GATE: thus the dominion and the JSDF fought their

Part 13

~Falmart (Italica)~

After the Empire defeat as well as the fall of the twenty-one unified kingdoms army, the state of the continent was in chaos. To maintain order and protection of their capital, The empire pulled back all their soldiers to defend the capital and the areas around it leaving it's outlining territories to fend for themselves.

But those who had it worse were towns and villages without nobles to govern it or soldiers to protect it making it a good targets for bandit and rebels

Such as the case with Italica. With it's ruler and his army captured or killed by the unknown enemies beyond the gates, the city were struggling to keep it together. Trying to manage Italica from falling into total chaos was the young eleven year old noble Myui, But unfortunately she couldn't control or know how to control her vassals, And because of it the running of the territory became ineffective from neglect. There weren't many loyal vassals left, but there were plenty who had ulterior motives. Before she realized it, corruption and injustice were running rampant, The citizens were wary and security deteriorated and many more cases like that.

Though she did have two older sisters, But their constant bickering with each other caused more problems than solutions eventually they both got married off to other clans, However after the situation worsened from the empire's campaign against the other worlds. With their husbands dead, They couldn't spare the effort to take care of the Formal territory anymore, leaving Myui with the vassals of Count Formal all by themselves.

As public safety worsen, things just kept going down hill. For the survivors from the battle of the two gates became deserters and eventually bandits. Arriving in great numbers and armed with their looted equipment, the trade town was under siege.

So having no choice the populace had to been conscripted to fight back the rebels in order to protect the city.

Arriving in a timely fashion, Pina and her escorts took charge of the defense forces to repel their attackers. Standing over the city gate, Piña loosed a few arrows at the retreating bandits and took a deep breath. Wounded soldiers staggered around or collapsed from blood loss. Arrows were shot into the stone walls and the surrounding area was a mess. She spotted several citizens holding farm tools and sticks with a glance. Outside the wall, the corpses of bandits and carcasses of horses were scattered all over the ground.

"Norma! Hamilton! Are you alright?"

Inside the broken gate, Norma was defending a barricade. He supported his body by putting his weight on a sword, his shoulders rising and down as he panted. He lifted a hand to signal that he was well, but his armor was covered with arrows and signs of being hit by a sword. His surroundings showed evidence of an intense battle, with bodies from the attacking bandits and defending soldiers everywhere.

As for Hamilton, she was already sitting on the ground. Her legs were straightened with her palms supporting her body, barely keeping herself from keeling over. Her grip on her sword was loose.

"I am, hah hah, alive somehow."

"What about me, princess? Have you forgotten about me!" An older soldier joked.

"Grey! Of course, you will be all right, that's why I didn't ask."

"Should I be happy? Or sad?"

Grey, a man who looked about forty with a stout build, showed no hint of fatigue as he rested his sword on his shoulders. There wasn't any blood on him. If there wasn't any blood on his sword, he had probably been hiding somewhere, which would explain why he still looked so energetic. He was the Knight Grey Co Aldo, a veteran of the battlefield who rose through the ranks. In Piña's knight order, most of the knights were nobles. Since the knight order didn't have any real battle experience, such veterans were the real core of the unit. The path to knighthood was narrow for soldiers. However, they would be treated like ordinary officers after they made it through.