The war horn's call had pierced the heart of the siege, freezing a thousand men in mid-swing. But the general, his face a mask of cold fury, was not a man to be caught off guard. He saw the Vexin banners cresting the hill and, with a guttural roar, gave the order to his commanders. "Form a line! Shields up! We will break them on our steel!"
On the hill, Arion, his face a mask of grim resolve, drew his sword. The sight of the besieged castle, with its shattered gate and smoke-stained walls, fueled a cold, burning rage. He looked at the 400 cavalry behind him, a disciplined wave of men and horses, their shields glinting in the cold sun.
"For House Galen! For the Vexin!" he roared. "Charge!"
The Vexin cavalry, a thunderous tide of steel and fury, began its descent. The ground shook with the force of their charge, and the air filled with the deafening roar of a thousand men. As they thundered toward the King's forces, the sky behind them turned dark. The Vexin archers, positioned behind their advancing infantry, let loose a devastating volley. A thick cloud of arrows, like a swarm of angry hornets, filled the air, raining down on the King's men. Shields screamed as they were struck, and men fell, but the charge did not falter.
The Vexin infantry, a disciplined wall of 800 men, advanced behind the cavalry, their shields locked and their spears held high. They moved with a slow, methodical purpose, their eyes fixed on the King's lines. The King's army, a disciplined force in their own right, held their ground, a menacing wall of steel and iron.
The battle had just begun. The Vexin cavalry slammed into the King's army with a terrible, earth-shattering impact. Swords clashed, shields splintered, and the cries of battle filled the air. Arion, a whirlwind of steel and vengeance, fought in the center of the fray, his sword a blur of motion, his rage a cold, precise instrument.
Inside the castle, Ren, standing amidst his small, battered force, saw the Vexin banners and the charge. The sound of the cavalry's thunderous roar gave him a new, desperate strength. He looked at his men, their faces streaked with dirt and blood, their eyes filled with a new hope. He raised his sword, his voice raw with defiance.
"They have come for us!" he screamed. "Now we show them we are not beaten!"
With a roar that echoed their renewed fury, the men of House Galen, a desperate and vengeful force, charged out of the shattered gate. They slammed into the King's army from the rear, a surprise attack that threw the enemy into a state of utter disarray. The King's men, who had been focused on the Vexin charge from the front, were now attacked from both sides. They were a disciplined army, but they were not prepared for a two-front war.
"We're faked from both sides!" a soldier screamed, his voice filled with fear. The King's army, caught between two vengeful forces, began to break. Their once disciplined lines shattered, and chaos consumed the battlefield. The siege was over, but the war for House Galen had only just begun. What happens next?