There is a word for disorder that goes beyond being disorderly. A word we use, when we don't understand something, or when it just doesn't make logical sense. When people are mercilessly killed for reasons unknown to us, or when we lose a loved one. At these times, we experience this feeling, this word, in our mind or we may see it in the people around us. The word which describes that which cannot be described. Chaos.

And exactly that was what Will saw, when he stepped outside, out into the streets of Elcrada, where panicked citizens and adventurers were running to and from their homes.

The alarm bell had rung, warning the people of a threat that exceeded the abilities of the gates. It wasn't on many occasions where the bell was rung, but surely, it couldn't be a normal thing, seeing as everyone was panicking, except for a select few of the more veteran-looking adventurers.

The young priest, who was standing in the middle of it all, was unsure of what to feel. He wasn't panicked anymore, nor was he at ease. It was as if his ability to react to his surroundings had disappeared, leaving him with the ability to observe. To watch, as the public order of Elcrada slowly crumbled.

Officials from all over the town were frantically running around, trying to get everyone to calm down, but to no avail. There were none of the already panicked people, who were willing to be calmed, and in time, the officials themselves felt the heavy atmosphere tightening around their hearts. Screams came from every direction of the town, and Will was left with only that one word to describe the hell, he was seeing. Chaos.

"What is this? Can somebody explain to me, what is going on?" Someone behind the young priest asked.

Will turned around, and saw the high-priest. His superior had gotten dressed, and was holding his top-tier staff, ready to use it to fight whatever was threatening the town.

"We do not know, your honor. All we can say is that fear has a tight grasp on the hearts of everyone. A few of the adventurers, we recruited, have chosen to desert us after seeing the mass-panic, we're currently witnessing. Unfortunately for us, we can't get any of the panicked citizens or officials to cooperate with us, so we still can't say for sure." Alfred said.

Alfred was the kind of man, who was able to keep his calm, even in the most dire of situations. Word had it that he had once faced off against a demon, and help his own without even flinching. Whether or not this was an overstatement was unknown to Will, but nevertheless, the middle-aged man's courage was admirable.

"May I suggest that we go to the gates?" Will asked, finally breaking free of the trance-like state, the chaos of the town had brought him in.

"We should. Well then, let us move to the gates!" The high-priest, who seemed to finally understand the importance of listening to others, said.

Everyone in the group agreed to Will's proposal, including the high-priest, which was surprising, seeing as he had been unwilling to do pretty much anything since they arrived in Elcrada.

The squad of twenty-five pressed through the fleeing citizens and adventurers, who were trying to get as far away from the gates, as at all possible. Looking at the panicked citizens, the young priest started to see why his comrades at the Church, disliked them so much.

In situations, such as these, where no-one knows what is going on or what to do, people should stick together to find a solution. Not run like mindless insects, trying to find the largest rock to hide under...' Will thought to himself, as he looked at the hell-like scenario in front of him.

On the young priest's face, contempt for the fleeing, disorderly masses of people around him clearly showed. Will wouldn't try to hide the fact that he found the actions of the fleeing adventurers absolutely disgusting. Adventurers were supposed to be a symbol of independent power. They were supposed to symbolize the fact that anyone, even the weakest of the weak, could become something great. But looking at these people, these cowards, Will realized just how wrong he had been in assuming that just being an adventurer, was enough to be deserving of his respect.

As the squad pressed forward, the gate came into view. But there was something at the gates. Sounds.

Cutting through the sounds of panicked citizens, like a hot knife through butter, the sound of banging against the walls could be heard. It wasn't light knocking from fists, but hits so hard, they made the gates budge every time they were hit.

"What is this?!" One of the priests asked, terrified at the sight of the massive and otherwise impenetrable gates being crushed.

Silence befell the priests, since no-one knew how to respond. Currently, they were all witnessing one of the sturdiest towns being smashed to smithereens. In reality, one of them knew what likely orchestrated this attack.

"It's the lich." Will said, readying his staff.

The young priest, who was the only one to realize their enemy's identity, walked further towards the gates, never stopping even when the pounding sounds increased, as he came closer and closer to the wall.

'This isn't what the creature said would happen... It seemed as if it wanted to wait. Was he trying to trick me into taking it easy?' Will thought to himself, as he reached the strained gates.

Cracking sounds came from the wood, as the delicate plant fibers that made up the wood, snapped at each hit, the gate took.

Will started walking up the stairs that led to the upper wall, ignoring the shouts to "come back", which came from his comrades below. If they wanted to stay down there, watching, then for all he cared, they should. If they weren't intending to help the town, he would have to do it, alone, if it had to be so.

What the young priest saw, when he reached the upper wall, terrified him, leaving him wishing he had stayed down below.

At the root of the massive stone walls, stood more than fifty skeleton warriors, fully equipped with weapons and armor. Between them, they held massive battering rams, made from a single log with handles on it. But that wasn't the truly frightening part.

Standing slightly behind the masses of moving bones, stood a massive creature of dead flesh, which seemed to have been taken from unfortunate adventurers and monsters, who had come a little too close to the undead encampment.

The giant was a creature, which had never been seen in Kanburrough before, however, Will, who was very fond of reading old history books, knew exactly what it was. The seven-meter-tall monster was a type of golem, namely a Flesh Golem. Originally, a golem was a magical creature, which was made from inorganic material, such as dirt, rocks, and the like. However, with the appearance of the last necromancer, new types of golems were created. Flesh golems were one of these new types.

Largely consisting of dead flesh, flesh golems were artificial undead, which normally can't be found in the wild. However, if a Dark Magic user gets their hands on enough corpses, they will be able to stitch the individual parts of the corpses together, bringing it back to life, using the Taboo Magic, the Church so despised.

Flesh golems were able to spread disease, contaminate water sources, and wipe out villages, because of their rotten nature. If one left a corpse in a well, the well would become contaminated. The same applied, if a flesh golem touched a water source. Because of its unholy and unclean nature, it was able to infect and contaminate everything it touched. A commander with a flesh golem would be able to wipe out many a company of troops, using only that single monster.

'But this isn't enough to seize a town, though?' Will thought.

'What could their goal be?'

The young priest kept pondering what the attacking force hoped to accomplish. A mere fifty-something troops couldn't possibly overtake Elcrada, one of the strongest towns in Kanburrough. Their goal had to be something else. Then it dawned on Will.

'They want to pollute the town!'

It was a fowl, despicable plan, which was likely to work if they let the attackers in. Their plan was to get the golem inside, and get it to the river, which flowed into town from underneath the walls. This would make living in Elcrada near impossible, since their main source of water would become useless. Dangerous, even. The citizens wouldn't be able to grow crops, drink water, or feed their livestock.

Will's train of thought was interrupted when the sound of wood breaking resounded through the night.

'They're getting in!'

The young priest looked down at his comrades, who were standing still, wavering. It was quite unsightly, really, but Will would have to convince them to do something for a change.

Will ran down the stairs, down to the high-priest, who he intended to let in on the enemy's plan.

"I swear to God, if you start rambling about your honor, I will kill you." The former monk said to himself, just before reaching his superior.

"I know what the enemy's plan is, honorable high-priest." Will said, while making sure that everyone around him, could hear him.

And so, with every single one of the priest listening, Will let everyone in on what he had discovered. The twenty-four other priests' faces gradually paler and paler, as the young priest neared the end of his explanation.

"You see? We have to stop them. If not, we, and everyone else will die."

There was no room or reason to disagree. Every representative of the Church realized this, so the first response Will got was "what do we do?"

The question wasn't asked in the overbearing tone, he was used to, but rather as one would talk to their equal. Will very much enjoyed that, but unfortunately for him, the situation did not allow for him to savor such meaningless little things.

"The plan is simple. Destroy the flesh golem. Ignore everything else, if needs be. Just make sure that the golem falls, no matter what." Will said.

Discontent showed on some of the priests' faces, and a murmur started to go through the entire squad.

"What about the gate? If we ignore the skeletons, it will fall." Ernst, who had been looking disgruntled, throughout the entirety of the explanation of Will's plan.

It was at times like these where people, such as Ernst should hold their tongue, in Will's opinion. Priorities matter, but for some reason, there will always be people who cannot comprehend that simple fact.

"I did consider that factor, but unfortunately, we can't focus on both."

The high-priest was also starting to look discontent with the way, he was being left out of the planning phase of their assault. It would become all the more troublesome, should he begin to point out flaws in the plan, for there were many, Will was well aware of that fact. However, as the young priest had mentioned, this was the only course of action, and the more time they spent talking, the less time they would have to stop the incoming enemies.

"We will be going with my plan, unless anyone has a better idea. Right now, we're just wasting precious time." The young priest firmly stated, hoping that would be enough to sway the people who doubted his plan.

No-one had any better ideas, but it was clear that close to no-one liked the plan either. Will had won the struggle. For now, he would let the high-priest, who had more experience in battle, command the squad.

"We are yours to command, honorable high-priest." The former monk said, prostrating himself.

The high-priest nodded, giving his confirmation that he had understood his task. The middle aged man drew his scepter, which greatly amplified his magic.

"This will be tough, everyone, but we have Icarus on our side. We shall prevail!" He shouted.

Thanks to his superior's talents as a commander, the morale the priests had lost was quickly regained, as the high-priest continued to preach, in order to further boost everyone's morale.

"Now go! Open the gates!" The high-priest said, concluding his pre-battle speech.

And just like that, the gates were opened, letting the priests outside into the masses of the living dead that densely populated the flatlands outside Elcrada.

Will knew this wasn't going to be easy. However, he couldn't let that sway him. Although he was scared, the young priest knew that he had put forth the suggestion to simply charge the golem. Will intended to see that plan through.

And so, the former monk sprinted into the hell that awaited him, outside the gates.