Attack! (Part 3)
824 Words
They hurried towards the Economic Square, where they were supposed to regroup with other rebels. After a while, Jack began: “Axel, listen, about those guards before-”
“I’m sorry about that,” Axel said. “I just lose it sometimes; I can’t think straight. It’s as if the rage and hatred blocks my ability to reason; and I can’t think of anything else except to kill my enemy.”
“It’s alright,” Jack replied. “I understand, I really do. I’ve seen this rage before. But you have to try to keep it under control. This uncontrollable rage harms your mind, and it may lead you to do something disastrous. You and Belle are our most powerful allies; you can turn the tide of this battle. We need you to be at the top of your game, yeah?”
Axel sighed. “I’ll try.”
“We’re almost at the Square, mate. Come on. Keep a lookout for guards.”
As they got close to their destination, they took cover to scope things out. The place was crawling with guards. After Ender’s announcement, the people must have been forced into their homes for protection; there wasn’t a single citizen around. More than a dozen guards patrolled around the place, some casually stealing food from the tables and shops around. There were five archers posted on rooftops.
“I expected a lot more guards around,” Jack told Axel. “They must’ve gone to assist the bounty hunters.”
“We need to kill these as quickly as possible, then meet up with Luna and Belle.”
“Agreed. Let’s get to the rebels before-” He was interrupted when a small pebble hit him in the face. Both turned to the direction of the sender and saw one of the rebels beckoning the two to join them.
They stayed behind their cover till the guards turned around, and then followed the rebel. They were led to a group of fighters waiting to attack.
Jack looked at the thrower. “In the face? Did you have to throw it straight at my face?”
“Sorry sir,” he replied. “Had to get attention without alerting guards.”
“Of course you did. Why are you all here anyway? You’re supposed to be stationed near the red building.”
“Well, uh, many guards went away, and this position perfect for attack. The shooters kill archers from here while others rush into sentries and kill. Opportunity too good to resist sir.”
“He’s right,” Axel told Jack. “This is a good spot for the attack.”
“Hm, I suppose…” Jack examined the surroundings and checked the guards. “I suppose you’re right. Yeah. Nice work, mate! You, Reena and Metz can climb on the roof and take out the archers. Once they’re dead, the others can ambush the guards on the ground.”
“Sir, did the troops near the tower make it?” One of the rebels asked.
“Yes. All of them.”
“Thank God.” He was relieved, and slipped back into the crowd.
“For what it’s worth,” Axel said, “Their sacrifices were not in vain. Let us honour them by taking down Ender’s forces and destroying the empire once and for all!”
The rebels were a lot more determined towards the raid. They readied their weapons.
Jack faced the warriors. “Alright, let’s get into positions! Be ready to attack on my command!”
The three rebels climbed up on the roofs and aimed their crossbows at the unaware archers. The others stuck to the side and prepared themselves for the assault.
Jack held his fist up to signal the others to wait while the enemy archers were in the perfect positions.
After waiting for a few more seconds, he opened his fists and the rebels let their arrows fly into the archers’ skulls. Three archers went down and the other two began panicking, looking around frantically. The three rebels quickly loaded their crossbows, and killed the remaining two archers. One of the bodies fell right in the middle of the Economic Square, and terrified the soldiers on the ground. Right in the middle of the confusion, Jack ordered the rebels to attack, and they charged at the imperials.
Axel raised his staff and summoned small glowing magical flying beasts that flew straight into the guards and tore off pieces of armour and flesh. The rebels on the ground got into swordfights while the shooters shot arrows straight into the guards. Some arrows were deflected by the golden armours, while others managed to slip between the plates and kill them instantly. Jack also fought with his sword, occasionally creating force fields to throw around warriors or to weaken their armours for attacks. Axel had already used up a lot of magic, and stayed at a distance while shooting magical blasts of energy at the enemies.
The skirmish lasted for a few minutes; soon, the rebels won, with two casualties and two injured.
Jack ran up one of the dead and closed his eyes. Axel did the same to the other one.
“We’ll take care of the dead, sir,” One of the rebels told him. “We’ll take the injured back to base.”
“Thank you.” He turned to Axel. “Let’s go.”
Axel nodded, and the two ran towards the Roven inn.
- Writer
