War For The Kingdom (Part 17)

[dupuy 318]

Another of the royal soldiers fell to the ground, silenced by a sword of evil. The field officer desperately deflected three blades at once and continued to retreat, nearly overwhelmed by the skill and number of his enemies. The elite dark warriors that had encircled him and four others were master swordsmen, and they had already killed two of the well trained Lothington soldiers. Despite the field officer and his comrades' best efforts, they had been unable to stop even one of their opponents. Now, their hopes were not much higher. The field officer parried a thrust from his nearest opponent and moved the hilt of his sword to stop a cut from another. A third blade bypassed his guard and crashed into his helmet, causing him to stagger back several feet. Disoriented, he thrust at the closest of his enemies. His blade finally found its mark, and the first of the enemy masters went down.

The other soldier encircled with the field officer was doing somewhat better. Despite the multiple dents in his armor and the blood flowing from the joint between his breastplate and shoulder piece, he continued to fight valiantly. Another blade slammed into his forearm with the force of a sledgehammer, but he still remained on his feet and fought back with a tenacity that even the skilled dark warriors were challenged by. Sensing an opening, the soldier brought a heavy cut into the head of his closest opponent and the enemy soldier collapsed.

The field officer was on the verge of collapse. He had been hit four more times and although his armor had absorbed the strikes, his body was tiring and bruises were forming all over it. From what he could see outside the ring of enemy soldiers, his ten thousand infantry was being slowly pushed back. Several royal soldiers ran past him in terror, retreating as fast as their legs could carry them. Two more blades hit the field officer; one in the head and another between his knee and lower leg. The latter of the two swords bit through to his bone and he finally fell to the ground in agony, unable to continue fighting on his feet. Another blade streaked towards his torso and found the snow instead as he rolled to the side. He brought his sword in an arc against the legs of one of the enemy warriors, who staggered backward from the impact and tumbled over. The field officer pulled himself to his knees and raised his sword above his head with both hands to stop two more simultaneous cuts. Using the strength of his unharmed leg, he thrust his full weight into the closest enemy, grabbing him around the torso and toppling him like a block. Finally, outside of the circle, he slowly rose to his feet despite his throbbing knee. The other soldier that was trapped with him had also broken out and ran over to assist his comrade. He helped the field officer to his feet and helped to support him as they began walking from the field.

The sudden blast of a war trumpet startled them both and they turned abruptly to face the sound. The relieving sight that reached their eyes made them both jump for joy. Marching in perfect formation, a sea of fresh crimson-clad soldiers were moving into position to engage the enemy. The full power of the Leaartrieyan army had arrived, and it immediately struck terror into the hearts of every soldier of the Dark Lord and Black Knight. The squad of soldiers that had nearly been the death of the field officer and his comrade stood in place, looking from them to the new reinforcements, unsure of what to do. They finally wandered aimlessly to meet the fresh army and were cut down almost immediately by the righteous anger of a nation scorned. The field officer, his energy renewed by this near-miraculous arrival, yelled for joy and rallied his men back into battle. They had been saved just in time.

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Sir Gavin's horse finally went down, unable to remain standing due to its multiple wounds. He was thrown to the ground and his sword fell from his hand, but he quickly jumped to his feet. Enemy warriors struggled with what remained of the cavalry all around him, and several of the dark soldiers began to advance in his direction. He quickly recovered his sword and stood up just in time to stop the first cut. Using the momentum of his blade, he chopped at his enemy from the side and the warrior slumped over.

The hurried drum of a horse from behind Sir Gavin caused him to step to the side. Expecting that he was the target of an enemy cavalryman, he raised his sword as the animal went by, but was surprised to see that the frightened horse was riderless. Sir Gavin knew that he would have a much better chance of survival if he could get back on a horse, and here was the perfect opportunity to do so. He ran forward and grasped the reins of the frightened animal, carefully moving to its side. Gingerly, he put his foot in the stirrup and threw his other leg over its back. The horse gave a slight rear but finally was calm as Sir Gavin turned him away from the enemy force. His cavalry was still in retreat and the enemy was massing for a counterattack.

"Why doesn't the blasted army get here?!" he thought to himself once again. His force could not hold out any longer: he was going to have to sound a full retreat whether he wanted to or not. Sir Gavin cupped his hands and yelled the order, but was drowned out by another sound: the sound of a trumpet.

With hope rising in his heart, Sir Gavin wheeled his horse in the direction of the resonant blast to see the entire royal army running into battle. With a shout of triumph, he turned his horse back to face the horrified enemy and sounded a jubilant order to attack. His cavalry, which moments ago was on the cusp of defeat, lifted their voices in a single battle cry and charged back to meet the foe. The battered and seemingly hopeless ship which no one thought would ever sail again was streaking back through the sea with more confidence than ever before.

Sir Gavin cut his way forward through the shocked enemy force, which resisted gradually less to their advance. The enemy in their weakened state was caught by surprise for the third time that day. Dark soldiers ran frantically towards the new force, then turned and streaked back towards Sir Gavin's cavalry in total disarray, unable to decide who to fight. From Sir Gavin's left, he saw the hated black flag of the Dark Lord and Black Knight's personal entourage slowly move away from the battlefield. The Dark Lord was retreating, and much of his cavalry was following him. When the group of evil soldiers was away from the battlefield, however, they did not ride back north away from the Leaartrieyan border. Instead, they galloped southeast - straight towards the city of Lothington.

[Person_Random 4,991]

Approved.

Wow, this series has continued to progress even more, and now, the epic battle and conclusion is inevitable - I feel it coming! I really enjoyed the buildup with the plot and characters over time. At first, we were introduced to some great personalities, and now, we've got a descriptive and engaging plot to read. Absolutely cannot wait for the finale as well as more pieces from you!

Edits: Minor spelling changes. Just make sure to read it through and double-check prior to submitting and you'll be all good!