Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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It was morning time, when the alarm bells resounded throughout the Camp.
Everyone jumped out of their beds, as they rushed to find out the cause of the alarm.
Adrian too got out of his bed and let the two friends stay asleep, as he wandered outside by himself.
Wherever he looked, the guards were running around in a frenzy, as they all carried weapons and supplies towards the Camp gates.
Adrian walked out of the residential quarters and tried to find anyone that he could recognize, but failed to find one.
He did, however come across the terrified citizens, as they all grabbed whatever they could and stuffed their door shut, such that any forceful entry would become a tough task to achieve.
As Adrian reached near the Common Gate of the Camp, he found lots of guards being stationed on the walls, while others were standing in a formation around the gate.
As Adrian tried to decipher any clues that he could find, he found Emma rushing down from the Gate tower and talking to the guards stationed below.
Adrian went near her to know the contents of the conversation, as he overheard her speaking,
[... they are back with full force. Only 600 of us remain able to fight. The elite soldiers number around 800, while the ordinary soldiers number around 600 too. Altogether they are around 1400, and we have no choice but to battle them to death. The safety and well-being of the civilians lies on our shoulders. We must not back down! We will FIGHT!!]
[[[Fight! Fight! Fight!]]]
The battle cry issued by Emma's guards were especially loud, as they grabbed their weapons and looked towards the door menacingly.
As Emma started to head back up, she noticed Adrian standing near her and spoke,
[Ah, Adrian. You are awake already. I suggest you stay at the residence quarters alongside Rose and the others. It's not safe here anymore.]
Adrian could sense how tensed up Emma was, and politely asked,
[Is someone invading us? Why all of a sudden?]
Emma's beautiful facial features distorted into a menacing glare, as she turned to look towards the Gate and spoke,
[It's the Duke. His forces are back. He seems to be planning attacks on us and it could begin anytime now.]
[Our guards noticed them a few hours ago, before we issued the alarm.]
[I never thought that with just 1400 soldiers he would start a battle against us. After all we have the advantage of terrain. We have the walls to protect us. And knowing the Duke, it all seems too fishy. Something is unknown to us right now. Something is definitely very wrong.]
A guard quickly descended the tower, as he ran up to Emma and reported,
[C-Camp Leader! It's over. T-The opposition have backup forces too!]
Emma became startled for a moment, before she regained her composure and quickly raced up the stairs.
Adrian too felt curious and climbed up after her, and soon the opposing forces were in his vision.
(...oh fuck.. that's not just 1400 soldiers.. it's more like 20,000 instead!...)
The Duke's elite force were located at the very center of the massive army, while a lot more stood behind them in a very clean formation.
Adrian had never seen such a large army before in his life, except in the movies perhaps. But, this was his first time encountering such a sight.
As he turned to look towards the Archers standing on the walls, their faces revealed obvious fear and fright.
None of them were ready for this kind of force. It was like an Ant was standing in front of a horde of Elephants. The possibility of victory was absolutely out of question.
Sweat drenched Emma's back, as her feet stumbled backwards and she lost her balance.
[Careful!]
Adrian caught Emma just before she fell and the shocked face of Emma turned to look towards him.
And what happened next was something neither the guards on the wall nor Adrian had ever expected to witness.
Emma grabbed Adrian's shirt and put her face on it, as light sobbing noises started to be heard.
Adrian panicked momentarily, as he never imagined the tough and iron willed Camp Leader to become so fragile.
He quickly regained his senses, as he hugged her head and slowly spoke,
[Please calm down, Emma. You must be strong. There are people who still need you.]
Emma sobbed a bit more, before she slowly spoke into his shirt,
[B-But.. the civilians...my friends.. how can I protect them anymore..I...I failed..]
Adrian knew that there was no way to calm her down like this, as she was experiencing a panic attack.
(...there is no way she could lead the forces against the attackers... we will lose before we even begin...)
He also knew that no one had the balls to lead the guards against an Army of such a size.
As Adrian turned to look at the opposition, he saw a few soldiers pushing a few structures forward.
[Oh no! B-Ballista?!]
[Ladders and catapults.. it's over now.. we can't escape..]
The faces of the guards changed when they saw the catapults. Many among them were very clear that the walls of the Camp wouldn't be able to withstand attacks from those catapults.
They would be massacred once the walls of the Camp broke down and the Duke's troops rushed in.
Originally, they thought that they could defeat the enemy by relying on the advantage of the terrain and the walls.
However, the plans were upturned when they saw the catapults.
Many among them knew that they had no way to stop the attack of 5000 soldiers, much less 20,000 soldiers.
The same moment, despair began to take over in their heart. The soldiers of the Camp were trembling as they held onto their weapons.
Adrian could tell that the morale of the troops was falling fast and that he had to do something about it.
He tried to appear confident and spoke loudly,
[Don't worry, everyone! I have a secret method with which we can defeat them all. Just calm down and follow my instructions! I m taking over the command of this battle. If anyone has any objections, then step forward and speak now, or shut up and follow my orders!]
As the guards turned to look towards Adrian upon his courageous proclamation, his confident and carefree visage came into their sight.
They didn't see a young man standing in front of them at that point, but a courageous leader instead who was willing to fight for their Camp and their families.
The fighting spirit rose among the guards, as a particularly rowdy guard raised his weapon towards the distant army and loudly shouted,
[We ain't afraid of you fuckers! If we will die, we will die fighting!! Nobody lays a hand on my family till I am still living and breathing!]
The other soldiers got infected by the enthusiastic atmosphere and they too raised their weapons towards their enemies and shouted,
[We will kill you, you bastards!]
[That's right! Nobody touches my daughter till I am alive!]
Listening to the fired up crowd, Adrian smiled to himself and motioned towards Zendra and called her near him.
Zendra ran up to him and silently awaited his instructions.
[Zendra, I want you to do your best and assign appropriate guards at the important positions to prevent any enemy from getting inside.]
[As for their siege weapons, I will deal with them personally. And don't worry about their massive army. Soon. they will be escaping with their tails between their legs.]
Adrian spoke thus far and handed the unconscious Camp Leader over to Zendra, as he quickly walked across the walls to find a good place to sit.
After all, he didn't want to end the show too soon. The psychological deterrent must be strong enough to prevent any such future invasions.
(...just you guys wait.. you picked the wrong person to mess with...)
The guards looked at Adrian sitting down, as he glared towards the approaching army.
In their hearts, they wished for a miracle to happen.
And a miracle was indeed about to happen...
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Chapter 62 END