98 Bravely Run Away

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The cry of a soldier getting caught by skeletons was now far too common, and if it was anywhere but near this location, the result would have been obvious. The numerous ponds of blood that were spreading across the ramparts and falling down the streets were such consequences. Right before his life began to be resumed in front of his eyes, the soldier couldn't help but feel that the weight of the undead one its body was getting lighter and lighter. Feeling that he was ascending toward the Heavens, he felt great that even if he had done a few relatively bad deeds, they were not enough to condemn him.

Only after opening his eyes when he felt that he was still very cold and tired did he noticed the two armors that were crushing down any threats. They kept destroying groups of skeletons like they were harvesting a field, not like they were hardly having any trouble. Before he could even get up and try to thank them for saving his life, he realized that they were already too far for his feeble voice to reach them. From the beginning, they hadn't spared a single glance at the fortunate guard, too focus to face the enemy in front of them.

"C'mon, stop being dazed and move on! They are stalling the undead, we need to leave the wall before it's too late." A more experienced warrior grabbed the half kneeling guard and began to quickly retreat. There was still a few soldiers and adventurers that were cut out of the reinforcements and were desperately fighting for their lives. Those two armored adventurers were the only reason most of those lost souls managed to escape.

A few officers were still standing on top of the stairs, repelling all the attempts of the skeletons nearby to descend. Because of the presence of Davion and Meridiana, they were still not retreating and abandoning their men until all hope was lost. The shaken guard was escorted toward that fortified location and was allowed to rest for a few minutes. He soon was surrounded by others that were traumatized by the experience of near death. Some were even in tears and wailing their suffering.

Shuddering at the sight of being so close to such a desperate man, he shook his head, dispelling all the dark thoughts that were spreading in his mind. The ones that rescued him were shocked to see him fighting barely a minute after being saved, but they quickly forgot it under the heavy assaults of the undead and were only thankful for another guard to shoulder with them such threatening attacks.

"TAKE THAT UNDEAD!" A visibly stronger officer was fighting four skeletons at once, not even caring about the fleshless arms that were trying to grab him to take him down. After finishing them, he could only let his subordinates replace him for a while. He joined the other senior guards to discuss the situation.

It had already been a dozen of minutes since Seron had passed the order of leaving the walls. Without the appearance of the two adventurers that were more terrifying than even the dead, none of them would be fighting so hard to gain some times. But they were reaching the point where they couldn't hold the stairs anymore, otherwise, they will begin to lose too many good fighters for a mirage. When he heard them beginning to sound the retreat, his massive hand grabbed the one that was talking.

"We will not abandon Gerald, he is still stuck behind those skeletons. If it was any of you, you will also want to be saved. Are we the kind that abandons their brothers? Their friends?" None had the strength of fighting, and even the tough looking officer was just grabbing, not lifting the other party like he usually did. With someone finally standing out to voice out his opposition, a few indecisive seniors gave their support.

"Gerald would not want his wife and his daughter to die because of you either! Look around us, we are barely standing on our feet. Even while we talked, someone could be too tired, make a mistake, and lose his life. We have waited too long; we need to retreat. I am sorry about your brother. But everyone knew about this."

Even when grabbed by the collar and facing such a threatening brute, the only sentiment visible on his face was fatigue. The order of Seron was for the greater good, and only an exception like those two adventurers could have made them change their minds. And as much as the strong officer wanted to silence him, deep down, both knew that it was not a good decision, but it was definitely not a bad one.

The two were silently staring at each other when an exhausted adventurer stumbled in front of them. Frowning about that interruption, their faces went from exasperation to joy in less than a second. "The two adventurers had come back with a group of guards!" Without waiting any longer, all the officers went back and prepared the escape. The fighters redoubled their efforts and fought like there was no tomorrow, knowing that they will be able to rest a bit when they will reach those at the bottom of the stairs.

The few humans that were on one side, however, were staring dumbfounded at the spectacle in front of them. The bigger armor was just swinging his arms, throwing every skeleton in his way outside of the ramparts. Seeing those undead flying above the torches were such a strange sight that even some began to pinch themselves to see if they were not asleep. As for the armor that was of more regular size, it was just tearing apart the limbs of the skeletons while violently stomping everything that was still moving on the floor.

After making sure that this group of guards was safe, Davion and Meridiana took an entire side by themselves, making many of those that were fighting worship them completely. The officer that was previously advocating to retreat as soon as possible approached the two with a peculiar look. In all honesty, he was dubious at first when he heard the report that those two were crushing down everything on their path. But after seeing this, he understood why many thought that it was possible to save Gerald and his men.

"We will begin to retreat, thank you. Don't get caught." Because of the urgency, he only said a few words and awaited an answer. But neither Davion nor Meridiana slowed down their actions or even talked to him. Feeling a bit ashamed to be ignored like that, he guessed that until the liches personally appeared, nothing could threaten the two. Meaning that his advice of being careful probably didn't apply to the two.

Nonetheless, thanks to the two being so efficient at crushing bones, the remaining garrison suffered only some minor casualties. There was also far less missing people on their side, compared to some part of the ramparts where dozens of guards and adventurers alike weren't found. Descending the stairs, they found the comfort of being surrounded by living beings. The wall of shield that was hastily formed sometimes was reinforced here with a line of spears. They only disrupted the formation long enough for everyone to pass through.

It was only at that moment that all of those that came down noticed the absence of their two saviors. The moment someone began to question where was the last time someone saw them, a feminine voice resonated above. "MOVE!!!!" They could only look above and see two forms beginning their descents toward the ground. Thankfully, the two choose the location where the soldiers were the most parse, but one was still knocked down by the impact.

STOMP

The very stone street under their heavy boots was broken, many fissures spreading all around. Even the most experienced adventurer was deeply shocked by that sight, wondering what kind of monster was hiding behind that dark armor. All they knew and was spread among the fighters was that they were strangers from an unknown country. The smallest was supposedly a beauty rarely seen, but she was as vicious as she was beautiful. As for the tallest, the only knowledge about him was that he was uglier than a troll and never spoke. But all that felt his stare on them still shudder when remembering it.

In the end, the entire eastern part of the ramparts had fallen in the hands of the undead. Past it, the northern and southern sections were still facing the huge influx of skeletons on the walls. But unlike those that were facing the army head front, they couldn't retreat like them. Otherwise, the control over the walls will be lost and the skeletons could slowly surround the entire city thanks to the ramparts. Even such a thing truly happened, no one in Archet will make it alive.

"Leave only one company in the entire western wall. We need every man we can get." Seron was currently resting a bit in one of the houses that were claimed by the garrison. The previous occupants of that place were shivering at the sight of so many injured people entering and leaving their houses. Some stayed nearby, looking in both curiosity and terror, while others had friends or family that could shelter them for the moment.

Nonetheless, the fact that the fight had already begun to reach the very habitations of Archet was spreading like a fire in summer. It didn't take very long for even some of the member of the council to come asking about the situation. All their efforts at inquiring what really was happening were met with a dead end, all their subordinates were beaten black and blue. None had the patience to see an arrogant dog barking at them, or that was the sentiment of the guards.

As for Seron, he was barely better than them. Instead of smashing the empty skulls of those that bothered him, he still nearly lost his calm and physically harmed them. After seeing such a scary side of the previously impassive captain of the guard, the cowardly men quickly escaped toward their manors, not daring to face him any longer.

"You know; the Mayor won't be happy if you ruin all his efforts at pacifying the city." Seron barely lifted his eyelids when hearing the Guild Master near him reprimanding his actions. He felt that he was already generous not forcing them to fight amongst the guards, even if the Mayor would have definitely claimed his head for that. Remembering that he promised Archet will not fall under his command, he began to regret saying such a boastful promise.

"So be it. Do you see those surrounding you? They are exhausted, they are terrified but they are fighting for something they want to protect. Their family, maybe their soulmate. The last thing they want right now is someone scarily asking something they should never know. At the same time, I never found the voices of those nobles to be particularly enjoyable. The bellowing of cows is like music compared to it."

Seron snickered a bit after saying this, only receiving a shake of the head from the Guild Master. But the later also knew Seron didn't want to lie to his soldiers. But if they had heard the same reports as they did, because of those nobles, some would not dare to get up anymore. The main issue lied with the adventurers. Half of them had already bravely run away, from the saying of the officers. By that, they meant that when they heard that a group was in dire need of help, they volunteered, only to never be seen again.

Paradoxically, the mercenaries affiliated to the numerous families across Archet were still present, even after Seron had violently kicked out their masters. The main differences between mercenaries and adventurers were that one group didn't belong to an entity like the Guild of the Adventurers. In that regard, the former could only on their reputation earned in a region. While adventurers would be recognized internationally thanks to their badges.

In far cruder words, if the two escaped to the same region, one will have to start at the bottom once more while the other could immediately enjoy the same benefits. There was still a few famous bands of mercenaries that were well known, but they were always viewed as lesser adventurers. Because there was no rules or rankings amongst them, one could never know the strength of a group. While that provoked a lot of issues when accepting a mission, that also meant attacking a mercenary was an extremely risky move, because his strength was uncertain.