Großherrin Claudia von Levantaine removed the mercenary's corpse from her blade then swung Kreuzritter in a wide arc behind her and beheaded another before jumping back to avoid a third mercenary's attack and retaliated by running him through the abdomen. The man coughed out blood and glared at the Grand Mistress of the Dawn Templars before receiving a punch to the face that knocked him down to his knees. Claudia then kicked the body off of Kreuzritter before facing her next opponent. A Feral Orc with a wicked looking cleaver for a weapon.
It licked it's lips and grinned maliciously before stalking over to Claudia.
The Großherrin sneered at the tainted greenskin in disgust before parrying it's attack then jumped out of the way as it tried to backhand her. Claudia swung her weapon and deflected the Feral Orc's cleaver before quickly stabbing it through the chest. She twisted the blade and pushed it further inside the tainted greenskin before the Feral Orc dropped to it's knees. She didn't stop her assault and punched the tainted greenskin repeatedly in the head until it stopped moving.
Before she could do anything else, a mercenary tackled her to the ground and punched her across the face before rearing his arm back to throw another punch. Claudia caught his fist and quickly slammed her forehead against the man's own. Her steel circlet doing more damage to the mercenary's head. She pushed the man off of her before grabbing a discarded sword on the ground and quickly buried it in the mercenary's heart. Claudia then used the sword to help her stand before making her way back to the Feral Orc and grabbed Kreuzritter's handle. With a loud grunt, she pulled the blade free from the tainted greenskin's corpse and looked around the battlefield.
The Reichsheer and the two Dwarven Legions were engaged in a bloody battle against the Black Dog mercenaries and monsters. The cavalry, which comprised of the Falcon Knights, Dawn Templars, Reichsritter and Sariantbrüder, who were lead by Alicia, had already left the area and moved on to disrupt the mercenaries supply lines leading to the Caverns of Deorsum. The Reichsheer Schwertkämpfer were doing a fantastic job in keeping the mercenaries at bay with their shields.
Claudia snapped out of her observations before swinging low and severed a mercenary's foot then raised Kreuzritter to block an attack meant for her head before kicking her attacker back into a third mercenary and running both of them through with her Zweihänder. She pulled the weapon free and turned around, immediately swinging her weapon high and severing the head of a Minotaur that would have split her in two with it's axe.
The Großherrin looked around her and saw the Greybeard Legionaries forming an immovable and impenetrable shield wall that kept the mercenaries at bay while the Reichsheer Armbrüste set themselves on a staircase leading to a ruined building before raining crossbow bolts at the mercenaries that the Greybeard Legionaries held back.
The Reichsheer's Speerbrüder, fresh from crossing the bridge, joined the fight and formed a spear wall behind the mercenaries before closing in on them. Pinning the Black Dogs between the two walls before picking them off one by one and the mercenaries desperately tried to break free but to no avail. The spears of the Speerbrüder impaling them and their bodies piled up between the shield wall and spear wall.
"Großherrin!"
Claudia quickly turned to the direction of the voice and saw Großmarschall Gottfried von Werth making his way towards her.
The old Großmarschall cut a bloody path to the Grand Mistress. Thrusting his partizan, Krieg, forward and impaled a mercenary in the abdomen before violently wrenching the weapon out to the side. The mercenary screamed as his innards spilled out from the large wound on his abdomen before Gottfried swung his weapon in an arc and beheaded the man as a Satyr ran towards him with it's sickle poised to strike the Großmarschall from behind. Gottfried quickly spun on his heel and smacked the side of a Satyr's head with the shaft of the polearm before stabbing the Beast Man in the throat.
Before Gottfried could pull the weapon free, a Lycan rushed him and he jumped back to avoid getting hit by the Lycan's claws. He grabbed the Satyr's discarded sickle and hooked the blade around the Lycan's head while it had it's back turned on Gottfried before kicking the Lycan hard in the back. The result was the blade slicing through and severing the Lycan's head.
Another Lycan pounced on the Feldmarschall and slammed him hard on the ground. It then grabbed him by the back of the head before smashing his face into the ground multiple times. The Lycan moved to finish him off by ripping his throat open with it's claws but Claudia ran the Lycan through the back with Kreuzritter then pushed the limp body off of Gottfried. She grabbed the Großmarschall's arm and pulled him up to his feet before grabbing the shaft of Krieg and wrenched the polearm free from the Satyr's throat. Gottfried caught the polearm after the Großherrin threw the weapon back at him and nodded his thanks.
"Großherrin." He began. Wiping the blood that was dripping from the cut on his forehead "The barricades are keeping our men from landing on the shore."
"Send the Schwertkämpfer to deal with it. Have the Speerbrüder form a spear wall to protect them while they destroy the barricades."
"Understood."
The Großmarschall relayed her orders loudly to the infantry and the Schwertkämpfer immediately went for the barricades. The Speerbrüder following closely behind them.
As soon as they reached the barricades, the Speerbrüder formed a line and crouched down. They planted their tower shields in front of them, protecting them, before raising their spears so it was pointed towards the incoming mercenaries that running towards them in a charge. A number of the Black Dogs couldn't stop the momentum of their charge and ran right into the spears, impaling themselves upon the Speerbrüder's weapons. The mercenaries behind them stopped and managed to not get impaled but were kept from engaging in melee by the spear wall.
"Hold them back!" A Speerbruder yelled.
A foolish mercenary tried to jump over the spear wall only to get impaled by a spear. Some of the mercenaries started throwing rocks or their own weapons at the spear wall but to no avail. The rocks and weapons bouncing harmlessly off of the tower shields. The Mercenary Archers stationed in the ruined buildings surrounding them, however, had a clear shot of the Speerbrüder and started raining arrows down on the spear wall.
A Speerbruder fell back as an arrow pierced through his chainmail and the Speerbruder behind him took his place to keep the spear wall up. Many more shared this fate as more Mercenary Archers started concentrating on the Speerbrüder. Still they held. They held no matter what the Black Dogs threw at them until the barricades were destroyed by the Schwertkämpfer and the boats were finally able to land on the shore.
As soon as the first of the boats reached the shore, their ramps were lowered and the first wave of Halbbrüder and Halbschwestern Helleberdiers rushed out. Letting out battle cries as they ran towards the Black Dog mercenaries. The Speerbrüder dropped the spear wall and parted to allow the Helleberdiers to charge into the ranks of the Black Dogs who were quick to engage them in melee but many were taken out by the initial charge. The spear infantry then reformed the spear wall once more as they waited for the second wave to arrive.
While the Helleberdiers kept the attention of the Black Dog mercenaries on them, the Halfling Hunters took to sneaking up behind the Mercenary Archers stationed inside the ruined buildings and took them out. Dwarven Sagittarii of the Greybeard and Stormshout Legions took their place in the buildings and started shooting crossbow bolts down at the mercenaries and monsters.
A loud roar grabbed everyone's attention as they turned to the trio of Armored Trolls exiting from the caverns. The Armored Trolls roared as they ran to join the fight. Not caring if they crushed the mercenaries that were routed by the combined Human and Dwarven forces. One of the Armored Trolls threw it's club and decimated half of a cohort of Dwarven Legionaries that had formed a shield wall in hopes of slowing the Armored Trolls. Another jumped in the air and crushed a couple of Dwarven Legionaries under it's feet before grabbing a Dwarven Legionary and throwing him at a century of Dwarven Sagittarii before they could fall into formation.
Claudia and Gottfried saw this and rallied a number of Schwertkämpfer, Speerbrüder and Reichsheer Armbrüste to aid the Dwarves as they tried to fight off the Armored Trolls. As armored as they are, their armor was crudely made and left many areas exposed which the Reichsheer took advantage of.
The Speerbrüder surrounded one of the trolls and prodded the giant beast with their spears. Targetting the exposed skin of the troll but the tips of their spears weren't sharp enough to penetrate the thick skin. The Schwertkämpfer rushed the troll and tried to swarm it through sheer number while the Armbrüste shot their crossbows at the troll but it only served to enrage the Armored Troll as it slammed it's club hard on the ground and sent a shockwave that sent it's attackers flying as well as leaving cracks on the ground.
The Armbrüste continued their attack but a second Armored Troll arrived and swung it's massive club at the missile infantry, taking out a quarter of their numbers with one only one attack. The Armbrüste retreated and the second troll chased after them while the first one ended up facing Claudia and Gottfried.
The two ran towards the troll who swung it's club but Claudia and Gottfried ducked out of the way before retaliating with an attack of their own. The Großherrin slid underneath the troll and cut open it's groin, forcing the beast to drop it's club and fall to it's knees. Claudia planted her greatsword on the ground and grabbed a discarded sword on the ground before leaped onto the Armored Troll's back. She scaled it's back until she reached the back of it's head and started stabbing the troll in the nape.
Meanwhile, Gottfried stabbed the Armored Troll in the throat after it snapped it's head back in an attempt to throw Claudia off it's back. The Großmarschall gritted his teeth as he twisted the polearm with all his might as the troll's skin proved to be thick. Gottfried had enough and pulled his weapon free before throwing it right into the Armored Troll's eye but the weapon bounced off of it's helmet. He moved to retrieve the partizan but the troll saw this and backhanded Gottfried. Sending him flying right into the wall of building before a number of debris fell on him and pinned his leg to the ground. He screamed as he felt something break.
The Armored Troll roared and managed to reach back and grab Claudia before throwing her away. The Großherrin landed on the ground hard and rolled a few feet a way before stopping. She placed a hand over her abdomen before getting up on one knee.
Claudia's braid had come undone and her headgear was nowhere to be found. Her soft brown hair was now free and reached the back of her hips. Her skin was bruised and there was a cut on her forehead which had blood dripping down the side of her face.
Wiping the blood, Claudia stood up but still held a hand to her abdomen. She looked at the troll and saw that it was struggling to get up. Considering where she cut the beast, she'd be surprised if it managed to stand up at all. She looked around for her weapon and cursed when she saw that it was behind the troll. Looking around for anything, she spotted Gottfried's partizan and quickly ran for the weapon.
Claudia grabbed the weapon from the ground just as a group of Dwarven Sagittarii arrived and started shooting at the troll. The Armored Troll swatted at them but they were out of it's reach. With the beast distracted in the meantime, Claudia circled around until she was behind the Armored Troll before leaping towards the troll and plunged Krieg into the beast's nape. She roared as she drove the partizan further with all her strength.
The Armored Troll groaned before falling forward. Claudia removed the partizan from it's nape before jumping off the beast. Once she landed, she looked around for any sign of Gottfried and found the old man being pulled out from underneath the debris of a building. Claudia made her way over to them just as Gottfried was helped up by one of the Dawn Templars.
"You dropped this."
Claudia handed the partizan back to the Großmarschall who nodded his thanks before being led away. She saw the condition of his right leg and winced at seeing it bent in the wrong direction.
The Großherrin turned away and made her way over to her weapon before pulling Kreuzritter from the ground and rested the blade on her shoulder. She looked around the battlefield to see that the Black Dogs were retreating and the Dwarven Legions were chasing after them. The remaining Armored Trolls were taken out. Their bodies riddled with crossbow bolts and javelins. At least the exposed areas were. The Reichsheer, on the other hand, were securing a perimeter while the rest of their forces cross the bridge.
With their forces securing the shores of the eastern part of the city, it will only be a matter of time until they take back Ansur and lift the siege of Anvil.
"Großherrin."
Claudia looked over to the direction of the voice and saw the Großmeister of the Reichsritter, Frederick von Malberg. The Orden der Reichsritter was the second largest Knightly Order in Geofu after the Dawn Templars who had absorbed almost every Knightly Orders in Geofu to their ranks except a select few. About 800 Reichsritter had arrived from the homeland to aid Claudia and Alicia in their mission.
Frederick was a man in his late-30s with short, black hair and brown eyes. He wore a white surcoat with a black symbol of the Reichsritter in the front. Underneath, he wore a hauberk with sleeves that ended just around his elbows and also wore a pair of steel vambraces and gauntlets along with a hooded cloak that had black fur lining the hood. Below, he wore a pair of black trousers and a set of poleyn, greaves and sabatons. He wore a leather belt which held the scabbard for his longsword, Heldenmacht.
Not only was Frederick the Grand Master of the Reichsritter, he was also a student of Gottfried just a she was a student of Grave. The two of them often clashed during their younger years while training under their respective masters but their rivalry came to an end when both saved the other's life after a particularly large Beast Men horde invaded Geofu. Since then, they've been comrades and friends. He was there when she and Klaus were wed and is among the people she trusted to watch her back in a fight.
"Princess Knight Alicia has taken to joining the Dwarven Legions in heading for Anvil. Should we join her?"
"No. For now. We rest. Send a Ritterbruder to act as a messenger should they need reinforcements."
"Understood, Grand Mistress."
He moved to leave but stopped and tilted his head.
"When was the last time you wore your hair down like that? Ten? Fifteen years ago? You look good... for a woman your age." Frederick grinned.
"That's rich coming from you. We're both 37." Claudia retorted.
Frederick laughed and shook his head in amusement before looking at Claudia and raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Got me there. Anyways. I'm off. There's this damn hitchhiker in my boot and it's been annoying since we crossed the bridge." He shook his head when he took a step with his left foot. Feeling something poke the sole of his foot "Ah. Scheiße."
Claudia watched him go and shook her head. That used to be one of the reasons why they often clashed in their youth. At first, she thought Frederick did the take his training seriously and scolded him for it. He replied by being an asshole to her. Subtly insulting her in every conversation. When they spar, neither held back and unleashed their annoyance and frustration at one another through battle. She lost count of how many times they left the sparring ring with cuts and bruises. Sometimes with a busted lip, swollen eyes, a broken nose or a dislocated jaw.
But after saving each other during the Beast Men invasion, she found out that he did take his training seriously but also took the time to relax and joke around. Be more approachable to his peers and other people compared to his father. He befriended Klaus easily enough. Finding himself interested in her husband's lectures and theories during their youth.
Claudia was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt the pain in her abdomen. She limped over to the Healer's tent where many were being treated by the Healers and Physicians. Getting thrown to the ground by a troll hurt like hell. Hopefully, that was the last troll she would encounter in her life but she knew that would be unlikely.
(Line Break)
The catapults stationed on the battlements of Anvil's walls launched their incendiaries to the air and Grimhold watched the flaming boulders arc towards the Black Dogs and smash into their ranks and a few of their siege towers. Killing hundreds of men. Even so, the siege towers pushed on and closed in on the walls of Anvil.
This was it. The Black Dogs' final push to take Anvil. A messenger arrived and informed him of the arrival of the Reichsheer. Their adversaries also received word from their own messengers and decided to push for the city while the rest of their forces up top hold the Reichsheer back. Their plan was to take Anvil and hole up in the city to defend themselves against the Reichsheer should they overwhelm their forces above. The entirety of the besiegers launched one final assault to take Anvil and Grimhold mobilized his city's defenders.
Let the Dogs come. He was all too happy to teach these rabid mongrels another lesson. Luu-Luu's recovery and news of the Reichsheer's arrival had bolstered the Dwarves' morale. Grimhold's raid on the Black Dog encampment boosted their morale further. Now the Dwarves were eager to fight and here was their chance. Many of them can hardly wait. Like right now.
A siege tower reached the walls and lowered it's ramp on the battlements before a sea of Black Dog mercenaries poured out of the siege engine. As soon as the first mercenary landed on the floor of the battlements, his chest caved in and his body was sent flying to his fellow mercenaries after King Grimhold smashed Steelbeard's Fury into his chest. The Dwarven King swung his warhammer with ferocity that one did not expect from a King his age.
Mercenaries were sent flying over the battlements as Grimhold rampaged through the ranks of the Black Dogs with his warhammer. Meanwhile, the Dwarven Legionaries formed a shield wall to keep the mercenaries that made it to the battlements from escaping Grimhold's wrath and projected their spears towards the Black Dogs. The mercenaries were either crushed by Grimhold's warhammer or impaled by the Legionaries' spears as they slowly advanced until they were right in front of the ramps of the siege towers. Anyone who would try to jump would be impaled by spears.
Behind the Legionaries were wooden platforms for the Sagittarii to stand on. From there, the Sagittarii shot crossbow bolts at the trapped mercenaries. Other platforms had Polybolos or Scorpios manned by Halfling Ballistarii. Shooting the Black Dogs with steel-tipped bolts. The way they reloaded the weapon were comical in the eyes of outsiders but despite the Halflings fumbling in reloading the Polybolos and Scorpios, they make up for it with deadly accuracy and precision when using the weapons.
The Adamantine Guards were not idle as Grimhold killed the Black Dogs. The elite Dwarven guards, like all Dwarven Legionaries, were clad in heavy armor but wore dark green capes and wielded Adamantine Round Shields and Mithril Axes. The Adamantine Guards followed closely behind their King and protected his back and flanks from his enemies.
A mercenary tried to crawl away but the Dwarven King brought his warhammer down and crushed the man underneath the weapon. Another tried to rush him from the side but Grimhold swung Steelbeard's Fury and sent the man flying right into a Legionary's spear.
"Hahaha! Is this all ya got, ya teat sucking bastards!?" Grimhold taunted.
A large group of mercenaries rushed towards the Dwarven King but the Adamantine Guards formed a shield wall in front of Grimhold and braced themselves as the mercenaries smashed into their shields. Once the Guards regained their footing and firmly planted their feet on the floor, they let out a cry and gave a mighty push that threw the mercenaries back.
Before they could recover, the Adamantine Guards rushed the mercenaries and cut them down with their axes. While Grimhold walked past them before swinging his warhammer down and striking the ground. The action sent a shockwave in front of him that sent a wave of Black Dogs flying.
A mercenary rushed Grimhold and the Dwarven King threw a punch with his armored fist and struck the mercenary right in the groin. The man fell to his knees before his head was crushed by Steelbeard's Fury. Blood and brain matter splattered across the ground before Grimhold lifted his warhammer and rested it on his shoulder. He then turned to address the Legionaries.
"Alright, lads. Show me that you deserve to be called a Legionary. Take the fight to these lily-livered bastards!"
Grimhold spun around and smacked Steelbeard's Fury up into the jaw of a mercenary and sent him over the battlements before the Dwarven King made his way over and kicked the ladder off the wall. The Black Dogs who were in the middle of climbing up said ladder screamed before they fell to the ground and were crushed by the ladder.
The Dwarven Legionaries dropped their shield wall and let out a battle cry before charging towards the mercenaries. They swarmed the siege towers and threw fire flasks at the siege engines as well as kicking down the ladders the mercenaries were setting up.
Grimhold then turned to the missile infantry on the platforms.
"Sagittarii. Ballistarii. Get over here and shoot those bastards down!"
The Dwarven Sagittarii and the Halfling Ballistarii removed themselves from the platforms and ran towards the battlements. The crossbow wielding Dwarves shot bolts down at the mercenaries through the arrow slits of the battlements while the Halflings threw down rocks.
In retaliation, Black Dog Archers started shooting back at the Sagittarii who then turned their attention to the enemy missile infantry. The two groups trading arrows and bolts.
Grimhold turned away from the battle and looked towards the Adamantine Gates. The mercenaries were swarming the gates and was using a ram to break it. The Dwarven King smirked and raised his warhammer.
"Open the gates!"
The Adamantine Gates were pulled open. Much to the mercenaries' surprise. The Black Dogs then let out battle cries as they rushed inside only for boiling oil to be poured down on them. The first wave of mercenaries screamed as they met their gruesome end. The second wave were more hesitant but the defenders were out of boiling oil or so the Black Dogs think.
Seeing that there was no more oil raining down on them, the mercenaries swarmed through the gates only to be met by the Dwarven Phalangitai and their awaiting pikes. Many were impaled by the pikes but the mass of mercenaries were pushing the Phalangitai back.
Unbeknownst to the mercenaries, this was all part of the plan. As soon as they were within range, the Dwarves set off their trap. Boiling oil was once more poured down upon the ranks of the Black Dogs before the Adamantine Gates were closed. Cutting the rest of the Black Dogs from the surviving mercenaries inside. Those who were trapped quickly realized what had happened and fear gripped their hearts as the Phalangitai slowly advanced towards them. Jabbing the mercenaries with their long pikes and slowly killing off the trapped mercenaries.
Their screams behind the Adamantine Gates went unheard by their fellow mercenaries outside who retreated after the gates shut and the defenders started raining arrows, bolts and rocks at them. Still, the mercenaries continued trying to take the walls.
A loud horn blasted from behind the ranks of the Black Dogs and Grimhold looked into the distance to see mercenaries running from a 2,000 strong cavalry force. Many of them bear the banners of the Reichsheer. The cavalry trampled the mercenaries who were trying to retreat to the bulk of their forces only to be cut down by the combined forces of the Falcon Knights, Dawn Templars, Reichsritter and Sariantbrüder. In the front of the cavalry was none other than the Princess Knight of Iris, Alicia Arcturus.
Wielding a lance with a blue pennant that displayed the golden runic symbol of Feoh and the white falcon of the Falcon Knights, Alicia grit her teeth as she ran over the mercenaries with her mount. This time, she was keen on not losing this mount in battle.
Seeing the combined cavalry approaching, the mercenaries in the rear flank formed a hasty pike formation to counter the cavalry while what bare few archers they have in the rear flank sent a volley at the cavalry. Unfortunately for them, the rear flank became the Dwarven artilleries' next target. Flaming boulders smashed into the rear flank and disrupted their pike formation. With no time left to reform, the Black Dogs could only brace themselves or try to outrun the cavalry as they smashed into their unorganized line. Some managed to stay in formation to take out a few riders but the rest charged unhindered into the rear flank of the mercenaries.
Alicia thrust the lance forward and impaled a mercenary in the chest before unsheathing Angurvadal and used it to block the sword of an attacking Black Dog mercenary. She blocked another strike and their blades locked before Alicia kicked the mercenary in the chest. She pulled the reins of the horse so it turned to face the Black Dog before standing on it's hind legs and kicked the mercenary in the chest. Causing his ribs to cave in and pierce his lungs as well as sending him flying into another mercenary. The horse then kicked back and sent another mercenary flying.
Alicia heard a roar to her right and looked to see a Minotaur running towards her. She turned to face the Beast Man and sheathed her sword before passing the lance to her right hand. She changed her grip on the sword before pulling the lance back as far as she could with her shoulder. Her vision narrowed as she focused on the rampaging Minotaur heading towards her before throwing the lance like a javelin. The lance struck the Beast Man right in the forehead and it tripped before falling to the ground and stopping directly in front of Alicia.
The Princess Knight's mount stood on it's hind legs before bringing it's hooves down and crushed the Beast Man's head. Earning itself a pat on the side by Alicia.
"Good boy."
Alicia once more unsheathed her blade before swinging it down on her right and cut a mercenary's head in the middle. She then turned to her left and thrust her blade down into a second mercenary's mouth. The Princess Knight then raised her sword above her head.
"Cavalry. Rally to me!"
The Princess Knight kicked a Black Dog in the chest before spurning her horse to gallop out of the battle. The cavalry followed after her and disengaged from the fighting. They rode their mounts far until they were in a safe distance. The cavalry then quickly turned around and charged back into the ranks of the mercenaries.
Seeing that the Black Dogs were being attacked from the rear, Grimhold took the opportunity presented to him and ordered the Steelbeard Legion, as well as the Redfist and Goldstriker Legions, to leave the city and advance towards the Black Dogs. The Adamantine Gates opened and the aforementioned Legions marched out of Anvil falling into formation just outside the city walls. By now, the mercenaries assaulting the wall have retreated just as the Greybeard and Stormshout Legions entered the Caverns of Deorsum and formed a massive shield wall to block the only exit in the caverns.
The Steelbeard, Redfist and Goldstriker Legions saw this and formed a shield wall as well before slowly advancing towards the mercenaries. The Greybeards and Stormshouts also began their advance and trapped the Black Dogs in the middle. The cavalry running cycle charges around them and didn't stay in prolonged melee for too long before disengaging then repeating their actions.
Slowly, the number of Black Dogs dwindled. Men after men, the spears of the Dwarven Legionaries or the cavalry claimed life after life after life. From thousands of men, the mercenaries were now down to a few hundred and the Dwarven Legions now surrounded them while those who fled were hunted down by the cavlary. There was no escape for the mercenaries and they could see it. All that's left was to surrender but the Black Dogs knew that they will receive no mercy from the Dwarves and Halflings. Especially after what they did to the city above and it's inhabitants.
One by one, the mercenaries dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender. Several Legionaries approached them before forcing them in their knees and kept their spears pointed at the mercenaries.
The Dwarven Legionaries parted their shield wall as the Dwarven King approached. Accompanied by Princess Luu-Luu and the Adamantine Guards. The Halfling Princess carried a massive battle axe and was glaring at the mercenaries who shook in fear. They taunted the Halfling Princess when the Feral Orcs captured her and they didn't put ut past her Luu-Luu that she remembered what they said and who said it. The mercenaries' eyes were glued to the massive battle axe and the sadistic grin on the Halfling Princess' face.
"No spine. No spine the lot of ya." Grimhold stated as he began circling the prisoners "You boast of what you will do and show no mercy to my people. Yet in the face of defeat, you surrender. We were on the verge of defeat ourselves yet we didn't bow our heads and succumbed. We stand defiant 'til the end. We would've died to the very last."
Grimhold shook his head before turning to the Legionaries and shook his head.
"Kill them all."
The Dwarven King and the Halfling Princess turned away and ignored the cries of the mercenaries as the Legionaries lowered their spears and pointed them towards the Black Dogs before advancing. One by one, the Legionaries killed the mercenaries without hesitation. Many even took great pleasure in doing so.
(Line Break)
Meanwhile, in the Royaume d'Ur.
The sound of thousands of marching of boots can be heard as the bulk of the Loyalist Army made their way to the Ville de Fleurs. This part of the army, tasked with taking the city, consisted of 4,320 spear infantry and 2,160 melee infantry, 1,920 missile infantry and 1,120 cavalry. A force of at least 4,000 were tasked with manning the siege weapons and siege engines as well as being the ones to lead the charge. 160 manned the ram while a single siege tower carried 160 melee infantry. Meanwhile, at least 8,000 troops were sent to the surrounding towns of Gardentown, Balstone, Moors and Poives. Dividing their forces to 2,000 men per town. The entire army numbered to 20,400.
Meanwhile, the Secessionists, whose leaders and veteran military commanders were trapped within the city, had their hands full in dealing with infighting, leaving no one but the younger military commanders. Nothing more than inexperienced Noblemen's sons, who bought their way to the position. The Secessionist Army was in complete disarray. Many of their soldiers deserted or defected to the Loyalist Army. Though more than a few were imprisoned.
The Neutral Houses were also convinced by Baroness LesProux to pledge their allegiance to the Fiorire Loyalists and sent soldiers of their own to join the army in taking back the city and dealing a crippling blow to the Secessionists.
Leading the army were Lord Henry Blackmoore, Maréchal Philip de Sablé and Grand Mistress Dorothea of the Chevaliers de Fleurs.
The three of them were mounted on horses and were looking in the distance as they observed the Ville de Fleurs. Pillars of smoke rose from the city and the surrounding area was dead. Literally. The fields, once green, were now a black as ash. The houses outside were burned and corpses were crucified on the battlements. The crows taking delight as they feasted on the poor sods.
"The city has suffered long enough." Lord Blackmoore began "We must begin the attack now before they destroy everything."
"Agreed." Grand Mistress Dorothea replied "Are the siege engines ready?"
"Oui." Philip answered.
"Begin."
With a raise of his fist, Field Marshal de Sablé signalled the army who then began to fall into formation.
The missile infantry, armed with longbows and crossbows as well as lighter armor and shortswords, formed a single, large, rectangular mass in the front of the formation.
Unlike the missile infantry, however, the melee and spear infantry did not form a large mass rather they drew up in three lines consisting of small units of 240 men, arrayed in checkerboard fashion behind the missile infantry. The first line consisted of the lightly armored spear infantry. The second line are made up of heavy melee infantry armed with swords, axes and shields as well as equipped with heavy armor. The third line consisted of the heavy spear infantry who wielded spears that doubled as javelins and were equipped with tower shields and heavy armor.
The Chevaliers de Fleurs, wielding lances and heater shields, moved to the flanks of the second line and split their force in half. Forming the wings of the army alongside the Sergents à Cheval.
Soon, a number of horns blared loudly across the field and signalled the army to began their march to the City of Ur. The ram rolled up to the main gates with the siege towers following closely behind.
Suddenly, incendiaries were launched from the battlements as well as behind the city wall and sailed towards the siege towers. Destroying a few but missing the rest who continued their advance to the battlement.
The gates of Ville de Fleurs were pulled open and a massive horde of demons flooded out. Their roars and screeches sending cold fear into the hearts of the Loyalist soldiers. Even so, they were prepared to fight and die for their kingdom.
AN: Okay. So... I revised a lot of chapters. Mostly minimal changes but here's some of the important ones.
• Kingdom of Feoh is now Kongeriget Feoh and the capital is called Ravnstad.
• Kingdom of Ur is now Royaume d'Ur and the capital is called Ville de Fleurs. The Knights of Ur are now called the Chevaliers de Fleurs.
• Kingdom of Geofu is now Königreich Geofu and the capital is called Stadt der Morgen.
• Kingdom of Rad is now Рад Царство or Tzardom of Rad and the capital is Yegorod.
• Kingdom of Thorn is now Ibara no Kuni and the capital is Getsuga.
• Kingdom of Ken is now the Realm of Cen'aina/ Ken'aina. Ken for short. And the capital is called Elenath.
• Changed Aedan and Marian's ages to 30 and 33 respectively. Everybody else stays the same. The date in Thedas is currently 9:41 Dragon.
• Elissa isn't Warden-Commander but rather is the Arlessa of Amaranthine along with Kallian Tabris as her wife while Solona Amell is the Warden-Commander of Ferelden.
• Alicia's new armor is changed to that of Freya's default skin from Mobile Legends and Claudia's to Johanna's default skin from Heroes of the Storm.
There are other changes here and there but nothing significant.