Ironically, I AM going to Mexico next week, we'll see
Curtis! Update fast and, to make sure this AAR can continue with more updates, keep the pope alive!
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Curtis! Update fast and, to make sure this AAR can continue with more updates, keep the pope alive!
Chapter XV
Survival
Survival
“Really? Well, it’s clear it’s not over for me, I still have to kill the Pope, but for you, it has been over since the moment you decided to go after me, so now, take out your sword slowly and drop it. Remember, one single suspicious move you make and your throat will have my sword stuck from side to side even before you can say a word. So now, your weapon, please.”
He would have to be careful if he wanted to live, he had already figured a way to deal with the problem he was facing, however, the problem wasn’t as all the others he had dealt before, this problem was dangerous and could kill him if he made the wrong choice. He carefully drew out his sword and dropped it away from him. Now, if Visconti’s assassin would only do what he would do in that sort of moment and everything would be solved, at least partially.
“Get on your knees; it will be easier to kill you that way.” Nuglio couldn’t help but smile quietly when he heard that. “He can be the world’s best assassin, but he has a flaw that has been deadly to more than one” he thought. Doing as he had been told, he got on his knees. He could feel the cold tip of the sword in the back on his neck as he kneeled.
“I’ve heard quite a lot about you, Salvatore Nuglio, great warrior and killer. Too bad you picked the wrong side. You would had made an excellent addition to Visconti’s army, but let’s face it, it’s too late for that now, isn’t it? So let’s kill you once and for all and get done with this. I repeat it, you are a great soldier, but an enemy as well, so, goodbye, Nuglio, the killer from Palermo.”
“Finally” muttered Nuglio. The brief second when the assassin lifted his sword from Nuglio’s neck to take impulse and kill him, Nuglio quickly leaned to one side, making his foe miss the hit, who couldn’t even react after. Nuglio quickly grabbed a piece of a broken chair, stood up with a jump and hit his foe in the head with it, who, disorientated because of the hit, barely saw how Nuglio kneeled and took out a knife from his boot sticking deep into the assassin’s chest, who fell to the floor looking with confused eyes to his killer and with his cloths full of blood. After making sure he was dead, Nuglio spit on him and said “When will you learn that you must kill before talking? Talking gives your foe chance to thinks of something, even if he is in the most desperate situation.”
He then picked up his sword and removed the knife from the chest of the assassin while smiling and muttering. “I must remember to thank Inchi for lending me this knife; it surely was of use here. Since my job is done here, I better get back to Venice; I don’t want to miss the battle that surely is about to begin.” He calmly exited the building, untied his horse and rode out of Rome before anyone even noticed that there were several dead bodies rotting in an old house in the center of the Eternal City.
***
“That should be the last one” said Orteni while he removed his axe from the skull of a dead Milanese soldier. “Boy, I’m full of blood, but it surely was fun.”
“What do we do now?” asked Ordini looking around him. “All this guys are dead, that’s for sure, but other thing I’m sure about is that if we don’t get out of here soon, they will lay siege to this building and we will be the dead ones.”
“I heard once when I was traveling north that the Milanese had build a secret tunnel in this building long time ago, in case the city was under siege they would have, at least the leaders, somewhere to escape” said Ordini
“The thing is, we probably don’t have time to be looking all around for tunnel. This building is full of passages and hallways, we’ll get lost before we can even find it” pointed out Inchi.
“We’ll have to search for the tunnel; there isn’t another option, however, it won’t be as difficult as Sergio thinks, the tunnel is probably in the dungeons of the building, they’re the only thing that is bellow ground and therefore, the only place a tunnel out of here could’ve been built. So everyone to the dungeons now!” ordered Gusci.
“You know that if there isn’t a tunnel down there we are pretty much walking to our graves, don’t you? Said Mazdi approaching his leader.
“We don’t have another choice right now, in case we don’t find that tunnel, we’ll make the Milanese bleed bad before they can kill us.”
The group quickly descended through the hallways and passages of the Milanese jail, towards the dungeons of the building. Finally, they arrived. The dungeons were actually a big room composed by several individual cells, but it appeared, they hadn’t been used in some time.
“Start looking for loose stones or hollow walls. Ordini and Mazdi, I want you to guard the entrance, I don’t want unpleasant surprises while we are digging.”
Giulio and Giovanni took a cell themselves and started to hit the walls with their swords, trying to find something that could reveal the secret passageway out of Milan. While they were working, Giovanni turned to Giulio and said “Thank you, for everything.”
“You know we would be coming back for you, there is nothing to thank us for that.”
“But still, not just for coming back for me, but for everything. You have come a long way, when you could’ve taken your own path a long time ago. The first battles, the defense of Siena, the time when we fled. You took care of me while I was wounded. Thank you for everything, really.”
“I couldn’t have done less for a friend” answered Giulio smiling.
“Hey guys, stop crying like girls and come over here” yelled Orteni “We’ve found the hole.”
“They’re right, we got to get going.” Ordini and Mazdi had just rushed into the room. “We got company. They have just entered the building and will be here soon.”
Everyone left what they had been doing, but Ordini and Mazdi, who remained behind to close and block the door of entrance to the dungeons, and went to help Orteni and Nebaldi to remove boulders and bricks so the hole would be big enough for an adult man to pass through it. After some minutes of coordinated work, the entrance to the tunnel was ready.
“Guys, come on, let’s get moving. As soon as everybody is on the other side, I want Orteni to collapse the entrance, I don’t want those Milanese chasing us in this tunnel.” Gusci ordered.
Not a single minute was lost. One after another, the Bulls and the two Sienese soldiers quickly passed through the hole until everyone was on the other side. They were now in a long tunnel which got lost in the depths of darkness. However, and old torch was hanging from an iron ring in the wall; Nebaldi took it and managed to lit it up while Orteni blocked the entrance.
“Let’s get going.”
Without waiting another minute, everyone started moving through the dark tunnel and after three hours of walking; they started to ascend, until they reached a wooden door locked with an iron bar. Orteni removed the bar and threw it aside and then proceeded to kick the door open, which shattered into little pieces. They removed some ivy and leaves that were covering the now open entrance and went out. They exited to a small forest.
“Where the hell are we?” Inchi looked around trying to find something that would orient them. “I guess we’ll have to walk around to find out. Let’s go.”
However, they hadn’t walked for long when they heard the sound of horses approaching and before they could even react, they were surrounded by several horsemen who pointed their spears at them.
“Whoa! What are these guys doing?” Giulio was about to reach for his sword, but Gusci made a sign ordering him not to move. “Everyone stay calm” he muttered “do not take your weapons out yet. Let’s find out who are they and what they want.”
The one that appeared to be the leader approached the group and said something they didn’t understand.
“What is he saying? I can’t understand what he’s saying” said Mazdi puzzled.
“I think is German” said Ordini “I bet they are Imperial troops. Let me handle this. Do you speak Italian?”
The German looked confused to a moment before turning back and barking something to one of his soldiers who approached him. They exchanged some words before the solider approached the Italians and spoke in a heavily accented Italian.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“We are mercenaries, currently employed by the Venetian Republic. We were escaping from Visconti’s troops and ended up here.”
The soldier translated and then the officer asked “How can we know you are not Visconti’s spies?”
“Well, you can’t, it’s just our word, and you’ll have to trust us.”
“I’m sorry, but we cannot afford to take that risk right now, in the middle of a war. You will have to come to our camp as prisoners. Please surrender your weapons.”
“Cazzo…” said Gusci “you heard him, give them your weapons. As soon as we get to the camp we’ll try to speak to their commander and sort things out. We cannot be sitting in a cell while Nuglio gets all the fun killing Milanese.”
Nobody liked the idea of giving their arms, but had to compel. The German troop proceeded to position in front and behind the mercenaries, who had resigned to the idea of hoping the commander was a reasonable person and would allow them to fight with them.”
After fifteen minutes of marching through the woods, they arrived to a plain, where thousands or tents were distributed, with soldiers walking and chatting. They were conducted to a wooden cabin.
“Stay here” said the German who spoke Italian “I’m going to talk with Commander Von Hertzdorff about you, he’ll decide what to do.”
“Von Hertzdorff? Klaus Von Hertzdorff? Ordini was starting the German soldier with an amazed look.
“Yes, Klaus Von Hertzdorff, why?
“I fought with him in Novgorod, before I joined the Bulls, a great fellow. Please tell him that Roberto Ordini is here, he’ll understand.”
“Fine.” said the German before exiting.
“What was all that about?” asked Gusci. “How come you know the commander of the Imperial troops?”
“I told the German, he used to be a Teutonic Knight, I fought with him in Novgorod a lot of years ago. You’ll see when he comes.”
They kept looking at Ordini in a surprised way, but no one else asked or said anything. After some time, the door opened and a tall, strong man entered, flanked by two guards.
“Roberto, is that you?” he said in a booming voice.
“Klaus, old friend. How are you?” Ordini stood up and approached his old brother in arms.
“I couldn’t be better, thanks. How did you end here? Last time I saw you, you were returning to Italy.”
“I did, and I joined a mercenary group, named the Bulls, invited by Giacomo Gusci, their leader.” Ordini pointed towards Gusci, who stood up respectfully and shook hands with the German. “These are my other companions.” Ordini proceeded to introduce the rest of the Bulls and Giulio and Giovanni. He then resumed all the things they had done in the last week, from the arrival to Genoa to the storming of the Milanese jail.
“So you have been fighting Visconti all this time? I can trust you and therefore, your friends, you will fight along us as soon as we move against Ranieri. We’ll me doing this in coordination with the French, as much as I dislike working with them.
“It will be an honor to fight with the Imperial Army” said Gusci “When do we get moving?”
“In an hour, at most. Our soldiers are getting ready right now. I’ll make sure that you get your weapons back. If you need horses you can pick anyone you like at our stables. Just make sure you do it fast. I’ll be seeing you at the battlefield, gentlemen. Farewell.”
Von Hertzdorff was about to exit when a messenger entered the room panting and handed a piece of paper to the German. “A message from the King of France” he said. The commander opened the message and read it quickly. “This is interesting, it seems the French managed to do the job by themselves. They have overran the defenses of Ranieri and are now besieging Turin. However, he managed to escape with almost all of his army intact and we’ll soon meet with Visconti. We are now to move against the Milanese, to aid the Papal and Venetian troops. We have not time to loose.” He turned to one of the guards, who exited quickly after hearing the orders he was given. “There is no time to loose now. We start moving as soon as possible. Ordini, you and your friends are coming with me. You might be of help.”
Here's is the newest update. I was hoping this would have some action, as in battle, but I extended with other things and I thought I would be better to include the battle scene in another chapter, which is already written, so it won't be long before it is ready for posting. In the mean, enjoy this chapter.
You can't change a C to a K and say it isn't name stealing I so knew that is why you wanted me to remind you, hence my 'hmm'. Nice to see the French and Germans have finally got their acts together and are on the scene; the French quite impressively. Lets hope this von Hertzdorff (grr!) is as level headed a commander as the other one. It is time to go and take out Visconti!
I so knew that is why you wanted me to remind you, hence my 'hmm'. Nice to see the French and Germans have finally got their acts together and are on the scene; the French quite impressively. Lets hope this von Hertzdorff (grr!) is as level headed a commander as the other one. It is time to go and take out Visconti!
Great timing for the update, right before my Vacation!
Someone is gonna be sad, isn't that right Ranieri? :rofl:
Someone is gonna be sad, isn't that right Ranieri? :rofl:
A knife, the gift that keeps on killing
I love how the bulls are crazy killing machines one moment and gentlemen the next
I love how the bulls are crazy killing machines one moment and gentlemen the next
Gña!!!!!!!!
And I would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for France and her stupid mercs!
Gña!!!!!!!!
And I would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for France and her stupid mercs!
Come on! You love being the tragic baddie everybody hates
It's usually the best role anyway.
No way the Milanese can win this battle. You can France, better half of Germany, Papal, and Venetian troops. I don't care how good of terrain you hold, when you are outnumbered 1000:1, there isn't a way in the world you can win
Unless of course the above mentioned nations have employed the might of the Galactic Empire and their blind-as-a-mole storm troopers.
That, and if the Milanese got some Ewoks hidden somewhere.
The allies will be toast. Toast I tell you!
@ Capibara
That was a beautiful collection of scenes and dialogue. I really must get my act together and read this all the way from the beginning instead of picking up the chapters as they come.
That, and if the Milanese got some Ewoks hidden somewhere.
The allies will be toast. Toast I tell you!
@ Capibara
That was a beautiful collection of scenes and dialogue. I really must get my act together and read this all the way from the beginning instead of picking up the chapters as they come.
An update does not need action to be a good update. So no worries. I liked the update. It had me in it. Even if I would dislike it, I could not, as that would mean I would dislike myself... :wacko:
You can't change a C to a K and say it isn't name stealing
Who cares??
You shold be proud it's the second reference I make to your AAR And yes, Visconti is about to have a bad time.Who knows, maybe in the end Ranieri will summon some killing floppers and the alliance will be dead
(WW reference )A knife, the gift that keeps on killing
I love how the bulls are crazy killing machines one moment and gentlemen the next
Well, you must know how to manipulate people, otherwise you won't be able to get what you want.
Trust a mercenary?
Baaaah.
Keep it this way and I'll have you killed in the next chapter
Gña!!!!!!!!
And I would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for France and her stupid mercs!
Actually, the French didn't have to use mercs for this, they did it all on it own
Come on! You love being the tragic baddie everybody hates
So the great doge Drique wants to be the bad guy, maybe in another AAR
No way the Milanese can win this battle. You can France, better half of Germany, Papal, and Venetian troops. I don't care how good of terrain you hold, when you are outnumbered 1000:1, there isn't a way in the world you can win
Remember that Visconti's men are veterans, hardened soldiers, and he has Ranieri on his side. They might loose the battle, but it's going to be a bloody one.
Very glad to have you here, even if it's almost at the end. All readers are welcome!
An update does not need action to be a good update. So no worries. I liked the update. It had me in it. Even if I would dislike it, I could not, as that would mean I would dislike myself... :wacko:
Who knows, you could say: "Orteni performance was terrific, best character ever, but the rest of the updated sucked"
Although, of course, I hope you won't say that I hope to have the update out by Friday.
What does this mean?
That there are only about two updates left, maybe three.
Chapter XVI
Battle For Freedom
Battle For Freedom
The time had finally arrived. After months of fighting and running, the final battle was there, just some hours away from them. Giovanni Ricci and Giulio Franchini were about to meet with their destiny. This war had ruined their lives and the only way of getting it back was defeating the source of all those bad things: Duke Visconti and Ernesto Ranieri. Dead friends, destroyed cities, everything had to stop now. And they best chance was at that very moment, when the enemy was weak and ready to fall, he only needed the final blow to utterly collapse. It was only a matter of time. And they were ready.
The Bulls were getting ready too. They had been fighting for almost all their lives; this was an integral part of them. It was more than a business, it was a lifestyle. They had fought and bled together many times, but still, every time they were about to enter battle, they felt the same hole in the stomach they had felt when they had started fighting many years ago. Each one of them had his own personal rite before battle, and would usually honor it every time they were about to fight.
Inchi drew out all of his knives and put them over a table, one after another in complete order, like a rigid army formation. He looked at them swiftly and then picked them one by one, holding them between his fingers, fixing his eyes on them, as he was trying to say something to them. Finally, he would return them to his belt with extreme care.
Orteni woke up and took a walk through the camp, looking for someone who could give him some beer or wine. He had always said that the axe hits he dealt were deadlier and stronger after he had drunk some alcohol. That was an affirmation that no one could deny, especially all of his dead enemies, who were lying six feet underground with a crushed skull or beheaded.
Mazdi simply limited to go out with his bow on one hand and a quiver full and arrows hanging from his back and practice his accuracy by shooting down every single bird that was bad enough to fly above the camp that day. Nuglio woke up before dawn and went to exercise himself for a couple of hours. That would wake him up completely and therefore, would be readier when battle started.
While Ordini preferred to sit down and close his eyes, try to picture every single detail of the battle in his mind, the army positions, the formations, how his enemies fell dead one after another in front of him, Gusci did the opposite thing: try to forgot about everything battle-related, and he would usually dragged Nebaldi into this, situation that would eventually end in a discussion about Roman history or something similar.
Nonetheless, they were always ready to fight, and that morning, it wasn’t the exception. It was time to finish with this adventure. The Bulls and the two Sienese soldiers exited their tents, where they joined the rest of the army, which was already moving. General Klaus was leading it, riding a black horse. He took a look to his men and gave a little speech in German. He then turned back and ordered the troops to move.
While the army marched, the small group of eight men chatted between them.
“I wish Nuglio was here, he is going to miss all the fun and I always like to fight with him. We can do some pretty massacres with the enemy together, you know?” Orteni said to Mazdi.
“I’m pretty sure he’ll appear when we less expect him, beheading enemies right and left with a smile on his face. But that’s no reason not to enjoy the battle. I will propose you something. How about a little competition? You against me. Whoever kills more enemies wins.”
“And how are we going to know that?”
“By counting of course! I’m trusting that you’ll play fair.”
“Sounds good. Count me in. You’ll be completely crushed.”
“We’ll see. My arrows are faster than your axe.”
“Don’t me so sure about that…”
While Orteni and Mazdi discussed which one of them was better, Inchi talked with Giovanni who, despite of having fought some battle already, was still a rookie compared to his companions.
“So you’ve been doing this for a long time?” asked Giovanni.
“Even before you held a sword for the first time” Inchi replied “This mercenary thing has been in my family for several generations. For example, one of my ancestors fought in the Crusades, he is well remembered for his role in the siege of Jerusalem.”
“Really? What did he do? Did he kill a thousand Saracens at the gates of the city before being killed?”
“That would had been good, yes. But it wasn’t that way. He surely killed many enemies, but they weren’t Muslims, they were Christians. He was a spy of Salahadin, who infiltrated the city to help the Saracen army break in.”
“How so? He was a Muslim himself?”
“Not at all. I just told you. He was a mercenary, just like me. Turns out that the Sultan paid better.”
“Interesting…”
“Yes, and nothing I’m ashamed of. He wasn’t a saint and neither I am, so I have nothing to blame him, although he has been dead for almost one hundred and fifty years.”
Somewhere else, and old discussion kept going…
“I’m telling you, had Pompey remained in Italy, he had stood a better chance against Caesar.” Argued Nebaldi.
“No way could that have happened. Caesar’s troops were veterans from the Gallic Wars and he was far a better commander than Pompey.” Gusci tried to make Nebaldi enter in reason.
“You always use that argument, get a new one.”
“That’s because…” Gusci was about to answer when Klaus appeared beside the mercenary group.
“Well, well here are my favorite Italians. How’s the march treating you?”
“We can’t complain. We’ve been doing this for more time than we can even remember.” replied Gusci.
“I imagine. Well, just wanted to tell you that will soon be arriving to the battlefield, where the Milanese and Savoyard troops are already waiting, I hope you are ready.”
“Always.”
***
While the spirits were high between the allied troops, animosity reigned between the Milanese and Savoyard soldiers, leaders included, with the exception of always cheerful Ranieri, of course.
“Where the hell are those Venetians, Germans, whoever.” Visconti kept looking around, with Ranieri standing besides him.
“What is the hurry?” They’ll come, that’s for sure. Maybe the just got scared and don’t want to die at our feet.” Ranieri smiled.
“Do you really think they are scared? We are outnumbered. If you had just held the French back at Turin, we could have a chance right now.”
“Ah, but had I remained behind sitting besides the walls of Turin looking how the French wait until he starve, that wouldn’t had been fun, nor would you have my help right now, so don’t complain. Besides, the French are occupied exactly with what I told you right now, with the exception that I’m here, with my army. We have a chance, don’t worry. And remember, they are all a bunch of peasants. We can deal with them.”
“Yeah, right…”
“And who cares if we loose? We’ll escape somewhere and start over again there.”
“And may I know how the hell do you pretend to do that? If you hadn’t noticed, we are pretty much surrounded. North, West, South, East. Not a chance we are getting out of this one alive.”
“I’m a doctor, you know. Not only I can cure you, but I always have a plan, always. Remember that. We’ll escape hats and rabbits included.”
“Rabbits? What do rabbits have to do with all this?”
“It’s a long story, it starts when…”
“Silence! Do you listen that? That’s what death sounds like. They are here.”
***
“I can see Visconti and company now” said Mazdi. “There are plenty of enemies for our game. Actually, I thought they would be less. But well, let’s have fun.”
“However, there is no trace of the rest of our allies anywhere near.” Remarked Orteni. “Not the Pope, nor the Venetians or the French. Who cares? We can handle this on our own. Especially with those Swiss pikemen on our side. They have been pretty pissed off since Visconti conquered Switzerland. I’m pretty sure they want their land back.”
The Imperial army took its position in the battlefield, where the enemy was already positioned. The Bulls were situated near the left flank where the heavy cavalry had been deployed.”
“Look! There are the Venetians” said Ordini pointing to a location behind the enemy troops, where St. Mark’s lion flew above the Venetian troops. Doge Alessandro Drique, dressed in a shiny armor lead his army with discipline and strength. In one of the flanks, a different unit could be distinguished. It was Valentino Sforza and his horsemen, main reason the war had started earlier. However, he seemed recovered from his previous defeat and was ready to do better this time. The Milanese-Savoyard army made some formation adjustments in order to face the incoming threat.
“So, who do you think will make the first move?” Inchi had already drawn out two knives of his belt and slashed the air with them.
“I hope we do, otherwise we’ll have to wait those morons here and I don’t really think I can keep arguing with Nebaldi long enough about Caesar and Pompey.” Replied Gusci laughing.
“Just let the battle start. I don’t care who does.” said Mazdi trying his bow’s string. “I just want to defeat Orteni in our little contest.”
“It seems you guys won’t have to wait, looks like Sforza is making the first move” pointed out Ordini.
“What is that idiot doing?” Gusci looked confused at the charge. “He is outnumbered. He will get surrounded and crushed.”
“Maybe he deserves it. For being so stupid.” Inchi kept moving his knives. “However, it seems Drique doesn’t think the same, he is moving his troops. I wonder what Von Hertzdorff will do. Will he come to the aid of his Venetian allies? Or he will let Drique soften the enemy a bit and then charge and get the job done.”
It seemed it would be the latter, since the German commander hadn’t issued any order yet. Meanwhile, the fight ragged in the center of the battlefield, where, despite of Gusci’s disapproval, Sforza’s attack had caused some confusion between the enemy lines, thing that the Venetians were taken advantage of.
“Come on! This Germans are supposed to be brave fighters! They should be running to the battle like moths to a flame.” Orteni was barely holding himself of going along against the enemy army.
At that moment, finally, an order was heard from flank to flank, ordering the troops to advance against the enemy, who was busy repelling the impetuous Venetian attack.
“That’s what I like to hear!” Orteni said smiling. “Ready to loose, dear Mazdi?”
“Ready as I am the one who is going to kill more Milanese and you’ll be crying for mercy” responded Mazdi. “Let’s get going.”
The first line of the Imperial Army, between which they were the Bulls, who advanced with their weapons ready to make a hole through the enemy defenses.
“Follow me, my brave Bulls! Let’s show those Milanese not to mess with us.” Gusci ran in front of the small group, with his sword high.
Then, the inevitable clash came. The sound of metal against metal, of swords against shields filled the air. The first wave of German soldiers attacked violently the first line of Milanese and Savoyard defenders. The Bulls weren’t the exception, and kept advancing into the enemy lines, with Orteni and Mazdi ahead, who were trying to get as many “points” as they could. One, beheading and chopping arms off, the other throwing one arrow after another without pausing but the necessary to pull an arrow from the quiver and put in the bow. The rest of their companions weren’t far behind and did they job just as good. Inchi kept cutting throats left and right. Giulio and Giovanni were making a duo as usual, covering each other’s back while killing incoming enemies. Gusci kept issuing orders at the same time he stabbed an enemy in the stomach. Busy as they were in killing enemies, they didn’t notice that they had separated from the bulk of their army and were now surrounded by the enemy, who was starting to push back the initial attack.
Ranieri was right. The experience of the Milanese-Savoyard army was proving to be more important than the sheer number strength of the alliance. The Milanese cavalry had managed to flank the Venetians and was now surrounding the core of the Doge’s army. However, not only the troops from the merchant republic were in trouble. The pocket around the Bulls was tightening every minutes and only the experience and ability of the mercenary group was holding back the enemy.
“Either your friend Klaus decides to send the cavalry in or we are dead” said Gusci to Ordini, while facing two enemies.
“The cavalry is already in. They are already dealing with their own problems. We are going to have to deal with this on our own.”
“Everybody, form a circle, I don’t want a single side exposed to the enemy. We are going to help each other and right now I don’t care about your stupid contest, Orteni and Mazdi, as soon as we get out of this one, you can go on.”
The Bulls went into tight formation, in an attempt to reduce their vulnerabilities and boost their defensive position. The strategy proved to be effective, since the group managed to throw back their attackers.
“Now, without breaking formation, start moving towards our allies.” ordered Gusci. “Do not move to quickly! Piano, piano.”
This time their move proved to be less effective, since they were soon surrounded by the enemy. “Dammit, this is going to be difficult, boss” said Nebaldi “but tell me, what would great Caesar had done in this situation?”
“Don’t bother me with that now, Enzo, just keep killing enemies.”
While the Bulls tried to survive in the middle of the enemy army. The Venetians were now retreating in a more visible way and the Milanese army harassed the fleeing troops, some of which panicked and started to run, making the job easier for the enemy.
“What the hell are they doing” Drique couldn’t believe his eyes. “These are the famous troops of the Venetian Republic? I can not tolerate this. Where is my guard? I’m going to charge!”
“My Doge, what are you thinking? You are going to get killed, that’s what it’s going to happen.” said one of his officials.
“Who cares? As long as I give enough courage to my troops to keep going everything will be fine. Guard! Follow me!”
Without waiting another moment, Alessandro Drique drew out his sword and mounting his magnificent horse, charged against the enemy cavalry, which kept pursuing the retreating Venetian troops. The effect was almost immediate and the Venetian soldiers, as soon as they saw their commander fighting alongside, recovered the moral and charged again against the enemy lines. The charge, however, wasn’t as successful as it would have been expected. The Milanese troops had gained a better position and repelled the Venetian charge. Nonetheless, the Doge kept rallying his troops and tried to get their moral high.
Meanwhile, the Bulls were in a desperate situation. Commander Von Hertzdorff, realizing that his troops would be butchered as the Venetian troops if he stayed there, decided to pull them back, instead of trying to press more in an attempt to relief the pressure from his allies.
“Do you think this is hopeless?” asked Giovanni to Inchi.
“Well, it is certainly hopeless for us” Inchi made a swift move and stabbed deep in the eye an enemy who screamed in pain. “However, if the Venetians and Germans can resist a little more I’m sure the Pope and company will arrive. But it’s probable will be dead by the time that happens. All that remains for us is to kill as many as we can before we are killed.”
“I hope that doesn’t happen. I still have stuff unresolved that I can’t leave that way.”
“Well, then stop talking and start killing for enemies.”
“Forty-one, forty-two, forty…” Orteni counted.
“Hey, last one didn’t count, you just cut his arm!” Mazdi yelled while taking care of his own problems.
“All right.” Orteni drew out a small dagger and threw to the wounded soldier who was retreating from the front line. The dagger landed cleanly in the soldier’s neck, who fell dead a moment later. “There you go, now stop whining and do your job.”
Doing their job wasn’t enough, however, and the situation was reaching dramatic shades. The eight companions swinging their weapons back and forth, using elbows, fists and feet to keep the army back, while the German army retreated to regroup at a safer point and the Venetian army was destroyed, with the Doge surrounded along with his guard. Only Godsend help could save them now.
***
A small group of horsemen rode at full speed through the woods, hoping to reach their destination quickly. They were already late and time was crucial at this moment. Perhaps the whole success of the last day events relied on them. They kept at advancing at a fast face, until they exited the forest and arrived to a small hill. From there, they could see how a battle was developing in the valley. Two armies were flanking a third from north and south, however, the “flanked” army seemed to have to upper hand and was pushing back the aggressors.
“Looks like we’ve found what we were looking for” said the one who appeared to be the leader. “The ones there seems to be the Venetians and these next to us are the Germans, we’ll divide and… wait a moment, who’s that in the middle of the battle? Well, that’s logical, they couldn’t wait. All right, change of plans. Chiellini, you take half of the troop and go with the Germans, and di Natale, you take the other half with the Venetians. You know what the message is. I have some business to attend first. If everything goes right, I’ll be meeting you after the battle. Now go.”
His companions looked at him with bewilderment but obeyed and retired to carry on with their assigned mission. He looked at them while they rode down the hill. He wait a couple more of minutes, he started advancing to the center of the battle.
***
“So, before we die” said Nebaldi “Will you just accept that Pompey was…”
“Give me a break, Enzo, I’m pretty busy fighting for my life right now. Don’t have time to argue with you right now.”
“You’ll repent of that when you are lying dead.”
“That won’t happen.”
As much as Gusci wanted to be optimist regarding their current situation, this was now more than desperate, with the group now exhausted and more vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks. Each blow could prove fatal at this moment. At that moment, however, something made the Milanese attack dwindle a little, the soldiers were looking back because an unexpected attack. The so called “attack” was a single horseman, who nonetheless was charging viciously against the tired attackers. The horseman was no other than Salvatore Nuglio, who, from the top of his horses, chopped heads of as mature fruit of any enemy who was unlucky enough to be near of Nuglio’s blade.
“Look! It’s Salvatore” said Mazdi “I told he would arrive. And what a better time to arrive, that’s for sure.”
“Hey guys, how are things going around here?” Nuglio had managed to force his way through the enemy. “Sorry for being late, but we ran with some Milanese patrols in our way here.”
“We? Whose we?” asked Gusci.
“The Pope’s army, of course. Word of our arrival must be reaching both the Venetian and German command right now. That should help right?”
“Those are excellent new, Salvatore!” Gusci smiled for the first time in the last couple of hours. Balance should be on our favor now. Come one and join the fight!”
“With pleasure.”
“This gives me new strength, time to get done with this once and for all. Let’s go Auro, I don’t want you to say by victory was unfair.” Orteni picked a sword from a dead soldier and with weapons in both hands, started advancing against the enemy again, Mazdi following him closely.
As Nuglio stated, the news of the Papal reinforcements quickly extended through both sides of the battle which gave a moral boost to the allies, while the Milanese-Savoyard coalition had to return to the defensive due to the renewed charges made by their foes. Facing a three pronged attack, Visconti started retreating hoping to retreat through the only space left. However, the Papal cavalry, lead by the Pope himself made sure that wouldn’t happen. While Visconti was surrounded, the Bulls, now complete, were back in business and were breaking the ring around them. The Imperial Army was advancing again against the enemy, while the Venetians were still reforming. Giovanni and Giulio had separated from the Bulls and were fighting on their own, like they had done in the beginning. As the advanced, the got near a group of what seemed to be Milanese nobles who were inflicting considerable damage to the advancing German attackers.
“I’ll handle this” said Giovanni. “You just guard my back.”
“But...”
“Just cover me.”
Giovanni took out a couple of enemies in front of him and ran against the one who seemed to be the leader and was mounting a horse. Taking impulse, Giovanni jumped and threw down from his horse. The nobleman looked dazzled for a second before realizing what was going on and got to his feet, facing Giovanni, who was already attacking him. Giulio had in the mean taking some companions with him and was trying to take down the other horsemen. The swordfight between Giovanni and the nobleman kept going, with neither side able to bring down the other. Finally, Giovanni, who was already tired from the battle pretended to trip, falling to the ground. His opponent tried to take advantage of this, by using all of his strength to pierce Giovanni to the ground. However, the Sienese soldier was aware of this and rolled to one side and made his enemy miss his blow, while his sword got stuck to the ground. Giovanni, not loosing time, made a quick sword move and his foe’s head rolled between the feet of the nearby soldiers.
At the same time Giovanni finished with his personal battle, the main battle was becoming one sided, with the allied armies pressing on all sides. The arrival of French reinforcements only confirmed the defeat of Visconti of Ranieri who were now just looking for a way to get out.
***
“Tell me now, dear doctor, how are we going to get out of this one?” Visconti yelled angrily to Ranieri.
“Just keep riding, my dear duke, everyone is too busy killing or capturing what’s left of our armies. Best chance we can get right now. Look, if we can get past that hill, all after that will be easy, just follow me.”
“If you say so, but if something…” a whistling noise was heard suddenly and Ranieri turned back to find Visconti lying on the ground dead with an arrow in his throat. “Oh, well, it’s easier one than two to escape. He deserved to die either way, now let’s get moving” Ranieri turned but found a sword pointing at his chest.
“May I know where are you going, my dear bird?”
“Your… your Holiness! How are you today?”
“Hello, Ranieri, never thought I would be seeing you again. That time you went to Rome to sing was an unforgettable one, but things have changed. I could just kill you right now and we get going. But that would be unchristian of me, wouldn’t it?”
“I guess…”
“And looks like your friend Visconti is dead, that’s a shame, his neck would had looked fine with a rope around it. He should thank one of those soldiers coming over there, the one with the bow I think.”
The Bulls had followed the Pope during the last stage of the battle and the killer of Visconti was none other than Auro Mazdi.
“Damn” he said “It looks as I missed, I could have gotten a pretty good price for him.”
“A real shame, really.” Said Orteni smiling. “Even with his death I’ve just beaten you! One hundred and thirty eight against one hundred and thirty three. You owe me, Mazdi, and I’ll be remembering it to you until you decide to pay me.”
“Don’t worry; you’ll get your prize.”
General Von Hertzdorff, doge Drique, Valentino Sforza and the French captain had arrived. The latter looked the dead body of Visconti and couldn’t help a smile: the Milanese throne was now his.
“Don’t go so quick, Valentino” said Drique noticing Sforza’s expression “Milanese throne won’t come that easy. First, the independence of Siena, Pisa, Florence and Switzerland must be restored.”
“As much as I would like to keep them, I guess I’ll have to give them up, otherwise I’ll just get thrashed like this two.”
“That’s right” said Von Hertzdorff smiling.
“In exchange for our help, the French King demands the cession of the province of Nice by the kingdom of Savoy.”
“What can I say? You are the ones in charge now.” Said Ranieri smiling bitterly.
“As for you, I’ll take you back to Rome with me, where you can rot quietly in a small special cell in my dungeons, prepared especially for you.” Said the Pope Carlo. “And my dear mercenaries” he said turning to the Bulls, your reward will be a big one, for the important role you have played in this war. Now, let’s going, we must finish this by entering to Milan.
The triumphal entrance to the capital city of the defeated Duchy of Milan was carried on the next day. Each of the four allied nations selected the best of their armies to march through the streets of Milan, while the rest remained in the outskirts. The Bulls, as well as Giovanni and Giulio, were among them. While the victorious armies marched through the crowded streets, the two friends talked about the events of the last months.
“Do you know what I heard back at the camp yesterday?” said Giulio.
“What’s that?” asked Giovanni.
“It is said that the nobleman you killed yesterday during battle was none other than Anna’s husband.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“You told me once that Anna left Siena about ten years ago to marry a wealthy nobleman from Milan, right?”
“Right…” bewilderment and confusion were some of the emotions that were reflecting in Giovanni’s face at the moment.
“As I told you, it seems that he is the same one you killed yesterday.”
“I can’t believe it! I guess that’s what you call destiny.”
“You must speak to her.”
“I’ll do. Right after this whole thing is over. I still can’t believe it…”
“Just hope she doesn’t take it too bad.”
“Let’s hope so.”
While Giovanni was still processing the notice his friend had given, the Bulls kept rode in silence, apparently impervious to the cheery mood around them. They had celebrated what they had too last night. Right now, they were again the deathliest mercenaries on the world and looked with indifference the situation around them. There would come another day when they would celebrate again. Ranieri had been provisionally locked in a cell in the Milanese jail while the celebrations lasted. He would then be taken to a dungeon in Rome, where he would be “watched” by the Pope himself. The Great War of Milan was over.
138 kills in one battle eh? That's so impressive it's hard to believe. The whole troop together must have killed like at least 700 on their own then. Anyways, good writing (except quite some spelling mistakes). Do we get a last update with Anna and Giovanni meeting again?
Ha.
Pompeius would have had the moral support of all the Rome behind him, would there have been any kind of bloodshed between Caesars advancing troops and those loyal to Rome.o
And in that situation Ceasar would simply have said 'parlay?'
Anna won't be happy, you just can't go and kill someones husband and than claim the wife to be yours.
But that'd be cool.
Pompeius would have had the moral support of all the Rome behind him, would there have been any kind of bloodshed between Caesars advancing troops and those loyal to Rome.
oAnd in that situation Ceasar would simply have said 'parlay?'
Anna won't be happy, you just can't go and kill someones husband and than claim the wife to be yours.
But that'd be cool.