《Duality》87 – Enemy Attack! (Part 2)
Advertisement
The mass of soldiers scrambled to separate. They weren’t fast enough. The explosive crystal fell in the center of the group and, once again, John found himself tumbling over the ground.
Facing down, his body skidded to a halt, dirt getting inside his helmet through the visor’s slits. Someone fell on his back as he attempted to push up, forcing him against the ground again.
John pushed again, managing to get the person out of his back and discovering that it wasn’t a person. At least not a whole one as his bottom half wasn’t attached to the rest of his body.
The explosion left at least five other soldiers in similar conditions. Six if one counted the geomancer’s smoldering remains but, without his magic, he had already become useless.
Jumping over the walls, the enemies came in droves, weapons in hand. John still didn’t have a sword. He searched the man who fell on top of him, but there were no signs of his sword, likely lost along with his bottom half.
“Here,” Jacke said, extending a muddy sword hilt towards John. “Take it and try not to die.”
His clothes were smeared brown with dirt, and he now sported a fresh cut on his forehead, oozing blood down his eye. On his other hand, he held a lance half again his height with a red and white banner from some minor house near its tip.
John didn’t refuse the weapon, and Jacke unsheathed his own sword from the hip as soon as his hand was free again. “Spread in a line,” he yelled this time, trying to make himself heard by anyone still standing. The incoming enemies had already covered half the distance from the walls. “Don’t stand too close to one another until we’re in actual combat. Even if they still have more crystals, they won’t dare hit their own companions.”
Advertisement
“Don’t waver! They may have caught us by surprise, but we still have the strength advantage. Without their explosives, they can’t stand against us.”
25 meters. “This is where we separate the warriors who stand and fight from the rats who hide in the dark.”
“For Somerford!” Jacke cried out and raised his sword up high as the first enemy crossed the ten meters mark. Kicking the ground, he propelled himself forward, covering the distance in two steps and fully displaying his strength as a Paladin. And more importantly, displaying the difference between himself and an army composed mostly of Crusaders and Fighters.
His sword flashed through the air, slowing down for a single moment as it cleaved through the first enemy’s waist. A swordsman swung his weapon in response, drawing a bright red line over Jacke’s arm. The captain ignored the wound, twisted his body, and used the lance to stab the man’s throat. Two down, hundreds to go.
No matter how strong, a single, unarmored Paladin wouldn’t be able to win this fight. If John had to guess, Jacke was already aware of that fact, and yet the man advanced anyway.
Because it was never his plan to do it alone.
Back at the line of soldiers, John took note of those by his side. The men and women looked ready to advance, and yet no one took a step, all still shook up by the rain of death from a few minutes ago.
Jacke’s display inspired them to do what they had been trained to and, like a powder keg, they needed one spark to blow up.
John raised his sword up high. “For Somerford!” he yelled, trying to sound as authentic as possible while crying out for a place that, quite frankly, he still couldn’t consider home. It didn’t matter though. All that mattered was getting the rest of the soldiers to move, to fight so that he and Jacke didn’t end up swarmed by the enemies.
Advertisement
He ran as fast as his legs could carry him.
Jacke disposed of three more enemies during this interval, but he was already getting surrounded. Circling behind a tent, a woman in a studded jerkin tried to sneak behind the Paladin.
John ran her through before she could spring her trap, using his momentum to hilt the sword on her back. Stopping for just a moment to yank his weapon free, he continued to run.
An axeman turned his attention from Jacke to John, placing his wooden shield in between the two. It blocked the first strike, and the man responded with a swing of his axe that found nothing but air.
John slashed at the side of the man’s leg, then brought the sword back towards me man’s neck. The axeman tried to block with his shield but, too slow, only managed to deflect it towards his own face. He fell down screaming, and John finished the job by stabbing him in the chest.
More enemies approached, and Jacke was slowly being pushed back. There were too many for just the two of them to deal with.
“For Somerford,” a woman in the dark gray armor of the Rochdale guards cried out as she sped past John and crashed into the enemy lines. She wasn’t alone. Two more soldiers came next, then even more.
John smiled under his helmet. It worked. Now to push those bastards back. John charged in again, always keeping the red and white banner in sight as to not stray too far during the confusion. There were no lines of soldiers anymore, nothing that even resembled organization.
He slashed at a man’s abdomen, easily cutting through the leather jerkin. Another axeman swung at John’s arm, and the metal vambrace turned what would be a debilitating injury into just a dull pain from the impact. A soldier in full plate armor stabbed the man’s neck, and John turned towards the next enemy.
People died left and right, and the earth became sodden with blood. Vasilis’ followers could do little against the better equipped, better cultivated soldiers.
A speartip thudded against John’s breastplate. He hacked through the weapon’s shaft, then through the arm that held it. Marleya was right, he thought to himself after what could’ve been another serious injury. If not for the armor, then I would already be dead.
His mother’s fighting style worked well enough in normal combat, against well-defined enemies. A battlefield was different. A battlefield was complete chaos. He hadn’t even noticed the spear until it hit him in the chest.
With every passing second, the combat came closer to the walls. They were gaining ground. John looked around in search of the red and white banner, managing to catch just a glimpse of it as it fell down to the ground.
Jacke fell down to his knees, a sword tip protruding from his back. The assailant pulled the weapon free. Her helmet covered the top of her head but left her face exposed. John had seen the woman before at the castle as she accompanied Vasilis. His wife Marietta.
A soldier had been advancing past John when he too noticed Jacke’s fall, stopping dead on his tracks.
John couldn’t risk them being getting this far, only to waver now. “With me!” he cried out, pointing his sword at Marietta. “That’s Vasilis’ wife. Kill her and we’ll be one step closer to ending this war.”
Advertisement
The Pen Is Mightier
This story is in the process of being rewritten and has big chunks missing. If you're interested in it, please follow for alerts regarding release updates. I'm aiming to finishing the first to books in the series before I start putting them on Royal Road and expect to release in late March or early April.
8 92The Defier of Everything
Kate Lance, the MC of this story is just a human without any speciality or any ability in this world of supernatural. His fate was to suffer endless suffering, his destiny was to live a normal human life but it all changed after a major incident which shook his entire life. He lived a happy life along with his family in the village of Denzu, he had happy and 'normal family'(this is what he used to think about before). He had also a best friend named Keli whom he knew since quite a while. But all this changed when he was betrayed by his best friend and thrown into the endless abyss of the forbidden area of his village. But now after 5 years of time he returned back to his world with his memories in fragments and also it was a span of 5 years for that world only!!! He now wishes to defy everything and destroy his own destiny to end his eternal suffering and create a path for his own. To achieve his goals he is ready to defy everything and everyone, even the supreme laws of life, death and time are not able to affect his destiny and he has become a fate less. Now what had happened in his time of 5 years in the abyss? Was it actually a time period of 5 years?? What has he become after all this time and why has he become a Defier? To know more about this continue to read the novel "Defier of Everything".
8 50Falling Stardust
In Semeria, there are two rules of survival. One: If you want something, take it from whoever owns it. Two: never give them a chance to take it back! The noble Von Creig Family and the Falling Stardust Trading Company, both headed by Xasha. An average cultivator except for his avid curiosity, his thirst for knowledge, and his nasty habit of finding inspiration in the most unlikely of places. Aided by his innate abilities, he stumbled into the profession of enchantment and created powerful artifacts, one after the other. These artifacts empowered a generation and ushered in the rise of humans in a world where they had been suffering and dying in the war-torn Abandoned Region for millions of years. Xasha's goal, however, is to protect his family, especially his daughter Ari, whose power is so outrageous everyone coveted it. To this end, he had to before stronger, but to become stronger, he needed resources. There is only one way to get resources in this world: by following the two rules of survival. It becomes interesting to see how he navigates, being a good role model and parent in a cruel world where he is the cruel one and his enemies are even crueler.
8 96Divine Quest
David woke after his last day to find 12 gods requesting they undo their mistake. Tasked with breaking seals on their power, He must find out where those old strengths lie and how to grant it back to their original owners, all while dealing with a land left on its own devices for too long.
8 111Isekai trash story
You know why you clicked on a story with this title #anime is trash and so am I The main character dies of a heart attack and awakens in another world, alone and in a cave with the body of a newborn baby. However he also has increased mind based stats due to his memories, so expect a somewhat op start, but no where near all powerful for the world. There is no real plot, the main character is just trying to figure out what he can before something that already knows what it is doing manages to kill him first. I am not a writer full time and hiatuses could be short or very long depending on irl work and stuff. All content warnings are displayed because I may or may not decide to add them in later, the harem/sexual content will be much further in the story than what is there atm.
8 219Pantalone x GN! Reader
Y/N was a reserved god from Sumeru that kept away from mortals and other gods alike, this seemed to be the case until she crossed paths with The Regrator, Pantalone; Who seemed to be there for business related affairs.
8 183