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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBq3xSW96Bj
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07tRMcnMre
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8hIHXmnXD
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2ix8h2zpy
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmynkkScpP
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQj5zLlTjOd
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡba9sFviDIW
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6rj9S9MOQ
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!'440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8PEPuabq2
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2qJAXggNa
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAEs9T1P79
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJY0E9ZVfd
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyanEIyYEy
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWFhiF9BKy
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmitiUmo72
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbeVpi4sIO
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡids5BroQ7m
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8EQDJ8zH6
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtI9RpXRGp
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHvxadLlW7
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEAYEf6SYy
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5I35DCUL4h
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRJj1VL6E2
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohnrRHuZkA
Impact!440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0bhrg9dXUz
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhPtJjF3Ve
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUrJYBvIL8
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2Uj55SlkY
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9Vcq1Zmtm
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7KLQkMuXFD
You have killed an axeman!440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbV4l1Sw6ev
You have gained 60 Experience.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWB59qfCO6
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrh0TIMquQ
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLfHjPRpb8
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJC4KwNptQ
You have killed an axeman!440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9DSN8HDp4
You have gained 60 Experience.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUg2QxEEf8G
You have become better at Bash: 2440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLulCLugMN
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSOuQI2kW3
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45iKNC77XV
You have killed an axeman!440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0uC5AddyW
You have gained 60 Experience.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJo4ieK6p4
You have become better at Bash: 3440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hteqvxD5h
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ciKKpySeA
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMb7YmoEK6
You have killed a spearman!440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNL3GxZ0Yz5
You have gained 40 Experience.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdD3qfXuZV
You have become better at Bash: 4440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡln9onreVGz
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7xSquhYIm
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OjAMe9C1c
You have killed a spearman!440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPEpVzL1wlb
You have gained 40 Experience.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKToUYREddX
You have become better at Bash: 5440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyt1StbWIr
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsCjVAnG77
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQbR7GfQQ3
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdV4QdhEQJI
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!'440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGwY91JRri
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3Zy2f5cSm
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmMqjD0W1l
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbLjzEN1o5
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87KsvHDQg2
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRY8MGY7PO
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc7QuE1t81R
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQ9weIaFpn
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJg6AvDhpoH
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡao3zEN6CAx
'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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡInZweQjRjz
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUN3PcMAfY
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8djOhooC9e
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMtfSwZ8js
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEIWymlGER
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1ePAcTTLs
'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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSrFo59R9u
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNIAPvwHSm
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ829tuqBnHd
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7p5Q3QLP8
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8i0NmpW44D
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLg4j5v4Yw
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!440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGhmU44KDN
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoftwzfKaOC
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNxNc4tNw9
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGba0zuFxKh
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9khwJTG7f
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDDEPtCAck
'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.'440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjAM0DOTHr
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jpXeI4Zxp
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgREKDb7SVP
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWojqfxkPWY
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6rGK5rV7S
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOolvuOlf8x
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyz4HrXxKCY
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmSfHomx2V
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsXNOLavL0
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDosmTXT1C5
'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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡULm6EZpdks
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9I6AdRg8CQ
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlTCUlJMUp
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnJjGG1tw4
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFfXJ2kLYj
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouIDez0KIP
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BfByBUBif
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WTl36aViF
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.440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDvcQKH41t
440Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIlaBOq6c4
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.
