Chapter 29

Reddened Steel

When the sun was yet to settle in the west, a fierce icy wind blew from the northern Targe Mountains. By nightfall, Vindebona and its surroundings were covered in a layer of snow. For two days the snow fell and painted the landscape pristine white.

The snow stopped on the third day and just like on cue thousands of Nicopolans marched out from the old city ruins. They swarmed the landscape like ants and surrounded the citadel. Only then, did the Vindebona people know the great perils they were in.

The bulk of all Nicopolans who had raided Elandia massed their forces outside of Vindebona. Fueled by suspicion and mistrust, the three big mercenary companies were unwilling to let the other possess Vindebona's secret. The big three’s movement caught the attention of the lesser companies who joined for scraps and safety in numbers.

Clad in thick leather from head to toe, the Nicopolans appeared like beastmen in their winter fur. Led by twenty-six mercenary companies, twenty-two thousand Nicopolans toiled in the freezing temperature. With great efforts, they pulled parts of wooden structures from the city ruins, erecting huts and also barricades.

Before the day ended, five escalades, the massive siege ladders were beginning to take shape.

The besieger's patience to wait for winter had paid off. The freezing temperature worked to their advantage as it froze the city's wide moat. Within a few days, that last hurdle would be frozen enough for the heavy siege engine to pass through.

With the plunder of Elandia secured to feed their vast numbers, the mercenaries and their refugee accomplices were in high spirits. In their eyes, it was only a matter of time before the city fell, just like several they had raided last season.

***

Lansius

“Keep them coming,” I hollered at the small opening on the floor.

The grunts below didn’t respond verbally, but they hurriedly climbed the stone spiral stairs and delivered more bundles of bolts upstairs. I had been commanding the western section of the wall against the Nicopolans' assault.

“I spotted a breach, northern wall,” Carla who stood at one of the observation windows shouted. Audrey and her guards rushed to the north battlements.

“Sir Rabanus, you’re in charge, keep those escalades pin down,” I said while holding the string with my two hands and stomping the metal stirrup to prime the crossbow.

“Yes, My Lord,” the old square-jawed knight responded.

Carrying the unloaded crossbow close to my chest, I signaled my entourage of guards and we went to the north battlements. Blinding lights welcomed us as we exited the gatehouse. It was so bright as the snow surface reflected the sun's full light.

I jogged along the battlements where hundreds of my men defended ceaselessly against the assault. Firing the bolts en masse was costly and inefficient, but that was the only way to stop the enemy from scaling the wall. While I had the utmost confidence in my troops, against such a wide front, we were faltering.

Vindebona Citadel’s wall was too wide for our small forces to cover. Meanwhile, the militia was too inexperienced to be useful. Many simply froze when they saw the opponent climb up and they fled after their half-hearted attempt to harass the attacker failed. This was why the Nicopolans’ were more successful with their small ladder assaults and poked holes into our defenses.

I tried to pick up my pace but the battlements were only three men wide, it was crammed and jammed with people in action.

"Blimey, it's My Lord." One man and more realized who had just bumped into them.

“Carry on, focus on the fight,” I yelled as I went to minimize distraction because it was impossible to pass without bumping into someone.

As I move along the battlements, chill winds whipped my face and pained my crackled lips. I spotted where the Nicopolans punched through.

“Lowlandians!” Audrey rallied his men and went against a dozen of Nicopolans who had fought their way up. Their numbers still growing as many more still climbing up. The guards readied their swords and halberds, soon a fierce melee broke out along the width of the battlements.

I stopped and instinctively raised my crossbow but somebody bumped me from behind. The stone floor was slippery from wetted snow; I slipped and almost landed face-first if not for the crossbowman on my left who held me back.

“My Lord,” the squire who bumped me and the crossbowman who helped me addressed simultaneously.

“I’m okay, the fight, focus on the fight.” I found my balance and aimed, but it was useless; the battlements were too narrow and Audrey's men obstructed my line of sight.

I could only watch as the brutal fight ensued. Three Nicopolans fell from the wall but miraculously survived as a mound of snow cushioned their impact. The trio limped toward their camp, but not all were that lucky. The ones who had fought slumped against the stone wall and bleed out from their wounds.

Three strong pushes by halberdiers pushed the ladder to the side. It went crashing down along with the men who still cling to it. Invigorated by this small win, the troops clamored and taunted the besieger below.

The result wasn’t surprising, the Nicopolans wore light gears while Audrey’s men were in plates. However, our advantage wasn’t without risk; wearing metal armor in winter was inherently dangerous. Even without it, frostbite had taken several men’s noses, ears, and fingers.

Audrey appeared before me, unscathed. Not even a blot of blood was seen in her fur coat and armor. It seemed her guards were competent enough not to let her partake.

“Don’t rush like that,” I complained despite the result.

Unfazed, Audrey gave me the look and I averted my gaze away while groaning in protest.

“Lord Lans, you’re needed in the command place, not here,” she said sarcastically while Carla, her squire raised her shield to protect us from crossbow attack.

I let out a sigh. “You can’t keep me out of action.”

Audrey knitted her brows, looked around to assess the situation, and commanded, “Carla, take five men and guard around here.”

“Yes, My Lady,” the squire girl saluted.

Fzzzhhhh- Thudd!!

We ducked by instinct as bolts peppered our position. It wasn’t much nor it was accurate but nobody wanted to roll dice against steel arrowhead. I suppressed my fear and peeked into the embrasures, the part where the wall was indented for defense. Just as I had expected, there were a group of newly arrived crossbowmen lurking below.

I signaled two of the closest crossbowmen to come and they nodded when I pointed in the direction of the new threat.

We rested our crossbow body in the embrasures, took aim, and let the chaos begin. The familiar violent shudder on my hand informed me that the bolt darted at maximum velocity. I didn’t need to watch how it unfolded, the screaming was telling enough.

By chance, the Nicopolans’ crossbowmen didn’t carry their big pavise shield but relied on their infantrymen for cover. However, their infantrymen seemed to refuse to do it any longer after enduring several hails of bolts, thus the crossbowmen could only rely on the terrain for protection.

We continued to zero in on the remaining Nicopolans in range until they withdrew fully. Finally, the fighting in the northern section died off.

“They’re withdrawing,” Carla commented in disbelief.

Audrey looked at me and whispered, “Not bad, it’s working.”

I nodded while observing the enemy’s movement. My strategy to overwhelm the opponent was working. It was basically a shock and awe. By using sheer firepower, we made them aware of our strength. While this wasn’t efficient and we couldn’t do this for long, I deemed it vital for our situation.

By punching them hard enough, they would subconsciously fear our strength. This way, hopefully, they would be more cautious and timid; that would give us more breathing room. I’d like to call this bonsai-ing the enemy’s morale.

“This will work for today,” I whispered more to myself.

“Can’t this work tomorrow?” Audrey asked.

I shrugged. “Maybe, but I doubt even they are that stubborn.”

“Well, I’m an optimist,” Audrey quipped.

I clicked my tongue to dismiss her jest.

She grinned a little, a mischievous smile that brought lustful memories between us. I blinked at the thoughts.

How could I get aroused in the middle of battle?

“What’s up? Seems you’re surprised by something.”

“N-no, just some dust in my eye,” I put up an excuse.

“Well, we better-“

“Breaches... breaches!” a man shouted as he ran toward us.

“Calm yourself,” Liam blocked and chided this messenger of bad news.

“A-apology,” he drew his breath heavily and continued, “the southern wall is about to get overrun.”

“Dammit,” I cursed openly and led the others back into the gatehouse.

***

Southern Wall

Four escalades spread against the west and north side of the wall. As expected those were the places that endured heavy fighting. Meanwhile, the southern wall saw little action. With only one escalade, it was expected to play out like that. However, the defender was in for a rude awakening.

Timed alongside the attack on the north side, the mercenaries launched multitudes of ladder assaults against the southern wall. Despite courageous attempts by the guards and militia, the section was quickly overrun.

A guardsman slipped and fell backward as he defended himself against a Nicopolan. His comrades had fallen or fled back to the gatehouse. He mustered his strength and hold his crossbow up just in time to block an overhead slash. His body jerked as the sword violently slammed into the wooden body and broke up the mechanism.

The Nicopolan man grunted as he pulled his sword free and launched a thrust.

The guard screamed and flailed his crossbow to parry the thrust. But the attacking Nicopolan suddenly flew to the side, his helmet dented, and there was a bloodied gash on his ear. He then crashed down like a wooden log.

“Mwhuahaha, cold steel application directly to the head, anyone else?” one tall knight taunted coldly as he leaped past the guardsman. Without hesitation, he marched toward the Nicopolans. Three men stood in his path. Without holding back, the knight swung his broadsword horizontally. The move was so fast that in a blink of an eye there was a burst of red mist around the three men.

Two men fell on the spot with their lower arms dangling or missing. The third guy was unharmed but forcefully pushed by the blow to the side and fell down. His scream was cut abruptly as he crashed into the hard frozen moat below.

“Fear me, peasant… Anci of Iverlia is here,” the knight roared.

Three bolts answered Anci’s declaration, two found their mark but glanced off the high-grade breastplate and pauldron. Three more men leveled their weapons and charged at him.

That didn’t deter Anci who matched action and wiped the floor with them. He was too experienced to be deterred by the likes of half-assed mercenaries. Dozens of his men followed up close behind and either joined the fray or fired their crossbows in support.

By the time Anci and his men finished with the attacker, his armor was soaked red with frozen blood stains. He looked so beastly that the remaining Nicopolans started to climb down in panic. Several wouldn’t wait for their comrade and jumped down at the nearest mound of snow.

After catching his breath and wiping his glove clean of blood, Anci pushed into the escalade where the main problem lay. He let his men with halberd open the path and only jumped into action when he was next to the escalade.

“Hello, boys…” Anci greeted the Nicopolans who cowered in their shield. That did nothing against Anci and his men who went on a rampage.

This tactic of escalade-counter-assault was Anci’s original idea. It was full of questionable goals, faulty bravado, and misled glory, but Lansius managed to see some semblance of utility in this madness and gave his full support.

Like golem incarnate, Anci and his men shrugged off melee and ranged attacks while raising hell on the wooden stairs platform. With the slash of their swords, thrust from their halberds, or a kick to the head, they showed what professional knights were capable of against common mercenaries.

Their bravado-inducing action bought enough time for their allies to regroup and for reinforcement to arrive. Soon, steady crossbow fires resumed from the wall and whittled down the Nicopolans around the escalade.

After brief struggles, the lone southern escalade was silenced. Finding their chance, Anci’s men hurriedly hacked the platform with axes and hammers. However, the mercenaries had given the signal for a general withdrawal.

The leader of the big three companies knew that a siege was a long-term game and wagered to preserve their fighting strength.

As commanded hundreds of Nicopolans in the southern groups pulled their lone escalade using long ropes. Despite being massive, it was mobile as it had wooden wheels and ski-like contraptions. Like a lumbering beast, the siege engine began to separate from the wall, but after a while, it got stuck.

“Give it all you got, pull!” Anci commanded his men to tie down the escalade with the single rope they could find. They managed to hold until the main reinforcement arrived in the nick of time.

Lansius brought metal hooks, pulleys, and ropes. “Go go go,” he bellowed to his men who jumped into the platform and attached the hooks to the structure. Thus, it became a glorified tug of war and the two sides tried their hardest to pull the massive structure. The sheer difference in manpower was matched by rope and pulleys which were anchored to the sturdy stone battlements.

Completely blinded by the tug of war and only assuming that the defender was trying to wreck the escalade, the Nicopolans missed the group who climbed down. Their collective jaws dropped when they saw who had slipped and appeared before them.

“Mwahahaha!” The knight in crimson-dyed armor descended with his men.

“The Vindebonas!” shrieked the lieutenant before he was chopped down. His comrades either froze in panic or ran in sheer terror.

“Give em the cold steel medicine,” Anci commanded his thirty men against the wave of Nicopolans below. The once white scenery turned ugly with stains and blots of dark reddened blood.

Unprepared and disorganized, the Nicopolans were hard-pressed to form a cohesive defensive line. Few groups that fought did so because they were unable to flee.

Anci’s men mercilessly stabbed and slashed them with swords or halberds and continued to do so even after they slipped and fell many times in the thick snow. Another fifty came down through the escalade, bearing the banner of the Korimor. The Lady herself was present and led the reinforcement directly into the foray.

Closely behind, Sir Rabanus brought another fifty. And then the heraldry of Blue and Bronze Chevron appeared. A black-haired man led his crossbowmen to mount the top of the escalade like an archer tower. Like commanding artillery, he showered the Nicopolans' position that tried to organize a defense.

In a surprising turn of events, the besieged funneled more than two-hundred fighting men through the escalade and went on the attack against the besieger.

The worst was yet to pass, the city gate opened and the cavalry led by a man in an eye patch appeared. Upon order, they sortie out with their long lances and wreak havoc on the panicked Nicopolans.

Within minutes, the Nicopolan's southern group was routed and its men went into a stampede as they fled to the old city ruins. This happened until the mercenary companies from the center and northern group combined their best fighters and flanked the Korelians’ advances.

No longer against the throwaway mercenaries and refugees, the two-hundred Korelians fought bitterly against a growing number of elite mercenaries. Steadily the one-thousand-strong mercenaries pushed the Korelians back. The situation turned grim for the defender who had been caught in the open.

***