Chapter 142: Civil War 11 - Settling the Captured Kids & Noble’s Arrival
"Hmm, I think I figured out something, but I need the cooperation of those kids, or at least make them silent." replied Tomas after a minute of silence in this somber atmosphere.
Aerius just nodded his eagle head and swiftly jumped on Tomas's shoulder, covering his dirty clothes in fresh blood.
The young man glanced at this mythic creature looking proudly and victorious while nesting on his shoulder. He didn't bicker with this behavior and moved toward the cages the kids were held in.
"Who are you? Did you come to help us?" asked a young girl around the same age as Tomas with a slight skepticism about Tomas's apparition.
"Tomas. Also, it is a coincidence I got here and killed those bastards. Anyway, listen here..."
Before Tomas could continue talking, the young girl introduced herself as."Ella" making Tomas look sharply at her, with slight annoyance of the interruption.
"Okay, Ella. Listen, after I open everyone's cages, don't rush outside because it is dangerous for you and the rest of the smaller ones. Currently, Kaisang is embroiled in a Civil War, which I don't know when will end. This is why. Stay there for your own good."
The young girl, Ella, and the other older ones, where even some younger ones who understood what Tomas said, looked a bit scared. One of the youngest ones, a boy who looked about 8-9 years old, got closer to the cage and asked him.
"Big brother, if we remain here, the bad guys will come back and mistreat us again. Can't you take us with you?" ended the little boy, barely being able to meet Tomas's sharp eyes or the red cat on his shoulder.
Tomas listened thoroughly to what the kid had to say, and while moving along the cage grasping his sword, he did a lighting fast cut that cut the metal lock locking the cages.
Entering inside, he began making his way toward that kid, dropping on one knee and staring directly at him. He replied with a calm tone and with easy words.
"Kid, the bad guys will soon no longer be here in this place or in the entire kingdom. You just have to sit here for a bit more and behave while my other friends and I will deal with the bad guys. Can you do this for me, little one?"
Looking at Tomas' hands that stroked his face, hands full of scars and calluses, feeling a bit rough on the touch, and later at his face that looked calmly at him, he could only nod while tearing and saying.
"Big brother, I want to go to mom and dad. I miss them."
Touching his head, Tomas, who himself was an orphan since he knew himself, could only say some encouraging words before leaving to look at the young girl, Ella, and the older ones.
"Keep an eye on smaller ones and those who believe themselves courageous enough to make their way to a battlefield. I will be around this building, so you don't have to be scared. Just stay there and behave as if you would be locked, this will ensure your survival in case some parasite escapes from my hands."
"I understand, Tomas. We will not be a burden to you, and we thank you for helping us." said the young girl in a noble-like tone, while she later saw Tomas depart with Aerius from the cage and start to open the rest.
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Those kids couldn't contain their happiness and relief that they wanted to rush out of the cages but were stopped by the older ones who pushed them back.
Tomas nodded his head and walked toward the exit of this room, following by carefully using his hearing to pick up any signs of knight presence around.
"This stairway to the next floor is clear. Let's go, brat." said Aerius after listening around for any human activity, finding no signs of them.
He approached the stairway prepared for anything to happen from the shadows, grasping his sword tightly. Yet the first path on the stairway was smooth, without any person watching over it. It was until he exited the route forward and making his way toward the next upper floor that he heard the voices of men, saying something with an affronted tone.
"Why would Lord Knight put us on this level? Is it not like those 15 idiots would mess something up?"
"Look on the bright side. We are not in the front lines defending the gates and risking our lives for some noble bastards."
"You better don't open your mouth saying that to Lord Brutolnus or the other noble Lords, or your head will fly high."
"Hmph, I know this myself, so don't remind me."
Listening to their conversation while approaching slowly, prepared to attack, Tomas speculated in his mind a bit of what he just heard.
'They sound dissatisfied with the nobles. Big brother told me I should give a chance to such people and not kill them too fast. I still don't understand why he wants me and Robert to spare their lives, but I will not question big brother.'
"Hey brat, are you going for their heads or just put them to sleep?" asked Aerius in a quiet tone, looking for a confirmation from his tacit expression.
"I'll spare them."
With that said, he used his fast speed to arrive at the back of 3 who were close to one another and give them a strike at the back of their heads, leaving the other 7 raised up alerted.
They quickly brought up their weapons in their altered state and tried to apprehend Tomas, yet what they heard and saw next got them shocked.
"You have nothing to worry about. I will not kill you, just put you to sleep. Once you wake up, you will understand why I have done this."
"Hah, quite the words for a brat." replied the knight who bad-mouthed the nobles.
As he did that while keeping his eyes on Tomas, he saw this young swordsman sprint at him and from nowhere disappear out of his vision. The knight looked left, and right yet there was no sign of Tomas. It was seconds later that he sensed a strong wind that blew around him from his back.
Gritting his teeth, he turned to block Tomas' attack, but he was later sent flying toward some wooden structures by a leg strike that connected perfectly with his chest.
"Tsk, I hope that guy isn't dead." commented Tomas feeling a bit bad and yet satisfied with how it connected with the knight's chest.
The rest of the knights who saw their comrade being sent flying, hitting charged their swords at the young man who had a red cat on his shoulder. This cat, who had an eagle head, started with a broad smile that seemed a bit wicked for no reason.
Then, as they charged, the knights saw Tomas drawing his sword from the sheath and moving toward them without showing any fear in his face, along with Aerius, who jumped in the air and started to fly higher until he was to the room ceiling.
Moving in the air higher, the young gryphon passed the knights and did a swift turn in the air. After that, he began descending, targeting the backs of the knights.
Meanwhile, Tomas parried the strikes incoming to him with a switch of guards' stances before he countered two closer to him with the sword's handle right on their heads.
Ending those two and leaving only 4 knights on the feet, their morale slowly dwindled down, yet Aerius, who was descending like a sky predator, didn't care, and using his sharp talons, he dragged the other two guys down, hitting the floor with their heads.
Then with a graceful landing, he stared at the other two knights cornered between him and Tomas and said with a friendly tone. "Just hit your heads and drop unconscious if you don't wish us to do it."
"You what?! Am I sleeping? An ugly beast is talking with me?"
Aerius' calm face crumbled, and while staring at the knight who said that, he moved like a lion toward him and asked coldly.
"What, you just called me? Ugly? Me? Are you blind, you foolish human? Can't you see what is in front of you?"
Saying that he appeared in front of that knight, pinning him down after pushing him with a wing strike. Tomas didn't linger too much and got to the other knight, who didn't even try to resist his next strike.
With a gentler strike, the knight was also put to sleep. However, the last knight who insulted without knowing Aerius was crying like a little kid while excusing himself.
Tomas gave Aerius an annoyed gaze while seeing this weird gryphon use talons to do small wounds on the knight like they were sharp daggers. The gryphon sensed Tomas' gaze, and with a clear of his throat, he used his wings to slap the knight to the ground, hitting the floor, unconscious.
"What do you want from me? He insulted me and had to pay, okay?"
"No comment. Let's go. I feel we got 3 more floors before exiting this building." told Tomas to Aerius in a calm tone as he moved toward the stairway leading to the next floor.
"Depends, but you should be accurate." said Aerius after climbing on Tomas's shoulder, anchoring himself.
Following that comment, he stared at the rest of the knights who were dropped on the ground unconscious and moved to the next floor. This new floor awaited him in a silent atmosphere.
He didn't hear the knights talking but instead began hearing the war cries of people and the explosions produced by the gunpowder.
"I have to hurry. The fight above us is on a full scale. I need to get to the gates and open them."
"Easy Tomas, it is still unknown what awaits us when we get out of the building."
With another floor, he climbed the stairs to another floor that didn't have the activity of people, and with a quick check, he began climbing on the last upper floor. As he was climbing, the cries of pain and curses quickly began flooding his ears.
Getting to the last floor, he quickly got to a hidden spot to figure out the situation around himself, yet as he was doing that, a large explosion that shook the floor dropped him on the ground.
"Get to safety, guys! These damned peasants brought cannons and are starting to fire at the walls." cried out a knight as he was moving closer inside the building Tomas was hiding.
"We need to counter back. Bring the cannons from the armory floor and also bring those poisonous substances we received from Joker." said one person coldly, that Tomas couldn't see from where he was hiding.
"Yes, Lord Brutolnus! We will bring them immediately! With those gazes and substances, we will decimate those peasants at the Fortress Walls."
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Tomas, hearing that moved silently to another hiding spot that had a good view toward the large opened door, where quickly a group of 50 people entered inside. Their expression was of someone hurrying to do something and failed to notice Tomas's presence as they moved to a deeper part of the room he was in.
'Poisons? Gases? Those guys actually have something up their sleeves to fight back against big brother's people?' thought Tomas, moving slowly after those 50 guys with the intent to stop them.
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Back in time, before the siege even started, Bolt was checking any weaknesses of the fortress walls, approaching it without being bothered by the cursing noble guards and their arrow or bullet shots.
"Sigh, what splendid walls. Twenty meters of special stone I doubt even the old man's cannons can blow this up." said Bolt, a bit disappointed, shaking his head while moving back to his soldiers.
"Boss, you are worrying too much. We didn't even start the siege. I had some guys go back to Sol and search for Master Faust to see if he had any ideas for a siege strategy we could use."
"Hmph, this most likely is Her Grace's idea."
"Ahem, she told us to not give her credits." replied the officer, embarrassed.
"It doesn't matter now. Right, where is Her Grace?" asked Bolt while looking around the camp his men built.
"I don't know boss, she talked with us a bit, giving us all sorts of ideas before she moved toward the last bridge gate, climbing it."
"Tsk, she is up to something. Don't stress about Her Grace since she is strong enough to beat us." commented Bolt, waving his hand to move past this incident, after that asking the officers gathered around him.
"What about the nobles? Did you get any signals from them?"
"No, not yet. We clearly made sure to give them our snails that are specifically set up by Master Faust to work on a unique frequency, so people don't listen to our talks."
"Hah, it seems I'll have to wait a bit more. Give me some wine while I wait for everyone to come." ordered Bolt to one younger officer, who nodded his head, moving toward the supply station.
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On another part of Sagletius, outside of the capital region, close to Sol's countryside where the vast majority of the farmlands were located, the sound of galloping horses shaking the ground and scaring out the domesticated animals and the owners of those farmlands, thinking about an all ending earthquake.
Everyone located on Sol's periphery and countryside could hear the galloping of the horses, which had the kids ask their parents with curiosity.
"Dad, what is that sound?"
"The knights serving Master Blood have arrived, son. The war will soon be over, now stay quiet and don't make much fuss."
While the people of Sol sensed this vast army approaching, on the helm of this army, a middle-aged man with handsome features, black hair, and a well-built body, wearing extravagant knight armor, was holding tight the ropes of his black stallion looking around the farmlands.
Close to him, another four middle-aged guys, wearing artisanal knight's armor, riding strong stallions, also checked the views the farmlands of Sol offered.
"Brother Rohan, I hope we are not late for the war, and the Black Army of His Highness is on the losing side." said Count Arden to Rohan, who was leading them forward from how they were following two steps at his back.
"Don't worry, brother Arden, have faith in Prince Vlad's abilities and his men. You should by now meet the colonels leading his Black Army and Marshal Galleot with his new Royal Guards. For now, watch over your knights and soldiers, so they don't get out of the line. We need to be united here. Remember that, brothers."
The nobles nodded their heads, turning a bit, looking back at their knights and the foot soldiers in the distance, all wearing halberts and sound equipment.
"Ahem, brothers, I had these questions in mind for a while since we got on this journey. Would we be fine with the amount we gathered? We only have 6.500 people, among were, 800 are our knights and the rest being the guards who had so-so training." asked Viscount Brune, the blonde noble, a bit worried from his tone.
"Nothing to worry about. Those are all trained people who know how to fight and stay in formations. Would you rather gather your peasants and make a laugh out of you. Or worse, be the cause of a failure in the war? You know that untrained peasants are no good in war. So with 6.500 and his highness 6000 elite soldiers, we should be quite well off against the divided army of Duke Lacillet." replied Rohan after hearing Brune's worry.
The Viscount breathed out relieved and continued his journey toward Sagletius without stopping, moving after Rohan.
Followed by the knights riding horses and the footsoldiers who moved in a disciplined way toward the city, they saw the people watching them from their windows of the streets they marched. What marked the nobles was how welcomed they felt, especially by the waving kids who almost seemed to want to jump from their windows and get to them.
"Heh, such interesting kids. Their eyes almost seem to take off, so excited they are." commented Count Arden after noticing those kids.
"It isn't that bad to fight for the right cause, am I right, brothers? Those are the exact people our ancestors, and we were entrusted with the privileges by the Vermilion Kings to protect and help them create conditions to live a good life." said Rohan while waving a bit at the kids and people who waved at them through their window.
The other four nobles could only agree in their minds about what Rohan said, the Barons still had a proud face thinking of their status and didn't respond to the citizens welcoming, however turning their eyes at the two counts and viscount who started greeting them, they were a bit baffled.
"Baron Dalt, Belmore, you should start getting used to the idea that you are not really above those simple people. Your blood isn't blue or gold like how some idiots claim the nobles to have. Yours is as blood as those simple people greeting us."
"Sorry, Lord Rohan, we still have to get used to this new idea." replied Baron Dalt, a bit ashamed, acknowledging his shortcoming.
The nobles talked a bit about the war situation, and when they got to the center of Sol, they noticed the Black Army soldiers who were with their guns drawn out pointing at them, asking with a high voice.
"Your Excellencies are Count Rohan, Count Arden, Viscount Brune, Baron Dalt, Baron Belmore?"
"That's right, you can lower your weapons. My knights are a bit overprotective. Tell me, soldier, how is the war going?" asked Rohan, after laying down the three hundred knights on his back who glared at the soldier company, pointing their guns at them and the nobles.
Hearing their confirmation and also scoffing at the knight's sign of aggression, the person in charge of the company of 100 soldiers tasked with Sol's protection.
"My Lords, I am Captain Aarne. You arrived at the perfect time. The bridge has exchanged hands and is now in our hands. Dawn City's front is also progressing fast, with about 45% of the city being captured by now. Colonel Bolt is awaiting your arrival outside of the Royal Fortress." said the officer, in a calm tone, turning his head to see the army of foot soldiers appearing in his trained field of vision.
"Thanks for the information Captain Aarne. We will not linger here too much and disturb the peace of the citizens and move toward the fortress. Let's go, guys!" said Rohan in a loud voice, sending a jolt to his stallion, who began charging toward the bridge.
The other nobles followed along with the knights, who moved slower to overlook the infantry.
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Minutes later, the nobles got to the bridge and saw the soldiers of the Black Army, holding long rifles move toward the other gate of the bridge and start climbing it.
"Are those guys crazy? What are they doing climbing that high?" asked Baron Dalt, pondering about what the marksmen were doing that high.
"They should be the gunners of His Highness. I think they use the higher ground to shoot their guns at the enemy." replied Arden, looking impressed at the disciplined manner they moved in synchrony.
They waited without disturbing them, waiting for their army, who arrived 15 minutes after them. Only after the infantry got closer to them, they began marching forward, followed by the knights who galloped on the massive bridge connecting the heart of Sagletius, the Royal Palace, to the other places of Sagletius and respectively the kingdom.
They didn't encounter any resistance or stoppage and get to the end of the bridge and then moved toward the fortress walls.
When the nobles arrived, they saw Bolt doing nothing but stare at the fortress walls, which made them question their situation.
"Colonel Bolt, what is happening? Why don't you attack the fortress walls? You are giving them a chance to group up and fight back." called out Count Rohan from a distance while riding a splendid black stallion that overshadowed the horses of the people following him, his knights riding along with him.
Quite close to him, Count Arden, Viscount Brune, Baron Dalt, and Belmore also came along, leading their army.
Turning his head toward the nobles and giving a quick count to all their army, he nodded his head and replied with a smile and courteous bow.
"Your Excellencies, it is not that I don't wish to open the siege on the fortress. I just wait for time to pass and all the pieces to assemble. Look, you also arrived just in time for the show to start. There are other pieces in my strategy that need to appear, so for now, rest your men. We got enough supplies with us to siege this fortress for two months if it's needed.
Heck, by that time, these nobles would be encircled like rats and be bombarded from all sides, an unlikely scenario, so don't bother with what I just said. Rest your people, and be ready to fight anytime because I doubt those bastards will sit there doing nothing."
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Word Count: 3600 (POG / OMG, I NAILED IT AT A FIX NUMBER)
A/N: Siege of Constantinople incoming.
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I hope you enjoyed so far how I placed all the scenes in place for the Volume's end. Right, with this small break, I can tell you guys this info, I no longer found it challenging writing for the Volume's end.
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I finished my outside-of-city vacation and got back to writing with another vibe. Let's hope I haven't got rusty, it's only been 5 days, but you get what I mean (lol)
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I mean it, come join in. I really enjoy talking with the readers of my story, finding out what they didn't like or whatnot. What ideas they might have for future events in my story and so on.
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