And She Said She Loved Me... Chapter 6
By Black
Lepant, despite his injury, was able to walk. He had to limp, but he managed.
"When will the reinforcements arrive?" he asked Kasim.
"I don't know, probably tomorrow or the day after."
"We need to find Jan's army and form a plan. Even with the coming five-hundred men, we won't stand a chance against an army."
"You're right. Once reinforcements arrive, we'll move out. I've already sent Milo and Trench to scout Jan's possition."
"Kasim?" Lepant asked.
"Yes?"
"Do you... think that this war is pointless?"
"I don't know. Teo McDohl and myself were good friends, and I see a lot of him in his son. I serve Jan loyally."
"I do, too, but.. many people will die all at the cost of saving a girl."
"If it were Eileen-"
"I know, that is the reason I'm here."
***
"All right, men!" Jan called out. "Be allert! We need to cross through this mountain pass, and this is a perfect place for an ambush. My scouts don't report any activity, but still, keep a sharp look out."
They rode carefully through the pass for about half an hour when, "Stop!"
Jan turned around to see two men on horseback riding up.
They saluted smartly, then gave their report.
"What? Lepant's army crushed? How many cavalry men did he take out?" Jan asked.
"Um, zero, sir."
"All right. We will make camp when we reach the end of the pass."
"Wait, Commander." Milich spoke up. "What if we were to set up camp here, and make a little ambush of our own?"
In response to this, an arrow shot through his shoulder.
"What's this?" Jan asked, a confused look on his face.
Fifty more arrows flew from the mountain top.
"Ambush! All troops disperse! Milich, lead some troops out of the pass through the north. Cleo, take some more back the way we came. Milo, Trench, and I will stay here with a small regiment and hold off the attackers."
"Master Jan! We can't leave you in danger!" Cleo pleaded.
"The lives of several thousand men are more important than mine. We'll meet up with you once we have room to retreat. It'll be hell having this many men ride through such a narrow passage."
"Come back alive!" Cleo said, and rode off, followed by her troops. Milich was already gone.
"Milo, Trench, organize some archers. Take down as many as you can until we can retreat."
Milo began forming two rows of archers, when an arrow struck right in the eye. The archers fired wrecklessly into the mountains without leadership.
Trench took five arrows into his body, blood gushing onto the ground like a fountain.
Jan looked around and wathced more troops fall from arrows. Then, it stopped. The enemy troops retreated.
***
Milich Oppenheimer rode swiftly through the pass, nearly a thousand men trying to squeeze through the narrow pass. He saw a bend up ahead, and hoped that would lead to a clearing. As he turned the corner, one of the biggest men he had ever seen, followed by a largy army of men were there waiting.
Milich was confused. What the hell was all this?, he thought.
The large man smiled wickedly and rode forth. Milich stared at him with icy eyes, his sword at the ready. "Who are you, and what do you want?" he called out.
"My name's Brorj. And I want you dead." as he got just a few feet away, Brorj jumped off his horse, wielding an enormous battle ax. He lopped Milich's head clean off, then landed back on his horse and turned around. Blood sprayed out of Milich's neck and stained the grass a good shade of crimson. The headless rider fell off the horse and made a loud thud when it hit the ground.
The remaining troops didn't know what to do, and didn't know what confused them more: the fact that a great war hero had just been slain effortlessly, or the fact that Brorj's army was charging forth while their rear guard was met by a barrage of arrows.
***
"Jan!" Cleo shouted as she rode up next to him.
"Cleo, so you made it out alive."
"I'm more surprised that you made it out. Where's Milich?"
"There's a forest past the mountains, we'll have to go the long way around the mountains, but we'll meet him there."
"All right. We'll organize the troops then move out."
***
"My Lord?" Braja asked.
"Yes?"
"Will we..win?"
"Of course we will win. Our troops number over two-hundred thousand."
"Then...we really have no need for the girl."
"No," Ronland responded, "we don't."
.