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In His Name: the questionable truths
Ch79: The desperate resistance

Ch79: The desperate resistance

In the early morning when Cleo and Ethan found out that Louise the king who was supposed to be leading the army and the people had gone missing,

At the large city square in front of the City hospital of Midlake,

Sparks flickered as the small flame travelled down the wick clamped at the shoulder end of a long metal stick. Once the trigger was pulled, the wick entered the flash pan and the small spark disappeared. Instead, a bigger spark of flame appeared at the other end of the stick along with a thunder-clap-like roar.

The force of the explosion pushed Abel backwards as a small metal pellet was shot from the open end. It travelled across the battlefield, swifter than any projectiles they knew, and hit a Templer in heavy armour who was trying to break through the Crown's barricades at the hospital with his big axe.

Revenant managed to acquire a load of firearms and firepowder through smugglers from the western continent. Cleo initially planned to deploy firearms at the wall to take down Templers, however, a lot of gunpowder was used when they fought the centuriworm(ref. Ch54). It set them back from using firepowder freely.

Upon contact with the pellet, the huge Templer, who was raging like an unstoppable bull towering over the battlefield, was dropped to his knees. It was a pain he had never experienced before, a pain so stabbing and so burning. His whole right arm was paralyzed. He was in full plate armour reinforced by the divine spell; he was confident no weapons of war could break through his guard. He was wrong. "What dark sorcery is this?" The Templer muttered in rage.

The soldiers of Temple stood in shock, contemplating whether to retreat or not. All they heard was a roar like thunder and found their master down to the knee. They could not find any Spellcasters at Crown's side. They covered their master in shields and dragged him back.

"There, over that window, behind that black cloud. The which is there." The Templer spotted Abel on the second floor of the hospital and ordered his men to take her out. The Temple archers turned their focus from pikemen on the ground to Abel.

Abel took cover behind the wall and exchanged her boomstick with the loaded one from her squire.

They called it 'firearm' at first but in the land of magic and spells where a person could shoot out a fireball from the arm, they chose to call it boomstick to avoid confusion.

Abel relocated and ignited the wick. She carefully aimed at her target to finish him for good. After she pulled the trigger, the black cloud covered her again with a burst of flame, revealing her position. She swiftly ducked and crawled away from her position not to be killed by counter-fire. As expected, the room she stayed in earlier was blasted with a massive fireball. "Holy lord! I was about to die!" Abel could not believe her luck. If she were a few seconds late, she might have died. Her heart was about to jump out of her body. She had never felt her blood rushing in her body that much. Her throat felt dry, and there was that smoky and bitter flavour lingering in her mouth. "Don't breathe with your mouth," advised her squire.

Abel checked outside. The big guy was down; dead or at least incapable of fighting anytime soon. However, she saw more Templers coming her way. The hospital was a strategic point for both sides so the battle was one of the fiercest in the city.

"When is our reinforcement arriving? I can't fight all these Templers alone with just a stick! Where are my Spellcasters!!? Where is Cleo? Where is Ethan?" Abel broke down when she saw more enemies arriving. She grasped a fistful of her hair in stress.

Before she made a patch of farm on her head, Igüan showed up and patted her head. He also blocked the window with his shield and protected Abel. All the enemies' missiles dispersed the moment they hit Igüan's shield.

"Why do you keep doing that whenever you are stressed? You will be bald before me at this rate." Igüan made a light joke. Then, he acted all mighty and knightly in front of her by pushing out his chest. "Worry not, milady. For you have me if not the others."

His poor acting made Abel and her squire shrug in disgust. "Oh lord, just go out there and fight the enemies. You are not in a troupe." "I shall not milady. Think of me as your personal shield and shoot the enemies without worries. I will keep you safe," replied Igüan. Although igüan sounded like a joke, his skills were not. He shielded her from any danger like a guardian angel. Igüan made everything easier for Abel. Nothing was stopping her from her onslaught anymore. She shot down Templers who dares to step into her sight. She was invincible.

They together with the soldiers of Crown at the field blocked the enemy's advance at the main road.

With the main road blocked, the Temple tried to sneak past through the alleyways. And it was when they fell into the deeper trap of Midlake. The maze-like city full of dead-end streets was the killing ground for anyone who dared to invade. Archers and crossbows over the rooftops mowed down anyone who naively entered into the trap. The residents also actively took part in defending their city. They poured down boiling oil, and steaming water through windows. They threw rocks, flowerpots, or anything they had on their hands at the enemies. The residents were in one heart with the soldiers who were giving their lives to protect their homes.

"Damn it. Fall back! This is another dead-end!" A captain of the invaders desperately yelled at his men to get out of the trap quickly. "The hunters have become prey. How does it feel when it is your turn?" Watching the enemies, who once brutally and mindlessly butchered the people, chaotically running for their lives put a smile on Jorah. Once he pulled the trigger, the burning wick entered the flash pan. After a thunderous clap, he saw the enemy captain fall to the ground like a broken puppet. "You are so good!" A beautiful female resident gave a compliment after watching Jorah. Jorah felt shy at the compliment. He turned it down awkwardly, "Come on. It is not that good. He is only a few houses away. It would be weird to miss."

While Jorah was having a sweet time with a beautiful widow up the floor, Gura was struggling to bar the door. A few angry desperate enemies were ramming the door to break into the home and kill everyone. One enemy dashed to the door with his chopping axe. With one swing, the axe put a hole in the door; the splintered pieces flew into the room. "I need more men here," Gura yelled desperately. He blocked the hole with the shield and braced the door so that the enemies could not come inside. If the enemies got inside and took over the building, the alleyway to the main road would open to the enemy without hindrance.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

In every neighbourhood, most alleys were dead ends. A few opened to another street of adjacent neighbourhoods while only one alley in each neighbourhood connected to the main road. Buildings next to those open alleyways were strategic points in Cleo's defence plan; all the residents in the neighbourhood gathered at these buildings to defend the alleys while the rest of the neighbourhood was abandoned. With collective resistance, Cleo hoped that civilians had a chance against the Temple's carnage.

Gura pulled a bulky man who was quivering in fear at the opposite corner. He angrily yelled, "You are the biggest guy in the room. Why aren't you helping, you big whimper!? Do you want to die!? Do you want to die, huh? No, right? Then, grab something and block that entrance like the others. Some of you, with me. Get those pointy sticks, poke at anything you see through those holes." Gura picked up a spear for himself and showed a demonstration. The rest followed exactly as he did; down to the point where he gritted his teeth and shrank his face. Gura, being the camp defender in the desert, led the people in flying colours together with the support of Jorah from above. The banner of the Crown proudly remained fluttering in the wind thanks to the collective effort.

"They fall back! The enemies have retreated!! We did it! We won!!!" Soon, Gura heard Jorah's voice from above. It sent a chill throughout Gura's body. So, did the same to everyone else's in the building. "We stood against the Temple. We are alive!" The beautiful resident lady yelled excitedly. She gave a gentle smooch on Jorah's cheek as a reward.

With blood and sweat, they successfully defended a heavy assault from Temple. They caught their breath while they could. They tended to their wounds catering for each other. One girl plopped down to the floor and cried. Once one started, the others followed; soon filling the room with weeping eyes. They all had reached their limit. They had been fighting since dawn. In one morning, they had lost more friends and families than in a decade. They met more near-death instances than in their lifetime.

"I could have died if it was a little left. It scratched my ribs."

"If I fall today, you must survive and take care of the kids."

"My muscles are cramped. My whole body is aching. I can't lift this shield anymore. Please someone take this."

They cried out their worry. They were barely holding on with the hope that their Liege would soon come with a huge force of reinforcement. They did not know that Louise had gone missing and the Crown was in the most challenging trouble of all time.

Before they had a proper rest, they heard a dreading horn from the rooftop, signalling a fresh wave of enemies.

"Alright, you hear it. You know the drill." Gura stood up first as the leader and pulled his people together. "We do exactly as we did. We will survive just like the last time. We will beat them and they will run away with their bleeding asses."

They mustered up little strength they had left in them and returned to their previous positions. With determination, they stood their ground. But their determination was crushed when they heard loud rumbling from above together with shouts and screams.

"Get down! Stay away from the windows." The archers above warned.

But the people below had no time to react.

A bunch of stones and bricks fell from the sky like droplets of rain, breaking the tiles on the roofs. Some stones got into through the window, injuring the people behind.

"What's happening!?" Gura asked Jorah who was on the third floor.

"A Templer. A freaking Templer with a fan is bombarding us with rocks." Jorah replied.

"Then, why don't you just shoot him? We have so many archers, and crossbowmen. You even have a boomstick. Can't you shoot him?"

"Because he is a mile away, you bigot! He is atop the tower of the barrack. This is ridiculous. I and all the bowmen on the rooftop are being slaughtered by him. We have to get down to you."

"You can't! Are you insane? How will this death trap work without support from above? You must stay there, Jorah! You get the easy part so do it right."

"Easy? EASY!? Then, why don't you come up and exchange places with us?"

Gura and Jorah fought like cats and dogs in front of the already frightened people which scared them more. The teamwork crumbled and before they sorted it out, the fresh enemy ground assault came. With a guide.

"Don't go in there. We turn left and follow the street. I have figured out the way to the main road."

Gura heard him loud and clear. The enemies were coming straight to them so he warned, "Jorah! You heard that?" "Yes. I am on it already, bastard. You don't need to shout." Jorah replied. "Oh..sweet lady, I have to go. Stay here and stay safe." He said farewell to the beautiful widow and set out a new mission.

Jorah climbed over the crumbling rooftop and ran over the unsteady tiles to get to the new location before the enemies. He crossed the buildings by jumping and dashing over rooftops. One wrong step and he would fall to death or at least cripple.

The High Templer at the top of the tower saw Jorah running across the building. He decided to make it harder for Jorah. He resumed his aerial assault by selectively targeting Jorah.

"God, please let his journey be safe," prayed the woman for Jorah. As if her prayer was reached, the pieces of rubble flew past Jorah without hitting their target.

"This way," Heard Jorah a familiar voice from below soon. He reached the destination. He knew the Templer was targeting him so he did not waste time loading the boomstick any longer. He took out the whole pouch of black powder, attached a lit-up wick and threw it down.

Right at the exact moment of the explosion which killed the guide along with officers, the rooftop he was stepping on was also broken down by the flying missile. Jorah fell below together with the rubbles.

As Jorah tried to get up, he noticed a big block of rubble crushed over his leg. "So this is my end," Jorah talked to himself, "dying alone in a deserted building, only the dust be my companion. A befitting one for King of Desert."

"King of Desert? My ass." Gura laughed at the self-narration of Jorah as he removed the rubble over Jorah. "Only your feet are locked under rubble. You aren't dying, idiot. Anyway, why isn't the reinforcement from Palace coming? The morning council session should be over by now." Gura gazed toward the direction of the Palace as he complained.

To his shock, he saw clouds of dark smoke raging over the palace and travelling toward his direction along with the north winter wind.

"What in hell!? The Palace is on fire?" Murmured Both.