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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zEz4S0W8j
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3v4DPSUCs
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMWyFfcJ0B
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggRLXVnDrJ
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OzOYk0vBu
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc6ria4lSJI
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeb3eHYOLz
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdE9c1WoVvF
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!'447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6nuoFqJRI
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0KMVarCGF
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsRk2xrbm2S
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aS4F2Kktm
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHoyC5CKsv
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWhGkqvN3d
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6rqXf5Uyt
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCGMykMAkK
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHsWmibJu8
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4P3GZmn3W
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pEeP0ILzL
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3B3y6czkt0
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1P99T7P3LT
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHatwtCw7k
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RV2Vn9EFW
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8D2BIpuJS
Impact!447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPs2iOeyOhr
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRgjKRSLj6
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNirlmpU4C6
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEppkYmTjKN
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJMMMiWJyf
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdL1QEFieLB
You have killed an axeman!447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MNifSsROW
You have gained 60 Experience.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZho4QnEDR
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJR86Jla4Ra
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0cGoiwIai
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6Aua9B5eU
You have killed an axeman!447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83BqQBxcfy
You have gained 60 Experience.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡro5rFA5VkW
You have become better at Bash: 2447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9msGslnIz
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm43x2dcmm4
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBFjEIyeJX
You have killed an axeman!447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpQV5GmU8J
You have gained 60 Experience.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRTlITsEtY
You have become better at Bash: 3447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VU9W70zky
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoTOhdK2Qd
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMPGbnUXcG
You have killed a spearman!447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzoQT2uwXN
You have gained 40 Experience.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaT4yN0tfl
You have become better at Bash: 4447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMee20KF8m
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKR92FTaPv
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PGv73IWfX
You have killed a spearman!447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqzXjxsgRX
You have gained 40 Experience.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVn1QCGjKY
You have become better at Bash: 5447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrhbS6ydAC
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMteUYdTZ8h
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbfPSRsuhK
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwzBnJzwrR
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!'447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0ZU8KJAqM
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRejOFLOHx
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl11XfHXIPe
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3lN34Bi0s
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nX590nkdd
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpSZCOwOnI
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfuavCSRQ0b
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHs547Q4oaZ
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEIQSC3QXk
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDthhQmPRN
'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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuS83z0RPBF
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvXSyWaYdVt
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZSkIFl7ST
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0V01HTkG9B
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaG5ktqWhLX
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgr9NSMNTw
'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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9SjUpMwS6h
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDoDanPZNSm
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqhYZLdhV3
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8piUEWPv3
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PlgVvl48t
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvlKvjRidcS
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!447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcWL48egmD
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ479K7mkupv
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qWTZO4LZn
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3dOHsJp3o
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPw13OIgQf
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgElXx24iX
'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.'447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJtBx3mp4CH
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK7IqfiwODj
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwnehLH0Wz
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwK5TbnGvRD
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGl8hJjJqSh
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplXqKy9OqB
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXODmCrCkm
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyTuUJjWwn
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7HLpFORusx
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpywvAzV3W
'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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡseTpnXXHLf
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6ZjgM3ycS
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhkpjLwIcz
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fr2ERbGlf
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfAqTM9mGd
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSvPG1YR4oA
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ17F5b15M6w
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7jrdtmtiCr
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.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3G5uNBuRH1
447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHJgsCOMyL
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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