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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoM8W0icQ6v
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjzCGkBWYQ
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4DinGkWux
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCdDOjeeVw
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWGusCC99EO
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPrHIE58gj
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAN86fOJb4
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixMyfes6d7
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!'421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcqvdRUj8P
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18gFUO1awr
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wNAdDE05q
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbGzb0tFMP
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3xaBXUIbZ
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3YYJID5rN
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDNfT5mH5f
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcjMKB4Ay0
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzarVH2LKkn
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWs1WNl1XNn
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU3zHoaDjEk
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRFDKe9B4W
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6nP56khte
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIvvf7mRYt
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqKEKWyJYB
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqQPL2Lr4B
Impact!421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡneddCqBMMl
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD8QWFLKs6
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISNDkKJxJL
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHM27hjSrAt
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yB9K7E1le
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvsoP1oV1U
You have killed an axeman!421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMIqItTqyM
You have gained 60 Experience.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPPzvZLLlJ
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiknjU4GVsF
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡksdTDN80Rk
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6acZGypcM
You have killed an axeman!421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNbdoHqErd
You have gained 60 Experience.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYrEUUrA2Q
You have become better at Bash: 2421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfLGsmk22E4
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAy3Eu1CpI
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH7s3LJjShf
You have killed an axeman!421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKjsytluvC
You have gained 60 Experience.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9W7bjzxzF
You have become better at Bash: 3421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPb70w73Ob7
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdn52HEDlHV
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡht4tPJP90N
You have killed a spearman!421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3ThU98NXu
You have gained 40 Experience.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1v8XA9dZDN
You have become better at Bash: 4421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbwZWCL6t3
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NNmfTN2sb
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfzlwZ0fZc
You have killed a spearman!421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oJvjkhmWc
You have gained 40 Experience.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzAJgTG20s
You have become better at Bash: 5421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30uXnJLlCX
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6JzFfDebI
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSANtcMDwV5
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFhaG6Tdlo
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!'421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8HGzjyZsb
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hiNzntFao
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpHzFGeaXR4
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VNp5eRN6w
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dHq5lP0Ms
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRs2RFFFRZz
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1QtyPGqaR
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgk4V5WzUEJ
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5yXI4wIDJ
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHXtHg0TbB
'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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMszm5gUeI
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcTtiaeiuQ
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVmIK5tBUZ
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKo5yI1lyR
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQExAVbWBlc
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWiq2p2RnV
'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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRX62R6TkB1
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8UX5AzDjL
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3FyCfoDcaa
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73IuHDgDL3
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2Mn7Jcn7P
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHccF1gGR9
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!421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr1Rg6RLKJx
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWnSDGofM1
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoR8buuhuJ7
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFXvMoUc1Y
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43iB6BGFCR
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSSJG77cjd
'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.'421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNlvym6aNg
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrw4qRjTQu
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtB4qXBaOye
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbco112jmwC
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEDVKiBron
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhxFYXNsCL
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbRisb3cCz
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBGBQ5OsgtW
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZ0K3I1wzl
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKILEbODHK
'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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSds2mAzIZJ
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkvRSF1uO2
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgjiXoaSfD
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCUXdaePNC
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDPM3rsZeh
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcD95UZlZQj
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkH4Xz58Mhj
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxK1bl16Hgq
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.421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPqR9bo0ED
421Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuNlnPnOYh
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.
