The Spirit of Revenge (15 page)

A tide of Arzecs now streamed across the gorge, almost completely unhindered by the few surviving archers. Thousands of Arzecs rushed towards the stronghold and crashed into its walls.

The Arzecs began pounding their weapons against the gate, eager for the blood orgy that awaited them. Their eyes gleamed gold in the night, baring their vicious fangs at the terrified men above.

From the midst of the army, a horde of Arzecs carried forth a massive battering ram.

Hundreds of the defending soldiers ascended the steps to the causeways and gathered above the gates. The defenders threw stones and spears into the Arzecs’ ranks, anything to slow the crawling advance of the battering ram. Their feeble attempts did little to hinder the ram, and soon it bore down on the iron gates.

The steel-capped ram shook the gates with a violent thud. The defending soldiers threw down a hopeless barrage of spears over the ram as its wielders drew back for another strike. As the Arzecs who wielded it were struck down however, others rose instantly to take their place.

The snake-headed ram thrust forward again into the gates, this time a weaker blow as the defenders threw themselves against the doors to dampen the impact of the mighty beast.

They fought desperately to fend off the ruthless attack. Bodies soon piled around the feet of the ram. A never-ending cycle of bodies falling and others to take their place repeated itself as the ram shot forward a third time and slammed into the gate with thunderous force. The doors shuttered fiercely and sent debris cascading. The ram collided into the doors repeatedly, shaking them to their foundations.

Great javelins continued to sow havoc among the despairing defenders, impaling scores of men and skewering them against the fortress walls. Men blasted through the air, torn violently in half, limbs and entrails painting the skies as their dying screams filled the chaos of the night.

Beneath the destruction, the ram drew back a final time and collided with the gates under a hailstorm of stones and spears.

The doors rocketed open with tremendous force, throwing a shower of stones into the defenders. Scores of men were blown apart as the debris rent their ranks asunder.

With a deafening roar, the Arzecs thundered through the broken gateway.

The two armies collided with a mighty clash. A fount of scarlet stained the air, painting the fortress red with every stroke of steel. Bodies tumbled; shield and sword rang shrill. Shouts of death pierced the air, ringing in men’s ears as they fought for their very lives. Blood soon pooled at the feet of the combatants, limbs, entrails, and bodies littering the fortress floor.

Cain and Adriel threw their bows aside and drew their swords. Without a word, they jumped off the causeway, swords poised as they plunged into the masses below.

They landed in an ocean of Arzecs, bodies dropping about them with every blind swing in the cramped quarters of battle.

The hordes of Arzecs swarmed the entrance to the stronghold, their sheer numbers pressing back the defenders who fought fiercely to stave them off. Wave after wave of Arzecs poured into the fortress, cutting down the defenders left and right and hacking through their ranks by the hundreds.

The defenders soon staggered back as swarms of Arzecs continued their unrelenting push through the keep, crushing all that stood in their way.

“Fall back!” Verin cried out over the chaos. The call for retreat filled their unwilling ears, and reluctantly the defenders surrendered the first floor and turned their backs on the enemy.

The soldiers sprinted across the first floor towards the stairways, the enemy swift on their heels.

The Arzecs soon reached the last lines of retreating soldiers and leapt onto their backs, sinking their fangs into their faces and breaking their necks with vicious snaps. Any retreating soldier that fell from their lines were pulled instantly to the ground and stabbed repeatedly, bodies mangled and mutilated beneath a crushing squall of enemies. The Arzecs ripped apart the still living men, throwing limbs in the air as they disemboweled their helpless victims. Entrails shot from the masses, blood gushing as the Arzecs reveled in their bloodlust.

Adriel tripped over a body in the midst of the retreat. She cradled her head, struggling to avoid being trampled as men rushed over her. She turned and looked down the stairs where hundreds of Arzecs raced towards her with fangs bared.

Adriel cried out in terror and rushed up the stairs towards a man calling her name, arm outstretched to pull her to safety.

As she reached for him, a ballistae’s javelin shot through his chest, ripping his body in half and sending his torso flying over the stairs. She let out a panicked scream and stumbled through his blood, the Arzecs close behind.

Cain rushed down the steps towards her, screaming her name. He rushed past her and swung his sword into the front lines of Arzecs. Fending off the encircling enemy, he grabbed Adriel by the arm and retreated up the stairs with her, the Arzecs close behind.

The surviving soldiers ushered them up to the second level. The defending army then converged around the stairway, shields and weapons drawn to face the oncoming tide.

The Arzecs rushed up the steps and threw themselves mercilessly into the spear and sword of their enemy.

The two armies clashed once again, blood flying and weapons blazing in the hellish din of battle. Arzecs continued to surge through the shattered gates, filling the entire first floor.

The cramped stairway began hemming in the Arzecs and the defenders saw their chance. They thrust their weapons deep into the enemy lines, impaling their fetid flesh against avid spears. Bodies tumbled down the steps, engulfed in the sea of onrushing Arzecs. Screams of the dying filled the blood-soaked air as the two armies fought on in a bitter maelstrom.

The Arzecs tackled into each other, pushing themselves recklessly against the shield wall of the enemy. The defenders bashed their shields into the ensuing tides, thrusting sword and spear deep into the Arzec’s ranks. Bodies piled high around the defenders as Arzecs continued throwing themselves recklessly up the stairs.

Nevertheless, the Arzecs began slowly pushing back the defenders through sheer weight of numbers. Now it was their turn to wither.

Their ranks receded under the crushing weight of the Arzecs, and the bodies of men now dropped under the slow advance of their enemy. Suddenly they heaved forward, a wall of flesh and steel finally ascending the crest of the stairs.

Thousands of Arzecs met the defenders with full force, hacking deep into their formations. The defending lines thinned by the second.

Cain and Adriel fought desperately at the front lines, struggling to hold their ground as long as possible. The other Warriors ran towards the battle leading hundreds of panicked soldiers.

“The north stairs have fallen!” Aaron shouted over the chaos, “We’re surrounded!” From behind them, hundreds of Arzecs charged.

“Retreat!” Their king shouted, but his command came far too late. The defenders spun around as the Arzecs slammed into them like an ocean swell. Hundreds of Arzecs collided into their left flank and tore through their lines, pinning them against the fortress walls. They were now surrounded.

“We’re being overrun!” Verin shouted, “Fall back! Fall back!”

The defenders battled madly to escape the ever-tightening noose of the enemy. They slowly pushed through the encircling enemy, allowing a decant of soldiers to escape towards the third floor, running for their lives.

The noose of the enemy was shortly broken and hundreds of men escaped their fates, but many were not as fortunate. Bodies tumbled to the earth as the defending ranks were ripped apart by a relentless foe.

The Warriors fell back and followed their frightened soldiers across the second floor.

Hundreds upon hundreds of Arzecs now climbed onto the second level, filling half the fortress as they closed in on the retreating soldiers. Arzecs swarmed around the Warriors as they ran, forcing them to fight once again.

Cain ran slightly behind the others, and soon the Arzecs surrounded him. He twirled his sword and hacked down any who dare guard his way. He spun frantically, sword flashing in a blaze of steel and sparks, slashing his way through countless enemies.

Several Arzecs lunged at him from behind as he turned to run and dragged him to the ground. His sword flew from his hands and he fell to the earth, drawn into their ranks. The Arzecs stood over him and pinned him to the ground as he fought to escape their grasp.

Their amber eyes stared greedily down at him and their lips parted, dripping blood on their terrified prey. They bent over him and bellowed into his face, their rancid breath stealing the air from his lungs.

A sword ripped through the face of an Arzec, blood and brain spraying the air as the steel ripped through the side of its skull. The body collapsed beside Cain and the Arzecs turned to face Adriel.

Cain pulled his hands free from his opponents’ grip and reached up towards the closest Arzec.

He pulled its face forward and thrust his knee into its chin, snapping its neck with a loud crack. He threw the body aside and managed to crawl away from the Arzecs as Adriel fought them off.

Cain reached his sword and spun around on his knee as the Arzecs charged at him. He swung his sword and sliced the legs off several Arzecs, tossing their bodies into the air with a gush of blood.

He bolted from the ground and twirled his sword in mid air. He plunged his sword through the chest of an Arzec and landed as it collapsed in a spurt of blood. A second Arzec lunged at him with a spear and he jumped aside before kicking the spear and pinning it to the ground.

He slammed his boot down and broke the pike in half. He then grabbed the bladed end and swung it, slitting the throat of its owner. The Arzec dropped, and as it fell, another charged at Cain.

Cain bounced the spearhead in his hand and tossed it at the Arzec, throwing it off its feet in a spray of blood.

Silas jumped in front of him and stabbed his Sitar into the oncoming Arzecs. The massive weapon met its mark, slicing the head off an Arzec.

Can’t let you have all the fun now, can I?” He jested as he lifted his Sitar before Cain’s face, the glaring head of an Arzec cradled in its blades. Cain smirked and struck the weapon aside.

Silas jumped back and dodged a sword strike before lunging forward, tossing the head at an oncoming Arzec and knocking it off its feet. “That never gets old!” Silas cackled before impaling his Sitar through several shrieking Arzecs.

Cain wrenched his sword from the body of an Arzec and looked through the crowds of battling soldiers.

“Aaron!” Cain cried out to his friend barely visible through the sea of ebony. “We have to fall back! We’ll be overrun if we stay here!” Aaron nodded in confirmation and fought to reach him. Together, they hacked a path through the surrounding Arzecs and reached the others who fought to keep an open route through the enemy.

Cain and Aaron darted past them. “Run!” The others looked back as hundreds of Arzecs rushed straight towards them. The Warriors turned and sprinted after their friends, the Arzec hordes swift on their heels.

They bolted across the second floor, buildings near a blur as they sprinted past. Fear gnawed at their hearts as Arzecs clawed at their backs, mere feet separating them from certain death.

They noticed a large group of defending soldiers at the other end of the road, spears and shields braced for the oncoming swell.

“Run!” Cain screamed. The line of soldiers split as the Warriors reached them, allowing them through towards the third level. The Warriors rushed by them, calling the retreat.

Cain stopped running and turned back to look at the group, his friends following likewise. The group continued to stand in a uniform formation, staring resolute into the eyes of the Arzecs.

“Fall back!” Cain cried out to the soldiers.

One of the soldiers looked back at his leader and replied forcefully, “Go!”

The man turned just as the Arzecs reached them. They were instantly swallowed in the sea of blackness. The Warriors looked on helplessly as the soldiers fought for their lives, slowly crushed under the weight of their enemy. The men continued to hack at the front lines of the Arzecs, fighting on to the last man.

“Go!” The same soldier ordered again as the Warriors stared on in horror at the massacre. They finally ripped their gaze from the fight and continued running towards the third level.

“Come on!” Adriel screamed as she pulled on Cain’s arm. “We’ve got to get out of here!” He slowly turned as the Arzecs cut down the remaining men and crushed them underfoot.

The Arzecs climbed over the bodies of their freshly slain, swift on the heels of their prey. The platform of the third level came into view as they sprinted past the last of the barracks.

They dashed down the stairway, the defending soldiers beckoning them forward. At last, they reached the bottom of the basin. The remaining soldiers circled the front of the Great Hall, weapons held forward to meet the onrushing Arzecs.

The enemy appeared over the crest of the stairs. A vast wave poured down the steps as hundreds of Arzecs encircled the despairing men. A great roar filled the basin as the hordes descended upon them, sounding ruin in every lamenting ear. The Arzecs exploded down the stairs and crashed into the defenders. Spears flashed and swords flew as the two armies battled once again.

The defenders refused to lose the last floor, for this would mean the end, and they were determined to fight to the last breath.

The Arzecs slowly pushed up the steps, throwing themselves recklessly into the spears of their foes.

Corpses toppled around the feet of the living as they continued to toss themselves frenziedly at the defenders.

Blood flowed in the deep of the basin like a churning eddy, a torrent that rushed over the bodies of hundreds of Arzecs. A bloodbath ensued as hundreds of Arzecs were slaughtered in their relentless push for the final floor and the destruction of their enemy.

However, against the steel wall of Charun’s finest, the Arzecs crumbled. A horn suddenly blew, sounding defeat in the ears of the Arzecs. Their shouts of battle instantly turned to panic and they fell at last from the fighting and ran.