The Throne Guards returned inside the Gold Wall, and the heavy doors were swiftly bolted behind them. They had lost thirty-seven men. It was a staggering blow to Veridia. While the Throne Guards were elite, they were not on the same level as the legendary units of Valoria, Aethelgard, or the Empire. However, the two hundred Black Orcs they had obliterated were no common thugs either; they were among the Pirate Empress's finest. Once the horses slowed down, the battle had turned into a brutal grind. The Orcs fought like cornered beasts, ignoring their own wounds to hack at horse legs or drag riders from their saddles. The death toll was actually lower than Lucien had expected, but, on the other side, Lorian was far from happy. He had not expected to lose seven percent of his best troops, that too on the very first day. Only comfort was the realization that, the blow to the Pirate Empress was greater; she had lost an entire elite unit.
Lorian studied the new enemy moving into the streets. They were human, muscular, and wore almost nothing- bare-chested, wearing only loincloths. Their body was full of vicious battle-scars. They were barefoot. Most strange, however, were their weapons- small, round steel bucklers with a spike protruding from the center. Some held two, one in each hand. Lorian felt he had seen them before, but the memory stayed just out of reach.
He looked over at Lucien and froze. The man's face looked like it had been carved from black stone. Lorian watched Lucien gulp, his eyes were wide.
"You…." Lorian murmured, unable to finish his thought.
"You know them?" Lucien completed Lorian's sentence, while his eyes were still locked on the distant figures, "Of course. Every student of battlecraft should know who they are. They are the practitioners of the sacred martial art of the Shield Dancers! They are the Ahiryani."
Now it was Rena's turn to have her eyes widen, "But… Lord Commander… the Ahiryani were annihilated! Their temples were burned to the ground for their crimes against Tir Luthar!"
"And yet, they are here," Lorian said, his voice grim.
"Indeed, yet they are here," Lucien repeated Lorian's phrase. His smile was bitter, betraying the deep tension and shock gripping him, "And do you know what is more surprising? It was the Orcs who brought them down and decimated them years ago."
"And now, they are fighting right beside those same Orcs?" Lorian's voice was heavy with confusion.
Lucien grabbed Lorian by the wrist, "My Lord, I was wrong. All of us were wrong. You saw the truth….in your strange foresight and insight…. we are not dealing with mere pirate scum. The Pirate Empress is something far more dangerous. She isn't just managing an armada; she is commanding these terrifying, exotic people."
"I can understand the Black Orcs," Lorian said, furrowing his brow, "But what makes these Shield Dancers so special that it has you shaking?"
"The Ahiryani were not just martial artists. They were a dangerous cult that worshipped Khor-Vall, the Breaker of the Gate- the Prince of Rage, Violence, and Primal Terror," Lucien explained in low voice, "As you can see by yourself, they wear no armor, only their shields. The more they bleed, the stronger they become. They do not die until the very last drop of blood leaves their body, or their heads are severed. The entire continent's forces couldn't defeat them until the Orcs finally helped the coalition subdue them."
Lorian didn't reply. He watched the new enemies closely. Unlike the Orcs, they didn't storm the buildings to hunt the archers. Rather, they formed a protective circle across the street, calmly deflecting arrows with their bucklers. Under their cover, the pirates searched the streets for surviving Orcs and carried them back to safety.
Lucien arched an eyebrow. The Ahiryani weren't just fighting beside the Orcs- they were protecting them. Something was very wrong, fundamentally.
The enemies left the streets, making no further attempt to capture houses or clear the Southern Alley. This surprised the Veridians. Two-thirds of the streets they had already freed, that too at very high cost, and the pirates now had fresh reinforcements. But they decide not to finish what they had started. The city defenders wondered if the pirates were simply afraid to lose this special unit, just as they had lost the Orcs. As this thought spread, the morale inside the Gold Wall surged. As the Sun set, signaling end of the day as well as the battle for the day, a surge of hope enveloped the people. They were now hopeful, convinced that the gallant Veridian Army would drive the scums out and soon their life would return to normal.
Lorian walked among the refugees and soldiers, checking on their spirits. Rena and Rylan followed closely behind. The commoners and soldiers were thrilled to see their Lord walking among them, checking on their welfare and offering smiles. They were overwhelmed, but Lorian was far away in his own mind. He couldn't accept the sudden retreat. It made no sense. If the pirates wanted to win, they would have started burning the buildings or bombarding the city immediately. Why were they wasting time? They couldn't be foolish enough to restart this tomorrow and risk another massacre.
Lorian felt lonely in the crowd. While everyone else was hopeful, he found no peace; it felt as though the entire city's survival rested on his shoulders alone. He suddenly missed Selena. If she were there, he might be able to lean on her. He let out a deep breath, and Rylan and Rena exchanged a concerned look, though they knew it was not their place to ask the Lord what was wrong.
As Lorian passed a group of soldiers drinking ale by a fire, their conversation drifted his way.
- "I hope Sedrick is well…"
- "Isn't he your brother-in-law?"
- "Yes. He is posted at the Gold Dragon Tavern by Golden Alley. Thank Sol he wasn't in the South Alley. I wouldn't know how to face my sister if something happened to him."
- "Well, our Throne Guards stopped the scum. And Master Jax, Kaelen, and Miss Zara killed their leader… so we're safe now!"
- "Exactly! And you see, it's night. They'll relax. There's no more fighting tonight. They're basically sitting ducks out there!"
- "By Onir's Breath! What do you mean by 'sitting ducks'?" "Sorry, I meant they'll be just sitting and…"
A playful scuffle broke out between the three soldiers, and others cheered, placing bets. Rena and Rylan were also excited and started to join in, but not Lorian. He had his answer.
He froze in his tracks. He could hear all his plans crumbling like a house of cards.