Chapter 95: The Safrid Brothers Troubles

William once more swung his sword. The Safrid soldiers had been unable to defend in time and felt the blade pierce through his shoulder. It was the breaking point. William could see it was one of the commanders by their armour. The man grabbed his wound and ran back. The men around saw their commander run away, and morale plummeted. For every soldier, they had killed, at least three died. It was a slaughter where they hardly saw the Kingdom’s soldiers’ bodies on the floor.

With their backs turned in a full retreat, William smiled. "ALL MEN! GIVE CHASE!" Their blood boiled hearing the order. Running forward, not taking prisoners they slaughtered those with their backs turn like cattle. The reserve force that had been watching quickly followed behind. It was a massacre and any that escaped out the city gates found themselves being trampled by the Caverly that always lingered.

Marcus saw the Safrid begin to retreat. Unlike with William, it wasn’t because they broke, but because the battle had been lost. They were tight not allowing for an opening as they exited the gates. Marcus stood with his men, not giving chase. Their retreat was too compact and he knew he would just be throwing away the lives of his people for no reason.

The sight was similar all around the city. Some broke and ran in panic and fear, whilst others steadily retreated, not giving the opportunity to be chased after. The cheering of the Kingdom soldiers erupted. They celebrated their win and mourned the dead. Marcus made his way over towards the area William would roughly be in. He was tired and filthy, but he wore a huge smile.

"General." Marcus gave a salute. William waved him off with a smile on his face.

"How bad?" William asked.

"The first wall was the main killer. After that, not bad at all. Out of all that we faced, near a thousand maybe, not even that." Marcus gave a deep exhale after finishing. William nodded. He had expected the higher casualties from him after lossing the first defence and although it was a lot, he knew that they had given at least triple that to the Safrids. "Your boy. You seen him yet?" Marcus asked taking a sip from his bottle.

William gave a firm shake of the head. "He was on the other side, don’t expect him to be able to get here so quickly." William paused before speaking again, "I have received a couple of letters. First, the Safrid traitor has prepared everything for us. Just a matter of marching on the capital. Second, his Highness will be returning soon."

"He dealt with the invasion already." Marcus put a face of amazement on, "The Unyeilding that the Marquess made is something I tell you that."

William shook his head, "No. No battle really happened. Charles sent word. It’s not all good. No details, just His Highness seems volatile right now." William said in a bitter tone. He knew the details thanks to Charles’s letter, but there was no chance he would say to Marcus, no matter how much he trusted him.

"Oh. Anyway, we should wait for His Highness before we march onto the capital. He needs to be the liberator if we want this to be smooth." Marcus gave his insight getting a shake of the head from William.

"No. We have Nasr’s forces on the run right now. We give chase. We rest today, but then we move. First I need to find out the casualties." William dismissed the idea. He knew that now was the time to run and Alfred would understand. He thought about the traitor within the Sultanate and knew that he would keep the gates closed if Nasr returned.

Nasr on the other hand gritted his teeth as he looked back at the city. His forces were driven out and although he knew that it would be a struggle to take it he thought that alteast he would have something to show for by the end. He couldn’t even kill William let alone get deep into the city.

"Your Highness. News from the Capital." A runner came up to Nasr holding two notes. It wasn’t a lie to say he was nervous opening them. Looking at the first from John he gave a small smile. A new network of operatives being ready was something that he needed right now. Taking the second he recognised Adrian’s handwriting. Reading its contents he clenched his teeth.

"Fucking Yusuf." News of the lack of support now available was the final nail in the coffin. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep the campaign south going. Maybe a month longer was all he could do, but then his men would begin to starve. He needed something fast, a way to end the war or cause a massive hit to the Kingdom. Looking at John’s letter once more, an idea formed. One he hadn’t used in a while.

Harun sat in Ali’s fort. He had met the Grand Prince on the field twice now. Although they had won once, they still were pushed back. Harun knew to hold his place. Ali’s fort was the link between the North and South without having to use the Northern Highway. Alexei would have to attack him. Despite this he was nervous. His men were still distraught about Ali’s death and morale had never recovered.

His wound had made his hand unusable now, only able to hold the lightest of things with it. He hated Nasr and clenched his fist only to quickly unclench, hurting himself. His door opened. Zahra walked in with a gentle smile. Harun returned it, his mind quickly clearing up. "You mustn’t be so tense, brother. You have to keep a clear mind." Zahra took a seat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know. It’s just grandfather’s death has made things harder. They had lost the fire in them that they had at the start of the conflict." Harun put his face into his hands. "They will fight the Grand Prince, but there is no desire to march back South after. They don’t even want revenge anymore."

"You should expect this. Grandfather portrayed himself as someone bigger than life. For him to die, especially at the hands of someone like Nasr would be a hit to anyone who knew him." Zahra spoke with a soft voice. Harun could only silently nod.

"You’re right. As long as they fight for the North then it’s all that matters. I’m sure Nasr must be struggling enough with the invasion down south." Harun hadn’t even realised it yet himself, but he had become like his men. He didn’t even think of marching South anymore, instead hoping that Nasr would die unrelated to him. He was past the point of wanting revenge, having the issue of the Grand Prince to deal with instead.

"You should rest. You have been planning non-stop on how to deal with the invasion, and you are forgetting to take care of yourself." Zahra grabbed his head, placing it on her lap. "How long has it been since I done this for you? You must have been 10 when you still had those nightmares." A gentle hand brushed through his hair, as Harun’s eyes slowly closed. He was tired. His mind went back to his childhood for the first time in a while and a soft smile formed.

Unlike Harun, Ivan was full of smiles as he spoke to his father. "They are scared. They no longer leave Ali’s fort and just wait." Ivan threw himself onto a chair. Alexei with an emotionless face just nodded his head, not looking up at Ivan and focusing on the work below him.

"It’s smart. But it does show weakness. Ali never hid. He would force us back or die trying. The only problem is Mansa. He’s not marching to Ali but waiting. I can’t tell what he wishes to do." Alexei spoke with annoyance and Ivan just laughed it off.

"He has, what, 2 thousand men. It’s fine father. I know a good general can win when outnumbered but we have 20 thousand men." Ivan continued to push off the threat Mansa posed. He hadn’t been in the war all those years ago. He didn’t know the threat that could be posed and it could only cause Alexei to shake his head. His son’s confidence was a great strength but it bordered on arrogance many times.

"I understand your point Ivan, and yes there is such a gap where good leadership can’t make it up, but if he attacks us when we siege Ali’s castle then we are trapped between one of the hardest forts to siege in the surrounding nations and an army led by a skilled general." He put his papers down and looked Ivan in the eyes, "Do not underestimate him. I tell you many times and you never listen."

"Ok, father," Ivan said with an exhausted tone. He got up and left, leaving the man alone. He couldn’t be asked to have another lecture from his father. He knew that Mansa was a threat, but it felt like his father had biased fear towards him. He wanted to ask if anything had happened in the war all those years ago but knew better than to make his father angry if something did happen.