ANGEL OF JUSTICE (2014 revised)

Chapter Sixty Seven - Battle

Battle

Josh studied the advancing soldiers before turning to speak to the sergeant at his side. "Signal the archers to prepare."

Sergeant Finn acknowledged. "Archers!"

The order was passed back through the ranks and in fluid grace five thousand Cardinian archers quickly brought their bows to bear aiming high over the heads of the First Guard units. They waited for the dropped hand signal from Josh then released volley after volley of arrows into the air. The arrows arced then plunged back to earth with deadly precision into the charging army piercing armour, leather and flesh. Thousands fell as volley after volley of arrows rained out of the sky with hundreds more tripping over the wave of bodies. The black sea of men lost momentum buckling slightly in several places as they continued down towards the citadel defenders.

Josh felt the thunderous peel of the advancing army, yet not a man in the First Guard cringed at the sight of an army that outnumbered them at least by fifteen to one. Ever so slowly, Josh raised his hand. He looked to the leader of the left flank foot soldiers. Lieutenant Jaros nodded in return knowing his turn to aid Josh would soon be upon his men. The hand on the shaft of his spear was slick with sweat and he licked his lips in anticipation. He swallowed hard forcing his fears aside. From his position, the horizon was now black and seething but he held firm, thinking of his new wife and infant son. Nothing, not even five hundred thousand soldiers threatening the existence of Cardinia was going to prevent him from being reunited with them. Slowly, Josh turned to the right flank and met the nod of Lieutenant Brias who also stood tall and proudly before his ten thousand men.

Casting a glance back to the sea of faces now almost visible before him, Josh watched the enemy swallow up the distance between them and slowly drew his sword into the air. The sun flashed against the metal for the briefest moment before he slashed his blade forward. Screaming a war cry, he charged his horse into the fray. Thundering across the corpse littered ground, Josh plunged the First Guard straight through the middle of the enemy cutting a wedge through its solid numbers. Bodies of the enemy fell left and right as the formidable First Guard smashed into the black sea of aromoured men. At the head of the arrow formation, Josh was quickly surrounded, yet his blade, one of two given to him by the war god, Athan, slashed through armour, sinew and bone like butter as he weaved them with punishing force. Using only his knees to guide his mount, Josh pushed his men deeper into the oncoming army. The death screams of men and horses almost drowned out the distant sound of trumpets that was barely audible.

*

Lieutenant Will Jorgensen, leader of the 13th garrison signalled his force of forty-five thousand horsemen to a stop. Selecting two thousand of them to follow him, Will casually made his way up over the hill then called the unit to a standstill on the crest on the far western side of the citadel. He withdrew a looking glass from his belt and for several minutes he studied the battle. As eager as he was to race to aid his friend Josh, he knew he had to stay his instincts and wait for the crucial moment when his force would be most needed. The element of surprise would greatly favour the First Guard if all the reinforcements could hold their enthusiasm to join in. He watched the black mass of armoured men swamping around the arrow head of the First Guard, which to an untrained eye looked liked pure suicide but Will knew the Cardinian tactic and fully suspected the enemy did as well. Will took a deep breath, pushing down the rising swell of adrenalin.

"When should we advance?"

Will looked to his second in command and noticed the younger man's apprehension at the sight of his first battle. "Be patient Sergeant Harrison, the time when we are needed will become apparent soon enough."

"You have balls of iron my friend, to sit there and watch the slaughter without wanting to rush down there and bloody your sword."

Will laughed and swept his hand through short black hair. "The urge is there don't you worry about that and it's fighting to override my sensibility of waiting for the right time to attack. I trained with the First Guard Captain when we were much younger and as much as he makes it look like a lost battle, he has a plan up his sleeve."