Hanne
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Chapter 26 The Misfits
🕑 Added 2023-04-15 07:12:28 +0000 UTCFollowing the initial assault, Lansius’ first trench was no longer able to use crossbows as freely anymore. It became mainly a melee affair. But the crossbow, as planned, had done a great job in blunting the initial assault.
Moreover, Lansius had put the bulk of his crossbowmen in the second trench, where they could fire freely at any incoming enemy on the surface. These ranged attacks become Lansius’ best defense against the enemy’s onslaught, preventing them from being slaughtered from the top like animals trapped in a gutter.
Lansius’ side did not have the monopoly on crossbows, the opponents had tried to use them too. However, they were unprepared. Expecting a melee, Lord Robert’s men had not brought enough crossbows into the trench.
Meanwhile, Lansius had a large stockpile of bolts enough for an hour of shooting. He also had trained more than half of his men to use and care for their crossbows.
Steel clanging echoed as Hugo exchanged blows with the new opponent. At one point, the knight turned it into a sword grapple. However, Hugo was a tad faster and slipped his sword into a thrust. The steel tip dug deep into the knight’s unprotected inner right elbow, causing him to recoil in pain.
Despite not being the greatest fighter, Hugo’s agility and sure-footedness from using the rope trick gave him an advantage in the close and confined space. Hugo wrestled the opponent down with that advantage, but another fighter intervened.
Hugo took a step back and another knight in engraved plate armor wielding a shield and mace took the spot easily. The other fighter also faced difficulties from his opponent and was saved only by Hugo’s intervention.
This unnerved Lansius. The opponent was getting better at this game.
Despite their initial setbacks, Lion’s knights and men-at-arms had slowly adapted and regained their edge. There was no more hurried attack or half-hearted assault, only cold precision and a steady push.
Exhausted, Hugo signaled for a replacement. Lansius and his crossbowman seized the opportunity to fire at the enemy. However, the knights were prepared and readily shielded their upper bodies, making the bolts thud harmlessly upon impact.
Another pair of fighters bolted to the front. Meanwhile, Lansius reloaded his crossbow and realized he could hear heavy breathing coming from the enemy’s direction.
The hot and humid conditions underground made it difficult for anyone in full-face helmets to breathe through their small vents. As a result, many of Lansius’ opponents had their visors open, despite the risk of getting hit by stray bolts or deadly shrapnel.
“Keep it up! Once we stop the vanguard, the rest will fall,” Lansius suddenly rallied his men. Upon hearing his words, the new pair of fighters charged forward with their poleaxes.
The rest of Lansius’s men behind didn’t respond verbally. Having borne the brunt of the assault, they were exhausted, but their eyes showed renewed determination.
However, determination alone was not enough to win the fight. Despite their best efforts, the new pair of fighters struggled in their fight and continued to lose ground against the better-skilled opponents.
Hugo looked at Lansius, who nodded, agreeing to another swap.
Despite the advantage, the opponent did not rush. They were acting like a cat playing with a mouse in their grasp. When they spotted another swap, they were so accustomed that they readily raised their shields.
Watching them, Lansius deliberately withheld from firing his crossbow. Instead, he aimed it around threateningly to give his men some breathing time. The trick worked, and his fighter could retreat without problems.
At this range, and in the absence of wind, everyone knew that not even plate armor could provide invulnerability. However, the problem still persisted: a crossbow would not be very effective against a shield.
A bearded man stepped forward. He wore a sallet along with a heater shield and an axe. From his looks, he was eager to fight.
“Careful, don’t get cocky,” Lansius warned the bearded guy.
Thomas chuckled. “No worries, I got my beard back.”
The man could have an easy life in Midlandia, following Lord Arte and Sir Peter on their political tour, but Thomas decided to follow his guts. Out of respect, Lansius had put him on the reserve, but the man yearned to fight.
Thomas and Roger, his younger pair, approached the opponent’s line calmly. The mace-wielding knight suddenly lunged at Thomas. Thomas dodged a blow from a mace and countered with a ferocious axe attack.
The knight blocked with his shield and felt a jolt in his arms and shoulder. Thomas kept hacking at it, but a shield bash took him by surprise.
Thomas stumbled back as the knight swung his mace. He raised his shield to block, crouched low, and lunged at the knight. It was such a short distance that the knight failed to react.
The knight lost his footing as Thomas launched a series of blows. The knight immediately fell and Thomas pinned him down, ready for the killing blow, but a halberd greeted him from the front.
The axeman released his prey and took several steps back. Two knights readily assisted their fallen comrades. One dragged the guy back, another kept brandishing their halberd.
“Thomas!” Lansius shouted.
Old Thomas barely ducked when two bolts screeched through the air and landed at the two who tried to evacuate their friends. One got hit in the thigh and groaned in pain, another was unconscious from a big dent in his helmet.
“On me!” Thomas charged into the opponent’s confused line while Roger tried his best to contain the other knight from interfering.
Hugo sprang into action and joined the fray while Lansius frantically reloaded his bolt. This may be the break they were waiting for.
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Thomas, Hugo, and Roger fought admirably with tenacity. However, despite the golden opportunity, they’re facing the creme of Lord Robert’s men-at-arms. The knights soaked the damage and reformed their line.
In this confined space between the two red dirt walls, there was no place for flanking, and Lansius men’s momentum stalled. They took two for ransom and injured several, but fail to make the breakthrough they desperately needed.
Just as the fighting stopped as both sides took breathing.
“Get down,” the crossbowman beside Lansius yelled, as he thought he had found his chance.
Already anticipating the attack, the men ducked. The bolt flew straight but narrowly missed the knight’s helmet. Lansius too fired his crossbow, but the bolt got deflected at the other knight’s pauldron and flew harmlessly into the earthen wall.
After they had spent their ranged attack, the opponent suddenly charged forward.
Fuck! They’re waiting for this.
“Fallback,” Hugo screamed as if reading Lansius’ mind. Thomas and Roger acted like a read guard and tried their best to defend against the charging knights.
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Lansius’ men retreated, more panicked than orderly. Suddenly, one of the guys in front screamed. Lansius stopped and saw Roger’s shoulder pierced by a spear. Blood was gushing through his gambeson.
Lansius tossed his crossbow to his assistant and dashed back. “Lend me a hand,” he cried as he dragged the wounded guy as fast as he could.
Hugo and Thomas were close to their limit, answering multiple attacks at once. The opponents clad in plate fearlessly rushed like raging bulls.
A spear slipped and nearly impaled Lansius. It made him slip into the red mud. A female in ringmail moved past them, pushing them, and used her shield as cover.
“Carla, don’t get reckless,” her friend warned her from behind.
“Mind your business! If they fall, then we’re also going to die,” Carla said defiantly.
“That’s more like it,” Lansius commended while redoubling the effort to drag Roger. There was not enough space for two, but a few hands reached out to them to help.
Carla eventually took the front after Thomas got hit on the side of his helmet. Afterward, they picked up the pace and suddenly the width along the trenches got wider.
They finally reached a place that Lansius named the gatehouse. Not only wider but it was also separated by a wooden fence with a functioning gate.
As they passed the wooden fence, Lansius, Hugo, and the rest just dropped to the ground. Red sticky soil was the least of their problem.
A few men who were in charge of the gate, less experienced but protected behind the fence, readily brandished their spears and fired their crossbows against the incoming knights.
After several knights were wounded, their momentum was blunted. They retreated back, seemingly into the far end of the trenches.
Lansius breathlessly dragged himself to sit with his back against the reddened wall. Hugo and Thomas were next to him. Despite being wider than the trench, it was only enough for four people to stand abreast.
Fresher personnel passed between them to reinforce the gate. The fighting grew quiet, so Lansius could hear crossbow bolts being fired overhead.
“Fighting continues top side,” Hugo commented after watching Lansius looking upward.
Lansius nodded. He knew that it meant that the opponent still had more men coming. However, this was all within expectation.
Looking at his men working hand in hand to survive made him breathe a sigh of relief. His biggest gamble had paid off.
From the beginning, Lansius’ problem wasn’t only the enemy, but also his men’s willingness to fight. Truthfully, they were nothing but misfits. Poorly recruited and motivated only by raiding and looting.
Exacerbating the problem, Lansius had no reputation. Despite all his fair treatment, no Midlandians would trust him with their lives.
Thus, he had deceived them. He had led them to a place where they couldn’t possibly run, so their only option was to fight for their lives. This trench strategy was essentially that.
Lansius gambled that even without divine rights, beliefs, or ideologies, men would always fight for survival. And today, he had proven the assumption to be correct.
His men were exhausted, bruised, and battered, but still motivated to fight. And his fellow Arvenians gladly showed them the way.
Hugo with his back on the earthen wall busy reorganizing the men. In a short time, a fresh group of thirty men sallied out. Their rallying cries pumped everyone’s morale as they exited the gateway.
“Tough lad,” Hugo commented.
Lansius nodded. “Any words from other sectors?”
Hugo looked to the left and right. “Oi, messengers,” he called.
One perked up and headed toward them.
“What’re the words for Sir Justin and Master Calub?”
“Sir Justin and his men had captured a dozen. Several fell, but they steadily gained ground.”
Hugo looked at Lansius, who nodded, satisfied.
Anything other than not getting wiped up is good news.
While the battle raged on, they could afford some quick treatment. A barber who followed them was their designated healer, as was the norm for this era.
The barber cleaned Hugo’s small wounds with wine and wrapped them with a clean linen cloth. Meanwhile, Thomas got a cut on his cheek and lost a lump of hair from a narrow slash. Part of his beard was reddened with blood.
Lansius took a deep breath. The realization that these men bleed for him was overwhelming.
Suddenly, the wooden fence came alive again. The second group was being pushed back, and the knight was hot on their tails.
Thomas put his sallet back while Hugo took a crude-looking halberd from one of his men. Lansius too rose up, ready for the finale.
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PS: The picture is of Hugo & Thomas in normal clothes. AI is bad at making historical clothes, no matter what the prompt lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter and the next one will be the conclusion. Thank you for reading.
Comments
Juy.grece
Obrigado pelo capítulo 🙂
