After the lone surviving Saxon infantryman had left the enclosure of the fort, Arthur and his knights began to prepare for the final battle with the remainder of the army. He led the group back to the hillside where they had sat so regally on their impressive warhorses. When they took their places, Arthur looked at each for a moment. They looked battle worn and the battle had only begun! "Men, as in so many of our battles, I am proud to fight by your sides. Over the past 15 years you have proven yourselves a hundred times over and no matter the outcome of this battle, I want you to understand how much I appreciate your loyalty, both past and present." As he spoke to the men who had become his family, he saw them sit a little higher in the saddle and knew they would be ready no matter what came next.
The knights watched the Saxons come running into the fort. There were still a lot of them including the leader, Cerdic and his son, Cynric. If things went as planned, the father and son would be separated giving the newly formed army of Britain a fighting chance against such a large army. By Arthur's calculations they were outnumbered five to one. Unfortunately, Merlin agreed with his assessment even going as far as saying it was possibly an underestimate, pointing out that they had not seen the entire army except at night.
Arthur had been correct in one calculation. The Saxon leader had split the army into two groups trying to flank the knights from both sides. This was working in their favor and if the other side of Arthur's 'army' didn't get too far ahead of themselves they would stop any chance of them reuniting after the battle started. True to their word, the Woads did not move until Arthur gave the signal. The sky was lit with thousands of flaming arrows as Guinnevere led the attack by air. When the ditch full of pitch had been set on fire Guinnevere led the Woad army onto the battlefield to fight Cynric and his half of the army.
Cerdic and his half of the Saxon forces spotted Arthur and his men on top of the hill and started running in their direction. After a couple of seconds, the knights spurred their warhorses forward and they hit the Saxons at full gallop. The Saxons had undoubtedly fought cavalrymen before because it only took them a short time to have all of the knights off their horses and fighting hand-to-hand combat on the ground. The first to fall was Bors. He galloped into the fray swinging his huge axe and before he made the first full swing he had been knocked off his horse by a battle hammer. He quickly got up and began to fight without taking time to pick his opponents. He swung blindly taking as many as he could with each swing. To anyone watching from the sidelines the sight was gruesome. With each swing he chopped off enemy body parts and blood was spurting in every direction. He was an effective killer.
Lancelot stayed on his horse longer than any of the other knights except for Tristan. Tristan stopped his horse as soon as he found the Saxon leader and dismounted. He quickly eliminated several Saxons as he methodically worked his way toward the man. Lancelot was fighting a small group of men when one jumped him knocking him off his horse. The man landed on top of him and was trying to choke him. Lancelot grabbed a knife from the man's leg scabbard and stabbed him making him release his hold on Lancelot's throat. He then pulled his twin blades and took care of a couple more of the Saxons.
Dagonet welded his huge axe with the precision of many years of practice. It was hard for any of the Saxons to get close enough to cause the big man any damage because of the circumference of his swing but one of the Saxons slipped in from behind and cut Dag across the shoulders. When he turned to attack that man another man came in from the other side. It seemed the only way they could fight the knight was in pairs. When Gallahad saw what was happening he quickly nocked an arrow and took care of one of the enemy. This gave Dag all he needed to quickly take care of the other with a swing of the axe. He then took off and continued his efforts. Once more he owed his life to one of his comrades.
Arthur always tried to keep an eye on the men who had become like family to him. He felt responsible for their welfare and tried to take a moment to locate them in battle when he had a chance. It was this duty to his men that saved Gawain's life in this battle. Arthur saw Gawain riding into a group of Saxons when an arrow went flying through the air and hit Gawain in the right shoulder. The impact knocked him from his horse and one of the Saxons was heading toward him when Arthur stopped him. Gawain pulled the arrow out of his shoulder and returned to the fighting. Arthur wasn't even sure the other man had seen his action and it never mattered to him. It was just something he did and he knew the others did the same for him.
The battle had been raging for quite a while when Lancelot got a chance to look around. There seemed to be a lot less of the enemy than before. He watched while a group of Woad warriors were making quick work of an equally large group of the Saxons. It ferocity of their battle technique impressed him. He knew what that technique felt like from the other side. After spending so many years killing these people he finally understood why they fought so hard against him. Freedom, the same thing he had been fighting for but for totally different reasons. He fought to gain his freedom and return to his home. They fought to keep the freedom for their home. He felt pride in what he was doing for the first time since he decided to follow Arthur.
That thought had just come over him when he noticed Cynric fighting with Guinnevere. In the moment he was watching he saw Guinnevere get in a couple of good hits with her short sword. Then suddenly Cynric hit her with his shield knocking her to the ground. She landed on her back and Cynric was advancing with his sword poised to strike when Lancelot grabbed his horse and jumped the fiery ditch. He jumped off his horse and blocked the blow just in time. As soon as he saw her roll out of the way he gave all of his attention to the man he was fighting. They swapped a few hits but none were dangerous enough to inflict harm. Lancelot finally got in a blow that knocked Cynric to the ground. Just then another Saxon attacked from behind Lancelot.
Lancelot quickly turned and blocked the man's sword. In only a few strokes Lancelot had felled him and turned to finish the fight with Cynric. Guinnevere gave a yell causing Lancelot to pause in his turn. An arrow glanced off his shoulder cutting through to the skin. Lancelot finished his turn and threw his sword as one would throw a big knife. The sword landed squarely in the middle of Cynric's chest. The Saxon looked stunned more than pained and fell to the ground. Lancelot looked over to Guinnevere and saw the big smile on her face. He acknowledged her action and resumed his fighting. He would have been dead when the arrow hit him in the heart if she hadn't stopped his turn.
Tristan finally made it to Cerdic after killing his second-in-command in one stroke delivered as if Tristan was dancing some strange dance of death. When he posed in his battle stance he gave the older swordsman a feral smile. The dance began with each man plunging and parrying in unison. They both knew if Cerdic fell the battle would soon be over. It would only be a short time before word spread and the Saxons withdrew or surrendered. There was no reason to fight without his leadership.
Arthur looked over and saw his scout battling the man he had promised to kill. He began working his way over to where they were fighting. Just as he arrived Tristan took a huge blow to the back of his legs. It wouldn't be a killing blow in itself but it put him down long enough for Cerdic to prepare his killing blow. Arthur arrived just in time and put Excalibur between Cynric's sword and the head of Tristan. When he stopped the blow, Tristan fell forward and rolled away from the other two men. He was completely spent and he didn't think he could stand on his legs to continue the battle. He would just roll far enough away and continue to protect himself as best he could.
The battle between Arthur and the Saxon was a sight to behold. They danced around each trying to get the upper hand. Tristan thought he wouldn't be able to get to him in time when he saw Cerdic give Arthur what he thought was the same crippling blow. Arthur went to one knee and Tristan saw Cerdic raise his sword to kill Arthur. Just then Arthur plunged Excalibur into Cerdic's middle, the blade going completely through him. Arthur stood up confidently, turned and twisted the blade. He grabbed the Saxon by the hair and held his head where he could only look at Arthur until the life left his eyes. Arthur released him and saw him fall face down onto the British soil. It seemed Britain was not quite ready to be under Saxon rule.
Just as everyone thought, the word spread about the battlefield and the Saxons took off north in groups gaining in numbers as their numbers dwindled. Arthur ran over to his scout and found he was still alive and alert. He went down on one knee and made sure that he was in no danger of dying anytime soon and then he stood up and surveyed the carnage of the battlefield. It didn't take long for him to locate all his comrades as they slowly made it in his direction. He was pleased they were all making it on their on legs and seemed in fairly decent shape. He looked to the sky and prayed to his God, "Thank you oh Lord for sparing the lives of these brave men." Then he turned and found the woman who had helped him come to terms with his true feelings. He was raised a Roman but his true allegiance belonged to the land of his mother.