Chapter 16

Gasper watched as the Black Dog bandits charged. Some lighting up torches and others carrying wooden boards. He eyed the camp and its tents again. Thankfully, none of the shocked bandits had decided to find a bow amidst the burning chaos. Nobody would bother him until his aid arrives, and he wasn't going to dive into the thick of the enemy on his own, not while he was fighting for bandits.

Soon the sound of banging wood on wood echoed as the wooden boards were fixed on the palisade. The Black Dog bandits crowded the improvised ramps as they climbed up and onto the platforms, roaring the filthiest words they could muster. A few slipped or tripped while climbing the steep wooden ramps, but most of them made it into the camp.

It didn't take long for the Black Dog bandits to crowd the platform with Gasper. He gazed at the surrounding bandits as they descended into the camp. They charged at the Big Mountain bandits like mad hounds, their roars echoing and their arms flailing in violent madness.

The Big Mountain bandits had rallied into small groups around the camp in a futile attempt to defend. The defending groups, however, were too small to pose any true resistance, which only served to spur the attackers into charging with more zeal.

Gasper followed the charging bandits down from the platform and charged the nearest group of enemies. A few tents were burning around them as they fell into combat. Gasper didn't charge first. He waited until both sides clashed then hopped into the battle, snatching a lethal slash with his sword. The slash drew blood from an unwitting bandit's neck. It was too shallow to take the bandit's life but enough to shock him into stupor. Gasper used the chance and stepped closer delivering a ruthless stab that brought his enemy's life to an end.

After handling one enemy, he chose to slow down. The whole aim of the Viscount's plan was undoubtedly to weaken both the bandit crews through this battle. Gasper didn't want to help his side too much, even if the scales of battle had already been tipped. He snorted as the Black Dog bandits around him overwhelmed the outnumbered enemy. This was too easy. Hopefully, the Big Mountain bandits would get themselves together and mount some sort of counterattack. Otherwise, Black Dog would come out of this with an unscathed crew.

A loud roar ensued from the middle of the camp. Gasper turned towards the sound and saw the two-storey house in the middle of the camp, its door smashed open and a gigantic leg stepping out. The leg was followed by an arched body that was bent to fit through the door. No wonder Black Dog had called him an ape. The chief of the enemy camp was a gigantic man who held a comparably gigantic axe. He'd taken his time to don his heavy armor before going out to meet his enemies, his face drowned in fury.

Gasper gaped at the haunting apparition of a man as the latter rallied his men into a considerable number with his roars.

There was going to be damage to both sides as he'd hoped. He soon learned that wishes came bearing their weight, though. Black Dog's following yell brought him an eerie premonition.

"To me!" Black Dog yelled.

It was then that Gasper knew that he would probably be part of the final battle. He thought of disappearing right there and then, but a hand patted his back and shattered all his hopes of escaping the battle. He turned around to see Yellow Dog wearing his most triumphant grin.

"Let's go finish those fuckers," the bandit lieutenant said.

Had he not seen the towering behemoth that was the enemy's chief? Gasper wondered. Big Mountain wasn't just a gigantic mass of flesh. The man was a Sky Warrior just like Black Dog. There was no telling how many lives he would reap in this battle even if he fell in the end.

Gasper smiled wryly as he nodded and headed towards Black Dog's voice. It didn’t take him and Yellow Dog long to bring their group through the fiery tents and join Black Dog. The latter wasn't thrilled about Big Mountain's emergence and the rallied enemies.

As the two sides rallied their numbers and prepared for a final clash, Black Dog called out for his lieutenants and Gasper. "Listen up," the bandit chief said. "We outnumber them two to one now. Big Mountain himself is the only thing standing between us and controlling the whole east. As our men surround his, I want you to help me handle the damn ape."

"How are we going to do it, chief?" one of the lieutenants asked hesitantly.

Black Dog eyed him with a bit of suppressed anger and said, "you don't have to fear him. I will grab his attention. You just have to flank and injure him. Don't give him a chance to relax during our combat." Then the bandit chief met the eyes of his subordinates to confirm their resolve.

Gasper nodded with false determination as he cursed in his heart. The worst had come.

Another roar came from Big Mountain's side. Then the enemy started moving to counter Black Dog's men. "I should have known that you were scheming something, you stinking dog," Big Mountain yelled at Black Dog as he charged. "You're going to die today!"

"Haha," Black Dog responded with laugh as he readied his men. "You think I'm the one going to die today? Why don't you look around?"

The distance between the two sides was considerable. The Black Dog bandits formed themselves into the widest line they could in the cramped camp. The Big Mountain bandits on the other side attempted to make up for their lack of numbers by forming a wedge with their chief as its spearhead.

Both sides trotted then broke into a run as they charged at each other. Gasper was near Black Dog and his lieutenants as they charged. They were in the middle of the thick ranks of attackers.

There was a meeting of yells and roars between the two formations of bandits before a loud clash of metal and wood. Shields splintered and swords clashed as both sides momentarily merged into each other. The first few to clash on both sides were the most unfortunate as most of them fell. Gasper was among the third rank of men along with Black Dog.

They watched as Big Mountain cut through the first two ranks of Black Dog's men like a raging bull. His axe danced around, dismembering the nearest of Black Dog's men without the slightest resistance. The giant man's subordinates followed him and drove their wedge through Black Dog's ranks.

It was then that Black Dog and Big Mountain came face to face for the first time in the night's battle. Big Mountain paused for a moment then charged with red eyes towards Gasper's chief.

Gasper jumped to the side to avoid the mad charge while Black Dog foolishly braced himself for the clash. The bandit lieutenants followed Gasper's example and hurried aside to avoid the deadly charge. They watched their chief stand his ground with a robust shield in one hand and a long sword in the other.

There was no doubt that the Big Mountain bandits would cease to exist tonight. They were outnumbered and demoralized. But would Big Mountain be able to take Black Dog with him to the grave, though? Gasper wondered.

A moment of silence among the bandit lieutenants preceded the two chiefs' clash. Big Mountain's axe came from below, aiming to tear Black Dog in two. The latter fixed his shield to the ground as the axe slammed into it and threw him into the air. Black Dog had used the force from his adversary's swing to throw himself backwards and create some distance.

The raging bull of a chief took the bait and followed Black Dog, locking himself into a tight encirclement. Gasper and the bandit lieutenants stepped closer to seal the circle and pressure Big Mountain, who didn't seem surprised by his predicament. Gasper confirmed that the enemy chief had already given in to his fate and was only hoping to kill Black Dog before dying himself. No one could stand against numbers, though Gasper suspected that Big Mountain could have escaped if he had tried. He would have only needed some luck. Unfortunately, his fury had blinded him.

Most of the bandit crews had been in the Tellus basin for years. Their chiefs had spent their years building up their wealth and numbers. Today, Big Mountain had lost all that, and his response wasn't to flee but to vent his rage.

Black Dog chuckled as he circled his larger opponent. Big Mountain didn't like the notion and charged again without a care in the world. Black Dog had dropped the broken shield and was holding onto his long sword cautiously. When Big Mountain charged, Black Dog parried the descending strike with skill.

One of the bandit lieutenants approached from behind Big Mountain and slashed at his waist. The latter noticed him a moment too late and tried to evade, but the end of the former's sword barely connected. The tip of the sword failed to cut through the thick armor and got stuck. Big Mountain turned with a grin and slashed with his axe, cleaving Black Dog's subordinate in half. Blood bloomed out of the lieutenant's body as he fell in two separate parts.

Black Dog frowned and tried to use the opportunity to leap for a strike, but Big Mountain turned with apparent vigilance and deterred him.

None of the encircling men dared to reattempt the foolishness of their dead companion, and the combat fell into a momentary stalemate. Gasper himself wasn't planning to approach the furious Sky Warrior. He just filled his position in the encirclement and stayed as inconspicuous as possible. To hell with Black Dog, he wasn't going to sacrifice himself for the damn bandit chief.

The stalemate was broken by a whistling sound, followed by an arrow that buried itself in Big Mountain's back. Black Dog's numerous men had succeeded in eroding the wedge Big Mountain had driven through their ranks, and they were now turning their attention towards the still standing gigantic chief.

Gasper doubted that the arrow pierced more than the outer flesh after going through the enemy chief's armor, but it was enough to surprise him. Black Dog made use of the opportunity and leapt forward with a quick thrust that pierced into Big Mountain's knee. The latter wobbled slightly while punching with his left fist towards Black Dog who evaded nimbly.

A few more arrows came from the same direction. Two of them bounced off the armor and fell harmlessly but forced Big Mountain into raising his arm to cover his exposed head.

Black Dog tried to use the identical opportunity again and approached, but Big Mountain proved to be more vigilant this time as he grabbed the axe with both hands and swung it. Black Dog stepped back quickly as the giant axe cut through his previous place.

More and more arrows began to head for Big Mountain. The archers were hoping to gain merit for his death. The gigantic chief sensed his death looming close and took a large step towards Black Dog, swinging his axe again.

Black Dog hopped back, making distance as he watched the vicious swing of Big Mountain coming down towards emptiness. Unexpectedly, Big Mountain let go of his axe in the last moment. The axe flew towards Black Dog, but the latter awkwardly avoided it with a sacrifice of his balance.

He hadn't expected Big Mountain to madly throw himself at him right after the axe, though. Black Dog's eyes only widened in shock as the gigantic body grabbed onto him and fell on the ground.

Big Mountain held onto Black Dog firmly then pulled out his dagger, stabbing hastily towards the latter's face. Something gave him pause, though. It was Black Dog's long sword that stabbed into his neck. He looked down at the sword that pierced his throat as his dagger lost its direction and stabbed into Black Dog's shoulder instead of his heart.

The gigantic man hadn't lost all life yet. He tried to grab Black Dog again but failed as the latter slipped from under him and leapt away.

Black Dog made some distance between himself and his enemy as he watched the latter dying. Then he eyed his severely injured shoulder with a grimace.

Big Mountain persisted in his kneeling position while supporting himself with his hand for a few moments. He tried to push himself up but failed every time. Blood poured out of his mouth and neck as he choked on it, the red in his eyes intensifying while he stared at Black Dog with unreconciled hatred. The last thing he did before falling down motionless was a weak attempt to curse.