The Union

"Rise!" a dozen more similar shouts echoed.

"Rise!" now there were hundreds. And the hundreds turned into thousands.

Helios felt uneasy on his seat. The shouts brought trepidation. He felt like an prey facing a mult.i.tude of predators with a single mind. The hair on his arms rose. A chill struck his spine. He shifted a little towards Ivan.

"Make them stop!" He shouted to Ivan but his own shout was lost among loud cries of the serfs.

The n.o.bles were also scared. They were restless. The mercenary captains on the other hand acted calm. They were the first to move. They ordered their soldiers to present a perimeter around the serfs.

But it was too late. Too late indeed.

Helios did not see how it started. After a single blink of an eye he saw that the serfs were already fighting the mercenaries in a fierce melee. Many of the serfs were unarmed. Some had crude weapons. But they still slammed against the mercenaries.

Chaos. It was chaos. Fighting erupted from all sides. Blood flowed- both belonging to serfs and mercenaries. They clashed. They fought. They died.

Men fell in the hundreds. Most of them were serfs. Unarmed fighters were no matched to the mercenaries.

But the mercenaries were outnumbered heavily. There were only a few hundred of them present at the moment. Most of the mercenaries were either sleeping, on sentry duty or on patrol. The line of the mercenaries would soon fall.

Helios knew that there was no calming the crowd now. The serfs exhibited fury. Only death would calm them. He grabbed Ivan"s arm.

"Let"s go! We need to live. You need to live. We still need you"

Ivan looked blankly at Helios and with a nod he followed. The n.o.bles were also scramming. It was every man for himself. Helios stepped down from the platform while tugging Ivan behind. They started running towards their camp. Only the bulk force of mercenaries could save them now. Five thousand mercenaries should be enough to slaughter the serfs. It was a shame losing the serfs but they had no choice.

Three serfs ran towards them. Helios" hands erupted in flames. He grabbed a serf by the neck and the man started burning. The other two were taken back by what happened. They hesitated. That was their mistake. Helios grabbed another serf by the tunic. The cloth burned and the serf screamed. He was done for. A fiery death for a lowly serf.

The remaining serf looked at him in disbelief. The serf stepped back and started running away. Helios wanted to burn that one too. He wanted his flame to engulf the lowly serf. But they don"t have much time. Even his flames cannot stop them from getting overwhelmed.

He gestured for Ivan to continue running towards the camp. It didn"t take them long to reach the safe haven.

The camp was already awake when they arrived. The mercenaries must have heard the commotion. Soldiers clad in armor were starting to form lines of defense around the camp. The officers were chanting orders to organize the defense. Upon seeing Helios and Ivan the mercenaries divided and let them inside. n.o.bles and mercenaries that survived the onslaught of the serfs were also permitted inside the safety of the camp.

Helios was panting and so was Ivan. They had just survived a fatal encounter. But now that they had organized a defense, the rebellious serfs would soon all die. Those serfs would burn.

"Enemies!" A cry rang from a mercenary not far from them. The mercenary pointed to the north.

Helios looked to the direction. Men with tattered and muddy clothes emerged from the darkness. Some of them were b.l.o.o.d.y. They were the serfs. Their numbers alone could make a brave man lose his courage.

"To the east sire! To the east I see something!" another mercenary shouted.

Helios turned his head to the east. The city of Anthapis rests like a giant. But when he looked at the gates he frowned heavily. The defenders had sallied forth. Several thousand were marching towards their direction. On their hands were spears and swords and shields. Some carried crossbows. The man at the very front was waving the flag of Earl Vernice. Painted on the cloth was the image of two stalks of wheat with a scythe in the middle.

But before Helios could let out a curse another shout of despair rang.

"The west! I see the lion! Oh G.o.d it"s the lion!"

Several hors.e.m.e.n emerged from the trees in the west. From their postures and movements it was apparent that these group of newcomers were veterans. Their discipline emanated, giving fear to the mercenaries. But the most terrifying part of the newcomers was the flag they fly. Two crossed swords above a white lion. It was the flag of the King.

The ground started to shake. Enemies from three sides began their a.s.sault. Helios knew that the mercenaries wouldn"t stand a chance.

"Let"s flee" He tugged Ivan

"But we can still..."

"We can"t. All is lost" Helios pointed at a group of trembling mercenaries "You. Yes, all of you. Come with us. Prepare the horses"

The mercenaries complied. They were able to gather the few horses in the camp. In a moment he and Ivan had mounted two of the horses. But two n.o.bles had also realized the futility of the defense. They tried to take the horses from the mercenaries for themselves.

"Give me the reins!"

"Lowly sellsword!"

Helios has no need for these n.o.bles. All of them are useless to him now. He would rather have mercenaries than n.o.bles with soft hands.

He swung down from his horse. Stepping towards the two n.o.bles he prepared the flames in his hands. He swatted them away, making sure that their garments would catch the fire. In the darkness and in the snow the two n.o.bles burned. Just like the serfs earlier they screamed. The dozen or so mercenaries looked at him with bulging eyes. Ivan on the other hand just lowered his head.

Helios didn"t mind the reaction of the people around him. Let them awe, he thought. Let them fear. He doesn"t care. All he wanted was to survive this. He wanted to live another day so he could again do his job.

He walked towards his horse and pushed himself up.

"Let"s go. To the south" he commanded

The mercenaries remained still for a while but they soon moved. It seemed that the enemies were more terrifying than his flame. He was a bit disappointed but looking at the charging King"s veterans, the defenders of Anthapis, and the raging serfs- he could not blame them.

While riding his horse Helios looked back. It was out of mere curiosity. He was right. The mercenaries failed to hold. They caved in even before the enemies made contact. Their lines bent inward. Most of them routed. They say that mercenaries were loyal only to gold. That wasn"t really true. They were loyal to themselves and no amount of riches could make them sacrifice their lives for their employers.

Helios heaved a sigh. He had lost. He was hoping to at least make Ivan the King of Castonia to help them during the cull. But fate wasn"t good to him. He underestimated the resentment of the serfs against their liege lords.

But this will not be the end. He will not give up. There were more ways to bring chaos in Castonia.

**********

From a small hill Leopold saw the battle. It wasn"t a battle he corrected himself. Mercenaries getting overwhelmed couldn"t be called a battle. His guards, Braun and Shadow were with him.

Shadow pointed towards something to the south. "It"s them. They are escaping"

Leopold traced Shadow"s finger. At the distance there were a little more than a dozen hors.e.m.e.n riding away from the battle.

"You think it"s Ivan and the old man you are acquainted with?"

"Yes. I know that old man. I know his habits. I know how he thinks. He will try again. The eastern part of your nation will never taste peace as long as he is alive"

Although Leopold understands the threat the old man brings, he cares more about Ivan. He wanted to meet the idiot and drag him to Nirvana even if he has to.

Leopold looked behind. Including Rupert and Braun there were no more than twenty of them. If they are to give chase, it will be a tough fight. It will be dangerous especially for him and Braun who were not really fighters. But they can"t let them escape or else their headache in the eastern region will not end.

"Let"s go" Leopold said loudly so everybody could hear. He looked at Rupert "Don"t worry I will stay behind you"

Rupert nodded as agreement.

Leopold clucked his tongue. He tugged the reins of his mount. The trained horse moved forward. It began as a trot. Soon their horses were galloping. The chase had begun and Leopold couldn"t wait to smack that idiot son of his.