Road to the Crown

Chapter 260: Twist during the battle

30th July 1574

"Kill!"

With this single shout resounding in the air, the two forces finally clashed. Despite every single soldier being worth his weight in gold for the commonwealth, I could see countless men falling down from their horses, cut down by the hail of bullets produced by those of the Ostros troops that were quick enough on the uptake to turn around and face a new threat.

Yet at the same time, neither my own people nor my allies remained idle.

BAM!

In one moment, those who were rich enough to have an early type of pistol for themselves brought their muzzles towards the line of the enemies. In this single moment, before the two groups clashed against each other, both sides exchanged this early, shock of fire.

Bang, bang, bang, bang

While others already switched to their close combat weapons, I continued to rain fire on any enemy that was unlucky enough to stand in my way. With the process of reloading requiring only to relax the finger and allow the small spring to push the trigger back ot its natural position, by the time my compatriots could score one or two kills, I was already slowing Helga down in order to buy myself some time to exchange the magazine!

Click.

The used barrel that no longer had any use for me, fell down from the notch on my rifle, instantly getting trampled into the mud by the several horses following strictly behind me. In this short moment during which I was defenceless, several soldiers of mine kept my perimeter clear with their weapons, disregarding their own safety in the process. 

Pull.

Instantly snapping the thin line that held the next cylinder with ammunition to my belt, I raised it towards my rifle.

Clack.

With the sound of the pin locking the thin barrel into place, I once again raised the muzzle of my weapon, right when my soldiers ran out of their own ammo.

Bang, bang, bang, bang

Once again, anyone who was born under the unlucky star, resulting in our path crossing in this moment, would fall to the ground under the massive momentum of the heavy bullet shot at a way too close distance.

"Jump away!"

With the last bullet leaving the chamber of my rifle, the commander of the rescue force ordered a planned retreat. But it wasn't something that one could be shamed for in the later times while recounting the events. 

The strength of the Polish cavalry that was feared across the world as the absolute best military force in the current age, didn't lie in the strength of their armour, or the overall heaviness of their attack. The legendary hussar knights were so insanely strong because they would charge at the enemy, use the momentum of their attack to deal the maximum amount of damage, but rather than allowing themselves to be bound to the fight after the charge, a good commander would almost instantly pull it back out to the safety Only to repeat the process over and over again!

Considering how the number of the Ostros forces was way too small to achieve something like this, I had to drop my suddenly appearing dreams of beating the historical record of number of charges within a single battle. Yet as long as this place could be properly defended, I wouldn't mind losing that chance at all!

"Retreat!"

I hit Helga's sides in response to the command. Even if it wasn't the right moment to do so in my book, rather than trying to prove it on the field and destroying the discipline of the entire unit, just following the orders would for once be a more reasonable choice.

"Halt!"

Pulling the reins, I stood up in the stirrups, aiming to take a slightly better look at the situation. Yet as successful as our initial charge was in culling the number of the opponents, the two armies of mine were slowly getting pushed back from their makeshift line of defence. 

"Get back into the formation!"

Shouting the orders one by one with a voice that somehow was capable of cutting right through the noise of the battle, the noble commander once again rode to the very front of the formation.

Following his example, I swept the empty magazine of mine to the side, replacing it with the last fresh one that I brough with myself, before lining up in the second row. 

"Reload!"

It was perfectly clear to anyone watching that my forces in the city were slowly pushed back. But nevertheless, the commander still decided that wasting at least half a minute just to reload was more important than preventing Ostros troops from actually entering the inner part of the city!

'This guy'

I suddenly understood what was going on. Just a single look at the commander's face, even though I could only see his profile, was enough for me to put two and two together. Because rather than being some kind of random noble, he was one of the men that actually accompanied Ostros envoy all the way back when they visited Tarnow!

Everything suddenly came to a stop. Locked in this single moment of time, I continued to stare at the face of the commander, now dressed with an ever-so-slight hint of an accomplished grin.

"Lineee. Forward!"

I didn't even need to rely on any of my intentions to Helga, as this loyal mount of mine orderly followed the rest of the formation as soon as the order was given. In just a few moments, the entire cavalry group that remained on the horseback during the first charge, started the quick trod, saving the impact of the charge for just the last few steps before we would once again clash with the enemies.

"Sir? What's wrong?" 

One of my soldiers seemed to notice something from the way in which the muzzle of my rifle started to hover dangerously close the direction of our commander.

"This man"

The noise of the battle was making it hard to talk, especially during the charge, but I still somehow managed to speak with the soldier on my side.

"... is most likely in Ostros service."

Considering the fact that he was officially the commander of the relief force, I knew he couldn't openly side with the traitors. Yet that didn't mean he would be unable to stir up some serious trouble. As long as he prompted the entire army in a particular way, then rather than helping this mining town of mine, he could make all the men enter a looting spree!

And no matter how stupid that would be from the point of view of a simple soldier to ransack a city that didn't produce anything of value that was small enough to be stuffed into a pouch, by the time the soldiers would learn about this fact, it would be far too late!

Was this Ostros plan all along? To sacrifice their army, already heavily burdened by the casualties sustained during their fighting with me, for the sake of crippling my production capabilities?

But there was no time to act right now. With a deafening sound, the two forces clashed once again. Pulling my finger on the trigger, I send another series of bullets in the traitors' way, but in the grand scheme of thing, it wouldn't influence the outcome of the entire battle. 

Because it was already won.

The two charges that we made, were enough to cull out the number of the attackers to the point where rather than pushing forward into the open arms of inevitable death, most of the survivors decided that ditching the battle and running for their lives was a far more logical option.

But that didn't mean, that the relief force would allow them to do so!

"Don't chase! The main army will root them!"

Ostros' paid commander of the relief force instantly ordered, most likely noticing the situation just as well. Kicking Helga's sides, I directed her towards the commander with my arm already wielding my trusty sabre, as I couldn't help but see the dangerous sparks glistering i the commander's eyes. 

"Sir?"

Just as I realised the true intention of this entire ruse, so did my soldiers realise my own. A single look at their faces betrayed that even though they were scared of the consequences of the events that most likely would ensue in just a moment, they were determined enough o pull through them.

"Get ready for the real battle."

Despite the main Ostros forces already in scrambles, I could see the victorious smile on the commander's face, as he raised his arm to harness the attention of the troops. Pushing Helga to her limits, I didn't give him any chances.

"Make sure you know what orders are you giving."

Holding my rifle in the resting position, I just so happened to have its muzzle locked right on the noble's abdomen. With a sabre in my left hand, I was already close enough to make sure that even if he wouldn't fail for the empty threat of my empty rifle, then I would still be able to cut him down with this sharp steel of mine.

"What do you mean? Are you rebelling after all?"

At first, the man's face froze, with his eyes already half-open as he was about to give the order. But rather than giving others the time necessary to understand how sketchy his current behaviour was, he instantly turned his expression into a tense one, looking at me as if I was the true traitor finally willing to play my cards in the open.

"Rebelling? It's funny to hear that from the mouth of Ostro's mercenary! Tell me, how did it feel to cut down your own compatriots? Did you really thought I wouldn't notice that?"