The morning sun rose quietly over the Silver Kingdom.
Unlike the previous days...
No cheers echoed through Base 101.
No celebrations filled the streets.
Life had returned to normal.
Blacksmiths worked inside the Industrial District.
Soldiers trained across the Training Grounds.
Builders continued expanding the growing kingdom.
The Silver Kingdom moved forward.
But not everyone could.
---
Without a word...
Kael walked alone through the fortress.
He wore no armor.
No cloak.
Only simple training clothes.
Resting across his shoulder...
Was the Frost King's Spear.
Several soldiers saluted as he passed.
"Good morning, General."
Kael simply nodded.
His destination lay beyond the northern gate.
---
Just outside the walls of Base 101...
A quiet hill overlooked the kingdom.
Stone markers stood in neat rows.
Some belonged to refugees.
Some to soldiers.
Each one represented someone who had helped build the Silver Kingdom.
At the newest grave...
Kael finally stopped.
A simple stone marker rested beneath a young oak tree.
Carved into the stone were the words:
To the Spear Corps Soldier who stood when others would have fallen.
Your courage became our victory.
For several long moments...
Kael said nothing.
Only the wind moved through the grass.
---
Slowly...
He knelt before the grave.
His hand rested upon the cool stone.
The young soldier's final words echoed inside his mind.
"Captain..."
"Don't..."
"Let them through..."
Kael closed his eyes.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I didn't."
"We held the line."
"The kingdom still stands."
A faint smile appeared.
"You kept your promise."
---
He removed a small leather pouch from his belt.
Inside...
Was the broken spearhead recovered from the battlefield.
The very weapon the young soldier had carried into his final charge.
Kael gently placed it at the foot of the grave.
"You entrusted your life to me."
"I couldn't save you."
His grip tightened.
"But I swear..."
"I won't waste what you gave."
---
A quiet voice spoke behind him.
"You've been carrying that burden alone."
Kael slowly looked over his shoulder.
Mira stood a short distance away.
She carried a single white flower in her hands.
She hadn't intended to interrupt.
She had simply come to honor the fallen.
Kael gave a small smile.
"I didn't hear you."
"You usually don't."
She walked beside him.
Without another word...
She placed the flower before the grave.
Its white petals fluttered gently in the morning breeze.
"He saved many lives."
Kael nodded.
"He saved mine."
Silence returned.
Mira looked toward the kingdom in the distance.
"The people inside those walls..."
"They'll never know his name."
Kael lowered his head.
"But they'll live because of him."
Mira smiled softly.
"Then make sure..."
"...his sacrifice is never forgotten."
Kael stood.
He rested both hands upon the Frost King's Spear.
"I will."
---
At that very moment...
Heavy footsteps echoed behind them.
Kael turned.
One by one...
Members of the Spear Corps walked onto the hill.
No one had been summoned.
No orders had been given.
Yet every soldier had come.
Veterans.
Recruits.
Officers.
Hundreds of spearmen stood together in complete silence.
The first veteran stepped forward.
Then another.
Soon...
Every member of the Spear Corps stood before the grave.
Kael's eyes widened.
"You all..."
A young recruit smiled.
"We couldn't let our brother stand here alone."
Another soldier nodded.
"We came to honor him."
One by one...
Every spearman lowered the butt of their spear to the earth.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The sound rolled across the quiet hill.
Like the heartbeat of an army.
Kael slowly raised his Frost King's Spear.
His voice carried across every soldier present.
"From this day forward..."
"No member of the Spear Corps will ever be forgotten."
His blue eyes swept across every face.
"When one of us falls..."
"We all remember."
"When one of us stands..."
"We all stand."
He pointed his spear toward the sky.
"We are not merely soldiers."
"We are family."
Hundreds of voices answered as one.
"WE SWEAR IT!"
The oath echoed across the countryside.
---
Unknown to them...
Several figures watched quietly from the edge of the hill.
Sam.
Ben.
Leon.
Runa.
Zora.
George.
Master Doran.
Even the Goblin Warlord King stood silently with its massive axe resting against the ground.
None of them interrupted.
This moment belonged to the Spear Corps.
Sam smiled proudly.
Inside his mind...
Rex spoke.
Commander...
Military cohesion has increased.
Loyalty among the Spear Corps has reached exceptional levels.
Sam nodded almost imperceptibly.
"A kingdom isn't built by walls..."
"It's built by people willing to protect one another."
---
The morning breeze carried the Silver Kingdom's banner high above the cemetery.
Below it...
Hundreds of spears remained planted in the earth.
Standing beside one simple grave.
A silent promise...
That no hero of Base 101...
Would ever be forgotten.