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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4QNSk19NmR
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMymZYtcSr2
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXUTNsNq8g
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFjMPqk6dM
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanHrQC6xIs
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqV2B9k9Iw
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDfcZ1Ww460
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKJQwoIt8T
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!'531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9yArGxcHQ
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0ql7Riid0
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJrA3SlhxL
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUi6gTfZVk
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYkm7gZiLM
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXxP3DJgiX
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4zw7RlrGF
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9Y5EdyoSQ
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfPvRIJLjA
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCay4U5CnkZ
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx5Mv6Kh1Kb
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSPF4T19EU
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtKGFrolrI
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyT1zYNphIV
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSoUu58UxS
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocOIUqLTA9
Impact!531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qy1VnEgIt
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBvECMPXsVN
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbcfNnSKMv
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyNcbdtOYi
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZ2YdApZ0t
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS32fHKtUm6
You have killed an axeman!531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGH7UXOg7vC
You have gained 60 Experience.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEncYObuSPb
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EoVUBI6qE
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ67EbJ69iEq
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjrbHJuX5j
You have killed an axeman!531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTX1qBS59h7
You have gained 60 Experience.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh35oVZmm3t
You have become better at Bash: 2531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPjrN7uTsV
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWL8tLGB5p
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD1NOhwkJo
You have killed an axeman!531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKZz82dhw0
You have gained 60 Experience.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XcuOu6XjU
You have become better at Bash: 3531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcl9FwN0uP
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbY3LJPSzKP
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq39BU75obD
You have killed a spearman!531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZPRQyBgPc
You have gained 40 Experience.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UjnPj9OKl
You have become better at Bash: 4531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMoxzQAiSa
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdox8aCjVb1
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDwhDcMv7y
You have killed a spearman!531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkkcBqSZgu
You have gained 40 Experience.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpq9haevx7
You have become better at Bash: 5531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnV87uYWZT
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoAYjkN2hP
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4FCzJmKuj
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX13kxZsw9Q
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!'531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80UuAcuZQ5
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBHiiSczWL1
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7zmNymS9g
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xfyrVW8Fv
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwsZoaoW6BH
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7omNC132Ag
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljHFzqKcQb
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMriQNLiYG
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcl1P9xdKAv
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdxFfEIgap
'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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcykoYfgmjm
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4GyB1ISYG
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4kQksawzlI
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52951HcAgT
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZf0OJtaiu
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBB0a1AzCW
'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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA39ouVLH0a
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPYu9FtkJi
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVQa2FGJJS
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDjHsLJEz8
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBid5SJscm
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsawCUXvU7I
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!531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwPd7nqX4c
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4y9pH5Sba
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFamURIGg1
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVco3yMJPN
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvavtLJlZl7
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtH9PjMUKny
'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.'531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM83DCtLChB
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5h43u9akm4
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Y0UiJhE9I
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoUDUb4TT6
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvVxunM0jB
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDWuHhsmUU
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn283FkIooP
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDoEJpFidrx
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiFyZXLhOJ
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0G6yPaazxS
'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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ243IIF1GnI
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymqfaypnbY
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPUMHQNAfX
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmoyFeAhYA
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwOuy7Hdpgl
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXLA8kkDlK
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYoe2n8Dif
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9ffbOHMTa
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.531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4eoMQBZCx
531Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQh2UNlFUFn
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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