Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 228: Starting from the base

A young child leaned over the edge of the old stone well, arms stretched down to grip the coarse, frayed rope attached to a wooden bucket. With a determined furrow in his brow, he gave a strong tug, starting the slow pull of the bucket up from the deep, cool darkness below.@@novelbin@@

The bucket swayed and sloshed as he drew it closer, spilling droplets of water that caught the early morning light. Finally, with one last pull, he lifted it over the rim, carefully balancing it on the edge of the well. The child's fingers trembled slightly as he lifted the bucket, tiny trails of water spilling onto the dusty ground and dampening his bare feet,as he tried to drip the water into his bucket.

A sharp shout came from the boy's right, slicing through the calm morning. He turned, wide-eyed, to see a woman sprinting down the road, her face pale and panicked. "Bandits! Bandits!" she cried, her voice rising in terror. In moments, others burst from their homes, clutching children and old people, as they starting moving toward the village's head house, their footsteps a thunderous rumble on the dusty road.

The boy stood frozen for a heartbeat, the heavy bucket slipping from his hands and splashing onto the ground as it tipped, water soaking into the dirt at his feet. Then, his pulse pounding, he turned and began running alongside the others, his small legs pumping as he raced toward the village center, his heart racing with the same frantic beat as the shouts filling the air.

A steady, thunderous pounding filled the air, like distant drums growing closer with every heartbeat. The boy's ears rang with the rhythm, and he turned, his eyes widening as a sea of horses surged into the village. Leather and iron-clad men rode high upon them, their weapons glinting under the morning sun. Terror seized him, and he spun, legs churning as he ran with all his might.