From out of a haze of dust, at the point where the descending valley turned rightwards, out of view, came the first ranks of enemy soldiers, chainmail clad axemen, leaning their weapons against their shoulders. They had a slow, steady pace, set by the beating of the distant drums. The effect was ominous and I felt my stomach tighten. Behind them came a large body of lightly-armed spearmen, the silver points of their upright weapons flickering in the sunlight.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡne0LPvqBMY
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELzxz7eJew
Then came their light cavalry, thirty of them, taking a long while to file into view; next the ten heavy cavalry. Their archers were not yet in sight, nor the drummers, nor their commanders or the Shaman, yet the axemen were coming straight on to the bridge without pausing. Whether it was complacency or stupidity, they were going about this all wrong.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEjCyPNi8m
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Agzov1bnj
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPmIbz90EN
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsnyHW4Vkq
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqs5ABfcar
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lTGu8ZfOJ
I laughed. 'I can do better than that. Follow me. Open the gate!' I shouted. Then I took the potion bottle, uncorked it and gulped down the contents. 'Rhino!'448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4mhdzus30
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqE5k0r7Owd
For once my great bulk was valuable, I felt it stretch and stiffen as I fell forward onto all fours. Probably I was not a full adult rhino, but the weight and sharpness of the horn in front of my eyes was up to the job at hand.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvaqoEvtTc
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlpSWn7V11
I set off, a lumber at first that was a trot, once through the gate I stepped up to a canter and finally hit my stride at a gallop. Being a rhino was intense. Although my vision was blurry, I could smell the sweat of my enemies and heard the loud thuds of their marching steps on the wooden bridge.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVkzg02cEX
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeKGWHWl7W
Fifty yards and their shouts of alarm rang through the air. The axemen needed the spears in front of them, grounded. But my calculation was that we would get there first. It was intuition and it was the kind of decision that you make in an instant and have to commit to.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7D2OihhtBU
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZirOzsjb3
Forty yards and I was throwing mud up from my hooves as I urged my heavy body to its upmost. This was living! No longer trapped in a body that couldn't walk up ten steps without having to pause for a rest, I was a raging storm; an unstoppable torrent; a tsunami about to crash on the shore. And I loved it.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBYKTN3N0Q
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAbVYa1E19
Thirty yards, some of the axemen were trying to run back through the spearman, who were massed too tight on the bridge to bring their weapons to bear.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglRhVWZsXM
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYTpQd8p63
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyg00h2FG1
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSdjw3Acbd
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDn7GxY45g
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvlKcZ0m2m
Impact!448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQLiGG4CU3
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrQj2rS1be
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJAVUcXteHi
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOmBRGMxjC
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgaACS23k7
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwbKIkdqQH
You have killed an axeman!448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjjA5FyG2Z
You have gained 60 Experience.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3v0aEXyxh1
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOorPei18iQ
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmhlF9Xa7E
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCV1VUzkxW
You have killed an axeman!448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WHhglTl6S
You have gained 60 Experience.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0s5ofhPbUg
You have become better at Bash: 2448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwerhTmEyl
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oylOLJMFn
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoXcRRzdVG
You have killed an axeman!448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF0cc7N4QCo
You have gained 60 Experience.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOVKKnDnrL
You have become better at Bash: 3448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKiDz7fdEy
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyNAMLtEFA
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ824ioOBinf
You have killed a spearman!448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwD3I9gsryD
You have gained 40 Experience.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRe1zOtDuv2
You have become better at Bash: 4448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4eQB8mNiC
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiExwqE3C72
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEm5USa03Ax
You have killed a spearman!448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdXTo3juzc
You have gained 40 Experience.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSdNNhtpe3
You have become better at Bash: 5448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwNRwYh6Sl
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAZv44s00L
The notifications flew by and I ignored them as I pushed on, crushing soldiers under my hooves, impaling them and throwing their dead bodies to the side. Several axe blows struck home on my front shoulders, flanks and chest but twice I experienced the sweetness and glow of a level increase, each time completely healing my wounds.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2hTowaW0t
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPE3G5J0BV
Screams of wounded and panicked men rang out all around. But through the cries, I could hear a voice like a howling wolf, it was Lord Arval, screaming, 'come on! Come on! For Greyland!'448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZucqoVS97
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHQYGQhQGW
The crush on the bridge was intense, which favoured our side. While their axes and spears could not be brought into play, I could still smash my powerful head into faces ahead and either side, as well as break legs with stamps and kicks of my feet. Our horsemen, too, were nearly immobile, but they could still cut down with sword or stab with lance.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzMEEPB3LO
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzGmoIZiRZ
Step by step, we pushed on, nearly clearing the bridge. My only concern now was the timing of the potion. How long had it been since I drank it? Surely only a few minutes, despite the massive carnage we'd inflicted on their army.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0PzqEaCDf
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1ovsa5c7b
Then, with a sudden release, we were through, the remnants of the unit of spearmen running back down the narrow path in panic, which instantly disrupted the formation incoming light cavalry. Did I have time to keep going into them? I had to try.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6XP8i041h
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8udBRW6kot
The fact that I'd levelled up twice meant I experienced no fatigue and a quick check told me my hit points were at 32. Filled with confidence and energy, I used the room ahead of me to build up momentum again.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTozGs4wjE
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrdUzJ7fMI
'Follow the king! For Carlos!' Behind me, Lord Arval was still going strong it seemed and the answering roar of our soldiers had a clear note of triumph. Again, I could smell the fear of men and horses even before I crashed among them, showing no mercy to the animals whom I gutted and whose delicate legs I crushed.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2J0466MlKy
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡue0Oi7zX8N
Far louder than the cries of men and the clash of metal on metal were the high-pitched equine screams of injured horses. Unlike the heavy destriers behind me, these horses had not been trained for the press of the melee and they were frightened, some of them rearing up and throwing their riders to the ground. Even so, one or two lances managed to stab down and cut through my thick hide. My hit points dropped quickly from 32 to 19 following a third hit. But then I levelled up again, soaring up to 40 hit points.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw4P6zJGmcB
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJvdYqH7Zk
Their light cavalry unit was in full retreat. I was just preparing to launch myself again, with the intention of smashing right through the heavy cavalry and into their archers when I found myself staggering, once more in human form, completely without armour. Fortunately, there was no immediate threat.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMxrgRCoiy
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbmXD2HwGo
'Get back sire!' Lord Arval urged his mount past me and ceased his own charge, guarding me by interposing his large destrier between me and the enemy. Our four other knights did the same. Either side of our little defensive knot, our light cavalry came past, cheering that they were scattering their foes. Even so, the tide of the battle was turning. The ten enemy heavy cavalry were drawn across the road and were not budging, even for their own fleeing infantry and light horsemen, some of whom risked going over the broken terrain of the rising hillside, others trying to squeeze past on the river bank, falling in as often as escaping.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxMzUaZXun
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVIHqpS7xw
Beyond the line of horsemen, their officers must have gotten some order among the archers because arrows flited overhead with increasing frequency, some struck striking the plates of Lord Arval and his armoured horse.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Vqc16BhJq
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedHWDs1GAg
Our problem was that we couldn't easily reach their archers. Our light cavalry lunged ineffectually at the enemy knights but couldn't break their ranks. There was room for our archers on the other side of the river, but if I ordered them to go there, we would be outnumbered and lose in the exchanges with enemy fire. The ballista was far too slow to bring up. This could really hurt us. Our riders and horses were beginning to suffer.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡonut1WI2Uq
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmY4OuKVw4
Another rousing cheer from behind me. It was the arrival of our twelve heavy infantry and a large body of light infantry with Carlena at their head. There were a good mix of spears, axes and swords among them. This was exactly what we needed!448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZuntHeS8v
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE2WmDfcFc7
There was a fierce look on Carlena's face as she ran past me, pausing to raise her hands and then, with a flash, half a dozen fire darts splashed onto an enemy horse. The animal collapsed. Cheered by the success of this magic our newly arrived soldiers ran past and also cut and struck at the horses in front of them. We were winning again, a huge press of our soldiers climbing over the dead animals and past enemy knights who were still fighting, so as to get among the archers.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pl4Oak7wR
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyCa3iKgTx
I felt that we were on the brink of victory, when cries of consternation from our men made my heart sink. The very land was working against them: bushes and grasses reaching out to entwine their feet and immobilise everyone. The enemy archers, on the cusp of routing, took heart and through the chaos, I could hear an officer of theirs urging them to hold and fire at the immobilised targets.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAwQWrKt8z
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqMnyoV5TG
'There,' screamed Carlena, pointing to a man in a bearskin, whose sabre-tooth tiger pet was walking in a circle around him, protecting him while he cast spells. It was their shaman, who had climbed up the hillside and come close enough to cast what to me seemed like an Entangle-type spell. 'He's out of my range.'448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBz5SQL6JqD
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bC2vfuGCR
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CoTQkGwwl
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZSoHxmjcB
Carlena ran towards the enemy spell caster and I admired her, because that tiger was fierce looking. The enemy Shaman had spotted her run too, and was clearly aiming a spell at her, his arms gesturing swiftly.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchvMhBYI0V
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvg7xI8sVJ
Caster battles could be short and violent. I found myself clenching my fists anxiously as I watched, oblivious to arrows and screams and the movement of the people around me. Was Carlena going to be taken out by a powerful spell? It would be a disaster for us if this went wrong.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzYPWfO6Uj
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8B6xDndvr
Then the Shaman was down and behind him was the chancellor. Parrin had backstabbed their caster and taken him out! Our men were free again, the enchantment of the plants dissolving with the death of its creator.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRt2CXucFe
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtl5IcjOom
'On, on! We have them!' Lord Arval set off again, the other four knights moving with him. It left me unprotected, but it was right. Even though a few enemy archers saw me as their target and I did get hit twice, we had them. Archers were no match for heavy cavalry and they knew it. Soon bows were abandoned as most of their army fled for their lives, while dozens of men huddled in groups, hands in the air, trying to surrender.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgfshdAVR0
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRnL9Ogfyf
Up on the slope, our elderly scout was being savaged by the dead Shaman's pet sabre-toothed tiger and was clearly wounded. Carlena, however, had not stopped running and was in range for a spell.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw6G9N0Hn00
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOlgur4Rvx
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlYiJKXQzv
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQm2AacfSh
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfbqer6uF7
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTM549vptp
It took several hits, but Carlena had enough mana for a second Freeze and was able to keep the animal locked in place while the arrows thudded home.448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXh049nXei
448Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuS2CRxyhiq
All at once, it was relatively quiet. Yes, there were still groans and the clank of weapons and armour but the sounds of fighting were in the distance now, down the road. All around me Greyland soldiers were smiling and laughing. Some looked at me with frank delight, as if in this moment rank did not matter, that we had shared an experience that transcended the barrier between king and foot soldier. And we had. This was a victory to savour.
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