Light Warriors - Vlad Vas

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the same hill. As the first of them disappeared over the hill, there was a shrill, piercing cry of unbearable pain. Richard, who had dismounted from his horse and sent Adelaide onward, hid himself in the ambush. With a powerful, scathing swing, he slashed his sword across the defenseless part of his opponent’s leg at the knee and severed it, slashing through the horse’s belly as well, which immediately collapsed to the ground. The Viking was writhing in savage agony and in a bloody mess.

      The next rider, seeing this picture, lunged straight at Richard, holding a huge axe in his hand and intending to demonstrate it in action, on which Rich grabbed the spear belonging to the «one-legged man» from the ground and hurled it into the chest of the «woodsman» with such force that it knocked him from the saddle and fell on his shoulder blades. The defeated man lay on his back, holding the spear with his hands and wriggling in excruciating pain, while his horse galloped deep into the woods.

      Other warriors were arriving at the site of the battle, clearly very aggressive toward Richard. Two of them swooped down at him at once, screaming with beastly force, their mouths wide open, though it would have been more accurate to say mouths open, and grimaces of horror. They each held bulky swords with jagged bottoms, spikes on the hilt to disfigure their opponents as much as possible in their fights, and a small axe, smeared with the blood of what must have been their previous victims.

      The lunge of the first fighter, who was delivering a vertical downward blow against Richard, was easily sidestepped by a sideways dive from the line of attack, and Rich deftly slipped his sword into his opponent’s stomach area. Blood splattered in all directions, and the contents spurted out at once, with his host still alive and trying to shove his insides back in.

      The second man had only had time to shout «I’ll kill you,» and had charged at Richard before an arrow from Jeff’s crossbow went through his neck and through the arrowhead. When his brother arrived at the scene of the massacre, Jeff headed straight for his opponents, still on horseback and outnumbered.

      He severed the first one’s head with a precise blow to the neck with his perfectly sharpened morning blade. His head flew off his shoulders, but his body continued to run for a few more meters in the opposite direction until it struck a tree and then collapsed to the ground. Then Jeff jumped off his horse and dueled with other warriors armed with powerful axes. He himself drew a second, smaller sword from its sheath and skillfully twisted it with his left hand, then stabbed one fighter right in the heart, repulsed the blow with another sword, and quickly switched to the next, whom he struck two strongest blows, knocked the weapon from his hands and from above from shoulder to stomach deeply cut and mutilated his body.

      Richard approached his brother, and now the two of them continued to deal with the remaining opponents. Each blow the brothers made was so precise and well coordinated that no one could resist them, some did not have time to make a single lunge. The knights took out their opponents with ease, but did not linger on the battlefield. Jeff grabbed the reins of his horse and slammed his blade against Rich’s in gratitude for the beautiful fight and successful victory, as they always did to thank each other.

      – Where is the girl? – Jeff asked, climbing onto his horse.

      – Wasn’t far away. We parted behind a rock and she drove on, but I stopped the pursuers, so I hope she’s all right,» Richard replied. – We must quickly find our beautiful companion and get away from here as quickly as possible before others get here,» Rich added.

      – You are absolutely and unquestionably right, my dear brother! – Jeff hastened to agree. – God only knows how many of them are left. And frankly, I don’t want to know, because they are not going to talk about the weather. – he said the last phrase with a change of face, apparently remembering at that moment the picture of ruthless murders.

      Richard had no time to say anything about it when at the same moment Adelaide emerged from behind the mountain, holding her horse by the reins. The badly frightened girl held herself with dignity and was very impressed by the fighting skills of both brothers.

      – Are you okay? – Rich spoke and held out his hand to her. She did the same, and he helped her onto her horse, after which she only said a quiet yes.

      For a while, everyone just went silent and headed for home. After about half an hour, the silence was interrupted by Jeff’s voice:

      – It’s getting dark, and we’re not likely to make it back to the castle today, and the horses are already so exhausted that they can barely move. We should look for lodging to recover from a hard day’s work.

      – Yes, you’re right,» Rich confirmed. – On a night this dark and in the state we’re in now, it’s pure suicide.

      – Let’s climb that hill first,» Jeff pointed to his brother at a small hill that contained a small cave, and above it was a rock that could be used as a canopy for shelter from the rain. – There’s a decent view and a way out,» he added, to which his brother acquiesced.

      Overnight stay

      It was dark, a fresh but cold wind was blowing through the woods, the sky was overcast, and not a soul was around. In the midst of the darkness there was the crackling of the firewood and the quiet conversation between Richard and Adelaide. Geoffrey, on the other hand, went off to look around and set a couple of traps, both for protection and for prey for a late supper or at least breakfast.

      – It is very sad,“ Adelaide began, „that our nations have developed and flourished so quickly, and now have faded and fallen into the darkness of ignorance and spirituality. These constant wars for territory, wealth and power never do anyone any good, and if they do, it is for a very short time. And the plague takes everyone, wiping out cities that have not recovered from the irreversible effects of the infection, and the rulers, instead of finding cures and helping their subjects, think only of raising taxes and invading other territories. On the whole, we are only contaminating and destroying all that remains intact and uninfected, although it is necessary to conserve, create, multiply what remains to sustain the lives of future generations, otherwise we will all soon die. Although, maybe it’s for the best if that’s what happens, since we can’t change? – she shared her thoughts, Richard silently, but empathetically, took her hand.

      – Perhaps you are right… Apparently, if we can’t cleanse ourselves of the temptations and pernicious tendencies that destroy everything and keep us from becoming better, the Earth will do it on its own without any right to choose by means of cataclysms and natural disasters… – he said.

      – No doubt about it! – She replied enthusiastically, finding Richard to be a like-minded man. – You are very wise. By the way, I wanted to thank you for today and for your help, and to apologize for knocking you down at the beginning of our meeting.

      – You’re welcome, it’s all right,» he said, squeezing her hand tighter, and smiled without taking his eyes off her. – And I’m very glad we were in these woods today to meet you. You’re a very nice person to talk to, and you’re a peerless beauty. – he said and reached for her lips, to which she made a counter move to kiss him. But then Geoffrey returned. Seeing this idyllic picture, he purposely stepped on a branch to prevent them from continuing this deed in his presence. As a consequence, the kiss was stopped.

      – I wonder how Gertrude is doing? She must be terribly bored, worried? – He asked the question casually, which made Richard’s face change.

      – Who is Gertrude? Your fiancée, Geoffrey? – Adelaide asked a clarifying question.

      – No, not a bride, a wife… But not mine,“ he paused, continuing, „but Richard’s.

      – What?! Your wife, Richard? – She asked nervously,

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