A few minutes later, we moved toward our main objective.
On the way, I briefed the newcomers on the situation.
Soon, John and the summer islander came to meet us, their faces showing surprise and joy at seeing Ross and Rob.
“Report,” I said to the “scouts,” catching Ross’s curious gaze.
“Five below,” John began, trying to recall all the information he’d gathered.
“Two of them are right at the gates, near the wicket gate.
One is guarding the opening mechanism.
The rest are patrolling the perimeter.” Magok nudged his comrade, getting his attention, and pointed to his bow.
“Right,” the mercenary remembered, nodding in thanks to the mute.
“There are also three or four archers on the wall.” That came to nine guards total, which was critically low for guarding such an important position as the city gates.
“There’s also a guardhouse nearby,” John said, as if echoing my thoughts.
“The day shift should be inside.” “So that’s at least nine more guards,” I mused, tapping my finger against my lips.
“Eighteen total.
That’s a lot.” “What’s the plan?” Ross asked eagerly.
Everyone looked at me expectantly, as if to say: “If you’re giving the orders, then give the orders.” I had no choice but to take a deep breath and start outlining the plan I’d cobbled together on the fly.
“The plan is simple,” I said, looking around at my comrades.
“You take up good positions and engage as soon as things get hot.
In the meantime, Rob and I will get as close to the gates and the opening mechanism as possible.
Once we start the fight, Magok, you take out the archers.
Can you handle that?” My last question was rhetorical; the warriors of the Summer Isles were renowned as expert archers.
Still, the summer islander nodded with a serious expression and began preparing his bow.
“Good,” I said, turning to the others.
“You three will block the exit from the guardhouse.
Clear?” After receiving confirmations from the fighters, we put the plan into action.
Ross led John and Berik toward the guardhouse, first dumping my and Rob’s gear in the building’s shadow.
Magok practically vanished into the surrounding darkness.
Grabbing Rob, I headed openly for the gates.
As soon as we stepped out of the alley into the open space, we immediately drew attention.
In any other situation, two suspicious figures would have at least raised an alarm.
Fortunately, the city guard uniforms didn’t give them a reason to raise an alarm, which bought us a little time.
The night gloom and the dim light of the moon kept the guards from seeing our faces.
That worked in our favor, because we certainly didn’t look like Tyroshi with their love of dyeing their hair and beards bright colors.
The moment we stepped into the more well-lit area, our plan would be revealed.
When we were only a few meters from the torch-lit area, an alarm sounded.
The sound came from somewhere in the city center, apparently from the Archon’s palace, the city’s ruler.
“Why couldn’t they have raised the alarm a little later?” I thought, giving the signal to act and pulling my trusty knife from my belt, throwing it at the guard standing at the base of the wall.
Accelerated by creating a vector of attraction, the knife easily pierced his light armor and plunged into his chest, right where his heart should be.
The first death marked the beginning of the slaughter.
Drawing my sword, I ran forward, trying to reach the guard protecting the gate mechanism as quickly as possible.
The whistle of flying arrows made me regret not having a shield on hand.
The straight path became a zigzag sprint, using gravity to deflect incoming arrows.
I could only hope Magok would kill the archers before they managed to hit Rob or me.
As if echoing my thoughts, a body with an arrow shaft protruding from its eye socket fell from the wall a few meters away from me.
“Nice shot,” flashed through my mind.
After that, I had no time for idle thoughts.
I finally reached my target.
The guard made a thrust with his short spear, more like a javelin, toward me.
Shifting my body, I let the point pass me by and struck back with my sword, increasing the force of the blow by creating a gravitational pull between the target and the weapon.
The strip of steel caught the guard’s poorly protected side.
Cutting halfway through the enemy’s belly, the sword got stuck, making it impossible to pull out quickly.
A pleasant wave of energy washed over me once more.
“Damn it,” I cursed, shaking my head and leaving my weapon behind.
Grabbing the guard’s spear, I ordered Rob, who’d just finished off his own opponent, “Open the damn gates!” Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a pair of enemies running toward us.
Deciding that fighting with an unfamiliar weapon might be worse than fighting without one, I threw the spear at one of the guards, accelerating the throw the same way I had with the knife.
The much heavier projectile pierced the enemy, despite his attempts to defend himself.
I braced myself to meet the second guard with my bare hands, trying to figure out how to defeat him.
Suddenly, an arrow with familiar fletching embedded itself in the enemy’s neck.
“Magok,” I thought, looking in the direction the shot had come from.
Nearby stood the summer islander, lowering his bow and gesturing that he’d dealt with the archers on the wall.
I nodded in thanks and turned my attention to the guard who’d fallen to the ground.
He was still alive.
Dropping his weapon, he was trying to pull the arrow from his neck.
A dumber move I couldn’t imagine.
Rushing over, I finished him off with his own weapon, plunging the spear into the kneeling man’s chest.
The familiar feeling of energy washed over me again.
It was starting to feel like every kill added to my strength.
“Not every one,” I corrected myself, noting that the “thrown” weapon kill hadn’t given me any surge of power.
The sounds of battle pulled me out of my thoughts.
Looking in their direction, I saw the mercenaries being pushed back by guards pouring out of the guardhouse.
I needed to help my comrades as quickly as possible.
A critical look at the corpse kneeling with the spear protruding from its chest revealed no other weapons.
Annoyed, I spat, grabbed the shaft of the spear, planted a foot on the dead guard, and yanked it free.
There was a crash as the gates opened, which meant the hard part was over.
All that was left was to survive until the main force arrived.
“Magok, with me!” I shouted, running to help the mercenaries who were starting to fall back.
As I reached them, I managed to block a sword strike aimed at Berik with the spear shaft.
Then I pulled the spear back and, in one swift motion, thrust it into the enemy’s belly.
The tip pierced his flimsy armor and disemboweled the swordsman, spilling his guts out.
“Grab a torch and get on the wall,” I shouted, pushing Berik behind me, “Signal our forces!” The mercenary didn’t argue and ran to carry out the order.
Gripping the spear more comfortably, I threw it at a guard who was pressing John.
Another corpse hit the ground, soaking it in blood.
I quickly crouched and picked up a sword from the fallen enemy.
Making a test swing, getting used to the weight of the blade, I grinned at the remaining guards.
The mercenaries had thinned their ranks, and now it was only five enemies against the three of us, with Magok standing at a distance.
The guards didn’t rush to attack, giving my comrades a chance to catch their breath.
The lull didn’t last long.
Taking advantage of the moment, the summer islander loosed an arrow, claiming another life.
The falling body was the trigger for the next wave of battle.
Lowering the gravitational pull on myself, I darted toward the enemy like a blur, a speed they certainly hadn’t expected.
I noted to myself that I was moving a little faster than before.
“I need to figure this out,” flashed through my mind as my blade claimed another life.
The fight moved at an incredible pace.
The enemies, clearly understanding what the opening gates would mean, attacked with renewed ferocity.
This led to many mistakes, which I shamelessly exploited, taking the life of a guard who’d overextended.
Executing a move similar to the one I’d used in my first spar with Ross, I plunged my blade into his unprotected armpit, twisted, and pulled it out.
Crimson blood pulsed from the wound in powerful spurts, coloring the world in shades of red.
Turning my head, I saw that Ross and John, though battered, had also finished their fights.
I lowered my sword and gave myself a critical look.
My arms were covered in blood up to my elbows.
Drops of life-giving fluid mixed with sweat were dripping down my face.
But, contrary to expectations, there was no physical or mental exhaustion.
Only that familiar feeling of energy, pushing me to jump back into the fray.
“Don’t relax,” I ordered, pushing away unnecessary thoughts.
“Magok, get on the wall.
If you see more guards coming, poke Berik and have him signal us.” The dark-skinned mercenary nodded and ran to carry out the order.
“John,” I said to the man who was wiping his blade on the clothes of a corpse at his feet.
“Go get our gear, mine and Rob’s.
You have a few minutes.” John clearly wanted to say something, but when he saw my dark, promising look, he thought better of it and ran off for the abandoned equipment.
“What should I do, commander?” Ross asked with a grin, one word showing he accepted my authority.
“Don’t call me that yet,” I said with a grin.
“Mark might still be alive, and it’s not for us to decide anyway, but the sergeant or the captain.” “Right, he’s alive and just forgot about the mission,” the burly man disagreed.
“But you’re right, it’s not for us to decide.” I surveyed the site of our recent battle, assessing our ability to hold the line until the main force arrived.
Fortunately, we wouldn’t have to wait long.
“Let’s go,” I said to my companion.
“We need to prepare the defense.” I looked at the sword I was still gripping in my blood-soaked hand.
“And find me a spare sword,” I said, noticing small nicks on the blade from too-hard strikes.