Creses jerked up his head in surprise, reopening his wound, and groaned. Rosa settled him back into position and continued.
“I mean they won’t want to drag this fight into tomorrow either. Fundamentally, this cannot last more than a day. It must end when the sun sets. A disturbance resolved within a day and one that lasts longer have different effects on a city. If this continues past today, confusion will spread through the city and soon set off similar trouble elsewhere. I don’t know this city well, but I know no ruler wants that. Whatever bargain the general and the governor have made, they cannot have given him the right to keep fighting until tomorrow.”
Almost none of the patrolmen could understand such matters. But since Rosa’s judgments had not been wrong so far, they were ready to believe her. Terry cried out, delighted, “Is that true? The fighting will end today?”
“Well, it’s possible Delphinad’s governor is more foolish than I imagine. But if he were that foolish, he couldn’t govern a city this large.”
“We only have to hold out until sunset, right?”
“Does that mean we can stay here and do nothing?”
“If you do nothing, you’ll die. By tomorrow, I mean tomorrow morning. Still, time is on our side. The chance of them forcing a night battle is only two or three in ten. Things that happen at night feel different too. If the neighbors who fled can’t return home even after dark, the city guards will start making a fuss, and people of importance will lose sleep. They must be looking for an excuse to withdraw too. They might even accept a surrender now, but we mustn’t forget what they said at the start about taking no prisoners.”
She glanced sideways at Hanbun after saying that. He was listening calmly without much visible response. The other patrolmen looked uncertain whether they could be pleased yet. Harat looked from him to Rosa and asked, “But miss, why tell us all this only now? If you’d told us earlier, we’d have been less afraid.”
“No. There’s a bad side to this judgment too.”
“What is it?”
“The enemy will launch an all-out attack before today is over.”
Rosa sprang to her feet and pointed at the door.
“And that is now.”
As every eye turned to the entrance, they heard Luke shouting from the third floor.
“They’re coming!”
No one had told him to keep watch, but Luke, unable either to come down from the third floor or to fight at all, had remained there calling out the state of the battle. When footsteps could be heard inside as well, he shouted again.
“Twenty-two in front! Three siege hammers in the middle! Thirty archers behind them! In a crescent!”
Tension spread like a wave. Terry stamped a foot and shouted, “Let’s hold out!”
No one answered, but they all gripped their swords with the same resolve. As the footsteps approached, a loud boom rang out. It had to be a hammer blow. Two more followed, crash, crash. Fine cracks ran through the already half-ruined door, and its two sides spread apart. As someone twitched forward to rush out, Hanbun raised a hand to stop him. With the ice melted, the door was bound to break. There was no way to prevent it. They had already exhausted their means of defense. If they tried to counterattack now, they would only help break the door, and there was no need when they had to buy every moment possible.
Waiting was right, but it was not easy. With every hammer blow, fear, anger, and confusion passed through the patrolmen’s eyes. At last the door’s left side crumbled, and a great piece fell away. They saw the spear tips of the jostling soldiers outside. The hammer swung again. Crash!
“Ready!”
The timber at the center splintered. Three soldiers came inside at once. The first almost tripped over the ropes, but barely caught himself. When he turned right, Hanbun’s sword flashed out. The others went left, where more patrolmen waited with blades drawn. As both sides fought, two more soldiers came through. They stared in confusion at the complicated tangle of ropes. The mound of sacks obstructed both sight and judgment. Then, pushed from behind by more soldiers trying to enter, one actually stumbled and fell.
“Move!”
“There’s something in front!”
“What?”
“Ropes, or something. They’re tangled all over the floor…”
It was difficult to explain precisely what lay before the gate. The men at the rear therefore had no choice but to enter without information. The first dozen divided to either side, engaging the patrolmen in turn. When those following found the way blocked, they began leaping over the obstacles. Meanwhile, the siege hammers continued battering the door. As the leading enemies cleared the barrier and moved a little farther forward, Hanbun shouted, “Now!”
The two men standing ready unwound the rope ends from the pillars, left half a turn around each, and pulled as they ran toward the altar. The maze of ropes instantly contracted, wrapping around the legs of dozens of soldiers. Some staggered and fell, and while the rest struggled to free their feet, the door broke apart completely, revealing the archers beyond.
But they could not loose their arrows. Their own men were tangled directly in front of them, blocking their view. To aim around them, they would have to move closer to the door. The patrolmen guarding the altar began cutting down the trapped soldiers. Luke’s voice sounded again from above.
“More coming! About seventy! All infantry! Another hundred behind them! Going to the rear barricade! About fifty! Archers going back there too!”
Rosa had been right. The final assault had begun. While Hanbun’s men faced the enemies pouring through the front entrance, the roar of furious fighting rose from the barricade as well. Before long, the front door was shattered and the barricade slowly gave way. Wounded men fell one after another, but there was no time to carry them inside. Every man who could fight had to keep fighting.
The altar, where the wounded lay, was like an island risen in the middle of a battlefield. There was no longer any distinction between front and rear. Soldiers who had freed themselves from the ropes ran toward the altar, and the patrolmen who blocked them went down. Sitting behind it, Rosa pressed her lips together, then murmured quietly, “I can’t die before I’ve even entered a school.”
She had almost no strength left after tending the wounded, but stood, determined to try anything, and drew the wooden rod at her waist. It was a gift she had received when leaving home, a rod with the power to paralyze an opponent briefly. She could probably manage a few fools like Hoan.
Then a small hand reached from behind and took hers. Rosa turned to look into Nana’s eyes. The green eyes seemed to narrow for an instant. Nana spoke.
“Shall I help?”
Her clear voice made it hard to believe death was close at hand. Rosa took Nana’s hand in both of hers and stroked it once. When her eyes returned to normal, Rosa said, “Only a very little.”
Nana released her hand and stood. She parted her lips slightly, exhaled softly, and stared below the altar. That was all. Yet strange expressions spread over the faces of several men who had been grappling, splashing blood, killing and dying. It did not matter which side they were on. Soldiers and patrolmen, one, then two, stopped moving. Then someone screamed.
“Aaagh!”
Three or four soldiers ran for the way they had entered. Several others soon followed. The patrolmen remained frozen where they stood, staring into empty air. Their lips trembled, and some shook their hands. When half the soldiers had fled outside and the dozens remaining stood as if they had forgotten what they were doing, Gayar came rushing in from the barricade. His expression quickly turned bewildered.
“What?”
Hanbun walked toward him. He still held his sword, but his face was plainly disconcerted too. Almost pushing Gayar along, he went toward the back door. Only after they had stepped through the open door did a long breath escape him. Gayar gripped his shoulder and asked, “Hey, are you all right?”
“…Mm.”
Hanbun took a step back inside and looked up at the altar. He saw Nana standing with her back to him. Then Rosa took her hand and seated her on the floor again. The strange atmosphere that had gripped the hall slipped away. The patrolmen came to themselves, letting out long breaths and shaking their heads. The soldiers did the same.
“Whew… Is it gone?”
“What was that just now?”
“You too?”
“Something… Ah, what was it?”
The soldiers seemed to have lost the will to fight. Once they realized half their companions were gone, each was busy fleeing outside. Fierce fighting still continued at the opposite barricade.
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