Chương 42: The Baron of Widow's Wall and The Horde

"Ha..." Enel... was still running, but the road had already become a blur to him. Mud clung to his boots, rainwater slipped down his face, and his breath came louder than it should have. He did not know how many villages he had passed after the last, he did not even realize there were that many settlements—they passed none of those on the way. Or maybe they did, but he forgot from how tired he was. But it did not matter to him. Once he saw a village, only one single question came out of him.

"Which... way to Widow's Wall?" He must have asked the question a dozen times by now. But finally, the fields began to feel familiar. He closed his eyes, once again focusing his ears on the sound of anything moving or anyone breathing. But what he heard was the sound of a bell. Enel's eyes widened as he looked to his left, and his feet that he could no longer feel started moving on their own. And then, he ran even harder. The bells had not stopped for two days. But Robert no longer heard them as bells.

They had become part of the air by then, like screams, like the rain that seemed to be mocking them, and like the wet sound of vemon claws scraping against stone. He stood near the inner gate with a roll of bandages in one hand and a broken spear in the other, trying to remember when he had last slept.

"M'lord!" Robert turned just in time to see a boy stumble through the mud with blood running down his forehead. Not a soldier, not even a man grown. Just one of the miller's sons, holding a hunting bow that was almost as tall as he was.

"Arrows," the boy gasped.

"T-the archers said they were out of arrows!" Robert handed the bandages to a woman beside him and pointed toward the old storehouse.

"There... there should still be some there! And tell them not to waste any more arrows. Aim for the eyes!"

"A-aye, M'lord!" The boy quickly ran. Another scream came from the wall, and Robert turned toward it with his spear in hand. A vemon had hooked itself over the broken stones and managed to slip through it, but before it could reach anyone, Duke Gawen crossed the wall like a gust of iron. His sword cut once, and the vemon's head left its body. Then he was already moving to the next, his cloak snapping behind him as two more creatures climbed from the creeping fog below.

He kicked one back over the wall and drove his blade through the throat of the other, but when he landed, his knee bent slightly more than it had yesterday. Robert noticed.

"Your Grace..."

"Do not look at me like that!" the duke shouted.

"I may be old, but these creatures are nothing!" Robert almost forced out a laugh, but another cry came from somewhere.

"Gate!" someone screamed.

"The gate!" And Robert ran to the gate—although there was not truly much of the gate left. It had already been repaired three times since the Dark Forest woke, and its hinges were about to collapse. Still, Robert joined the men and women pressing their shoulders against it from the inside, while the others slammed planks and whatever wood they could nail onto it. They had done so, again and again. The wood, groaning against the beasts wanting to burst from the other side.

"Brace!" Robert shouted, his feet sliding against the mud beneath them.

"Hold it!" A woman whose legs and arms were already trembling wildly cried out.

"M'lord, I cannot—""You can!" Robert said, placing his hand over hers on the beam.

"You can do it." The thing outside once again slammed into the gate, and the gates cracked open slightly. Half the crowd screamed, but Robert pushed with them until the gates closed again.

"Now! The planks!" They pushed, and the others once again hammered the planks into place as soon as the gate shuddered back closed. The vemons outside shrieked, and finally, they soon lost interest.

"C-continue blocking the gate," Robert ordered.

"Use your houses if you have to!"

"Aye, M'lord!" And of course, Robert was not allowed to rest—another horn blew, and Robert once again rushed away.

"How many?" he shouted. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. A soldier on the wall leaned over, rain dripping from his helmet.

"Too many, my lord! Too many!" Robert climbed the walls, stumbling a little before he reached the top. He did not even wipe away his sweat and immediately rushed toward the ledge. And there, he finally saw the entire painting of what they were dealing with. Vemons, hundreds upon hundreds of them. And there were more coming from the fog that had completely covered the fields.

All he could see were the shadows, but it was enough for him to know that there were hundreds more of them coming—and they were all heading straight toward Widow's Wall. Duke Gawen landed beside Robert a moment later, his boots striking the stone hard enough to crack it.

"That is the fourth wave from the north," Gawen said.

"I know."

"And the third from the south."

"I know that as well, Your Grace."

"They truly have no interest in marching through the rest of Woldmarch." Gawen's eyes narrowed toward the fog.

"They are attacking Widow's Wall." Robert's fingers tightened around the broken spear.

"We are the nearest place with life."

"Ha." Gawen glanced at him.

"You said that already, and I still do not believe you, Lord Blackwood. And fuck this rain! Why does it have to rain?!" Robert did not answer, and Gawen was not interested in hearing it anyway as he leaped down and quickly rejoined the battle. Robert also rushed down the steps, but a man ran toward him, slipping twice in the mud before stopping near him.

"Brenn," Robert said, recognizing the man.

"M-M'lord," Brenn said.

"Please! Let me fight outside! The... the other men are already fighting!" Robert stared at him.

"No."

"Please! You know my boy is in the forest!"

"And your wife is barely alive! We do not truly know if your son is truly inside or if the forest is playing tricks with your mind!" Robert raised his voice.

"You will not go."

"But... I hear him, M'lord. * I can hear him now! *""I... do not hear anything." Robert's eyes narrowed. He stepped forward, gently grabbing the man by the arms.

"You search for your boy here. I... will go outside."

"M'lord. But—""If your son comes back and finds you dead, what does he return to? Your son has not even seen six winters." Robert backed away.

"Go find your son here, inside. I will go out."

"But, M'lord—""Go!" Robert pointed at him, then turned around and walked away. But before he could even figure out how he was going to get to the other side of the walls, another horn blew.

"Ah!" Robert screamed in frustration, then rushed back to the top of the wall. As for Gawen, he roared louder than the horn, holding up a soldier who had slipped on the mud.

"Get yourself together!" He raised his voice even louder for everyone to hear.

"And if any of you run, I will drag you back by the neck!" A few terrified men actually laughed at that. Perhaps that was the only thing they could do, and as if mocking them... the fog opened. The vemons that had been hiding behind it all crawled out. Only dozens, at first... but then more came from behind, crawling over each other—none of them even looked remotely close to animals of the forest anymore. They were just... monsters.

"Loose!" Arrows flew from the wall, and some creatures fell, but the ones behind simply climbed over the bodies. Robert stared at them, then rushed to grab a bow himself, from an archer who was already tired of firing.

"Go rest for a while." He stood over the ledge again, swallowing his exhaustion as he drew a bow his arms were too tired to pull properly. There had been too many vemons yesterday, and too many before dawn, and too many when Axe had ridden away four days ago. Yet somehow, the forest still had more to send.

"Fuck!" Gawen cursed from below, cutting down another vemon.

"Where are the reinforcements?! I sent word through Duncan!" Robert looked down at him, then back toward the road on the other side of the town. But there was no army there, not even a single banner. He did not sigh at this, however, nor did he even shake his head—he was used to no one coming for Widow's Wall. Robert was about to draw the bow again, but heard a scream that made him stop.

"Brenn! Brenn is trying to break open the gate!"

"What?!" Robert quickly dropped the bow and started rushing down. It happened so quickly, and Robert didn't even know how he heard it with all the noise—but he did. He rushed toward the gate, only to see Brenn with his axe raised, screaming his son's name.

"Brenn... No!" The others grabbed him, but he had already swung his axe... breaking open the planks and wood everyone else had done their best to nail. And slowly, the gates started to open. And it was as if the vemons knew exactly what had happened. They all slowly turned their heads to the gate.

"Brenn..." Robert finally got there, and just in time to see the hinges of the gate finally collapse. The sound it made almost caused him to fall to his knees.

"What... have you done? Run..." But Robert had no time to wallow.

"Run! Run to the eastern wall and hide!" The villagers did not have to be ordered. They all turned and ran, leaving behind Brenn on the mud.

"Go... Go!" Robert waved at them, grabbing some of them as they slipped on the mud. And once almost all of them were gone, he finally noticed Brenn... and the dozens of vemons already heading toward them on the other side.

"Gawen!" Robert roared as he rushed toward Brenn.

"The gate!" But Gawen was too far, and Robert continued to run anyway.

"Brenn! What are you doing?! Brenn!" The vemons drew close, but still, Robert ran. Because Brenn was one of his, and no one else was there. Because he was still the Baron of Widow's Wall. Robert reached out his hand, but a vemon was already so close to breaching through the gate. He was not going to make it. But Robert Blackwood did not hesitate... and reached Brenn first, moving in front of him and shielding him. He gritted his teeth, bracing himself for the incoming pain.

A pain which did not arrive even after he had held his breath for moments.

"What...?" Robert stared at the creature, and it had stopped short upon actually entering Widow's Wall. Its entire body trembled, and it was not the only one. The vemons behind it had stopped as well, then another. Robert narrowed his eyes, finally noticing that all the vemons... were looking up. Robert followed their gaze, and a small gasp escaped him. He only saw the red cape from the edge of the wall, but he knew... Enel had arrived.

"Archers!" Robert screamed.

"Move away from the wall!" The archers were all confused, wondering if they had truly heard what they heard—but then, as they turned, they saw Enel walking toward them. And that was all they needed to start running away. They all passed by him, not even looking back as Enel walked to the outer edge of the wall. Gawen saw the archers flee before he saw the boy, and for half a breath, he thought the line had finally broken. Then like everyone else, he looked up. Enel also did not stop.

He just gazed down at the horde for one single moment... then jumped. The stones beneath his feet shattered, and a part of Widow's Wall broke away with him. Robert grabbed Brenn by the collar, then dragged him through the mud away from the wall. And then, all of them heard it...... the boom.