章節 103: Tivoli
The rough seas roiled and lashed against the bow of the ship, winds ruffled and buffeted the swollen sails.
The stern of the huge ship produced a broad foamy wake stretching behind, spitting out glinting white sprays.
Droplets of cold water drenched the well drilled sailors wearing hooded waterproof robes, they were skillfully dragging ropes up and down the deck, adjusting the sails on the main mast as the fat bearded captain, overlooked from the bridge shouting out orders.
Shrieking seagulls circling in the distance, added to the voice of the loud baritone captain, and the sounds of the crashing waves, weaved together to form the chaotic ambient sounds of the open sea.
Three ships packed with men and supplies were headed east under fluffy grey clouds, the sky had a sliver of wintry sunshine struggling to peak out through the billowing greys, sending a soft yellow light glistening off the rippling surface of the violent swells.
The ship lurched forward pitching and rolling as it cut through a barrage of waves, making Hartley unsteady on his feet.
He had been on this journey only for a few hours and had yet to get used to the constant sea-saw motions, his stomach churned, threatening to disobey him and barf up its content every time the ship swayed and yawed.
The bulky commander Genk smiled at Hartley's obvious discomfort, dressed in a casual loose fitting black robe, he consoled as Hartley's face lost its color.
"Don't worry it takes a few hours for everyone to find their sea legs, although some people never get used it no matter how much time spent on the ocean, but I'm sure you'll get over it soon."
The man patted Hartley on his back, not seeming to be affected by the unsteady ship, he quickly strolled off pointing at people and barking out gruff orders.
Hartley who had never been on the sea before, inhaled the crisp sea breeze, he was blown away by the blueish violent seas, it stretched out in every direction, making it look endless until the line on the horizon met the sky.
The ship was busy with men organizing equipment and making preparations, some sharpening swords, some shining their armour, and some checking crossbows. There seem to always be something that needs doing, giving the soldiers a very busy schedule.
Baron Hongtian had sent a battalion of his men, under instruction from the eldest prince, the men had boarded one of the the supply ship. These men would be under the command of captian Bojin.
Commander Genk had no choice but to accept the prince's contribution, knowing that it had more to do with politics than good intentions.
If they swept away the opposing forces, then it could be said that the eldest prince had contributed to the effort.
If they lost, then the eldest prince could say he only sent a small number of troops in support, the onus was on commander Genk and Prince Jian.
The journey would take five days, on the second day Hartley had gotten used to the constant movement of the ship, he started to move freely around.
Hartley was given a private cabin by commander Genk, which he used to cultivate and rest in preparation for the upcoming events.
Finally on the fifth day the shipped reached the port, this was the largest port in the Tivoli, situated just three kilometers outside the capital.
Standing on-board the ship Hartley could see the busy workers moving countless wooden boxes and barrels. Hartley was relieved to see the large port, even though he had gotten used to the ship he still preferred to be on land.
Mooring lines were thrown out and the ship was pulled in and maneuvered carefully until docked at the pier. After docking the men smoothly moved out from the ships and went to secure the outer perimeter of the pier, in case a sneak attack was mounted while the supplies were being unloaded.
This caused minor scuffles with some soldiers and the disgruntled pier workers but the situation was resolved quickly.
The men stayed for a day on pier to unload the supplies and men from the other ships.
The next morning two thousand men wearing bright gleaming silver and red armour, branded with the insignias of the princes of Aidonia, marched towards the capital drawing the attention of all the citizens, men walked four abreast through the tiny roads sending the place buzzing with a clamor of onlookers bursting with excited chatter.
Out here in the east, with the deserts of barren lands only three or four days ride away, the grip of winter's icy hand weren't as tight on the region as it was in Aidonia. The temperature was low but the snow was sparse.
The country looked unassuming and un-threatening, filled with stone houses the color of dust, people were rushing outside to get a glimpse of the army from the prominent country they were aligned to, a sight some would never hope to see in their entire lifetime..
The drumbeat of horses clomping against the ground rang out as men on foot marched in front and men perched on horses rode at the back, it took a couple hours for the men to approach a
weathered wooden bridge sagged across a narrow river splitting the north from the south and beyond it squatted dozens of gray stone buildings with a bushy treeline to the left.
Having received urgent reports from the scouts, they found out that their was major suspicious movements in the surrounding area.
Commander Genk didn't want to get bogged down, he wanted to reach the capital as soon as possible so he was pushing towards the capital not wanting a premature battle.
Hartley pulled up to the side of commander Genk, They were mounted on horses at the back watching the men cross.
"Commander there is major movement coming our way from the front and off to the right." said Hartley in his ear.
"Hurry up and get everyone across," Commander Genk barked his order, since they had already started crossing the bridge he didn't want his troops to be split on both sides of the river.
He then sent runners to front with orders for the men to prepare to defend. The men drew their weapons arranged themselves in a tight diamond formation, swarming the grey stone buildings for the best positions.
When everyone made it to the other side of the river Commander Genk noticed Baron Hongtian's men were nowhere to be seen.
"Where is captain Bojin?" commander Genk asked livid with rage. they were in charge of securing the right flank.
"He and his men have remained across the bridge sir" came the answer from one of the scouts.
"Guard the eastern flanks" commander Genk shouted to his men, almost at the same time clashes of metal and desperate screams from injured or dying men came flooding from the right.
Soon after, another scout came running "commander the right flank has been besieged by armored infantry they won't hold for much longer."
Commander Genk bristled with gritted teeth, "take two squads and reinforced the right flank he barked at one of his captains."
As the captain was about to answer Hartley chimed in "let me take a look," the commander gave Hartley a grave look, Hartley answered it with a smile, "commander I will be ok, we can retreat if things turn bad."
Commander Genk nodded.
On horse back Hartley led two squads over to the right, when they were a hundred meters away what greeted Hartley was the sight of limbs and blood splayed randomly on the flat rocky terrain running parallel to the river, the two opposing forces were locked in an intense battle of life and death, commander Genk's men were being pushed back gradually and about to be over run.
Wait here, Hartley instructed the two puzzled squad leaders, then rushed ahead. The right flank had been decimated, there were only a few hundred men there fighting for their lives in desperate attrition while retreated slowly.
The men were being swamped by numbers, some could see their fate and were trying to take an enemy with them, determined to make the enemy pay a cost in exchange for their lives.
"Retreat" came a voice from their backs as two black lights flew into the crowd of enemy infantry men. The black lights whistled and curved as if they had a mind of their own, each place the light passed, there was a spray of red then followed the wailing scream of a soldier.
The leaf-blade throwing knives were slicing through the enemy, forcing them to abandon their attack relieving the pressure on the retreating soldiers of Aidonia.
As the relieved men retreated thankful for their lives, Hartley dismounted and sped pass them into the ranks of the assaulting troops.
Hartley applied his gravity field, the force of 100x gravity that slammed down onto the earth shook the ground and everything seemed to quake.....Blarg! blood was ejected from the mouths of many soldiers dressed in metallic armor that were being crushed like cans.
The screams of a thousand men rang out in horror, a chorus of misery flew from their throats in unison like a church choir in perfect harmony.
The weakest had suffered from broken bones and internal injuries and were puking out blood and wallowing around on the floor unable to get up, some were staggering about in chaos trying to escape regardless of the direction even jumping into to river and sinking to the bottom in full suits of armor, while a few were still operating normally.
A blue flash darted into the troops of men and the miserable shrieks got worse. Hartley moved as quick as light executing those staggering around, then turned his attention to those still able to move normally, the helpless and broken were laid flat against the ground wailing and moaning with their dying breaths.
. Haiyuan was the commander from Sasko in charge of the King Brother's troops. The reports of the calamity happening on the right flank quickly reached his ears.
What? one man, echoes of astonishment rippled through his command tent.
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