Vipers spilled forth from the gap in the wall and ran headfirst into The Fold’s formation before the dust had even settled. I made sure the ones at the very front of the shieldwall actually used shields to withstand the initial charge. Unfortunately, even with putting them into the best positions they could be in, The Fold’s fighters weren’t prepared for the onslaught they would face. The Vipers rammed their shoulders into the shieldwall at full speed, knocking over The Fold’s frontline with ease. As they tangled with each other on the ground, our side’s fighters weren’t sure how to respond and only watched on, afraid of leaving their positions.

I’m once again reminded that The Fold is entirely composed of kidnappers first and foremost. They can ride horses well, they can map out and patrol routes like veteran scouts, they know these woods like the back of their hands, and they know how to rely on their weapon and number advantage to capture people without needing to fight. But most importantly, because they could carry out their activities without engaging in battle most of the time, they look lost when it is time to fight.

I mean, how in the thousand hells did my frontline just collapse instantly? Why are the ones supposed to be helping the ones dying on the ground frozen where they’re standing? Instead of getting angry at their incompetence and giving orders, I hold my tongue and watch with leisure. The Fold has 120 members in their shieldwall with 30 archers on the ramparts since they aren’t contributing much and if possible, I want all 150 of them dead by the end of this fight. There’s still 70 members outstanding but these 150 are the ones I’m worried about. If they’re taken care of, the rest will be simple.

More Vipers stream into the citadel from the other side of the wall and join in on the fun. There has to be over 100 of them hammering into my shieldwall at this point and our side’s quickly accumulating deaths. When it looks like my shieldwall is just about to break, I shout, “Back of the shieldwall, charge forward!”

With how awkward this battle’s terrain is, only about 30 or so people are able to fight at once while the ones at the back stand around, twiddling their thumbs. Hearing my order, the ones at the back look alert but they don't know how to carry it out. Leading by example, I shove my way from the back of the shieldwall until I reach the front. I’ve seen Bertrand give this order before which lets the ones sitting in reserve in the back swap out with the exhausted frontline. For Candle, it worked impeccably because everyone was familiar with each other and could pull it off in a timely, safe manner. For The Fold, however, it was like watching a group of drunkards bumble their way through a packed crowd, stumbling countless times along the way and even dropping their weapons a few times.

But they managed it somehow. Once at the front, I led my well rested reserve members in a reverse charge and relieved my frontline, saving it from collapsing. With quick steps, I walked up to a Viper and a Fold fighter desperately trying to overpower the other with their weapons raised high. Stabbing my sword into the armpit of the Viper, I watched how his expression warped from arduous effort to utter despair. With my assistance, the Fold fighter overwhelmed the Viper and sank his blade into the man’s belly. Looking up at me with pure joy, the Fold fighter nodded at me and went off to help his fellow cult members.

As I led the reserve members to reestablish our frontline, the Vipers noticed something was off and backed off, creating an open space between the two forces. With a temporary, accidental ceasefire zone of ten yards separating us, we stared at each other as we waited for the other to make a move. Even the 30 archers on the walls stopped firing because they were flabbergasted by what was happening. Instead of charging forward again and continuing our fight, a representative from their side walked halfway across the ceasefire zone and stopped.

Turning his head from side to side, taking all of us in, he shouted, “Lay down your arms and surrender! Your walls have fallen, you’re on your last legs, and you face extermination if you continue fighting! The Vipers offer you peace and will stop the bloodshed as long as all of you surrender!”

Negotiation attempts like these are pretty common. Neither side wants to kill the other to the last man and diplomacy is often the best choice in situations like these because it at least gives both sides time to catch their breaths even if terms can’t be reached ultimately. I’m reminded of Candle’s war with Midriver’s Finest and how Reed tried to convince Bertrand, Quinn, and Angelene to change sides because he knew it would be a difficult fight if he didn’t succeed. I’m also wondering whether they’re doing this to stall for time or if they really want to stop the fighting.

In these short ten minutes of fighting, both sides probably lost a dozen men each and considering each side started with 140 or 150 men in total, those are devastating losses. They probably do want to stop the fighting, earnestly. But that’s not a part of my plans. Seeing how nearly everyone on my side is looking to me for direction, I walk out from our frontline and approach the representative waiting in the middle of our little ceasefire zone.

Stopping in front of him, he looks at me with confusion, probably wondering why his enemies decided to send a child to negotiate with them. When he sees me do nothing but smile at him, he loses his patience and says, “Child, your cult has lost this war. You should turn around and tell the rest of your friends to lay down their arms or we’ll be forced to continue and wipe this stronghold from existence. You don’t want to lose your friends, do you?”

It’s actually hilarious to see this fucker patronize me, thinking I’m a naive kid. I could have ended his life in a hundred different ways by now but chose not to. He should be kneeling at my feet, kissing my toes for my magnanimity. Ignoring him, I turn my back to him and shout towards The Fold’s side, “Did you all hear him!? The snakes have realized just what they’ve gotten themselves into and now they want to sue for peace! Hilarious!”

Boisterous laughter rings out from our side and subtly taking a glance back, the Vipers’ representative is fuming with rage. My smile growing wider, I continued, “What did I tell you!? The snakes are fucking idiots and only now do they understand they’ve willingly entered the bear’s cave! But let me ask you, if you were that bear and a plump fawn offered itself to you on a silver platter, garnish and all, would you surrender your cave to that fawn!?”

Screams of “No!” erupt from The Fold’s side and the Vipers’ representative is tightening his grip on his sword, ready to take my head off. Still pretending that I’m not seeing what he’s doing, I keep going, “That’s right! Why the fuck would the bear surrender when a meal delivers itself right to it’s doorstep!?”

Finishing my words, I spin around and block the representative’s swing with my shield before repelling his sword and cutting his arm off at the elbow. As he screams in horror, I step forward and impale my blade deep into his belly as the stunned crowds on both sides watch on in silence. The representative slumps onto my right shoulder, barely propping himself up with his remaining left hand as blood spills from his mouth. Twisting my blade over and over again, mincing his innards, he screeches in agony as his mouth froths, his saliva mixing with his blood to create a disgusting pink.

Unable to hold themselves back any longer, the Vipers roar in anger as they charge towards me, ending our short lived armistice. Yanking my sword out from the corpse’s belly and pushing it away from me, I make a hasty retreat back to my side and slip into the shieldwall, making my way towards the very back. This second round of fighting is exponentially more deadly than before under the Vipers’ renewed vigor and anger. After another 25 minutes of fighting, the Vipers’ manage to break through both flanks of the shieldwall and they immediately start climbing the wall’s stairs, slaughtering the archers that have been annoying them from the very beginning.

Seeing the massacre happening all around me, I realize the situation is rapidly slipping from my control. The Vipers were stronger than I expected and The Fold was more worthless than I could possibly imagine. Both sides have lost nearly half their number but The Fold is buckling at every position, slowly letting themselves get surrounded. I’m still at the very back and looking around, I start making plans to run away. I always knew this plan was risky and every variable working in my favor was slim but I still hoped it would all work out in the end. Fuck, I really am a stupid, naive little kid, aren’t I?

Right as I’m about to make a break for it, a lone rider charges into the citadel looking battered and bruised. Seeing how he’s missing his left eye, just as Uda described him, my breathing grows rough and I scream, “That’s their leader! Kill him and this all ends right here!”

The spiritless Fold fighters next to me perk their ears up at my words and life returns to their dead eyes. With one last burst of strength, they charge at the Vipers’ encirclement where Layton stopped his horse with me right behind them. Thankfully, the Vipers’ encirclement is only three bodies deep which lets us break through and get closer to layton. Seeing us charge at him, Layton starts to turn his horse around and ride back towards the demolished wall. Gritting my teeth, I drop my sword on the ground and grab an axe from my belt, tossing it at Layton’s horse with all my might.

As my axe is spinning through the air, I realize Quinn never taught me how to throw axes. The axes he uses and the spare set he gave me aren’t throwing axes and based on their shape and weight, they’re not supposed to be thrown at all. My axe flies through the air for a short distance and then it lands limply in the ground, far off from Layton and his horse. Right, what now?

All of a sudden, another rider charges into the citadel through the gap in the wall, this one looking battered and bloodied as well. Surprisingly, it’s Gavin and he charges at Layton with his sword held high. Layton slows his horse down to turn around again and runs from Gavin. With nowhere else to go, Layton rides right at me with his sword held high, intending to take my head off as he passes by.

Taking my last axe in my right hand, I wait. And wait. And wait. At the last moment, when the horse is less than six feet in front of me, I cast Flash right before its eyes while diving off to the left. Coming to a stop on the ground, I whip my head to the right and see the horse reared up on its hind legs in confusion and fear.

Layton wasn’t ready for that at all and couldn’t hold on, falling off the horse’s back and landing on the ground with a cry. The horse lowered its forelegs to the ground before running off wildly, still blinded by my magic. Knowing this is the only chance I’ll get, I grab the axe I dropped when I dove out the way and dash over to Layton’s unmoving body, stumbling a few times along the way in my haste. The Fold fighters who helped me break through the Vipers’ encirclement turn around and try to hold back the rest of the snakes as I make my way over to finish their leader.

On the ground in front of me is a dead Layton staring towards the sky with dull eyes. It seems he broke his neck when he fell from his horse and died instantly. He’s dead but… I think if I want this to end closer to how I want it to, I’ll need to make this a bit more theatrical. Throwing myself at the corpse, I pretend to engage in an intense struggle with it for a moment before getting my axe free, raising it high above both of us, and then bringing it down onto the corpse’s chest. Standing back up, I yank my axe out and raise it high into the air while turning around, screaming in victory.