FVN Chapter 293: Chapter XIX: Battle of Dawnstar, The Rout
Chapter 293: Chapter XIX: Battle of Dawnstar, The Rout
Chapter 293: Chapter XIX: Battle of Dawnstar, The Rout
The battlefield around us seemed to quieten once more as I rested a foot on a mangled corpse to my side while giving the remaining 'elites' of the enemy a mocking smirk they could more feel than see at this distance.
Now that we were not attempting to rend each other into tiny bits, Ulfric finally got a good look around him and the dozens upon dozens of corpses of his shield brothers, all of them looking like they belonged at a butcher's shop and not a battlefield.
His eyes found mine once again, a cigar lazily held between my fingers as I leaned on my glaive without a single spot out of place. It could in fact be said that I looked cleaner than many a Thane stationed in the Blue Palace.
And it was that sight that confirmed his decision as he gave me one final glare before ordering in a voice more bitter than even I, in all my low opinion of the man, had expected "We retreat." He grit out.
His words seemed to almost drain all the fighting spirit left within his men but he should have expected as much. He, a Nord King by his own words, was turning tail and running from an elf. Before any of them can react to the command I lazily raise my hand as if to stop them, my Magicka already bubbling back to the surface in preparation for a lunge making them all tense up and focus back on me "And what exactly gave you the impression any of you were going to be leaving this field alive?" I ask in a falsely polite tone.
Fear enters the less powerful among them, even as they attempt to hide it from their brothers in arms, but the leaders seem to have a completely different reaction as Grimnir gives Ulfrica solemn look, and a nod is shared.
"I will see you in the halls of our ancestors brother." Ulfric offers to shake his hand but the old man simply smiles and proceeds to kick him away.
Just in time for my blurry form to pass them both and stop only as I impale one of their unsuspecting magi on my glaive, setting him on fire in the process and tossing his burning carcass at a nearby man who was trying to bring a horse to his retreating lord.
I blink away from my position and appear at Ulfric's side, my weapon already in full swing but
I have to pull back at the last moment as Grimnir also uses teleportation and attempts to smash my hand with his hammer.
By the time I could look back, Ulfric had already used whirlwind sprint and was halfway across the battlefield, his elites retreating after him at much lesser speeds, all of them leaving their best mage to his fate.
"Yeah, as if." I scoff and as Grimnir goes in for an attack and spell combo, attempting to hold me in place and smash me at the same time, I use the small window of time before the spell lands to yank a nearby shadow and appear just behind a breathless novice tongue.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Suffice it to say he would remain breathless for an eternity as I promptly removed his head with a rapid swing.
Things devolved into a deranged version of a game of cat and mouse as Grimnir attempted to chase me down and stop me from teleporting around while I proceeded to murder as many of Ulfric's prized warriors as I could before the old man finally did.
Finally, after twenty dead men, one of the idiots got their head out of their ass and actually tried fighting back with his greater than average strength and he bought enough time for the old man to catch up and cast a temporary spatial lock from a very expensive looking scroll.
I pulled the Ebony Blade out of the eye socket of the brave Stormcloak, the man dead before his body hit the ground, and turned back to Shatter Shield "Bought that just for little old me, have you?"
"Shut your cursed mouth you monster." He grits his teeth, his eyes almost alight with the hatred he held for me.
"What is it you old fart? Upset I did not play along with your little heroic sacrifice bit?" I ask in a mocking drawl as I lightly swing the piercing ebony dagger and let the blood fly off its surface.
"Silence you honorless cur!" Whatever little composure must have been completely broken by my utter lack of care for his men "Just shut up and face me!"
"Oh, don't you worry." I drawl on "I had every intention of making this place your grave." I point to a hole which wasn't there a moment ago "Look, I even dug it in advance."
He doesn't answer save for an enraged battle cry and a wall of frost and lightning slamming into my previous position.
I pivot on one foot just as I land from my sudden jump and with a flick of my hand blast the rushing old man with a massively overcharged fireball, completely ruining his shield hand and launching him bodily against a nearby tree.
Grimnir barely had the time to raise his hammer and prop himself up against the now felled bit of forest before I appeared in front of him once more, Blasphemy raised high and ready to remove everything in its path.
He only barely managed to stop my overhead swing, the deadly blade held back just an inch away from his forehead as he struggled heroically against my attack, his eyes focused fully on my weapon as he had seen what it could do with a mere touch.
And that focus cost him his life.
Without the barest hint of any respect or mercy, I kicked him in the chest, and with a pained grunt, his guard faltered, letting my blade descend further and turn his wizened face into so many fine chunks of shattered meat as the vorpal curse went to work.
reports are to be believed your actions alone have saved thousands of my men today." He informs me "You have my thanks."
I offer a satisfied smirk in turn "It was my genuine pleasure." My tone this time was more than enough to make some of the less experienced officers gape for a moment before they thought better of it and got back to work.
"How are the casualties?" I ask as I take a seat.
Tullius' eye twitches in irritation "Our center has approximately three thousand fallen while
the enemy has seven, almost half of those losses happened in the rout caused by you and our Breton allies." He sighs "There was also an attack from the city itself, aimed toward the eastern fort but it was held back, if just barely."
"You think they will sally out again?" I ask immediately.
He nods grimly "Yes, we will have to station even more men to garrison those positions."
"Right." I agree, sharing some of his consternation "As much as I would like to have all of this
over and done with, I do not believe for a second we have broken the rebels' spirits with only
today."
"Quite." The General confirms "Rarely is a battle over after only one clash, especially one this... intense."
I nod along "And what of our other flanks?"
"Rikke has held her position with relatively light losses against Galmar Stone-Fist's assault
but has not done much damage in turn either. The two seem to be perfectly content in bashing
their shieldwalls against each other, and I am more than happy to let them continue." He lists off while glancing at a nearby report "Fresh reports have yet to arrive from the forest but the most recent one implies a costly victory for our side."
Almost as if summoned by Tullius' words, a man in Morthal livery rushed into the tent and
almost fell on his face as he forced himself to stop running, he looked around in a panic before
his eyes landed on me "Sir! Battlemage Tiberius took a javelin to the thigh, we are unsure if he will survive without immediate aid!"
The entire tent turns silent as many of the officers grew rather worried about the cheerful young man but Tullius and I could only share looks of disappointment.
After slowly palming my face I got up from my seat and spoke "General, permission to put your Battlemage through a training regime from Oblivion itself?" I ask with false cheer.
The satisfied grin the man's face twisted into sent shivers down the spines of his subordinates
as he nodded "Granted."
Thy wealth of stones becomes mine own!
Should you be lacking in wealth, I can always take another form of stone...
If you want to support me directly and get access to 35ish chapters (Some 70k-ish words) in
advance visit my patreon page patreon.com/Rastislav156
If you want to discuss the story or just meme about join my discord server:
https://discord.gg/NSDHGQpvsF (refreshed)