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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJV6cShhljL
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBKtdOsQnU
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgRRxhX3fi
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8pDDKWRac
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4QXmO3crr
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbzX4aKalU
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuztWCYWeAI
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNpWfPdSgU
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!'489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzMkdWLh3C
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6ko4qcFnS
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGs5sx2VHKI
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cBfvT6N9L
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9oMz6FURL
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGNTJvlXdu
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleQCSxGrG0
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXYe2egLxw
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hisF6yEVH
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbaBH4cSM0
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnn75XbaNn
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqO7PZrtWUI
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡss0PeuKm53
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0QoFWgdr9
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyLo7Gdd82
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kUGEgtrHh
Impact!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzOJ6rmBoD
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yRXavnIrY
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhn72xFAjJd
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUtWTldbPf
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhDRs9HXJ7
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgcO8vNhVK
You have killed an axeman!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SV5QpZpP7
You have gained 60 Experience.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVYMUvIfTf
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0ABvVgVQa
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUwT6nEDkf
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvYAv5RJA9
You have killed an axeman!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kkliK7ksg
You have gained 60 Experience.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGng0sEUn8
You have become better at Bash: 2489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdej4EAx9z
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8fUcUIFBE
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECfFcGefuZ
You have killed an axeman!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡna13SgMUz0
You have gained 60 Experience.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOOF1AlRoT
You have become better at Bash: 3489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQX9T1fet4j
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcVht5qfv9H
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXvC2L2s9b
You have killed a spearman!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAF3lLgHEGl
You have gained 40 Experience.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dWXfxAY71
You have become better at Bash: 4489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZmt7sFroA
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ76bjUMS7Hn
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0gboS8sVE
You have killed a spearman!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0vClSANv8
You have gained 40 Experience.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSSu6hArwN
You have become better at Bash: 5489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1NTZSXKCQ
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCUzH8Uee4
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAJUDyWs6d
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPgjnrFIVY
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!'489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrI3XqvBFIw
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBn0ha8GK8
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqf1ne3Nsaa
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzjOIMdxHqo
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4XrdCZaD0U
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEr3OGe06NN
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eapDYEPnL
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBrBpShpKb
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDoa4PPe70q
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OySahJTJl
'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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dfS4x2wwN
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztvNgcdIEq
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4m5nMJHCyq
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfL7vAyXoh
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaKH8J4J15
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEPON5vC8R
'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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1zQDN28cm
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEpqoHX99t
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUMTgbOs6P
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4XWg0SOSs
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUJdCSTj6p
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJSsl33Dwk
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!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoviyckyX2
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsg7lq2q3bj
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrEMKIUBSE
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Id4LPlQia
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FDRVZYEO2
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0bOrlokr8L
'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.'489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPeEjeg9Ur
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSon3K9gBTC
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbbEMsrOQB
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUsaDEtM18x
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJ6SzBnpb8
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPthAvO9VQ
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5Ks8f7tjg
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ivpK7i2oL
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKFfussY2h
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiAnpvF4gN
'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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniLtz6nMAS
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxXEZp5dJ5
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0hCZOotWH
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZBRGMnTKc
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ64ciP8Qqr
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatQdoE7ZMs
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxcajj85zx
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXy7AEZVAh
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KfZYgbV3F
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIVtBuSzjI
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.
