Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 247: Siege of Arduronaven(3)

Chapter 247: Siege of Arduronaven(3)

With the Rubicon already having been crossed, the crowd collided with the remaining soldiers like a wave crashing against a crumbling wall. Shouts and screams filled the air as desperation and rage overwhelmed whatever will to fight those few dozens of soldiers had, getting slaughtered where they stood.

An infantry-man raised his spear defensively, but a man armed with a dagger darted under it, driving the blade into the soldier's unprotected thigh. The soldier stumbled with a cry, only to be set upon by two others who wrestled him to the ground, their daggers flashing mercilessly.

Nearby, another soldier swung his sword wildly, backing away as a woman with a wooden club studded with nails lunged at him. Her first strike glanced off his helmet, but the second found his shoulder, the nails biting through the chainmail. He screamed as she yanked the club free and swung again, this time connecting with his temple, sending him sprawling and dead.

One soldier turned to flee, but a boy, no older than sixteen, tackled him to the ground. The boy screamed incoherently as he drove his dagger repeatedly into the soldier's side, each thrust more forceful than the last.

At the gate itself, a soldier frantically tried to hold his ground, parrying a blow from a club before stabbing forward with his sword. His blade struck home, but the press of bodies was too much. A dagger caught him under the arm, piercing his side, and he fell to his knees, gasping for breath as more figures swarmed over him.

 Blood splattered onto the cobblestones, and bodies of the defenders was smeared with dirt and gore. The remaining few who tried to fight were quickly overwhelmed, while most of those who fled were either caught or trampled underfoot by the surging crowd.