Suddenly, Ardius wished he could down another glass of the whiskey. It was all so much to take in…and startlingly abruptly. Just four years ago he was hustling alcohol, herbal leaf, and prostitutes to men at the docks, and now he may be at the helm of the most powerful and mysterious force in the lands. He looked back at the orb that burned bright above. Ardius squinted his eyes to the light and replied. “Yes…Yes sir, I am thankful for your confidence and this gracious honor.”
“Excellent.” The Grand turned back inside the strange little room. “More whiskey in celebration then.”
Chapter 23
Their long legs carried them quickly over the muddy ground. Two broke off from the main force of troops in one direction while another duo went the opposite way. They were moving fleetingly and with purpose. Behind each of the rushing behemoths were hundreds of orcs, doing their best to keep up. Men atop the wall were watching closely and yelled warnings out to their fellow troops below.
Bayloff barked orders along the wall and other men relayed them down the line. Another thud of the battering ram returned his focus to the area below him. The humans would have to trust in their defenses and not panic. He would remain at his designated spot by the gate as were his orders from Victus.
Somehow, even though the two pairs of giants were neither near nor in sight of each other, all four behemoths turned their direction sharply in towards the wall at about the same time. Human archers were ready at the top of the ramparts. The men with the oversized bows got in position and readied their large arrows. Priests called for power from their gods to give strength to archers who were not strong enough to pull back the string of the heavy bows on their own. Not one man on the wall or within could have been prepared for what the giants would do. It was clear that the behemoths were not going to slow down as they charged towards the city. The bowmen began to release their arrows in a flurry. Each giant let out a scream as the missiles hit his body. Their roar was loud and bold as they dropped their shoulders and crashed into the walls. The impact was powerful; each body weighed as least a ton. The wall shook and cracked, which sent some men flying off and the rest stumbling or gripping anything they could find to hold on to. One area of wall broke down a bit under the pressure and debris crumbled to the ground. This earned a pause in the barrage from the archers as the men had to collect themselves. The giants, filled with arrows like quills of a porcupine, quickly backed away from the wall. Or at least three of the four did.
One of them, a large bald beast with a reddish mustache, fell to a knee with an extraordinarily large arrow protruding from his chest. He struggled as he tried to remove the arrow and get to his feet but he could not dislodge it. The beast wobbled and collapsed dead onto the muddy ground. The other giant that was with him screamed in rage at the site of his fallen kin and charged the wall again; the other two did the same some distance away.
The next large collision cracked the wall further. Instead of pulling back and charging again the giants took their massive weapons off their back and started to bash the wall, sending men flying or crushing or chopping them dead them instantly. Two giants had clubs and one an axe; their blows were struck so furiously that the already damaged wall collapsed where they hacked away. The humans continued to fire arrows into the enraged giants. Cheers went up from the orcs that flanked the behemoths. The wall was breached in two spots and they were ready to enter the city. Another giant fell from multiple wounds, but the remaining two, one in each group, managed to distance themselves from the wall. They were badly injured and soaked in blood. The beasts had managed to get away from the unending onslaught of arrows. The wall was destroyed so the orcs could do the rest. In the distance, the drums beat on as a soundtrack to the attack.
The orcs charged and it seemed both giants would make it far enough away from the city to spare their lives. Then the night sky lit up as a bolt of lightning shot forth from the staff of one of the mages on top of the wall. The crack of the bolt was so loud that the every soldier in both armies heard it clearly above the battling. Striking true, the bolt hit one of the giants in the back and opened a whole in his body. Flesh sizzled and the lifeless carcass tumbled to the ground dead. This time it was the humans cheering, but not for long since the orcs were quickly arriving to the two breaches in the city walls. The enemy was about to enter the city.
Victus was trying to watch the events unfold from within the city but his low vantage point limited his view. He stayed on the ground with the main force by the city gate, but once he heard the giants slam the walls, he dispatched sixty cavalry units to both spots where the giants were attacking. The bulk of the enemy force was still at the gate, according to the constant communications being relayed to him from atop the wall. He had never heard of cavalry being used within the walls of a city, but The Captain knew he had to exploit the advantage the mounted soldiers gave him. They would hit the enemy hard when they first entered and hold the line so the defense could be maintained. Men would remain atop the wall, shooting arrow after arrow into the mass of attackers.
BOOM! The sound of the battering ram hitting the gate turned his attention back closer enemy.
BOOM! CRACK! Another cheer went up among the orcs. The gate gave way. The fiery head of the ram could be seen and some overly anxious orcs entered the city immediately. They were immediately filled with arrows and dropped.
Some distance away, orcs entered through the two wall breaches while more of the creatures continued to pour in from the destroyed city gate. Victus Antonel kept his wits about him though. He had instructed his officers, those that he had sent towards the walls, to have their men charge only when a large number of orcs came into the city. The cavalry would have the greatest impact when there were many enemies to trample. When out of room to maneuver, the soldiers may be forced to dismount.
“Steady!” The Captain screamed to the men that he personally commanded, which was the majority of the ground troops. Just fewer than one hundred cavalry remained with Victus. The Captain was near the front line, sitting atop his steed. Ryon Ludlow and his men remained nearby with him.
Screams went up from one human cavalry unit that was sent towards the collapsed wall as they were ordered to charge. Shortly after, the other group did the same. The sound of horses trotting then gaining speed into a run rose loudly through the air. It seemed to drown out the sound of the Faletonian drums. Some orcs were filled with rage and didn’t slow down in their charge while others became paralyzed with fear at the site of mounted warriors headed straight at them. The cavalry hit the front line of attackers with incredible speed and ferocity. They tore through the ranks like a hot knife through butter. Most of the riders carried lance-like spears that they used to impale the nearest enemies, one, two, three at a time. Although many spears broke, the riders’ speed hardly slowed and the mounted warriors quickly pulled out swords and maces and began to swing away. The muscled horses plowed over helpless orcs and goblins as they approached the walls. The Faletonian soldiers were not expecting a cavalry charge within the city and the results were devastating to their first ranks. Following the cavalry were the next units of human infantry whose morale was boosted by the havoc and death the riders caused; however the charge was over and the also the advantage it granted.
“Hold!” Victus told his men near the ruptured gate.
Orcs were flooding through aggressively now that the ram was pushed all the way through. There was a finite amount of space between the city walls and the first buildings of the city. The beasts saw the army of men lined up fifty yards away. The front line, which was the human cavalry, was closest. Beyond them were the first buildings and streets of the former Faletonian city. The human infantry, that wasn’t immediately in the space behind the cavalry, crowded through the streets waiting for battle. The reason Victus had the army backed up into the city, was to create room to enable the cavalry to charge. The soldiers obeyed their commander, and continued to hold their positions as the mainly orcish force advanced quickly.<
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“Now! Charge!” Victus screamed as he pointed his sword toward the oncoming enemy. He and his mounted men spurred their horses to battle. The gap between the front line of human cavalry and the oncoming orcs was closing rapidly, however there was enough room for the horses to gain strong speed. Like their comrades who charged first nearby, Victus’s cavalry’s impact was devastating. It was wise of Victus to allow scores of orcs to enter the city, for they were quickly killed giving an immediate advantage to the humans. More and more Faletonians continued to pour into the city though like an endless horde with an insatiable hunger for conquest…and revenge.
The success of the cavalry gave Victus hope; however it was short lived. It was the ability to charge, to hit hard and fast, that gave the cavalry the advantage. Once the charge was over, the advantage of the cavalry was gone. Fighting on horseback while hardly moving was a challenge and could prove to be more of a problem than a benefit.
The battle raged on and orcs began to fill the city. Victus remained atop his horse and swung his sword with speed and tenacity. Over and over his sharp blade struck true to kill Faletonian soldiers. The leader of the human army was in the center of the battle. The bright white garments over his armor, along with his signature gleaming cape, marked him as the apparent human leader. This brought orcish attention his way. The site of their Captain gave hope and strength to the men nearby. He led without fear. The humans were doing well but the attackers persisted. Nearly a thousand orcs were already in the city walls. The ranks of defenders continued to hold but Victus knew they would not be able to do so forever. His mind raced even as he hacked with his sword. How could he give his army a chance?
If the number of attackers was not enough to discourage The Captain, the six giants that emerged through the broken city gate certainly were. They were huge, angry and gripping mighty weapons tightly. As his eyes were fixed on the behemoths, a goblin stuck a spear deep into the chest of his steed. The poor creature fell forward with a final whimper and Victus tumbled to the ground beside him.
He was disoriented but not enough to not notice the orc standing above him with a raised axe. Victus rolled away as the axe descended. He swung his sword from the ground and severed the orc’s leg off at the shin. As the or fell to a knee with a scream, Victus finished him off by shoving his sword through his heart. Quickly, he got to his feet and slashed another charging orc, opening his belly.
“There are so many, there’s still thousands outside of the city!” Bayloff screamed from atop the wall. The giants entered the battle and were killing men three and four at a time. Six massive frames were side by side working together, finding pockets of men and destroying them. One of the six suddenly began to move in slow motion. His expression made it clear he was confused by whatever was happening to him. He simply could not move quicker. The giant’s mind was working but his body couldn’t follow. This was undoubtedly the work of divine magic cast form a priest somewhere nearby. Human soldiers wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity, slashing at his knees and legs until he fell. Once on the ground, the men finished the giant off. The five others giants continued on with their onslaught.
While looking at the twenty-foot tall monsters slaying his men, Victus was caught off guard by another massive creature near him. He saw, at nearly the last second, an ogre charging at his side. The large pale green colored beast swung a huge mace with a circular head and Victus was barely able to evade the blow. His quick dodge left him off balance and the ogre took advantage. He used his large empty hand to clobber The Captain in the shoulder, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Victus turned to his attacker and the ogre already had the mace raised high. This time he wasn’t going to be able to roll away. The mace did not come crashing down though. The ogre grimaced as a sword slashed his thick leg, sending the beast to a knee. Next his head came clean off and the headless body slumped to the dirt, oozing blood at the neck. Ryon Ludlow stood in front of Victus gritting his teeth and breathing somewhat heavily. His face and blonde hair were smeared with blood. The Captain rose to his feet and gave his commander a nod of gratitude. At that moment, the two men turned back to back and began a ferocious dance of death. They spun in unison and no attacker could get near them. One after another orcs and goblins were falling to the two men’s’ blades. Blood and the occasional limb were flying in different directions.
The defenses were beginning to give way under the force of the giants’ attack. The Captain looked around as he fought and found nothing reassuring, nothing to keep him positive. Reality was setting in for Victus. The men of the cities of the South Sea were going to lose this battle. His army was hard pressed and he guessed what terrors still waited for them outside the walls. They were vanquished. All he could do was keep his and Ryon’s twirling dance of death going. Battle surrounded him, the sounds of screaming and dying men and orcs filled the air.
As The Captain swung his sword and sliced open the throat of an orc, he saw a spear flying directly at him. He turned quickly and avoided the missile while executing a diagonal slash that cut through the leather armor of another orc and sent it bleeding to the ground. His prowess in battle had been witnessed by all nearby and would be attackers were now hesitant to charge the skilled soldier. Taking a few deep breaths he leaned back so that he can pair back up with Ryon Ludlow…but something was wrong. Victus turned and looked behind him. He could not have been prepared for what he saw. The spear that he had evaded had buried itself deep into the side of Ryon Ludlow.
With a grimace, Ryon threw his sword end over end into an oncoming orc who was looking to take advantage of the injured man. The sword hit the orc hard, piercing through his chest while lifting him clear off the ground. The spear had skewered Ryon’s body, sticking out of both sides of him. The pain dropped him to one knee and another orc was quick to charge at him. With a scream, Ryon yanked the spear out of his own body. He spun it quickly and jammed it into the charging orc’s stomach. Ludlow looked the surprised or right in the eye with a grimace as the creature gasped its lasts breaths..
Victus charged over to his friend and so too did many more orcs. The Captain went into a frenzy to defend Ryon, slashing wildly, but he could not keep all the orcs off him. He dodged one attacker’s lunge and severed the head clear off the orc’s body. A quick duck avoided the next Faletonian blade. Victus shoved his sword through the orc’s stomach up till the handle. He then spun the creature around and impaled a second orc on the part of his sword that protruded from the back of the first orc. As he pulled his weapon free from the two bodies he saw two more orcs descend upon Ryon Ludlow. The Captain was too far to intervene. Ryon dodged the first chop of an ax, but his injury slowed his movements and the second orc fell over him. The brute shoved his crude blade through Ryon Ludlow’s ribs and a horrible final cry marked the man’s last breath.
As Ryon Ludlow fell to the ground in a puddle of his own blood, the orc who delivered the blow smiled. His tusks protruded in delight…until he met Victus Antonel. The infuriated Captain swung his blade with all his strength and cut the orc’s head in half horizontally just below the eyes and then kicked his body to the ground. Several other orcs that were near the body of Ludlow were quickly disposed of by The Captain as well. The sound of his friend’s scream echoed throughout The Captain’s mind over and over again. He looked down and knew Ryon was dead. His next solemn observation was looking back up to see giants decimating human defenders with ease.
Then, ever so quickly, men, emanating a faint green hue, stormed two of the giants. There movements were unnaturally fast and behemoths could not keep up. They were overwhelmed and quickly taken down and killed. The enchanted men, however, shared the same fate. The other three giants eventually thrashed them. Two of the twenty foot tall beasts let out loud roars and all three went into another murderous rage. Men were killed brutally one after another.
Victus knew that his army was losing…and badly. It was as if the world moved in slow motion. He saw his men
being massacred nearby; he saw more and more orcs flooding in through the breached city gate. He thought he heard Bayloff’s voice again. Ryon Ludlow was laying lifeless in a pool of his own blood. It was too much for even the steady minded captain.
He was the first leader of any army every assembled for the cities by the South Sea and Victus would be sure his last stand would be a historic event. His body relaxed for a moment and he took a few deep breaths. Men act in strange ways when they are certain their end is near. He let out a low growl and felt rage building in him. His growl turned to a roar in his fury. A blood lust consumed The Captain’s very being. He pulled a dirk from a sheath on his side and charged into the densest nearby section of the battle. He hacked and slashed and moved dexterously through the combat.
His dance of death played on alone. His sword found the heart of a nearby orc…for the men that died when they took the city; he stabbed his dirk into the kidney of another orc…in the name of Ryon Ludlow; two quick diagonal slashes with both blades ended the lives of an orc and a goblin…for the army that would soon be lost. He quickly glanced to the giants and saw that one was stumbling with a large spear arrow in its chest. Other smaller arrows stuck out of its skin and the beast eventually collapsed…but it was too late.
A small quick orc made it behind Victus. A devious smile lit his face as he saw he had a clear chance to drive his short sword into the back of the human leader. The Captain was distracted. The opportunistic orc thrusted forward and his aim was true. Victus did not see him and could not evade. The tip of the blade jabbed into Victus’s back, right in the center of his great white cape. The orc grinned wickedly, but the grin didn’t last long. Instead of the blade piercing through into The Captain’s spine, sparks and a flash of white light shot forth from the cape. The blade was halted. The orc’s moment of shock and disbelief was ended quickly when Victus’s blade pieced his heart. All the enemies immediately near him were dead. Enemy blood covered the garments over his body and was splattered on his face. His breath was short and rapid. Letting out a large grunt he looked around frantically for another enemy. An ogre, who was removing an impaled dead human body from his enormous axe, met eyes with him. The ten foot tall fiend let out a roar from an open maw that was filled with sharp teeth. Victus, filled with rage, let out a scream of his own and charged at the brawny creature guided only by the instinct to kill and the hopelessness of defeat.
Kingdom Come (Price of Power Book 1) Page 30
