31 Devastating Charge

"The scouts have found them."

Nizho approached Aerion at the outer reaches of the camp, where he was diligently practising his magic. He wore his usual clothing which stood out from the Dothraki who followed him. Hot temperatures had a very little effect on him so there wasn't a reason for him to walk around without a torso.

Once he heard Nizho's voice, Aerion turned to face him.

"Are they far?"

"Only half a day of riding away, my Khal."

"How many?"

"More than two for each rider, but every rider is worth more than two of them."

Aerion smiled.

"And I lead you. This will undoubtedly be a swift victory for the khalasar."

Terrifying tornadoes and raining fire followed by a horde of screaming riders... very few men will find the resolve to fight at their best. Especially those sellswords who only fight for gold... they would more swiftly drop their weapons and run than stand their ground. Unless the Free Cities have hired the Golden Company, that is.

Aerion chuckled as he started to walk towards his camp.

But they have already declared their support for me, refusing to fight for any rebel Free Cities no matter the amount of gold they offer.

~

"What I fear most is facing that Dragon Prince. The tales and songs speak of his endless magical power, from burning down gates to commanding thousands of dead men. I would not have even come here if the leader didn't force the contract onto us."

"Do you truly believe in those tales? He is flesh, just like the rest of us. One good stab to the chest and he's dead. We will overwhelm him with our numbers and that will be the end of his conquest."

"If it was so simple, he would have died long ago."

"You worry too much. Besides, the reports say that the little dragon has fallen ill... hahaha. The senior officers have even confirmed that he is one step away from the doors of death. How will he use his magic in that state?"

"He can still wake before we reach him." The sellsword sighed. "In that case, I don't want to die."

"Cowardly bastard. Go and run away if you wish, we don't need you."

"I would rather be a coward than a fool. Fools die meaningless deaths while cowards live another day."

"Hmph."

The army that Norvos and Qohor had gathered consisted of several different types of troops; from cavalry, infantry to even archers. A decent majority of the great army consisted of sellswords which they had bought with gold while the rest of the men were from their personal armies. In total, they numbered slightly more than twenty thousand... a grand number, indeed. The leaders of both of the Free Cities had been offering gifts to the passing khalasars to avoid battle and so, the army had marched towards Pentos without much worry. The leaders themselves, however, were hiding in their Free Cities to avoid combat.

That is what made Aerion the more desirable ruler amongst the freeborn of the Free Cities. Not only was he a single, powerful and charismatic ruler that everyone could follow easily, but he also led his own armies with great bravery instead of relying on mercenaries to do the work for him.

"Do you hear that?"

A sellsword stopped as a certain thumping sound was growing louder with every moment. He looked at the massive hill in front of him as a slight feeling of fear crawled up his spine. Then some distant screams started to reach his ears, causing the slight feeling of fear to grow.

"... Could it be the Dothraki?"

"But they paid them all off, didn't they?"

"Aye, the magisters did- the... the sky!"

"The sky?"

The surrounding sellswords looked up as two colossal spheres of scarlet flames pierced the blue sky which started to turn red. Upon reaching a certain altitude, the spheres separated into a hundred smaller blasts of fire and started to rain down onto the army below.

"Hell... we have entered the depths of hell..."

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.

Under the constant bombardment of fire, half a thousand men burned to death... but that was not the end.

Three tornadoes formed at the very front of the army and started to tear them all apart, clearing a wonderful path for the khalasar that was riding up the hill. The tornadoes faded after killing around seven hundred men in total, though they had done far more damage than that. Mentally, the army was now in complete disarray.

Then the screams emerged in full effect.

"AYAYAYAYYYYYYYYYY!"

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

The hearts of the sellswords almost beat in synch with the shaking ground.

At last, they witnessed the first figure atop the hill. The shimmering figure clad in plate armour mounted on his red stallion started to descend, followed by the terrifying horde of screaming riders.

But it wasn't just north of them... the riders split to east, west and a couple thousand rode around for the flank.

That moment was when the army truly broke apart.

The battle had truly ended before it even started.

~

By the end, only the Dothraki riders remained. Some ran, others fell to the arakhs and rather accurate bows of the Dothraki. It was the most unique style of calvary he had ever witnessed... even the knights of the Seven Kingdoms would certainly find it difficult to face an equally numbered khalasar.

Firing the bow while mounted... perhaps I should learn this skill myself.

Aerion was covered in the blood of his enemies as he observed the massive field of corpses. Some were Dothraki riders but the majority consisted of the army that Norvos and Qohor had gathered. Nizho soon joined him atop his mount with a rather joyful expression on his face.

"Your first victory as the Khal was one to remember... hahahaha. The men who fought for gold ran like crickets!"

Aerion chuckled.

Chiftik... cricket, what an interesting insult.

"There will be plenty more to come in the future, Nizho. We will be staying here while I make the dead rise again."

"As you command, Khal."

Aerion rubbed his hands with some excitement as he had nearly twenty thousand corpses right before him.

The leaders of Norvos and Qohor are in for a wonderful surprise...