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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjZIECCTIc
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjpzh0dTcY
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjWmZR6Y42
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqzrROvr2N
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvwW5seRl0
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xEUPAb0cj
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCd7CAxSvoN
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKb1sPOIi6
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!'541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1rHr73GzX
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGBzZlSv7p
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppp871vy0x
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxdNpjkvHV
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ38nqOSUD64
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9nSsWn9em
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXs26XOvjN
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt56MHj4ww2
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBGoEPmZ5N
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3qUhEmAkf
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtSRcV3m2s
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9iB2sWmkk
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9frbZQ3TTT
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CzqpdLpud
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ244VHPOv0C
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZg4vwErEU7
Impact!541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvUjeHyxgz
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVcW8R6dVW
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2SLtGOFhh
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Uplj5CaGx
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXj3P769sI
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgDG1EoIB4
You have killed an axeman!541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlOsm7Su8f
You have gained 60 Experience.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRzeupufijK
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTZPr8apCR
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXb78t9KNKO
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxJXrhDnpp
You have killed an axeman!541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAJg85yC59
You have gained 60 Experience.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRE5AC0rhFc
You have become better at Bash: 2541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cN7mHAdlF
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHviJL8QxJx
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lzdUn14pb
You have killed an axeman!541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoldlZ12LtT
You have gained 60 Experience.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8g9efiCs8
You have become better at Bash: 3541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwly50wyoJw
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoC2MYAjyBz
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0QlQGMK2q
You have killed a spearman!541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCM1KbHH0q
You have gained 40 Experience.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCaRekS4S9
You have become better at Bash: 4541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiTe8t8KjFH
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0n0Ho9hI4
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzn4pf6Yy2K
You have killed a spearman!541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PmjEzzOBi
You have gained 40 Experience.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50jCyCDKoi
You have become better at Bash: 5541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLjOwuulc7
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsBDlfOni4
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEAERVTtAHE
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpvfHymWdq
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!'541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBOUcc8uct
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SRkVTiXbp
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKrtnFPekS
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmkBsphpttn
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXeJ9qzqlo
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJx4xfz46HP
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcemg6lMkx
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI00ZcNG1jl
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZBc1BX9ai
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLppmS98CgQ
'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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOt4A4I36SZ
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEfOBnEpWY
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTYjXs7HsXZ
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Fd7dVaSyo
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPkM2sWm6V
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BnWb5s9D4
'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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8sefQPcnR
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnnNqawfCD
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Y7Lw69NtY
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJ37yHeZ0b
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnPDLgzVFd
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GQU50OYw2
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!541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaC9ZxrDz8p
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnq18kqclw
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVrfhvbmLq
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4RZD8UHsG
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR36aWAnmn9
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjq16QD3Tip
'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.'541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiUdItEeXd
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3jXY2JFSB
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡob5IHR0qjo
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1SYIdeNBHF
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHgILJyHkE
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQvaaR97OO
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeP2nLaK5X7
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4SWLa6u2z
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMJpAP7ugv
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27QqH3keU8
'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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxL2Hxk9wUC
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKx9SuD28mF
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡctlmlwcorV
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡasgkv174sm
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUtjIj8hAF
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Luhwe8LwT
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZkqhbd1jA
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbE4FKdr5J
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.541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1UyKJA4nB
541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlnUIS6RaG
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.
