tar. i do like Johnson, seeing as he was the first character i introduced. he represents the working class people under the scrutiny of the Monarchy. and Bill, he'll come into play more a bit later.
Chapter 8
Corporal Jack led the men steadily to the far West, and eventually saw from the top of a hill the unit of Outlaws far in the distance marching towards the Haydurg perimeter. It looked like a unit of about forty-odd men, and they were out in the open, so Jack had no idea how he was going to launch an ambush successfully.
Jack held his hand out to the side to signify for the men to stop, and thought for a moment. He didn't have much battle knowledge, and now wished the sergeant had been ordered to complete this task rather than himself. He went for the most basic approach, even though there were life's at risk.
“Men, when I say advance, you will do so with haste. We need to reach these outlaws before they make it to Haydurg or have time to retreat.” Jack said atop his horse, not even turning back.
“Right, advance.”
He trotted down the hill with the bedraggled men behind him, towards the outlaws. Within a few seconds the outlaws had spotted them, and Jack could see the unit leader shouting, ordering them to turn to face Jack and his men. This unnerved Jack, seeing as the only armour he wore was a leather jerkin.
He was closer, but was still only trotting. He drew his sword and held it to the right, then shouting behind him “Charge men! Make haste!” Jack went into a canter, and heard the men running behind him, beginning to shout.
Jack reached the outlaws first and crashed through the front line with ease, due to the fact none of the outlaws had spears. He was almost immediately knocked from his horse when an outlaw swiped at his chest with a sword, but it narrowly missed Jack and he retaliated with a stab into the man's ribs, slicing through his clothing and flesh. Jack withdrew his sword to see the end dripping blood and the man fall to the ground.
The outlaws soon surrounded Jack and he was having to fight them off on all sides. It was a miracle none of them attacked the horse, but just as Jack thought this, his horse reared up, frightened, and Jack fell from it onto his back. An older looking outlaw ran towards Jack and he just managed to get his sword between him and the enemy, making him literally run onto the end of it.
At last, corporal Jack's men reached him and began to fight them fiercely. He got up from the ground and blocked an outlaw's sword which would have sliced his head clean off. Jack then twisted it around with his own sword as the metal of both scraped against each other, and thrust his blade into the man's stomach in the new opening.
Corporal Jack was young; only eighteen, and was exceptional in combat. But due to his young age and small frame, he was knocked to the ground yet again when an outlaw, a huge beast of a man donning a beard, pushed him over with his round shield. The outlaw held a mace, and lifted it up to strike Jack with it; a killer blow. But another man got between himself and the outlaw, smashing a war hammer onto the skull of the man. He dropped to the ground instantly, his face landing in the mud in a most undignified manner.
Jack just about managed to see the back of the soldier's head that had saved him as he got back to his feet, and made a mental note. He stood once more, swinging his sword into the neck of a man, leaving it buried midway through, blood spurting high and the outlaw gurgling with his tongue hanging out. He pulled it back out and wiped his face of blood.
He turned amidst the heat of battle and found a man running towards him, roaring with his axe held high above. Jack strategically dropped to his knee and chopped the poor man's leg off halfway up the shin. The man fell to the, now bloody, ground, screaming in agony. Suddenly Jack's sword became wrapped up in chain, and he looked to his right to see a tall man wielding a two headed flail, tugging on the weapon in an attempt to pull the sword from Jack's hand.
Jack dropped the sword and backhanded the man across the jaw with the little amount of time he had to attack. The tall man seemed unharmed and spun the flail in the air, making the tangled sword fall to the ground, then swinging for the corporal's head. Jack ducked just in time and pulled out his dagger. He leapt forward and plunged it up to the hilt into the tall man's groin. He shrieked in pain and fell to the ground, writhing, as his trousers slowly stained with blood.
Picking up his sword and sheathing his dagger, he spotted a young outlaw with his back to him; he must have been roughly Jack's age. Poor kid, brought up in a lawless and hopeless society. But this thought didn't stop him impaling the lad on the end of his sword, his body being so thin that it passed straight through, Jack able to see the tip over his shoulder.
He withdrew it and let the limp body flop to the muddy earth. He then heard a man behind him shout “BASTARD!”, and spun around to come almost face to face with another outlaw. He managed to block the madman's attack with his sword, the blade touching his nose. He used both hands to shove the man away from him, but he came back just as quick, laying strikes upon his sword with incredible power, making Jack's hands absorb the shock that travelled down the blade.
One of Jack's men joined and assaulted the outlaw with a massive blow to the sword, making the outlaw drop it with an unhealthy sounding twang. The outlaw punched the soldier in the face leaving him dazed for a few seconds. Jack stepped in once more and hacked the outlaw's left shoulder, causing his arm to hang limply by a few strands of flesh, clothing and exposed nerves.
Blood literally poured from the stump and the man screamed, falling to his knees, but grabbed the blade of Jack's sword with a gloved hand. Jack was about to yank it back when he saw the man's eyes roll upwards into his head, and he fell sideways onto the raw nerves of his mangled shoulder.
Jack looked around him, beginning to feel the ache from using his sword, panting. His men were winning, from what he could tell. The space in which they had been fighting was strewn with bodies; some dead, some unconscious, some injured and some crippled. The few men that were still fighting were ganging up on the stragglers of the outlaw unit, seeing as the others had apparently ordered the retreat and could be seen fleeing in the distance to the far West.
Jack felt swelled with pride for his feat, and looked around himself. One thing he noticed; a man as pale as a lily hugging a young lad on the ground. Both were dead. And one had his arm hanging by strands. Jack realised what he had done, one of the worst crimes. He had slain the son of a loving father in front of his eyes. He thought about how bad this made him, and for some reason he imagined that captain William San would like him even more if he found out about it. He wretched and was sick over his boots.
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quite a long chapter due to the battle scene.
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