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Dennan laughed, confident about his victory. But his laughter slowly died, his smile fading as his jaw lowered in astonishment. His mouth gaped open in disbelief as to what he was witnessing in front of him.
All the hairs on his body raised.
"This is impossible," Dennan stammered as a chill passed through his body as though the spirits of death licked his neck.
Sensing the fear growing inside of its owner, the armored horse slowly backed away. Its eyes were wide in alarm to indicate that it didn't need any convincing to escape the eldritch horrors. Only its extensive training as a warhorse prevented it from galloping away from the things in front of it that looked like horses.
Dennan's eyes were wide. In the back of his mind, he could hear a voice that told him to flee. However, it was drowned out by his father's voice -- yelling about the importance of the family's honor as noble for the most tremendous power on the continent.
Despite some of the flames on their bodies, the armored soldiers from the Helios Kingdom stood their ground as though the heat from the attack hadn't affected them.
It was at that moment that Dennan looked at the soldiers more closely. Something didn't seem right, but he couldn't figure it out. The voices in his head, telling him to run for his life and how the family's honor was worthless if he was dead, slowly began to grow louder.
One of the enemy horses snorted and shook its head as though bored.
Dennan's eyes locked on the horse, and it was at that moment he noticed something wrong. His eyes noticed how the flesh of the horse wasn't complete in some areas. He saw the bone between the armor plating as the creature moved slightly. Under the light of the moon, the bone stuck out how milky white it was.
"What are those things? The Kingdom does not have this level of power." Dennan whispered.
In front of the eldritch and bizarre forces, Dennan couldn't help but sense that they had made a horrible mistake.
Dennan didn't even feel the warm liquid leaking down the side of his leg.
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“Even though I was sure that nothing would happen, I admit to feeling glad that Queen is unharmed,” Han watched Queen's summons skillfully moved back to their original positions.
Despite the power that he possessed, Han couldn't help but doubt whether he had considered all the potential outcomes -- especially when engaging with a hostile force. Han didn't have a background related to magic, only experiencing it after he had received the Creation ability. His mind frequently thought about whether his powers were fundamentally different from the magic in the current world and if there were obvious counters to it -- known only by those more educated and experienced on the subject.
“Master, fear not. Nothing will allow us to shame your faith in us. We will demonstrate that your love and confidence in us is not misplaced.” Helania smiled as she watched the show next to Han.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
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"I should not have expected much from them," Queen sighed after the fire-based attack was over, the last of the flames having died.
Queen slowly observed her summons, checking if there was any significant damage.
The last thing she wanted was to embarrass her Master in front of such rude individuals. Queen clenched her teeth in annoyance, thinking back at the words the noble had spoken.
It was obvious that the Empire forces were wholly ignorant of who they were up against, but Queen didn't think it was enough of an excuse. A sinister smile grew on her face.
"I want to make it clear. You heard how these organisms had the audacity to mock us, which means that they mocked my Master. Do not fail me, or I shall make you regret it."
Queen's voice was not much higher than a whisper, but it traveled through the air and reached every knight. The clinking of metal was heard as the knights shivered in fear from their Mistress's words.
"Ravage them," Queen whispered.
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Dirt was flung into the air as the horses' muscles propelled them forwards -- charging toward the enemy of their Mistress and Master. The sound of thunder crackled as the hundreds of knights flew forward.
Air blew out like steam from the nostrils of the horses due to the cooler air, giving the appearance of steam engines.
The Knights raised lances, spears, and tridents -- directing each one toward their prey.
Compared to the hot-blooded yelling from the soldiers earlier, the knights were silent -- oozing with a sinister and eldritch aura. They were like the silent wings of an owl with its outreaching talons soundlessly streaking through the night.
While the Viscount trembled with fear and retreated back to the false safety of his troops as the dreadful wave of death crashed towards -- an unstoppable and emotionless force of nature -- the soldiers were blissfully unaware and managed to reorganize themselves until the leadership of the seasoned commanding officers.
"Pikemen forward!" An officer yelled out.
Like the precise movements of a mechanical clock, a forest of pikemen stepped forward. They held up their weapons without letting the long weapons waver even an inch. Their faces were grim as they stared at the charging calvary -- but they followed their orders and held the line.
"Get ready!" The officer ordered.
In unison, the first row of pikes lowered. The soldiers stepped on the end to brace themselves for the inevitable impact. Behind them, another row of pikes was lowered between the soldiers ahead of the second row.
This continued until a phalanx of pikes created a near-impenetrable wall of pointed tips ready to pierce through anyone foolish enough to try.
"Shields raised and swords out!" Another shout was heard.
Behind the pikemen, several rows of soldiers with more armor smoothly pulled out their swords before placing their tower shields in front of them.
"Archers! Ready!" Another officer yelled near the rear of the massive formation. "Mages, prepare another fireball!"
Five rows made up of dozens of archers had their bows in front before pulling out an arrow and knocking it. Once ready, each one raised their bow and aimed the points of the arrows at the knights charging toward their formation.
"Let them fly!" The officer yelled.
As one, a wave of arrows arched toward the knights. A whistling sound was heard as the arrows' tips flew through the night's darkness.
Moments later, the night was pushed back by the roaring flames of fireballs shooting after the arrows. It was as though it was a race to see who would strike their targets first.
Sounds of breaking wood and ringing of metal striking metal peppered throughout the silent undead forces streaking forward towards the enemy. Immediately afterward, a wave of fire and chaos crashed into the knights -- drenching the undead in raging flames.
Calmly watching the battle unfold, Han, chewed on some fruit to clear away the grease and fat in his mouth from eating all the meat.
"You have to respect them for their professionalism after seeing how little of an impact the initial volley of fireballs had on Queen's summons," Han casually remarked, rinsing everything down with some wine.
The mounted knights pierced through the waves of flames, billowing smoke rolling off of their black armor -- the explosions of fire and thundering hooves were the only sounds heard after receiving the attack.