Chapter 34: Siege in snakewood
***I do not own Tyranny of Steel, Game of Thrones or any works I quote here. If you like the fanfic and want to help, look for the original authors to contribute.***
Ser Lyn Corbray returned to the castle and informed his brother, Lord Lyonel Corbray of his massive defeat and death of Lord Jon Lynderly before enemy forces reached Heart's Home. Lord Lyonel could not believe his ears as he listened to the almost fantastic tale of how his armies were easily torn apart by Artys's forces and the thunderous weapons they wielded.
"Brother, Our armies have been defeated; the survivors of our forces are few and have already started to flee the land. It won't be long before the enemy surrounds us and we are besieged! Tell me, what are your orders?"
Lyonel was still shocked by the news and really didn't know how to react to this situation. The best he could do was hope his walls would withstand Artys's cursed weapons. After all, surely Lyn was exaggerating its effectiveness? After regaining his senses, Lyonel gave his orders.
"I want every man and child able to bear arms atop the castle walls, defending it with their lives! If you must, send the garrison into the village to gather the necessary forces to accomplish this, and do it quickly before let the enemy come!"
So Lyn Corbray quickly gathered the castle forces and rode into the village, recruiting anyone capable of bearing arms into his forces to defend the castle walls. It didn't matter if they had never used a bow before; simply having the necessary bodies to launch missiles at enemy attackers was good enough for him, who was left desperate after his recent defeat.
***
Ser Julius was in the middle of the siege camp he had prepared outside Snakewood's walls. He was wearing his ammo half plate armor.
The veteran Knight, who was now acting as Field Marshal of Artys, frowned as he watched the ongoing siege of Snakewood.
While Artys had started his way through the war, Ser Julius was honestly tired of it.
Hearing the bloodcurdling screams of the enemy defenders who were shot dead by his army's shot musketeers, he couldn't help muttering his thoughts.
"So much needless death. They should just surrender, their defeat is inevitable..."
Despite the grizzled veteran's views on the conflict, the enemy persisted with all their being in the defense against the technologically advanced forces of Ser Julius's army. Many of the surviving veterans in this conflict would go on to become non-commissioned officers and even officers in the future Royal Army of Artys, but for now they just crouched in the trenches and fired at the enemy from a distance that was out of range of the longbows, and crossbows of the feudal garrison in that they were facing.
It was after making this remark that the wall finally crumbled, after a few days of besieging Snakewood, victory was within reach, Ser Julius began to wonder if Artys had already conquered Heart's Home. However, now was not the time for that, as Ser Julius grabbed his loaded musket and ordered his troops to prepare to storm the breach. Ser Julius bombarded the gaps within the wall with explosive projectiles, making sure to deal massive damage to any man foolish enough to stand near the gap.
After bombarding the place for some time, the enemy was afraid to protect it, as such they managed to get a good distance from the area, when Ser Julius finally called for the bombardment to stop, the gap was rushed by nearby musketeers, who rushed inside and began their killing spree. As mighty as the initially planned defense was, under fire from the muskets, whose flanks were covered by the waves, the castle quickly fell to Ser Julius.
As one of Artys's generals, Ser Julius was keen to abide by Artys' rules regarding the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war, any man who voluntarily surrendered to Ser Julius and his army was treated with a degree of dignity. After all the enemy were taken as prisoners of war and the civilians were accounted for, Ser Julius gave the order to begin the bombardment of Lynderly Tower, where Terrance was located with his elite escort.
Unfortunately for Ser Julius, Lord Lynderly's heir was stubborn and refused to surrender, as such he had to bombard the gate.
Ser Julius stood at the back of the host and watched as his forces marched in with their muskets loaded and bayonets affixed. What followed was a slaughter of all the men who resisted until finally they entered the Hall, where Terrance Lynderly stood steadfastly in defiance of Ser Julius's army.
When Ser Julius pushed forward and saw the proud heir, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. The boy was clearly playing brave instead of admitting defeat. Terrance, sensing the respect shown to Ser Julius, realized the possibility that he was the commander of this army, so he asked in confusion about Artys' location.
"You are too old to be usurper Artys, who are you? And where is the bastard who besieges my lands?"
Ser Julius noted the use of the phrase "my lands", despite being only the heir, which suggested that the boy undoubtedly had an exaggerated sense of pride. As such, he sighed and presented his rank and name to the heir who acted in power while the Lord of Snakewood was at Heart's Home with the Corbrays.
"I am a Knight and Field Marshal Julius Cromwell, Artys' chief general, he has commissioned me to besiege Snakewood and as such I have full authority to accept his surrender!"
As Artys' armies grew, he began to implement a proper ranking system in his army that was equivalent to a modern army, he used the rank of Field Marshal to give Ser Julius the highest overall rank of all their armies.
Seeing that the headstrong heir had no intention of speaking, Ser Julius ordered his soldiers.
"Arrest this man and place him in solitary confinement. I don't want him influencing the prisoners to rebel against our rule here!"
With that said, the soldiers beat their chests in salute and obeyed his orders.
"Yes sir!"
After saying that, they quickly seized the chained man, despite his best attempts to fight, and dragged him into the dungeon kicking and cursing.
The troops didn't react in the slightest, to them Artys was a man who had proven time and time again that he was worth following, no matter what the others said, he was a righteous man, who had practically embodied the Warrior in their eyes.
With the Regent locked away and the castle's defenders defeated, the battle for Snakewood resulted in a victory for Ser Julius, the first of many to come from the first Field Marshal of Artys' armies.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Ydo_Dominnus
Ydo_Dominnus I do not own Tyranny of Steel, Game of Thrones or any works I quote here. If you like the fanfic and want to help, look for the original authors to contribute.
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