webnovel

Chapter 10 (Rewrite)

===Godrick===

At the sound of the horn, Godrick began to walk forward. He hefted his halberd in his right hand before he began to pick up speed, and soon, he was sprinting towards the enemy shield wall.

The section of the wall he was running towards tensed themselves, ready for his bulk to meet their strength… Or so they thought.

As soon as his left shoulder met their shields, they buckled, and he ripped through them like they were made of parchment.

Godrick let his right hand slide down to the butt end of his halberd before he met the wall, and the moment he would through their first five ranks or so, he swung with all his strength, ripping through men and metal like it was nothing.

Screams of dying men filled the air as Godrick twisted his body back and forth, his halberd cutting any and all around him.

Men were thrown back into each other as he ripped through their ranks before he finally heard the thunderclap of the two armies crashing together.

The soldiers around him tried to stab at the gaps in his armor, but he was moving around so much that they all missed before being bisected.

The green grass beneath both armies turned red, and the smell of iron and shit filled the air as men died.

Swords and spears glanced off his armor as he continued to deal death around him before he was suddenly tackled from his left.

Godrick and his assailant hit the ground and rolled for a few feet before he got a hand on the big man's chest plate and shoved him off.

Anthrax hit the ground a dozen feet or so from Godrick before he rolled over and found his feet, seeing the young man do the same.

The men around them formed a massive circle around the two, not because they wished to see the fight, but so they wouldn't get caught in it. Sadly, their efforts were misplaced.

Godrick and Anthrax lunged at each other, the bigger man's warhammer meeting Godrick's halberd.

The resulting shockwave of the two weapons meeting blew everyone but themselves back a hundred feet, killing many of them.

Godrick struck out with the butt end of his weapon, only for it to be met by Anthrax's black shield.

Anthrax caught the blow on his shield that he held on his left arm before sweeping his warhammer at his opponent's legs, but Godrick saw it and backstepped, bringing the head of his halberd down on Anthrax's shield.

Thunder rumbling as the attack met, leaving Anthrax off balance.

Stepping forward, Godrick stabbed out with the spike atop his weapon, straight into the man's open stomach.

Anthrax grunted, but it didn't stop him from bringing his hammer down on Godrick's helmet.

The young warrior had seen the blow coming, and at the last moment, threw Anthrax to his right.

The blow still connected, making Godrick's helmet ring like a bell, but it was just a glancing blow.

As Godrick pulled his halberd from Anthrax, they once more met in a clash of strength, which Godrick won outright. He smashed the shaft of his weapon hard into the shaft of Anthrax's warhammer, throwing it back into the man's face.

He then went low and drove the shaft into his unguarded stomach, forcing the man to double over.

Godrick then took a step back and spun to his right, bringing his halberd up and over his head before bringing it low, building momentum.

He then whipped it back up, and smashed the hammer side of his halberd into the bent over man's face.

He was sent into the air before crashing down to the ground with a groan.

Blood poured from Anthrax's face, and as he slowly got back up to his feet, he looked at Godrick, who hadn't moved from his position, halberd in hand.

"Bastard." He said as he spat blood from his mouth.

===

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Lancelot cut down hundreds of men with his sword, reaping their lives before his blade was stopped.

A woman stood in front of him, a long thin sword in her right hand while her left hand held a dagger.

Lancelot pulled his blade from her dagger and swept his sword backwards, cleaving a large portion of soldiers apart.

Noel suddenly lashed out at him with her thin blade, and Lancelot side stepped, bringing his blade down on her own trying to snap it.

To his surprise, the blade didn't break, but it was forced downwards. He then leaned back as her dagger flew by his throat, missing by mere inches.

He spun away to his left before dodging each slash from the woman. She surprised him once more by suddenly disappearing.

'Behind!' He thought to himself and he whipped his sword behind him, the rest of his body twisting to face her.

His blade caught her own, but her dagger buried itself into his ribs, and pain lanced through his body. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. The feeling was like his strength and power were literally bleeding out from him.

"Interesting." He said, nonchalantly patting the spot he had been stabbed.

He was in pain, but he had to keep up the facade of disinterest to throw the woman off.

He then struck out to his left, cleaving a soldier and his sword in two as he charged before his attention returned to the woman.

He brought his sword back up to the right side of his chest, it's point facing the woman.

He suddenly dashed forward, lunging with his sword. Noel passed under the blade harmlessly, slashing his leg with her dagger before her head was suddenly snapped back as his knee met her face, sending her to the ground.

He stomped down on her chest to keep her pinned and pressed his sword to her neck, drawing a small amount of blood.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right here and now?" He asked.

She was gasping for breath, clawing at where her knife had fallen.

She looked up into his eyes, and saw nothing but killing intent in them.

"Because, we want out of the Warlords service." She said, staring up at him.

He raised an eyebrow, shock clear in his eyes.

"We have served her for far too long. Done far too many things we regret. We want out." She continued.

"All of you?" He asked, turning to cut another soldier in two before bringing his sword back down to her throat.

"No, just Anthrax and I!" She said, straining under his foot.

As the killing and fighting continued around them, Lancelot stopped to think, which then cost him greatly as Anthrax himself roared and tackled him off his lover.

===

Godrick was slowly walking towards Anthrax, periodically cutting down soldiers who came to give their help to their General.

Anthrax looked around himself, taking in the carnage and blood, a twang of guilt filling his heart.

He was old, old enough to be a father of children just beginning their own families. But here he was, killing and fighting in a war that never seemed to end.

His wife and lover Noel had gotten pregnant, which they were thrilled and scared about.

Looking around he saw her.

His eyes widened as he saw Lancelot knee her in the face, then stomp down on her chest.

Rage and hatred filled his being as he saw this before he looked at Godrick.

This Knight would never met him leave unless he was dealt with, so in order to get to his wife, he would do just that.

With a shout, he charged and locked weapons with the young man once more, but this time, he threw all his strength behind his hammer.

With their weapons locked, he could tell he was still no match for this young man, but that didn't stop him from throwing their weapons off to the side, catching the young warrior off guard as he lost his halberd.

Their weapons fell to the left as he ripped his hammer that way, dropping low to the ground to wrap his arms around Godrick's waist.

He then leaped high into the air with the young man in his arms, twisting as he shifted his grip before he was holding Godrick by his royal blue and gold cape.

He then threw the man as hard as he could, straight into the ground, shattering it for hundreds of feet around, killing enemy and friendly soldiers alike.

He landed, then sprinted straight towards Lancelot who held his sword against his wife's throat.

With a roar of pure rage, he tackled the man and drove him to the ground before he started beating his face with his fists.

The ground under them broke under Anthrax's strength and Lancelot tried his best to block with his forearms, but his assailant was unrelenting.

Anthrax was suddenly pulled from Lancelot's body before Godrick drove his right fist full force, straight into the bigger man's chest, shattering his chestplate, and sending him high into the sky.

He landed hard on his back before Godrick landed atop him, shattering the ground beneath them.

"GAH!"

Godrick silenced the man with a right haymaker that drove his face into the ground before he pulled him back up with his left hand, intent on beating the man to death.

One, two, three times Godrick struck Anthrax in the face with his right first. The fourth strike cracked the man's faceplate of his helmet before blood started to leak from it.

Dropping the man, Godrick looked around himself, seeing all the soldiers looking at him.

Seeing their General incapacitated, many of the soldiers faltered, but that moment cost them dearly as the men of Camelot began slaughtering them.

The men of Camelot had no mercy for these men, who were mostly outlaws and wicked men who would be executed if they were in front of a judge.

"Slaughter them all!" Lancelot screamed, his voice harsh.

He had walked back over to Noel who was still on the ground, holding her stomach.

She looked up at him, but was surprised when he held his hand out to her.

She looked at his hand unsure of what to do, but after a moment of hesitation she took it, and was pulled to her feet.

"You are my prisoners now." He said to her, holding his sword at the ready to strike her down if it came to it.

She nodded, and did nothing that would anger him, or put her life in danger.

She walked over to Anthrax, and knelt down before taking his limp body into her arms, peeling his helmet off his face to reveal a massive cut down the left side of his face.

Godrick had gone to pick up his halberd, and at Lancelot's earlier declaration, continued killing the soldiers around him.

Men were cleaved in two as he continued to swing his halberd around before he felt some sort of fluctuations around him.

Suddenly the men he had killed were all moving again. Some stood up, while the ones who had been bisected or that were missing limbs crawled around, and started attacking those that had killed them.

"Necromancy!" Lancelot shouted for his army to hear before turning and cutting an already dead soldier down.

"Sound the retreat, we need to regroup. We're too far spread out!" He said as he turned to Aldtor, who then raised a horn to his lips and blew.

At that sound, the army of Camelot started to withdraw save for Godrick, who continued to kill all he could.

Stomping the ground with all his strength, he shattered the ground around him, sending a massive shockwave through the reanimated corpses, as well at the members of the Warlords army who hadn't died as well.

Massive heaps of rock and earth lifted into the air before crashing down around him as he continued to swing his deadly halberd.

Thousands of more men died, and thousands more corpses we then reanimated.

'This isn't working.' Godrick thought to himself as he continued to cleave through ranks and ranks of undead.

Once more leaping into the sky, he looked for the back lines of the Warlords army, where he thought he would find the culprit, as there was only one person who would be able to pull this off.

Each of the Warlord's Generals had some sort of specialty. Anthrax was the most physically strong of the four, while Noel was the Assassin. That left only Grizrig, and the fourth General whom Godrick didn't know about.

As he was in the air he found his objective, and saw the mass that was Marquess Grasso.

Assuming that the figure next to him might be Grizrig, he brought his halberd back, and threw it with all his strength, hoping to impale the figure.

On the off chance that this wasn't Grizrig but someone else, it didn't really matter, as everyone in the Warlords army would die that day.

His halberd flew towards the figure next to Grasso, but a sudden glint caught Godrick's eye as he fell back to the ground.

He then heard a sharp clash of metal, but he couldn't see what had actually happened.

Unbeknownst to him, an arrow had actually hit his halberd, and though a single arrow could do much against a weapon as heavy or as strong as his, it did deflect it enough that instead of impaling Grizrig, it just tore his right arm off his body.

He fell to the ground, screaming as he held the bloody mess that was his shoulder. The halberd had hit his square in the shoulder, so it ripped it, and a portion of his chest from his body, causing the ground to be covered in blood.

He got to his knees before getting to his feet and hobbling off towards the direction of the fourth General Monty, who had shot the arrow that had deflected the halberd.

Saliva mixed with the blood that poured from Grizrig's mouth as he quickly tried to make his escape, walking through the grassy land towards the tree line.

"What are you doing?!" Marquess Grasso screamed as he brought his horse in front of the Necromancer, only to be pulled from his horse by a small hoard of dead soldiers.

"You will live. But that will be a fate worse than death." Grizrig said, pointing a bloody boney finger at Grasso's bulk before he continued to walk into the woods.

The undead soldiers all left Grasso struggling to get to his feet, but he was so big, he couldn't roll over to his front side.

"Bastard!"

===Godrick===

"LET ME GO YOU ANIMAL!" Marquess Grasso screamed at the top of his lungs as Godrick dragged him across the ground.

After he had thrown his halberd and struck whom he assumed was Grizrig, the reanimated corpses of the dead all collapsed, as he wasnt able to finish his spell fully.

He had continued to slaughter his way towards his halberd, but when he arrived, he found no one save for the good Marquess, who was struggling to get to his feet.

"No!" He had exclaimed as Godrick gripped him by one of his fat ankles, ready to drag him to Lancelot who was over near the ridge that had first spotted the Warlords army at.

He started to scream as he was dragged across the battlefield, his weight making it difficult to maneuver his body so he wouldn't get hurt.

Unfortunately for him, his other leg was caught on something, and his knee and hip snapped as Godrick dragged him to Lancelot.

His screaming only increased as he saw the body of his son, his corpse having been pressed into the ground by the hooves and feet of men and horses, trampled to death.

Soon they reached Lancelot, who was standing with his back towards them, talking to the General Noel.

He turned at the sound of a man screaming, and a broad smile came to his face.

"My good Marquess! How good of you to join us!" He said, holding his arms out towards the man.

"The lovely Noel was just speaking about you." He said and turned to Noel before turning back.

"She and her husband have told us much." He said to Godrick, who dropped Grasso at his feet.

"The Warlord herself is in a seaside town called Tyddewi to the south, waiting for news before beginning the next part of her plan." He said, pointing towards the south.

"How dare you speak of her!" Grasso screamed, shocked that the two most loyal Generals of the Warlord betrayed her.

"When she hears of this, you'll be tortured for years!" He continued to scream before a massive fist struck his left cheek, knocking him unconscious.

Godrick looked at the man he had knocked out before looking back at Noel. Anthrax was seated behind her on the rock they were sitting on, but had stood when he had approached with Grasso.

Seeming to understand his unanswered question, Anthrax knelt down next to Noel, placing a hand on her stomach.

"Things change." He said as Noel placed her own hand on his, looking up into his face.

"Nothing is more important than our child." She said, still looking at Anthrax.

Lancelot stood resolute, hand on his sword as he turned to Godrick.

"I must take them back back to King Arthur, but you must stay. You have unfinished business." He said, referring to Godrick needing to destroy Marquess Grasso's city.

"But after that, you stay put." Lancelot said, turning around and motioning for the army to prepare to move.

"I mean it, do not go fight the Warlord alone do you understand me?" Lancelot said, turning around and pointing a finger at Godrick, who bowed his head in submission.

"Good. You'll get your chance, I promise." Lancelot said, turning his horse around before rummaging around in his bag.

He pulled out a rope which he then tossed to Godrick, who caught it and understood what he wanted.

Grasso was beginning to stir as Godrick wrapped the rope around his feet. His eyes fluttered open as Godrick stepped away from him, and nodded to Lancelot.

"Forward!" The Knight shouted as his horse began to trot forward.

"Don't you dare!" Grasso screamed before he was suddenly tugged forward, a loud popping noise coming from his hips.

Godrick watched on as he continued to scream, blood starting to trail after him as the jagged rocks and other things mixed into the dirt ripped his backside open.

===

Reaching Grasso's city, Godrick stopped right outside the gate, wondering if he would have enough energy stored in the gems around his armor to do it in one go.

The previous battle had given him a massive amount, which he was eager to try.

Sighing deeply, he walked towards the gate that looked like it was abandoned.

The guards that were stationed here previously were probably dead in the field he had left just a short time ago.

With no one to let him in, he reached down and picked the iron portcullis up with one hand.

Setting it down behind him, he walked over to the massive double doors that were most likely locked.

'Knock, knock.' He thought to himself before kicking the doors in, hearing the wooden beam keeping them shut snap in two.

The doors were practically ripped off their massive hinges, but the city was so desolate that it probably didn't even matter.

Godrick had previously wondered why they didn't just kill everyone in the city and take it for themselves, but his mother had explained that destroying it would be a better show of force for not only the other Nobles, but for the Warlord herself as well.

Walking through the almost abandoned city that was shaped in the giant circle with the castle in the center, Godrick walked, looking for any signs of life.

He saw men and women in the shadows of alleyways, doing things he couldn't see. As they saw him, they quickly turned their backs, walking deeper into the shadows.

All these people would die in the next couple moments, and they didn't even know or care. But who was he to question them. They had to know the city had been under the control of the Warlord, as Artoria's agents had been working tirelessly to get good people out of the city.

Those who were left… he only assumed that they had chosen to stay, knowing their fate.

War was a cruel and vicious thing, and sometimes, people had to be strong enough to make the hard decisions. Even if others thought them too harsh.

"Some of us will cross the line, to make sure the line is still there in the morning."

Walking towards the main Castle, Godrick ripped the big double doors off their hinges once more before walking into the lavish keep.

It was decorated with golds, blues, reds, and many other colors. Lavish carpets covered the ground, and expensive paintings and sets of armors covered the walls.

The main hall was almost as tall as the royal Castle's, white marble pillars with golden swirls going up them towards the vast vaulted ceiling.

A dozen fireplaces littered the walls in evenly spaced increments, while in the center of the room stood a large metal pillar with what looked like dirt surrounding it in a big square that had been cut into the ground.

Chains hung from the top of the pillar, denoting that it was used to hold someone in place while they were tortured or burned for the crowds amusement.

'Bastard' Godrick thought to himself, seeing the faint remnants of blood on the blackened steel.

Walking past the gruesome sight, he walked towards the massive stone Throne that Grasso no doubt used. Walking up the dais, Godrick indulged himself in his thoughts as he turned and took a seat.

What if he had been born to Artoria instead of being born a slave?

How would his life be different?

He was practically treated as a prince right now, but he knew he wasn't, and never would be anything more than a slave that was pulled from his brunt village, and trained into a Knight for his sister.

And he was ok with that.

Standing from the Throne, he shook his head of thoughts that would never be possible before ripping the massive stone Throne out of the ground, and throwing it and the steel stake in the middle of the hall.

The stone shattered, and the stake bent before everything in the hall went still.

Walking towards the square cut into the floor, he felt this was a good place to release the kinetic energy from his gems, and he thought it was the center of the city.

Breathing deeply, he felt his connection with his armor, and reached for the gems and their power.

He held his halberd in his right hand, its butt end resting on the stone beneath him. He brought his left hand up to chest height and looked at the gem seated in his left gauntlet, watching as the blue smoke slowly wafted out of it.

He then clenched his fist, and the gems around his armor went dim.

Suddenly, a massive shockwave exploded out with him in the center, completely obliterating the room around him.

Stone flew into the sky, trees and other materials were ripped from where they were set, and flung at speed faster than the eye could see.

The lavish carpets, sets of armor, decorative weapons, paintings, and everything else in the Castle were completely ripped apart, and soon Godrick stood alone in a city where life had been vibrant not a month earlier.

The stone beneath his feet wasn't damaged, save for some cracks and chunks.

Looking around himself, he saw the remnants of the city. The outskirts were left relatively untouched, save for chucks of the Castle having landed on them, but everything up until the outskirts were flattened.

He felt a twang of sorrow in his heart, seeing the destruction around him. Such a beautiful city made sick by evil men.

Gone in an instant.

His job was finished. Now it was time for him to leave.

As he walked from the ruins, something to his right caught his eye. A door in the ground.

Curiosity got the better, and he just had to investigate.

Walking over, he smashed the butt of his halberd through the metal door before ripping it out of the ground, revealing a set of stairs that led down into blackness.

Deciding to follow this through, he walked down the steps into the darkness.

There was no light, but the smell and the whimpering told him he wasn't alone.

Walking through the black corridor, Godrick stopped and thrust his halberd up into the ceiling before carving a massive line in it, letting light flood the dungeon.

What he saw horrified him.

Dozens of cells littered the walls, each holding at least ten people, who coward away from the unfamiliar Knight.

A few men were littered throughout the cells, though they mainly held women and children, who pressed their dirty faces against the bars of their prison.

He walked over to the fist cell, seeing the young women shuffle back towards the wall out of fear.

He did his best to keep the calm, planting his halberd into the stone in the center of the walkway. He held his hands up to calm them before he gripped the iron lock that kept them all trapped.

With a small tug, the iron broke, and the door swung open.

No one in the cell moved, so Godrick ignored them for the moment being, and went around breaking the rest of the locks.

After they had all been free, he pulled his halberd from the floor, and backed away towards the stairs.

He saw the prisoners slowly follow him, and with that confirmation, he walked up the stairs that led to freedom.

They all followed, and were shocked at the destruction of the city. Gasps and whispers were exchanged as they all looked at Godrick, whom they assumed had wiped the city out.

Taking this chance, some of them began to run away, hoping they could escape. Godrick watched them go before he himself started walking towards one of the gates, intent on waiting for Lancelot to return.

The ones who hadn't run mainly consisted of young woman and children, some of whom were their own.

They followed the massive silent Knight, having nowhere else to go. He didn't discourage any of them, as he had correctly assumed that not everyone had been killed by the destruction of the city.

A small group of about ten men or so stopped him before the gate, all looking disheveled in their appearances.

Dried blood coated some of their faces, while some still had fresh blood coming from more grievous wounds.

"You the one that did all this?" One of the man asked, pointing a knife at Godrick as he did.

He made no reply, which only served to anger the man.

"Answer me you bastard!" The man spat venomously before eyeing the women behind the tall Knight.

Godrick noticed, and gripped his halberd even tighter.

"Gerald, that's enough, let's just leave." One of the other men who was injured said, his arm around another man's neck.

"Shut your damn mouth, I asked em a question!" The first man known as Gerald said back to his companion.

"Now, are you the one who di-" his words were suddenly cut off as Godricks massive halberd smashed into his skull, completely turning him to mush against the stone beneath him.

Five or six of the men reacted, reaching for weapons that they pulled from their waists and jumping towards the massive warrior, while the others ran in the opposite direction.

The man who had asked the leader to leave was unceremoniously dropped to the ground as his friend shoved him off of himself, and ran towards the gate.

Godrick grabbed one of the hands of the men who charged him with his left hand, and punched out with his right.

The man's torso was ripped apart from the force scattering blood across the other five men. Using the arm he still held, Godrick swung it at another man, killing him as the humerus cracked him across the skull, sending his brain matter across the others.

With his right hand, he swept his halberd across the other four, but only succeeded in evaporating two of them as the other two slid on the slick ground.

Reaching out, he grabbed one of the man by his chest, hoisting him into the air before bringing him down on a raised knee, snapping the man's spine in a sickening 'CRUNCH'.

Godrick quickly put the man out of his misery as he threw him to the ground with enough force to cause cracks to spread from the force, making the man's skull shatter against the ground

The last man stayed where he was m, fear filling his eyes as he shook uncontrollably from the Knight that towered over him, bringing his halberd up to hold it in both hands.

"P- please, D- don't kill me!" The man said, crawling backwards on his backside.

He tried to get away, but there was no more mercy to give, and Godrick's halberd came down with a mighty blow, killing the man.

He turned to the last one who had been abandoned by his friends, shivering and weeping.

But he turned from the man, electing to ignore him as he made his way from the city.

The herd of women and children all followed him, keen on sticking as close as they could to this mysterious Knight who didn't speak. He made them feel safe, and in all honesty, that's what Godrick wanted. He wanted people to feel safe in his presence, not fearful.

But as a future Knight of the Round Table, it was his duty to be both.

So he would take his mothers words and internalize them. He would be cruel when he needed to, and kind when he was able to.

And right now, these people following him needed kindness more than anything.

One of the buildings that was still standing near the gate was actually an armory, so Godrick had each of the women pick out a weapon that suited them for protection. They all mainly picked out daggers and other small weapons, but some of them picked out short swords and hatchets.

The little herd of people walked from the city before they came to a stop about a mile out, and Godrick pointed to where the castle of Camelot was.

Seeming to understand what he was wanting, they all uncertainty shuffled that way, unsure if it were the best options.

"I think we would much rather stay with you Sir Knight." One of the women said, coming up to him.

He simply shook his head, and pointed north.

"And where will you be going?" She asked hesitantly.

He then pointed south towars where he knew the Warlord was.

He didn't want to fight her, but he just wanted to make sure she stayed put until his mother got here, as he knew the moment she heard the news from Lancelot, she would surely come here with a small but strong force to eradicate the Warlord. But first he wanted to make a quick stop.

Próximo capítulo