"GERARD! JAREK! QUICKLY!" (Andrzej)

The calm and assertive demeanour that had accompanied his usual self surely had went down the drain.. huh? This stern fucker might still have some little capacity left inside him to bear the weight of compassion. Not that I am mocking him, no. I pissed myself and even cried out loud just moments ago, I'm a long way ahead if I were to compare disgraces between me and him.

"RYAAAAAAA" (Rider)

(THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP)

Hearing the deafening battlecry from that Alpha freak, I could see the faces of men and women in the millita starting to twist and lose their composure. Distressful gazes, full of fear and anxiety, their gazes latched onto me and my sissy comrade here, as we're frantically running for our lives.

Noises of the raiding party behind us also never seemed to end. Stomping on the ground, leaving the dirt mucky and indented as they marched quickly to initiate the confrontation. Heading early to their inevitable defeat? or claiming victory by mere moments earlier than fate has decided.

"COME ON!" (Andrzej)

"so.. close.." (Jarek)

My feet started to feel the slight incline of the slope, gentle yet persisting. It'll be a breeze to slowly march towards the peak, yet consuming and tiring if one were to attempt to rush up the steady incline. Luckily for us, humans have highly developed lower limbs, in which makes us agile and able to cope with any terrain without much unease.

Warthogs with their low centre of balance would need higher effort to scale these lines, which is probably the only fact that ought to keep me alive and breathing still.

(thump thump thump)

"Ryaaaaaaa!" (Rider)

The intensity and speed of the hooves behind us has started to drop, surely it's due to the fact that the warthog starts to realize the steady incline is causing a hindrance to it. Forcing itself to keep running up would breach its limits and cause further internal damage. The Rider knowing this fact had no choice but to growl at us angrily, cursing at us as it had lost its grip on the prey.

Jarek, bearing lighter loads than I do since he's a ranger, smoothly scaled up the slope and has only one more quarter to go before reaching our forces.

Me, on the other hand, are losing strength on my legs. My feet surges with blistering pain, while my knees sore with hints of numbness that would never recede. My entire being is utterly exhausted, my torso contracted internally in such a way that I could choke on my guts any moment. If only I could take in some more air.. my frantic breaths doesn't help in recovery, it only seemed to make it worse.

Only halfway up the slope.. Can I ever make it to the end?

For just a jiffy, my vision suddenly darkens as my conciousness snaps into two...

(SPLOSH)

"GERARD!" (?)

"COME ON!" (?)

"NOOOO~~" (?)

"KEEP RUNNING!" (?)

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"RUN! RUN!" (?)

In an instant, my conciousness started to return. Quickly lifting my head and figuring out my current state, I heard various screams coming from the salvation above. I forcefully took in some air, trying to clear my mind.

(sniffff)

"kyhuuu!"

(cough cough cough)

I sucked in something wet and sticky into my nose, prompting me to cough out the foreign being... Feeling surges of coldness latching onto my face, it recalls me to something that I've just felt recently.. something extremely uncomfortable and disgraceful..

Heh, I'm so pathetic. It seems that when I passed out just for a moment, my entire body crashed flat on the ground, and my face, once again stuck in another puddle of mud.

Ignoring the hindrance, I supported myself with my elbows and forced myself to stand up, my shaky legs burned with soreness, the attempt inadvertently ended with those two noodles causing me an arching pain and slid itself back onto the ground.

"fuck...."

Ignoring the situation and noises surrounding me, I focused my vision onto my salvation, the spearwall formation positioned about a hundred paces right on top of me. Seeing the lights hovering above, lanterns providing illumination to our people, I slowly grabbed the dirt with my bare hands, and crawled foward.

Alas, my vision obstructed by the spring mud still latching onto my face, and having succumbed to the fatigue. They are barely open and I that I could see are the glitters of light, beaming towards me in order to lead me into safety. Nonetheless, I moved on all fours, forcing all remaining strength from my legs to push the dirt around..

Mud on my face graciously had left my nostrils unobstructed, allowing me to mantain minimal intake of air.

I have to crawl.. do whatever it takes to survive this..

(THUMP THUMP THUMP)

"HYAAAAA" (Rider)

Hooves leaving heavy marks behind me, greater in intensity by every passing moment.

Seems like that freak caught up to me.. I can't spare any strength to look behind, or call for help.. I am this deprived of energy, I could only continue my actions, pushing dirt around me on all fours, even if theres a miniscule chance for me to reach the Line...

I will do so.

"FIRE!" (Andrzej)

(swoosh swoosh)

"NYIII" (Warthog)

Rapid arrows flashed across my eyes, cutting through the air surrounding me. I'd assume that our archers did not miss their mark, as the intense stomps behind me halted abruptly, definitely giving me a much needed chance to catch a breath.

"RYAAAH!" (Rider)

(thud thud thud)

Turning around to look behind me, I used my hands to quickly swipe the mud off my face.

Regaining my vision, I could see that the dreaded Rider is facing me with its back. Couple of arrows pelted the warthog like a pincushion, while another few connected with the Rider, yet its heavy armour had all of the arrows deflected, dealing virtually no damage to it at all.

"You lucky bastard... "

Same goes to the warthog, due to its thick hide, the arrows will only deal shallow damage to that oink bastard.

(stomp stomp stomp stomp)

Knowing that it's in a disadvantage, it retreated. The goblin raiding party in the distance sallied forth to start the battle, luckily they were hundreds of paces away at this moment. With the Rider running back towards them, seemingly giving out commands, they started marching much slower, indicating a shift in formations.

Seeing the crisis before my eyes leaving me alone, I laid down on the ground and relaxed myself.

My tense body simultaneously hunkered down and flopped onto the ground, searing pains could be felt in every strand of my muscles. Stamina slipped from my arms and feet, rendering it useless. Surprising to know that my body only moved by my determination and willpower, as its fuel. Now, I lay on the ground, face up leaning on the inclines of my beloved slope. The moon is glowing white.. so bright.. Stars twinkling, filling up the entire night sky..

"So beautiful.. "

(thump thump thump thump)

Hearing footsteps coming towards me from above the slope, I could already tell those idiots are coming to rescue me.

"Ca.. captain!" (?)

"Pull it together!" (?)

My conciousness starts to fade once again, I've strained my body and soul for so long, holding it all together so it won't fall apart and getting me killed. Now, I had to rest...

(sssssttt sssssst) *dragging*

I could feel that something is tugging onto the collar of my cuirass, making my slide up the incline..

Well, at least I'm going to be in good hands now. The battle might start at moment's notice, but I'll enjoy the peace while it lasts, maybe even just a little....

"Gerard, hey! hey!" (?)

Feeling an unusual sense of calm and tranquility wash over me. I set my gaze towards the beautiful night sky above these lands which I cherish, ignoring the elements around me...

"Come on.. you have to ????..." (?)

And I closed my eyes, slipping into an otherworldly, peaceful and undisturbed state of mind.