Chapter 27: The Castle Halls
As Mickey and Patten aided Silas in the destruction of Hightower, DeGroot Keep was being bombarded with never-ending hordes of Zombies. While Georgy and his men perished during the first wave, Aonghus, Matthias, and Gavin were busy aiding the Heavies and Gullywash Snipers posted along the Battlements. Then from his position on the turret, King Terenti was constantly yelling orders while keeping his Minigun on hand. Night had already fallen, though the rain had stopped after a few hours had gone by. At first, the Zombie Soldiers and Scouts attempted to scale the walls by creating human ladders and while some managed to get onto the Battlements, they were quickly eliminated. Then on the ground, the Zombie Heavies were pounding vigorously on the Main Gate, but they were immediately shot at by Heavies posted in the Courtyard with Igor leading them.
"How many Zombies have you killed, Matthias?" Gavin shouted as he was beating incoming Zombies with his Jag Wrench. "I've already gotten twenty-five."
"Fifty-six," Matthias replied smugly, shooting more Zombies with his Sniper Rifle using bullets the Gullywash Snipers provided.
After some time, the Zombie Heavies withdrew from the Main Gate, while a strange beeping sound filled the air. The source came from the BLU Fort, with the fence obscuring what it was. Next, the fence was set ablaze by two Zombie Pyros wielding Flamethrowers, and then a strange bomb-shaped device with Robot legs leaped over the flames and ran towards the Main Gate followed by the same beeping sound that came before.
"Sentry Buster!" Aonghus' eye widened, and then he shouted, "Matthias! Shoot it!"
Matthias immediately turned his Sniper Rifle to the Sentry Buster, and shot at it, but the bullets seemed to deflect off the surface. When it reached the Main Gate, the Sentry Buster's beeping grew louder as it started spinning, followed by a large explosion that not only destroyed the Main Gate but a large section of the Battlements as well. Luckily, Terenti had managed to dodge the stones that rained down onto the turret, but when the debris cleared, his eyes widened at the sight of a large gap in the main wall. Meanwhile, the Zombies cheered loudly, and immediately charged into the Courtyard.
Igor and the other Heavies managed to hold them off, while the three mercenaries joined in to help them. The Gullywash Snipers changed positions to where some of them were shooting the Zombies that had gotten into the Courtyard while others were continuing to shoot Zombies that came charging through the open field towards the gap. Then a legion of Zombie Scouts started to scale around the Cliffside that was next to the open-air turret, which Terenti noticed and ordered Heavies to guard the western castle wall's entrances. They met the oncoming Zombie Scouts with no mercy, but as more of them kept coming, they set up barricades made of wooden crates and sturdy logs, but even that wasn't enough. So in response, Terenti sent for Aonghus and Gavin.
"How long do you think barricades will last?" Terenti asked in a low tone of voice.
"Not very long I'm afraid," Aonghus replied, staring at the tops of the Zombie Scouts' heads as they smashed the barricades with their spike-covered bats. "I would use bombs, but that might cause the foundations of this turret to break."
"I got an idea," Gavin said, and then he looked away. "But I'll need you to toss me."
"I beg your pardon?" Aonghus couldn't believe what Gavin was asking him to do.
"Toss me, dammit!" Gavin insisted. "And don't tell Matthias about it!"
"Of course not." Aonghus lifted Gavin by the shoulders and then tossed him into the horde of Zombie Scouts below.
Down there, Gavin took turns mashing Zombie Scout brains in with the Jag Wrench and shooting them in the head with a Shotgun he took from the armory. The fight seemed to be going well, but as more Zombie Scouts appeared, Gavin had to be forcefully dragged into the castle by a couple of Heavies to keep him from getting killed despite his desire to keep going. Inside, Gavin complained to Igor, who was one of the Heavies that dragged him inside, until Igor bopped Gavin over the head.
"Ow, what the hell was that for?" Gavin said, rubbing the top of his helmet.
"Continuously fighting when odds are against you is sure way to get killed, and I cannot stand to see a man of your skill die like that," Igor said firmly.
When Gavin didn't say anything, Aonghus suddenly appeared and helped Igor barricade the entrances further. But as the Zombie Scouts started to get in, Aonghus, Igor, and Gavin ended up fighting them with some Heavies dying in the process. Then on top of that, the barricades were starting to weaken further, when a Bugle suddenly blared through the air.
"Aye, what does that mean?" Aonghus asked.
"It means we need to retreat into the Castle Halls," Igor replied, and then he ordered his men to leave, which left himself, Aonghus, and Gavin there. "You two should go. I will hold Zombies off for as long as possible."
"Igor, don't be a dummy," Gavin said. "Think about what you just said to me."
"I know what I said to you, but this is different." Igor tossed aside his Shotgun and cracked his knuckles. "I am the Ward of Rottenburg, and it is my job to protect my king."
As Igor charged at the weakening barricades, Aonghus and Gavin left to find Matthias before the Castle Halls closed. In the Courtyard, Zombie, Heavy, and Sniper bodies littered the place while fewer Gullywash Snipers and Heavies defended the gap. Matthias was busy slaughtering Zombies with his two Kukri Knives when he heard Aonghus and Gavin call him. He immediately bounded over and met the two mercenaries on the stairs that led to the Battlements and the Castle Halls.
"I killed one hundred and thirty-five Zombies so far. Can you beat that, hard-hat?" Matthias said, grinning at Gavin.
"I just got done killing one hundred and thirty-six Zombies." Then Gavin took out the Shotgun and shot a Zombie Scout that was charging towards them. "And now I'm up to one hundred and thirty-seven."
"You two can compare Zombie death counts later, but we need to tell everyone to retreat to the Castle Halls," Aonghus said impatiently.
"Uh, right," Gavin said, and made a loud enough whistle that caught the attention of all the remaining Snipers and Heavies. "Hey, boys, we're retreating to the Castle Halls! King's orders, so let's move 'em out!"
They wasted no time and headed for the stairs that led to the Castle Halls, while Aonghus and Matthias protected them by fending off the incoming Zombies before they too left. But then Matthias ran back down to the Courtyard despite Gavin's protests, and found Hunter among the bodies of slain Snipers. The purple kerchief that covered his mouth was stained with blood, and there were several severe Knife wounds dotted across his chest.
"You want to hear something funny?" Hunter said weakly.
"Save your breath, mate," Matthias replied, and attempted to pick Hunter up.
But Hunter suddenly pinched Matthias' shoulder and pushed him away. "I'm already dead."
So Matthias did as Hunter asked, and ran up the stairs to the second floor of the castle to catch up with his fellow Mercenaries, who were already making their way into the Castle Halls.
End of Chapter 27