Chapter 85 - Stalling For Time

The riders were trying to circle around the enemies' army. Still, even though they had the advantage thanks to the horses, it would take a while for them to arrive. Most likely, they won't be fast enough to prevent the fall of the gate. After all, Zaos could tell that they had lost twenty percent of the riders even from afar.

"Drannor!" Zaos shouted. "Take one third of the recruits and go protect the gate. Stall for as long as you can!"

That was a bad idea. Drannor knew it. If he were to take so many of the recruits to do that job, the archers wouldn't have the chance to protect themselves while they are shooting… Still, he was also fully aware that they no other choice. Drannor saw a squad of archers approaching through the enemy army as if things weren't bad enough. Since only had a few of them, they certainly were experts… many of their friends are going to die there, and Drannor didn't have any choice but to leave them and rely on their own luck to survive.

"Squads one to five, follow me!" Drannor shouted.

Drannor made his choice… meanwhile, Zaos was moving behind his allies in order to approach the gate as much as possible. He destroyed some ladders, but it was obvious that he won't be able to destroy all of them. So, his long-ranged attacks will be more useful if he stays close to the gate.

The recruits tried to fight back and knock down some of the mercenaries that almost climbed the walls. In contrast, those who got close enough were knocked down to their deaths after being stabbed in the face every single time they managed to stab at least one of the recruits before it.

Since Zaos had disappeared from the enemies' radar by moving behind his allies, he tried to shoot as many of those guys as possible, but that was just too hard given his position. Also, he didn't want to give the order for the recruits to use the bodies of the fallen recruits to knock down the mercenaries.

"Shit… shit…" Zaos clenched his teeth, agonizing over what to do in that situation.

They just had to stall for time until the next morning, but it was clearly impossible when the enemy was using all of its forces. So while the recruits were trying to knock down the ten or so ladders and failing miserably due to the weight on them, Zaos considered the options he had. Retreat and turn the town into a battlefield or keep fighting a battle that was impossible to win due to the massive number of enemies and lack of recruits' experience. Zaos looked to the side for a second and saw what Drannor was doing with the recruits in front of the gate, and so he had an idea.

"Everyone! Pick up your shields and spears and then move away from the edge of the wall!" Zaos shouted.

There wasn't much space to move in the walls, but since the recruits were small, and so were their gear, that could work. While everyone was readying themselves. Some mercenaries reached the top of the wall. Zaos dashed at one of them, and the enemy noticed his approach. The mercenary tried to open a hole in Zaos's head with the spear, but Zaos parried the attack to the side. That had been one very sloppy attack, and thanks to it, the enemy was wide open. Before he could react, Zaos pierced his sword on the enemies' throats.

Zaos looked to the other enemies while that mercenary fell on the ground and was agonizing due to the wound. He confirmed that the other enemies had fallen as well. But, perhaps too easily… regardless, they brought down some recruits with them.

"Look at me and repeat my movements!" Zaos shouted as he picked a shield and a spear.

While Zaos didn't have experience fighting with a shield and spear, he didn't have to do much as a demonstration. When an enemy appeared in front of him, it immediately tried to stab Zaos's head, but he parried the attack to his left side and then charged with the spear firmly in his right hand. While chainmail protected the enemy, it didn't prevent him from falling on the other side of the wall and bringing down three other mercenaries with him.

"Defense first, attack second! Do not hesitate!" Zaos shouted.

The recruits began to repeat what Zaos showed them, and while that worked for a while, it didn't prevent some of the recruits from messing up and losing their minds. Instead of worrying about that, Zaos looked for the archer's squad that was approaching. Still, he didn't find them… most likely, Elius and the other riders dealt with them. However, their numbers decreased once again. Zaos could tell that they weren't even fifty anymore. Their mobility and ability to pierce the enemies' army couldn't even be compared to before.

Suddenly, Zaos heard a massive crack coming from the direction of the gate. It looked like time slowed down from Zaos's perspective as he watched the pieces of wood flying in all directions. He even heard the sound of a single drop of sweat falling from his face and hitting on the ground as he watched the mercenaries advancing.

Drannor and the others he had brought to defend that part of the town charged to stop the first wave of enemies. Thanks to their coordination, ten or so mercenaries were killed, but the others didn't slow down. At the same time, Zaos saw the residents of the nearest houses leaving their homes and running toward the exit of the town. Once the first few families did that, the others followed by behind. Then, in a single instant and without anyone telling them to do it, the residents decided to risk their lives on the northern lands.

"Fall back!" Zaos shouted. "We are going to fight in the streets and as a single group!"

There was no point in splitting their forces when the enemy already reached their main goal. In order to stall for as much as possible, Zaos's group reunited with Drannor's group.