Crimson Land

Word quickly spread through the city that the Lord had awoken and was taking to the field replacing the garrison commander Nefamiti who was sent elsewhere.

With the help of Hardvar's organization information spread quickly to the civilians who promptly entered their homes waiting silently with wolf like eyes prepared to fight and die at a moments notice.

Marcus and Honatu also began backing away slowly through the complicated streets suffering few casualties despite the overwhelming numbers due to the maze like interior of the city.

"Their forces number near six thousand within the city and many more lying in wait surrounding the city, Marsh and Lucas have already come into the city previously and are now taking positions on the roof tops around the town square." Leyalt said nervously, "Are you sure this will work?"

"If it doesn't then we are all dead anyway." I replied calmly sitting on the bricks of the empty fountain in the center of the square.

Leyalt began sweating bullets before disappearing.

Shion has gone off saying that she will try and rally the recently freed prisoners to our cause but I can't count on that.

If worse comes to worse I gave Hardvar the order to have several people trail Shion and take her away should we lose the city even if they must do it by force.

Glancing up at the rooftops I found that Lucas and Marsh had already gotten into position.

"...." In front of me several tens of enemies appeared covered in blood.

Not their own.

How dare they kill my people.

"All of you will leave your bodies behind, today Durlivan welcome six thousand brand new bodies." I said lightly cutting down the first man.

They are trickling in the archers above shooting down several before they can arrive too close a grusome trail of bodies leading straight towards me.

"Marcus, Hontau, you two had better be in position or else...." I trailed off as a large group burst through the streets all around the fountain.

Glaring at them I began walking forward slowly, "Death isin't so scary."

God I hate gambling.

I swung my blade down decapitating the another man.

"Everything is set!" Leyalt's voice pierced the square as a thunderous noise filled the city.

"The city gate has been closed! We have been cut off!" A man screamed causing a short panic.

"We have been cut off but they have no where to run to! Fight! We can only slaughter them all now!" Another yelled as they charged towards me like a wave.

All at once the archers along the rooftops fired in tandem with their charging.

The several that trickled in were swiftly executed by my blade, my strength having risen considerably since the first time I arrived in this world the sabers like feathers in my hands.

Step by step the enemy soldiers continued to advance, they know they can't surrender, and they know they can't escape.

This is the resolve of a desperate enemy, but they are not the only desperate ones here.

Raising my hand the archer's stopped firing, their stores of arrows are getting low.

"You blasted fool!" A large scarred man said swinging down a mace the size of my body.

Swiftly dodging it I cut him in half causing a spray of blood.

For the next fifteen minutes my battle continued as I cut down anything and everything that came towards me, with how light these sabers are I don't get tired from swinging them and feel little resistance, the small wounds I gather also cannot stop me.

Once the fifteen minutes passed the people stopped charging forward simply staring at me.

"D-demon!" They hollored and screamed.

"Where are the archers?! Where are the archers?!" Other yelled.

"Your archers are all dead, you all have only one options and that is to pass through me to get to the southern gate, otherwise you will stay trapped here until I kill all of you or you scatter off and get hunted down like rats, this is the only chance any of you will get to escape." I said calmly a twisted smile forming on my lips, "Do your best."

---

During the original retreat the men under Kreyan simply attacked whatever they did not recognize, an unorganized mob of sorts.

Agashi, knowing this and knowing he himself is the biggest prize he set himself in the center of the city where the most troops would come through, settling archers on the rooftops around the square picking off the archers within the enemy groups.

Marcus and Huanto during the retreat spread out their men through the streets luring mobs of enemy soldiers in ambushes utilizing the inhabitants of Durlivan who had hidden away in their home as the hidden cards that would swarm enemy soldiers in dead end alley ways before taking their weapons and hiding away again.

Like this and with the help of Hardvars intelligence divison roaming the rooftops and delivering orders the enemy was successfully split up around the city becoming prey for the citizens they had written off as weak and useless prior.

However still that was only the bare bones of the main army that had splintered going off in search of smaller gains, most of them heard from Hardvar's agent's expert manipulations that the big fish, Agashi was lying in wait at the city center thus sending the majority of the forces there creating several choke points.

Shion at this moment is also leading five hundred bandit come farmers come warriors towards the city center to cut off the retreat of the main force using the small alleyways that they are packed in to get to the city center.

In essence, using himself as bait Agashi devised the plan to lure in the majority of the force into a choke point and then corner them while Marcus and Huanto's units clean out the bandits that splintered.

What Agashi said at that time sitting atop a hill of corpses would later be recorded as in history books as the height of both arrogance and kindness, "You will all only have one chance to survive and that is to get through me."

----

Looking at one another the enemies charged once again, the screams of the men at the front drowning out the yells from the back telling of any enemy pincer movement.

By the time they had managed to turn around in the tightly packed alleys it was already too late, instead they flooded through the city square trying to run around him.

It will never work, I thought grimly as the archers had by now refilled their arrow supply raining death upon the fleeing men with the help of Hardvar's agents.

The battle dragged on for the next thirty minutes as thousands of lives were taken in the alleyways a trail of corpses a meter high leaving puddles of blood on the ground the same as torrential rain would leave water on the streets.

Sitting atop easily a hundred dead I looked over Shion who had arrived with five hundred men in tow, as well as the elite units of Marcus, Huantu and Netman, each unit having sustained grievous casualties barely a hundred and fifty men left in each unit.

Seramia arrived shortly after the fighting died down providing support for the wounded with her blessing easing their pain.

"Trigo is currently doing battle with the encircling enemy." Leyalt reported, "We have taken approximately five hundred casualties in soldiers and over a thousand civilian deaths."

"Shion, take your men and finish off any rats that may be left in the city, Yu will help you." I said coldly, "Marcus, Netman, Huantu you will all follow me to the west towards Desdon fort, will clear out that are and launch a pincer movement on the encircling forces."

And it was so.

With Yu's help Shion managed to quicky eradicate the remnant forces inside the city whilst we annihilated the troops they had in wait up on the mountains on either side of the city, a total of a thousand troops laid in wait upon the mountains.

With my help on the front line we managed to break their morale, they had watched the massacre frrom up above and did not wish to die by my blade.

Trigo too slaughtered those on his side, having Shion rush to his aid once we finished our side.

All that is left is the titan of an army on the plains far away, an army of near ten thousand camped outside the city to the north.

"Loot every one of these scum, arm the people and begin giving them training immediately, this is not yet over and every second of training will raise their chances of survival at least a small amount, have the elderly and young who cannot fight move the bodies to the northern gate and throw them off the ramparts." I said coldly, Nefamiti nodded belching a string of orders in rapid fire.

"Agashi, are you okay?" Shion asked quietly.

"Don't worry, none of this blood is mine." I said glancing overmyself.

I'm completely red.

Hah, I guess one could say I'm full of life!