The battle ahead came into sight, and Marcus pulled the sword on his waist and charged forward. His men saw their leader charge ahead and couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, picking up their own pace. Kacper heard the horde of men charging at their side, and although he had made small preparations for it, his men became more uncontrollable as the battle raged on.

Marcus saw the small shield wall prepared on the flanks and smiled, wondering when his enemy was going to catch on to his plan. Despite that, he didn’t stop. Slamming into the wall, he knocked back one of the enemies and plunged his sword deep into their chest. A booming cheer came from the wall, seeing their allies charge in, and the Commonwealth soldiers felt slightly on edge. Despite that, they still outnumbered their enemy and didn’t completely falter.

Kacper took a deep breath and looked at the flanking force with cold eyes. He didn’t hesitate and charged in to provide whatever little support he could. "HOLD FIRM!" Kacper screamed out and tried to push his way forward through the rows of bodies. Arrows continued to rain down, and the screams made anyone who heard them feel dread.

Marcus, however, ignored everything and only focused on the objective in front of him, which was the complete collapse of the Commonwealth forces. "DO NOT WAVER! DO NOT GIVE AN INCH! PUSH AND DESTROY YOUR ENEMY!" Marcus cried out in between swings of his sword, every time drawing blood. His white smile broke through the blood covering his face. His blood was pumping in, and his senses were heightened.

No man wished to attack alone, and Marcus defended himself against two attackers. Swinging his sword precisely, he countered each blow thrown against him but couldn’t find an opening. His momentum stopped in the fury of blows thrown at him, but it didn’t bother Marcus. His mind was calm, not consumed by the blood and violence of the battle around him.

’Where is Arek?’ Marcus knew the Count had yet to arrive. The Commonwealth forces still had too much hope; they had yet to break. He needed him, the other force. Marcus gritted his teeth but ignored his worries. He had to wait. He expected some delay; they would have never been able to time the trap perfectly when so far apart.

Kacper pushed through and, seeing the flanking force, smiled slightly. It had hardly made a dent into his forces, their overwhelming numbers able to hold them off. Despite that, he knew not to underestimate his enemy. He had already lost to him once because of it. Kacper pushed through, and for the first time, he saw Marcus, the only man wearing the armour of the Ammary military. His face was covered in blood, but he had a wide smile as he desperately fought.

Kacper could see he wasn’t losing, even when outnumbered. It was impressive and made him wonder how he would fair in that position. But he pushed it aside. He couldn’t get distracted. He had learnt never to be. Kacper looked away from Marcus and focused in front of him. Pushing into the shield wall, he joined the melee and rejoined the battle.

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Ludwick led the reinforcements through the forest. As he got closer to Kacper’s position, the sound of the battle got louder. He felt nervous. He had never been on the battlefield but trusted no one else to follow Kacper’s order. All the others in his war council were already at the front fighting. He was the only authority left.

Ludwick gulped. He needed to calm himself. Glancing at the men behind him, he could see the small nerves built up in them. They were the reserve force for a reason. The fact they had been called meant something had gone wrong. "KEEP YOUR HEADS HIGH!" Ludwick shouted out but felt awkward as he did. He wasn’t a leader. He didn’t really know what to say.

He could only speak about how he fell. "OUR BROTHERS NEED US NOW! WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE ARE ENTERING INTO, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT WE WILL BE THEIR SAVIOURS! DO NOT WORRY, FOR WE HAVE SOL ON OUR SIDE! EVEN IN DEATH WE WILL NOT DIE!" Kacper hoped his voice didn’t waver as he shouted, showing he was like them, but the small cheer from behind was enough to tell him that he had some effect. He didn’t look back behind him, afraid of revealing his own hesitation, and sped up his march as the sound of the fighting got louder.

In less than five minutes, he saw the battle. With a gulp, he quickly analysed where to go. He saw Marcus’s flanking force attacking. He saw his allies desperately defending themselves from attack. He saw the fort still holding firm. Ludwick watched and knew there was only one place where he could make a difference.

"CHARGE THE LEFT FLANK! LET’S FREE OUR BROTHERS!" Another shout echoed behind him as they broke out into a run. Some tripped over the forest floor, being trampled by those who didn’t see them, whilst others said silent prayers before slamming into the enemy.

"REINFORCMENTS!" Marcus heard the shout and pushed away the people attacking him before looking over. Seeing his men under the threat of being encircled, he clicked his tongue. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"DON’T FALTER!" Marcus had to pause and block an attack coming toward him. Pushing the attacker’s sword away, in a swift slash, he cut through their thin armour and created a red streak down his chest.

"WE SHALL BE VICTORIOUS! DO NOT FALTER! DO NOT BE SCARED!" Marcus blocked another attack. Despite his words, he knew the situation was bad. He needed to do something. He couldn’t let his men break, or the entire trap would have been for nothing. ’Fucking Arek. Where are you?’ He cursed the man in his mind, annoyed he left such an important responsibility to an outsider. He thought he could trust him, but he was foolish. ’He is not us. Nothing like us.’ Thinking of the men he went through vigouris training with in the Empire, he knew that even a common soldier under his command would have timed the attack better.

Looking to the fort, Marcus moved back slightly and grabbed the whistle tied around his neck. Putting it in his mouth, he blew hard; it sound almost drowned out by the sound of the fighting. But he knew it was enough. His men would be able to hear its sound even on a raging sea. It was that vital to their way of life. But without taking a risk, he blew it multiple times to make sure. Nothing could be left up to luck.

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Adam heard the faint sound through everything and looked to Marcus’s position from the fort walls. His hands tightened around the small wooden support beam as he realised the situation in a second. "fuck." It was all he could say as he pushed away from the battle.

"SEND MEN TO SUPPORT COMMANDER HARDLY! NOW!" He called out to the few hundred odd Ammary soldiers manning the walls. Some didn’t hear, and Adam blew his own whistle. It quickly caught their attention. "SUPPORT COMMANDER HARDLY NOW!" They didn’t hesitate to drop their bows and head down the wooden steps. The back gates opened, and they quickly left for Marcus’s position. "REPLACE THOSE THAT HAVE LEFT!" Adam called out to the small force waiting for the gate or walls to be breached and quickly came up, picking up the bows that fell.

It was obvious that nearly none of them had trained with it; their arrows were flying in random directions or not shooting at all. His face went hard as he watched the battle again. Thinking what else he could do, an idea flashed in his mind. Running down the steps, he quickly grabbed a soldier. "HEAD WEST. FIND COUNT AREK AND SEE IF HE HAS BEGUN TO MOVE." The soldier nodded, letting Adam retake his position.

’This is all I can do, Commander.’ Adam said silently as he watched the battle below. The arrow fire had become noticeably thinner without the Empire’s troops, and he couldn’t help but be annoyed by how terrible the Commonwealth rebels were.

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"IMPERIAL REINFORCEMENTS!" A man called out from behind Marcus, causing a booming cheer amongst his men. Marcus smiled and thanked Adam in his mind as he swung his sword.

Kacper saw everything as an organised regiment of a hundred men joined the shield wall, defending against the reinforcements. it was annoying, but he couldn’t do anything about it and resumed his fight.

Ludwick was different. He had positioned himself to be safe, not joining the main melee that had broken out, but seeing the Ammary soldiers that had come and close din on his position, his breathing got heavier. He wanted to run but couldn’t, knowing he would be killed as a traitor. He wanted to surrender but knew his request would be met with a sword right now. Gulping, his eyes shook as he lifted his shield that seemed to be out of place on him.

He could tell they were different. Nothing like the men he brought. They moved as one with cold efficiency. They had real armour and weapons, not something put together for levies. They were ruthless, easily cutting down the men that stood before them. Ludwick didn’t think he was a coward for wanting to run. He was outclassed in every way. He could finally understand how Kacper lost against them despite vastly outnumbering them. He also wondered how Kacper could face them without fear.

’There are thousands more like them.’ Ludwick gupled thinking about the Empire’s invasion. How were they meant to survive against such a thing?