Chapter 43 - The Fight of the Big Dogs (part 2)

The chief glared Wilson in the eye. This is the chief warrior, no? In that case, all he had to do was to kill him and the war will end. The chief picked a word from the ground of the hill which was partially covered in bloody grass. Wilson looked straight at the chief.

'This chief is actually quite young. He cannot yet be in his forties. And he is good looking too. Not a bad choice for a chief.' Wilson thought as he finally took a proper look at the thirty-five year old chief up close.

"You know I actually feel bad for you. I would really have loved to keep you alive. How about this, why don't you surrender your village and work for me? I will ensure you and your men get the treatment you guys deserve. I will let you remain in charge of your warriors. And I promise to take care of you and your people. You know, give them a place to live, food to eat and most especially, safety. You can also keep your armor style to yourselves. They will remain unique to only your men. They actually are not that bad looking. How about that?" Wilson offered. His men who had enclosed them in a circle from a distance away, looked at him in reverence. He was still trying to recruit new, powerful warriors even in this kind of situation. In the middle of a war, he was not only offering a way out to his enemies but also offering them a reasonable deal.

'Our commander truly is benevolent.' They all thought to themselves, giving one another knowing looks.

The chief, on the other hand, said nothing, making them doubt if he understood what they were saying at all. I mean, who would not jump at such an offer? Things slowly got more heated as more time passed and neither man moved or said anything.

"WE already had food to eat, a place to eat and most especially safety. You tell your men to go back to their homes and lovers and wives and children and leave my home alone. Never to come back!" The chief finally spoke up. Wilson scoffed and said to the chief;

"Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. It is such a pity, really. You and your men will die a pointless death and all those things I said about taking care of your wives and children will still happen!"

The chief grunted and growled and ran forward. Wilson ran forward to meet him and both men swung their swords at the same time. The swords collided, creating a clank sound and tiny sparks. The sun was almost completely down by then and the moon was already present in the sky. The force made them rebound a little and then, they quickly rushed forward and fought with swords, the chief savagely attacking and the commander Wilson parrying and sometimes dodging but with less seriousness.

*CLANK* *CLANK* *CLANK*.....

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The swords continued to resound on the small hill even as the village warriors were almost extinct down below. Only five were left; Lock, Mock, Shock, Rock and Tock (all brothers born by parents with the worst naming sense in the village), and they were all tired and insanely injured. Still, they fought with fire in their eyes and in the souls. One of them, Shock, ducked under a swinging sword and parried a spear. He moved to the side to parry a similar sword even as his fellow warrior, Tock, swung his sword at three swordsmen together, instantly killing two and severely injuring the third one, officially putting him out of the fight. A spear holding soldier attempted to stab Tock from behind, but a third warrior, Mock, was there to save him. Mock grabbed the spear shaft with his bare bloody hands and kicked the soldier away. He threw the spear at a soldier who was sneaking behind Lock.

Lock was basically by himself, some distance away from the rest of his family. He was the berserker of his family. He lifted a soldier above his head and tossed him at three approaching swordsmen. He swung around as a spear attacked the soldier behind him and broke the soldier's neck with a swing of his hand. Lock crouched to one knee and grabbed a dying soldier's ankle, lifted him above his head ad banged him down on a spearman who was standing beside him and had cut him with his spear. Rock appeared beside Lock with a shield and blocked a swordsman. He then cut the swordsman into two with his sword.

"I think Chief will require our help." Rock told Lock. Lock looked at his brother even as he broke someone's face with a punch.

"What do you mean? You think Chief cannot handle things on his own?" Lock asked.

"No! But I don't trust our enemy's chief to fight fair while our chief remains up there all alone." Rock explained. Lock looked up at the hill and said to Rock;

"I will make a path. You and Tock are the least injured. You will be able to provide more assistance than the rest of us." Lock grabbed a swordsman who was swinging his sword at him by the wrist. He collected the sword and cut up another soldier. He got slashed on the back but did not care. Instead, he swung the soldier he held by the wrist, overhead to collide with a group of soldiers who were jogging at a steady pace towards them. As Lock began running in a direction towards his other brothers alongside Rock, he cut everyone in his way. Rock followed behind and ensured no soldier was able to sneak attack them from behind.

They soon joined the other three and conversed. They finally agreed to go to the hill together. Staying on top ought to give them leverage. As they argued, lock took a sword strike on Tock's behalf. Tock gave a quick glance and saw that Lock simply smiled and cleaved soldiers in two with a saber. No one had any idea when he picked it up. After all, they had over three hundred soldiers thirsting after their blood. Tock swung his sword like a madman while Mock moved some distance away from his brothers. He stabbed and parried with a spear in one hand and a sword in another. Occasionally, he would throw the spear he held and pick up another but the soldiers came in endlessly. Both sides did not give up. That was not in their job description. The warrior brothers' thoughts were that they would rather die than surrender, and the soldiers believed it would soon be over either because the chief was killed by their commander or because these tenacious brothers were dead. Both sides fought valiantly as the brothers awaited the golden chance that would enable to make their move towards the hills. Mock moved around and picked up a couple of spears while Rock blocked all the attacks on his behalf either using the shield or his bulky body.

A loud booming sound echoed. It was so loud, it managed to distract the exhausted soldiers whose morale was beginning to die down along with daylight. By now, the sun had completely set and the only source of light they had was that from the full moon and the fireflies that flew around. These five brothers made use of that time bracket to collide with whoever was standing in their way and made a beeline for the hill their chief was on.

'Chief, hang in there. Assistance shall soon arrive.' Rock thought to himself as he led the procession.