The Imperial army
spread out in front of the city was impressive.
She counted the units, taking their size into consideration and saw that
they were outnumbered three to two.
They also looked
far prettier all lined up with matching armor and flags. Their combined mercenary army in comparison
looked like a rabble.
But she wasn’t
concerned. From what Verin said, the
Imperials spent more time polishing their armor and marching in parades than
learning how to fight.
They were about to
find out.
She was mounted
next to Onata and they were both behind Verin.
It felt strange not to be in the front line. The only way they’d see combat today was if
their side lost and the Imperials managed to penetrate their center.
Tempest was off
commanding the left flank of infantry.
Alethia, dressed
in a long black robe walked up from the direction of the camp and tapped Verin
on the knee.
“I don’t think we’ll
need you today,” Verin said.
Alethia nodded and
walked back to her tent.
“That’s
reassuring,” Onata said.
If they didn’t
need the sorceress then Verin felt confident of victory. She hadn’t seen him wrong about a military
matter yet.
“Men,” Verin
said. “Advance.”
The officers
immediately began shouting orders.
Signal flags were waved and then horns began blowing.
The combined
mercenary army undulated forward. The
blocks of front line infantry were in the front with archers in the rear and
cavalry on the wings. Reserves of
pikemen were behind everyone to plug up holes and to counter charge if
needed.
Verin and his
fellow generals had discussed the strategy until nearly dawn. Their plan was as good as it was going to
get. From what Greza understood of it,
it was very basic. No fancy maneuvers,
no tricks. Just simple movement and
aggression.
Victory would come
down to the generals exploiting weaknesses and openings in the enemy lines and
the quality of their troops.
“I bet the
Imperials are feeling right confident about now because they outnumber us,”
Onata said.
“You really think
they’re that bad?”
“Hope so.”
A part of her
wanted to be up front with her old squadmates in the thick of it. She couldn’t deny that she loved the surge of
power she felt during battle. Never did
she feel so alive than in a fight.
Her hands clinched
in their metal gauntlets, eager to hit something.
The sun was just
over the distant mountains and the sky was still shaking off the dawn’s
purple. Dew covered the grass and it was
a beautiful morning. Shame it was about
to turn ugly.
Even if they won
she knew this was going to be a horrible day.
So many people dying. Mothers,
daughters, sons and sisters were going to mourn by this night. Each one would be a personal tragedy.
She watched as the
two armies collided like distant clouds, so slow but so awe inspiring. Flocks of arrows filled the sky going in both
directions and soon clouds of dust obscured much of the battle. She could see cavalry units riding around and
pikemen charging forward.
Somehow Verin was
able to make sense of it all. He would
point, issue orders and discuss with the other generals.
She rode up
closer.
“How goes the
battle?” She asked.
Verin turned to
her and smile.
“We’re pushing
them back already. Two of their left
flank units have already crumbled and ran back into the city.”
It had only been a
half hour. That did not speak well for
the Imperial troops.
Decaron was
holding a thin glass of wine and a servant stood by with a plate of salted
meats and cheeses.
“Care for a snack?”
Decaron asked her.
She picked up a
slice of meat and tossed it in her mouth without tasting it.
“What’s your assessment?”
She asked.
“My assessment is
that this display of soldiering by the Imperial army is pathetic. But this is just one of their armies. They have eleven more.”
He then smiled and
went back to his wine.
Greza then began
to feel uneasy.
“Something’s
wrong,” she said.
Verin gave her a
raised eyebrow but didn’t comment.
Then a purple
swirling mist appeared in the open space in front of them. The horses recoiled away and nearby soldiers
readied their spears or pulled out their swords.
“Magic!” Someone
shouted out.
As she watched,
the smoke coalesced into a looming shape.
A moment later the smoke was gone and in its place stood a troll. It was
covered in armor and carried what looked like giant cleavers in each hand. It loosely resembled a twisted man covered in
hair. It was tall and lanky and its jaws
were massively over sized and filled with teeth.
Decaron pulled his
two-handed sword from his back while the nearby spearmen charged the confused
monster.
The thing was
massive. It made Tempest look
small. The gray armor was strapped on
and not fitted like true plate. It’s
sides, armpits and face were exposed.
That was little comfort because once it started to move, it moved
fast.
With one swing of
its long, hairy arm it knocked several of the spearmen into the air. The swordsmen spread out to get behind it
while it tore into the spear platoon. It
picked up one man and tore his head off and tossed the body at the
spearmen.
It all was
happening so fast. It seemed like
everyone else was moving under water.
There was nothing that could stop this troll from getting to Verin. The
spearmen would stall it at best and the swordsmen had less of a chance. Onata was trying to load a bolt into her
crossbow but her openings were small on a moving target.
It was up to
her.
She had to go for
the face. If she had a blade she’d go
for the armpit, but with her cestus, smashing the face would be best. Two problems though. First: she didn’t know how tough a troll’s
skull was. She might not be strong
enough to break it. Second: the
rampaging monster was three times her height.
How would she even get to its face to land a blow?
Verin and the other
generals were turning their mounts away.
Why was everyone so slow? One of
the officers fell off his horse as it startled because of the nearby murderous beast.
That was her
opening.
Without stopping
to second guess herself, she kicked her horse forward, pulled her legs up and
jumped off her horse.
She landed on the
officer’s horse and immediately jumped off that.
Greza sailed
through the air over the surviving spearmen and right towards the enormous
troll.
It’s small red eyes
saw her coming and its long arms began to move toward her. It opened its mouth to let out a roar and
revealed fat, sharp teeth like a dog’s.
She couldn’t control her direction and was like an arrow that had been
fired.
Its clawed hand
reached for her but missed and she flew past it and right at his face. Greza had her punch wound up and now brought
it forward with everything she had. If she didn’t break its skull then it would
grab her and tear her to pieces.
Her metal fist
smashed into the creature’s nose.
Immediately she heard bone cracking and felt her fist sink into its
face. The blow shook her arm and a sharp
pain raced up hand.
The beast tumbled
backwards with her on top.
Once the giant hit
the ground she rolled off and ran away to gain some distance in case it got
back up.
The beast was
holding its face with one hand and thrashing around with the other. It’s legs kicked out in every direction.
Then something
flew past her head with a faint whistle sound and struck the troll in the neck
just above its armor. It bellowed in
rage while spitting up blood.
The soldiers moved
in and began hacking away at it. Within
moments the troll was just a bloody mess.
Onata rode up next
to her. Greza looked up and saw that
Onata’s eyes were wide and she was breathing hard.
“I’ve never seen a
troll up close,” Onata whispered.
Greza then looked
over to Verin and the other generals.
Verin’s eyes were still on the dead troll.
Then he looked
towards her.
“I don’t believe
it,” Verin said.
“Did your
bodyguard just take down a troll in one punch?”
Decaron asked.
Greza looked down
at her gauntlet and saw it was covered in blood. Her arm felt numb.
Slowly she took
off the cestus and felt her hand. More
sharp pain.
“I think it’s
broken,” Greza said.
“A broken
hand? Troll bone is tougher than
iron. You should be dead,” Decaron
said.
“Greza…” Verin
said.
“I’ll get her to
the medic,” Onata said.
Verin swallowed
and then nodded his approval.
“Grez, that was
amazing. That should have been
impossible,” Onata said as she walked along side her.
“I saw an opening.”
“What made you
think you could take on a troll? Never
to that again.”
“Don’t want me to
fight a troll then don’t threaten Verin with one.”
Onata shook her
head.
“Promise me you
won’t do something that stupid again.”
“I had to try.”
Onata sighed.
“Sometimes I
wonder if you’re as crazy as they say you are.”
“Who says I’m
crazy?”
Fantastic!
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