Part 21

Greza snatched up her shield as she saw a group of gunners running up to support the enemy unit she was fighting.  This wasn’t a place she wanted to be.  She turned around to see her own unit rushing forward as well.  The first line was raising their guns.

She ducked behind her shield as her unit opened fire.  She heard the balls flying over her head with high pitched shrieks.  A moment later the enemy returned fire.

As soon as they had fired she jumped up and rushed back to rejoin her ranks.  She took her position again and raised her shield. 

“You’re crazy,” one of her men said. 

“I saw an opening,” she said. 

They advanced and their gunners kept firing.

“Almost out of shots!”  Someone shouted behind her.

“Axes!”  Lt. Tezana called out. 

The gunners slung the flintlocks over their backs and raised their long, curved axes. 

As one, they all advanced in a line, shield to shield.  She fired the last of her pistols and put it back in its sheath. 

The enemy pikemen charged.  A wall of spear points rushed right at her.  She bashed several pikes away with her shield and saw one of the enemy gunners leveling their matchlock at her. 

There was the white puff of smoke and she twisted her body to the side to avoid the shot.  She felt the ball strike her breastplate and ricochet off into the air.

Then the two armies smashed into each other and instantly everything was chaos.  Pikes were thrusting toward her.  Axes were swinging around her all over was the sound of metal on metal and the grunting and howls of men. 

She was being pushed from behind and the front and from every other side.  Her shield was pressed against her by an enemy pike man so that she couldn’t move her arm at all. 

Greza slipped her arm out and dropped the shield.  Now that her armored hands were free she moved on the nearest enemy.  She grabbed the man’s pike and pushed it up into the air as she moved in.  A metal fist to his face dropped him instantly. 

Again she began tearing into the enemy.  At that close distance the pikemen couldn’t defend themselves.  They were great for keeping people away, but get too close and they were useless.  No wonder Duke Verin chose to use long axes instead.  Her men were using their axes in close quarters with no problem. 

She grabbed a man’s arm and brought her elbow down on it.  She punched another man’s throat and kicked another man’s knee so that it bent the wrong way. 

All of it became a violent blur and one action melted into the next.  Though she couldn’t tell exactly what she was doing, going on only instinct, she saw and heard everything.  Never had her senses been more alive.  She was enjoying it and she didn’t care.

Then she stopped and looked around.  The enemy were few and far between with many of them running away.  Already she began to hear cheering coming from her side. 

Greza raised her arms in the air and shouted out at the top of her lungs.  Her armored fists were covered in blood up to her elbows. 

“Duke Verin!  Do you see me?  Look what I’ve done in your name!” She thought to herself as she shouted. 

Ox staggered up to her and leaned on his axe.  He was covered in dirt and blood.  A cut bleed from her cheek.  But he was smiling. 

“I killed them,” Greza said, feeling a toothy smile grow across her face.

“I saw.  I couldn’t help but see.  You’re a beast.”

“They’re running.” 

She turned back to make sure they kept running.  They were running off to the sides.  Troops from the besieged city were coming up from their rear and had been a hammer and anvil maneuver like the battle of Betetarnum in the war of Imperial succession. 

She had never felt such an energy pour through her as it did then.  This had been the best day of her life. 

Burana came up, limping and using her axe as a crutch. 

Greza hurried over and put her arm around her. 

“You, alright?”  Greza asked.

“A pointy stick scratched my leg.  Nothing to worry about,” Burana said. 

Friendly cavalry rode up and one of the armored soldiers asked for a status report. 

“Where’s the sergeant?”  Ox called out in his booming voice. 

Turned out that the sergeant was dead.  The Lieutenant then told Ox that he was acting sergeant. 

The officers then began reestablishing control and the army moved back and reorganized. 

Her unit found themselves sitting on a grassy hill overlooking the battlefield.  They sat around sharing dried pork and passing around canteens. 

Now that the blood was slowing down she assessed the field and realized how many bodies covered it.  The field was literally red and broken weapons and dead horses lay everywhere. 

“You see it, don’t you?”  Ox asked. 

“It was so wonderful, but now…”

“Now you see the real battle, Grez.”

It had felt so amazing to win a victory for her Duke, but now she wondered if it had been right.  Could so much death be good? 

“Don’t think about it too much,” Ox said. 

He passed her a canteen and she took a deep drink. 

She looked down at the dent in her breastplate where her heart was.  That shot could have killed her.  Several times she had been inches close to death.  How pointless her life would have been to have ended there.  She hadn’t accomplished anything in her life and she wouldn’t have been remembered by anyone. 

How many of her fellow soldiers had died? 

“I can see it sinking in,” Ox said.

“It’s horrible.”

“It is, but you can’t let that rule you.”

“Will I get used to it?”

“Unfortunately.” 

Then she saw the Duke and his bull and raven approach a group of riders from the city.  Both groups had the banner of the Chimera Company. 

“Who’s the Duke talking to?”  She asked.

“Captain Richkurk,” Ox said.

“Richkurk?  He was the one that gave me the coin.”

“He gave you a coin?  He only gives those to people he wants to honor.”

The camp soldiers came up with their wagons and all their packs in neat order.  A wagon came up and dropped off all their packs.  The packs of the dead were split up among the unit and Greza got a shiny boot dagger.  She used it to slice off a piece of pork and put it half way in her mouth as she chewed it. 

She didn’t know how long the battle had taken but the sun was already setting so it had been at least three hours. 

The officers came by and ordered everyone to set up camp.  The Duke and his men were still talking and she wondered what they were talking about.  She could see them setting up a tent in the middle of the field as the Duke continued to talk. 

“What are they talking about?”  She asked.

“The Duke sent Richkurk ahead to organize everything for the campaign.  I’d imagine they’re having a strategy meeting and discussing everything.” 

“You know everything that’s going on, don’t you?”

“Not hardly.”