Dire Situation

The clashing of swords filled the compound. Shouts were ringing from time to time. Blood was splashing in every direction. The field was slowly filling up with the bodies of the fallen, which formed pools of blood.

The balance of power was already apparent. With the overwhelming number advantage, the Herewealth soldiers were having the upper hand. Having surrounded the soldiers of Francis, the tied of the battle was quickly reaching towards the end.

"Sir, we cannot hold the lines any longer, we have to retreat!" a knight said as he rushed over to the side of Francis.

Grinding his teeth, Francis was looking at the field with an annoyed face. 'Where did they all come from? Why did the Herewealth have so many soldiers left?' questions started to pile up on his mind. However, this was not the time to pounder such details. "Tell the left flank to retreat ten phases. Tell the same for the right flank. As for the center…" Pondering for a moment he added on, "Send a part of the reserves to help the center to hold their positions. Tell the archers to take position behind the center and fire at will. We need to reduce their numbers and ease up the attacks."

"Yes sir!" The knight said as he started to spread the order to the soldiers on the field.

'I hope this works out.' Francis inwardly spoke to himself. The idea was to from a defensive perimeter. In here, the exhausted soldiers could rest out a bit, as they slowly started to retreat. Looking back to the direction that they came from, he was measuring the distance that they had for the door that they had entered in. If they could form a defensive line over there, getting back in would become easier when reinforcements arrived from other fronts.

The metal sound of swords clashing kept on ringing through the field. The situation looked dire. With every passing minute, they lost more and more men.

Calling a guard, Francis ordered him to sent two messengers to Christopher and Warren's front, requesting for reinforcements. Moreover, he also mentioned that the other walls should be undefended now and that they were right to be assaulted.

Looking behind the guard that was slowly disappearing in the distance, Francis placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Seeing this action one of the knights spoke in a shocked voice, "Sir. What are you planning to do? Don't tell me that you are going into the fray?"

Hearing this, even the others surrounding Francis started to protest.

The only reply Francis could give was a weak smile. With a soft voice he added on, "We have to do something. I will just go there to raise the morale." With that, he kicked his horse, ordering it to slowly walk forward.

Reluctant, the guards let him go and slowly started to follow close behind him.

Getting closer, Francis took out his sword and started to talk, to improve the morale. "Do not falter men! Reinforcements are on their way. If we are able to hold on for a few minutes longer, we will be freed from this predicament." Slowly raising his voice he continued, "Brothers! I trust in the capabilities of every last one of you! I would never replace you with anyone else. It is my honor to be fighting here side by side with you." At this point his voice was shouting, "Let us meet after the battle for a drink! I will be waiting for you all!"

Hearing those words, the soldiers that were slowly being pushed back, seemed as if they regained a second wind. The dire situation slowly started to change around a bit, as the soldiers started to regain their willingness to fight.

Looking with a smile on his face, Francis started to nod in agreement. 'These men are indeed the best. Luckily that I brought them with me during my journey here.' Thinking to himself, the smile on his face started to increase. 'If we can keep this up, we can turn this around.' He thought to himself.

"Young master! You are too far to the front!" a middle-aged man rode up close to Francis as he spoke in a worried voice.

"What are you doing here Vincent? I thought that you were at the back?" Francis replied with a shocked face.

"We came to get you back young ma…"

However before he could finish his words, the center was pierced through The Herewealth cavalry were now closing in to Francis.

"Young master!" Vincent shouted out as he was trying to reach out for Francis.

Turning his head around, Francs saw that the Herewealth family cavalry had managed to get through the defensive lines. Even the reinforcement that was sent did not help in holding the line. And now they were rushing over towards him.

Sword in hand, Francis kicked his horse, to gallop towards the incoming soldiers. 'I hope that I can see these guys after the fight is over.' With that in mind, he charged into the incoming soldiers.

…