The Pale Upstart ( GOT System Fic )

Chapter 10: Battle Near the Acorn Hall, Part 3.

 He heard the sounds of neighing horses, their hooves stomping on the ground as they tried to dodge the traps. The Boars had dug countless holes near the Castle's entrance. He was quite glad he and Beryn had not arrived from another angle, or they would have probably fallen into one of those. 

 The Rebels were panicking, but this would do no more than slow down their advance. It broke their momentum, however, and allowed the archers to pelt them with arrows. He saw the men on the walls move with all the speed they could muster, to take out as many targets as they could. The rain was probably messing with their aim, but few made mistakes. Their lives depended on this. So did his. 

 " Men! The forces behind the hills are moving! PREPARE YOURSELVES!" The Blackfish screamed at the top of his lungs, positioned behind them with the small force of cavalrymen that had remained. 

 With their heads held high, their teeth gnashing against one another in anticipation and their hands tightly gripping their spears, the first in line stood ready to run out at a moment's notice. 

 Gideon looked around him, at the rather wild mix of unlikely warriors and sellswords on whose shoulders the hope of the Loyalists rested, and he found himself smiling. 

 He would have liked to claim that smile, to say that it was born out of his desire to become great, that in this moment he was simply ready. But even he did not understand it. He could easily guess it had to do with the system, however. 

 He looked up and saw, with great difficulty and amidst the torrential rain, a great number of arrows flying through the air. The rebels' panicked shouts reached a new height as the flanking cavalry collided with their ranks. 

 The large doors before him opened. 

 " NOW!" 

 The Blackfish's bellow still hadn't left his throat the spearmen were already halfway through the doors. Gideon followed suit and beheld the battlefield. 

 The rebels sought to remain in formation as the infantry from behind the hills was nearly in spearing distance. He saw their first lines stumble backwards in fright as the loyalists poured out of the castle. 

 The flanking cavalry was already leaving, probably to run around the formation and strike from the rear this time, but the rebels' own horses did not give chase, instead choosing to clash with the secondary infantry forces. 

 The two walls of shields crashed against one another as the men around him gave their best war cries. 

 " FOR THE TULLYS!"

 " FOR THE RIVERLANDS!"

 He found he much preferred the latter. 

 It quickly became evident that the rebels possessed higher numbers than they did, but so long as the strategy was applied well, it would not be a problem. 

 Lines in the loyalists' shield wall opened and to just about everyone's surprise….

 The rebels did not engulf themselves inside. They remained in formation and tried to encircle the smaller force. 

 " The cavalry will fuck up their square! Hold men, open up again when the cavalry hits!" The Blackfish yelled as he and his force of knights rode behind the lines of infantry. 

 They were riding directly towards the rebels' archers whilst their own kept firing. If they could be the only ones firing arrows, they would find themselves with an incredible advantage. 

 " THEY'RE FALLING BACK!" An officer yelled. 

 Gideon's eyes widened when he noticed that the rebels were indeed trying to distance themselves. By now, the second army should have arrived, but it was nowhere to be seen. Something was definitely fishy there. 

 The rebels' backwards steps ceased when they found the loyalist cavalry smashing their rear. 

 " Holes in the wall, now!" 

 The gaps in the formation opened once more. Gideon braced himself when he saw the rebels stepping inside as they found themselves pushed forward by those behind them. 

 A spray of blood hit his right eye as a young lad took an axe to the skull beside him. 

 *Clink* 

 He raised his shield just in time and blocked a longsword. He nearly lost his balance when another man crashed against the shield and pushed him back. 

 " GIVE 'EM HELL LADS!" Some random old man screamed and immediately found an arrow buried in his right eye. 

 Gideon bashed his shield against the first man and thrust his sword towards the second's throat. He deflected the blade but was kicked in his side by another loyalist. 

 This gave the pale sellsword enough time to push forward and slash downward. The blade bit in the man's chest, through the poor quality leather. He screamed in both pain and terror but Gideon quickly ignored him. Two other rebels took the man's place and he fell back into position, his shield preventing him from losing an eye himself. 

 The wall had closed behind the rebels and they found themselves assailed on all sides. They pushed each other in the direction of the myriads of swords, axes and farming tools waiting for them, none so ready to throw their lives away now that they were cut from their army. 

 He was falling into a rhythm he noticed as he threw his shield arm forward and blocked a blow before it could even fall upon him. The rebel's own arm snapped backward and he could only cry in terror as Gideon hacked at his neck. He died choking on his own blood as he fell back. 

 In the time it took to kill one man, a dozen more fell in the various death circles created all along the shield wall. But the rebel army was still walking back. Their own cavalry was chasing after the loyalists' horses. 

 From afar, Gideon could make out the archers on the hill slowly advancing forward as they shot. Three steps, an arrow notched, then three steps more, and so on and so forth. 

 He raised his shield a little high this time as he tried to deflect a spear and another shot forward. He bit into his lower lips as the tip pierced his shoulder. 

 Another Boar seized the spear and pulled it back. Pain coursed through the pale sellsword's body, but he ignored it as best as he could. The very same Boar sellswords kept ahold of the spear and pulled on it, forcing the soldier holding it to stumble in between two other rebels. 

 He had not even gotten back to his knees when he had found Gideon's sword pushing into his skull and coming out below his jaw. But it took too long to take the sword out and another spear nicked him on his left arm. 

 His muscles were starting to ache by now and he was the only one who was tired of hacking and slashing endlessly. They had not even noticed that the shield wall kept opening and closing repeatedly and nearly believed the rebels kept coming back to life to fight. But the corpses they stepped over were real and they were numerous. 

 The enemy commander had obviously met the Stranger by now since the rebels had lost their composure and kept pouring into the deliberate cracks. The fools. 

 He trembled when thunder crackled above their heads. The rain was not leaving anytime soon. At this point, he wondered if the knights had abandoned their horses, preferring to fight on foot than remain on the beasts trudging through the mud. 

 But something clicked in his mind as the 'swordsmen' around him retook their positions, waiting for new rebels to get eaten up by their unusual tactic. 

 The rebel army was leading them somewhere. They had already walked some distance away from the castle and the archers on the wall were finding it difficult to effectively hit their targets and not their allies. 

 Due to his accursed skin, he could not get any paler, but the shock got to him all the same as it clicked in his mind. They were leading them towards the second army. They had not yet seen it and the only possible explanation for it was that…

 " T-they're taking us to a fucking tr-"

 " BOARS! THESE DOGS ARE LEADING US TO A TRAP! WITH ME!" 

 He winced from the booming voice and turned to his right, only to find a bloodied Oswyn standing there, his hand high in the air holding a gorgeous steel longsword. The man spared him a glance and he swore he saw the creepy swordsman appraising him with his eyes. Then he started running parallel to the shield wall. 

 Most of the Boars immediately followed after him whilst the other 'swordsmen' meant to fight in the gaps tried to form coherent groups with the loss of hundreds of men. 

 Gideon quickly shook off the surprise and ran after his commander. He found out before the question could form in his mind that Oswyn meant to stop the rebels dead in their tracks by simply having infantry pushing on both sides now that the cavalry was busy. To that effort, the Boars ran alongside the rebels' flank and circled around them. 

 Of course, it did not take them all too long to understand what was coming their way and they hastily tried to form a second shield wall in their rearguard. Gideon could not believe his eyes as he found two knights fighting side by side with the infantry. They cut an imposing sight, hacking away at the sellswords with relative ease. 

 This time, there were spearmen to absorb the force of the clash; Gideon found himself in the first line and ducked his head under his shield. With the sudden movement, a lock of drenched hair entered his hair and he cursed. 

 " ARGH! NOT NOW, FUCK!" 

 He shook his head desperately and found the hair leaving his teary eye just as a massive blade cleaved through the air. It split the upper part of his shield and cut into his torso. 

 " ARGHHH!" He screamed pathetically as he fell to one knee. 

 Lifting his head, he expected to see the bastard sword coming back for his head this time but he saw something else. Something unexpected. 

 At that moment, time almost seemed to have stopped. The rebels had started to get desperate with the realization that their careful retreat was hampered. He saw contorted faces, tears fading with the heavy rain and puddles of blood covering part of the overturned mud. 

 And directly before him, a helmet flew. Not just a helmet but also the head within, severed so cleanly it had seemed to have never been attached to anything prior. Oswyn appeared almost graceful, with his sword a mere extension of his already long arm, as the arc he drew in the air finished. 

 Time had resumed around him when Gideon's eyes caught not one but three bodies collapsing onto the mud. The man had taken three heads with a swing, the helmeted one belonging to one of the two knights. 

 The second one released an awkward sound, halfway between a strangled scream and a warcry, and charged forward, pushing through the rebels' raised shields. 

 Peering through his drenched hair with great difficulty, Gideon could swear he saw sparks flying when Oswyn's longsword clashed with the Knight's halberd. 

 As much as he wanted to witness this veritable duel, he had more pressing matters to handle, namely the two cunts who had bashed his head with their shields after he had plunged his sword cleanly through their friend's heart. 

 He felt dizzy for all but two seconds after the blow and almost thought he was imagining the text floating above the two's heads. 

[ The Champion has surpassed his total kill count in one battle! ]

The reward will be calculated based on the champion's prior kill count.

Achievement Reward: +10 Prestige, +1 Prowess.

 A cruel smile bloomed on his face as they gawked at him. He realized it was probably because of his fuming body and his sizzling wound. He felt so damn hot, it had gotten worse now. But his fatigue had disappeared somewhat. He was rejuvenated in a way, though the word was perhaps too strong. 

 He threw his shield at one of the idiots' faces and grabbed a new one swiftly before they could take advantage of his defenselessness. It happened anyway despite his relative speed of execution, an arrow burrowing itself in his armour, with its head piercing into his torso. His eyes twitched madly at the pain and he openly glared at the rebels. 

 He took a step forward and countless horses filled his vision. The wind carried by their charge threw his hair forward as he gasped. 

 The loyalist cavalry had neutralized the rebels'. 

 From the corner of his eye, he saw Oswyn cut clean through a man's entire midsection and trembled as he beheld his expression of pure bliss. 

 The rebels found themselves trampled under hundreds of horses and finally, their entire formation collapsed. 

 " RUN! GET TO THE BLACKWOODS!" One rebel lord yelled before Commander Slade's spear entered his mouth and came out of the back of his skull, splattering blood and some bits of brain on the young lad directly behind him. 

 The rebels broke into full sprints as they tried to flee. Some did not quite seem to understand that this was not a full-on retreat as they ran the wrong way, but a majority ran in a strange direction. They were running towards the forest he and Beryn had taken to circumvent the rebel camp the night before. 

 The second army had come from Harrenhal, they would not have passed right by the first army, ignored them and then entered the forest. It would make no sense. 

 " The fucking bastards!" Commander Oswyn cursed before he grabbed a fleeing spearman and lifted him by the throat. Whilst he choked the life out of the man, Commander Slade beckoned a nearby loyalist knight. 

 " Inform the Blackfish, we were right. The first army lost part of their number and they did not just disappear. Out of our sight, these cunts joined their second army and went to the forest to ambush us once we ran after them!" He told the knight before taking a deep breath. 

 "DO NOT PURSUE! THEY ARE LURING US INTO ANOTHER TRAP!"

 Another one? He had to give it to them, even when disadvantaged, they knew how to play their cards. 

 " What should we do then, Commander?" He asked. He surprised even himself with his confidence. Was this the rush soldiers often described? The one that made you ignore fear and pain as you battled? No…this was the system. His prowess had augmented again, and with that augmentation came more than just strength. 

 Commander Slade seemed genuinely lost for a second as he looked at him before he cleared his throat. The man had clearly not expected to see him again. 

 " The cavalry will regroup, as will the infantry. You will march towards the forest and stop before entering it! We'll force them out with a charge and they will crash upon your spears! BE PREPARED, MEN; WE STILL HAVE ANOTHER HALF AND THEN SOME TO FACE!" 

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A.N: Hey y'all, I would really appreciate comments or reviews as they allow me to see where the fic stands at any given point and if it is going in the right direction. It's also an incentive for me as a writer. 

So don't hesitate to share your opinion or ask any questions you may have.