The Minecraft Story: The Beginning: Chapter 13
The early morning Sun awoke Marcus. He didn't get much sleep last night. All he could think about was what Thomas told him.
How could the southern heretics fear us? He thought. All we want to do is bring them into the light of Notch.
Marcus wasn't fully sure if he believed what Thomas said about most southerners believing in Notch. Ever since he was a child, all he's heard from sermons was how the southern heretics hated Notch and everyone who believed in him. He was told they were savages who only lived to destroy Notch, not much better than Herobrine himself. Then Marcus remembered what Franz said about the heretics, they lie.
Maybe Thomas lied to me. He thought. Maybe he fabricated the whole story to let my guard down. But his tears seemed sincere.
Marcus's thoughts were interrupted by the General riding out from the Citadel. He rode towards the huts where the remaining knights slept. A look of hostility was painted on his face. He pulled out a horn and blew into it
Brrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooooooooom!
"Rise and stand at attention holy knights!" General Ausmin commanded.
Marcus was one of the first to stand up and begin donning his armor. The other knights soon followed. It only took about a minute for the knights to line up, fully armored.
"I've received a letter from Archbishop Polis Ovtine," the General explained, "Several villages, including Torkoch, Penketh, Arcrine, Winston, and Hirane have been attacked and burnt down. No survivors from any village could be found." Gasps could be heard among the knights. Marcus was shocked by this, he'd never heard of an attack with no survivors.
The General continued, "This is likely the work of a new southern heretic invasion force. They're attempting to take advantage of the confusion and chaos being caused by these monsters and are burning the holy lands and massacring the believers of Notch!" The knights were beginning to become restless. Marcus couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Those savages. He thought. Afraid of us my ass. This is who the heretics truly are. They really aren't much better than the monsters outside these walls.
"We will not let these heretics hinder our faith in Notch!" The General screamed. "With the savior of humanity on our side, we will bring down a mighty wrath onto these heretics and bring them to their knees!" The knights screamed out and raised their fists in the air.
"There is a village nearby being guarded by a force of heretic soldiers," The General continued, "If they want to spill the blood of our people, then we will spill theirs!" The knights cheered and pumped their fists in the air, Marcus included. It was time for Marcus to truly fight for Notch and help defeat the southern heretics.
The General unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards the gates, "Knights, advance!"
…
It didn't take long before the knights reached the village. They were in southern territory, in the town of Zamafar. It was surrounded by a forest which concealed the knight's approach. The village itself wasn't extremely large and was cocooned inside a ten-block tall wall made out of cobblestone and wood. Guards stood atop the walls and some were right outside the wooden gate cleaning up bodies from a monster attack. That was their first target.
The knights were ordered into snake formation. Several shield bearers would surround a group of soldiers, blocking them from incoming attacks from the front, sides, and above. The knights created multiple of these shield formations and lined up straight. Marcus was in the first shield group. Because of his injury, he couldn't carry a shield, so he was assigned as a swordsman inside the shields. A couple of knights in the first few shield groups were given torches, intended to burn down the gate. Archers remained in the forest which included Franz. They were to begin the attack.
Once everyone was in proper positions, the archers were ordered to fire. A volley of arrows were sent towards the wall and the gate. Several men atop the wall were struck and the group cleaning the bodies were almost completely wiped out.
Not a second later, General Ausmin yelled out, "CHARGE!" The line of shields began to move. They couldn't run on account they had to keep a tight formation. The line of shields walked with haste to reach the gate. As they charged, archers from the walls began to return fire. Arrows hit the shields above Marcus.
Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.
The sound of arrows colliding with shields brough Marcus back to Morzen. Images of the monsters began to reappear back in his head.
Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.
He could hear the panicked screams of the villagers. The villagers they were supposed to protect. The villagers they let die in that Dining Hall.
Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.
The faces of the vendor and his daughter reemerged in his head. Her look of hope as they were boarding up the wall almost made him want to cry. She was terrified of the oncoming monsters, and they let them kill her.
"Swordsmen!" A knight screamed, "Take out those heretics!" The group carrying the bodies were trying to attack their shields. Swords were sliding between the cracks towards the knights. One cut a knight in the shoulder. The archers from the walls ceased fire, not wanting to strike their own soldiers. One knight thrust his sword out of the shields and pierced one in the chest. This was it. Marcus had to fight a real person.
He stabbed his sword outside the shields as they continued to charge. Every time he stabbed, he missed. All he could see were the shadows of the heretics. He continued to stab, but he never hit anything. The piercing edges of swords kept sliding inside, but nobody was hurt too bad. One knight was stabbed in the arm, but he was okay.
The heat inside the shields thanks to the torches was becoming unbearable. Marcus was so sweaty, he felt like he'd taken a dip in the river. He ignored it and continued stabbing, still not hitting anything. Soon, a volley of arrows came crashing down on the shields. It surprised the shieldsmen, not believing the walls had fired on their own men. The realization came quickly that it wasn't the wall archers, but rather their own archers.
It was a risky move that could've killed them, but the soldiers outside stopped attacking, meaning they must have been killed. This assumption was confirmed when the wall archers resumed their attack.
Marcus's group finally made it to the wall. The arrows came down from right above them now.
Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.
It was time for the torches to go to work. An opening was created at the front and Marcus watched as a couple of knights moved forward. They stuck their torches outside the shields, being careful not to reveal their bodies to the archers. The wall caught fire and the torch bearers retreated back inside the shields. Their shield group moved back to allow the fire to engulf the gate. The fire spread quickly and Marcus could still feel the heat inside the shields. The wall archers had stopped firing, likely trying to put out the fire from the other side, but it was too late. The gate soon fell to the fire and an opening was created.
This is it. He thought. We're going to show the heretics what happens when you massacre our people. We are the Miter Knights, and today, these savage heretics die.