Chapter 10

Author's note: Alright guys, I'll be removing those old, peasant talks from now on. Received a lot of complaints, so I had to do it.

I do admit that it really is too annoying for you guys to read the same thing despite being expressed in a different wording.

....

And thus, just like that, chaos ensued as the first blood had been drawn by Tania's spear...

"Hey, hey, hey! What's wrong? Just a second ago, you look like you're raring to skin me alive..."

It wasn't that long since the butcher fest started and already, several bodies of armed and lightly leather-armored men joined the increasing corpse count littered on the dreary and damp soil.

"Where did that energy go- Hmm! and, the sixteenth one!"

With a masterful display of her martial prowess and an absurdly high, raw physical strength, Tania, with a shield and blade in each hand, cut down through the Ironborns' numbers in short order.

"Next! Come on, don't keep me waiting!.", with a feral grin of absolute viciousness on her face, she taunted while lifting a twitching ironborn man by the neck after bashing his face with her shield.

"By the drowned god, you whore! I swear, as soon as we get our hands on you, we will tear you piece by piece after enjoying that cunt of yours until we're dry."

Mord, whose arm was severed by Tania after the initial clash and was fortunate to get away for the time being couldn't help but curse while wincing in pain as his eyes darted from Tania and-

towards somewhere, or someone behind her from time to time as if he was conveying his plans of either restraining and subduing her, or killing her on the spot...

"Get her boys! The first one to subdue her gets to enjoy her first!", he proceeded after turning his gaze for the last time at Tania.

"Aye!", the men responded with a loud cheer.

'Oh? an attack from the back. That means, what comes next, in front of me will be a distraction.'

However, with her inhuman battle perception, Mord's and his men's gazes and silent conversation didn't escape her senses.

And just as she had expected...

"Die, bitch!"

"Graah!"

Two men beside Mord, followed by the others around, dashed toward her in a swift manner while brandishing their axes and swords.

One man came right at her face and swung his axe but was immediately blocked while another came at her right, only for him to be catapulted back as he took a kick right from the gut.

With a quick sequence of disengaging and counter-attacking, pained screams rang one after another as she continued to cut down whoever comes in front and close to her with precision.

While currently occupied in 360-degree combat, surrounded from all sides, a couple of men from a few meters away were holding and aiming their loaded crossbows at her,-

waiting for a perfect opportunity where they could impale the sharp-tipped bolts on her body.

And soon enough, the chance that they had been waiting for was presented to them on a silver platter... or so they thought.

'Here it comes!'

And as soon as she had feigned an opening while in full battle contact, her battle senses tingled as a swiftly incoming danger was whistling through the air toward her.

....

Surrounded by a pool of crimson liquid and incompletely-limbed bodies was Arthur who came in from the ironborns' flank.

Catching them by surprise after being drawn to Tania's presence, he swiftly took the chance and wildly swung his sword,-

cutting down one man after another before they could even understand what happened...

"Bas... tard..."

Thud!

Smeared with blood and mud, he seemed to be in a berserk state as he repeatedly stabbed and hacked even those whom he had previously slain.

He had just stabbed a man in the throat with his sword when another came, followed by several more in a wild battle cry. But...

"Ah! my le-"

Exclaimed a man in pain as he fell onto the ground when Arthur chopped one of his legs, only to abruptly turn silent when his head left his shoulders.

"Die! Raah- Urgh..."

Another one came from the left and swung his sword horizontally, attempting to behead him,-

only for it to fail when Arthur crouched low and elbowed the man's abdomen before reversing the sword's grip, stabbing him in the same place.

"Argh!"

After slaying one more of the bunch, Arthur didn't notice a blow from his right and took a hit, causing a shallow cut from his temple to his cheek. Only...

"...What- what in the drowned god's name are you-"

The man stuttered as he witnessed with his own eyes that the blade of the axe, which he expected and was supposed to be deeply embedded in Arthur's skull,-

only made a tap on his skin, causing Arthur to flinch to the side with little blood streaming down from the cut and down to his jaw.

"..."

Arthur never answered though and just traced a finger along the cut on his face before turning his deadly gaze at the man.

"Raah!"

Sensing an erupting rage from Arthur's gaze, the man, with a loud cry swung his axe diagonally but couldn't help but curse afterward when...

"Argh!... bastard!"

Arthur dodged the blow by leaning to the side before clasping his hand tightly into a fist and sucker punched the man, sending him stumbling backward.

"I'm gonna kill you, you little-"

The man almost went down from light-headedness and was enraged. But before he could strike again,-

Arthur swung his sword at the man's left shoulder, cutting through his torso, down to his right waist. Cleaving him in twain...

Thud!

But the battle was far from over as another group of men came rushing towards him once again.

And upon seeing this, Arthur crouched down and took the axe on the ground from the man he had just slain.

With a sword in his right hand and an axe in the left, Arthur, with a menacing look and bloodshot eyes screamed, "Come then! I'll bury all of you right here!"

....

Time fleetingly passed and soon, the cries, grunts, and clanking of the steel gradually died down.

Arthur couldn't help but sigh as his view was filled with mangled corpses, scattered entrails, and blood...

'This wasn't even a war yet it has been this bad already...'

It only had gotten worse for Arthur when the adrenaline finally died down.

Aside from the things he was currently seeing around him, the mixed smell of the dead, piss, and shit caused his stomach to churn continuously.

He soon stopped for a moment and look down, seemingly lost in his own thought when he suddenly felt a presence behind, clamping a hand on his shoulder...

"Hmm?!"

Due to his reflex and from the mindset of someone who had just finished a battle,-

Arthur thought that it was an enemy he missed and was sneaking up on him so he took a step and got a bit of a distance and turned before swinging his sword horizontally. Only...

Clang!

"Calm down, Arthur. It's me..."

"...It's just you, Tania. I thought you were an enemy."

Arthur couldn't help but sigh in relief seeing it was Tania who was also in the same appearance as him; covered in blood and mud.

Except, the blood on hers was from the men she had slain whilst Arthur, on the other hand, had a number of shallow cuts and bruises on him.