The bright rays of the sun hit the faces of shy morning dew, creating peaceful mist around the city while the fire burned brightly under the watchful eyes of the guard.
The horses exhaled steam from their nostrils, looking at the town with calm eyes while waiting for their masters to call their names.
" Time is up. Blow the horn."
Tove rolled his sleeves up, gesturing his men to start loading the trebuchet. The soldier blew the war horn, signaling the inevitable start of the war that would ignite the whole region in the fire.
" Reload, the trebuchets. Aim toward the wall and fire."
The huge hail of rocks hit the fortified wall of Maldon, tearing it down with screams and blood that echoed through the morning curtain.
" March forward to the town. Get the archers in position. Make the sky bleed with arrows!"
The shield infantry stood in front of the army, marching toward the gate with cavalry and archers behind them as the guards yelled with fear.
The sheer pressure of their might was no joke to the enemy guards who were taken off guard by the hail attack. They quickly assembled on the remaining walls, trying to get into position as Ersen pulled down his helmet. He raised his sword, pointing toward them without a hint of fear because all he knew was war.
He wasn't afraid of aggressors since he was the first and last guardian of this territory. He wasn't willing to let them take another step toward their heart.
" Archers, shoot!"
The arrow rain came crashing down on the infantry while they raised their shields to protect themselves from it. The thumping noise of the arrow hitting the shield could be heard inside the town as the citizens quivered with fear.
" Agh!"
The young soldier fell before Tove, and without hesitation he shielded him with his body, taking the arrow in his shoulder. He didn't flinch slugfest bit, pulling it out from his shoulders to show his resilience. Then he threw the soldier to the old veteran while raising his round shield to protect himself from incoming arrows.
" Push forward!"
Bo yelled with a rough voice, leading the men from the front with an iron axe in his hand. Just as they came near the main door, he rushed toward them without any hesitation. His cold axe cut the head of unsuspected guards, drawing blood everywhere before the battering ram came right next to him.
" Throw the rocks!"
Ersen commanded his men to throw the rocks at them while Bo made himself through the broken gap of the door. His huge stature immediately cut through the incoming guards as his face was dyed with blood.
" Someone stop him!"
The guards rushed to stop him but he was undefeated in this narrow corridor with the short sword which he looted from the corpse.
" Don't get in my way!"
He grabbed the wrist of the young guard, crushing it with his sheer strength as the latter screamed with pain.
Meanwhile, outside the gate, Tove raised his head to command his archers to shoot since they had range to fire back. The arrows came crashing down on the enemy guards, and one by one they died under them. Obviously, there were injuries and casualties but Tove didn't mind it.
" Take down the gate quickly!"
He commanded coldly, understanding gate was the last obstacle in their way. As long as they could take down that half-dismantled gate, the cavalry would wipe out the enemy.
" Don't let them breach! Kill the soldiers!"
Ersen lifted the heavy rock from the ground, throwing it toward the soldier as it instantly cracked the head of the infantryman. However, one soldier took his place after stepping on the corpse.
The cruel image of war was etched into the mind of young knights and soldiers who never saw the true war.
" Damn it!"
Without hesitation Ersen commanded 20 percent of his men to hold the gates, knowing the catastrophic result of its failure. The enemy cavalry would spell the end of them for there was no way to stop them.
" Ugh!"
One of the arrow hit his helmet and he felt sudden dizziness. He threw up the meal of the yesterday, spitting out blood from his mouth whilst touching his wet head.