Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 294: Raise the hoes(2)

Chapter 294: Raise the hoes(2)

 Spears jabbed and thrust into the crowd, piercing through ragged clothing and starved flesh, but each fallen attacker was replaced by two more. The air was thick with the cries of rage, pain, and desperation, mingling with the dull clang of weapons against shields and the wet thuds of blows landing on flesh, followed by body hitting the ground.

A soldier near the center of the line gritted his teeth as he drove his spear into the stomach of a refugee. The man fell with a choking gasp, but before the soldier could pull his weapon free, two others seized the shaft, yanking it from his hands. Their faces, gaunt and hollow with starvation, twisted with fury as they lunged at him. The soldier raised his shield just in time, catching one across the chest, but the other grabbed his arm and pulled him forward.

"Help me gods!" the soldier screamed, his voice filled with terror as he was dragged into the crowd. His comrades tried to reach him, their spears stabbing wildly, but the mob swarmed him, fists and rocks crashing down in a frenzied storm. Within moments, his cries were drowned out by the roar of the mob.

Further down the line, another soldier swung his sword in a wide arc, the blade slicing into the shoulder of a refugee armed with a crude club. The refugee fell back with a guttural scream, but his place was immediately taken by another who hurled himself at the soldier, grabbing him by the throat. The two grappled violently, the soldier's sword clattering to the ground as he struggled to break free. A comrade rushed to his aid, driving a spear through the attacker's back.

At the edges of the line, the soldiers were faring no better. A small group had broken off to secure a weak point, their shields raised against a torrent of makeshift weapons. A jagged piece of wood slammed against one soldier's shield, splintering into shards, but the force knocked him off balance. Before he could recover, a rock crashed into his knee, and he crumpled to the ground with a scream. The mob surged over him like a wave, trampling him underfoot as they pressed forward.