Ten of Swords (Draft Only)

Chapter 33

The army of undead could be seen to the south. Citizens fled out through the open gates of the city, hoping to escape before the invaders were too close for comfort. Soon the southern gate would be closed, and eventually the city would be sealed entirely with the lowering of each of the remaining gates as the army drew closer.

Those too weak to brave the crowds opted to hide. If they could not push through the others to get to the front, they would never make it out, not to mention the risk of getting crushed by thousands of bodies as they ran for their lives. The brothers and sisters of various cloths who ran the orphanage guided the children into the basement of the old chapel. All of them had chosen to stay. Alone the children would not be able to ration their food, and no single volunteer wanted to be the one who left to save their own skin. Even if it meant they all might risk staring. They were already prepared to give up their own food to save the children.

Crossing the plains, the undead and infernal horde split into three, with the western and eastern groupings slightly larger than the central mass. It was likely that parts of those two massive groups would further split off once they reached the eastern and western gates to continue to the north. By covering all gates with equal force, any gate that was lacking in manpower was certain to fall.

The city guard had two choices, defending all sides equally, or focusing on one place. If they had spread out their forces unevenly, it would have been more likely that they would have placed the majority of soldiers on the southern gate, where the enemy would reach first. The rebel army's slow maneuver to cover all sides ensured that if the crown had taken that option, they would be punished for it. All it took was keeping out of range of arrows and bolts to ensure that no demon or corpse fell before reaching its designated attack point.

"Disgusting," Hereskel murmured, looking through a spyglass from the castle's outer walls. "You say you know nothing of the battle plan?"

Minette sighed. "Nothing. All I know is that it is Redrain who commands them. He alone commanded they march."

As much as Hereskel was fascinated by the prospect of observing a siege in person, he was no fool. His relative's general unbothered demeanour was contrary to her actions. Someone who found the situation dire enough to travel to see him in person would not be so emotionless in seeing the undead army on the horizon.

He clicked at one of his guards to get their attention, though he did not take his eyes off the stage in the far distance. He did not want to miss a single second of the play that was unfolding before him. He gestured then from the guard to Minette. "Dungeon."

"Excuse me?!" Minette hissed. "What do you mean dungeon? After the effort I went through to warn you!"

An explanation was not owed. Only one guard was necessary to yank her arms behind her back and start dragging her towards the stairs. The foul woman kicked and screamed, demanding that Hereskel explain himself, but he was not interested. Her excuses that she had been involved with the rebels with the intention of betraying them to the crown were hardly watertight. It took a fool to believe that Hereskel would believe them. Without her wealth and resources, the rebels would have burned out long ago. Clearly, her pride and inflated sense of self-esteem had long since suffocated any intelligence she might have been born with. Truly a waste of royal blood.

Commander Egons informed his lord that the soldiers along the outer city wall were in position and fully supplied. Preparations in the city proper were still ongoing, with the streets of the outer city being barricaded in accordance with the defense plan. The defense plan had originally been designed in case of an invasion by foreign powers, but the rebel attack would serve as a good test for it. They would be able to see how effective it was. Ideally, the placement of barricades would split up the enemy forces and herd them down a maze of streets lined with stone buildings. Herded like sheep, forced to lose time in the labyrinth while squads led by knights wiped out their divided forces. In an ideal scenario, that was. Hereskel knew it was very possible, likely even, that the defense plan would prove ineffective. It did not matter. No filthy undead or helspawn would set a single foot into the castle courtyard. The attack would serve little more than to help refine the defense strategy for when a real threat arrived.