“I cannot guarantee anything” Max replied.
“I think I can take you right now” the taller man said. “You only have your scaly flesh while I have the best steel money can buy”.
“YOU ARE DRAGONBREED CREATED FROM MY FLESH” Xander said in Max’s mind. “I WOULD NOT STAND FOR SUCH A CHALLENGE COMING FROM ANOTHER MALE, ESPECIALLY WITH FEMALES AROUND”.
“You want it with or without swords” Max said as he narrowed his eyes. “With weapons this will only last moments, without weapons just a little longer. In fact why don’t you fight with your weapon and I will go unarmed, when I defeat you I don’t want any excuses from your friends”.
“From my friends?” the man said confused.
“You’ll be dead, I do not think you will have a say in the matter” Max replied. “Your Grace this was bound to happen” Max said directing his words at the duchess. “Many will think everything I have done was just embellished stories. The men here though will know different after this. Perhaps it will inspire them to fight harder, perhaps it will only serve as fodder for gossip. Either way it benefits us, do I have your permission to put this one in his place?”
Max looked as Pem nodded then returned to Xander. Max had put on and taken of his armor enough he barely needed any help although Gregory the griffin rider offered it any way. After Max was finished he could see the smiling red devil holding a sword and waving him into the makeshift circle of men. Xander also walked to the edge of this circle, he wanted to witness this. A signal was given and Max attacked, snatching the flaming sword by its blade and throwing a punch that connected on the side of his opponent’s helm. The man staggered but held on to his sword. As Max felt the man try to yank it away he let go causing the man to stumble before turning around quickly and knocking the man off of his feet with his tail. The man tried to get up quickly as Max kicked him hard in the head, making him fall down flat on his stomach and lose the grip on his sword. Max picked the weapon up and tossed it towards Xander who promptly put a massive foot on the blade to ensure it would stay out of play. Max then turned and waited for his opponent you got up slow and was still stumbling around trying to get his bearings. Max charged the man, grabbed him by his ankles and tossed him, armor and all into the other red devils and dared any of them to come out.
“I want to fight, but it’s not anything personal” one man said as he stepped into the ring. “I want to tell my kids I had a go with the original red devil. Well that and I am curious what this stuff can do in a real fight other than look scary. I know I won’t be able to pick a big armored bloke up like that and toss him in a crowd, but if I know my shortfalls beforehand maybe I won’t get myself killed”.
Max nodded and got into a fighting stance, he probably should have killed his last opponent but thought it would have been a waste despite the man’s taunts. This opponent was fighting for the sake of fighting, he wanted to try out a new toy. “Your flame won’t work on me” Max said pointing to the man’s sword. “What I do when fighting is attempt to set the opponent’s clothes on fire, they often make stupid mistakes after that. If I spot someone all armored up who looks like they know exactly what to do with whatever weapon they have in their hands then run. So what that warrior can brag about chasing you off, there will be many more who won’t be able to say that”.
The man dropped his sword and charged, swing wildly with his claws. Max thought the man was not only slow but clumsy as he took a big wind up strike that knocked him off balance and spinned him around. What Max didn’t see was that it had all been a feint, the tail the man had and Max’s movement to avoid the strike struck the perfect balance to land Max flat on his butt. His opponent turned around quickly as Max rolled to his side a shot his wing out to knock his opponent off balance. Max got up while his opponent stumbled and had to admit to being impressed. The metal tail was huge and unwieldly, in tight corners it would do more harm than good but out in the open it could be a nasty surprise. The fact Max had used that move dozens of times made him a little embarrassed that he fell for it.
“So your wings aren’t for show” his opponent laughed.
Max waited for the man to attack and moved out of the way from a slow moving claw strike. The armor these guys had even made Max a little jealous, they had an extra spike on the elbow that his opponent had tried to strike with a couple of times. Max couldn’t really wear too much armor on his arms anymore with all of the spikes and horns sticking out but a nasty one on the elbow would have had potential. In the end, he was too fast, too strong and too agile for his opponent. When the man finally submitted Max could hear clapping as a regular warrior wanted to take him on next. It was an interesting way to pass the day as the marched towards Bufford, at every stop a new man wanted to try his luck. Sometimes Max only used a regular sword to defend himself and was pleasantly surprised he could best all but a few easily enough with the sword. The ones he couldn’t beat with just sword play he overwhelmed them with strength and good armor. The rest of the red devils just looked on at every match, Max would later learn that they were plotting better fighting strategies. When they finally got to Bufford there was very little drama, the people with power in the town were relieved the red devils were not there for them and quickly accepted assistance packing up all of their belongings so they could head to another city. The work tearing down buildings was quick, most of the places were not made out of stone and was easily demolished by the dragoons.
It was during this time Max practiced with the red devils, even the man with the big mouth who had wanted to fight him. They could definitely kill some people, even experienced sword fighters who had never seen their tricks before. The way things were supposed to go is that each of them would be assigned to a squad of elite fighters instead of making up an entire red devil group. The rest was literally only there for show, they would kill a couple of men and gain notoriety but when the fighting got thick they would withdraw. Max was expected to carry the heaviest load, whatever he did on the battlefield would no doubt be attributed to all of the red devils. This would serve as being demoralizing to the enemy and could result in quicker fights. Fights seemed like the only thing that was on the horizon, the men Duchess Pem sent out with the Queen’s message came back, well their heads came back. They were dropped off at the front gate by a rider who promptly took off. Pem though had been preparing for a siege, luckily her job was made easier by hauling all the debris from torn down buildings towards the front gate, it would make and excellent deterrent for the dragoons would the generals would no doubt use to smash through the gate. After Max had seen how good Pem and the Queen had protected Griffin’s isle, he knew her plan would work. The only unknown would be the griffin riders, they could still fly over and reek some damage, especially since their numbers were at least three times that of the horde. But Xander was still there and would no doubt kill many before everything was said and done. When the Galean army finally showed up to Bufford, Max could see that although they held immense numbers, these men were tired from the marching, from the fighting, from the war. The griffin riders were nowhere to be seen although a sizable number of Dragoons were in the formation.
“All of the Generals will have to die” Pem said as she looked at Max. “I am taking the Queen’s offer of clemency off the table. If they do not die by your hands I am going to put them on the front lines to fight the enemy head on. The Galeans who will have to die today so they can stroke their egos is what fuels me. Are you ready for this fight?”
“It can’t be different than the others” Max replied.
“It’s very different” Pem said as she took a deep breath. “Before you were fighting terrified nobles who were taken by surprise. Now you are fighting an enemy who is not only talented in battle, they are not scared of you and are led by some of the most brilliant minds in Gale. They will expect you, just like they will expect Xander at some point. I doubt the fact you haven’t seen any griffins escaped your mind. I think I know one of their possible plans though, so m
aybe we can avoid it. I think they plan on netting your dragon, it is what is done to unruly griffins. They will fly at a high altitude and drop weighted nets, this would tie up Xander’s wings and force him out of the sky where gravity could finish the job along with the ground. Any other time it would be a good plan, but they only know how to wage war against another army, they will find us harder to beat”.
“Your Grace I don’t understand” Max replied. “First you made it seem like they were invincible but now you are talking about them like they are idiots”.
“They are idiots Max” Pem laughed. “We are going to do most of our attacking in the dead of night. Every hour or so I want you and Xander to give two good passes of flame, if you can hit whatever looks like a command tent than do so. This will keep those bitches up the entire night, all we have to do in the day time is defend. This will be made easier since I plan on sending additional parties out for the sake of recruiting. The first night alone I expect some to defect, each additional night that number will grow substantially. The real fun will start when the Macomians get here, that’s when many will want inside the city leaving those fools in charge to suffer”.
Max could see no fault in her plan as the Galean army massed together and attacked. Max thought he and Xander could have killed them by the hundreds they were so bunched up together until he looked towards the sky. What had to be their Max height he spotted Griffins just circling around, waiting for something. When Max told Xander Pem’s thoughts about their plan against him, he admitted it had worked on dragons in the past. Wave after wave of men tried to scale the town walls and were promptly shot down by the archers on the wall. After no more than thirty minutes a retreat was sounded, as the Galeans broke off their assault.
“Fools” Pem said as she walked towards Max. “They are the defenders, not the attackers. They never thought they would need to siege a city so they don’t have the proper gear to get over these walls or clear out all the junk piled by the gates. They have just realized this and will try another approach, especially since they lost at least a hundred men in this stupid assault. Now it is time to put on a better show, I want you and the rest of the red devils to show yourselves on top of the wall. Flare your wings a little, hold your sword up high. I want the regular soldiers to see what they will be dealing with”.
Max climbed up the wall and just stood there as with his eyesight he could see people pointing at him. Soon they were pointing all over the wall as the rest of the red devils showed themselves with their swords full of fire. Xander watched as archers from the army fired off a couple of arrows that went short. They could not come any closer since that would put them in range also. Max stepped off of the wall and looked for some place to rest. There were only a few buildings around; those were part of the plan to trap the leadership of the enemy army so they were off limits. The entire city was just one big pile of rubble, luckily he knew Xander had cleaned out and area for himself. When Max found Xander though he wanted to laugh. Around him were the female dragoons, pressing up against him as he just laid their looking pitiful.
“What is this all about?” Max asked looking around at the dragoons.
“THEY CARRY MORE DRAGON IN THEM THAN I THOUGHT” Xander replied. “THEY WANT TO MATE. BEING AROUND ME HAS BROUGHT IT OUT OF THEM LIKE IT DOES WITH DRAGON FEMALES. I HAVE BITTEN THEM, CLAWED THEM AND MOVED AWAY BUT THEY FOLLOW ME HERE REGARDLESS OF WHAT THESE BEASTS HANDLERS TRY TO DO”.
“Well if I were you” Max began before Xander stopped him cold.
“I WOULDN’T TOUCH ANY OF THESE MINDLESS BEAST ANYMORE THAN YOU WOULD A DEER OR A GOAT” Xander said as he bumped a dragoon that was pressing up on him away. “EVEN IF I WERE DESPERATE I CERTAINLY WOULD NOT DO IT HERE WITH ALL OF THESE HUMANS AROUND, MATING FOR DRAGONS IS JUST AS PRIVATE OF AN AFFAIR AS IT IS FOR HUMANS”.
“Well it looks like you already have friends” Max said as he could see the anger in Xander’s features. “I think I will go rest someplace else”.
CHAPTER 15
Max was well rested by the time night fall came around. The Galeans had attempted two more attacks but they were obvious bait moves since they seemed more intent on charging and holding up their shields to protect from arrows than actually attacking. Pem was right, Max would prove her even more so as climbed on Xander and took to the skies. The night was perfect for a raid, it was nice and cloudy which really masked Xander’s presence. Max and Xander took off in the opposite direction then circled back high above where any griffin could go. Max held on as Xander dove, his target being the middle of the army camped outside of Bufford. Xander set a couple of tents on fire and was coming around for the second pass before anyone on the crowd could even move. By the time they got a griffin in the air, Xander was already heading over the walls of Bufford. Xander dropped Max off and took to the sky letting him know he wouldn’t be far away. Apparently the dragoons had unnerved him too much to feel comfortable in Bufford.
“Your first pass was a success” Pem said as she found him. “We will wait two or more hours before another pass, whoever survived that first sweep will move their tents someplace less visible so don’t worry about attacking the middle. The intent is to scare the shit out of them, I think you are doing just that. Your dragon, why did he take off?”
“The dragoons are making him uncomfortable your grace” Max admitted. “They want to mate and he sees them as animals”.
“They want to mate?” Pem said surprised. “Then why doesn’t he do the deed? If the offspring are anything like him we could have a sizable force at our disposal in a few years”.
“Because Xander is not an animal and the dragoons are” Max said pointing at the sleeping animals. “Even if he could somehow have children with the dragoons, he wouldn’t let anyone treat them the way dragoons are treated. He is still close by though and will be here when you have need of him”.
“I know he wants to awaken the dragon under the palace but then what?” Pem asked. “He was beaten before, as was she. If he stays and is true to our cause he could be protected here, his eventual children could be protected. For this to happen he along with the female dragon would have to do things they might not agree with”.
“He would rather live free and hunted than live any life of servitude” Max replied.
“Perhaps this is a discussion for another time” Pem said as she changed her tone. “One that needs to be had with the Queen present. As for our enemy at the gate, I will wake you when it is time for another pass if you want to get some sleep”.
Max watched the woman walk away and something didn’t sit right with him about their conversation but dismissed it. She was right, this was not the time for such talk but he definitely would have it with Xander. Mary kept things from him, like the red devils, who knows what other plans she had going around in her mind. When the time came for another pass, this one was just as successful, Xander burned around the edges of the camp, only departing when the first griffin got into the sky. They were quick and could catch up to him, but they were sprinters. The higher Xander got, the tougher it would be for them to keep up. Xander flew quite a ways away from Bufford when Max could see a massive amount of fires going. This was the enemy army, their size was more than immense. They had to be at least five times the size of the Galean army, they could no doubt send wave after wave of men that would crush any mage, any dragoon or maybe even any dragon. Xander said nothing about the size of the army but didn’t have to, Max could tell what he was thinking.
After the third pass of the night after Max had told Pem about the size of the enemy and how far away they were, defections started happening. At first it was just a couple of people, then it was like a whole mob of them wanted to fight for the real queen. Apparently they had been driven hard during the war and many could not see a way to defeat such a vast enemy. Now they had seen the destruction the red devils could cause first hand they wanted to fight for a winner. Pem promptly made them tear off any insignia of Yadia's and put them on the wall with th
e treat that if any are spies or double agents, they would find themselves fighting one of the red devils. Max knew this because Pem wanted him there to intimidate just by appearance any of the defectors. The second day started the same as the first one, there was a couple of token attacks that were beaten back quickly when the Galeans did something Pem did not expect. They packed up and went around the city, intent on staying behind the entire city. When the Macomians come they could just line the road and wait to fight the remnants of Mary’s forces.
“We need to make a big statement” Pem said as she stared out at the enemy army. “I have sent a message asking for a show of strength. I have asked them to send out one of their best warriors to fight a red devil. In return I told them they could sleep in safety tonight as I would not send any late night fire attacks. I did tell them if there is any sort of trickery, I will ensure tonight is filled with non-stop attacks that will only stop when every single member of that army is dead in the ground”.
“Didn’t they kill the last messenger you sent Your Grace?” Max asked.
“Yes” Pem said with a slight smile. “This message, along with countless others telling the soldiers to serve the true queen were sent in a volley tied to arrows. By now everyone in the camp must know about our offer, I expect them to take us up on it by the third night. Look lively now, it looks like a rider is headed our way”.
Max could see a woman on a white horse holding a white flag heading their way. Pem told him to stay put as she grabbed Hector and Peete a couple of red devils to accompany her during her talk with the messenger. The rest of the red devils were supposed to just sit around doing mundane tasks, the effect would be the rider thought there were more devils than there actually were and report it. Max couldn’t see what Pem was doing though having the doppelgangers with her. No doubt the woman would return and say although the devils were tall and fearsome, they were just men wearing elaborate costume armor. When the rider left, Max could hear Hector laughing as he walked over. Max still disliked Hector since the man challenged him to a fight when they first met, but whatever the man found so funny he wanted to know.
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