Warrior Knight
Page 47
Sure enough, after the initial surge, the mob, resembling some obscene monster, backed away from the line, and the confidence that they had displayed began to be replaced with fear. The grim reality of swords versus clubs, of bottles versus shields and armour began to sink in. You could see it in the face of the townsfolk, the sudden look of terror as they realized what was about to happen. Gerald was glad. They would retreat, and the already tense situation would be over. The troops would have stopped the mob, and things would return to normal. All that changed in an instant.
As the crowd began to cautiously back away, the captain found his voice.
"Kill them!" he screamed. "Kill them all!"
Gerald looked up with horror at the captain’s orders. "My lord, the people are dispersing, we should hold the line!"
Captain Walters had a wild look in his eyes. His fear had overcome him, and he glared down with rage at his sergeant.
"Do as I say, Sergeant! Kill the stinking peasants!"
Gerald heard a yell come from the soldiers, and suddenly the terror they had held in for so long was unleashed, and they surged forward. This was no organized manoeuvre, but a mad rush at the enemy, many of whom had turned their backs to run. It was too late to stop it. The captain was yelling and screaming incoherently at the men.
The sergeant stepped forward, determined to stop the madness, but collapsed to the ground, his leg giving out beneath him. He sat, stunned for a moment, staring at the pool of blood forming around him. He’d been cut in the assault, but the numbleaf and adrenaline had prevented him from feeling it. Now, he was bleeding out, too weak to do anything but look on in horror as his life ebbed out of him.
“How did I get here?” he wondered. “How did my life culminate in bleeding to death in this stinking street, of all places?”
Continue Servant of the Crown
Also by Paul J Bennett
Heir to the Crown Series
Battle at the River - Prequel
Servant of the Crown
Sword of the Crown
Mercerian Tales: Stories of the Past
Heart of the Crown
Shadow of the Crown
Mercerian Tales: The Call of Magic
Fate of the Crown
Burden of the Crown
Mercerian Tales: The Making of a Man
Defender of the Crown
Fury of the Crown
War of the Crown
The Frozen Flame Series
The Awakening/Into the Fire - Prequels
Ashes
Embers
Flames
Inferno
Power Ascending Series
Tempered Steel - Prequel
Temple Knight
Warrior Knight
The Chronicles of Cyric
Into the Maelstrom - Prequel
A Midwinter Murder
The Beast of Brunhausen
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An enemy commander. A skilled tactician. Only one can be victorious.
The Norland raiders are at it again. When the Baron of Bodden splits their defensive forces, Sergeant Gerald Matheson thinks that today is a day like any other, but then something is different. At the last moment, Gerald recognizes the warning signs, but they are outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and out of luck. How can they win this unbeatable battle?
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If you like intense battle scenes and unexpected plot twists, then you will love Paul J Bennett's tale of a soldier who thinks outside the box.
A Few Words from Paul
When I first envisioned Ludwig's story, I knew I needed to write about his journey from a somewhat arrogant, spoiled noble to a true warrior. In the first book in this series, Temple Knight, we meet Charlaine deShandria, who just emerged from a year's worth of training in the Temple Knights of Saint Agnes. Ludwig, on the other hand, has no such training, and so his emergence as a leader is a direct result of his experiences. The one saving grace he has is his insatiable desire to learn. As a youth, he read all he could about battles and the warriors that fought them, but actually participating in a fight for survival is something he's never had to face before.
Just as Sister Charlaine has her Danica, so, too, does Ludwig have his own comrades in the form of Sigwulf and Cyn. They will join him when his adventure continues in Warrior Lord: Book Four, while Charlaine's story resumes in the next book in the series, Temple Captain.
I owe a debt of gratitude to many people, including, most of all, my wife, Carol, without whom this book wouldn't have seen the light of day. I should also like to thank Christie Kramburger, Stephanie Sandrock and Amanda Bennett for their support, along with our group of gaming friends, Brad Aitken, Jeffrey Parker, and Stephen Brown.
As usual, my BETA team has provided some great feedback that has helped make this book a better tale, so thanks go out to Rachel Deibler, Michael Rhew, Phyllis Simpson, Don Hinckley, James McGinnis, Charles Mohapel, Lisa Hanika, and Debra Reeves.
My writing would have ended long ago if it weren't for you, my readers, who continue to delight me with your encouragement and feedback. So thank you, and I hope you enjoy Warrior Knight.
About the Author
Paul J Bennett (b. 1961) emigrated from England to Canada in 1967. His father served in the British Royal Navy, and his mother worked for the BBC in London. As a young man, Paul followed in his father’s footsteps, joining the Canadian Armed Forces in 1983. He is married to Carol Bennett and has three daughters who are all creative in their own right.
Paul’s interest in writing started in his teen years when he discovered the roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons (D & D). What attracted him to this new hobby was the creativity it required; the need to create realms, worlds and adventures that pulled the gamers into his stories.
In his 30’s, Paul started to dabble in designing his own roleplaying system, using the Peninsular War in Portugal as his backdrop. His regular gaming group were willing victims, er, participants in helping to playtest this new system. A few years later, he added additional settings to his game, including Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, World War II, and the all-important Fantasy Realm where his stories take place.
The beginnings of his first book ‘Servant to the Crown’ originated over five years ago when he began running a new fantasy campaign. For the world that the Kingdom of Merceria is in, he ran his adventures like a TV show, with seasons that each had twelve episodes, and an overarching plot. When the campaign ended, he knew all the characters, what they had to accomplish, what needed to happen to move the plot along, and it was this that inspired to sit down to write his first novel.
Paul now has four series based in his fantasy world of Eiddenwerthe, and is looking forward to sharing many more books with his readers over the coming years.
Copyright © 2021 Paul J Bennett
Cover Illustration Copyright © 2021 Carol Sennett
Portrait Copyright © 2021 Amaleigh Photography
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.
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First Edition: March 2021
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ePub ISBN: 978-1-989315-97-2
Mobi ISBN: 978-1-989315-98-9
Smashwords ISBN: 978-1-989315-97-2
Print ISBN: 978-1-990073-06-9
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This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to any person, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
nnett, Warrior Knight