206 - Breakthrough

South Harbor, Frontier City

Gentle waves lapped against the low slung hull of the coastal raiders. The Imperial galleys rowed by slaves followed the rhythm of the drum beats, straining hard against the oars. The galleys painted with stripes of blue paint charges towards Frontier City's harbor in a massive wave.

The harbor defenses spat balls of mage light out towards the freshwater sea, illuminating the area around the harbor brightly. The Imperial galleys were exposed under the mage lights and the ballista towers started firing bolts towards the invading ships.

One of the Imperial galleys closing in towards the harbor suddenly foundered in the water. The galley jerked sharply, that several of the crew were thrown overboard by the sudden stop. A sharpen log jutted out from the bowels of the ship as they hit the harbor underwater defenses.

Screams rang out as the water rushed in from the torn bottom of the galley. The slaves chained to their seats screamed in panic and plead with their masters to release them but the Imperial crew was too busy trying to save themselves to care for the slaves.

The struggling slaves drowned as the galley sunk underwater together with the crew who couldn't swim or were overburdened with armor. The other galleys quickly slowed down following the disastrous end to one of their own ships.

Crew members were dispatched to the bow of their ships to watch out for any hidden underwater dangers. As the galleys slowed, the harbor defenses had more time to fire their weapons at the Imperials, wrecking bloody carnage onboard the crowded decks.

The Imperial galleys returned fire with their onboard catapults and ballistas, sending bolts and firebombs at the harbor. As the distance between the Imperial fleet and the harbor shortened, several more galleys got tangled up with underwater traps, while the harbor defenses' accuracy went up, striking more and more galleys.

Suddenly a thick fog exploded out from the lead ships of the Imperial fleet. The thick fog hid the Imperials ships and the defensive fire from the harbor ceased temporarily. The Imperials taking the lure in the attacks from the harbor quickly closed the distance.

A sudden wall of fire erupted from the sea before the harbor, as the Alliance mages cast a massive firewall spell to deter the approaching ships hidden inside the fog. The intense heat forced the Imperial ships to halt and the battle switched to the mages from both sides as they start throwing spells blindly at each other.

The spells burned down ships unlucky to be in its path and the harbor also caught fire from Imperial spells and firebombs.

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North Gate, Frontier City

The massive wood and steel gates towering over five meters slammed back against its hinges as the ranks of Bronze men hit the gates running. The causeway into the gates was wide enough for three large wagons to move through side by side and over a hundred of the Bronze men stormed through the opening.

The Alliance soldiers froze when they saw the ajar gates suddenly slammed wide open and a force of black clad Empire troops rushed in. The sudden charge knocked the Alliance soldiers back on their heels and the slaughter began.

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Western Wall, Frontier City

Borse cursed as a siege tower suddenly appeared from the dark, he quickly pulled a soldier by his armor and yelled, "Tell the towers to attack the siege towers! Ignore the damn dragons! They can't hit anything in the dark!"

The soldier saluted and ran off with his armor clanking away towards the nearest ballista tower while Borse rallied his men. "We got siege towers coming! I want a three line crossbow to welcome them when they hit the walls! Those without a crossbow, go find a shield and form a shield line!"

"Captain Borse!" A young voice called out from the chaos and Borse saw the young Meccan officer that spoke with him the other day.

"Ahh?" Borse frowned as he tried to remember the Meccan's name.

"Lanser..." The Meccan gave a forced smile. "You remember me?"

"Ahh yes, Captain Lanser," Borse nodded before asking, "do you have anything important?" He gestured towards the looming siege tower pushed by a small army of slaves and land dragons.

"I... I was hoping you can advise me on what to do now..." The Meccan looked embaressed.

"Don't you have someone with experience advising you?" Borse looked shock. Even Taris listening at the side shook his head in pity.

"Ah... no..." The youngster looked like he wanted to bury himself in a hole. "My men are all new at this war thing."

"Gods be damned!" Borse cursed loudly. "You mean everyone in your troop is just a bunch of rich noble sons that dreams of glory and killing but no one had the brains to teach you all how to fight?"

"We know how to fight!" One of the aides standing next to Lanser yelled out hotly. "Watch your tongue or I have it removed! Mercanery dog!"

Borse stared in incredulous wonder at the tone of the Meccan aide while Taris laughed at the side.

"Boy, go home, don't play war here. You will just sully the dead." Taris snapped.

"Who are you calling a boy?" The aide growled and half drew his sword. "I cut your ton-!"

Instantly the men of The Last Company drew and pointed their blades at the three Meccan soldiers, cutting off the words of the aide.

"Enough!" Borse roared. He pointed to the siege engine coming and said, "Our problems are out there! Not among ourselves!"

His men lowered their weapons but continued to glare with hostility at the Meccans. Lanser looked pale at the actions of Borse's men and turned to his aide and snapped, "Quiet!"

"I- I am terribly sorry for my men's words," Lanser said, "I apologize on his behalf."

"It's alright," Borse waved away Lanser's attempts at apologizing. "We have bigger problems here!'

"We need to get the towers to start to shoot at the enemy's siege tower!" Borse quickly said. "The Empire dragons are a lure to distract the ballistas!"

"There is no use in trying to shoot in the dark those dragons, they won't hit anything!" Borse pointed out. "While they are wasting their time reloading, the Empire's siege tower will hit the walls."

"What can we do?" Lanser asked as he walked up to the battlement and peered out. "If the ballistas can't stop them?"

"Shield wall on the front and archers behind," Borse said. "Shields to hold off the flood of enemies while the archers pick them off."

"I- I understand," Lanser turned to one of his men and said something. His man nodded and was about to leave but the Last Company men blocked his block with hostile looks.

Borse sighed inwardly and nodded to his men who then opened a path for the Meccan. "If you want to survive this, we need to work together!"

"Captain!" Someone yelled, "Attack! More siege towers in sight!"

"Damn!" Borse cursed, "Men to your posts now!'

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North Gate, Frontier City

With gate held by the Empire forces, the Imperial Legions switched their focus to the gate, sending reinforcements to support the attack.

The Meccan commanders seeing the situation turning dire ordered their troops off the walls and to fall back towards the inner walls.

The Empire troops sensing victory, atta ked with renew vigor, chasing down the retreating Alliance soldiers.

The city residents seeing the retreat of their soldiers paniked and headed towards the inner city, jamming up the roads and gates, adding more confusion and panic.

The Grey Lord cursed from his vantage view in his castle, watched his city burn. "Close the inner walls gate! Order all the soldiers that could not make it inside the walls to delay thr enemy!"

"But how about the people?" His civic minsters asked.

"Ignore them! if the Empire takes the inner city, all is lost!"

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Western Wall, Frontier City

"Captain! We got enemies coming up on the right side!" A soldier reported panting to Borse.

"What?" Borse asked. "From the right?"

"Y- yes! They on fighting on the walls!"

"Taris!" Borse yelled. "Take a troop and go check it out!"

Taris nodded and called from his men before leading them towards the right tower of the wall.

As Taris exited the tower, he found the entire section of the wall under heavy attack. Enemy soldiers in their blue livery were streaming out from the far end of the tower and throwing themselves into the swords and spears of the defenders.

"What happened?" Taris grabbed a nearby Meccan soldier and asked.

"The north gates were breached!" The frightened soldier replied. "I don't know how but they are inside the walls!"

"You!" Taris pointed to one of his men, "Go inform the Captain of this news! GO!"

Taris turned back to the Meccan soldier, "Where's Captain Lanser?"

"The Captain?" The soldier looked confused, "I think he's in the front somewhere!"

"Alright! Follow me!" Taris yelled at the surrounding Meccan soldiers, "We need to stop them from destroying the flank!"

The Meccan soldiers looked at each other in fear and confusion, "But- but..." They hesitated.

"Are you men of Mecca?" Taris asked in a low voice, "Did you not join the army to fight against the Empire?"

"Should you falter here, what will happen to your families and land?" Taris continued to speak to the gathered soldiers. "What will later generations speak of your actions in the future?"

"Now, you can make a difference in this battle!" Taris's voice lowered as he caught the men's attention. "Fight for your people or be a coward. History will know your name as heroes or losers!"

"What say you?" Taris's suddenly yelled asking his own men.

"We fight!" Taris's men yelled out.

"How about you all?" Taris's voice boomed as he gestured to the Meccans soldiers. "What say you?"

"WE FIGHT!"

"WHAT SAY YOU?"

"WE FIGHT!"

-----

Whips snapped against the backs of the slaves pushing the siege tower forward alongside a couple of bellowing land dragons. The heavy metal wheels creaked as it rolled over the uneven terrain. Once in a while, the whole mobile tower shook as a ballista bolt slammed into the armored walls.

Some of the bolts bounced off but a few managed to find a weak spot among the steel platings hung onto the tower's frame. The lucky bolt penetrated and skewered the unlucky soldiers hiding inside, the force of the bolt causing the bodies to explode.

Ranks and ranks of legions and slave warriors followed closely behind the towers as they advanced. The Imperial Dragons having done their duty as decoys for the city ballista, engaged the city's dragons using superior tactics and experience.

Dragons soon flew off the skies, some landing on the legions and even over the walls, crushing anyone unlucky to be in their way into bloody meat paste.

The city district outside the inner walls was mostly lower class residence and workshops. As the Empire troops slowly flooded in, they started to raze the buildings and pillage whatever valuables they could get their hands on.

The people hiding in their houses were dragged out and gathered at an area to be sorted as slaves while the pretty ones were raped or reserved by officers to be enjoyed later. Those that resisted were cut down on the spot, terrifying those who witness the brutally.

Alliance soldiers locked outside the inner walls tried to surrender to the Empire but were cut down by the Imperial soldiers too crazed to care. Some Alliance officers managed to rally their men and they fought a desperate stand in the narrow city streets.

Soon word came that the South Harbor has fallen, and Imperial raiding galleys started to land their crew and attacked the South Gates, causing more panic to spread throughout the city.

All this while, the Rock sat on his mount and watched with a satisfied smile on his face at the successful attack.

"In the morning, we dine at the Grey Lord's table!"