Chapter 2

Griffith was standing on the battlefield and coughed—the air thick with smoke, the smell of blood, and the sounds of men screaming.

‘Griffith.’ Taiden appeared in front of him, his sword dripping blood.

‘We need to find Prince Danu,’ Griffith said with urgency.

‘You don’t think he’s run yet?’ Taiden asked as he stood back-to-back with Griffith searching the field.

‘No. I saw him charge through the village and followed him. He has to be on the field somewhere.’

They moved towards the sounds of clashing swords and engaged with Danu’s forces. Griffith kicked a soldier’s knee, forcing him to stumble, then hit him with the back of his pummel. The man staggered, and Griffith thrust his sword into him.

Through a break in the smoke, Griffith spotted Danu. ‘Taiden!’

Griffith started to push through the men battling man to man, kicking, slashing, thrusting his swords as he moved closer and closer to Prince Danu. He and two of his soldiers protecting his back helped him push forward until he was facing the prince’s guards. With a sword in each hand, he attacked the man closest to him. The fight was fast and furious, Griffith weaving and slashing as much as possible. His sword nicked the guard’s neck and blood squirted from the wound before he fell to the ground with a thud. Griffith raised his swords again, breathing heavily. Danu looked at the fallen guard in horror. He was loosely holding a sword, but it didn’t look like he had used it. He was red faced from his fury.

Griffith could see the fear on his face. ‘Prince Danu, you can surrender to me now or after I kill this man,’ Griffith said calmly.

‘My father…’ Prince Danu spat back at him.

‘If your father is stupid enough to come after you, I will take him too,’ Griffith said.

Danu screamed in fury and ran at Griffith. They clashed swords, but Griffith was quick to flip the sword in his right hand and hit Danu square in the forehead. Danu staggered back and fell to the ground with a thump.

Griffith turned to the remaining guard. ‘Your choice, here and now.’

The guard nodded at him then ran.

Two of Griffith’s soldiers appeared. ‘Take Prince Danu to Prince Yu-Jun on the ridge. Make sure he is secure; I don’t want him running off.’

They hooked their arms under Danu’s shoulders and started to drag him away. Two more soldiers appeared to help them.

‘It’s starting to wind down,’ Taiden told Griffith.

‘Do you know if Prince Jae-Sang arrived?’

Before Taiden could answer, they both heard a faint sound.

‘Horses coming in fast,’ Taiden said, lifting his crossbow.

‘If it’s Prince Jae-Sang, take out as many of his men as you can. I will go after the prince myself.’ Griffith pulled a whistle out of his shirt and sent two blasts throughout the battlefield. He heard the twin blast of fireworks in response and looked towards the ridge. ‘Yu-Jun has Prince Danu, and Prince Jae-Sang is on the field near us.’

Griffith’s men started to appear around him in a circle, shields in front of the men on the outside forming a barrier, the second layer ready to move forward to replace anyone who fell. All of the men held junchungs. This was a new tactic Griffith was developing that hadn’t yet been put into practice in the field. He hoped this would work.

‘Horses coming in, be prepared,’ Griffith said.

Each of them pointed their junchungs in the direction of the sound. The wind blew the smoke at them, and Griffith could only see the immediate circle of men and Taiden beside him. The sound of hooves slowed then stopped.

One of his men moved closer and bumped him, showing him the arrows ready to be lit. Griffith nodded.

The wind blew again and parted the smoke. Within a few feet of Griffith was Prince Jae-Sang and four of his men. Griffith’s men raised their shields and arrows waiting for the attack.

‘Your Highness, please dismount from your horse and surrender,’ Griffith called out.

‘Where is my son?’

‘Your nephew is entertaining your son. I voted to gut him like a fish,’ Griffith drawled.

‘What is this stupid formation.’ Prince Jae-Sang snarled and kicked his horse, riding toward Griffith. He charged at the shields, but the junchungs pushed him back. The man beside Griffith lit the arrow and sent it flying towards Prince Jae-Sang, Taiden releasing two long bow arrows then two more. Taiden’s first two hit Prince Jae-Sang in the shoulder, but the second ones hit him so hard that he fell off the back of his horse, landing on the ground with a grunt. His men tried to rally around him but were soon overwhelmed by the firepower of Griffith’s men.

The four men with the prince were shot by arrows that came from behind Griffith. He twirled around to find a small group of Taiden’s longbowmen inside the middle of the circle. Their arrows could pierce any armour. After Griffith waved his arm and the men stopped firing, he walked between two shields to Prince Jae-Sang who was on his back, panting, blood pooling around him.

‘Take the Prince to Prince Yu-Jun. He’ll need medical attention. Keep him secure, keep him alive,’ Griffith ordered.

Fireworks and drums started over the battlefield. Griffith felt the tension release from his shoulders. The battle of Lexmon was over, and they had won.

The setting sun cast long shadows across the battlefield as dusk settled in. The fighting had ceased, the din of war now replaced by a grim silence. Griffith surveyed the field, his eyes scanning the survivors. He wiped his sword and put it away. He remembered his grandfather telling him once that the aftermath of a battle was worse than the battle itself. Griffith needed to look after his men, check on the wounded and bury the dead. His body aching, he made his way up to Prince Yu-Jun.

Yu-Jun pulled him into a hug, slapping his back. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yes, and Taiden is fine. Has Reid come back yet? Have you seen Bowie?’ Griffith asked.

‘Reid is back. He got wounded in the village and is getting stitched up now. It’s not serious, but he’ll have a pretty good black eye. Bowie is fine, but he lost his horse. He’s out looking for any enemy runners he can round up. Medical is overwhelmed as expected, so some of the soldiers are going to help. Men have already started cooking. I’m not sure of our numbers.’

‘Prince Jae-Sang and Prince Danu?’

‘My command tent. My uncle is still unconscious. They pulled the arrows and told me that he will recover. I’ve sent a message to my father already.’

A rider appeared, the solider carrying a message pouch attached to his leg. He handed the message to Yu-Jun.

‘It’s from my father. He wants us to bring my uncle and cousin to Altrane.’

Griffith turned to the solider. ‘Get the leadership team here as soon as possible.’

The command tent was full of the leaders from the various units under Yu-Jun, Griffith, Taiden and Bowie.

‘The King wants us to return to Altrane as soon as possible,’ Yu-Jun said. ‘Bury your dead, get the wounded into wagons and we’ll be on the move tomorrow morning. Let the men drink one small flagon tonight—they will have leave when we return to the capital. There will be a full parade in thirty minutes.’

The calvary, longbowmen and infantry stood in their unit formation at attention waiting for their commander, Prince Yu-Jun. They looked tired and dishevelled having survived the battle, but their morale was high as they had beaten the enemy and ended this war. They could go home to their families.

Prince Yu-Jun stood. ‘We found ourselves in a difficult position surrounded by two armed forces that left us with no option but to fight our way out. Your dedication and determination allowed us to prevail against our enemies. Our King has requested our immediate return to the capital. Take the night to mourn our dead, and we will honour them with a burial tomorrow morning before we depart. Thank you to you all.’ Yu-Jun bowed deeply to his troops before Griffith dismissed them with a shout.