Chapter 63: The Conclusion

Gwynnis, consumed by rage, swiftly caught up with and slaughtered the Hafdans attempting to open the gate. Surveying the chaotic scene in the courtyard, where everyone was fighting their own battles, it was clear that if things continued this way, a breakthrough by the Hafdans was inevitable. An immediate reestablishment of the command system was necessary.

Discarding his giant axe, Gwynnis picked up a longsword from the ground and lunged towards the Hafdans wreaking havoc in the yard. Quickly dispatching the wounded renegades, he furiously kicked a panicking conscripted soldier, yelling, "Run! Keep running!"

"Where do you think you can run to?! You'll no longer need to run once you're buried in the ground! A bunch of useless fools!"

He pulled several conscripted soldiers together, ordering them to reorganize their ranks. Seeing the furious Gwynnis, the conscripts somehow found their courage, and after some confusion, the remaining two to three hundred men were reassembled and sent to support the wall as needed.

As for Gwynnis, after beheading Herall, he swiftly climbed the wall and, in a fit of rage, threw the severed head down.

...

Brock watched as a massive head was thrown from the wall, rolling to a stop near his feet. It was Herall's head. He burst into laughter. Herall, in his eagerness for revenge, had unwittingly sacrificed himself.

Looking at the besieging ladders, many of which were now engulfed in flames, he noted that the number of defenders on the walls was dwindling. Just a little more effort, and their defenses would crumble.

However, that final push seemed unreachable. Despite heavy losses, the Hafdans still had the strength to continue the assault. The main problem was the insufficient number of ladders. Several had been destroyed in the earlier flaming oil attack, and under the defenders' efforts, nearly ten more ladders had been toppled, doused with oil, and set ablaze.

Indeed, Gwynnis's last order before joining the fight, instructing Cedys to use a pole to destroy the enemy's ladders, was thoroughly executed by him and Jervis, to great effect.

Now, with only three or four usable ladders left, the majority of the Hafdans were squeezed at the base of the walls, unable to ascend. Brock reflected on his mistake of rushing the siege without preparing enough spare ladders.

Left with no choice, he ordered the retreat, blowing the horn to signal the cessation of the attack and return to their camp.

Finally, picking up Herall's head, Brock studied it for a moment before joining the Hafdans in their retreat.

...

With the long sound of the horn, the Hafdans gradually withdrew from below the walls. As the last of the enemies on the walls were cleared, everyone present, whether guards, archers, or conscripted soldiers, collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

Facing thousands of enemies, no one believed they could hold out. Gwynnis, along with others, had thought several times that the castle was lost. Yet, in the end, the flag of Targas still flew high above the walls.

Gwynnis knelt amidst the bodies, emptying his mind, sitting in a daze.

He was too tired.

...

In the Hafdan camp, another military council was convened. This time, however, Herall was permanently absent.

Herall's death rendered the entire attack on Targas meaningless. The siege decision, driven by Herall's aggressive persuasion, had seen him and his tribe's warriors at the forefront. Now, with his demise and the severe losses suffered by his tribe, they lacked the spirit to continue the fight.

"Erik the White-Beard" had not supported this assault from the start. He hadn't even appeared on the battlefield, instead choosing to stay in the camp under the guise of guarding the rear.

Brock, while not as overt, had similarly restrained his participation. His troops were involved in the attack but never fully committed, limiting their actions to shooting arrows from a distance. This tactic, while not aggressive, resulted in significant casualties for the defenders.

In contrast, the Hafdans from Herall's tribe, after successive setbacks, suffered grievous losses, nearly halving their numbers. Those remaining, upon learning of Herall's death, lost their will to fight. Moreover, they faced the chaos of losing their leader and the ensuing power struggles.

Hence, with the unanimous agreement of Brock, Erik, and other tribal leaders, the grand siege of Targas came to an abrupt and disorderly end. The Hafdans suffered over a thousand casualties without gaining any significant advantage. Fortunately, most losses were from Herall's tribe, and he had paid for his mistake with his life.

Brock's primary mission was to raid the Annon River Valley and delay the Earl's reinforcements by causing significant damage. Success was defined by the extent of havoc wreaked, not necessarily by capturing Targas.

...

After the Hafdans retreated, Gwynnis found 965 bodies on the battlefield. Of these, 768 were Hafdans, and 197 were his troops. The bowmen lost 63 men, the guards 51, and the remaining 83 were conscripted soldiers. Out of an original force of 700, nearly two-thirds were lost, mostly among the more capable guards and archers.

The loss was devastating, but it was still better than joining the nobles' coalition and getting wiped out. The problem was that if the Hafdans returned after regrouping, especially with more siege ladders, Gwynnis would be out of options.

Fortunately, after briefly regrouping, the Hafdans withdrew from Targas territory, seemingly eager to leave. They left the loss of manpower as an issue for Herall's tribe to address.

Another council would be convened by the Hafdans to decide their next move. Unsurprisingly, Herall's tribe chose to return north, withdrawing from the campaign.

This left Brock with fewer than 4,000 men. Facing the Earl of Annon River Valley and the imminent reinforcements, their chances of victory diminished further.

Brock and Erik, after consultation, decided to split their forces, focusing on looting the area while avoiding major conflicts. Regardless of the situation, they planned to regroup in two weeks at the Bishopric of Tidewell in the northeast, especially avoiding a decisive battle with the Earl's main force to prevent being defeated in detail.

Whether to engage in a final battle with the Earl required further discussion.