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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJmiHdUVGw
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOPj6vIHLDb
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVugCevCwB
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nQXR6hajv
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVL0my3cBx
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxXxAzktng
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeIV8Q7bK8
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5CEeFfA6w
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!'431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3IOwvBUmO
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2ftAu0pix
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaGgabXFvk
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjywi9GjJa
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYR8c1MKnJW
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHje8r4Qqqr
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmj2u1iZXu3
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZtqQHwssN
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJsMyxzrWK
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CPb1ih7Gu
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiotuvnGUwR
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJp6y4O2OC
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNzyo4k5iG
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNN6mfmTcAy
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gtNsx5cJg
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSKidxV0G3
Impact!431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyINK80hZKO
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rOxIuAeP5
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDcGNGER2y
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUy5GzbmHr
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBSGntiCvI
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGOhtFXpGd
You have killed an axeman!431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCROVpr3eo
You have gained 60 Experience.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxrbjYw9rJ
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ864XKAsfiu
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTBBwcuri6
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGh9fjugjpt
You have killed an axeman!431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo69mHX1zpB
You have gained 60 Experience.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDFKIq2BpE
You have become better at Bash: 2431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VGKZ110c1
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCZVyZ18ME
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQHPnbBiUm
You have killed an axeman!431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPenpTDKYk
You have gained 60 Experience.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOX3YGIyrev
You have become better at Bash: 3431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9YqQKDPfSQ
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaEo640kAUs
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpeWTRlJPmP
You have killed a spearman!431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVifoPS1t1
You have gained 40 Experience.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRKcMR0iMqD
You have become better at Bash: 4431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6uTmhopv3
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJ0WzFAuaF
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsVLYpnJRz
You have killed a spearman!431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PeNwnA0ww
You have gained 40 Experience.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6YlNreY9bp
You have become better at Bash: 5431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFHjHZZyRX
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGwqEpfeZu
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aPWdlVJKK
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQx5jLXJouz
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!'431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJspdawb7mO
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZl7vtZdIIJ
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2R67wjQDQ8
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU5cXpm1oMV
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCZBPoaiRD
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VAxfdVpcE
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTvMVI8Xib
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe1KqCJnw1d
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1275gXQf6z
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdkf07ugK2
'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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6inOFp4jL
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEqfK0a8A4
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTC5Sq4wk1f
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWjK4K8rOM
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzoQKQNzpV
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPXuTknmnK
'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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMHnaib0gH
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOJilrIW6T
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdya20pAgNm
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8SI0gQf1c
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWte6wh7fB
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZGgVzBQ8Q
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!431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ID13AktZm
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NU8QA8lR3
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xznTWR4Wm
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs281kGBOgx
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOiGwXHQRD
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2XotEp0Hv
'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.'431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKRWqsIUuf
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcol3y8lNuP
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPQWoMwWHP
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6vX4pT2RCi
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4bxL8UbLs
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyi25UF3Dn7
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnhctW35IH
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1eEM085Vp
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunkvEs8iw2
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUQN4kWgBM
'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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEZ9FCf1t0
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTbXWNrUe3
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB57X6e2QHt
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZU9TJYs9AT
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vgJsS6MLU
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZhuZrFbXV
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HobE4NvWA
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0jmSDorJl
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.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OAeUtHG9D
431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡioj5rEF0lc
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.
