Nick was left in command after Bryce fell unconscious. It would be the first time the young Knight led any units on a battlefield. He was a 23 years old Knight from Talawa, he had followed Sergeant Michael from the front lines toward Seabo for what was considered an undercover mission. He wasn't aware of much of the details but Sergeant Michael had informed him that it was for Katar.
He had sent one of the 2 remaining guards towards the barony to notify Lord Tommel about the enemy's location. The guard was supposed to reach the barony within half a day, completing the mission within the time limit. The short journey back home would be difficult given that just 5 men survived the entire recon operation, 2 of which were unconscious. He had taken the dead bodies towards the horses that were tied closer to Saddleback Road before placing each of them on the horses. His last orders from Bryce was to make sure that each of the soldiers got home safely and he intended to do just that.
It was already too dark to see properly by the time Nick moved Bryce, Khal and the deceased soldiers to the nearby Copper Mew. He selected some of the medical supplies to take care of Bryce's injuries while the last soldier went to gather some firewood. Khal had no noticeable injuries on his body but he had yet to wake up since the battle. Nick was about to check on Khal when he heard shuffling in the grass. He quickly grabbed his sword sheath and readied himself for anything.
"I mean you no harm soldier," A figure in a worn-out cloak came into view with hands raised. "You wouldn't happen to see 13 soldiers traveling on this road about half a day ago?" The figure in black said. "State your name and business traveler!" Said Nick in a stern voice. The figure in black took 2 steps forward with his eyes on the laying Bryce and Khal, as soon as he saw Khal the man disappeared. Nick looked around but couldn't see the man. He continued looking around until he laid eyes on the man's figure around Khal's face. Nick's pupils constricted as he saw the man's hands around Khal's face. He cladded his feet in a pale orange as he shot off towards the man.
The man disappeared again with Khal in his arms before appearing behind Nick. Nick was about to turn around when a black arm forced him towards the floor, "wait soldier I mean you no hard." Nick was terrified, he could not determine the man's rank. "Your actions are contrary to your claims traveler, release the boy then we can talk."
The man withdrew something from his sleeves before he forced it down Khal's throat. It wasn't until Khal began moving slightly that the man turned towards Nick. "Thank you for your patience, young man. You'd best be careful on your way back home." The man disappeared as he finished his statement, leaving Nick alone in the darkness.
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Michael and his team were quiet during the first half of their journey towards the Granary. He knew the Viscount's men weren't too keen on being led around by a Sergeant from a small town. He had asked Commander Milon to send a messenger pigeon towards Sydenham Town to notify them of their success in gathering men for the cause. Clive and Lunet were to receive the location of the enemy's hideout from the barony and make it towards the Market in time before the fighting began. This was only possible because they could move faster without the entire company as well as the fact that they would be changing horses at the barony. The journey from Ensom City to Gontu's Market was 36 hours away. Even at their fastest, the company could only manage to cut down the time by 6 hours.
The messenger pigeons were not as versatile or dynamic as the birds from Burg. They were only good at carrying messages from one specific area to the next. Training the birds were just too difficult to allow them to carry messages to moving targets. Thus, Michael could only receive word from the Barony after Clive and Lanet returned.
"Sergeant Michael, if I may have a word," it was the first time the Commander had spoken to him since their journey began. Michael steered his horse closer to the Commander as he waited for whatever the man had to say. "How was it that a man of your talent never managed to gain any recognition in Seabo?". Michael hesitated before he responded, "I've always preferred to serve at my Lord's side, Commander." Nicholas was not impressed. He preferred Knights that were brave enough to stand on the battlefield. He always looked down on the soldiers who chose to spend their time answering the call of various nobles instead of defending the country. Political gibberish was what he called it. " I'm sure you're aware that by taking down Commander Boegard you've managed to secure a Knight Commander rank. Surely you know you can't stay at your 'Lord' after your promotion." Michael could more or less guess what the Commander was getting at but he didn't really care what the man thought of him. "Yes, Commander, where ever I am needed most I will answer the call."
Nicholas looked curiously at the Sergeant. He wasn't sure whether the man was devoted or just another coward in Seabo. Nicholas was no longer interested in the Sergeant and instead focused on their destination. "Ser Cedric, what's our ETA?," asked the Commander as he turned to his left. "We're 10 hours away, Commander. The scouts should be at the granary in about an hour." Nicholas scratched his sword arm at the news, he had an uneasy feeling that he couldn't get rid of. Every time he fought the Burgans at the border, they were usually the ones succumbing to ambushes.
In his experience, the Burgans were a slippery bunch who would prefer to fire multiple arrows then disappear without a sign. They were great at scouting and communicating with their units in almost real time, leaving their opponents confused and frustrated.
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"SCREEEEEE!!!!!!" A shrill piercing cry was uttered as Nicholas looked up as a golden eagle circled his company before flying off towards the west. "Shit, this could only mean one thing." Nicholas grabbed the reins of his horse as he turned towards his 4 Sergeants, "Sergeants, form 3 units and spread out. We don't want to be surrounded!" "Yes, my liege," the men formed a fist and pounded their chest as they shouted.
Nicholas's company was therefore split into 3 units. He controlled the majority, 600 units, while his Sergeants divided themselves into 2 groups and controlled 200 each. Michael was next to Nicholas as he watched the man lead his company. Michael was surprised by the coordination and discipline the company showed to the noble. He had assumed, like most people, that Nicholas was a spoiled noble brat. He was thoroughly surprised when he noticed the minor scrapes and scars on the man's sword arm. No noble, wet behind the ears, could ever have such battle scars if they were not seasoned in the ways of war.
Each unit was 10 meters apart as they continued towards the market at an increased pace. 5 hours later, one of the scouts returned to Nicholas with news, "Commander, the granary is safe but there is a company of soldiers marching towards the location as we speak. They will hit the granary in 3 hours." Nicholas frowned, the golden eagle must have already delivered their location to the Burgans. His only choice now was to overwork the horses and reach the granary in time before engaging the enemy. He nodded to the scout before he turned to his soldiers, "Men, today we ride to face the enemy, today we ride not for ourselves but for our families. If left alone the pigs would rape our wives and kill our sons. Let us rid this world of the plague on our lands, let us make our stand here! For KATAR!!!!!!" Nicholas shouted as he embodied his earthen element all over his body.
He became a being cladded in metallic energy with 2 pointed horns sticking out of his temple as his men shouted their various battle cries. His shirt was the first to become a solid silver colored armor. His face was covered in metal with an opening just for his eyes. His legs were cladded in the same silver energy lastly as the energy slowly became a palpable metallic structure. He needed to concentrate on his form, making his armor more intangible less he crushes his horse.
The first thing he noticed after his transformation was that the ground began moving as men dressed in green hoods revealed themselves from below the dirt. They showed themselves only after Nicholas' men rode past them, allowing their would be victims to expose their defenseless backs. They released their arrows towards the unit as Nicholas's men were riding by. Nicholas smiled. Given the armor of his men, the Burgans had no effective way to get rid of them quickly. "Sergeants! Take your men towards the granary, do not stop no matter what!" Nicholas didn't wait for confirmation from his men as he jumped onto a Burgan archer. His metallic energy immediately became solid as he dropped on the archer.
BOOM! A crater was formed on the ground as Nicholas crushed at least 5 men. He turned towards the closest archer and grabbed him by the face, squeezing and ripping off his forehead and allowing his brain matter to spill out in the process. He charged into the group of archers, ripping limb by limb as he proceeded to disrupt their arrows. His battle-charge was unstoppable as he began killing soldiers where ever he went. All nearby soldiers that approached him tried their best to hack off a limb or 2 but were all ineffective on the metallic man. His 2nd class Elementum powers and 1st class cladding made him impervious to all soldiers who were unable to clad. Nicholas had lost count of the number of soldiers he killed. His 1st class cladding allowed him to harden the surface of his armor to 50%, making him a force to be reckoned with.
The archers were no match for him but the rest of Nicholas's unit was not as lucky. The archers, noticing the indestructible man, had focused their fire on the less challenging targets. Although the armor had initially saved the Katarian soldiers, the death of their horses, as well as the attrition damage, eventually summed up into major causalities. At least 100 of Nicholas's unit was already dead.
On the right of the metallic man was a bald-headed man with a thick pale red glow on his twohanded sword. He began reaping the Burgan heads at the same time as Nicholas albeit with less flashy moves. Together, the men killed at last 100 soldiers before the archers could reassemble. Just as Nicholas was about to kill another of the soldiers an orange glow blocked his vision before he was sent sliding back.
Nicholas felt a sting as he looked at his mildly dented armor. He had expected more from the Burgans. With at least 1000 soldiers, he expected to encounter a Knight Commander somewhere on the battlefield. He sent his Sergeants ahead not only to intercept the company of Burgan soldiers but also to save their lives. A Knight Commander combatant was too difficult for them to handle.
He looked up at the bold soldier who attacked him, he willed his armor to straighten as he turned towards his attacker. He knew his opponent had to be a Senior Knight to hurt him. The soldier, realizing his opportunity, resumed his battle stance then dashed towards Nicholas. Before the man could even land another attack, Michael intercepted with a cladded kick to his ribs. The unknown Knight immediately blocked the attack as he looked at Michael in shock. He had assumed all capable fighters had left with the 400 men that rode off before the attack started. The one second it took him to look at Michael, Nicholas was already mid-stride towards the man. Nicholas clenched his fist as he willed his metallic armor to extend over his knuckles.
"Sphhhhhhlt" the spiked fist collided with the Knight's shoulder, ripping it from the socket and left it dangling to the man's side by a thin strip of flesh. "Urghhhhh" the Knight groaned as he received the deadly blow. He had initially intended to dodge the blow but was affected by Michael's cognizance. Just as Nicholas was about to finish the man off, a pale blue sword found its way between his spiked fist and the Knight's head.
"That's enough, I'll take it from here," a short man said to the Senior Knight as he effectively parried Nicholas's blow effortlessly. He was dressed in a white tunic covered by a dark green coat. His tunic was tucked into his black pants and his mid-calf leather boots were spotless. He looked more like a noble on the battlefield than a soldier. Nicholas felt his fist go numb as his feet dug into the dirt below. "Little men are always the first to strike right Commander, is it?" Said the man as he turned then smiled at Nicholas. "The name's Howler, right, Sid Howler. Welcome to the last day of your life," he ended as the smile disappeared from his face.