The Exalted 13 Chapter 12: Assault On Neuchatel Part Ii

For Ordos and his men, the exit of the Lohenstein forest was a blessing, a path that would bring them closer to victory and above all, wealth and treasures. They would finally stop living like parasites on Laurelian streets, begging and pleading, murdering and defiling on occasions.

With their spoils, they would go west, through the kingdom of Laurelia and beyond to establish their own n.o.ble houses, their own personal guards. Their children and grandchildren will see them not as cruel misfits but heroes who have attained greatness by their own deeds, no matter their lineages. Thus was Ordos' dream for his men and himself.

For such a dream to come to fruition, it mattered not that they slay a few aristocrats from a middle power nation like Laurelia. Their employer promised them a full pardon and land were they able to accomplish their task.

It was their chance to change their fates.

Ordos spared a final thought for his sons and daughters back at home before loading his glimmering Steinsbach '23 and positioning himself for the shot. Their security would be guaranteed by the employer even in the event Ordos died.

...

As the numerous bandit forces charged toward their hill, the Jaegers started jittering nervously. The enemy was more than 20 times their number and yet the Fahnenjunker commanders were calmly seated on their horses that were left on the hill during the forest phase of the battle. Their expressions were blank, as if they were in a trance of some sorts.

"Perhaps they are a.n.a.lyzing the battlefield and finding a way for us to survive," thought one Jaeger.

...

His guess was slightly wrong.

Estelle sat on her horse and everything went blank. She knew that once the enemy positioned themselves in shooting lines, they would be nothing short of annihilated, were they still in this location. The only way out was to retreat, but they did not even have time for that. Retreating would still result in casualties, albeit less than if they stood their ground. She did not her mens' blood on her hands. She was not ready for this. The cannot allow these men who believed in them die because of their incompetence.

...

Cold sweat poured on Alexa's back. They had to do something! Being charged at by thousands of men armed to the teeth was no joke. In an ideal world, she would have grapeshot them with artillery or charged them from above with the cavalry, but with only skirmishers like Jaegers, they would incur heavy losses if they defended this position. With no reinforcements in sight, the situation seemed nothing but desperate. One thing was sure. She will never surrender to these men. Her honor would not tolerate that. Yet with their lives and honor on the line, Ursula was as still as a statue. "What was going on in her head?"

...

The enemy was 200 m from them. Almost at shooting range. A little bit more and they'll be in a firefight against thousands of men with high morale and low sense of honor. From an insider's perspective, this was a dire situation.

However, Ursula knew Generalmajor Laura would never abandon them. It was against her every interests. She would lose seasoned soldiers and the very trust of the nation. She would face the military tribunal and she could lose her home and everything dear to her. Hence, the young woman had faith in Lady Laura. If she had not informed exactly her what would happen after they gained foothold on the hill, it was because it was no longer the Jaegers' fight. Ursula knew, yet felt anxious. If they did not come, she would die and be forever remembered as an incompetent officer despite scoring higher than anyone at the Kriegschule. As if to echo her sentiments, there was no reinforcement in her sight anywhere around her.

No. She had to take the gamble. The battlefield was full of risks and she would face similar fights in the future, perhaps even with more odds against her. This time, they at least had a favorable geographic position and had the possibility to turn heels and retreat without heavy casualties. In case things get dire, she had a way out. In the worse case, she would charge in herself and temporarily break the enemy vanguard's ranks. That would spare her men a few volleys and grant them a chance to escape unscathed. She sincerely hoped she would not be forced turn to that.

Breaking out of her trance, Ursula signaled to her soldiers to reload and position themselves to shoot downhill. If her estimates were correct, a preemptive barrage from them would startle the enemy and would also act like a sign for reinforcements to arrive. She had faith in her superiors.

...

Reality was not too far from her prediction.

Exactly when the last of the enemies emerged from the forests and their vanguard started loading their guns while charging at 200 m from the hill, a dramatic trumpet sounded from all around them.

At once, the thunderous roar of thousands of hooves trampling the ground echoed through the plains. Clouds of dust emerged here and there, as if appearing from thin air. Soon, s.h.i.+ning armors shone through the clouds as House Montpensier's heavy cavalry charged the battlefield in wedge formations. The Cuira.s.siers' immaculate white plates were soon soaked with the enemy's blood as their lances sliced through the bandits' formations like knives on b.u.t.ter.

"This is the true might of Lacrimosa's cavalry..." Ursula thought while marveling at the sight.

Estelle and Alexa bore proud faces as they told the men to retreat.

The Jaegers exploded in cheers as their colleagues skewed through the enemy.

...

In the midst of chaos, Ordos felt disoriented, confused and more than anything, betrayed. He should never have put his trust in n.o.bles to begin with. They were the worst of the sc.u.ms, even worse than the bandits themselves. He should never have accepted to work for this employer.

With the information he was given, the entire town would have been his to plunder. The Army of Azuria was supposed to be at the training grounds a hundred miles from Neuchâtel and the marchioness, as a foreign n.o.ble, should not have any professional troops at her personal disposal. That was what he was told. Yet where were these hors.e.m.e.n coming from? They did not bear the banner of the Army of Azuria, but a weird emblem resembling that of the Laurelian Royal Crest! Did his plans leak? Were they conned by the employer? Did the employer betray them? To get rid of them because of their low social status?

He should never have worked for that n.o.ble.

Enraged, Ordos ran. He ran not toward safety, if there were any, but in the direction of the hill, atop which the young women gleefully watched his men being ma.s.sacred. Rapidly, he covered 100 m, 150 m and right when he was about to lunge at the closest girl's stead, a violent shock rang through his body.

Before he knew what has transpired, a steel halberd-lance had knocked his bayonet on the ground. But Ordos was no beginner. His former mercenary reflexes kicked in as he jumped back, creating distance between himself and his attacker. The fluid shape ran toward him at high speed as he took out his trusted longsword, ready to parry the lance. A violent shock and another one again. Both fighters were seasoned warriors and fought for their lives.

Only one of them would leave this fight alive.

...

Unlike most people of this era, Ursula's main weapon was not a bayonet or a saber, but a 2-meters tall halberd-lance. And despite her slim body, she was able to manipulate the weapon as if it was an extension of her arm. She inherited her skills from her grandfather, who was a gilded general during the reign of the previous king.

"You're strong," she muttered as she traded blows with Ordos. "But strength alone would get you nowhere!"

Ursula swung the axe part down on the bandit chief. As he blocked the strike with his longsword, she pulled on her weapon and slid along the pole to launch a powerful kick on Ordos' chest.

The man stumbled as he lost his grip on his weapon. Before he could recover, Ursula pinned him on the ground with her knee, took a small knife from her belt sheath and raised it above his head.

...

Nearing the end of his long life, Ordos finally felt at peace. He got what he deserved after so many years murdering, defiling and kidnapping people.

He grew up in a poor urban family in the Kingdom of Laurelia. His father was a butcher and operated a small butchery in a small town near the former Lacrimosian border, 10 miles from Neuchâtel. They were a poor, but happy family. When the Archduke Montpensier at the time, Lord François de Montpensier, started fighting the Lacrimosians after a 5-year ceasefire during the 30-years War, Ordos' father enlisted to serve his lord on the battlefied. Ordos was not even 7 when his father left. Overnight, his family became respected among the local townspeople. Children would sing songs of praise to his mother and women would frequently offer to look after his mother's 14 children. Ordos felt prouder than ever and wanted to become a soldier just like his father.

A year later, news came that Ordos' father had died on the frontline. He did not die an honorable death, neither. In fact, he had been executed for "dishonorable behaviour." That was a sugarcoated term for deserters. After that, Ordos' family fell in ruin. In a fortnight, people started claiming debts from them. Others spat whenever they pa.s.sed one of his brothers or sisters on the streets. One morning some 3 years after his father's death, his elder sisters were found lifeless in the gutters. It was not hard to imagine what had transpired.

Later, his family's financial situation became even worse and some of the children were sold as slaves, including him.

The males were sold to n.o.bles who needed canon fodder for the frontline and the women were employed to serve the lord's army in many different ways.

Eventually, Ordos escaped from his owner and became a mercenary to alleviate his mother's burden and when the war was over with Laurelia's partial loss and the annexation of Neuchâtel by Lacrimosa, he, along with other companions, became bandits roaming Laurelia's eastern border, killing and robbing every Lacrimosian merchant or n.o.ble on their path.

After a nearly decade of sins, this man has finally been brought to justice.

"I got what I deserved," he thought as Ursula's blade pierced his throat multiple times, cutting off his last breath.
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