Chapter 171 The Boy and the Puma
The western flank.
The dawn was darkened by the large clouds of ash over the mountains. To the west, hundreds of torches appeared along a line of ridges on the flank of the army of Count Aurelio. They had arrived early in the morning, in silence. Soldiers searching for animals or some kind of food discovered them. An army of just over a thousand soldiers was situated in a place that had been empty the day before. These soldiers fled to their captains to notify them. These captains adjusted their positions to defend themselves against an attack from this direction.
In the air, above these forces, flew a Pegasus with the Duke mounted upon her. The young man held a bow, and quivers of arrows were tied to the saddle. He aimed the first arrow at a knight who was shouting orders to his soldiers. The arrow flew for three seconds, and the knight fell from his horse and did not move again. Many soldiers looked up at the Pegasus. The next arrow shattered the leg of a soldier. The men reached for their shields and placed them over their heads. Anyone who appeared to be issuing orders was struck by an arrow flying at high speed, propelled by the force of the bow and the acceleration of its descent. The inertia of the arrows penetrated shields to pierce arms, armor and helms to kill or wound.
Soldiers clad in green and white, along with knights in black and gold, began to rush toward the flank of the army, screaming in rage. In their confusion and without their captains or sergeants, their lines never managed to form. Many companies of mounted soldiers fled on horseback, while others fled without them. The arrows loosed from the bow of the duke, positioned high above, created havoc in those attempting to defend themselves against the attack.
Within the span of an hour, the flank of the army of Aurelio was forced to adopt defensive positions by a numerically inferior force. The men of Puerto Blanco suffered few casualties among their soldiers and inflicted numerous deaths and injuries through an organized and rapid charge. When the young man finally ran out of arrows, he landed behind his lines to resupply and rest his mount. His soldiers formed ranks to attack again when he was ready. His purpose was to instill fear in his enemies. It was a great success.
The northern flank.
Captain Diego mounted his horse and gazed upon the three hundred knights under his command. Ten companies of soldiers, armed with lances and swords, were already marching north. The thirty-six-year-old knight had seen the Bear and the Puma fight together in the north when he was younger. He knew that the Count feared them. Only a brainless man would not feel terrified by those savages. Those thousand men would constitute a formidable force in an assault on the city gates. Together with three mounted companies, they formed a force equivalent to fifteen hundred infantry soldiers.
The soldiers escorting the supply wagons said that the warriors numbered more than a thousand. He knew that was, in all likelihood, a lie. He subtracted twenty percent from the figures and arrived at an approximate total of eight hundred. But those giants fought as if they wanted to die. The captain had requested crossbowmen, but he was denied. With a sip of wine, he cleared his mind. He sounded his horn softly, and the horses began to move swiftly, reaching the rear guard of his soldiers just at dawn.
The line of one hundred soldiers, positioned at the front of the formation, began to descend a hill, where they were hidden from the sight of the others and of their commander. The next line was barely a few steps away. The screams of pain began even before the second line had reached the crest of the hill.
Tatiana sank her axe into the stomach of the soldier to her left, and her sword slashed the throat of the soldier to her right. Arkady stabbed a man in the groin and then severed the head of another with a single axe-stroke. Another fifty warriors emerged from their cover of grass and shadows. Most of the soldiers never saw them before the attack landed. Men fell dead or gravely wounded in unison. The front line was annihilated in less than thirty seconds.
When the second line perceived the danger, it fell back to join the third. The sergeants shouted that an attack was underway. They began to form wider lines, with the soldiers positioned closer together and their shields at the ready. The formation began to ascend the hill cautiously. They spotted groups of warriors running across the valley toward the next small ridge. When the highest-ranking captain saw that they were few in number, he sounded a charge on his horn.
Behind them, Diego watched as they began to attack and knew immediately that it was a mistake. He shouted orders to his captains to form charging lines toward the northeast and northwest. They divided the companies and prepared to do so. The captain shouted to ten knights to follow him, and they spurred their horses to gallop toward the soldiers running over the hill. He sounded his horn, the signal of danger from both the east and the west. This occurred at the very instant the battle cries of the warriors rang out. Three hundred fierce men surged forward at both ends of the lines of soldiers.
The men on each flank turned to defend their ranks against the fierce attack. The center continued running over the crest and saw that warriors laying on the ground. The army of Tatiana the Puma had marched from the north with one hundred and ten women. Sixty-three of them were still alive. They fired their crossbows, dropped them, and grasped others to fire again. Then they gripped their spears and charged into the attack alongside the warriors who had risen after the second volley of arrows.
The knights arrived and killed many warriors with spears and great swords. Finally, they broke the attack with their charge, and hundreds of warriors fled north to occupy a position they had prepared to defend. Diego signaled with his horn, indicating that they should regroup. As he counted the bodies in the valley and on the two ridges, he knew that each warrior had taken two of his soldiers with him in death.
Diego to a young knight: Go see our king. But watch out for the eyes in the sky. Head to one of the companies waiting for a breach at the gates, and then to the location of Aurelio.
Knight: I understand. What is your message?
Diego: Three hundred of them dead. Six hundred of ours dead or incapacitated. We are going to destroy them, but it will cost another five hundred.
Knight: God of the Greenwood! How many of them are injured?
The captain lifted a spear and feigned stabbing a body on the ground: None.