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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fqD1w5Zjc
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXIZWuTt9O
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5NE6OgTZc
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLX43SUHHEA
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0fpbT9EZT
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXeVkQ83au
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd76qq3QQ7B
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWCAKyJ4ef
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!'398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkJbkwmofC
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNaZFnUYye
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKqleHpTDh
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMWlR0JgqX
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjsp1NU0Wyr
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKHwQn5KOa
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAnCl7h6Grc
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG0pHOfT6aa
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExtbLyQHtX
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOkiutBCzE
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLCNZLbGno
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKQLwt3ZsS
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVK48ZOKjck
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlY2dbPsiJL
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRoxgomYDi
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FaVxNBvo7
Impact!398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUZeZHz7YG
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxr6UHX1hw0
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjev3KwjqXU
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS362i10r4V
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1EOFS99wp
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvsDPFcqAY
You have killed an axeman!398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOdzhdxPmb
You have gained 60 Experience.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGd4cjRWxs
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHgcdVlgu5
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PMrMhjn3m
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjajIUJsBNM
You have killed an axeman!398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxvvrHzNu5
You have gained 60 Experience.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuYd9fuG2de
You have become better at Bash: 2398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMiFXaSlhF
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtA812yGpu
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKNHkMFDCK2
You have killed an axeman!398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCc6mIXtf4s
You have gained 60 Experience.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVjnTXItLx
You have become better at Bash: 3398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzppOfUhQ1
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlLiF02eQJ
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFni1bJ1M1
You have killed a spearman!398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQRklapXRm
You have gained 40 Experience.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5b22KkMu2C
You have become better at Bash: 4398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcFLSD9ogB
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECueFhdJTX
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25FMxBtQVS
You have killed a spearman!398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRm7xfqQkR
You have gained 40 Experience.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡErfLQEoKEo
You have become better at Bash: 5398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGEzMqp3oc
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0cLffqja5
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvBUjGVNpV
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqOIOU0UEO
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!'398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7i78o1Pea
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9liEKJVEX7
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBg9XVLECVl
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqroVPFQlg
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3YEzA4M0g
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXbJStU3eR
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDSwOmZOhm
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPuzRhBvhU
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubxqKb4yV1
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWohDuuzPNW
'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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWfRzD6vNF
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKl883u6RZ
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfG0lnU6ia
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rtJXlzfSl
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Aaj6sucEU
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgx099N3ue2
'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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3qyfRwMfYt
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQw7i2JBAo
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUHI9864o2
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBeoYumvLF
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIRLUCPzXe
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSJWX2A2tE
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!398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUk7KeRXVbL
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9mRQhJkW3
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTXDSSHmfC
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsssne18m2
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCMluU5lOa
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6iHG8a733
'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.'398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1y5H4CKDgI
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jjDBPXPJh
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCw4nWXA8mz
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9zLqLywsg
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3g4aI0gl4p
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsPARcRnOQ
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DzpHP873x
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzRL1oEO9w
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGsy4kl05D
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEVbWepv8j
'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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGzg26ey0d
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRW0Dkdrnd
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiLn3YkeMz
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7P8RJgednp
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkr6cxaLuFk
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ92RjQ854C
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9wL5wWtg6
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XCdx7kYTA
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.398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUTohqp9R4
398Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsw5xjvSto
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.
