Herald of Steel

Alexander's men initially watched two of the enemy ships retreat with unbridled glee, finding the sight of them lifting their anchors and sailing beneath their bridge of great amusement.

Hence they grinned and cheered to themselves,

"Haha, Look! They are running! They are running!"

"Damn right they are! They were idiots to try father in the first place, hahaha."

"It seems their commander finally realized the stupidity of his action. Tsk took them long enough."

"Yeah, what a waste of so many good lives. What were they even thinking trying such a thing in broad daylight? I am surprised the men even held on for so long."

"Fools! Utter fools! Just because they are a few more than us they must have thought they could simply charge blind and we would be overwhelmed! Heh!"

"Mmm! As if we are not that weak!"

It was like this that Alexander's various officers disparaged Ser Robert's tactics while being perched atop the bridge, glancing at the sailing ships with a mixture of pride on their part and disdain for the other.

They were confident this engagement was by now effectively over, and the W for their side was already written.

Perhaps it was because of this that they did not treat the following fact with any sincerity, which was- instead of retreating towards the safety of their harbor, the two ships that were supposedly running away were actually moving towards the bridge, that lay in completely the opposite direction.

This was very strange.

But even the few keen eyed individuals among Alexander's crew who did notice this phenomenon put not much thought into it, only chalking it up to the men on the ships letting the panic get the better of them, and sailing straight ahead instinctively just because the stern pointed at that direction.

Or perhaps they went there to avoid the ever present crossbow fire.

Or perhaps there were any other million more miscellaneous reasons.

Whatever the case was, given the bashing these Margraves troops had received, none of Alexander's men thought these chaps had anything left in the tank.

So instead of paying attention to a few 'fleeing dogs', the legionaries instead focused their attention on the remaining attackers, who still refused to give up and kept on scaling up the steps despite being abandoned by two fifths of their forces.

Such a phenomenon was very unnatural, as you would normally expect the very opposite to happen- seeing a large group from one's own side leave the battlefield usually signaled that things were going south and that you too should leave,

But here not only was the attacker's morale not destroyed, but instead, it seemed to soar, as the men climbed up the ladder with great alacrity despite the enormous and macabre losses.

No legionaries, officer, or even Alexander was able to explain this unnatural zeal and so, with no explanation left, wrote it off as only a momentary burst of will produced by a hard and martinet commander who was driving his men to the edge of their endurance.

This could never last for long, and thus, the sudden great, fierce attack was seen as the 'one last push by the enemy' by everyone in Alexander's camp, thus laying credit in their minds to the claim that the enemy was close to snapping.

Hence the legionaries too continued to expertly repulse all the boarding attempts, at the same time holding their breath in great anticipation for the moment the attackers would run out of steam and break, just like their brothers before.

This strong, almost suicidal attack up the ladder was of course ordered by Ser Robert, intended to be a way to distract the enemy from their real offensive.

And judging by the looks of things, it seemed to be working as Ser Robert observed through the arches of the bridge from a distance.

The two ships first moored at the opposite side of the bridge as silently as possible, steadying themselves about 50 meters rear of the enemy, as the men aboard immediately got to work, communicating with each other using only low, hushed voices, while moving swiftly.

"The ladders are set!"

"Great! Men! Quickly now! Go!"

"Hurry! And do not make a peep!"

"Soft steps! Soft steps! Don't alert the enemy!"

These men knew time was of the essence and ensured to make every second count, quickly setting up eight ladders parallel to each other and racing them up like their life depended on it.

Which it truly did, because if Alexander were to detect them, well it would be the choice of becoming meat patty on the ship's deck or seafood for the fishes.

Fueled by this zeal, the first batch quickly made landfall, successfully being the first to plant their metal boots on the stone and wooden structure.

For the men who had been trying to do so long and had sacrificed so many souls in the attempt, it felt they had not just reached the bridge but touched upon the moon itself.

The feeling was exquisite and soon this feeling was shared by a second batch, and then a third, and all of a sudden you had twenty to thirty guys there, all quickly lining up and standing shoulder to shoulder to form a solid infantry line a few echelons deep.

And because they did this 50 meters or about half a football field away from the active fighting zone, the defending legionaries were left in no way the wiser.

The blue armored men were much more focused on the threat right in front of them and left no facilities open to notice the poisonous snake coiling itself just at their rears, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Seeing his men up there on the bridge, the green color glittering against the blue backdrop, of course very much pleased Ser Robert.

They had already started taking an effective fighting formation going, embryonic as it may be, and thus effectively blocked any chance of Alexander's retreat.

It was great news from the commander, but at the same time, Ser Robert could not help but internally rebuked himself, 'Damm it! Can't believe I missed such an obvious move. My head must have been turned to a donkey's dung!'

Despite what it might have seemed like, the bulky man actually cared for his soldiers and thus felt it was a great waste at how many lives were needlessly lost before this plan was proposed.

But at least they had managed to come up with the plan, delayed as it may be, thus saving them the indemnity of returning to port empty handed.

Ser Robert shuddered to think what Lord Parker would do to them if they were to go back in shameful defeat, after defying the man's command.

A court martial was not out of the question, even if they were not strictly his subordinates.

Thus the success of the plan brought great relief to him.

With the construction of the infantry formation in the rear, Alexander was effectively trapped on the bridge, with the ocean on either side, and the enemy main camp in the front.

Thus the only way he could escape was if he grew wings and learned to fly. And even then he would have to be content with the archers the Margraves had with them.

"Haha, the prey has been caught. All that we have to do now is close the net and bring the fish back home!"

It was like that Ser Robert celebrated his triumph over Alexander, feeling the long and bloody game had at last ended.

"Enemy at the rear! Enemy at the rear!"It was unknown exactly who was the first to notice the incursion at their rear, becoming alert after a sudden clanging thud of metal against stone pierced his ears.

But by this point, this warning had lost all its efficacy.

Because as Alexander and the others turned around and noticed the group of green armored men behind them, well their numbers atop the bridge were already too high to be dislodged by any force they could muster within a reasonable time frame.

Especially not when the force was growing larger every second, widening the beachhead at an alarming rate.

"....." Alexander was so shocked at the sight of this that instead of letting out a horrific cry or panicked shout, he completely froze like a statue.

And likewise, so did his heart.

Instead of starting to beat like a drum, it just stopped beating, as a freezing chill permeated through his hands and feet.

'How?' He mewled in his head, although that was rhetorical. He knew how.

He could see the ladders against the walls and the ships carrying them. The very ships he had thought were running away.

"Enemy in the front! Enemy in the front!"

Alexander did not get the time to curse his oversight, as, to prove that misery loves company, this loud cry pierced his ears from the other side of his unit, causing the man to instantly snap his head towards that direction.

And the sight made his already chilled heart almost freeze.

There was a brand new unit, dressed in full black heading straight towards him through the mouth of the bridge, with pointed spears and naked malice.

And the realization of his predicament made Alexander feel faint.

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