Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Deep within the ruins of the collapsed towers of Nebakov Castle.

Jessica was awakened by a violent tremor and shouts of battle. He pushed away the half-oak beam that was pressing down on him, coughing violently as the dust nearly choked him. He looked around and saw a huge gaping hole blasted in the tower, sunlight streaming in and illuminating the countless specks of dust filling the air.

"Catherine? Michael? Zwick? Are you alright?" he called out anxiously in a low voice.

"Yang... I'm fine."

Catherine's voice came from behind a pile of rubble. She struggled to crawl out, her once beautiful face covered in dust and her long brown hair disheveled, but her eyes were filled with the relief of surviving a disaster.

"Thank God we're still alive..."

Fast Horse Hert, Gambler Zwick, and others also crawled out of the ruins one after another, all of them injured and in a sorry state.

Father Goodwin also staggered to his feet. He didn't bother to straighten his tattered robes and looked around anxiously: "Where is Young Master Hans? Have you seen Young Master Hans?" His voice was filled with undisguised worry.

As they helped each other to the edge of the hole in the tower and cautiously peered out, everyone was stunned by what they saw.

Inside and outside the castle, two armies are engaged in fierce combat! The army clearly holding the upper hand is the one flying the red griffin banner! They are pursuing and cutting down the fleeing Prague puppet troops with overwhelming superiority!

"It's Lord Peter! Lord Peter has come to save us!" Catherine was the first to cheer, her voice filled with excitement and admiration. In her eyes, the red-haired lord was so tall and valiant, like a knight from legend.

However, Jessica did not cheer. Leaning against the crumbling wall, he gazed at the figure outside, invincible in the enemy ranks, and a storm raged within him. "The gap... is it really that vast?"

Peter seemed to have calculated Nebakov's offense and defense perfectly, even pinpointing the optimal moment to launch a fatal blow! While he himself was still racking his brains over the gains and losses of a castle, and had even nearly lost his life there, Peter... his gaze had already turned to something much farther away. The phrase "The gifts of fate are always priced" echoed in his ears once more, and for the first time, Jessica realized with such clarity that perhaps... she really couldn't afford that price.

A deep sense of self-doubt and loss gripped his heart.

Father Goodwin's unease grew stronger as he failed to find Hans. When he saw Hans being shoved through the gap in the tower, his emotions were even more unsettling. He had initially been reluctant to come looking for these two mischievous boys after receiving the assignment. But after spending time with them, he began to realize that this somewhat spoiled but intelligent and kind young master was indeed a good person. And yet, he had failed to protect him!

Outside the castle, the battle was over.

Watching the soldiers scatter like headless flies, and hearing the deafening shouts of battle and the dying cries of their own soldiers, the last trace of color drained from the faces of the old count and von Olitz, replaced by an undisguised fear and bewilderment.

They never imagined they would suffer such a defeat. The caution they exercised in formulating the plan last night, the decisiveness of their midnight march, and the triumph of their early morning attack—all of it now seemed like a clownish performance, completely exposed to the world.

"It's over...it's all over..." the old count muttered to himself, his body trembling slightly. His proud schemes and his ambitions had all vanished in an instant.

"Polgao! We can't hesitate any longer!" von Olitz grabbed the old count's arm, his voice urgent. "While we still have a chance, we must immediately take the path on the east side of the castle! The terrain there is treacherous, and it won't be easy for pursuers to spread out!"

von Olitz was unwilling to abandon the Prague militia who had followed him on his long journey, but the current situation was just like the village of Skalitz that he had conquered, which was already irreversibly heading towards ruin.

Retreat back to the castle and hold out? Years of warfare had never even considered that option. Soldiers already demoralized, guarding a dilapidated castle with a bronze cannon outside—it was a dead end!

The only way to survive is to escape before the red griffins finish encircling them!

The old count snapped back to reality, a flicker of reluctance and realization crossing his eyes. "That's it! Let's go! We still have cavalry! We still have Trostich Castle!" He suddenly remembered something and roared to his trusted aide, "Go! Bring that Hans Capon with you! Quickly!"

He reasoned that even if he lost the battle, as long as he still had the young master of Rattay, he would still have leverage to negotiate and extort a large ransom to make up for today's losses! This was his only lifeline now.

Soon, the injured Hans was roughly carried over and tied horizontally to a spare warhorse.

The old count and von Olitz could no longer care about anything else. They gathered the remaining thirty-odd trusted cavalrymen around them, and without even having time to take more valuables and soldiers, they fled in panic along the narrow and steep path at the edge of the castle, like stray dogs.

"Hans!"

Henry, who was fighting hard, saw this scene, cleaved through the enemy blocking his way with his sword, and gave chase.

"Henry!" Hans, who was lying on his side, also saw his companion chasing after him and shouted loudly.

But the cavalry was too fast, and Henry, wearing heavy armor, couldn't run fast. The distance between them grew farther and farther... Henry was anxious and desperate. He remembered when they parted the night before, Hans had volunteered to choose the most dangerous place, Nebakov, and he had promised to come and save him!

Damn it, but it was so close, so very close! Damn it! Henry pounded his chest and stamped his feet, filled with indignation.

"Hans! Wait for me, I will definitely come to save you!" Henry stopped, panting heavily, and could only roar in the direction of the cavalry that was running further and further away.

On the main battlefield.

The commander's escape became the final straw that broke the back of the Prague puppet army. The remaining soldiers completely lost their command, and their morale collapsed. Some panicked and jumped off steep cliffs; some fled in small groups into the mountain trails; but many more, driven by fear, instinctively retreated to what they considered the safest place—Nebakow Castle, which they had just captured.

Unbeknownst to them, this dilapidated castle had become a giant tomb.

Peter calmly watched as the enemy army retreated into the castle like a tide. He immediately divided his forces: "John! Andrei! Each of you take a squad and pursue the fleeing soldiers!"

"Yes, sir!"

The two elite squads immediately sped off like arrows, chasing after the enemy in the direction they had fled.

Peter raised his blood-stained sword, his voice echoing across the battlefield: "Main force, heed my command! Follow me into the castle! Close the gates and beat the enemy!"

"kill--!"

The griffin army roared thunderously, following their lord, and surged into the gates of Nebakov Castle like a flood. There, awaiting the hundreds of Prague collaborators was a true dead end and their final judgment.

Nebakov Castle, once their spoils of war, became their final resting place.