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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLX8eYURuJ
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7etg4xOk2
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNvLugvCjL
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWAFJKKcSW
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcLbgKWYhD
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ttBzSQf8Z
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvpvM6rARc
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnv6oDbSIhF
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!'392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbmr772W8N
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHzzeaFwFs
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUQ9FXuJWA
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11PU8bVmMw
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Aw4zVkRD9
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSb3AW2VPJ
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLw2hqeaiZ
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kTl0w7lLL
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaenQ5mrQFY
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6csd7ovs21
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFydGFo0xm
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KamvFZ5lC
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡja3FYQKIoy
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ650Aah9SLD
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0sFy7UhSab
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvJYjuDEk3
Impact!392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHG2RJCFtQ
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0PhcGFjES
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvulaKTPjlH
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqzFl77jXP9
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQXAoV8HKg
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IVr6rnQ9f
You have killed an axeman!392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1Ox4unP0l
You have gained 60 Experience.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfw6lhh200
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6stvNRZKFv
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcVbdNiwUS
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5c2N8FrSJN
You have killed an axeman!392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0k3klmhq6
You have gained 60 Experience.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROOipJQjT6
You have become better at Bash: 2392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsCoSzuyyA
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODytp9si3c
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdk5G9IIIP
You have killed an axeman!392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Llq6PB2cF
You have gained 60 Experience.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ076FQsD73w
You have become better at Bash: 3392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpG7L4BjpS
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUyec0Pzqzn
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRB6KFqwspH
You have killed a spearman!392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7r84Ep1sTp
You have gained 40 Experience.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczfx3H1nwk
You have become better at Bash: 4392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnt8nXi3ht
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpEoA4fHYB
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOf5yw83LxK
You have killed a spearman!392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJelrY1P1hG
You have gained 40 Experience.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdto8a1u6q
You have become better at Bash: 5392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrfZZIg2vfU
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAaKawNBbes
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJItOxorXK
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJn5GB1W63
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!'392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaDh7kIh5d
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnqoRnDMQa
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkCbNrmHP8F
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqlBGVNDpU
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCU8oHF7No
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcFmTGB2Lv
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlISAr7Ra4v
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQymaEvD06H
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsXfjoanRJ
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7irmG4wXcb
'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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRS1uARUTBF
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnNEDLD8qZ
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvUqL1x9Lg
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUszfdTQEns
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQgewu2Hgk
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckPW4RS45y
'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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46RQ8ac3IH
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTMxD8T132
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMGOodfcIU
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPffUGHvTX
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgT5xm5ixkt
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18yxtCVTj1
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!392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxYnt05mcF
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjD3Sbcex6W
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkO6pMDW2r
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WlfAk94om
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ58flAfGjiH
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikOsUoVb7R
'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.'392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDC4rrw0Hj
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNj1t6P7RwF
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VXkQcknpW
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡee0OD5C5tJ
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNeHYGyGBWz
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznpMreHnEb
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnK7yCYaGSb
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70KQSRoJMZ
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiufnG9Egf9
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtShtSxHiHh
'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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFheFigxAHY
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUDH858s1Z
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYyRzH9hfgX
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFur8RqFOO
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGN37j74c7K
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvuDdadDdcI
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq292gEPRy0
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH01ew6mePJ
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.392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGJywFSnFp
392Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXy9Uy6z9Or
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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