Cedric's shoes softly crunched through the desert sand as he entered the old ruined village. The weathered homes of old were like thrown out picture frames, having regressed to flaccid plywood through so many years without occupation. He wondered how it was they even stood upright at this point, many of their vital pieces having rotted away.

"Why is it we haven't torn the whole thing down and rebuilt it? Makes no sense."

"I suppose it serves as a bit of a memorial," Quentle answered, having just met with him on the outskirts of town, much to his relief.

"Still...if anything I'd say it's a disservice to the dead. They could at least clean it up."

The two passed through the eerie ruins in the dead of night, not having to stay quiet. The ruins were like a world separated from town, where the only other noise was the rhythmic cry of cicadas, along with the occasional howl of a wolf from the direction of the forest.

"Hmmm...I guess you could say it serves as a reminder to the people not to let their land come to this?"

"I guess that makes sense," Cedric grumbled, not completely satisfied. Before long, the boys reached the center of the ruins, a mostly open dirt land that used to be the village's town center.

The only obstacles were six small pavilions, three on each side of a larger pavilion. Only the larger pavilion still had its shingles attached, and was decorated with several worn down oak tables.

On the centermost table, a luxuriously dressed blond boy laid lazily, drenched in water.

"Uh, Mel? Why are you wet?"

"You making fun of me for earlier? Wanna fight, rich boy?"

"Hahhh. I got here early and did a bit of warming up, so I doused myself. That a problem?"

Mel's eyes remained closed as he pointed toward an empty basin some feet away. He seemed to be attempting to brush them off with his usual smug air, but Cedric noticed a hint of frustration in his voice that he apparently couldn't mask.

"Well, you aren't too tired to fight now, are you?" Cedric badgered back at him.

"Of course, not, Cedric. I wouldn't still be here if that was the case," Mel retorted, sitting up with a grunt.

"Hehe, then let's do this!" Quentle shouted excitedly.

Wait. Did he notice it too?

Ah, whatever.

"Let's do this!"

______

"Hurry up and get in the wall! The commander wants all infantry Go at a siege station!"

"Everyone file in! We'll be sitting ducks if we start the battle out here!"

"How is there that many galleons?! There's at least thirty of them!"

"And a gold studded war galley toward the front! What the hell is this?!"

"Hey, calm down and file in orderly, soldiers! Like you've done this before!"

"Simmer down, pansies! We'll get a piece of 'em once we've settled into defense!"

Ralin and Galgi roared out in the middle of a frantic crowd of over a hundred soldiers, all trying to climb the wall's ladders at the same time. Large ballista arrows began soaring from the wall toward the sea, further panicking the hurried infantrymen.

They managed to get most of the unprepared infantrymen up the ladders in time, but some twenty or thirty hadn't made it before the first projectile slung with a snap toward the wall.

_________

Mel's arrow missed the mark by a meter or so, as Cedric dashed for the second pavilion to take cover. As the arrow struck dirt, the small tomato that served as its tip burst, splattering its juices along with scattered dirt around Cedric's feet.

As serious as the boys took their night battles, they couldn't simply fire real arrows at each other. Though, the tomato-tipped projectiles still caused significant pain, and therefore head shots had become forbidden.

Even then, Mel's accuracy was second to none at school, so it was in Cedric's best interest to avoid any kind of hit. A torso shot would be his 'death' and end the round in his loss, while any arm or leg hits would force him to abandon use of said limb. Of course, the shots were painful enough that the boys wouldn't have to voluntarily disable the hit limb in an act, especially when Mel was on the firing end.

Cedric knew this, and made every precaution to avoid a hit. Before him awaited Quentle, blocking the opening into the main pavilion where he needed to pass through on the way to claiming the flag hidden behind one of the opposite pavilions. Going into a brawl with Quentle with a disabled limb was not a good idea, and had around a ninety-nine percent failure rate. This was their best shot at beating him, so the two staked their entire strategy around getting Mel a clean shot on him.

In an attempt to catch the two off-guard, Cedric streaked past the third pavilion, making a direct run for the worn down awning Quentle was guarding.

He did manage to throw Mel off, but Quentle was not one to be caught sleeping.

The shortest of the group by almost a foot, Quentle made up for his disadvantage by using a long spear, its wooden tip wrapped thoroughly to soften blows. In addition, he relied on a strong center of gravity due to his slight stalkiness. Due to this, he took Cedric's attack head on.

Coming in at a sprint, Cedric swung the wooden sword he'd 'borrowed' from Valblin's dojo with precision, attacking Quentle's left shoulder.

Quentle responded swiftly, widening his grip and receiving the blow with certainty. Pushing the sword away, he then gave a short swipe of the spear, forcing Cedric to jump back.

Not withdrawing for long, Cedric leapt back toward the scrappy defender, raising his sword high before whipping it around for a low sweep.

Quentle, however, played the smart, patient defender. He waited for the sword to make its arc, meeting the blow with the spear's right side instead of attempting his own. Then, once more, he delivered a swift counterstrike with the longer left end of the spear.

Cedric, ready for this, decided to leap out of the action, darting out to Quentle's right side.

Quentle seemed content to play the steadfast defender to give Mel a clean shot. It was essentially a stall tactic. In that case, Cedric thought, he just needed to outmaneuver him and leave him behind.

However, this also factored into the opponents' plan.

An arrow flew from beyond the outside run of huts, making a beeline for Cedric's face.

Wha!-

________

The oversized ballista arrow shattered as it slammed thunderously into the stone wall, sending a thousand pieces of sharp flint in every direction with the explosion.

Those still climbing the ladder found themselves skewered, bombarded, and falling to the earth in a bloody downpour.

Galgi and Ralin held firmly onto large shields as several pieces seeped in, grazing their arms and legs. Their two squads had just made it in over the wall in time to ready shields in defense. Knowing their comrades wouldn't make it up the ladder in time, it was all they could afford to protect their own squads.

"ALL INFANTRY! ONE SIEGE STATION PER GO!" The commander's voice could be heard some ways down the wall.

Ralin and Galgi's respective Go flew into action, swarming onto the nearest H-shaped heavy ballista structures. While two men took over shield duties for each Go, the other three began loading the heavy arrows into mesh straps, and placing pin locks into the netting to hold the arrow taut.

Both arrows loaded, Ralin positioned himself behind them, and began pulling on both arrows by the chain leading from their rear. Galgi had broken off, and was peering out at the sea from between the two middle-most shields.

"Got anything, Galg?" Ralin yelled calmly despite the overall state of panic of the ten men.

"Nothing yet. If I heard right, golden arches...they shouldn't be too hard to- ah!"

"Got 'em??"

"TWO CLIKS UP, AND THREE RIGHT!!"

"Aye-OH!"

Ralin pulled the chains as far back as he could, both arms straining to stretch the mesh netting as far as it would go, adjusting his angle as he growled roughly to match his energy exertion. Every other Go had at least two soldiers fire their single arrow, while Ralin manned both squad's at once.

"READY!"

"EVERYONE CLEAR ON 3! 2! 1! FIIIIIRE!"

All nine men turned away from the ballista as Ralin released the chained arrows with a roar.

The heavy arrows screamed over the shields before disappearing into the beach's darkness. Ralin dropped to his knees, panting while staring intently at Galgi's back. The men all sat in silence for a moment, not moving an inch as they waited. The sounds of artillery battle could be heard in cluster, yet the only way to tell if their shot had landed was to wait for Galgi's call.

"h........"

His left fist began to raise up with vigor.

"HIIIIIIT!!!"

"UUUUOHHHHHH!!!"

"How good a shot, Galg?"

"Right on the front deck, but it doesn't look like we did much damage-wait, what is that?"

"What is it, Galg??"

"There's no way they're...were they...waiting for someone to aim at- E-EVERYONE GET DOWN NOW!!!"

_______

The arrow whistled by as Cedric bent his neck back just enough to keep the tomato from grazing his nose.

"Oy Mel, what're you playing at?!"

"It slipped."

Cedric refrained from engaging further, attempting instead to locate the building the sarcastic retort had come from.

"Don't forget what's right in front of you, Wardric!"

Just remembering his primary foe, Cedric leapt back once more, barely avoiding the spear as it struck the ground violently, scattering about clumps of dirt.

Face to face, Cedric engaged aggressively, taking precise shots at his friend. As usual, Quentle's skill with the spear was enviable, as he deflected Cedric's point blank strikes with crafty angles and footwork.

Having stalled Cedric's attack once more, Quentle had allowed Mel to fire off another arrow, this time breezing just by the back of the frustrated boy.

This time, however, Cedric had been waiting, keeping his focus split between Quentle and the buildings Mel snuck through.

He'd pinpointed his location this time, and made it evident by suddenly darting sideways toward the building Mel was hidden in.

Quentle reacted, realizing they were in danger now. He burst out, attempting to cut him off. However, his jaw dropped once he noticed Cedric's true intentions.

Having led Quentle out far enough, he planted his left foot, and shot back in the opposite direction, making to circle around Quentle's now open left side.

Quentle tried to react, but this time Cedric had a step on him, which was all he needed. With a swift yet loaded deflection of the spear, Cedric had Quentle knocked off his usual center of gravity, and delivered two precise strikes to his right arm and leg.

The spear dropped to the ground, Quentle falling reluctantly after it, his right leg and arm now incapacitated. Cedric had already rounded the corner and entered the main pavilion in a sprint.

Cedric now parried Mel's arrows with ease, as he'd been forced to exit the building in order to get a proper shot off. In quick succession he fired, and equally quick did Cedric deflect one arrow after another, tomato juice splattering harmlessly through the air.

Cedric cleared the main pavilion, and focused on his target. Of the three shed-like pavilions in front of him, one held the key to his victory. Making a break for the one in the middle, he glanced back to his left to see Mel's next arrow coming in surprisingly off the mark above him.

This bothered him, and once he realized the reason behind it, he turned his head further round, only to see the tip of a spear soaring at his neck from a meter away.

______

The wall's railing imploded in a blaze of fire and rubble, as the flaming boulder that had just landed broke into pieces and bounced wildly across the wall's surface.

Ralin, having been knocked over by the blast, jumped to, only to see a portion of the wall blown away in the front, and Galgi hanging onto two unconscious shield holders as he slipped further down the sloped ledge of the broken wall. Wondering how Galgi had the presence of mind to grab a hold of them during the blast, he leapt forward.

However, he was already too late.

"GALGI! BRITA! ESCA!!"

Ralin grasped at the air, hunched over the wall's edge.

"I've got them, Ral!"

As he fell, he threw these words back to Ralin, tightly holding the unconscious men in each of his arms.

"PROTECT YOURSELF TOO, YOU IDIOT!", he bellowed down, watching as the three made the ten-meter fall, bouncing down the pile of Teuton soldiers that hadn't made it up the wall.

Looking around frantically, Ralin quickly accounted for the rest of their men, all either unconscious or barely stirring and nursing minor injuries.

"Tch! Looks like I'm on my own..."

Without any hesitation, Ralin dove off the wall's edge. After rolling off the bodies of his allies, sustaining several wounds from the flint impaled bodies, he sprang to his feet.

"Galg! Where are ya?"

"R-Ral?"

Jumping to, Ralin scurried to the spot his friend had landed. He'd let go of the still unconscious Esca and Brita, and was pulling shards of flint out of his torso and legs with a grimace.

"Why'd you come down after us, you fool!"

"Oh, shut up, what else could I do? How are they?"

"They seem to be alright, for now. But, Ral....look."

Ralin turned his glance toward the shoreline, and his face broke open with shock. Some twenty catapults were being wheeled toward the wall by ten infantry soldiers each, and even more infantrymen were pouring forth from the front most ships behind them.

"ALRIGHT INFANTRY GO SQUADS, NOW IS THE TIME!" The voice of the commander roared from overhead.

"THEY'VE SENT THEIR GROUND TROOPS OUT, SO THE ARTILLERY FIRE WILL DECREASE IN VOLUME! BALLISTA STATIONS, CONTINUE FOCUSING FIRE ON THE FRONT SHIPS! ALL INFANTRY GO, OFF YOUR STATIONS AND ONTO THE BEACH AT ONCE! MAN A V-SHIELD AND PUSH THEM BACK INTO THE SEA, DAMMIT!"

"Commander Giro doesn't miss a beat, hehe."

"Ha, it's just too bad we get to face the front lines like this, without a ch-"

Galgi stopped short, as his comrade had disappeared from in front of him.

Ralin had taken off as soon as he'd finished his sentence, darting toward the nearest V-shield. The large slabs of stone, ironed down to a V-shape, were lined with five handles, for the amount of men it took to carry one efficiently.

Ralin, however, did not have five able men, nor the time to wait for any. His entire squad playing the role of sitting ducks behind him, he was the only one able to stand between the them and the impending assault.

With a roar, Ralin lifted the V-shield by two of its innermost handles, and began charging slowly across the beach with it. He could not see anything but the slab, as it provided more than sufficient cover, but charged onward nonetheless.

Gritting his teeth and ignoring the blood gushing forth from his hands, he charged. The first boulder struck the V right down the middle, splitting perfectly and limiting the impact on Ralin's body.

A second boulder struck the left flank of the V, throwing Ralin's momentum to the right with crushing impact. The slab's inside walls slammed against his head and chest, yet he retained his grip on the handles, and managed to maintain balance. A third boulder smashed into the right flank, crushing him once more. Yet he continued his charge.

A fourth boulder struck the top of the slab, this time throwing his momentum back in a direction he couldn't change with sheer willpower. Feeling his back bending backwards, about to snap, he thought that this would be as far as he would be able to go in keeping the assault's attention focused on him. He could hear the numerous boulders being flung at the wall around him, and could only hope that he'd taken enough of their attention to give his men enough time to regroup.

Just as he felt his legs begin to give way, two arms appeared on either side of his head.

The two hands planted themselves firmly onto the slab, pushing it upward and forward. Ralin looked back, to see the face of his best friend, purple in the face as he struggled.

"G-Galg...I?"

"Don't tell me the strongest brick in the brick wall squad actually needed help from a

smaller man?"

"...h-heh...not that I really needed it..."

"Let's go, Ral. Together."

"Uoh!"

The two continued on, quicker than before. They were almost immediately joined by Esca and Brita, who were wounded yet looked lively as ever. They each took a handle from either side of the slab, which allowed the heavily bleeding Galgi to step back.

Coming out to the left side of the slab, Galgi peered around its side at the Wolverines' side of battle.

"Ralin, two clicks left!"

The slab changed direction slightly, and the next boulder streaked in, hitting the point of the V and breaking off in pieces to its sides. Galgi, who had retreated back into the slab's cover before the strike, stepped back out and gave Ralin further directions. With this, they continued forward without taking detrimental hits.

"I guess it's true that the smaller men are more likely to be geniuses, haha! How the hell can you see so well in this?"

"Couldn't tell ya, Ral...It's just something that came with practice, not that you'd- oh!"

An enemy infantryman had appeared from the side, attempting to disrupt the shield carriers. Galgi tossed a knife at him before he could swing his swor, and followed up with a quick strike of his own short sword.

The Wolverine soldier fell, but was immediately followed up by two more. Galgi grit his teeth and cut down the men with vigor, despite his wounds.

The group had now gone into the middle of the quickly developing battlefield, shields and war cries resounding around them. Two more soldiered appeared on Galgi's left side, and as he drew more knives from his uniform's utility belt, five more men emerged from the slab's right edge, rearing back short swords.

Galgi could only watch desperately, as-

"Captaaaain!"

-six Teutons bolted into the scene, cutting the approaching enemies off just in time and spearing them against the inside of the shield.

"You guys!" Ralin, Galgi, Esca, and Brita all rang out in surprise.

"Sorry we're late, Captains!"

"Hehe, knew we could count on ya louts! Now we're in business, eh Galg?"

"You bet your ass we are! Let's go, Ralin and Galgi squads! Let's bury some Wolverines underneath this beach!"

"UOOOHHHHH!!"

With five men to handle the shield and five to protect its underside, the two Go caught some steam, running through some thirty Wolverines, Galgi scouting out the incoming boulder strikes. Around them, five or six V-shields were beginning to make some headway into the beach as well. Their confidence growing with every step, Galgi finally stepped out to survey the battlefield.

This is..

Two hundred?

Three hundred?

No, beyond the front lines, there's at least a thousand coming out of the water!

Our advance has allowed the ballista to take out quite a few of the catapults...

But, even if we have four hundred infantrymen left alive...

Even with the hundred that are following right on our trail...this is..

We are...completely outnumbered!

We're just charging to our deaths!

Ah?

Is that...the flagship! They were hiding it with smoke!

It's come this close! If we can clear a path and signal back...

Ah? What's that it's loading on the ballista?

An...anchor?

And it's being aimed....!

"RALIN! MEN!! BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!"

The strike came without warning. The large, three-pronged iron projectile met the stone slab with a destructive force that shot dirt, dust, smoke, and rubble around like a tornado.

Galgi flew into the ground a meter back, but managed to stand back up. He couldn't see anything around him due to the smoke, which seemed to be multiplying unnaturally, separate from the projectile's impact.

Ears ringing, Galgi stumbled desperately in the direction of the comrade's he could no longer see. However, before he could reach where they should have been, a rapid clopping noise came from just in front of him.

Before he could gather himself to react, the shadow of a horse came upon him, heading on a sudden collision course.

________

The wooden spear whizzed just over Cedric's head, and smacked loudly against the middle pavilion. Cedric remained unperturbed by this, and lunged forward before skidding around the corner of the middle pavilion.

Quentle's twenty-meter desperation throw had told him the pavilion he was heading toward was the right choice. Sure enough, he threw his arm to the top of the pavilion, and snatched the small green flag pinned to it.

After waiting a moment to allow Mel's last ditch arrow to fall harmlessly behind him, Cedric stuck the flag out beyond the pavilion, waving it in a showing manner.

"So, you two want to explain the attempts to take my head off?"

Having regrouped at the center of the main pavilion, Cedric stood menacingly before the seated boys, crossed arms and furrowed brow.

"Slipped."

They both muttered this, looking away.

"Really? Okay, well since it's so hard to aim, don't be upset if I 'slip' a few times myself."

The two boys silently gulped, both too frustrated by their loss to argue.

"Well then, I'm ready for round two. Mel, you're looking fairly lonely, why don't you give it a go first?"

"Tch.."

"And don't forget, anything that looks like collusion will result in the guilty teammate being up next by default."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the rules, Wardric. Let's go already."

__

Second round: Cedric(archer) shoots Mel(attacker) in the chest.

Third round: Cedric(defender) disables Mel(attacker) with blows to both legs.

Fourth round: Cedric(archer) shoots Mel(attacker) in both legs with consecutive shots.

Fifth round: Cedric(defender) disables Quentle(attacker) with a stab to the gut.

Sixth round: Cedric(archer) shoots Quentle(attacker) in the gut.

Seventh round: Cedric(archer) shoots Quentle(attacker) in the gut.

Eighth round: Cedric(defender) holds Quentle(attacker) still while Mel(archer) shoots him in the gut.

Ninth round: Quentle(attacker) collapses in combat with Cedric(defender).

__

Cedric's technical precision, along with his anger driven focus, proved to be too much for the other two. It was simply night and day's difference from battling the impossible Valblin, and his persistent training seemed to be coming together thanks to the differing experiences.

"How the hell did this turn into a game against me half way through?"

The boys collapsed on the table in the pavilion, thoroughly exhausted.

"Well, a spear would have hurt a lot more than an arrow, if you hadn't thought about that."

"Yeah, yeah, my bad."

"Right...well, I'm done for the night, myself," Cedric groaned.

"Me too, it's unfair when you get like that," Mel sneered.

"Hmph, same...not that I wouldn't win if we started again!"

"Hahh. You two are ridiculous, you know?"

"So, Cedric, if you're not interested in Tess, who ya got? There's gotta be someone."

Chomping loudly into an apple, Quentle began the conversation with his usual no-limit attitude.

"Nope."

"No, no, I'm not letting you off the hook, Wardric!"

"I have nothing to say. Besides, why am I being targeted? What about you two?"

"Ah come on, there's nothing to say there, that's a fight for another day!"

"Well then I'll give you an answer another day, too."

"Oh, come on! I won't be satisfied until you give me a name! Or if you want I'll start subtly throwing you at Tess?"

"Hoh, you know he'll do it, too."

Cedric frowned at the chuckling Mel. Since his odd mood seemed to lighten up with the conversation, he figured he might as well take one for the team. He also knew it would be a pain to deal with if Quentle really put his mind into his threat. With an exaggerated sigh, he sat up.

"I don't have a name to give you, but there's only been one girl that's ever stuck in my mind."

"Oooh? Go on, go on, go on."

"Hahh. I was only about eight at the time, so I don't remember that well. I used to wait in the courtyard while my father did business in the castle, and this girl, she was probably our age, had long blonde hair, and.... She knew about all the flowers and plants, and would lead me through all the greenhouses every day and just rave on about all of them. I didn't have much of a childhood, so that was pretty memorable for me, I guess."

"Whoa. Sounds super cheesy. I like it."

"Hmm...Blonde, huh? Could very well be noble, maybe even royal-ha, as if.."

"Wait a minute! Light hair...plants...girl...courtyard...noble...Guys! Isn't that-

"It's not Selmy." Cedric and Mel both cut him off.

"Oh...so, what happened??"

"Uh, nothing really. Eventually she stopped showing up when the war got worse, and then they stopped allowing kids in the city, much less the castle."

"Ahh, what a boring ending!"

"Mhm.."

"This is why I told you I had nothing to say..."

"Hm! Well, I'll make it one of my missions as Sword Heir to find her and reunite you two perfectly, plants and all!"

Quentle jumped to his feet, sticking his chest toward the dull gray sky.

As he did so, the nearby forest seemed to shudder, a low noise reverberating far in the distance.

"Ah...did I do that?"

"No, you idiot. It's a battle... we should get back..."

Cedric frowned at the forest, and then at Mel, whose earlier gloominess had returned.

As the boys prepared to leave, Cedric's thoughts permeated with concern for his friends.

Galgi...Ralin...hang in there.

_____

The horse ran into Galgi at full force, throwing him into an awkward spin. Somehow, he managed to get a hand on the horse's saddle, and just barely hung on to it. Around him were some fifty more horses racing toward the wall, shaded by the ever-multiplying smoke. If he let go, he would be crushed underfoot by the stampede of the strong cavalry unit.

Desperate, he attempted to reel himself into the horse. The rider, aware of his unwelcome passenger, attempted to cut the piece of saddle Galgi was holding onto, but received a small knife in the top of his hand in response.

Wrenching the horse's reins over in a fit of pain, the man removed the knife, and before Galgi could throw another, leapt up from the horse.

The horse's momentum threw Galgi upward, into a position to strike the man had he remained seated. Instead, Galgi caught a glimpse of a silvery rope of some sort, and lost sight of the man after landing a glancing blow on his right hip. His momentum took the knife into the horse's back, which caused it to flail wildly before throwing itself, along with Galgi, violently into the earth.

Miraculously without serious injury, Galgi used the horse's thrashing body as cover as the cavalry sped around them. He could see some of the riders more closely as they stomped just inches away from him, and noticed that their golden armor and uniform seemed to be wrapped in a crossing red sash, the same kind that his knife had just gotten a piece of.

Grasping the red sash as the riders passed, Galgi rolled away from the horse, having taken several hooves to the head and back, and regained his composure. The cavalry then fell under heavy archer fire up ahead. Thanks to that, he felt safe returning to his comrades.

Running in a desperate stagger across the beach and through five or six enemy infantrymen, he eventually made it back to the shield-which was now in several pieces.

"RALIN!"

Spotting his best friend first, he pulled a slab of broken rock off him, to reveal a body that could only be described as one large, bloodied abrasion.

"RAL! HANG IN THERE! RALIN!"

"ehe..."

A small cough emitted from the burly man, who then drearily opened his eyes.

"Ral..."

"heh...heya Galg. Between a rock and a hard place, aren't we?"

"Haha... shut up, you fool."

As a tearful Galgi began tending to Ralin's worst wounds, Beidin, Peter, and Roz all crawled up to them, nursing moderate wounds.

"Captain...protected us all. He lifted the shield up when you called out, and pointed it upward at the last moment."

"The initial impact was scattered on either side, so we didn't take on too much of it. But the tail of that thing, it came in through the middle and destroyed the shield."

"Captain Ralin took the brunt of it...for our sake."

"That so, is it...who's the genius now, Ral..."

"Yep, really used my head on that one..."

"Stop talking, fool. Men-ah, you're all okay, thank goodness. Everyone form a perimeter while Simon and Jean continue treating Ral. I'm taking Filipe to scout the battlefield. We shouldn't have to worry about being targeted in this smoke, so just stay defensive for now."

"But Captain...you don't look that much better. Shouldn't-

"I'm fine, Esca. I'm the Captain, let me worry about myself."

The men all nodded, and Galgi took off with Filipe, the quickest of them, in stride.

Beyond the smoke, they found-

-more despair.

The infantrymen who had been charging earlier numbered few, enemy units tearing through the last of them with ease. One enemy unit continued their advance, in the direction of Galgi and Filipe.

"Ahh..this is bad, Captain. Do we go back and make a stand with the guys?"

A pained grimace froze on Galgi's face. Deep in thought, he raced through their limited options, failing to come up with anything that would get them out of this alive.

His usual neatly combed hair was disheveled, his face half covered in dirt and blood. His flimsy armor was chipped all over and essentially useless at this point, and his legs verged on giving out.

Regardless, he took a sure step forward, his eyes focused ahead.

At that moment, another bout of pandemonium came from the eastern shores.

It was another stampede of a cavalry, but its number was exponentially larger.

The Wolverine infantrymen had less than half a minute to prepare. The galleys were also unable to adjust in time, their focus having shifted solely to the wall.

The cavalry charged directly into the mouth of the enemy, searing through the infantrymen like jelly. Their armor was thicker, and their weapons sturdier. The man in the lead, covered in wrappings and minimal armor, minced through the soldiers with a curved broad blade as if they were simply tall grass in his way.

The unit, numbering around three thousand, swarmed the beach, taking out the now disorganized Wolverine infantrymen in a complete rout. From the middle of the pack, fire arrows began whistling toward the galleys on the shoreline.

The wall now clear to fire without distraction, ballista arrows began soaring into the ships, doing significant damage.

It took less than three minutes for the galleys to retreat, rallying to cover their flagship, which had taken moderate damage.

"haha..ha..."

Galgi dropped to his knees, letting his blades fall to the earth.

"Captain...this is wonderful!"

"Filipe..go let the guys know...we've been saved by 3,000 Man Commander Al."

"That's...Al the Bleeder?!"

"That's right...the poor villager who became the third highest ranking commander stationed on this side of the mountains. He's an old friend of ours."

As Filipe ran back to the others, the scattered Teuton army roared in victory.

"We made it...through the night."

Unable to cheer along, Galgi raised a weak fist, chuckling as he fell to the ground, unconscious.