Chapter 22
As the Baron loaded his spent pistol, he quietly whispered a prayer for the dead.
“...may you, who have done nothing wrong, feel God’s warmth coarse through your now cold body. And may God forgive me for what I have done in the name of freedom. Amen.”
A Janissary tapped the Baron’s arm.
“More are coming sir.”
“Yes, I hear them.”
The Baron returned his pistol to its holster.
“Alright then, let’s get to it.”
The squad hid in the houses around the alleyway they were in, which led directly to the governor’s mansion. It was a group of around fifteen men. Soon after they entered the alleyway, the trap was sprung.
The Janissaries fired down at the men, all eight of the extremely well trained men hitting exactly where they wanted to, punching straight through their scalemail. They slung their muskets behind their backs and drew their yatagans. The Baron jumped down and stuck his saber through the neck of a guard, withdrawing his saber and slashing the legs of another in one smooth motion.
A guard swung at a Janissary wildly, missing every strike as the man dodged and deflected with ease. As he reeled back to slash again, the Janissary quickly stepped forward and chopped his throat, hacking halfway through the guard’s spinal cord with a single stroke.
Another Janissary rushed forwards and grabbed a guard’s wrist as he tried to swing, then thrust his yatagan up into his exposed armpit. The men made short work of the guards. fifteen dead in the blink of an eye. The Baron wiped his saber on the headwrap of a dead guard. The Janissaries sheathed their blades and began to reload. One of them spoke up without looking away from his musket.
“What is next, Ümera?”
“Next, we’ll move on to the governor’s palace. After we’ve killed him and anyone else inside, we will set it ablaze and our work is done. If you find any valuables, well, just try to shove them in your pockets when I’m not looking, I guess. I don’t like looting.”
The Janissaries laughed heartily.
The Baron’s squad met up with a few other squads at the governor’s palace. Since it was a large and beautiful building, it made sense that others would head over to it as well. The doors were shut, locked, and barricaded. As were the windows. The Baron sat on a box and contemplated how they would enter with as few casualties as possible. Since this was the governor’s palace, the strongest soldiers were most likely there.
The Baron absentmindedly palmed the powderhorn within his shirt and suddenly had an idea.
“Would any of you mind losing your powderhorns?”
The Janissaries stared at him confusedly.
“We can use them as explosives. You know, blow open the wall or something?”
The Janissaries almost immediately set to work combining all of their powder in a nearby barrel which used to be filled with apples. The Baron added his powder happily. All together, they were able to fill the barrel about 3/4th of the way. Someone offered up a long fuze they happened to have and the men got to work moving the barrel over to the palace.
The Baron magically lit the fuze and they all scattered. The men all braced, and braced, and braced. The Baron peaked his head out and found that the fuze was intact and not lit. The Baron scratched his head confusedly.
“No boom?”
The Janissaries all looked unhappy.
“No worries men! I happen to be a mage! Get down!”
The Baron made some hand signals and punched in the direction of the barrel, sending a ball of fire flying. The Baron got behind a nearby pillar just as the explosion rocked the square. The noise was deafening and the ground shook beneath them, massive clumps of rock and dirt flying past him and smashing against the pillar.
As soon as things began to settle a bit the Janissaries began to shout their war cries and charge into the massive opening created by their combined efforts. All of the guards close to the explosion were dead, bodies and body parts littered the ground covered in stone and wood shrapnel, blood on every surface of the room, and those unfortunate enough to have been caught in the explosion but were not outright killed moaned and writhed at the floor.
Guards and Jua soldiers quickly made their way over to the noise as the Janissaries rushed into the hallways and courtyards, cutting down anyone they could find, soldier and civilian alike. Kisa was to be made an example of, and no message was clearer than mutilated corpses.
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The Baron locked swords with a Jua warrior. They stared at each other for a moment before the Baron punched him in the face, causing him to stumble back. The Baron slid his saber up the man’s sword and caught the side of his face, cutting deep into the man’s skull with his supernaturally sharp saber.
A Janissary cut down a fleeing worker, turning and blocking a strike from a Jua warrior just in time to avoid decapitation. As the Janissary readied himself for a duel, he was hit from behind, his simple tunic providing no protection from the arrow which pierced his heart. The Jua warrior kicked the dead man over and nodded to the archer in thanks before running off to find another fight.
Despite the Jua warrior’s valiant efforts, they only delayed the inevitable. The Baron swung down to finish off a fallen warrior on the stairs as he bound up in just a few steps. As he reached the top the Baron thrust his saber forward and pierced through a Jua warrior’s spine. He turned and ducked under a strike aimed at his head and cut open the man’s belly in one stroke as pulled his saber out of his first victim.
The Baron and his Janissary allies swiftly cut through the defenders upstairs, the Baron only killing combatants and the Janissaries extinguishing all signs of life they could find. Again, their job was to make an example of this city, not to conquer it and incorporate it into their empire.
The Baron performed a gravity magic enhanced kick, sending a Jua warrior flying through the door of the governor’s office. Inside, the governor sat calmly at his desk, flanked on either side by heavily armored Jua warriors. The Baron made a few hand signals and sent a huge gravitational force at one of the warriors, killing him instantly with a small but intense shockwave that ruptured every organ in his body. The Baron could feel the heat leaving his body at an alarming rate.
That shockwave was a bit much.
The second bodyguard began to charge towards the Baron. He knew what was going to happen, the Jua warrior would raise his shotel and expose his armpit for less than a second. Just as the man began to raise his sword, the Baron lunged forward, stabbing through the opening in his armor, severing the major artery in the man’s armpit. The warrior slumped against the Baron, almost immediately losing the strength required to swing his sword.
The Baron gently lowered the man to the ground as he withdrew his saber and turned his attention to the governor.
“You’ve lost. Kisa was conquered in just a few hours. Do you have any specific honorable way in which men are supposed to be killed in your culture? Like Wa’s seppuku?”
The governor shook his head solemnly.
“No. That sort of thing is for warriors to keep track of.”
The governor stood up from his chair and gestured to the closed balcony doors.
“All I ask, is that you allow me to gaze upon my burning city as I die.”
The Baron nodded and the governor opened the door, stepping out onto the balcony. The beautiful city of Kisa, once a rising star amongst the Kingdom of the Sun, was now burning to the ground. The cries of the death and clashing of warriors could be heard all around. But the one thing which could be heard over the din of combat, was the all consuming fire.
The Baron took a moment to take in the chaos. He had never razed a city before, and he was quickly praying that he would never have to take part in it again. As the Baron placed his saber on his opposite shoulder, he whispered a small prayer.
“May the Lord of Peace himself give you peace at all times, in every way. None of you deserved this. May God be with you.”
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The army of General Kuçuk arrived outside the gates of a town named Mokoya. He sat atop his horse close enough to be seen from the walls. Next to him was the Baron, silently praying that he would not need to raze another city.
After waiting for around thirty minutes, Kuçuk’s messenger walked through the gates. The Baron gripped his saber harder, his knuckles turning white with the strength he poured into that enchanted handle. The messenger ran over and bowed to General Kuçuk.
“Sir. The governor has surrendered. He mentioned what happened to Kisa and told me he would cooperate on the condition that your soldiers never enter the city.”
General Kuçuk stroked his beard in thought.
“Of course. I will accept. No Janissary is to set foot in the city of Mokoya, spread the world. In return, I request from the governor of Mokoya whatever food he can spare for my men. When we receive what he offers to us, we will leave this city unmolested.”
The messenger nodded and ran back to the city. Kuçuk turned and rode into the camp to spread the word. The Baron breathed a sigh of relief.
“Shouldn’t be long before we reach the capital, then it will all be over…I need a drink.”
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The Baron was star gazing, taking in their indescribable beauty as thoughts of the ugliest part of humanity raced in his mind. He had helped raze a city to the ground, it just didn’t sit right. It was the nature of the world, but he believed that it didn’t need to be that way. Even if it was common and expected that does not mean it was right.
He sighed heavily and sat up, making his way over to General Kuçuk’s tent. Kuçuk was reading the Quran and sipping coffee. He briefly gazed over the Quran and went back to reading.
“Do you require something, Arkadaş?”
The Baron nodded.
“Yes, actually, though I am not sure we have it on hand.”
Kuçuk spoke without looking up from the holy Quran.
“Oh? And that would be?”
The Baron sighed heavily.
“A priest. I would like a priest. I am Christian, you see.”
“Aaah, I see. No, we do not have one, but I could send a message to the Sultan requesting one for you.”
The Baron bowed his head.
“I would be forever grateful.”