Chapter 57 - I Gave You a Chance

Esdeath's first thoughts were that of her love and master, and how she would do anything for him. An army surrounded her and her hands twitched in anticipation to join the fight. A request which was granted by her master only a moment later, though with another objective, to capture a man called Biroth and any others of importance. She assumed this Biroth was their leader, and she understood her master words. She herself had taken those in charge as prisoners to use them as an example, to break them, or to just amuse herself with their pain.

Perhaps her master would allow her to do so with this man?

As master others left to join the fight, Esdeath leaned in to give her master a quick kiss, enjoying the feel of his lips and feeling happy that he did not pull back, though she hadn't really given him the chance to.

She gave him one last smile before her eyes turned cold and with a thought an ice pillar shot her into the air, giving her a brief view of the battlefield. The one with an eye patch had headed south to join a knight covered in bone and the painted women wielding two firearms. The west of the army and much of the north were already completely decimated under the relentless attack of the green giant, leaving her with the east, which still had some semblance of order, though most seemed to be looking to flee.

She smiled and shot forward towards them, her rapier already in hand.

The strong survive, she thought to herself, and the weak die.

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The army of Biroth was in chaos. Only a day earlier they had been told of the defeat at the fort and many had expressed a desire to leave or to wait until they were in a better position to attack, but their leader, Duke Biiroth, had waved it away and used the last of the coin to buy another dual essence beacon. His plan had been simple, catch the false king off guard and storm the walls before they could respond in time. Many of his generals found it to be a foolish idea, but Biroth never listened to any of them and the plan proceeded.

The beacon had worked and the army marched through and for those first few minutes, things seemed like they would work out. That was until the wyvern landed and chaos broke loose.

Every single soldier was now cursing themselves for having joined Biroth's cause, as creatures, beasts, and warriors unlike any other attacked them. A beastkin with blonde hair and tail, tore into them, shredding soldier after soldier apart. Her speed and agility allowed her to dodge most attacks and those that did hit her seemed to leave only flesh wounds that would heal quickly. Her ferocity was backed up by the man who wouldn't die.

He looked normal, and like nothing special, but no matter what anyone did, he never fell. His head taken, his torso crushed, his legs set ablaze. His weapons brought death wherever he went, whether it was a simple axe that tore through men, machetes that cut them into pieces or his unusual weapons that sounded like thunder and punched through any armour they had. No matter what injury he took he just kept on moving forward and attacking, leaving the soldiers of Biroth's army in an untenable position.

It didn't help them that a small creature was appearing and disappearing from the ground, smashing soldiers with a signal strike or sending out large gouts of flame into groups. Many tried to hit it, but they never got anywhere since the creature just disappeared back into the ground. He was aided by another which only a few soldiers caught a brief glimpse of, though many did not understand what they were seeing. A slight shimmer that was near impossible to see in the chaos was the only thing that heralded it. Men simply fell where they stood and large explosions that seemed to come from nowhere sent dozens of soldiers flying in all directions, littering the gourd with more blood and corpses.

Most soldiers simply tried to retreat into even bothering to fight, but in every direction awaited a new foe. A bone knight that tore the souls from its victims and moved with a precision they had never seen before. A painted lady who seemed impossible to hit but killed dozens of them in turn.

Not to mention the green giant which had already decimated two-thirds of the army and the man that seemed to be conjuring more and more of himself every second, literally drowning them in bodies. Many soldiers looked to the east seeing that it was only defended by two of the strange warriors.

Many saw a glimmer of hope.

If they could just get away from the rest of the army then they could escape. They should have known that it sounded too good to be true.

Unrelenting cold tore across the battlefield, freezing the legs of every soldier moments before their frozen legs shattered, leaving thousands crawling around and over each other in agony and pain. Those who hadn't run to the east looked at the sight in pure horror and terror, some fainting and others vomiting, while others still, began crying, falling to their knees.

The broken soldiers crawling on the ground like animals saw only a single standing person amongst them. A blue-haired woman with a wide smile so cold it chilled the hearts of any who saw it. Her eyes were filled with a sick and twisted pleasure, and she didn't even bother to watch where she stepped. Heads and bones cracked under her boots as she merely stepped upon the already broken soldiers.

The cries of pain and agony only seemed to spur her on and a moment later small blades of ice rose from the ground, piercing the tortured soldiers. They were so thin that hundreds pierced each soldier, causing immense amounts of pain and keeping them awake through cold shock. Many begged the angel of cold death for mercy as she passed, but she only smiled down at them.

Seeing this, the remaining soldiers broke, not bothering to run, instead they all fell to their knees, bowing their heads and begging for forgiveness.

It never came.