Screams of shock filled the ramparts as the queen and princess saw the arrow go straight through the king's head, the archer who shot it fell to his knees, his mind consumed by the act he had just committed. Following the death of the king, the bubbling walls of the city faded, replaced by worn stone, seeing this the commander of the mercenaries clicked his fingers, instantly, flaming rocks slammed into the areas of the walls that no longer had people on them, the walls began to heavily crumble.

Seeing that the repeated assault leads to a gap big enough for his army the commander turned to his men and said" Today the continent will learn what happens when you stand against the Ebony Dragon, We march for our freedom, we march for Justice, We march for our Reward."

Seeing that the situation was vastly deteriorating, the remaining nobility, the Princess and the Queen retreated to the main fort, their speed increased by the space magic mage that opened a portal to the throne room, once there a noble grunted" We have lost, the best thing we can do is take the remaining gold and flee the city, the man leading the army outside is Known as the Iron Commander, he treats his enemies the same regardless of their rank, as soon as they take arms up against him, they die."

The Queen rose from the floor, looking the noble dead in the eyes, she closed the distance between the two before thrusting a small dagger into his chest, turning to those remaining she snarled" Our kingdom will not end here, our family has spent thousands of years building this city to where it is now, I refuse to allow a random mercenary to take what is ours."

Thundering shouts came from the city, the Army had begun filling the city, as they slaughtered their way to the keep they chanted"We march for our freedom, We march for Justice, We march for our reward."

Leading his army, the commander was silent as he cut his way through any man who stepped in front, his iron coloured armour stained red, blood dripping from the tip of his two-handed sword as it hanged over his shoulder as he walked. Making his way towards the market district, the commander shouted"Leave the civilian goods alone, we are not here for them, they are innocent, we are here to replace the leaders of this place, not the normal folk. Press towards the bridge."

What surprised the invading army the most was the little resistance put forward by the citizens of the city, most simply returned to their homes, avoiding the army, no one attacked, insulted or attempted to slow them down. This was rare, in the countless sieges and battles that they had fought in before, the civilians were harder to break then the enemy's army. 

"Gremory, to me."

A tall, skinny man approached the commander, bowing slightly he said" My Lord we have pushed up to the bridge, the lower town is ours, we have yet to lose a man. We have captured 300 enemy troops, they have surrendered their weapons and are chained at the back of the army, what are your next orders, milord?"

"Now we push into the keep, how heavily is it defended?"

"The wooden gate is quite weak, the mage corp should be able to destroy it instantly, I suggest we do this and then send in the heavy infantry to seize the courtyard."

"A very good suggestion Gremory, I will lead the heavy troops in the final push, I want you to gather up the rest of the men and do a deep sweep of the noble quarters, I want all of their loot in my hands by the time I get to the throne, is that understood?"

"Yes Captain, we march for Freedom and Reward."

"We march for Freedom and Reward."

Gremory began to marshal his troops, preparing to do the sweep while the commander turned this small unit and the mage corp, avoiding the eyes of Emily, the leader of the Corp. He began to speak "This is the end, for weeks we have been at war with a greedy city-state, today is the day we take a city for our selves, this is the birth of our empire, our control of the world begins today. Infantry as soon as the gate is gone, we charge. Emily if you would."

Emily smiled, turning to her fellow mages, she began to count down from five, each time a finger went down, she took a step closer to her commander, on zero, she leapt at him kissing him strongly, her body began to glow pink, with a click of her fingers, flames began to swirl around her, the flames cast from the other mages joined hers in an azure coloured dance, painting the nearby scenery in a deep blue hue. 

Suddenly the flames stopped dancing, swelling into a giant fireball and when a  small whisper leaked from Emily's mouth "Ignis"

The giant fireball slammed into the wooden gate, ripping it apart, shrapnel went flying in every direction, the commander stepped in front of Emily, protecting her from the flaming wood as the infantry did the same for the rest of the mages, upon seeing Emily faint due to a lack of Mana, the commander told one of the other mages to carry her to a safer location. 

Turning to his infantry unit he shouted" Men on me, storm the breach!"

End of Chapter.

AfallenNoble

Thanks for supporting the novel! Below is a map of the continent that the story is currently taking place on, the troop count for each is also present.