Chapter 10
- The Battle for Omerta
Issin
strutted through the ranks of men towards the platform that had been prepared
for him. He climbed the stairs and
turned to face his men. Issin raised his
left hand in the salute of Dewvron, and six-hundred men responded in the same
fashion. Lowering his hand, he
spoke. "Today, we go into
battle. This small, poorly armed force
that we face is all that stands between us and claiming the last of Omerta in
the name of the Empire of Dewvron. We
are the hand of the Empire, and that hand must close around what was once
ours. With this victory, we will
complete one step in our path to reclaiming the continent, and returning
Dewvron to how it was hundreds of years ago!
With our victory today, we begin the unification of the world!" Issin returned to his tent through the crowd
of cheering soldiers with a menacing grin.
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The
Omertan soldiers stood ready, prepared to defend the castle against any
attack. Behind them were placed a
hundred archers, arrows ready. They
simply stood, staring at the hill from which their enemy would come.
Finally,
a sharp yell from over the hill broke the silence. "First and second firearm squads! Advance!" A group of armored soldiers rushed up the
hill and fired rifles and pistols into the Omertan ranks. Soldiers fell left and right, dying and
screaming. The Omertan archers let fly
their arrows into the advancing troops, decimating them.
"Infantry,
advance!" Five hundred men armed
with blades rushed over the hill, with Issin at the lead. Issin formed a large tower shield of ice as
the next wave of arrows approached. Most
of the Dewvronian soldiers with shields came through unscathed.
The
Omertan archers saw that the enemy charged on, only twenty dead. The archers began an organized retreat into
the castle, the drawbridge closing fast behind them. The infantry stopped just short of the great
moat that seperated them from the castle.
Issin aimed his hands at the ground just before the moat and
focused. A large ice bridge quickly
formed, spanning the moat. Issin fell
back exhausted as a small group of soldiers went across the bridge with a
battering ram.
When
they finally broke through, Issin led the troops into the castle, where they
slaughtered everyone they came across.
Issin led a small squad away from the main force, heading for the throne
room. He burst into the room and rushed
the throne while his soldiers dispatched the guards. Raising his palm, Issin fired an icicle into
each of the king's shoulders, pinning him to the chair. "Greetins, King Farradai. I am an emissary of Dewvron. I bring you a gift." Issin pushed the king's head upward, baring
his throat. He then formed a small knife
and forced it through Farradai's neck.
"My gift to you is to spare you the more torturous death that
Selphrin would inflict on you." The
king leaned forward, dead, the icicles still supporting his limp frame. Issin turned and left the room to rejoin the
melee.
The
castle was taken within the hour.