章 153: First blood and guts
And so, with just the clothes on their backs, and minimal supplies they could grab on their way out, Louise and Henrietta ride some lame workhorses towards the city's exit. Luckily for them, the stablemaster was more loyal to the crown than General Gramont and his men were, so they had little trouble actually getting the horses.
The only problem now was actually escaping the city. General Gramont had obviously been planning this for a while, considering how quickly he'd managed to mobilise his forces after the death of his son. No doubt he assumed something like that would happen due to Henrietta's affection for Prince Wales. She wondered if the same events would've occurred if she had just refused the marriage... Would there still have been this coupe?
Unfortunately for the duo, there was only one real exit out of the city... Such a thing was built to make invading Tristania more difficult, but apparently, the founders had never considered a coupe to be an option...
Even now as the duo ride through the streets with heavy cloaks, they could see more Gramont soldiers arresting people and city guards. It was likely that the Griffin Knights, Musketeer Knights, and other loyal institutions had been captured as well, considering the lack of reinforcements to help their Princess.
Eventually, they reach the city gates, and are unsurprised to find the whole place covered in Gramont Soldiers. The gates were shut as well, preventing anyone from entering or exiting the city.
They stop their horses not far from the gates, but as they do so Henrietta finds someone grabbing her wrist. She stifles a scream as to not draw attention to them and look down at the offender, a smile making its way onto her face as she recognises Agnes.
"Princess, are you hurt?" Agnes whispers, her own cloak blotchy due to the blood spatter covering it. Escaping capture of the Gramont soldiers had been far more difficult than she'd anticipated... But she'd managed.
Henrietta shakes her head, "No, but I will be if we aren't able to escape the city..." she shakes her head, "How did General Gramont get so many of his men into the city without our notice?" she angrily murmurs.
Agnes shrugs, "I would bet my money on the council. You know that they're in Gramont's pocket."
"Excuse me, Princess... Couldn't I just, youknow." Louise suddenly speaks up and makes a few gestures at the wall with her wand, obviously suggesting to just blow it to kingdom come.
Henrietta just lets out a sigh and refuses however, "No, not unless you want to leave the city open for Gallia or Germania to take. As soon as the gates are destroyed I have no doubts that armies will be sent to secure the capital... If you're fine with many civilians dying along with what few loyal subjects I have remaining in the city, go ahead." she says, grimacing at how harsh she'd unintentionally sounded.
"Do you have a plan, Princess?" Agnes asks and Henrietta nods, "We will go to the Valliere estate and seek protection under Karin de la Valliere, the Heavy Wind."
Agnes nods at the plan, "It's the best move we have I suppose. Prepare yourselves to move." she says before loudly whistling, causing the city gates to start rising. The Gramont soldiers on the ground level are confused by this but quickly recover and move into formation in front of the gate, preventing anyone from leaving.
Or at least, it would have, had two platoons of Musketeer Knights not stepped from the surrounding buildings and begun opening fire on the men. Killing many in just the first volley alone, and causing civilians to scream and start fleeing from the battlefield.
Despite the soldier's heavy armour, some of which just so happened to be enchanted, the musket balls punched through the steel with relative ease. Some bouncing off of the more enchanted steel, but the knights who'd fired them instead just aimed for lesser armoured areas like the face, neck, and joints.
Unfortunately, the Musketeer Knight's advantage only lasts for so long, as Gramont soldiers from other parts of the city begin arriving and fighting them.
"I'll help them!" Louise suddenly says before casting "Implosion!" before anyone could stop her. A line of smoke shoots from her wand and rapidly heads towards the shield wall guarding the gate, the guards brace themselves for impact, but the trail doesn't explode once it makes contact with them... Instead, it crawls up onto one of their shields and up the man's arm as he squirms to try and shake it off.
It snakes across his chest and into his armour, and once inside, Louise releases her control of it. At first, nothing happens, but a moment of tense silence later.
*BATOOM!*
The man's body suddenly collapses in on itself, his armour mashing his body into a fine paste in a horrific fashion. Indeed, the man was still alive even as his tibia pierces his throat, his muffled screams causing everyone to stare at him in shock and disgust.
The man's body keeps compressing, like the gravity well of a black hole, until the pressure is released. Blood, bone fragments, flesh, and metal fragments of the man's armour explode outwards, easily killing his allies nearby as what was left of his body was used as a weapon to great effect.
Louise watches on with wide eyes, immediately turning her head and vomiting onto the floor once the man explodes. But she isn't given any time to process this as Henrietta grabs her arm, "We must go now!" she exclaims, gesturing at the hole in the formation that Louise' spell had left.
"B-but Henri..." Louise trails off, feeling sick to her stomach at what her hasty actions had just done.
"Not now! WE NEED TO GO!" she shouts once more, dragging Louise horse beside her after grabbing its reigns. Some Gramont soldiers attempt to stop them despite the spell Louise had just cast, but the Musketeer Knights halted them long enough for the duo to escape. Agnes stuck close behind them while making sure no one was able to get a lucky shot off on them.
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