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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3yO9UTwg6
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzgfenPmY5
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6PJ6VFIhc
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXT2RSLFGv
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCbls1XNoyh
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfb34K3u9lO
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKqVUNoFoE
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9D93xEwqO
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!'543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9apuFOANn
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJ1huqgXtb
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgAKC3dC8j
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXms5OmdXT
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFduP5tn1ld
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAefrPGZM4E
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJflPtrjM8
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzjRv2x2wp
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqmxtE3Rle
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhxij0aHLh
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULePskzpgy
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡweljDhVSGW
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡff6nlBV5Y6
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLm5DizCY1i
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwe10UwdUG
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAU8wTMGl1
Impact!543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5E8EhFo8yD
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwa4INlyK0r
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFwtKbI72z
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbm9FIaR6mv
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6lojZMTRY
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyHtrnEFb9h
You have killed an axeman!543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPE5xYjP8Xg
You have gained 60 Experience.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPR4IipEn0Z
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZeKD5Cq7F
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8l1cV979vp
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEPQvCZNqg
You have killed an axeman!543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr11f4g7BDO
You have gained 60 Experience.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUl7bmXyqcU
You have become better at Bash: 2543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFAfOuhhQk
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELia7Ii1IO
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCgtsrlNcv
You have killed an axeman!543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvoeHdh3Lt
You have gained 60 Experience.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTymyAzHCip
You have become better at Bash: 3543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VuLrXkUlU
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarcnIH7UX3
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJuUlA7P9oU
You have killed a spearman!543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMRt5JoWN7h
You have gained 40 Experience.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowNyUum8ys
You have become better at Bash: 4543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2L6GQXZziQ
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5nIw2Dz3X
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6vFlTtar8
You have killed a spearman!543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6NpxVOWA0
You have gained 40 Experience.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBXFt2bJH4T
You have become better at Bash: 5543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvq3aT6DQEK
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbexjCwUK8
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkylz7UIMpn
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNil5lPWAt
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!'543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiv9TRpeSUt
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoxEdnQPm7
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRLnGggG7A
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ082S3M8cdq
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1732Dr5JqU
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs67VNGyybl
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysPSh81Nyo
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBg31vUKdTt
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7Sjx1Lw3j
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe90k69QM46
'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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcQHPT9PXt
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgav17oYeR
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGqYM5ST5QX
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQPp0wGIBc
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeCTZkvS10
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8imraBihzN
'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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4wjh8O25h
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwb85ab0rMY
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYQGQL2nHB
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpAXEzpdQ7
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7tYJ4i3Ds
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERQw9uApRr
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!543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwq5f3OflOk
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDI2zOPMUvP
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Nm2barKht
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GKiV8LbOs
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgUEOR203w
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSqCDPFWZy
'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.'543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWFDWJqRag
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwY1qgDfKzB
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTENTX6mXJ
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdozTC7nQL
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0RH6M6okY
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmE3Y3IKdxD
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCt3jKWuak0
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kzIv9QNMH
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4JMp0KdYp
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01KsSIC97o
'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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qEm66otRe
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdfMyVOkhV
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1bStyamn5
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77se4Cah5j
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqubn7eMZP
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYOkOCElVZ
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgt4BVCFWW
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSzcqJVcLw
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.543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNytNAaZBvM
543Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyZ8eS5lP5
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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