you walk free you bastard." With those words, he advances towards you. The two of you clash blades for a while, and whenever one of you tries to go for an opening the other blocks or parries. You're not as good with longswords as Miller is, specializing more in greatswords and their overwhelming force, but you're too stubborn to let him beat you.

In the end, that stubbornness is what grants you victory. While Miller has been tiring, you've only been attacking more and more ferociously. Eventually, his defense slips, and you slide your blade right into his chest. His face morphs into a mask of pure shock as he drops his sword. He stares at you in fear, which quickly shifts to anger. He pushes himself forward, forcing the sword deeper into his body, while reaching out for your neck. His hands squeeze against your throat, at first tightly, then slowly weakening in strength until they fall limp.

As his eyes close, you pull the blade out of him and let his corpse fall to the floor. His ally is still on the ground begging for death. You grant him the pleasure, holding his head down and sliding the blade into the base of his skull. He twitches slightly, then goes limp. You stand and consider what you just did.

You could just as easily burn the bodies and head back inside, but there's no way the king would allow this. He could send more knights, perhaps far more than you could handle. On the other hand, there's the option to use this to spark a rebellion among the people. Though the king is far from tyrannical, there's enough dissent from the long-lasting war against the Empire of Kishak for the common people to attempt an uprising. With how much the people love you for your deeds, they'd join you in a rebellion in a heartbeat.

You damn waiting in fear. You'll tear this kingdom down, and the people will help you do it.

You look at the corpses you just created and release a heaving sigh. There's not much else you can do now. The king will have your head for this either way, so you figure you might as well take more than a handful of knights down with you. This is the dumbest thing you've done in a while, and you've done a lot of dumb things in your life.

You load the corpses up into the carriage they came in, then hurry back into your house to retrieve your sword and get into some more fitting traveler's clothes. As you stride through the halls of your home, the servants watch you warily, as if fearing that they may meet your blade next. You ignore them, ascending the stairs to your master bedroom and begin loading up. Once you're all done, you flip your cloak over your shoulder and walk out the door. The nearest town, a large village by the name of Everseed, is about half an hour away by horseback.

Taking a seat in the carriage, you kick the horses in gear and ride to the town. The ride down the country road is quiet and peaceful, the best that can be expected. You know that it will be the last time for a while you get to relax and unwind.

When you arrive in town, you stop the carriage in the most active place in town; in this case, the market. The people watch you curiously as you step off the carriage and approach a fountain in the center of the market. There, you raise your voice and speak, "Everyone! My name is Sir Kit of Droburg, the man who slayed the vile wizard that plagued our lands twenty years ago!" This gets all eyes on you as you approach the back of the cart again.

"And these," you pull the cover of the cart off, revealing the three dead knights to the people. They gasp in shock, some moving to weapons in case they need to attack you. "These are three knights that the king sent to kill me. The lengths this man has gone to, trying to kill a hero such as myself. What has our kingdom come to?" You're bending the truth, a lot, but these people are eating it up. The villagers that went for weapons are looking furious, while the others left unarmed grab for makeshift weapons as well.

"That bastard king! He's been taxing us so hard we barely have enough to pay for food!" one villager pipes up from the crowd.

"He drafted my son into the war and he died! My boy was only 15!" a woman cries out.

"He's been doin' nothin' but tearin' us down and buildin' himself up!" a farmer yells from the back.

"And now, my friends, he's trying to kill the last true hero in this kingdom. A man like this must be stopped, once and for all. For the true Kingdom of Oren, we must eliminate this tyrant!" you shout, and the crowd answers with cheers and battle cries. Now, you have an army. You're not sure how this will end, but wherever it leads, the kingdom will be changed forever...

THE END