The east wall was met with a sneak attack from the Baron army. The one-sided heavy barrage took some good men out of Midlake. Fortunately, due to the sacrifices of brave scouts, the east wall successfully compelled the enemy assault.

Meanwhile, at the north wall, the attack from the enemy came a lot later than the east and in a very different manner. A much bolder way than the Easton army.

"Here they come! Every man, to your post!"

The watcher atop the tower alarmed the defenders.

By the late morning when the mist had dissipated by the warmth of the sun, the watcher saw ten thousand men across the northern plain in front of him. A hundred squares, each standing under a banner of a notable house from Rode and Norg regions.

"So another day has come. I hope it is not the same boring day as yesterday or the days before. I heard the east gate had some actions this morning earlier," said an officer at the commanding post. The other officers agreed with him. They were jealous when they heard the morning report of East Wall. For a whole week, they had been exchanging arrows without much manoeuvres. They were sick of giving the same orders repeatedly. Unlike the soldiers below who met death first-hand, the past week had been a boring week for the officers in their safe stone tower. Except for Luther. It had been a productive week for him. He was busy surveying enemy movement and formation manoeuvres. And he noticed the difference when he saw it.

"No. Their formation is a little different. They are doing something today."

The commander agreed with Luther. He called his other officers fools. He told them to look at the enemy formation again.

"The war drums are set. One-third of the shields are placed foremost. Archers on the second row followed by the rest of the infantry. The pikes are seen only in front of the gate along with the cavalry. The rest must have switched to axes and swords. The gaps between the barricades they used to take cover are also widened. They are ready to get serious. If you play today like the days before, you will lose the wall."

Commander 'Virgin' Peak was quick to grasp the situation, unlike his officers. He received the nickname 'Virgin'' because any wall he commanded became an unclimbable summit for the enemy. He moved his infantry to be ready for battle. The stoves were ordered to be lit. Also, he asked for the report of the enemies' banners and where they are located.

Niville, the best spotter, was quick on his eyes. Soon, he reported the banners and their exact places.

"Well done, Niville. I expect the same performance from you during the battle too. You have the most important task. You are ready for it, right?"

"Yes, commander! I will keep my eyes open till they turn blind, sir."

Niville stroke his chest with a fist showing his steadfast loyalty to his duty.

After the most important task was safe in his best man, the commander returned to his officers.

"Gillbread is on their right. His men are farmers. He won't be any threat to us. Donboat is placed at mid. His men are workers at the port. They have strong cores and nimble feet. Not to mention, Donboat is a man with big ambition. He will surely try to open the gate. Add more men to our position against him."

"Yes, commander. Goatmen is on their left. I heard he is an idiot and his men are lazy bums. Shall I send our men on the right to reinforce the middle part?"

"No. Goatmen is an idiot, yes. They are sending him first to waste our arrows. Look at the banner behind him. It is Lionard's. They are mountaineers. Those guys even beat warthogs on occasion. I heard they defeated a monster once by themselves without the help of Templers. They are possibly one of the best units on their side. Don't let them fool you with Goatmen. They are planning to break through our defence from there. Send our elite unit on standby behind and Luther you command that post."

Soon after they strategized the defence plan, they heard the daunting beats from the enemy war drums.

"They have started. Remember. This is not like any battles you have fought before. Templers are our enemies now. And they are the ones who will decide the outcome of this battle. Even if only one Templer is coming up from one ladder and a hundred soldiers coming up from another at the same time, your focus should still be on that one Templer. Don't ever let a single one of them on our wall, understand? Sir Dovos will be stationed near the gate but don't be shy to call his aid even if you have slightest doubt that you can handle a Templer. Now go."

Peak sent out his officers to their respective battle stations after reminding them of their priority. He especially warned Luther that he had no room to fail.

With each beat striking fear into their hearts, the defending Midlakers atop the ramparts watched their adversary getting closer in mass.

A week before when most of them had met death with their eyes, the scene would be pure excitement for the boys. However, they had witnessed their friends' and comrades' deaths by their very eyes, life being snatched out by a single arrow. They could imagine how brutal it would be when the enemies reached over the wall.

Archers clenched their bows as they glared down at the enemies. The infantry tightly held onto their shields as those would be the only things standing between them and the strangers who would be trying to kill them soon.

As the enemy got closer and closer, Commander Peak blew the horn himself to get the attention of his men.

"Brave warriors of Midlake, you are standing on top of the walls that have stood for a hundred years. And so shall it be for the next century and so. As the descendants of the Great Unifier, we shall fight like kings and unify this land. As sons of True God, we shall fight like his angels and vanquish the evil army of fake champions. As warriors of the true Champion, we shall fight like champions and defeat the dogs of Mordu'!"

Peak let the enemy infantry line walk into the archers' range peacefully. He knew none of his archers could do any damage to those shields. Rather than wasting the strength of archers and arrows on improper targets, he waited for the enemy archers. When they entered the range, he rained down hellfire on them. The enemy archers retreated but the second line of infantry didn't. Instead, they rushed across the plain under heavy fire. The first line of heavy armoured infantry made gaps between them to let the lighter armoured infantry pass through. The besiegers advanced even though they were taking numerous arrows.

The boldness of the enemy surprised the officers of Midlake. Especially, the two enemies' flanks made of farmers and lazy bums were able to catch up with difficult manoeuvres led by Duke's veteran golden cloaks. "If you want to take this head-on, fine by me. I shall give it to you." Peak was determined to take down the enemy infantry as much as possible before they reached the wall. He ordered all archers to focus on desperately charging enemy infantry.

Peak made a mistake.

The moment all arrows were focused on the infantry, the retreated enemy archers re-entered the battlefield and returned fire twice the amount, suppressing the defending archers on the wall. Any defenders who peeked out of their covers were introduced to their next lives.

Peak had to change his tactics quickly or the enemy would reach the wall soon. At that moment, he saw Luther using shield infantry on the ramparts to give more cover for his archers. Through the small gaps between shields, archers under Luther's command were able to shoot back at the advancing enemies.

Peak ordered the rest of his army to adopt Luther's tactics. Soon, it brought balance back. However, it did not stop the enemy's advance.

Luther raised the flag ordering all archers on standby below the rampart to shoot. They weren't the veteran archers like the ones above. They were incapable of shooting far or aiming at a selective target. But a novice in archery was enough to shoot over the rampart and get a lucky kill in the mess.

"Raise five more degrees. Loose!!" Luther ordered again. Wave by wave, the arrows started to thin down the enemies.

"Kill them all. Don't even give them a chance to step near the wall. If you think your forearm is about to break; if you think you are in pain, imagine how painful your family will be when those bastards on the other side reach inside and butcher them. You are the only one who can prevent that horrible reality. You are the man. Or are you a loser!? Make those arrows fly!!"

Luther pushed his men over their limits. On each and every taunt he gave, a set of arrows flew above his head.

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When the Retribution army hit the wall, more than half of them had perished. A second wave of infantry had set out to the wall.

Luther gave the archers below a break. The archers above were switched positions with infantry. The infantry stepped to the front of the rampart to take on the enemy infantry while the archers shot long-range at the second wave from behind.

"Chop the ladders. Throw those rocks. Don't let a single one of them on this scared wall." Luther yelled out of his chest to be loud enough for everyone to hear. All the crying, swearing cursing, screaming in pain and moaning had clouded the battlefield for any commands to be heard without yelling. They had to rely on horns and flags to relay orders for execution.

Luther turned his head to the command post above the barrack behind the gate to check if there was any specific new order. Nothing changed. He turned to Niville who was posted in the gatehouse. Nothing either. Niville looked like a falcon searching for his prey.

Luther returned his focus to the wall. He saw an enemy climbing up the ladder. The rest of his crews were preoccupied with their targets so Luther picked a rock himself and threw it onto the enemy. With a satisfyingly loud bang as the rock cleanly hit the metal helmet, Luther witnessed the enemy soldier fall off the ladder with his back and drop onto others below. As if that person was a total stranger to them, the soldiers tossed the body aside without checking if the man was still alive. How much a battlefield could make a man's life so little?

While Luther was in the moment of realisation, an arrow swiftly flew near his face scratching his neck. An inch to the right and it would have cut his carotid. "Fu*k me." He blurted out while rubbing his neck. Death flew past him so closely. He moved away from the edge unconsciously. He felt that he had stepped onto something so he looked down. His foot was on the hand of a dead soldier. The arrow earlier flew passed him and hit the unlucky fellow behind him. He flinched and immediately removed his foot. He felt sorry for disrespecting the fallen body of his comrade.

Luther picked up the bow and quickly nocked an arrow. He aimed at the enemy archer who shot him and released the arrow. After a beautiful arch of flight, it pierced the leather armour and ruptured the lung of its target. He watched him drop dead.

He returned to the edge and took down more enemies coming up the wall. He was in a trance, his hands moved on their own in synchrony as soon as his eyes locked on a target.

At that moment, he heard the horn from his rear. A higher pitched one, different from before. A special order had been sent from the command post. He checked the flags. A small triangle white flag was raised in the middle section. A Templer had been sighted at the gate section by spotters.

It was not Luther's section. From his position, Luther could also see a Templer in ludicrous armour heading straight to a ladder near the gate. The Templer was still a distance away. Luther returned his focus to his section. The second wave was about to reach. They were the infamous Lionard's unit. As expected, they were faster than the second wave from other sections. They crossed the plain in three minutes. Luther ordered another set of volleys from the archers below while he, himself, was taking down the enemies on the ladder.

"Get away. Get away." A soldier shouted while running hastily toward the edge with a clay pot in his hands. Luther pushed his men away from the ladder and stepped back. When the soldier coming in haste emptied the pot over the ladder, bellowing screams came out from down below. Along with white steam, an odour of cooked flesh was smelled from the rampart.

"Get the ladder! Get the ladder now!" Luther ordered his men to pull up the ladder when there were no enemies left on it. He seized it and threw it away behind the rampart. He moved onto the next ladder beside his place.

Then, he saw an explosion at the gatehouse. A burst of flame hit the stone tower. It was the second Templer. He was throwing fireballs at the gatehouse as cover fire for the first Templer climbing the ladder. The crossbowmen inside the gatehouse couldn't even come near the arrow slits due to explosions. The situation in the middle section became dire.

Luther handed over his position to his deputy. The deputy insisted he stay so Luther grabbed him by the collar, "Do you see that? The gate is there. If that section falls, whatever we are doing here doesn't matter. I will leave the elite unit here for you so don't worry. I will come back as soon as I am done there."

Luther rushed to the middle section with a bow and quiver. He took a special arrow from the boy who came up the rampart to refill arrows in the arrow box.

When Luther reached the middle section, Dovos was already engaging with the first Templer. Luther closed one eye and aimed at the second Templer who had mixed into the crowd after distracting the crossbowmen inside the gatehouse. He extended his fingers and let the arrow fly. It stooped like a falcon and instantly reached its target across the battlefield. Then, suddenly, it twirled in the air. The Templer had taken control of the flight of the arrow with his wind spell.

"Foolish puny peasants. Don't they learn?" The Templer mocked. He grabbed the arrow to play then he noticed a spark went into a small white packet tied at the tip of the arrow. Before he could throw it away, it exploded in his hand. The Templer managed to save his hand by reinforcing his body with a spell but it pissed him off.

Luther locked eyes with the furious Templer. Without a shard of fear, Luther challenged the Templer.

As if he was propelled by some invisible force, the Temple reached atop the rampart in a single jump. The force of his landing created a blast, pushing everyone back. Luther had to lower his stance.

"I like your eyes." The Templer praised Luther. "But your features do not resemble the one called ETHAN."

"Don't worry. I can also send you to the next life."

Luther signalled with his hand. Instantly, the soldiers moved like one and encircled the Templer, outnumbering ten to one. Luther was not in charge of the middle section but as a drill instructor for recruits, all sorties listened to him more than to other officers.

"I may not be as strong as Ethan but I have my worth. I will show you all," declared Luther in his mind.

They performed simultaneous attacks pressuring the Templer from all directions. The Templer stomped his feet to blast them all away but they stood firmly in their positions. The Templer found out these men could not be intimidated by whatever he tried with Luther around. He decided to take care of Luther first.

But Luther was a step ahead. He read his opponent and skillfully dodged a Templer's attack that was as swift as the wind. At the same time, one soldier got the Templer at the heel as Luther instructed during the training. When the Templer was brought to the knee, Luther drove his blade into the nape. Without any help from a Spellcaster, Luther defeated a Templer purely with skill and coordination.

They celebrated their victory. One soldier cut off the Templer's head and showed off to the enemy. While they were parading around, Luther heard another explosion from his section. Smokes were tailing the sky from two of the bastions in his section.

As it happened, a third Templer concealed his presence among the soldiers and sneaked up the right section. When Niville spotted him, Luther was no longer in the section. The inexperienced deputy who took Luther's position also forgot to look at the Templer warning flags at the gatehouse since he was too preoccupied fighting Lionard's unit.

After much deliberation, Niville decided to confront the Templer, who was devastating important positions in the right section of the gate. He wrapped several explosive charges under his shirt and grappled the Templer. When the Templer struck him with his fiery flame, the charges exploded killing both.

After all three Templers who were part of the first major assault were defeated, the besieging army called off the assault.

The defenders successfully fended off the enemies but the losses weren't negligible. They lost several ballistas, especially at the section where Luther was stationed. His eagerness to show his worth had backfired.

"I am disappointed in you, Luther. As a captain of the king's guards, you should know what you did wrong. I don't think I need to state the obvious. I put much trust in you and you betrayed that trust. You are now dismissed from your post, Luther," told Peak.