Page 77 of Gilded Crown

More bodies were thrown from the top as their fliers persevered against the enemy archers. Falling from that height to the rocks below pretty much guaranteed death. In most cases, an army would get right up against the wall and shield while they waited for the laddermen to do their job. It’d be more difficult for all of the bowmen on top to aim straight down and hit someone.

Aurelius said spikes and fire traps riddled the ground right by it. Twenty feet away, the mass stopped and parted enough to let the laddermen go through. Several archers ran to get behind the shieldmen to use them for protection as they loosed arrows at the Novan soldiers.

Jari nudged his mount closer to Aurelius. Arrows and magic flew thick and fast from both sides, and shouts rang out as the unfortunate were hit. Este was still unharmed on Aurelius’s other side.

The ladders were particularly long and took a few men to deal with. Fliers helped since those on the ground wouldn’t be able to get too close. Without support, the top end of the ladder would become impossible to prop on the wall. Jari cringed inside when he saw an arrow glance off a ladderman's helmeted head.

The top of a ladder hit the wall, but the flier helping took several arrows to his wings and fell. Something cracked as he hit the ground too close to the wall, and fire flared up to eat his feathered wings first.

Over the racket, Jari didn’t hear if he screamed or not. More fought their way through with ladders, and archers kept whittling away the Novans.

Jari was sure more had gotten through the pass than he’d expected although it was hard to gauge the numbers of either side while the onslaught continued. Everyone was bottlenecked in a tight space with those already dead in the pass. A ladder went up. Another. Several footmen rushed forward to make their way along the heavily slanted bridge up to the stonework as arrows and magic kept coming.

The few Novans on the wall tried to push a ladder down, but with the heavy, slanted weight, it was too much. Another Novan was trying to set fire to the treated wood, and he fell back as two arrows hit him in quick succession. A foot soldier toward the front sent blue energy at the Novans, and one disappeared entirely as he was knocked back.

A loud boom sounded even though it was too early. Smoke and dust flew from one side of the wall, and mass panic suddenly broke out among the Novans. Another cannon fired, and while Jari didn’t see anything, he knew the wall had been hit.

The next booms came in rapid succession. Being so close, Jari couldn’t see into the city or what was happening, but someone was using the cannons on their side. The arrows and magic from above had also greatly lessened.

Chunks of the wall exploded, and some of the crenellation simply wasn’t there anymore. Several Novans were knocked over to die in the traps below if they weren’t already dead. The soldiers on the ladders crouched and halted as the wood under them shook and threatened to splinter from the shaking.

The gate started to lift. Someone inside had further betrayed their side.

“Get in!” shouted Aurelius. “GET IN!”

The call was picked up as the army started forward. The shieldmen tried to get to the side and out of the way as fast as possible. The arrows weren’t so much now since those on the wall were too busy trying to avoid cannonballs.

Jari still kept his shield up just in case as their horses pounded toward the rising gate. He ducked to avoid the bottom points, and they were in. A man in red darted toward them, and Aurelius’s lightning laid him out flat before he could even raise his mace.

Aurelius had said that while the stone buildings by the gate appeared to be normal businesses, they all had cannons hidden in their attics. In case of war, they’d be pulled up ramps and through hatches, settled on the roofs, and used if an army breached the wall. Most places with cannons mounted them on the wall, but the invaders could gain control of them as soon as they got up.

If the opposition swarmed the wall, destroying it then could be quite effective if needed, and it’d be far harder for the enemy to get to the cannons. Plus, with a pile of rubble in the way, it would slow down the remaining soldiers trying to get in.

The white flag rider had said the people weren’t happy. Jari didn’t have time to think about who else was on Aurelius’s side, and he tightened his grip on his sword.

The army had to bottleneck again to get through the narrow, safe space near the gate. Mercury didn’t hesitate as an archer stupidly backed up into his path to avoid some falling rubble from above. Bones crunched as he was knocked down and trampled. Jari shifted his shield to block a man who came at him with a sword, and in a second, they were surrounded by red padded jackets and armor with the lion crest.

The Novans struggled to keep them from fully entering, but Jari and the Prince hacked their way in and allowed more Wockstons to pour in behind them. Este took off a man’s head with a well-aimed swing at his neck. Jari thrust his sword into a man right before Mercury reared. Another with an ax fell after his face was smashed in by the horse’s hooves.

Surviving archers on what was left of the wall sent arrows into the blue mass trying to pour in. Jari glanced up and saw a man kneeling at the edge of a stack of flats ahead. His longbow glowed with fire as he aimed at the group of red below.

More Wockstons slipped in to beat back the Novans. The cannons fired at the wall again, and several Novan archers were knocked off. Jari killed anything in reach that wore red except for Aurelius next to him. A cannon fired, and a timber building turned into splinters much farther down the main road. Novan archers went flying through the air. Clearly, they had been intending to wait and attack in case Wockston came further in.

Streaks of red showed in the distance as Novans tried to flee from the cliffs and get into the city so they could group together. Fliers chased them from above.

A fireball came for Jari, and he turned his head just in time to let the side of his helmet take the brunt. The inside of it grew hot, but not enough to burn him. Galahad reared and screamed a second later as yellow energy flashed and hit his underside. The soldier was crushed a second later as the horse only grew angrier from the assault and charged forward.

The Novans failed to create a press at the gate. Some fled, and Wockstons on horseback kicked their horses down the road to chase them as the army started to spread through the city. Jari, Aurelius, and Este made it down the main road with cavalry following. Anyone in red who tried to attack them was hacked down.

The rest of the Wockstons could deal with Morning Glory at this point, and the Palace was the last place to claim.

By the time they made it onto the uphill road leading to the Palace, Jari was sure the false King was already gone. The gate had been lifted, and the wall surrounding the vast grounds wasn’t manned. Once they were close enough to the gate, it was clear the soldiers in charge of guarding it had given up. Allof their weapons had been laid down, and when they saw the Wockstons with Aurelius at the front, most got on their knees and raised their hands.

“Aurelius, did someone turn on their side because they hated Gullveig, or do you have friends in here that you didn’t tell me about?” asked Jari.

“Not friends, but people willing to be loyal.” He reined his horse in just before the gate and gestured to those who had followed. “Round them up, collect their weapons, and herd them down to the main city square. If no one fights, they’re not to be harmed. Don’t forget to check the grounds and ensure no one is hiding before you take away the rest. If you find servants, collect them and simply keep them together.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

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