Chapter 14: Storming the Castle

 

Chapter 14: Storming the Castle

Smoke billowed from the torn earth as Salty’s battered forces fell back to Blackridge Castle, its towering stone walls the last true defence before the heart of Virellia. The battle outside had left thousands dead. But the real slaughter… was just beginning.

“Close the gates!” cried Sir Salty, his voice hoarse from shouting orders. “Archers! To the ramparts! They’re coming for our throats!”

Thunder cracked, not from the sky but from below — as Ogre sappers detonated war-bombs under the outer wall. A corner turret fell in a roar of stone and flame. Salty coughed through the dust, armour blackened, cape torn, his great axe dripping green blood.

The Orc Warlords, now within sight of the keep, howled their fury. On wolfback, Goblins charged like lightning, flinging fire pots and howling death songs. Behind them, the Chios Demons began their final incantations, swirling red and black magic twisting the skies above.

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🏹 Archers Earn Their Glory

Upon the wall stood Isabella, her left arm bandaged, her crossbow already singing death.

“Wind north, eight degrees. Target: Goblin rider, fifty paces.”

Thunk — bolt to throat. Wolf tumbled. Goblin trampled. Cheers erupted.

Beside her, her fellow sharpshooters loosed bolt after bolt, scoring headshots with terrifying precision. Some enchanted their arrows, creating explosive tips or shadow-seeking shafts that bent through the air to strike true.

By dusk, the archers had slain over 400 enemies — a brutal cull that made them the heroes of the hour. Salty himself roared approval:

“The wall holds because of you lot! Keep firing until your arms fall off!”

They earned bonus honours, gold medallions etched with a hawk’s eye and crowned skull — tokens only awarded in times of near-certain death.

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⚔️ The Storm Breaches the Wall

But the enemy was relentless.

The Giant Ogre, Bonejaw, swung his war mace into the gate, again and again, each blow shaking the fortress to its core. The gate cracked, then burst. Goblins flooded in, knives raised, screaming in twisted glee.

Inside the courtyard, Sir Salty stood with the Dirty Dozen, blades gleaming. Blood and soot streaked their faces. The courtyard exploded in combat — steel clashing, screams echoing off stone, cannon fire echoing as The Basilisk was turned inward to fire at the invading horde.

“No mercy,” Salty growled. “This is our home.”

One by one, Salty and the Dozen carved their way through the attackers, each woman wielding her powers with lethal elegance:

• Ravenna summoned a wall of flame that cooked five Goblins mid-leap.

• Brida struck Bonejaw’s wrist with a bolt of thunder — snapping it, and dropping his mace.

• Isabella, bleeding, killed her 100th enemy with a headshot through the eye slit of a demon helm.

And in the chaos, Sarah and Michelle took to the towers, casting protective barriers around the inner keep, their love for Salty fuelling their magic beyond known limits.

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🩸 But at What Cost?

Victory, if it came, would be bitter.

The bodies piled like sandbags at the gate. Pikes snapped. Lancers fought on foot. The moat was flooded red with the blood of men and monsters.

“We’re down to our last bolt rack!” Isabella shouted.

“So make every one count!” Salty barked back, crushing a demon’s spine with his axe.

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🔥 Closing Scene: The Tide Turns Again

At dawn, the battlefield fell eerily silent.

The Orcs had withdrawn — not in defeat, but in anticipation. The demons were not done yet. They circled beyond the castle in ritual, preparing something darker, older. A final summoning.

And yet, in that lull, among the burning ruins, stood Salty.

“We are not broken,” he said, voice echoing over the wall. “We are sharpened. Tomorrow, we end this.”

And the Dirty Dozen nodded.

They knew what was coming next.

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