36 The Battle at Raven's Peak part 1

Boudica's arrow flew towards the back of Captain Ned Lowe as he paced towards his charging units. As it approached him, an enemy soldier in tattered clothing pushed him out of the way, taking the arrow himself in the arm. The power from the arrow drove him to the floor.

Ned tumbled to the side from the push, landing heavily on the ground. He angrily stood up and looked down at the soldier in disgust, for having touched him with his dirty hands. Ned withdrew his rapier and stabbed the soldier in the throat. The tattered clothed soldier died, his eyes pleading for forgiveness. Ned cleaned the rapier tip on the victim's clothing before putting it back in its sheath. He turned and glared towards the fort walls, directly at Boudica.

"Who ever captures me that bitch can have a ship of their own, I want her as my new ship figurehead !" Ned yelled angrily, pointing towards the red haired woman on the fort wall.

"Kill!" His men shouted, rushing wildly towards the Fort on Ravens Peak.

"Fire!" Boudica yelled at her archers, before 20 arrows flew towards the charging foe. Her arrow hit one of the heavy enemies in the face, killing him instantly. He fell heavily to the ground, causing the men behind him to fall over him.

Most of the arrows found a target, where as a few missed or hit the same person as their colleagues. For a first wave of arrows though it did the work, instantaneously lowering the enemy combatants. Bodies fell hard to the ground as their comrades jumped over the dead or injured bodies.

"Keep firing!" Boudica ordered as she launched her next arrow, this time taking one of the charging men down who was taking a lead from the others. The arrow hit him in the neck and he staggered and grasped at it as he fell to the ground.

Some more enemy appeared from the woods, holding an array of equipment. It was hard to see in the dark but they mainly held roughly made ladders. One group of men also carried a large tree trunk, which had been quickly felled to be used as a ram against the gate walls, some branches still swayed as it was heaved forwards.

"Shit, they have reinforcements." Mark lamented. Dian Wei walked forwards and peared over the wall, almost unaware of the enemy approaching.

"Our men are better trained" He commented. "We should still win this fight."

Even though the first wave were being hit by arrows, they still approached fearlessly, whilst their colleagues shot back. Arrow after arrow clashed against the fort walls, with one or two flying over in to the fort beyond.

"Medic!" Mark heard someone shout, he turned and noticed that one Gan Ning's men had been hit in the shoulder and was in shock. The arrow had flew over the wall and he was just unlucky to be in that location.

"Target their archers!" Mark ordered Boudica.

"Orion, you and your men shoot at their Archers, the rest of you shoot at those with ladders" She relayed to her men.

The enemy drove closer to the walls, some almost within touching distance, their crazed faces in the dark reflecting in the moonlight.

"Gan Ning! Prepare to reinforce the wall as they approach!" Mark ordered loudly.

Gan Ning nodded back, before turning to his men.

"Hilda, take four and reinforce the east of the gate, Jin, take four and reinforce the west of the gate. Do not let anyone get on the wall!" He ordered, before rushing to Mark's position himself.

Eduardo stayed behind with the rest of the unit, prepared to reinforce any other location that was needed, they still had to be prepared for an ambush in the dark from any other location.

Little Tai and his men stood centrally behind the gate, preparing for orders. The men grasped at their weapons impatiently, wanting to rush in to the fight.

The first enemy reached the wall defences, falling in to a spiked trap that was surrounding the palisades. Behind him his friends followed, jumping over the hole and and quickly reaching the wall. Others fell in similar holes but they didn't slow the advance much, just reduced the enemy count. The first to fall wailed in agony as a wooden spike protruded from his stomach.

As they reached the wall, they quickly tried to climb, stabbing their weapons in to the wood. The villagers started to throw stones at them as previously ordered, with some bouncing of the heads of the more eager enemies.

One enemy collapsed to the floor with a crushed skull, as he fell he landed in a heap on the floor near more enemies that charged forwards. They didn't even glance at his body before trying to climb as he had.

"Climbers!" Mark yelled, making Gan Ning and his infantry aware.

They quickly charged to the wall edge and helped the others on the wall throw down stones on the climbing enemies. The archers continued to shoot at each other, with many attackers falling. A few arrows hit back and a couple of people were hit. An archer who had recently joined from the rescued prisoners at the bandit hideout was hit hard in the shoulder as he fell from the fort walkway to the floor below.

"Keep hitting those carrying the ladders!" Boudica yelled as the enemies carrying the roughly made contraptions got closer and closer. More arrows rained down on them, but as they fell dead, more reinforcements grabbed them and continued the journey.

"Where are they coming from?" Mark yelled at no one in particular. The numbers of enemies continued to pour from the forest, and Mark's small numbers of troops were now facing closer to 300 enemies. There be it a fair few of them were arrow cushions dead on the floor.

"Ladders approaching!" Mark heard Orion shout, who was leading his Archers to fire continuously at the horde of fearless men that charged at the wall.

"Gan Ning, have your men ready to repel the invaders!" Boudica shouted in support, knowing that her Archers were running out of firing time. She had to change their role now as warriors on the wall "Men, prepare to draw swords!'

The first ladder was pushed up against the wall, a cheer erupting from the enemies that lifted it up. It was to the west of the gate where Orion was fighting back with Jin and his unit.

"Push the ladder back!" Jin yelled loudly to his unit as the top of the ladder hit the fort wall. His men rushed forwards immediately and heaved at it. An arrow flew in their direction, hitting one of them squarely in the chest.

"Keep your heads down!" Orion shouted at them as the hit soldier looked at his chest in shock. Blood flowed from the wound as he held the shaft tightly. He looked around at his comrades for help, but realised that they didn't have time for that. He sat himself down on the wall walkway and gazed in to the moonlight.

"More ladders!" Mark yelled as more approached them, the flood of enemies quickly gaining a footing at the base of the wall.

Jin's unit pushed the first ladder as the first enemy climbed his way up it. As the enemy reached high, the balance on the ladder top was in Jin's favour. With a heavy push the ladder wobbled backwards before falling heavily on to the crowd beneath. The enemy climbing it landed on his friends below, taking a few to the grave with him, the crudely made ladder itself shattering on impact with the ground and bodies below.

More ladders pushed against the fort walls, the archers and light units continued to move them away, shooting at and stabbing at the soldiers climbing them.

"Keep fighting back!" Boudica yelled loudly, trying to keep the tired Red Ribbons morale high. This was their first proper test and they were struggling.

As Jin pushed the next ladder back, which fell like the earlier ones and shattered below, an other ladder was placed nearby. This time the climbing enemy reached the top, a toothless dirty face growled at them as the enemy swung an axe in the defenders direction. The defender closest who was trying to push that ladder back suddenly lost his hand to the swing, screaming in agony as he held on to the bloodied stump that remained. Fear suddenly reached Jin and his remaining men as the enemy climbed over the ladder to the wall.

The grin suddenly disappeared as a spear penetrated him through the side, lifting him in the air with the momentum and throwing him back across the wall.

"Keep up the fight!" Mark ordered as he aimed his spear at the next climber, stabbing it straight in to the attackers neck as his head popped up. The dead enemy fell back and took the ladder with him, crushing his comrades below.

Mark looked around the fort, noticing enemies getting footholds, Gan Ning had by now ordered the rest of his units across the wall to help the silent division strike back against the attackers. Mark only had the heavy division left to deploy, which he was holding back until he needed.

"Mark!" Dian Wei called to him, stand nearby swinging his halberds at any enemy that reached the top, a row of decapitated corpses lying on the ground near him. "They are nearing the gates with the battering ram!"

"Heavies!" Mark yelled, looking where Dian Wei had pointed at a group of huge men carrying a large tree stump that was recently felled. "Prepare to defend the gate!"