Everest (Part 1)

A beast. An immovable beast made of stone. Being more than 30 acres. One of the biggest mountains in the land. The mountain between Hauenber valley. Everest was its name. Peeking up to 1000 meters in height. Used as a superfortress by the Fjallheims. One of the most valuable defenses in their northern lands. A costly renovation of the insides. Made many many years ago by King Athanko. The superfortress Everest is one of three superfortresses. With its sisters located southeast of this beast. Chiseled with care, smoothened for the soldiers. Excavated for the minerals and its space. The place took 15 years to accomplish. The insides were made to fit at least 400 thousand soldiers with 125 thousand as its garrison. Hidden compartments were also made, the underground tunnel supply system was put on the last layer of the maiden beast. The place was divided up to 4 layers. The first being located just outside, protecting the mountain. The second itself is the entrance of the mountain. The third was further inside the mountain and the 4th was underground of the mountain. This was where the hidden underground tunnel supply system was laid, as well as the supply room of the place. Above the entrance of the mountain were holes that were made so that trebuchet and ballistae alike can fire upon the enemy. Scorpions were located on the first and second walls of the mountain.

An excerpt from the book 'The Stone Cold Beasts of the Southwest' by Oswald Marx

-------------------------------------------(Dec 14, 107 F.A.)

The superfortress was under siege by the orcs and trolls with their overwhelming numbers. Troops of orcs were in trenches, besieging the fortress. Behind the trenches was the camp of the orcs. Numbers of tents were present as far as the eye can see. Numbers of siege weapons and engines came through. Corpses were piling up near the wall of Everest. Still on the 1st layer of the wall, men were fighting hard. Trebuchets, Ballistae and Scorpions were firing upon the siege engines. Destroying it and killing more of the enemy. Archers were seen firing upon the enemy as well. Some hitting the enemy, some aiming their bow but getting hit in the head by an arrow and falling. Some orcs made it on the walls with ladders but they were quickly cut down as soldiers pushed them down the walls. The gate was not yet destroyed. For four months this was happening.

About ten thousand soldiers died defending the 1st layer. But more orcs have died besieging the fortress. Siege weapons from the orcs have attacked the first wall but it only ended in the top half of the wall being damaged. Still intact, engineers tried to fix up the damage done by the catapults. The garrison's own siege weapons fired upon the enemy's, destroying their equipment.

The men on the walls had a variety of ranged weapons such as crossbows and bows. Some were wearing chainmail, some wearing iron armor but most were wearing leather.

The gate of the 1st wall was made of wood and stone, but the 2nd wall's gate was made of metal and stone. Thus, making it harder to attack.

Where was Greed, the General of the army? No one knows. After the fall of fortress Jaihung and Caltuk, no soldier has seen him. Only the orcs know of his presence. But soldiers rumored that Greed was planning something big, something sinister.

The sky was filled with darkness as clouds covered the sun. Smoke appeared on the fields near the fortress as fire arrows rained down on the defenders.

As another wave of orcs and trolls came, the defenders fought them back. The orcs had an assortment of siege towers, ladders and battering rams.

The siege engines of the attackers were destroyed as ballistae and trebuchets fired. Orcs and trolls were being fired upon with arrows. Some held on and marched forward. Some ran away and retreated into the trenches. Many perished along the way. The group that held on were eventually killed by arrows and boiling water being poured on them as they made it near the wall. The morale of the attackers have been lowered by a ton because of the siege.

Meanwhile on the defenders, their morale was the same. Day and night, the enemy has been attacking them. Sleepy and tired, but they were forced to fight until they collapsed, eventually others thought they died. They also fought with the fear of Greed coming to attack them any day. Their comrades dying left and right were not helping them as well.

The ones injured were transferred inside the mountain to the 3rd layer. Many, dying due to lack of blood inside the body. Many of the injured had nightmares.

The chain command of the garrison had one garrison commander and 4 garrison captains. Each captain is a commander of one layer each. The captain of the first layer was Captain Gary 'Stonehound' Hoof. The captain of the second was Captain Jonn Muslk. The third's captain was Rodd Harr. The last one was led by Captain Fargo Hedgjin. The garrison commander was Maxwell Hiroti.

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"More incoming!!!" A soldier shouted in the chaos.

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" Another shouted, firing a bow.

"Where's the boi-" A soldier was hit in the head by an arrow and fell back.

"We need reinforcements!!" Another screamed, hiding on the wall, crossbow in hand.

"We ain't getting them!!" The man was shot in the shoulder.

"What the fuck are the trebuchets doing?!?!" One asked, firing his bow. As he said that, the trebuchets fired upon the siege engines. Out of 5 siege towers, one was left standing.

"One left!!"

But the trebuchets did not fire, nor the ballistae. The siege tower edged closer and closer, making the defenders panic.

"Shit…One's getting through!" The siege tower went through no siege tower ever accomplished.

"Soldiers! Swords Ready!!" Captain Gary ordered his men. Captain Gary was wearing a sallet helmet and studded leather armor, from his torso to his feet. On his right hand was his mace and on the other was an iron shield. He had a muscular build, he also had blond messy hair that went only up to his cheeks. He was 5'9.

The soldiers followed captain Gary's orders as they unsheathed their weapons. From swords to spears to daggers and to polearms. The soldiers readied against the coming siege tower.

As it collided with the wall, the doors of the siege tower opened wide, slamming the ground. And with it, the orcs came flowing out. The struggle was real. Men and orcs alike did everything they could to kill their enemies.

The defenders used fire arrows to light the tower on fire.

On the wall, Captain Gary was looking at the camp of the orcs, until an orc tried to attack him but he simply took a step back, making the orc miss and stumble. He then struck the orc with his mace, making the orc fall to the ground. He then kicked the orc hard enough to make him fall off the edge. Gary then went on a fighting stance. Charging with his shield and colliding it with a nearby orc. The said orc fell on the ground on the wall and he quickly killed him with his mace. Bashing him with his strength. The mace was now painted with the blood of the orc. He just sighed.

The siege tower was now burning from the amount of fire it withstood against the defenders. The remaining orcs on the walls were falling like flies. Eventually, all of the orcs that made it to the wall were killed.

It was then calm. A moment of silence after the storm. Soldiers took a deep breath. Many collapsed and rested on the walls. It was a victory, yet they were sad. No one screamed in victory, no one was happy. They were all…dead inside. Some soldiers then went down the wall, some stayed to patrol it. The dead were ignored. About a thousand of the defenders died.

Captain Gary looked down on the defenders, saddened because of their condition. He then looked at the enemy's camp. Torches began to light as it was sunset. The same thing was done for the defenders. Dozens of torches were lit. He then went down the wall.

The atmosphere of the place was gloomy. No one there was happy. They were between having a blank face or a saddened face. Some soldiers were crying, others who saw this just let them be. Two soldiers were seen carrying a dead body out of a tent.

"What happened to him?" One asked.

"Committed suicide" One of them who were carrying the dead body said. "Slit his throat."

"Oh." The person who asked said, not surprised. One person who heard the conversation then used chalk to draw a line on the side of the mountain. That was one…

…

…

Out of 500 lines that were there. The place was used as a placeholder for the numbers of soldiers that committed suicide. The thing is, the counter was made during November, hence it was not accurate.

Gary made his way to his tent. As he entered he saw his subordinate, officer Kal. He was wearing the same armor as Gary, except the helmet. He had brown hair that was tied in a man bun. He was also slender and was 5'5. He looked at Kal, then nodded.

"More than one thousand dead. The wall is still intact." Officer Kal reported bluntly. Gary sighed as he went to his bed.

"When is the army coming here?" Gary asked Kal, removing his helmet and tucking himself to bed.

"Well…" Kal gulped. "They say it will arrive in two months."

"Bullshit!" Gary shouted.

"Due to the orc army having 15 million combatants. Colonel Hetz will command the army of 8 million soldiers, but due to the army being too big, we don't have enough armor nor weapons for them. The Illnuins are going to support us with their cavalry divisions and supplies."

"Well, can't be helped with. We either wait for them or surrender, and I don't think the boys want to surrender."

Kal nodded, he then left the tent leaving Gary to his thoughts.

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It was midnight, Gary couldn't sleep. Nightmares filled his mind as he slept. He then got out of his bed with frustration. He groaned. He then exited the tent. Walking through the night. He saw that there were still many that were awake. Many were talking to their comrades to pass the time. He then got up to the wall. After that, he looked at the outside of the wall. Piles and piles of corpses. Many dead orcs, trolls and men. Some corpses were rotting as flies buzzed through. He wondered if the enemy had a heart. If they have compassion. He thought of this as some distant screeching was heard in the enemy camp.

Then he heard the 2nd layer's gate open. It was loud and metallic. As it opened, soldiers came out of it. Reinforcements. Five thousand of them. Their armor was shiny, swords, still sharp, and sanity, still intact. Many of the soldiers still awake looked at them with pity.

"Newbies"

"I feel sorry for them"

"They're late to the party"

Those were some of the murmurs they spoke. Gary went down the wall and walked to where Kal's place was.

"Which Regiment are they?" Gary asked.

"The new '333rd Garrison Regiment'" Kal replied.

"Anything I should learn 'bout em?" Gary asked again.

"…" Kal sighed. "They were a rather…weird bunch. They were one of the best in training but they are…problematic."

"Really?"

"Yes…"

Before Gary could ask another question, he heard some loud commotion in the camp. He then ran towards the source of it. He then saw a member of the 333rd regiment brawling with a member of the 102th garrison.

The 333rd member was punching the hell out of the wounded 102th garrison member. Gary then ran to intercept them.

"Oi! Oi! Stop fighting!" Gary ordered. The two then stopped fighting and the 102th member stood up. He then walked towards the two.

"What the FUCK happened here!" Gary shouted at the two.

"This sucker right here!" The 333rd member replied. "He just bumped into me and would not even respond to what I was saying!"

"All that…..for a small FUCKING PROBLEM!" Gary shouted. "What the FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

"…" The 333rd member stayed silent.

"Tsk." Gary just sighed in frustration. "Just go to your designated place."

The 333rd member obliged, visibly annoyed. The 102th member just sighed and went on his way to a tent.

"Poor Terry"

"Lost his brother and his family"

"As well as his right fingers"

"To lose it all at a young age…damn"

Whispers were heard. Terry was a black haired kid. He was short for his age, only reaching 5'4. His hair was cut up to his forehead. He was also scrawny and was wearing only chainmail. Gary just looked at Terry with pity.

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Two months ago-

Gary was overlooking his men after another attack by the orcs. He had 50 thousand at the beginning. But now it's only 34 thousand, with a weekly 5 thousand reinforcements. It was rough, day after day, losing men left and right. The enemy's attacks were relentless. Only stopping when nighttime fell and attacking again at sunrise. This would be the routine Gary and his men would follow for the rest of the siege. It was currently nighttime. The men were still hopeful. The gravely wounded were put inside the fortress.

Gary heard some chattering at the supply area. That chatter then turned into an argument. He decided to investigate it. As he reached the place, he saw two people arguing. One was a teenage kid with blond hair and a middle aged man with light brown hair who was the officer in charge of the logistics of the first layer.

"Are you dumb?!" the officer screamed then sighed in annoyance. "I'm transporting you to the 51st G.R."

"…" Terry was sweating as he was holding a crate filled with supplies. His fingers on the right side was amputated due to an injury that could've killed him. The right palm was bandaged.

"Drop the crate…You're only going to slow things down." The officer rubbed his temples. Terry complied, dropping the crate carefully on the ground.

"Now what's going on here?" Gary chimed in front of the two. Thankfully there was no crowd.

"S-Sir!" The officer saluted with his right hand and stood up straight. Terry followed.

"I don't need a greeting. I need an answer." Gary informed them bluntly.

"Terry here is being transported to the 51st G.R. Due to his right hand being amputated, that will hinder his and this company's daily quota." The officer reported.

"I'll talk to him first." Gary said to the officer. Gary then gestured to Terry to come with him. The two then went to an empty nearby tent.

"So, what's your name again?" Gary asked.

"…" Terry looked down, not answering.

"Kid…I need an answer" Gary answered to Terry's silence.

"…" Terry did not answer again.

"Fine then, I guess you'll be going to the 51st regiment." Gary said. As he was about to leave, Terry mumbled something.

"I'm not good at fighting. Sir." He mumbled. Gary heard this.

"Why did you answer that but not my question earlier?" He asked as he turned to him.

"…I have anxiety sir…" Terry mumbled, he swayed left and right due to his nervousness.

"Well you have to work that out with yourself 'cause it won't help you with arguments kid." Gary replied.

"It's Terry sir."

"Ok Terry. Tell me, do you want to go to the 51st regiment? " He asked.

"No sir…"

"And why is that?"

"I'm….I'm not good at fighting…that's why I joined the supply company sir…" Terry explained.

"Why do you want to stay at the logistics company though? To be safe?"

"No…I just want to be useful sir…I'm not good at beating someone up….I don't want to kill….But I just want to be useful for once in my life…"

"…" Gary was silent, he did not expect that answer. For a whole minute he was silent. "Well then, I'll talk to the officer about this."

"Thank you…I'll do my best to help the soldiers." Terry sniffled as he looked at Gary, smiling genuinely.

"I expect that you will exceed my expectations." Gary gave him a smile before leaving the tent.