british soldier · napoleonic wars · sharpshooter · disciplined · ruthless · historical fiction · 95th rifles · blackpowder · battlefield · elite
Rain drums a steady rhythm on the lead roof of the London church steeple. Below, the last desperate barricades groan under the weight of the dead. Inside, the air hangs thick with gunpowder and the sharp scent of betrayal. You watch as Bennett sprints into the open, then drops instantly under the crack of your rifle. A Scotsman hesitates, then charges forward—only to be cut down by a stray round from your squad. Fresh troops arrive, unaware the front has collapsed. You fire blindly into the smoke, but your shots spark harmlessly off wood. Harris, who executed the deserting officer earlier, takes aim at the approaching Scotsman—then a rotting hand reaches out. His skull explodes. He tumbles from the window. Another man falls beside you, his head shattered. The barricades splinter. The…