Chapter Ninety-Four: The First Taste, Part 3
Duck, dodge, slash, jump, twist, lunge, grunt, run, stand, slash again, duck once more, another hit, run. The steps flowed one by one, Yue doing every one with skill and speed, but it wasn’t enough. Each wolf was double her size and strength, and it was enough for Yue to permanently stay on the defensive. Since the bubble had dropped, she’d killed just one wolf, and any other she’d fought had ended with her retreating.
And the rest of the Stragglers weren’t faring any better. There were now several bodies lying on the ground, maybe five dead, and she tried to avoid looking at them, the people she’d led to their demise. Hen was moving from place to place, shielding himself and healing those he could, but she could tell he was getting too tired to keep going. Somehow, within the span of three minutes, the horde had begun to win the battle, and now the Stragglers were lost, all alone in the sea of fur and blood, each looking for a partner to fight with, but the wolves easily outnumbered the Vanguard Warriors at least six to one.
As far as she could see, all of her friends were still alive and fighting, and Yue breathed a sigh of relief, as, directly in front of her, Alyx slashed on a wolf’s head, a lucky blow that sent it keeling to the ground. Not many warriors were having a chance to kill any of the beasts now, their only advantage being the disunion of the Horde. If they had tried to attack the Horde when they were ready, then Yue wasn’t sure any of them would be alive now. Silently, she thanked Hen.
“This is a disaster,” She breathed as another woman fell, screaming as she fell, a spurt of blood from her chest following her down. Most likely, the warrior wouldn’t survive, but maybe, just maybe, Hen would arrive in time.
A wolf growled at her, its axe falling down on her, and she twisted to the right, punching out with her sword, catching it in the armor, where her weapon only scraped it before Yue returned to her pose. Cursing, she scanned her opponent. Now that the Horde had seen them, they’d grown much better at protecting their vulnerable areas, and, as tall as they were, it was rare Yue could get a blow on their head, and, for most of the beasts, the only other vulnerable places were the connections between shoulder and breastplate, and breastplate with legs. Some wolves didn’t have armor on their limbs, and those were much easier to kill, although Yue still hadn’t done any in for the last few minutes,
The same wolf advanced on her again, and she jumped back a few feet, keeping her eye on its weapon, eyes, and feet. Those were the three crucial parts to any attack, in her opinion. If she kept her attention on its eyes, she could see where its gaze was taking it, anticipating its moves, as did the leg positioning and its weapon. Many times, fighting came about the anticipation of what would come instead of what was directly in front.
As the wolf came in for another attack, Yue ground her feet in the dirt, slanting her sword up to meet its axe. The clang of steel on steel rang in yue’s ears, but it was the force of the hit that reverberated through her, her arms shaking from the effort as the wolf forced its weapon down. The Sterkona had been in many a predicament like this, but never with such a strong opponent. Even Gunnar and the Mremban hadn’t been so strong.
If the armies of Magefell truly had to face hundreds of thousands of these, they were doomed. Even worse, many warriors of Magefell could die here, and if so, instead of Magefell having the advantage, it was the other way around.
The thought brought darkness to Yue’s mind and her face twisted in anger as the axe kept flowing down now, and each blow from the axe drove her back. Thankfully, there were no rocks in the way, nothing for her to trip on so far, but each step back was a risk. She needed to be careful and force it back, but there was just no opening.
Baring its teeth, the wolf roared again, and Yue shivered in fear, her eyes smoldering to hide what was behind them. Her sword had nicks on it now, something Yue hated to see. She’d need to buy a new one, probably.
If she survived this.
The next blow sent her to the ground, her sword barely catching it, before she dropped it, falling. Rising and grabbing the sword again, she spun it up just in time to catch the next blow but she still tasted dirt as she was flung more into the ground, her grip on her sword loosening but her eyes narrowing with resolve.
Another blow, another grunt, more pain. This wolf was bigger than any she’d seen yet, and it refused to move from her. Blow after blow after blow. Spike of pain after spike of pain. She couldn’t take it anymore. If this kept going, she was sure she would die,
The next blow finally flung the sword too far from her reach and her arm flung to the side, pain overwhelming all of her senses. The wolf roared again, tasting victory. Mind swimming, Yue felt her eyes blur. Maybe she had a concussion, but it was a minor injury. After all, she was about to die.
The axe rose, and Yue stared in defiance at the beast, ready to die.
If this is what it came to, then she would at least die with courage.
A sword pierced under the wolf’s armpits, passing through and past its head as well, skewering it and pinning its arm where it was. The sword retracted, and when the wolf fell, it stabbed again, crunching through the head with a spray of blood, bone, and even an eye.
The wolf lay on the ground limp, dead.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“YUE!” Neena screamed, running to her, her bloody sword dripping on her. “Are you alright? Oh, I couldn’t stand to see you like that. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.”
“No,” Yue told her. “I’m the one who should be sorry. You were right. Thank you for saving me.”
“It’s the second wolf I’ve killed,” Neena admitted. “These bastards are tough to beat.”
“Aye,” Yue groaned, retrieving her sword. “How fares the rest of the army?”
“Bad. Six dead last time I checked, but at least five are wounded, one at the edge of death. I think we need to retreat.”
“Not yet,” Yue growled. “We’re too spread out. If we tried to retreat we’d just get stomped on and beat down. Can you go tell Hen to stop for the next five minutes? To retreat, we’ll need his bubble magic again, even for five minutes. Go.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Neena saluted and smiled, turning to walk back.
“And Neena?”
The petite blonde girl looked back. “Yes?”
“Thank you, and sorry.”
“All is forgiven,” She responded, running towards Hen, avoiding any wolves coming her way.
Smiling, Yue stood up to find herself face to face—or face to chest—with a seven-foot wolf. Shrieking, she stabbed upwards, catching it below the jaw, and gurgling ,the beast stumbled to the ground, roaring even in its death throes.
Watching the mage, she was glad to see that Neena had reached him, and he was taking a break, standing in the middle of the field with a simple shield around him.
All around her were corpses and blood. Obviously, there were still more Horde corpses than Vanguard corpses, but it was still a pile of bodies, and Yue found herself stepping on many by accident. The stench of blood, grit, and death reminded her of the other battles she’d fought, all the other beasts and men she’d killed. It was a harsh reminder that this battle was even more impossible than the last. If even the Vanguard lost to the Horde, then how could the Magefell Army and the Ajutoare fight them at all? No, it would be impossible.
Twisting to the side, she noticed that Hen was running from a wolf, dodging it. Without his magic, he wasn’t able to fight it, and he wouldn’t be able to last long without help. Dashing for him, Yue thrust at the wolf, which stepped back and roared.
“How long do you need?”
“At least five minutes. Can you guard me?”
“Aye,” Yue nodded. “Just be careful and stay behind me.”
“Of course,” Hen sighed.
The Sterkona met the wolf’s blow with her own sword, grunting at the effort, but moving to the side and striking at its armor. While it didn’t hurt it, it still sent it a few paces back from the sheer strength of her blow. The beast’s sword came up again, slapping Yue in the chest, not carving her armor but sending her back. With a groan, she lifted herself, and, seeing the wolf advancing on Hen again, roared at it, and when it turned, threw her sword.
“Hen!” She screamed, and the mage watched as the beast knocked her sword down. “Do it!”
While the wolf looked down, Yue jumped for it, grabbing it around the neck and pulling herself up. Growling, the wolf began slapping at her.
“Please, Hen,” She whispered. “Please.”
The wolf began to claw at her back and she screamed in pain as the claws beat through her armor and into skin.
Then the beast fell, grasping its now wounded leg. Yue fell on top of ir, but she quickly got up, grabbing her sword as Hen handed it to her and ending the beast’s life.
“Thank you,” She said.
“Of course,” Hen replied.
“Are you sure you can protect everyone?”
“Everyone alive,” The mage replied. “The cores are different for humans. Watch out!”
The warning came just in time for Yue to knock back a blow that came to her neck. Her own blade passed mere centimeters from her skin, but it blocked the sword, and, using the sword as a weight, she turned around quickly and brought her sword down, taking the wolf’s own sword with it. Then she struck up with the butt of the sword, catching it in the chin and it tumbled to the ground. Its black fur was now gushing with the blood flowing from the wound growing in its head.
Yue stabbed down, but it put its hand in the way, grabbing it. Blood flowed from its hand, but it kept the grip, scowling at her. Smirking, she flung her arm backwards, and the resounding shink made her cringe. The beast screamed in pain as blood gushed forth once more, and a sweep of her sword was enough to decapitate it, its head rolling in a spray of viscera.
Another beast was already rushing at her, and, as much as she wanted to stop and rest, she still had to fight if she would escape in one piece.
The wolf stopped, looking around in confusion, and it wasn’t the only one. All around, the Horde was searching for the humans, roaring. Yue realized immediately what was happening, and she lokoed at Hen for confirmation. He nodded.
“OKAY, EVERYONE!” She screamed. “WE HAVE ONLY A FEW MINUTES TO ESCAPE.” Wolves turned to her voice, so she began to run while she screamed. “DRAG ANY INJURED MAN WHO CANNOT WALK. WE DO NOT HAVE LONG. WE MUST LEAVE NOW!”
In an impressive display of discipline, the Vanguard immediately got to work, searching for the wounded yet living and carrying them past the field of battle. At times, noise was made, but the wolves were not able to find any men or women.
Yue led the retreat, watching as all the living Vanguard members ran, walked, and some even crawled, helping those who were injured. As she passed, Alyx whispered to the Sterkona
“We’re doomed.”
Yue nodded sadly. There seemed to be seven or eight dead. If all of the Horde was truly as strong as this, then they would all die within the month.
Despair was beginning to set in.