51 Chapter 51 (1/2)
”Push them back down!” Gasper yelled as he kicked one of the defenders that had just ascended the stairs to the top of the wall. His men were by his side, attempting to prevent the defenders' reinforcements from gaining ground on the wall.
There were several dozen defenders packed on the inner stairs and below the wall, waiting to climb to the top of the wall and reinforce the weakening sellswords above. Some of them were already on top of the wall, but they had a hard time making room for their climbing comrades because they were held in place by Gasper's men.
He'd just gained his fourth foothold on the wall. And the defenders were getting weaker every moment. Soon, all his ladders would be pouring men on top of the walls and there would be no stopping him.
During combat, Gasper adopted a habit of delivering unexpected thrusts at unexpected times towards random defenders. His quick thrusts had reaped the lives of three defenders so far, and his men had killed many others meanwhile.
He sniffed. ”Something is burning.” The smell was coming from one of the other walls. He spotted some smoke in the air above the eastern wall where Viper was attacking. It wasn't long before the burning smell turned into the odour of melting flesh, and he finally had an idea of what was happening.
He ignored the smell and focused on combat. If he could push his way through these reinforcements, then he would be the first to step inside the fortress. That would likely make him the first to reach Edgar's living quarters as well, which was what the Viscount needed him to do.
His men were spreading around the wall, flanking any defenders that were still hindering his ladder climbers. It didn't take long for the wall to fall into his hands, but the defenders on the stairs were still holding their ground, though no longer trying to climb onto the wall.
Gasper signaled for a few of his men who were bearing shields. ”Take the lead.” There were several dozen defenders prepared to stop him on the narrow stairs and below. Killing three or four of them wouldn't help him descend into the fortress. He had to push them down.
The shield bearers came to the front of combat and took the lead. They entangled themselves with the defenders and locked the combat into a balance of strength.
”Push behind them,” Gasper shouted.
His men complied and fell behind the shield bearers that were pushing against the defenders on the stairs. He joined his men's ranks and began pushing along with all his strength.
The defenders on the ground below were trying to support the ones faltering on the stairs, but they failed to stop Gasper's men from going down step by step.
Steadily, Gasper and his men began to climb down the stairs. The stairs were hardly wide enough for two men to climb down side by side, but if there was combat, it was likely that one of them would fall off. Fortunately, the front line of his men were the shield bearers that didn't have to do much in the way of combat at the moment. They just had to push and endure any attempted strikes from the enemy.
A few arrows flew from below and struck at his men. It was fortunate that he had a man between him and the arrows flying up, because that man received two arrows, one of them to the ribs. Several of his men fell down. But others soon replaced them. There were too many for the enemy to kill. But the arrows did slow his men's descent.
”Be careful of the arrows,” Gasper yelled. ”Those who have shields would do well to fucking use them.”
After the first two waves of arrows, his men adapted and began to keep an eye on the archers and take cover behind their shields if they had any.
The descent continued, and soon the first few of his men stepped on the ground. The defenders quickly surrounded the first arrivers of his men and cut them down faster than they could be replaced. But the push didn't stop. His men kept pushing down, and soon more of them were down on the ground.
The defenders surrounded them, but the ones that fell from Gasper's men were quickly replaced by others. In a few moments, Gasper found himself stepping onto the ground as well, surrounded by his men who were surrounded by enemies.
The man in front of him fell to an enemy's blow and he found himself facing one of the defenders. He stepped forward and took the place of the fallen subordinate.
His opponent took no respite and stepped in for a slash. Gasper blocked, and his eyes narrowed as the swords clanged against each other. His opponent was a Warrior.
Gasper noticed a bandage extending from the man's neck and towards his shoulder under the armor. At least they were both wounded. He stepped forward for a thrust, and his opponent parried it with a step back.
Gasper followed by a slash which the enemy Warrior blocked and returned twofold. Gasper blocked the first slash and parried the second one softly, following by a riposte towards the uninjured shoulder of his opponent. The latter barely evaded with a clumsy sidestep, losing him his balance. Gasper stepped in for a decisive strike, but another defender appeared beside him just at that moment. The defender struck at him fiercely.
Gasper tried to evade, but the new enemy was too close. He got his sword in the way, but the tip of the enemy's sword cut into his armor. Fortunately, it didn't break his skin. His sword and armor worked well together to strip all strength from the strike.
The Warrior that had lost his balance regained it and tried to make use of the opportunity to flank Gasper from the other side.
Gasper leapt back and created some distance between him and the two enemies. He fell back into the ranks of his men. He'd slightly stepped out of the ranks while fighting the enemy Warrior which had given the other enemy a chance to flank him.
His men kept pouring down the stairs, but their spread on the ground was limited by the enemies' encirclement. What the climbing defenders had faced on top of the wall, he was now facing below it.
But the numbers of the defenders were very limited. The encirclement would be broken sooner or later. Gasper preferred sooner though.
He stepped forward again and bait the second enemy into attempting a slash at him. He stopped and the slash whirred an inch in front of him. The failed slash gave him a moment for an attack. He extended both his foot and shoulder towards the enemy, delivering a quick thrust. The tip of his sword struck the shoulder of the enemy swiftly, drawing blood but not incapacitating the defender.
He stepped back into the ranks of the his men again. The wounded enemy followed him and tried to strike at him with an underhand slash. Gasper absorbed it with his sword, and one of his men who were by his side stepped forward, slashing his opponent's neck.
The Warrior that Gasper had been fighting before stepped in and killed the attacker that had just killed Gasper's opponent.
Gasper stepped forward to face the Warrior again. He'd almost killed the enemy Warrior a few moments ago. He didn't mind trying again.
The Warrior began by a swift thrust, which Gasper parried. Gasper's opponent tried another strike, slashing from the side, but Gasper easily blocked it. He answered the slash with two strikes which his opponent blocked as well.
The enemy Warrior appeared impatient and stepped forward with a weighty overhand strike. Gasper took a half a step back and parried the strike as softly as he could, rendering it harmless. He answered it with two thrusts, one to the Warrior's shoulder and the other towards his gut.
The Warrior bent to the side and avoided the first thrust, then hopped back and avoided the second. He then tried to swing his sword for another strike, but Gasper's thrusts weren't all he was going to receive. Gasper followed the thrusts with a kick that barely did anything aside from surprising the Warrior. But the surprise gave Gasper enough time to retract his sword and go for a serious stab.
Gasper's opponent saw the stab coming and stepped back at the same moment, attempting to push it aside with his sword. The Warrior's sword hit Gasper's but it wasn't strong enough to completely divert it away. It simply changed the stab's target from the chest to the shoulder. Gasper's sword sank into his opponent's flesh, severely wounding his shoulder.
The Warrior tried to use the momentary pause to deliver a strike of his own, but Gasper leapt to the side with his sword, and his opponent's strike missed.
Gasper didn't give the enemy Warrior time to attempt another strike. He swung his sword and bent down for a low slash.