It was a gigantic battle, both between the lizards and the human forces. The night sky shone through all the magic and spells cast as if in broad daylight. The roar of the clashing armies turned into a wild howl that the wind carried deep into the plains. Hundreds of people died in the first few seconds from the clash of battle lines. The people formed shaped formations. The light infantry formed the first wall with spears and shields, which was swept away like toys by the monstrous tyrannical riders of the lizards.
In the flanks of the beasts, cavalry with lances darted like swords deep into their lines. The Lizardmen had no order of battle compared to humans, but they made that away with their overwhelming numbers as well as brute strength.
It didn't take much longer before any sense of a modern order of battle was lost, because contrary to the skirmishes and battles of the people, the nobles were simply overwhelmed by the ferocity of these tribes that came from the depths of the lazy swamps in the magical forest. The lizardmen not only fought with their weapons, but also with their claws, teeth, like everything else they could get hold of. If a human stepped too far into the lizards from their position, they could very quickly be overwhelmed and torn apart by the smaller beasts.
A very different battle was raging in the air between the various flying lizards and humans. Each kingdom had its own special flightable creatures. On the one hand there were the Pegasus riders, on the other hand the more clumsy Griffin riders. In between there were also various chimeras, which went back to the research of the various magical institutions. The flying lizards, on the other hand, seemed to go aggressive with their riders against anything that even remotely looked like a lizard.
The young nobles, blind in their greed for fame, realized far too late that there was really no honor to be gained in this struggle. The beasts of men did not fight like their own. They did not field armies with a great strategy, they did not strive for duels and used every commanding opportunity to beat, destroy and ultimately devour their enemy. However, they could not break away from the crowd. Her initial arrogance quickly gave way to the horrors of war! Their carefully crafted formations were broken with brute force. Their armor was simply bitten through by razor-sharp claws, claws and teeth.
Their enemy knew no mercy, no prisoners, only trophies. Her thirst for blood drove her into an inhuman frenzy. The wounded beasts fought even harder than those who followed them. More and more often, some of the creatures broke through their lines. It seemed as if they were after all flags on which were depicted beings that appeared to be similar to them. These porters were attacked with a ferocity that seemed to border on sheer madness.
The ground under the battle was filled with constant vibrations. The pounding of the giant lizards, herbivores and tyrannical creatures only added fuel to what was happening below them. So the huge explosion was not even noticed below them.
The battle raged on unabated, but the tremors in the underground aroused the attention of the generals who remained behind. In particular, as the tremors increased, they began to withdraw the remaining troops, whereupon the front began to expand. A few of the commanders who commanded the reserves of the fighting armies threw wild insults, curses and threatened consequences in case of cowardice before the enemy, their princes, their empires would not accept or tolerate this behavior. Lucius, on the other hand, instinctively sensed an enormous impending danger for himself, for Baren, but above all for his legion. The honor, however, dictated at least a warning to the front. He sent several horsemen forward with messages for the princes for an urgent retreat!
Baran: "Lucius are you sure? That can mean real consequences! They are going to quarter you. For me the consequences are manageable because we are paid to be here. But you represent the republic! "
Lucius: " Trust me brother! I've always had your back, just like at this moment. If we don't go now then we are damned. Besides, there is always war, my friend, or have you forgotten what you and your dogs live on? "
Baran: " I hope you are not wrong. For your sake, I really hope you're not wrong. ”
Baran had already seen more than one battle with Lucius. The republic and the mercenary empire had been old allies since the two empires were founded. They had an ancient defense pact and the republic always kept its promises and the pay had always been excellent. This time, however, they were paid by the alliance of this campaign, if they left they would lose their wages. But it has always been better to miss a few coins than your own life.
The princes, on the other hand, could feel the pressure of the battle, but not the impending danger! The lizards themselves were caught in their bloodlust, whereas a few of the more sensitive creatures were already beginning to buck in their armed forces. Something roused them, and some of them broke out to hurry away.
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Har'Thok had not survived endless pit fights, tribal politics, and powerful beasts unless he had a poor instinctive sense of natural danger. As one of the few he sensed that something seemed to be wrong in this place. It wasn't the battle itself, it was like the dragon's awakening. The rumble of the earth could never have come so much from battle. Something should be done. Something they had no idea about on the surface. The river slowly dawned on him, the still damp river bed, the hole in the depths. Whatever happened there, all that water had to flow somewhere. Suddenly the ground didn't feel as stable to him as it did before. It was too late for his warriors to retreat. The warm-blooded animals would stab them in the back. Trusting his instincts more than his bloodlust, he began to work his way back through the ranks. A few of the shamans could see him doing it, whereupon they broke off their last spells, which strengthened their wildest warriors and also started their way back. Many of them had fought alongside Har'Thok for a long time before he rose and secured his place in the damp halls. They knew the quirks, quirks, but also his sixth sense. Some already got a feeling for the impending dangers.
Alondi watched the whole thing happen. The lizards had slackened noticeably in their onslaught, but this lousy feeling in the pit of his stomach, as well as the constantly annoying messengers from Lucius, simply didn’t let up. Alondi would not be in his position if he had not trusted his gut instinct now and then, as when he poisoned his older brother after he discovered him in one of the forbidden torture cults which had been responsible for the noticeable disappearance of some villagers and citizens. Ever since he was little he had this urge to torment others. It filled him with immeasurable joy when he first gave them hope, only to then destroy them. The look on their faces when they realized that there was no escape from the chambers gave him a real sense of security. It had been perfectly clear to him that his brother would blackmail him or even betray him, because this good-natured fool would never have understood! He had orphans looked after or gave bread to the starving. He couldn't believe they shared the same blood. He was weak and that's how he died.
At the moment he should have felt an exhilaration when he saw his units slowly taking over the battlefield. The other princes all rushed forward, accompanied by their bodyguards, they strove for the greatest heads, as well as most of the fame, of which they would then boast at balls. Again he could feel the tremors, but were they from the battle? Or something else? Something inside yelled at him to pick up his legs and run. His gaze wandered over the chaotic battlefield. Ironically, he could no longer make out the enemy commander. It also seemed as if the enemy magicians were much thinner in their ranks. Slowly something began to dawn on him. Whatever was responsible for that constant tremor in the ground had caused the enemy to retreat. Something that could scare these beasts must surely be dangerous.
At the risk of being branded a coward, being dishonored, disinherited and banished, he instructed one of his trustworthy guardsmen to take him away from the action. The guardsman was to pierce him with his sword at a point he directed, knowing that the injury would never have been fatal. In his hobby he learned quite quickly how much pain he could inflict without his little lamb dying. The guardsman promptly called for a healer while the other guardsmen combed the area for the assassin. The healers in his unit insisted, despite his contradiction, that the prince withdraw to their reserves. Reluctantly, reluctantly, he finally allowed himself to be escorted to the units that had stayed behind.
Not even halfway there, the ground began to shake tremendously under his feet. The feeling in the pit of his stomach didn't seem to leave him alone. Though he was gaining some distance from the battle, it shouldn't be gone. Unexpectedly, he struck the horse with his heels, whereupon it began to gallop. Completely surprised by their prince's behavior, a few of the healers stopped in disbelief.
Everywhere cracks appeared on the floor, the soldiers who had been in combat before were now in silent resignation. Even the lizardmen paused in their roar and turned their gaze to the ground below. Very soon the sound of weapons being dropped, as well as the tearing of the earth, dominated the place. The nobles were the first to regain their senses, whereupon they turned their horses to escape fate. A few of them gained ground before those behind them were swallowed up in a moment.
Shortly afterwards every sound that was carried away from the battlefield ceased, only to be heard again shortly afterwards, but instead of the battle noise it sounded like panicked calls. With a look back, the healers could see the units on horses, which drove their animals to the limit in order to get away from where their prince stood proudly before. Behind it both humans and individual lizards that were too far in the human lines were closely followed. They pushed others aside just to be one step further than everyone else. The healers' legs were suddenly frozen stiff. They could see how the last disappeared from the ranks as if by magic. As if some invisible force had drawn them away. The cracks expanded faster and faster and more and more people, like beasts, disappeared from their sight. Even some of the riders couldn't escape it. A couple of the faster nobles passed it only to come to a stop a hundred yards away. For them it was already too late, because like the thousands of others they fell into the rapidly expanding sinkhole. The fighters on their flying animals fared little better, because the rising dust robbed them of the view, whereupon some collided, only to be torn to their deaths themselves. Some have been hit by stones thrown up, spells that have gone off, or other things. Some of the creatures completely escaped their orientation, which is why they simply flew by themselves into the depths that opened up to them.
Alondi had made it out of the zone. The moment his feeling in the pit of his stomach subsided, he brought his horse to a standstill and fixed his gaze on the expanding hole. His troops, but also those of the enemy, were carried away. Is that what his teacher meant when he spoke of a Pyrrhic victory? A victory in which both sides suffered such enormous losses that you could call it a defeat?
Har'Thok looked back at his disappearing army. Compiled months ago to invade the rich countries of the warm-blooded animals and claim their right to rule, generations had suddenly disappeared before his eyes. Still, in a way, it had been a victory. Because not only his troops died there, but also those of his competitors, as well as his competitors themselves. He could always start over. The system rewarded him with a wonderful racial development, which promised him a long life. His fame would come, one way or another.
Lucius and Baran stood in disbelief at their new positions. The reserves had followed them on their retreat. From their new position they could see the spreading sinkhole. The allied armies had simply disappeared in the same way as their enemy. The republic would emerge much stronger from this event, while the kingdoms suffered an enormous loss. There was no material to recover, no corpses to recover, and more were missing. Now he and Baran only had to clear the battlefield on the flanks, where the differently colored lizard people dived. They would have to clean up this area and then mark this hole on a map.