Chapter 95 First blood
The swords clinked as the soldiers roared, each man locked in with their opponents.
The walls of Thornfield had been breached by Damien’s mercenaries who had thought they were going to take Lucien's men unawares.
Unknown to them was that it was all a facade, all in their head, in an attempt to draw them out.
One of the men groaned, rolling out as Konstatin's spear pierced his eyes, dismantling his head as his body rolled to the other side of the plain.
The general grumbled and huffed as he looked around for his target, matching on, and immediately disarmed his next victim.
Lucien stood at the front, commanding his soldiers and at the same time, felling the opponents.
He motioned to Konstatin, waving the general away.
He jogged to Lucien amidst the chaos.
“We need to move now,” Lucien screamed at the top of his voice, jostling some soldiers away, as he backed the general.
Konstatin shook his head. “Not the best time. We are being overpowered. More of them seem to be coming.”
Lucien shook his head. “I agree. But…” he stopped, grunting as he whisked one of the mercenaries away.
“Going away seems to be the best.” He continued, sidestepping the body as he surveyed the environment.
He looked far ahead. “They are coming from the East of Thornfield.” He squinted.
Konstatin grunted as he intercepted a man running towards one of the soldiers, separating his head from his neck in one blow.
“So, the original plan stays?” He panted, turning back to Lucien.
Lucien nodded. “I can hold the fort. The men need me.”
Rather than respond, Konstatin let out a loud whistle, signalling his men as he took a detour, walking towards East of Thornfield.
As if they had been briefed earlier, Lucien's men and supporters, made way for the general and his men to pass in an orderly manner.
Iron boots clanged strongly on the tarred floor, swords clashing together and shouts of victory and terror rent the air, giving the place a feeling of chaos and foreboding.
Men on both sides lay on the floor, their bodies scattered all over the plains.
Konstatin signals to his men to stop, making them gather round him.
“We all knew what we were about to get into, signing up for this.”
The men nodded in agreement. They showed no fear. Rather, they were excited to draw blood.
“Remember, aim to kill.” He continued as he let out a roar, jumping up on the mercenaries on the other side.
The surprise of being sneaked up on, sent the mercenaries into disarray, giving Konstatin and his men an advantage for the first five minutes.
Actually, that was all they needed to finish the men up.
Konstatin hid his smile as his men held their lips in disgust. They'd been so pumped for a fight and had been disappointed.
He waved them off back into the original battle. “This is far from over.” A shadow crossed his left eye, making him smile.
“You guys go on ahead. I need to take care of some unfinished business.” He muttered wickedly as he dashed in the direction the shadow had taken.
Konstatin ran on ahead, his ears on the ground for footsteps. Someone jumped on him from behind, holding him by the neck.
He growled, shaking the intruder off, before facing him. “Think you can hide away from me?”
He growled, deftly landing a punch on his opponent’s face as he splurted out blood.
“I've got something with me, you might need.” The smaller man said, almost pleading.
“What could you possibly offer me that would make it all worth it?” Konstatin asked, brandishing his axe.
“Wait.” The man pleaded as he took some steps back. “I'm their leader…”
“Boy, don't I know that?” He grinned as he blew imaginary dust off his axe.
“I could be of great value to you. I…I could be your informant.” He pleaded.
Konstatin let out a huge laugh as he advanced. “That's so thoughtful of you.” In one big swoop, the axe landed, promptly dividing his head.
“You could be, but you will never be. I cannot accept sellouts.” He muttered as he wiped the blood away from the axe and began his walk back to the battleground, killing anyone unfortunate to stand in his way.
The mercenaries seemed to have dwindled, most of them lying on the floor. He looked around. In one part of the field, Lucien stood, killing people as he dragged his leg. He looked away, his eyes finding Olivia almost immediately.
Her rope seemed to be doing the work it was made for as a lot of bodes laid in her wake.
Konstatin chuckled as he watched some of the men escape. They had probably figured out that it was a losing battle and would rather be called cowards than stick around and wind up dead.
His men cheered, celebrating their victory. Their eyes moved to the ground as they searched for their fallen comrades.
Only the bodies of the mercenaries lay on the floor. “Seems there were no casualties,” Olivia murmured as she breathed heavily, walking towards Konstatin.
“So it seems,” Lucien said from the sides.
“Has anyone seen Seth?” Konstatin narrowed his eyes, a sense of foreboding in his stomach.
Olivia shook her head. “Last I saw him, he was fighting just beside me.”
“He should turn up soon. Perhaps, he's having fun pursuing the soldiers.” Lucien supplied.
Konstatin nodded but he was not fully convinced. “I'll check around.” He said, taping Lucien as he walked away, his eyeballs working actively.
“Here…” someone screamed from the other side and Konstatin picked up his pace. Some men hovered around a moving body.
“Excuse me, make way.” He pushed as he walked forward.
His relief was evident as he saw Seth sprawled on the floor, injured and almost unmoving.
He seemed to be saying something. Konstatin walked forward, as he pushed his ear to Seth's mouth.
“Sam,” Seth whispered. “He…he…” He collapsed, the words hanging in his mouth.
“I need a medic.” He screamed just as Lucien and Olivia appeared.
“What's the matter?” Olivia asked as she tried to push through the soldiers. A soft gasp escaped from her lips, tears falling the moment she saw Seth sprawled on the floor unmoving.
“Is he alive?” She whispered
“He is, but might soon be dead if I don't find one,” Konstatin screamed again at no one in particular.
“Make way, make way,” the medic whispered as he tried to pass.
Konstatin stood up angrily. “We've got a missing brother and you all are here, craning your necks to what? Get a juicy gust?”
The men dispersed.
Lucien dragged Konstatin away. “We've got someone missing?”
Konstatin grunted. “Seth,” he pointed at Seth. “Was saying something about Sam before he passed out.”
Colour drained from Lucien's face as he nodded, dragging his injured feet.
“We need to take care of that leg, your Majesty.” The medic shouted across to Lucien but Lucien merely walked towards the forest.
“You've got to stay here with Seth. I should go look for Sam.” Konstatin whispered to Olivia who nodded soberly.
“Think we're gonna find him?” She asked, clutching his arm.
Konstatin's face was expressionless. “We can only hope.” And with that, he sauntered off into the forest.
Olivia paced as he hovered around the doctor. “Is he gonna make it?”
The doctor nodded. “Yes, general. He lost a lot of blood and will need to recover…”
“Over here. I got a body.” A voice screamed from within the forest and Olivia felt her legs weaken. She walked slowly to a rock, plopping on it.
Lucien appeared in a few minutes, carrying a disfigured body as he walked hurriedly to the medic.
“Here,”
The medic looked apologetically at Lucien. “There's nothing we can do, your Majesty…” The words remained in his throat as Lucien lunged at him, grabbing him by the collar.
“You haven't checked him.” He gruffed.
“Your Majesty…” The medic’s eyes widened in fear as he glanced at Olivia pleadingly.
“Lucien,” Konstatin whispered as he slowly removed the medic from Lucien's grasp. “It's not his fault. His head was crushed and…” he stopped, catching a sob in his throat.
Lucien shook his head as he looked at Sam's disfigured body on the floor, his eyes sorrowful.
“Wrap him up.” He whispered as he made his way to the tent.
Olivia wiped the tears that had started in her eyes. “He couldn't handle them alone.” She whispered as she got a cloth.
“You think he's gonna be okay?” She asked Konstatin, referring to Lucien.
The general shook his head. “I highly doubt.”
Surprise filled his eyes as Lucien returned from the tent. “Are we ready? The city needs us.”
He dragged his legs to where Sam had been covered, the redness in his eyes sorrowful.
“Damien Hale has shut the doors to the palace. He's bringing war to the centre of the city.”