Ch. 92 Why not?

Lenny and hai group had left the area quickly after Gabriel opened the gate. Lord Irizan's brigade was now within view from the ground, so it wouldn't take long for them to reach the area. Turning around, Gabriel had the satyrs break up into teams of 2. Telling them to take extreme care during the fight and to leave immediately if they feel any injury had put their life in danger. Kor and Yuni were to provide support to any of the satyr teams that were struggling while Gabriel would handle the rest. Francesca's only job was to make them leave or kill her cousin, if she refused, she would also join the kill count.

"You know what you're supposed to do. If she attacks, that's your signal so pay attention. Remember, your life is more important than a kill, don't do anything stupid. Francesca, go." Acknowledging his orders, Francesca started marching toward the brigade that was now less than 50m from the group, coming to a stop as she came forward.

"Francesca!" Lord Irizan came out from the caravan amidst the group, yelling his cousin's name. His aunt had been making his life a living hell since her daughter hadn't returned. The Irizan family had always been merchants until this generation decided to deviate from their family's generational livelihood. That being said, his aunt ran most of the city of Zan's industries. She had control over their food supplies, their trade goods, even their Alchemy Guild head would listen to her, refusing jobs from the Lord of the City under her protection. As Lord Irizan felt he was losing what little control he had gained over his City, he decided he would retrieve his cousin himself as his aunt just couldn't accept her daughter chose not to return to her. "Your mother is waiting for you back home! If you won't return of your own free will, then I'll have to bring you home by force. She's ruining my city!"

"Leave now Johnny. Mother will just have to accept the facts. Gabriel won't hold back on you, he has instructed me to take your head if you attack us." Pulling out the shield and whip, Francesca took on a defensive stance looking at her cousin. "Leave."

"Listen Franny, if aunt Jan doesn't stop destroying my city, I won't have a home to return to. Grandfather gave me this city with instructions to make it better in less than 5 years, I hadn't made any progress until a few weeks ago. He will kill me if aunt Jan destroys what little progress I've made. Please, come home, if you talk to her you can make her stop then leave again if you must." Francesca looked back at Gabriel with pleading eyes, asking to go solve this problem rather than kill her little cousin. She knew if he didn't return it would just create an even bigger problem for Gabriel, but she wasn't in any position to make demands of him.

"10. Pick your 10 best warriors and fight my trainee's. If you win more than 5 out of the 10, Francesca can leave with you. If you don't... well.... I think you get the idea."

"Why not? Sounds like a deal to me." Looking at his Brigade, Lord Irizan sent out 10 giant men standing nearly 200cm tall. Each was kitted out with a spear, kite shield, and segmented plate armor, allowing them the freedom of movement needs to wield a spear well. The men lined up and presented their weapons with a loud thud against the ground. "Whenever you're ready."

"10 vs 10, you all know what to do, remember don't risk your life." Sending out all the Satyrs except Dys, Gabriel started to get excited. Training with these satyrs, he learned not only are the benevolent, they also have natural fighting skills thanks to the shape of their bodies. Allowing them to move at unnatural angles and pick up speed without any effort. As the group brought out their weapons, Gabriel couldn't help but chuckle to himself. (They're going to slaughter them.)

"FIGHT!!!" With a shout, the groups ran out to meet each other on the battlefield.

-- Neus Fight --

Hearing Gabriel's yell, Neus brought her 2 handed mallet down to her side and took off at a sprint. Looking across the field she saw one of the soldiers also had a two handed hammer type weapon, so she diverted her path towards him wanting to see who was better. Reaching 3m away, Neus leapt into the air performing a spin as she pushed the momentum into her hammer. As the hammer fell at the soldier, he quickly raised the haft of his weapon using it to block the blow.

(Shit.) Using her left foot, Neus pressed into the chest of the soldier making it so she could back flip away creating space for their second clash. As she landed, the soldiers hammer was already coming at her side, forcing her to bend backwards placing her hammer and hands on the ground to perform a strange bridge like maneuver. Seeing an opportunity, Neus flung her body to the ground and kicked both her hooves into the shins of the soldier, causing him to crumble to the ground as her armor crumpled breaking his legs.

Jumping back to her feet, Neus lifted her hammer high and continued to rain blows on the soldier. After his pauldrons, helmet, and bracers had completely crumpled, he finally forfeited before Neus could land the final blow. As she returned to Gabriel's side he gave her a nod of approval before returning his eyes to the battlefield.

-- Mar Fight --

By the time Gabriel's vision caught Mar's fight, her white fur was already covered in blood from her own wounds. Using her spear, she had challenged a swordsman that was giving her a hard time. His armor had several dents on it and a small perforation on the side, beyond that the soldier appeared to be in good good condition. As he continued to rain blows, Mar would divert them to the ground or into the air using the length of her spear. Blow after blow was pushed away, but no opportunity to strike had presented itself to her in quite some time. Suddenly, the swordsman dropped into a low stance a swept her legs causing her to fall on her butt and have the air knocked out of her. Before she could get back to her feet, the swordsman was slashing down at her head forcing her to roll to the side.

As she rolled, she moved her spear out and used it to push herself back up on to her feet. She quickly spun the spear around her head and used her other arm as guide to send the spear right at the soldiers head. As the change in positions had happened so fast the soldier was unable to bring his sword up before the spear slammed into the visor of his helmet, causing it to crumple downwards blocking the soldiers vision entirely. Before he could even try to fix his visor, Mar used the opportunity to retract and jab her spear at both of his knees, then his shoulders, finally poking at his chest in an attempt to kill him.

Leaking blood from several perforations, the soldier managed to block the last jab of the spear saving his own life as he cried out in forfeit. Holding her head high, Mar returned back to the line next to Gabriel earning another silent nod of approval from him as well. There were still several fights going on amidst the battlefield, sounds of weapons clashing and bodies being hit echoed through the area. Roi, Aslen, and several of the other satyrs had yet to finish their opponents, irritating Yuni and Kor who hadn't been chosen to participate. Gabriel continued to watch each fight and make mental notes to help them reduce their mistakes. Suddenly, a loud, sharp, note, rang out across the battlefield, forcing Gabriel to focus on Roi's lute.