Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 238: Battle of the bleeding plains(4)

Chapter 238: Battle of the bleeding plains(4)

Away from the chaos of the main battlefield, Lord Xanthios and his detachment found themselves locked in a desperate fight for survival. Hundreds of enemy soldiers had poured out from the garrison of Arduronaven in a swift, brutal sortie, aiming to strike at the camp and overwhelm the defenders stationed there. The clash of steel and the shouts of fighting men filled the air, echoing off the hastily constructed walls and throwing the entire camp into turmoil.

The enemy attackers, armed with makeshift ladders and ropes, swarmed toward te two-and-a-half-meter walls surrounding the camp, determined to break through and wreak havoc on the defenseless supplies and rear guard. They raised their ladders against the walls, clambering up as stones rained down from the defenders above. Xanthios, gripping his sword tightly, stood at the front of the line, roaring orders and striking down attackers as they breached the defenses.

"KEEP FIGHTING!" Xanthios bellowed, cutting down an enemy soldier who had managed to scale the wall, sending him tumbling backward onto his comrades below. His face was set in a grim mask of determination as he moved around, his armor blood-streaked but his movements precise, undeterred by the sheer number of attackers.

His desire to hold the line was driven not only by his duty but also by Alpheo's promise—the promise that, if they succeeded, Xanthios would finally get his revenge.

The attackers were twice the defenders' number, a surge of bodies and blades pressed against the camp's defenses in a brutal, ceaseless tide. They had no choice but to assault the camp if they wished to move onto the battlefield; they couldn't leave an enemy stronghold standing behind them. The sight was a chaotic maelstrom, with desperate soldiers scrambling up ladders while those above cut them down in close combat, steel clashing on steel and echoing across the field.

The defenders, made up of the infantry Alpheo had sponsored, who had trained through the winter under the watchful eyes of Jarza, rallied by the unyielding example of Lord Xanthios, who fought alongside them on the walls with tireless vigor, they held fast, resisting each fresh wave of attackers, with a vigour that they never believed they could have. Lord Xanthios, meanwhile kept getting in the middle of the fighting striking down assailants as they climbed, all while shouting encouragement to his men, his voice ringing clear and fierce over the noise of the battle.