(Alor's POV)
A re second passed as the startled group stared at my personal centurion construct before Janus Hassildor, still holding the bannered lance high, rode past it without a single care "Stop this squabble in the na of your Emperor!"
The guards wisely backed off, still keeping the semblance of their shieldwall but lowering their weapons, while the rebels were... less than cooperative.
The only one among their number who was either influential or wealthy enough to be equipped with a suit of chainmail over the sa gambeson the rest wore, quickly waving for them to retreat but also to prepare for a battle as their hook-like spears were quickly pointed in our direction in addition to the confused guards.
'Those gambesons must be hell to wear in this rain.' I noted idly as I rode up to Hassildor's side, Anondor and his subordinates marching in behind , their own weapons readied in a far more organized wall of halberds.
The rebel leader was not content to simply let us waltz in "Do not fear my friends!" He called out "We will not fall before these servants of the corrupt!"
He looked just about ready to start a full on charge, no doubt leading his entire group (close to a hundred as I noted quickly) to their imminent deaths.
And I had no patience for such idiocy.
Snapping my fingers while grasping on my silver spear, I felt my Magicka montarily sizzle under the heavy rain before a ball of vibrant but not quite golden fla ford in my palm, the slightest nudge of my mind sending the bolt flying forward and bursting the idiot's head in an instant.
I retracted my outstretched hand, pausing just briefly enough for the rebels to realize exactly what their situation was, and then I spoke "I will give you all one chance to drop your weapons and surrender yourselves into imperial custody. Anyone not willing to see sense may step forward and join this idiot."
The helt of the leader, sent flying up by my spell, falling atop his corpse with a muffled bang only served to add to the threat.
They wisely dropped their weapons then, only a few of them protesting as Hassildor's rcenaries stepped in to take the weapons and separate them so they couldn't suddenly change their minds.
"Now." I spoke with a false smile "Will soone please tell why the city is on fire?"
"Yes." Hassildor all but hissed "I too find myself curious" read: absolutely livid "About what led to all this." He waved his hand around.
Only a few monts passed before the guardsn split their shields and what looked to be their leader, if the plud helt was any indication, stepped out "Sargent Tolus" He introduced himself with a salute "We aren't exactly sure what happened in truth but the Count was to hold a speech to the people at the old statue today, had us all increase readiness just in case sothing happened."
The soldier directed a rather scathing look at the rebels "An explosion of fire ca from the north, exactly where the statue is at that. The only reason we aren't sure if the Count even lives is that this bastard" He spits on the ground near the steaming corpse "Kept shouting how his lordship ordered all of them killed and how they were fighting for their lives."
"A failed assassination then." I mutter with Hassildor giving an agreeing nod.
"Pardon the question, m'lords." The Sargent spoke on "But who exactly are you?"
"Janus Hassildor." The vampire answered before I could, he was the nominal leader of this mission.
The soldier imdiately gawked at him "That is... a powerful na 'round these parts. This so kind of jest?"
"My father wished nad after my ancestor." The vampire lied easily, imdiately earning the attention of almost every soldier and even the rebels.
"We are here under direct imperial orders." I cut in "I am Alor of House Dagoth, serving as representative of its honored lord." My words too earned a fair bit of attention but not nearly as much as Hassildor's.
"Now that we have that cleared up" I turned to the rebels "What exactly happened?"
Another mildly better ard rebel stepped forward, the two fighters next to him staring at him with weapons ready "We don't know exactly." The man said honestly "We was told to be ready as today was supposed to be the day we overthrew the Count but then everything went to shit."
He did not look even a bit apologetic about his language, an oddity south of Skyrim. "Right." I nodded "We seem to be wasting ti here then." My eyes t the Sargent's "Can you keep these prisoners safe and contained here?"
He gave the looming centurion a nervous look before clearing his throat "Should be able to 'ole them up in the gatehouse, but it ain't going to be comfortable."
"I do not need them comfortable I need them out of the way." I point out and he nods, already getting his n, so of whom looked just about ready to murder so of the prisoners for no doubt having killed so of their comrades but that was not really my problem at this
mont.
"We should get moving." Hassildor spoke up "We do not have the manpower to outright pacify the city so cutting off the head of the snake seems to be the only option. We can gather guards on the way to bolster our numbers."
"What about convincing them?" I ask the imdiately obvious question "We can't waste too much ti with each group."
"That is true." The vampire frowns and turns to the Sargent "Soldier, can you spare us a few of your n?"
The man turned back a bit surprised but quickly cald himself and looked around a mont "I can spare three, any more and the prisoners might start getting ideas."
"It will have to do." Hassildor nods and the soldier imdiately picks out a trio of his subordinates "We have wasted enough ti here" He mutters and raises his lance just a bit higher "Forward!"
I would have preferred we made a bit more of a plan but I suppose just following the fighting works as well.
Waving my hand and tapping on my ring, I have Anondor relay the sa order, our column swiftly being headed by my centurion.
Knowing my lord he will probably give the automaton outright if I do well so I may as well co up with a na...
(Ceix's POV)
"JUST DIE YOU BASTARD!" Ferontius screams at as he forces back with wild furious strikes, every single part of his mind and body focused only on killing .
I want to curse back at him, ask him how it feels to have his family killed in front of him, but his attacks are too many and too powerful for to have the ti or the focus as I am made to take a step after retreating step.
The puddles of water made by the torrential rain not helping were not helping in that endeavor but my enemy suffered much the sa thankfully, his movents far too furious for him to actually care about getting stuck in the mud as the sudden misalignnt of his slashes saved my life more than once.
He overswung and I imdiately took the chance this gave to stab forward, cutting into the weaker armor of his armpit and drawing blood only to imdiately be pushed back by a vicious poml strike aiming to break my hand.
Lorain attempted to aid but even his orcish fury combined with our numbers were not enough to easily kill Ferontius' elite guards.
The bastard seed to know it as well as he gave not a single mont's care to my fellow revolutionaries and kept pressing his attack at , practically throwing around like a ragdoll as I attempted to stay alive.
'I would not die like this!' I roared within, sohow finding the strength to push an overhead strike aside and buying a mont to retaliate, my rapier flashing in another stab as I aid
for one of his eyes.
Ferontius flinched back, making only half blind him instead of killing him outright, imdiately retaliating with his free hand and throwing away as I had my breath taken
from .
Cursing inwardly, I rolled in the mud and swiftly took my stance before he could capitalize.
We had been fighting for hours, Ferontius' hounds chasing after us with a single minded focus while the city was thankfully saved from the spreading flas by the downpour.
I barely had monts to rest before the maddened aristocrat would quite literally bash through wooden walls with his armored face just so he could get at faster.
I was covered in cuts, most of my armor barely functional and my sword chipped in nurous spots but I would not surrender.
And neither would my people, as where our strength faltered our numbers prevailed, slowly bleeding Ferntius' elites while my fellow revolutionaries seed numberless.
I knew it to be false but I also knew the value of perception, so all I had to do was remain standing long enough for the soldiers to break and then I could have my re- no, then I would have my liberty, my revolution.
We had been pushed back to the market square, hundreds were dead on both sides already and the fighting had spread to the entirety of the city yet the rain did not let up for one mont.
It almost felt as if the heavens wept as I swiftly downed a stamina potion, the final one I managed to save up for in fact.
Ferontius looked battered, glaring at with his one remaining eye as his powerfully enchanted equipnt allowed him to fight far beyond what I ever could without potions.
I realized this battle was coming close to its conclusion, and he seed to as well as he threw himself into another lunge with his bastard sword, barely giving a mont to dodge yet
still leaving with a shallow cut on my shoulder.
Just where my head was a mont ago.
I struck back with a feinting pierce before changing my attack into a slash at his hand, the
armor of which had gotten battered away when he punched through a wall to grab at .
The slash cut into his flesh, making him roar in pain and hopefully giving a chance to
finish him off.
Unfortunately he did anything but give a chance as he threw his sword at , cutting into my sword hand as I dodged and making stumble on a puddle of water and fall on the
ground. Ferontius grabbed a piece of a nearby stall, the thin wooden board snapped just correctly to look like a stake ant for my heart.
I imdiately clutched at my spare dagger 'I would not fall here!' I roared inwardly 'I would bring prosperity to these lands no matter how many bastards like Ferontius I had to kill!' Ti seed to slow down as I felt a pair of ancient eyes focus on , their stare one of pure disdain as I was shown exactly just how utterly insignificant I was in truth.
Still, the creature... No, the god looking down at seed to have found so amusent
in my actions, his disdain turning into a bark of coarse laughter as I felt my left hand be
suddenly strengthened.
Listening to my instincts I roared in defiance as I suddenly sat up, shoving the dagger into Ferontius' armored chest, the weapon instantly bursting into a form of terrifying lightning and exploding the man's chest in an instant.
A silence descended onto the market square as I slowly managed to stand up, Lorain's strong grip soon joining my efforts as he pulled up by my uninjured shoulder. Montarily coughing due to the pain in my chest I straightened up and looked over the now silent battlefield. Most of the elite guards were dead while a number of them had fallen back to the far side of the square, still keeping their formation even if four out of five were dead and the rest were at least lightly injured.
My fellow freedom fighters looked at with awe in their eyes but all I could feel in my heart
was dread as the godly stare remained stuck to and I was faced with small hills of the dead,
most of whom wore strips of crimson on their armor.
My strips of crimson.
Still, even if the sacrifice was far greater than expected we had won, we would have our-
Just as I was attempting to encourage myself into speaking up I heard a rumble to the side...
No, to call it the march of massive footsteps joined with that of horse hooves and armored boots would be more accurate.
Before I could realize what was going on the sound of horses sped up and a group of my
freedom fighters reacted, forming up in front of and Lorain as the mounted ones approached in a gallop.
It did not take a genius to realize they were charging at us.
The impromptu formation of spearn and billn was shattered near instantly as a small
force of heavily armored horsen crashed through them, their leader impaling the leader of
the formation on a shining lance, rising it high a mont later as if it wasn't weighed down by the armored form of the corpse.
The shining banner fluttering from it slew my slowly rising sense of triumph far faster than
the death toll ever could.
For instead of the banner of Skingrad Ferontius had been desecrating for decades there swung the banner of the Empire itself, tall and proud and inevitably declaring our deaths. 'Aloncius promissed they would not know!' My eyes narrowed but I could do nothing. Before I could reorganize my n into so kind of fighting force I once more heard the
massive footsteps. Lorain stilled, turned to with a fierce look in his eyes that said far more than words ever could... and charged.
Far faster than I could ever imagine, a massive form of a tal giant burst beside the mounted lancer, its hamr-like hand swinging at Lorain and striking him in the blink of an
eye.
The orc tried blocking but all that did was transfer the force into his hands before it travelled into his body, cracking every single bone he had above the pelvis and turning his upper body into chunks of at a mont later.
My people did not fare better as heavily armored infantry struck into our northern flank, quickly joined by the remnants of Ferontius' elite guard, while our south was struck by what I could only guess were elven warriors all wielding enchanted weapons and armor.
I could barely manage to raise the remnant hilt of my dagger as they were slaughtered before
my very eyes.
A re minute later, I was still barely standing, my form shaking from either rage or despair
as two riders closed in on .
The lancer and a snow-pale elf, both of them glaring at with pure hatred in their eyes.
"Worm." The elf spoke, the words sohow feeling foreign on his lips "Where are the
saboteurs and the vampire?"
'What vampire?'
He did not even wait for to refuse him before I was struck with a blast of lightning sparks.
(Alor's POV)
The little bastard thought he could hesitate in answering, my crackling fingers proved him
wrong. We had managed to piece together most of what had happened from so of the guards and imprisoned rebels and the image was... less than ideal.
The reasoning behind the rebellion was sound, the Count was incompetent and the people
had the right to fight for themselves if it ever ca to such things, such were the thoughts of my lord and he had far more experience in ruling than I.
They could have gone the legal route but such was not always possible as I was taught, but to
go 'full retard' as Lord Dagoth often put it and try and overthrow the entire system? That was
just taking things too far, doubly so since he failed to even take his own city without spilling a river of blood.
But what drew most of my attention were the rumors of another group helping them, a
certain clown fitting the description of my lord's target and a seeming apprentice of his.
That was not an opportunity I would ever allow myself to miss. My annoyance with this whole very preventable situation, seems to have made channel just
a bit too much of my disgust into the spell, outright knocking the fool out and burning off a good chunk of his skin.
Without waiting for Hassildor to reprimand , as he rightfully should, I imdiately called out "Paladin, see to him."
Anondor did not wait, rely giving a slightly concerned look before stepping forward and shoving a regeneration potion syringe into the idiot's throat, waiting only a mont before slapping him awake.
"Now." I spoke with a bit of a chill in my voice as the terrified man stared at with wide, fearful eyes "I will ask you again, where are the saboteurs and the vampire?"
It rely took knocking him out another six tis before I got my answers.
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