Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 111: The battle of berth

Berth

Arial

1014 AF Whitemonth

Arial had conquered North Fort and executed those who had not surrendered.

He made sure they suffered dearly for their insubordination.

After all, they had shown no mercy when they executed his troops.

Arial stationed some wounded men and healer to heal them while the other moved again.

Many of his soldiers suffer burns but he will make sure that the one responsible pay dearly for what they did to his troops.

Arial even visited the infirmary and traded words with those soldiers which is rare for such a noble personage to show such care and concern for some lowly soldiers that usually comes from the peasantry.

This is the reason why the Vermont soldiers is so loyal to their young lords. Arial did give them silvers and golds, but it is all to win their hearts.

And Arial himself cares about the soldiers.

After all, he used to be one of them too. He knows that a kind word to his soldiers would made they feel appreciated.

Arial had seen too much of stuck up nobles who did not even have the courtesy to appreciate the men who fought for them and died for them.

It is this sense of familiarity that easily win the hearts of his soldiers.

The families of the fallen will be compensated by his family treasury. After the visit he returns to his war tent.

The reinforcement is reported to be arriving in a few days.

Many advise him to wait for them to come to bolster his rank, replenishes the army

But he could not wait that long.

He knew he can conquer Revan quite easily.

So, he ordered the march

He had ordered his men to continue their march forward to Berth, a city near Revan.

Reinforcement would arrive soon, he assured them.

So they marched, broken and hurt, shivering in the cold, their common goal keeping them sane of mind.

The army this time is under his command, Lord Paris, Lord Henry, Ser West, Ser Kyle, Knight Lisa, but not Helia.

Everyone was with him, except Helia.

He had managed to dissuade her from pursuing the march.

After all, in battle nothing is certain. He, with great persuasion, appealed to her heart, to find it the courage, not to fight but to stay, for him.

For his own peace of heart.

It is selfish but Arial fear he would lose her, and the knowledge that he was the one that send her to her death would be too unbearable for him to bear.

The march keeps on moving and they are inching closer to Revan

Arial had devised a simple plan to capture the city.

He would station thirty thousand men on the heathland of a ridge between the villages surrounding the city.

Archers would commence the attack by firing flaming arrows on an unexperienced enemy that was not expecting the battle.

The goal was to cause such panic that they would abandon their post and be completely disorganized.

Then an opportunity for victory would arise.

The Dragon forces arrived in Berth within two days.

The city did not have walls like most medium to small cities.

The troops positioned themselves and waited for the opportune time to attack.

Sir West was stationed at the south of the ridge, flanked by thousands of archers. A small rearguard was behind Arial, led by Kyle in case there was any need for a retreat.

It seemed the city had received some advance notice of the attack.

There were troops waiting for them, and they were ready to take on the dragon army. Looking at them, Arial realized theses were not unexperienced soldiers.

The battlefield was narrow and small; the Argan River surrounded the city, and there was a plateau on the right flank of Arial troops.

Some lords speculate that the Shield force hid a force within the woods to ambush them, but this is probably a rumor.

But better safe than sorry, so he already sent a scout yesterday and there is no such thing that awaits them.

The Shield forces stared at Arial's army and waited patiently for the battle to begin.

"Use your shields," Arial suddenly yelled. The experienced one quickly put it over their body saving them from the volleys.

Those who are not got arrows stuck on their bodies, some on their feet, some meet death on the first volley

The battle had begun.

The Shield forces released volleys of arrows into the air, indicating that the battle had commenced.

The narrow field was soon littered with bodies; anguishing screams filled the air.

"Tortoise Formation!" Arial yelled again.josei

Arial's troops reformed and moved in squared formations while having all sides protected by shields.

He had mercilessly drilled his troops in this formation after the conquest of North Fort.

His troops definitely had weaknesses when it came to defense and this formation—which he dreamed about during his transition in this timeline—was a perfect solution.

The Shield forces looked on in amazement as their arrows no longer had effect on the closing enemy.

Instead of moving backwards Arial soldiers advanced with a steady pace, not too fast but not too slow either.

Arial on the other hand use mostly his palm attack to deflect the arrows from ever reaching him

They could do nothing but wait as they were getting surrounded, fear in their eyes growing as they battled with the idea that they were about to meet their demise.

"Give me my spear," Arial said to one of his knights.

The knight handed him the spear.

Arial take it, brought it over his head and smile. The spear is heavy.

He takes a deep breath and using his internal strength to add power to his throw, he throws the spear with such a force it was like something exploded in the area around him.

The wind was ripped apart by the force as the sound of ripping could be heard.

The spear fly like a thunderbolt being hurled down from the sky as it pierces one of the enemies Knight, pierces his heart.

The spear did not stuck itself into the chest of that knight.

Instead the force of that spear continued on.

It penetrated the knight chest and then tear through his heart and spine and continue piercing the person behind that knight.

And it continues until it pierces around seven people and two knights. One spear is enough to kill nine people.

Shock rippled through the Shield troops. Shock and fear intermixed with each other causing their morale to drop.

"Surrender! You will be spared if you surrender now!" Arial yelled, his voice remorseless.

"Never!" the enemy commander yelled defiantly.

"You leave me no choice but to show no mercy on your wretched souls!" Arial shouted back.

The Dragon motioned his troops to move and like a wave, they launched forward with a raging roar.

Especially in that restricted arena of battle, the battle became swords with swords, hand to hand, axe to axe, hammer to hammer, knife to knife and Arial even jump down from his horse and enter the melee battle.

Bodies laid on the ground, many mutilated, some were stomped by other people who are still fighting as their teeth crack and fall into their throats and they die of choking on their own teeth.

Arial charged forward confidently.

Using a technique called Lion Bite, it was not that hard for him to wrestle weapons from the enemies.

'Yahh!' one troops run to him with a hammer.

He got a bladed weapon from one of the troops he just killed so Arial delivered him a blow to his head and his head exploded into an explosion of meat and blood.

He had blood drenched on him as his black armor had turned red.

The white snow beneath his feet was also dyed red, a beautiful scene tainted by the blood of men and their ambitions.

Beside him, one of his Knights come from behind, as he swung a blade towards a man skull, carving a down-to up trajectory through the air.

The blow opens a large horizontal gash into the back of the enemy head, like a slit in the windowsill with blood spurting out from the gash and the man scream. 

And the blood splashed to Arial Knight while his hands are trembling, either from excitement or fear.

War is hell, he mused.

He experienced it before. But this war is needed, because the war that will come on the destined day, is a lot brutal, more bloody, and more saddening.

"Duck!" Arial cried out to one of his knights, and as the man did, the Dragon tried to decapitate a soldier with one swoop of his sword.

The blow opened a large horizontal gash into the head of the enemy, and blood splashed onto his Knight.

Fear and uncertainty.

It looks a lot like his eyes before.

This time Arial grab a big hammer from some of the enemies Knights which has a very big build and he use the very same hammer he uses to smash his troops head, to crush his head.

Brain matter exploded and fall to the snowy lands.

Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, Arial spotted an enemy soldier that had pinned down Kyle and was about to plant his sword in him.

Arial jumped with the big hammer, and with the force of power, he strikes a blow to the enemy head and his head smashed like a pumpkin in summertime.

He died instantly. He was soon by Kyle's side covering for him while giving him some time to recover

"Thanks for the assistance, Arial," Kyle said, relieved that his life had just been saved.

"Anytime," Arial replied. Kyle was looking at the other part of the battlefield.

"I must go help my sister." Arial nodded as Kyle fought his way through to the other side of the battle.

Arial focused his attention as he began slaughtering soldiers, like he is butcher and this area of battle is his slaughterhouse

One enemy soldier tried to pierce him with his sword.

Arial performed Lion Bite, and take the sword away from him and with the very same sword he attacks him, the sword arced towards him.

This one blow is powerful enough to bisect his face, opening a crevice that ran from his left eye to his right jaw.

It cut deep and lethal.

The sword reached to the back of his throat. And the looks on his face was regret. Then he presses on.

There are many battles that the forces of the Shied and the Vermont's employed against each other, and the battle turns to week, with his forces sometimes retreating and sometimes it was their forces.

then in the morning they would resume their battle.

It was the bloodiest battle so far between the Shield forces and the Spear.

But Arial believed in this clash, this bloody battle, for he understood this would be the turning point of the war, one to avoid a bigger war.

And while he looked at the carnage in front of him, he was not surprised at what he saw.

There is a reason why this battle in particular is the bloodiest in the course of the war between those who supported Alderam and those who supported King Adrian

After many skirmishes, and battles many of the lords here has scores to settle, many of whom, who has a seething hatred towards Alderam stems from his action orchestrating the Bloody Feast.

In previous encounters with those who swear fealty to Alderam, efforts had been made to spare enemy nobles and soldiers.

But here, in the North?

Vengeance and hatred run deep. His forces wanted revenge for what Alderam had done to their relatives during the Bloody Feast.

Orders went out from the other lords to their banner man, that no quarter will be given. This is to be winner takes all, a brutal fight to the death. 

Today has been two weeks since their last encounter and every day they battle from dawn till afternoon. Today, they once again press on to attack.

But today is the most intense fight because it seems victory is so close, Arial could almost feel it in my hands.

Suddenly, sound of yelling and roaring could be heard coming from the forest. Arial smiles looking at the forest

His reinforcements had arrived on time, ready to join the battle.

They flung into the Shield forces' left flank.

Gradually, slowly but surely, the Shield line gave away until the line broke and the troops running for their lives fled towards the river and hundreds, if not thousands were drowned, while those who could swim were shot by arrows.

Arial was once again on his horse, taking in the entire battlefield and measuring his troops.

The other lords were also in battle, hatred in their eyes, decapitating and amputating the enemy troops with their slash and their relentless assault.

The level of violence was shocking as his troops summarily executed tired and disoriented Shield soldiers.

The enemies, tired and disoriented, make quite the easy enemies, and the lords have quite the time to indulge in their revenge.

And then Arial reached the river at the end of the battle, with corpses, mound of corpses fills the city front, and he could see limbs, legs, hands, brain matter fill the battlefield like some cattle meat that was dropped from a large carriage.

Their pathway to run to the river only to be drowned or shot to death is known as the Bloody Trail since the battle.

The river Argan was red with blood, like a red sea.  And the corpse floated around the rivers, the smell is revolting and rotten.

Some of Arial's troops gagged as they breathed it in.

So ended, probably the longest and bloodiest battles fought on Alan soil.

The battle ended as quickly as it had started with the execution of Lord Wiltsred the local commander.

The ground was covered with dead and dying man.

The air was hot and stifling even though it was winter, and even though snows are still falling. The snow white land is full of red spots frozen corpses.

The sun shone down without pity on the wounded soldiers lying in the blood and dust.

It was now time for Arial to set his sights on Dented Shield and Alderam. Alderam has claimed himself King. He got the news from his messengers.

He is a King wearing a paper crown.

'I can feel the final victory at the tip of my fingers, and when I come to your castle, I will burn that crown with my fire,' Arial raged inside.

He returned to his tent and ordered his scribe to write a letter to the King.

"My dear King," Arial dictated. "We now face some choices: Either I let your brother live and go free; I exile him to another country; or I kill him the moment I lay eyes on him."

After all, even though there is bad blood among them, they are still brothers.

Win the castle, then he will win the war, then Arial can begin the plan to strengthen this Kingdom unity and defense from any invasion.

The scribe furiously wrote it down and then quickly left to dispatch the message.

Arial sat down and took a deep breath. Now, he waited for the King's response.

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This chapter is a little longer than the rest. Hope you enjoy the chapter and leave some comment and dont forget to vote and leave some comments. You can alos check out my you tube channel. Pishang Monkey

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