Christopher had offered to pay the town’s citizens for the goods they needed, his feud only resting with the king, but the town’s mayor refused. So he stormed their city and threatened their children’s lives.
It did the trick, and Christopher’s army was once again supplied and strong.
King Christopher took a hard look at the castle before he even talked with General Talon, trying to decide the best strategy and how to win with minimal losses on both sides.
This was city combat, which meant civilians would be in the mix. He had no issue with slaughtering soldiers by the thousands, but he would not stand by and shed more civilian blood than necessary.
He stood there a long moment, the chill wind blasting his face while he thought about the situation. Time to test the cannons, he decided only moments later, nodding to himself in silent satisfaction.
Cannons were a new invention of Coontan’s scientists, the only known firearm of any type to date. They had performed admirably in the fields back home, but unfortunately, he had never had the need or the time to test them in a real-world scenario.
The young king said a quick prayer with Talon, asking the gods for victory over the unrighteous enemy.
“And may Zhaknon grant me victory over our enemy, who hath wronged us. May we win swiftly and suffer few casualties, and may the lives of the civilians be spared, for they are innocent in this affair. In the name of the Jheriem, our Savior, Amen.”
“Amen,” General Talon said somberly, head bowed. Soon after, he raised his head and gave Christopher a curious look. “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing, taking it this far? I mean, we might have been fine just leaving it with destroying their army.”
“Talon, when you're a king, you learn that there is no easy right or wrong anymore. Everything involves a shade of gray, and in the end all you can do is what's best for the people.”
The big man stroked his beard. “Then do you think this is what's best for the people, Sire?”
“Keeping me alive, of course.” He sighed again. “What other answer could there be? And if keeping me alive is best for the people, then this course of action is the best. We can't live with a constant threat of assassination, Talon. This may not be the only way, but it's the best way.”
Talon looked into his eyes for several moments, then nodded, a grim look on his face. “Yes, Sire. You’re right. Let’s win this thing then.”
King Christopher walked up to the wooden gates of the castle and knocked three times. For each of the knocks, one cannonball was shot at a different tower.
The cannonball blasted forth, barreling towards the main guard tower. It hurtled through the air, slamming into the old stone of the tower.
A spray of stone flew out from the impact as the tower rumbled and fell, several guards screaming as they were caught up in the wave of destruction.
Not too shabby for a first try.
The second one flew through the air, spinning towards the training halls in the left tower. This also resulted in a hit, though it was high on the tower, resulting in mere superficial damage instead of a glorious explosion.
The last cannonball raced through the air, crashing into the castle’s main gate, blowing it apart in a hail of wood and stone.
A smile broke upon Christopher’s face. The way into the castle proper was open at last. He watched as a meager guard force spilled out of the opening, looking dazed and none too ready to defend it.
He whistled to General Talon, who motioned for the ground troops to follow him into the open maw of the tattered remains of the front gate, hacking and slicing with his glow-sword.
The enemy guards provided little resistance and fell under the might of Coontan’s army as Talon and his ground troops surged forward, intent on ending the conflict.
* * * * * * * * * *
Talon sped through the halls of the castle, fighting his way to the king's throne room where he would surely find King Caballar. He intended to find the king and end this conflict himself the only way he knew how – by cutting off the head of the opposing forces.
It had worked fine before, so why not now?
He was armed only with his glow-sword, and he wore no armor, nor did he need it. He used the shadows, anything from the castle’s shadow to the shadow of a flame on the wall, to hide from his enemies.
His brain soured at the thought of killing anyone unnecessary, but he knew he could not let the king’s own guards live, so whenever he came across a few, he jumped out of the shadows and surprised them, hacking away.
Most of the time, he would slice through their pitiful armor with his glow-sword before they even had a chance to draw their own weapons in defense.
Talon was close to the throne room now. He could sense it. He marched up one more flight of stairs and arrived in front of the arched doorway to the king’s personal chambers.
He wondered briefly how many times court had been held within the chamber beyond, then dismissed the thought. It didn’t matter now, nor would it ever in the future. There before him stood three of King Caballar's personal guards, blocking his advance.
This is gonna be easy.
Talon grinned widely in the dim light. In one fluid motion, he jumped out of the shadows and decapitated the first guard. The man’s head flew through the air as blood gushed from his neck.
The other two guards pulled out their swords to defend themselves, but not in time. Talon cut through them as
