[b]Chapter 16: Breach[/b]

The hundred men assigned to guard the gate had kept themselves busy. Makeshift barricades had been constructed in a crecent formation around the gate and they had also reinforced it with a few, sturdy wooden logs. A group of five soldiers stood inclined against the gate with their shoulders first, adding further weight and resistance to the attackers on the other side. But not by much. A handful of men had climbed up the walls as well, and were occupied with throwing down rocks large enough to crush a man's skull at the enemy below. Behind the barricades sat the rest of the soldiers with weapons at the ready, waiting for the inevitable breach. One of the soldiers rose up to his feet and raised a hand to greet the approaching king, flanked by his ten knights. Leofric quickly recognised the man that had raised his hand as Captain Hal.

"Sire." Captain Hal hailed as he went to meet the king, a hand clenched hand raised to his heart in salute. He carried a weary and rugged look about him with a thick unkempt beard and tired eyes. The officer had probably not gained a lot of hours of sleep the recent days. Leofric nodded and glanced back Hal's shoulder towards the gate. "What's the situation?"

"Grim, Sire. We estimate there's at least eight hundred of them on the other side of that gate. We won't be able to keep them out for much longer, and we certainly won't be able to hold them here." Hal informed with a bitter tone in his voice. At the same time the sound of marching boots reached both men's ears and they turned to face it. From one of the streets came Captain Castor, followed by the four hundred men that had conducted the raid on the enemy siege weapons. They had been in the town for some time now, putting out fires and ensuring there were no breaches elsewhere in the wall where they enemy might've been able to slip in from. They stop a short distance away from the group and Castor raised a hand in salute. "Sire."

Leofric raised an arm to gesture behind him. "Captain Castor. Take a hundred and fifty and reinforce the southern wall, the guardsmen have it rough right now. Leave the rest of the men here." he commanded. Castor nodded firmly and collected the men he needed before they rushed off down the southern street towards the besieged wall. The remaining troops formed up in squares of fifty men each a distance away from the barricades, under leadership from senior veterans. Leofric idly tapped the tip of his sword against the ground and nodded to himself, content with the performance of his men so far.

A loud crack sounded from the gate, followed by one of the men pushing against it shouting out an alarm. Leofric glanced back to the gate and rolled a shoulder. "This is it, captain. It won't be long now. Return to your men and let's give these Raylian murderers a lesson for life." Leofric uttered and stepped aside, positioning himself a short distance behind the barricades with his knights on either side of him. He watched as Hal returned to his previous and bellowed a mouthful of orders which Leofric was unable to pick up on.

Another crack from the gate. And then another. This time one of the supporting logs fell over, and the head from the Raylian battering ram broke through the large wooden doors. The men pushing against them quickly abandoned their positions and scurried behind the barricades to join their comrades, but the handful of men on the wall remained where they were. The battering ram struck the gate again, causing another log to topple over. The knights around Leofric shifted around and formed up in a semi-circled infront of them with their shields locked together. Leforic gazed past their shoulders with his hands resting against the pommel of his sword, the tip pointed into the ground.

Crack. The gate broke open with an explosion of wooden splinter and swung back hard against the walls. The northerners could heard the cheering voices of the Raylians on the other side, though they quickly transcended into a battle-cry as the enemy soldiers stormed in through the gate with thundering boots, rushing straight for the barricades. Captain Hal's voice overpowered them all. "BRACE, MY BOYS! HAVE AT THEM!"

Upon Hal's command, the near hundred men behind the barricades rose up behind their cover with swords and spears. The first Raylians were caught off-guard completely and swiftly met their end from the Northlandic soldiers. Those that followed tried to re-organize themselves into some form of fighting order, but were pushed on by their comrades streaming in through the broken gates, and instead had to mob charge the enemy fortifications. Like the first group of enemies, the next dozen or two were brutally cut down. After that the enemy finally started to whip themselves into order and form up into smaller pockets to take on their opponents dug-in behind the barricades. The sound of steel upon still and agonizing cries of the injured sounded through the air, and Leofric observed with a bitter expression. He twisted slightly on the spot to leer back down the southern road. Hopefully Captain Castor and his men were able to hold the walls.