The Prince and His Warrior Wife

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Sooyoung slashed a regular Tamarelian soldiers stomach open and the man collapsed, dead even before he hit the ground.

This was not good.

By sheer numbers alone, the Tamarelians had broken into the city streets and now bands of marauding foes wreaked havoc on the city.

Sooyoung had been accompanying Hayoung on her visit to through the city to give the citizens assurance but now they were fighting off a group of Tamarelian soldiers who had by some twist of fate appeared in front of them as they tried to return to the inner keep itself.

Town Guardsmen and soldiers alike fought the invaders trying to plug this gap in their defences. Sooyoung caught sight of Joohyun and Yeri hacking at men with their axe and sword respectively, while Seulgi stood by Seungwan with her own sword, decapitating a brigand who thought the latter an easy target.

Seungwan was the odd one out today, brandishing a two-handed Dane axe, a powerful Varag weapon that was rightfully feared. Despite cutting off a bit of the shaft to suit her smaller frame, she looked tiny in comparison, but it still gave her far longer reach and devastating striking power.

She swung it down on an unfortunate Tamarelian regular's shoulder, the axe chomping through the bone down into his chest. The man's body crumpled to the ground, his gambeson standing no chance against such raw power.

Sooyoung charged the next group with her guards, flanked by Yeri and Joohyun. They crashed into the next set of men, slaughtering their foes.

She saw Joohyun's axe smash into an Imperial Army soldier's neck, causing blood to spurt all over as he fell. Thrusting her sabre into another's gut, Sooyoung slashed out her blade to the side, tearing the wound further.

Yeri's sword flashed to her left, cutting a man's head in half in a gruesome display.

Spreading out slightly to cover more ground, the women cut through the Tamarelians like a hot knife through butter, galvanising the men around them to press the attack.

Ahead, a mounted Town Guard officer was unhorsed and killed by a regular Tamarelian soldier, the latter taking the chance to mount the horse and gallop towards Hayoung.

Sooyoung's eyes widened as she raced to intercept but the horse was too fast. It galloped past her at speed and she could see Hayoung unsure of what to do, looking back to find a place to retreat to but then looking around her guards who started to form up to defend her.

He wouldn't get anywhere near her.

Unlike Sooyoung, Seungwan was in a far better position. Having buried her axe into the chest of a man, she turned her head right to see the Tamarelian horseman headed her way. She swung her Dane axe to the left and around, catching the horseman as he was passing by. The impact knocked him of his horse with a big slice in his sternum. Seungwan yelled curses in her native tongue as she came around and brought the axe down in a horizontal strike across his face.

The blow separated the upper and lower halves of his face at the nose, killing him instantly.

Just then, a loud clash of steel caught Sooyoung's attention, and she turned her head to to see a Nilfgaardian brute stagger back from a equally large barbarian with an equally large two-handed axe.

The Tamarelians had fallen back, giving their barbarian brute a wide berth to clear a path for them. The Nilfgaardian defenders were equally cautious, pulling back before the monstrosity before them.

The Nilfgaardian brute recovered and took a step towards the barbarian, but Sooyoung scowled and pressed the flat of her blade against his stomach as she passed by, stopping him.

The rest of her guards joined her, those with axes sheathing them in favour of their swords, with Seulgi helping Seungwan stow her Dane axe onto the harness on her back.

The Khuzait were not stupid.

There was no way they could match the brute's immense physicality in a contest of sheer brute force. Speed would be their greatest asset.

Sooyoung dove in first, charging at the brute and ducking low at the last second as the barbarian swung his axe at her.

Her sabre cut into the flesh of the man's leg, eliciting a roar from him. Joohyun was next, slicing the other leg and jerking back to avoid his return blow. The women each took their turn, slashing and dodging axe blows.

They laughed as they struck and avoided blows, making the skin of the Nilfgaardian men and Hayoung crawl.

They were toying with him.

Eventually, they started stabbing at him and soon the giant started to falter. His blows became weaker and slower, the blood loss weakening him every minute.

Sooyoung decided that she had had enough fun, and grabbed a wooden pole on the ground with her shield arm and jabbed it into the barbarian's stomach.

That sapped the last of his strength and he collapsed to his knees, the axe clattering uselessly on the floor of the road.

Sooyoung walked up to him and smacked the knife the barbarian had drawn out of his hand, leaving him defenceless.

Thrusting her sabre upwards, the blade punctured his jaw all the way up into his brain.

Sooyoung withdrew the blade and let the body fall to the ground, to the shock of the spectators.

She looked up to see the hesitant gazes of the Tamarelians before her. Already, some were looking back at the now secured walls, the defenders having managed to plug the gap and stopping any more reinforcements from pouring into the city.

Walking back to the assembled defenders with a scowl, she addressed an army officer before her.

"You CAN at least deal with that rabble, can't you?" spat Sooyoung in clear disgust.

The officer's spine stiffened at the insult before he turned to face the men behind him.

"Come on you lot! What are you waiting for?" yelled the officer as he waved his men forward.

A loud cry erupted amongst the soldiers and they followed the officer into the charge.

Sooyoung walked back with her guards back to Hayoung and her assigned bodyguards. Passing by the two brutes assigned to Hayoung and her personal retinue, she took her place by Hayoung's side.

Leading her on back towards the inner keep, Hayoung did not cry or tremble despite her earlier indecisiveness. The near-death experience she had in Caledonia had steeled her enough that she had learnt how to compose herself.

Sooyoung secretly nodded in approval at the new change, although she hoped it would not be tested further.

That Night

Sooyoung sat down on the bed as she rested after the day's battle. Hayoung had not needed much settling after the day's events thankfully and Sehun was now with her.

She smiled as she felt Sungjae's lips press against her cheek and she turned to peck his lips with her own.

"We received a letter just now. Reinforcements are on their way but it will take time for them to break through. The Tamarelians have several armies in our rear," said Sungjae tiredly.

It wasn't exactly good news but at least help was on its way.

Sooyoung nodded tiredly, not wanting to dwell on it for now. Right now, they had to rest, the enemy would come again, and they had to be fresh and ready for the fight.

She lay down with Sungjae, allowing him to wrap his arms around her as they drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Short update this week. I'm getting closer to completing the epilogues and hopefully it will be done soon.

Things are getting busy in my life so while I have writing plans, updates may be slow so I hope you all understand but my goal is to complete the stories I have in mind and by the end of it all, I hope to have a story for each RV member.

Thanks for staying with me till now and I hope I don't disappoint you all.