Calling upon all of his retainers and members of his army, he yells.

“Listen my warriors. The time has come. We have trained for this very day. Though it is not how many nor I had imagined it, it has come upon us. War is upon us. The humans outside the reach of the dragons have succumbed to the evil gods.”

“They seek to defile everything and everyone we love. We will not let them.”

He pauses and looks around at his men. Some were adamant and ready, resolved as he was about the coming war. Others were less so. Perhaps they had family they were scared to leave behind, a life to leave behind, life and death was fickle now that they were faced with it.

“Do not fear and do not falter! Behind us are the lives of families and friends. It is time we fight for a greater future! We march forward to take the enemy’s head so that we will win this battle!”

With this he raises his greatsword into the air. It was engraved with the symbol of the Sinclair. Enthusiastic cheers erupt from the army he commanded. Though smaller than the invasion force, no one would deny that they have not been training for this very day. Outfitted with properly maintained armor and sharp steel, they marched beyond their fortifications.

Putting on his steel full plated helmet, Lord Sinclair marched on foot, his army behind him. The prince had brought out his entire force in front of him. Trolls, ogres, countless human fodder, and black knights dotted in a mostly organized fashion. The black knights acted as battlefield commanders for all other forces on the field.

Lord Sinclair’s army consisted mostly of humans of dragon descent. They were humans that were left behind in the dragon lands during the first Dragon-Human war. Unlike the humans that invaded them, these humans were not the bloodthirsty barbarians that plagued their lands. They were outfitted in scaled armor with spears and shields, indicative of human warriors in the dragon kingdom.

There were other warriors inside the army as well. Many from other places had joined in Lord Sinclair’s army over the years, ranging from more exotic races such as horned races, ranging from minotaurs and ox-kin to the occasional horned demon and succubus, to the more common beast-kin, ranging from cat-kin and canine-kin to kitsune. Plenty of elves also were present, though many more were part of the elven military militia rather than being in his army. Together they were less involved in the main army, but were a much more versatile force with useful abilities. Above them were insect folk and other winged races such as birdmen who had joined his army. They were mostly scouts, but were also useful rangers, bowmen, and bombardment crews.

Organizing into smaller groups, the army advanced up the prince’s hill. The trolls and ogre threw steel balls at them, but the scattered army proved to be agile enough to avoid most of the balls. Human fodder in the prince’s army threw rocks, to little avail, but a few had deadly slings. It was counteracted by the shields of Lord Sinclair’s army. The aerial forces of the army also flew in to harass and kill the trolls and ogres. Wyvern riders charged in to fight them off, but they were driven off as hundreds of bee soldiers swarmed from the dragon roost to attack all the cannons. This gave the army’s aerial forces time to kill the trolls.

The prince panicked.

“Old man! Where are you!”

“Right here.”

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Appearing besides him, the prince worriedly yelled at him,

“They are cleaving through our army!”

“True. Our army is mostly made of weaker men. They would lose terribly to an actual army.”

“I can see that. We must call the rest of the army here!”

“I have already done so. Worry not, our army will close in on them. They will exhaust easily and be surrounded. If you are to be the next king, you must learn to deal with yourself. Have you also forgotten the plan?”

The prince’s face turns to anger, but he stays silent. His rage at the old elf boils, but instead of yelling, he blows hot air and instead focuses on the army.

Lord Sinclair himself is leading the charge. His greatest retainers and followers struggle to catch up to him as he cleaves his way through the prince’s army. His mastery of his greatsword shone greatly as his expert use of it made quick work of even the black knights whose thick armor held no use against the lord. Even the trolls and ogres much larger than him could not deal with him as he would chop them down like a large tree. His rage was felt by all who crossed his path. His warriors too felt his rage as together they tore a way into the heart of the prince’s army. Hundreds fell alone to him and unlike Aldrich, these humans scattered like flies. Fear struck them as the lord set upon them. Even the surrounding armies that were set to enclose on the lord could not budge the lord’s army. The abilities of the lord’s auxiliary army proved capable at fending off the enclosure and defeating the prince’s army.

Soon he was upon the prince and his children. Danjela, from the pain of being whipped, was knocked unconscious again. Leah was still unable to move. Hiram spoke through his pain.

“Father… I’m sorry. I have… failed.”

Letting out a roar of anger, the lord ripped and tore his way through the knights in his path. Just as he reached them, they were whisked away.

“No!”

He exclaims as he witnesses an old elf pull a rope connected to the children’s crosses and brings them to him.

“Elf! Release them!”

The prince appeared beside him with a crystal ball in his hand. He smiles and states,

“Thank you for your foolish endeavor. We have sacrificed enough souls for this.”

Looking at the ball, Lord Sinclair panicked. He knew what it was and what it was was very bad. Sprinting forward towards them, black knights gathered to stop him. He could care little for them. What was to be released was a far greater threat. The black knights stabbed him, piercing his legs, body, arms, but he pushed past them. His retainers charged in from behind, cutting down the disorganized black knights.

Closing in enough, Lord Sinclair threw his greatsword at the prince. The prince was chanting a spell and unable to move, but the old elf picked up a black knight and tossed him at the incoming blade, deflecting it away from the prince. The knight however fell on top of the prince, knocking him down.

The old elf yells at the prince,

“Quickly! You are too slow!”

“Shut it!”

The prince continues his chant, edging closer and closer to the end verse. Lord Sinclair begins picking up black knights and tossing them at the prince in a pure desperation to get him to stop, each time being stopped by the old elf also tossing black knights at the incoming bodies. Soon the black knights blocking the path have all been killed or tossed. Lord Sinclair charges forth with a short sword he picked up and tossed it. With none left to throw, the old elf uses his body to offset the blade, deflecting it barely. The blade however, hits the prince, tearing off his arm from the sheer force of the throw. He screams in pain.

“Idiot prince, HURRY!”

The old elf yells at him. With a mighty leap forward, the lord pushes past the old elf and attempts to tackle the prince, but it’s too late. The prince finishes his last verse and touches the crystal ball.