13

The battle had become chaotic. Corc and Kelso had mutilated each other. Corc’s Blood flowed out the cuts throughout his body. It soaked, drying on the side and thick crevices of his leather armor. His left eye’s vision was red from a big gush one on his forehead from the time his sword didn’t block Kelso’s axe swing completely.

Kelso fared not better. Blood flowed to his gut from two big slashes that went from his shoulder to his chest. The base of his hair was crusted with dried blood. His breathing was heavy, he took breaths with his mouth wide open.

Still, both their eyes remained fierce, locked at each other.

The gold Corc and Kelso stood on had become more spread out as they had stepped on it in every which way. Bandits had seen this and gathered around the edges, their eyes going back and forth, glimpsing between the gold and Kelso. Between the battle and Kelso distracted, they were waiting for an opportunity to swoop in and snatch a gold bar. One had already tried and failed. He silently snatched a gold bar, then tried to run off but some had seen him. One bandit tried to snatch it from him, the commotion got the other bandits attention, soon many bunched up on him, it didn’t matter if they stepped on each other. One of his high rank bandits noticed, he went in with brute force and confiscated the gold, making a brutal example out of the bandit thief for the rest.

“After I’m done with you, I’m going to go kill the princess. Is that what you wanted, Prince?” Kelso asked. “Where is she?” Corc asked, tone full of hate. “It doesn’t matter, you wont see her again after I bash your head in, Prince” Kelso said in a sarcastic tone as he took some careful steps toward Corc in fighting stance.

“My Lord, it’s the princess, we found her. She is save, My Lord!” a soldier yelled at Corc. Kelso swung his axe downwards at Corc. Corc tilted the blade of his sword up, easily blocking the the strike. Kelso had stuttered his swing, his power nulled by the news the soldier brought. Corc then countered with a slash that cut Kelso from his cheek, down to his chest and to side of gut. Kelso stepped back grimacing in pain. Corc mercilessly followed and swung his sword at Kelso’s side. Kelso shifted his axe shaft to his side, blocking the strike. Corc then swung to Kelso’s other side. Kelso again shifted the heavy axe shaft to block, but he wasn't fast enough. Corc managed a shallow slash on Kelso’s side before the blade was blocked. Kelso countered with a wild, mighty swing that blew Corc’s hair as it came close to his face. Kelso promptly followed up with another wild, full arching swing that Corc stepped back from.

Kelso’s skin was flushed red, his mouth wide open as he took deep breaths. Most of his face shinned with sweat.

Then something caught Kelso’s eyes, his eyebrows instantly burrowed. A bandit had seen the exchange between Kelso and Corc as a distraction and was about to snatch a gold bar. He had his hands on the gold bar when his eyes met Kelso’s. Kelso’s veins just about popped as he raised his axe high in the air, holding it at the lowest of the long shaft and with a mighty roar brought it down on the bandit, severing his arms clean, just bellow the elbows. The bandits that were near them jumped back getting away from Kelso and the gold pile. The bandit screamed and rolled in pain.

Corc saw an oportunity to press. He lunged at Kelso and swung for his neck. Kelso swung up at him at the same time, meeting Corc’s sword midway. Sparks flew from the thunderous clash of steel. Corc was thrown back, his arms clutched his trembling sword, his legs dug below for tractions as he slid back.

Corc instanly went back into attack, he would not let Kelso rest. Kelso threw a brutish swing of his axe lacking any real technique, like he was trying to swat a pesky fly. Corc leaned back, easily dodging. Kelso tried to pull his axe up immediately but couldn’t. He dragged it back a couple of steps, breathing heavily along the way. He tightened all his muscles and picked up the axe again but not as high as usual. He swung weakly at Corc, in a slow falling arch. Corc dodged to his left and stepped in closer, but Kelso retracted the swing to hit Corc with the back of the axehead. Corc comfortably blocked the tepid cleaving blow with his sword then swiftly slid the blade along the shaft of the long axe, severing Kelso’s right thumb and some of his wrist. Kelso stepped to his side and tried to lift his ax again but his right hand slipped off the long axe shaft, leaping into his face. He dropped to his knees at the sight of his mangled hand, he had not felt it when the sword cut it. He stared, as he tilted forward until he dropped to what was rest of his hands. He looked down, he had landed on some gold bars that nuzzled in his palms.

Corc raised his sword above Kelso’s head but before he could bring it down, some of Kelso’s bandits lunged at him, sword point first. He had gone too deep into enemy line. He blocked and slashed one away, then another. Soon he was forced to step back while fighting off incoming bandits.

Kelso bundled gold bars with his arms and pushed them against his gut and chest to carry them. He got up and started stepping back slightly hunched, trying to hide the gold bars behind his body, arms and axe. “Corc is weak, get him, attack, get the gold, get me his head!” Kelso yelled, stuttering, quivering on his pallid cheeks and mouth, his eyes opened wide and his eyeballs looking around the crowd blankly. He kept stepping back slowly until he disappeared behind his bandits.

Two bandits lunged at corc, while one other bandit reached with his long hand and grabbed a gold bar. Corc side stepped and slashed the two of bandits, felling them. He looked for the gold thief just in time to see his back disappear into a crowd of bandits that then clustered on him. A great struggle began as the bundle of determined bandits pushed and pulled on each other. They swayed, and bumped into their comrades disrupting their lines.

More of the gold mugging bandits came. They would lunge in, do a quick slash and swiftly squat with their hand already stretched to get a gold bar. Most would get their head bashed in or their arms flung by a potent swing of a sharp blade from Corc or his soldiers. But some managed to run back to a wall of their troops, where they would get devoured by hungry eyes, manhandled in a cyclone of greedy bandits that grated them and swallowed them whole, never to be seen again.

Screams and distinct boorish insults broke out among the bandits lines, followed by some axes that could be swinging above the crowd. The bandits whole formation had turned to shambles. Kelso was no where to be seen. The bandits front line could no longer hold and they were pushed past the spilled gold area.

The bandit’s front line had turned into scattered bandits too hesitant to fight. They stood holding their weapons halfway to the ground as they stared at the wall of Corc’s men standing shoulder to shoulder, swords in front.

“Attack, kill them all” Corc ordered as blood flung from his sword being whipped and pointed at the bandits. Corc sent out his army in squads to charge at the scattered bandits while he protected the gold pile with a couple of his men.

Corc could see his squads mince through the bandit crowds, their swords would repeatedly swing down mercilessly and fling up drenched in blood that cascaded to the wrist and arm.

some bandits started to run away, slowly hopping through the rocks to the sides of the battlefield. Most, however backtracked to the fort entrance, where they bunched up. “Open the gate!” bandits cried out repeatedly, their voices strained. The gate was quaking “I…can’t open it…its locked” A bandit next to the gate said, his tone was fragile and his voice trembling.