Chapter 410: Siege in the Valley

Magnus rode his horse at the head of his army. By his side, Cassius and Ash sat. He had never wanted to bring Ash with him, but when his mercenary band refused to march without their leader, Magnus was forced to reconsider. After thinking on the matter, he finally realised it wasn’t a terrible problem. The risk of death always existed, but in return, Ash could prove himself willing to fight for his throne.

So far, Ash had only claimed the throne through blood ties, but if his reputation grew from the war, it would be perfect. Peeking at the man, he couldn’t help but feel a slight feeling of fear. It was almost instinctive seeing his empty, abyal eyes and pale white skin. Adding his black armour over it and his long black hair, he looked like a wraith from hell.

"Shouldn’t you tie that up?" Cassius said with concern.

"Fear is just as good a tool as a sword." Ash had long learnt how to use his appearance as a tool on the battlefield, and whilst he risked not tying his hair, it applied to his already ghostly appearance.

"Okay," Cassius said without giving it a second thought as he looked at the valley ahead. "I’ll get the men in position. This fort is a hassle to attack but not imperntrable." Mangus nodded to his cousin and watched him ride deeper into the camp. Looking back at the valley, he couldn’t help but frown. It was a place that could only be conquered through sheer combat. Siege artillery was useless, and cavalry was ineffective. It couldn’t be encircled without a major detour, and Magnus didn’t have the time to do so.

Jumping off his horse, Magnus grabbed the helmet that hung on his horse’s side and watched the valley. Looking behind him, he remembered what Ash said and fell into deep thought.’If most of our weapons are ineffective why not use fear.’

His lips curled as he ran to chase Cassius. "Cousin." Grabbing his shoulder, he smiled, "I have a plan."

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In the darkness, the two moons hung high, peeking through the valley like a pair of eyes. Octavius watched the entrance into the valley with a cold gaze as men lined the wall. He heard the movement of the enemy camp before they began their assault and was able to quickly prepare. By his side, Ramiel walked over with his helmet under his arm.

"To attack at night is dangerous," Ramiel said in surprise as he watched.

"This isn’t Cassius’ plan. He’s more orthodox in his strategy." Octavius frowned, not understanding why they attacked at night.

"Are you sure?" Getting a nod from his friend, he put his helmet on and lowered the face guard. Pulling his sword, he closed his eyes and spoke a silent prayer. In the distance, Octavious watched. Across the entire valley, the sound of a deafening explosion sounded as hundreds of soldiers in the darkness slammed their swords into their shields.

The sound echoed through every hall, off every wall of the valley. In the distance, he saw the first spark of light as the first row of attackers lit their torches. In the dim distance, everyone saw the first sign of light. Behind it, the faces of hundreds of hardened warriors lit up, their faces a blend of light and darkness, creating an ethereal feeling that they were facing an army of the damned.

From the front, one man moved forward. He towered over everyone, his skin pale like that of a dead man. His body towered over everyone as his long hair loosely flowed behind him, merging into the darkness beneath. By his side, two soldiers in pure black armour followed, their faces covered.

Octavius heard his men gulp, seeing Ash step forward, as if he were a king of hell leading his forces. With a single raise of his hand, the slamming of the shield behind him stopped, and silence engulfed the entire valley again. The two soldier by his side lifted their torches high into the sky before dropping them, followed by the men behind him.

In the silence, Octavious heard everything. Each subtle movement, each nervous breath and the slight clashing of armour. He focused intensely on it, and from above, he heard the sound of pebbles falling and smashing against the ground below.

Octavius didn’t hesitate to look above and saw men from above readying their arrows. "ENEMIES ABOVE!" Octavius screamed as he grabbed his shield, leaning against the wall. Grabbing Ramiel, he raised his shield to block the two as his men broke out of their trance and copied. Arrows rained down from above as the sound of hundreds of men running echoed in the valley walls.

"Where are the Tempalrsd above?" Octavius asked in a panicked tone as he felt arrows crash against his shield.

"They did not expect an assault at night. They retreated. The spotter must have been silenced before he could warn them to prepare." Rameil said in a calm tone as he peeked over the wall. "They will have noticed the disturbance and rushed up there already." Octavius sighed and nodded.

"ARCHERS! PREPARE AND FIRE!" Octavius cried out as he slowly stood up and looked over the wall. Giant shadows reflected on the wall as the stamping got louder. Soon, the black shadows on the wall vanished as the final torch was extinguished.

None of Octavius’ men hesitated to follow his orders and fired on the approaching enemy below. They blindly fired into the darkness, only knowing they hid their target from the pained screams that followed. Despite knowing they were killing their enemy, each scream amplified the sense of dread every man felt in the valley.

Minutes passed as the arrow fired from above slowly died down, and the sound of fighting broke out. Octavius noticed instantly that the Templars had arrived to cover the top. Before he could sigh in relief, a large booming sound echoed as the wall shook. Grabbing a torch on the wall, he threw it down at the gate and saw the siege ram smashing into the gate whilst others threw ladders up onto the wall.

"SWORDS!" Octavius cried out once more as he pulled his own blade. "I will leave this side to you." Ramiel gave him a confident nod, and Octavius ran to the other end of the wall. "PREPARE FOR BREACH!" Octavius cried out to those below, who quickly readied their swords. Passing a culdron that hovered above the gate, he helped his men tip it over.

Black liquid fell from it, and Octavoius acted quickly. Grabbing another torch, he threw it over. A large fireball shot up into the sky as the panicked and painful screams of men below cried in agony as they burned alive. The slamming of the ram stopped for a while as a pool of fire surrounded it but some men didn’t care and quickly replaced those buyrnign alive not careing about their comrades plight.

Octavoius reached the other side of the wall, greeted by one of the attackers who had scaled the wall. Without hesitation, he stabbed his sword through the man’s eyes and pulled out before pushing the ladder off. He no longer acknowledged the screams as four more ladders appeared.

Magnus’s men climbed up without delay, and a few managed to make a breach. Hitting a sword away with his shield, the attacker tumbled quickly and was killed by Octavius’ sword. His moves were fluid as he pulled his sword out and spun his shield into another face. The second attacker fell to the ground and was quickly killed by one of Octavius’ men. Moving forward, he blocked an attack from above with his sword, and fell on one knee slightly. With his strength, he pushed the man back and slammed his shield in the man’s stomach. Stepping back, he swung his sword diagonally, slightly missing his mark. It was a moment of peace between the two as the attacker moved again, the adrenaline rush from nearly dying fueling his moves.

Octaavus held his shield, blocking the fury of attackers being thrown at him as he quickly breathed to catch his breath again. Only after his breathing calmed down did he suddenly counter. The attacker expected it, and when pushed by Octavious, the shield didn’t fumble as badly as before. In the opening, Octavius swung his shield down heavily. Octavious reacted quickly and blocked with his sword. With his shield, he swung into the man’s head, making him fall to the side and over the wall.

His breathing was heavy again, and stopping for a second, he focused on defending to gather himself. "DO NOT FALTER! AS LONG AS I STAND WE SHALL HAVE GOD ON OUR SIDE!" Octavius cried out through ragged breath as he blocked another attack with his shield. Pushing the sword away, he was quickly forced to block another attack, unable to finish his opponent off.

Even in the dark, hardly able to see his enemy’s moves, his eyes radiated an eerie calmness. Even if he couldn’t see, neither could his enemy. By his side, two of his men held their shields, focusing on defending Octavius, allowing him to storm through the few men who climbed onto the wall.

Another attack flew out as one of Octavius’ men blocked it. All he could do was put his faith in them as he stepped forward and stabbed deep into the man’s chest. Letting go of his sword, he raised his shield above his head and reached behind his back, pulling out a smaller blade. Flipping it in his hand, he skillfully controlled the light blade. Pushing the new attacker away, his men blocked another attack, letting him close the distance.

Stabbing his blade into the man’s side, he pulled it out and reseated it on his back and picked up the sword he had let go of. A pained cry came from his side, telling him one of his men had died, and without hesitation, Octavius spun his shield to force anyone who would attack back.

He composed himself and took a few deep breaths before charging in again. Blocking another attack with his sword, he slammed his shield into the man, pushing him into one of his allies. Pulling his arm back, he stuck with all his might through the man’s throat.

His sword struggled to pierce through the two, only able to kill one, but the other held his throat in pain as blood seeped through his fingers. Octavius kicked the man he killed into the injured attacker, sending him to the ground as the man on his left stabbed his sword through the corpse into the living soldier.

Finally reaching the ladder, he killed another who tried to climb up and pushed him down, hearing the cries from those who were still climbing. "HOLD THE LINE!" Octabius cried as he turned to deal with another breach. Many were cleared without his help, but a few still existed.