"Christopher Rowley - Bazil 07 - Dragon Ultimate" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rowley Christopher)

mortals "

"We must make some provision, " said Yeer "For he will come "


Chapter One

The bells of the Temple in Marneri rang out with wild exhilaration.
Drums thundered in Tower Street and crowds stretched all the way down
to the harbor, where the great white ships Barley and Oat rode at anchor,
flying flags at every mast. Their ships' horns blared out a response to the
bells of the land, adding to the riotous joy.

The siege of Axoxo was over. The enemy fortress, that matchless barrier
of serried walls, mighty towers, and frowning battlements, had fallen. By a
brilliant stroke of arms, the most difficult military engagement ever
undertaken by the armies of the Empire of the Rose had come to a sudden
and complete success.

As a result, the strategic balance of power with the old enemy in
Padmasa had shifted toward the Empire of the Rose. Victory in the long
war, which had continued for hundreds of years, was now conceivable.
Armies of the Argonath cities now held both ends of the Padmasan
defense system: Tummuz Orgmeen in the northern Gan had fallen a few
years before. Now Axoxo of the White Bones Mountains had succumbed
as well.

All over the Argonath bells were ringing as the troops came marching
home. The crowds along Tower Street had come from all across Marneri,
and even from the other city-states. Together they cheered the men of the
Marneri First Legion, the Bea Legion and the Pennar Legion, who had
fought alongside the Marneri First in the final assault on the fortress.

There was a manic edge to the joy in the streets. Just a few months
before the city had been facing the possibility of a siege at the hands of
rebels from the province of Aubinas. Now not only was that threat
removed, but the long, draining siege of Axoxo had ended.

Marneri and the other cities had suffered heavy casualties in recent
campaigns, particularly the mission to distant Eigo. That cost in lives had
a disastrous effect on morale, and the fear of further casualties had
inhibited the Argonath army at Axoxo. Now, that mighty fortress was
taken, and with the loss of only 130 men and no dragons.

The stunning victory was achieved through a daring surprise assault,
performed by meticulously trained troops in the hour before dawn. They
had breached the walls and caught the troll guard asleep in quarters.

Trolls that were lying down, groggy with sleep, proved quite killable by
men working with spears and axes. They cut the monsters' throats and