Just as Azar predicted, the legion of undead had come. While all the available humans were either getting ready for battle or rushing to the front. Azar calmly walked back toward the castle. He promised himself to only save the human which he deemed worthy. Therefore he would not participate in this war. So, Azar searched for a good vantage point, and there wasn’t a better spot for it than the biggest, tallest building in Tolemac, the castle itself. Heavily guarded by more than a hundred soldiers, but still, none of them was prepared to stop a powerful being like Azar. So, he just flew himself up to the castle's highest tower, where the royal family was also overlooking the battle.
Azar sneakily took a quick peek at everyone inside. There were around 15 people there, most noticeably the king, queen and the princess. All of their intentions were fixated on the front, where thousands upon thousands of skeleton warriors were surrounding the city’s wall. Their faces said it all, the cold sweat on their forehead, the widened eyes as if they were seeing something for the first time, the opened, gasping mouth, but no word was coming out. Their heartbeat elevated like a racehorse as if they were about to explode; their legs could not stop quivering, making those nonstop annoying tapping sounds.
At first, Azar wanted to do his normal routine, walking in unannounced, possibly making a fool of one, maybe two of them in the process. However, getting a good feel of the room, Azar decided to do it the more civilized way … by just popping out from behind them and making his presence noticed.
“Hey there, people !”. Azar was proud of himself. He had held back the urge to walk in unannounced. This time, Azar politely greeted those incompetent humans first. However, what Azar got in return was a far cry from what he expected.
Like a bolt of lightning ran through their veins, all the humans in the high tower almost jumped out of their chairs when they heard Azar’s voice. However, no one looked more surprised and intimidated than the king himself, and for a good reason.
“GUARDS !!!” Henry immediately called out. And within an instant, ten elite soldiers drew their swords, surrounding Azar. However, Azar did not look one bit afraid; he just looked … disappointed. With no weapon, not even holding his hands up, Azar just stared at the king with his piercing eyes, gave him a faint smile and slightly shook his head sideways.
“Come now, is this how you treat a guest ?” Azar's voice was as soft and calm as a soothing autumn wind.
“You’re no guest of ours !” The king grunted. His eyes were like daggers, flying toward Azar.
“Not even after I saved your daughter and still almost got executed by you ? Or even when I warned you about who was to come and why ?” Azar playfully replied.
“And I gave you the chance to walk away ALIVE ?! You won’t get a second chance !!!”. Henry’s deep emerald eyes clashed against Azar’s like fire and ice.
“Oh please, … scary cat … If I wanted to harm you, then I would have done so that night.” Azar shrugged his shoulders. “And why would I willingly show myself, save your daughter and give the information, all for nothing ?!”
“I don’t know what going on in your fucking mind ….” The king shouted, but Azar rudely cut him off.
“I’m just here to get a better view … and protect your little princess here when the time comes”.
“HA ! Do you really expect me to believe that you’re here to help us !?!”
Azar chuckled sarcastically, “Are you deaf ?! US ??? When did I say that ?!? I said I’m here to help the little missy over there. And I give a fuck about what might happen to anyone else.”.
“I DON’T WANT YOU HERE !!!” Henry slammed his hands against the table.
“But you need me, and you know you do, don’t you !” Azar remained unhinged about all the soldiers surrounding him or the wrath of the human king. “Like I said, I am here for the princess's wellbeing only. And if you truly care for your daughter. You will take the deal.”
The whole audience stayed dead silent. No one knew what to expect next. Would the king turn to his usual rage and call for Azar's execution again, or would Azar the one take the first initiation this time. However, when Henry turned and looked at his daughter, all that rage and fire was washed away. In Elly’s eyes, all Henry could see was fear and dread. He could hear her little heart pounding like crazy right beside him. His daughter was beyond scared. Finally, the human king sighed longingly and ordered.
“Enough … get back to your position …”. It was loud and clear, but everyone could hear the reluctance in the king's tone.
The elite soldiers stepped back… all but one still stood his ground.
“Your majesty ! This man is a threat ! And I promise you, as one of the captains of the Royal Guard, there is not thing this man can do that we can’t provide for the princess”. The human soldier looked young. The well-kept pearly white skin gave that away if the arrogant tone and rebellious demeanour hadn’t already.
“Foolish little human …” Aza.r said with a frosty voice. “The first lesson to be a good soldier is to follow the chain of command, no matter what.”. Azar took a step closer to the young man. He went as far as put the edge of the sword right onto his neck.
“Come on, show everyone what you got. You want me right, … DO IT !”.
If Azar was just another human, like everyone thought, then one normal swing would leave Azar’s neck flooding with blood.
The young soldier held on tightly to his longsword and gritted his teeth; he wanted to do it.
Azar closed his playful, nonchalant amber eyes, then suddenly opened them again, staring straight at the young human’s weak dark eyes.
LENG KENG, LENG KENG.
The sound of the young captain’s steel armor vibrating filled the room. He was completely immobilized. His legs were quivering, and his hands were shaking, but other than that, he could not move an inch. Once upon a time, only the strongest and bravest humans could even dare step foot in front of Azar. Not everyone had the ability to stare Death in the eyes and still walk. So this weak and young human did not stand a chance.
Curiosity and a big scoop of fear were the expressions on everyone’s faces. The young captain was blocking their view of Azar’s face. And they did not know if that was a good thing or not. Of course, there was the temptation and curiosity to find out what Azar was doing. But they also know that to make a well-trained royal guard shaken to his core was not something they wanted to see before going to bed.
When Azar finally stepped aside, he had his eyes closed, and when he reopened them, they returned to his usual carefree sunny amber eyes. As for the poor young soldier, he crumbled down to the ground, visibly gasping for air, as if he was suffocating on dry land.
“Can someone pull me a chair ? Standing for so long makes me tired !”. That bright warm smile of Azar gave everyone a chill.
**************************
The vile scent of blood and rotten flesh filled everyone's nostrils. No blood had been dropped, yet, the humans had already felt sick in the stomach, their faces turned green, and their legs quivered. The legion of undead seemed endless within the thick red mist.
Up in a high vantage point, Sasha and other commanders watched in horror at the scale of the army they were facing.
“Dear God …”. General Geralt cried out. Even if Tolemac managed to gather up their full army, he still wasn’t sure if that was enough to ensure victory. Now, only one-tenth of the army, Tolemac and Avalon’s future was lost in a mist of uncertainty.
But it was not the time for Geralt to feel an ounce of doubt. It was time for him to be strong. He took a deep breath and exhaled calmly.
“Battle station !!!”. The General commanded. Geralt put on his silver helmet and raised his longsword.
“FOR AVALON !!!” Everyone at the high point shouted. They all followed their general lead and rushed to their designated station. Their long blue cape, with a golden lion head embroidered in mid-center, fluttered in the wind as they separated. There were eight of them, including General Geralt, and at that moment, they all wondered how many of the eight they would get to see again.
Geralt took control of the first line of defense, the front wall. Hundreds of archers and spearmen were stationed there and ready to lay their lives for Tolemac.
“Archers, ready !!!” Geralt called out to his soldiers. “Mages !!! Scan the surroundings ! Make sure none of them could sneak through under or over our heads !!!”
The walls of Tolemac were enchanted with powerful defense magic runes creating an invisible magic barrier, which looked somewhat like a dome, so the liches' weak magic could not get to them from a long distance. However, it was a different story if they could get close enough.
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Normally, this would put the enemy at bay as in order to get through, they would have to suffer a heavy loss before getting through the shield dome. But for the undead army, it was nothing. If what the king had told them was true, and necromancy was to be involved, then it would not matter that much for the Red Mist army. They could replace their undead soldiers with Avalon’s newly fallen soldiers.
“Steady yourself and hold your fire ! Let them get closer !” Geralt commanded.
Down on the ground, behind the iron gate, 10000 of Avalon’s bravest ready themself. And the one who was about to lead them all, the newly promoted Commander Sasha Olivera, the wielder of the legendary Durandal sword.
She had set up the army as planned. Thousands of soldiers would stay in a tight formation, with heavy round shields on the front, creating a defense line and long spears to counter the incoming charges. If all the links connect, layers and layers of men and women form a strong and unbreakable defense formation.
At the backline, around one thousand cavalries were ready to charge at full speed. Sasha was among them. On a muscular ebony horse, which was wearing light leather armor, Sasha braced herself for her first real war. The shining iron helmet could not hide the nervous blue eyes underneath. Her new steel armor flashed like moon-fire, while her legendary sword gleamed like dew. But all of that meant nothing. Like the rest of the soldiers, Sasha shared the same feeling at that moment. Her heart was jumping out of her chest, and she could barely compose herself. Not many of the young soldiers had never faced such horrifying and overwhelming monsters like this before. Whispering among the soldiers, soft and low prayers could be heard. Some prayed that they could beat the odds, but for many, they just prayed that their souls would be spared in the eyes of the gods.
From the outside, the thick red mist was clearing out, showing more and more monsters hidden behind it. 70000 undead creatures, all lined up in perfect battle formation. And behind them all, a couple hundred living souls, controlling the massive army from a safe distance.
On his zombified horse, Liam raised his white spear forward, and the first wave of the siege began.
One thousand liches channelled their magic and began assaulting Tolemac. Firebombs and thunderbolts came storming down on Tolemac. However, the humans did not waver for a moment. That was because all of the undeads’ ranged attacks were stopped mid-air from the magic barrier cast by the mages and the magic runes enchanted to the wall of Tolemac. All they managed to do was create some smoke and fireworks up in the city's sky. However, the assault kept coming nonstop, even though they knew they had no chance of penetrating the magic barrier with such weak attacks. Liches needed no rest and had unlimited stamina to keep it on forever, while the humans could not. And the moment the Red Mist legion broke through the wall and destroyed those enchanted runes, all of those firebombs would rain down on the city. So the mission of the liches was less about creating oppressive firepower but to put the enemies’ mages at bay. Then the skeleton foot soldiers marched forward. There was no fear in their eyes and no hesitation in their hearts, … if there were any left, 50000 skeleton warriors headed straight toward the city’s wall with a remarkable pace.
“Fire !!!” Geralt shouted. Buzzing and fizzing through the sky, a windstorm of fire arrows cut the air and hit their marks. Hundreds of skeletons warriors fell down, dismantled, and crushed.
The human had a brief second of cheer. If just one wave of arrows could destroy so many undead creatures, then maybe they had a chance. However, those smiles quickly turned upside down. The fallen undead creatures suddenly start picking themself up. In some cases, they literally pick themself up. Arrows meant almost close to nothing to them. Except for those who got their skulls and most of their bodies crushed and turned to rubble ... The skeleton warriors would rise up again. After that first wave of arrows, only less than 20 skeleton monsters were eliminated, nothing compared to such a massive army. Then, the Red Mist legion of undead did something no one expected. They all stuck close to each other, and those with shields came forward and raised them up high, creating a tight formation, leaving no room for the arrows to breach through. Normally, this would be the time for the mages to show their value and obliterate the enemies. However, most of the mages were busy making sure the magic barrier must not be broken. They had to take turns resting and fortifying the barrier, leaving only a few on hand to attack the incoming legion.
So the undead army continued their siege, but this time with a relatively slower pace. However, no matter how many arrows came flying at them, no undead creatures got put down. And the magic attacks from Tolemac were too little, too weak to do any real damage to the army. Those fireballs and lightning bolts only manage to do so much. In the end, they reached the walls with minimum casualties.
The Red Mist army then split into two parties. One focused on knocking down the front gate while the other crawled up the wall. Like a well-oiled machine, the undead creature knew exactly what to do and what role they were playing. One by one, they lined up and curled over with their shields on their backs. And one by one, they climbed on each other and did the same, creating skeleton-warriors-ladders. Within a minute, their formation was ready, and the humans could do little against their tactic.
“Archers !!! Fall back !!! To the towers !!! Spearman, come forward !!!” General Geralt commanded. The drums beat loud and clear, signaling Tolemac’s army of their General’s order. One thousand spearmen came forward, replacing the former archers’ positions. They were elite soldiers, the best of the best and the bravest of the brave, volunteering to go into the frontline and face the horde of monsters firsthand. Their steel helmets were carved with the illustration of a lion head, their spear tips glinted like wicked hoar frost, and their short shields held steady within their left hands. The moment the first monster set its bones on the top of the wall, the human warriors lunged at them with all they got. One pushed forward with his shield and body, pushing the monster off the edge, while the other rushed from behind and delivered the fatal blow with the spear. The sound of bones snapping like dry twigs harmonized perfectly with the screams of battles and created such a haunting and nightmarish melody.
However, just like with the arrows storms earlier, the skeleton warrior would rise up once again unless the human could definitively end them.
Wave after wave, the undead creatures continued to come crawling up the wall. The skeleton warriors were just as big and strong as Tolemac soldiers, their only downside might be their lack of skill. However, they had the advantage of numbers and, most importantly, their fearlessness. The undead creature showed never before seen intelligence and maneuver. They would gladly get dismantled by lunging at one of the humans and holding him still so the others behind it could get a clean shot.
The humans tried to minimize their close counter combat by throwing their spears, casting small-scaled shield barriers or shooting offensive magics into the enemies. However, the humans could not keep it up for long, and the Red Mist legion knew that. The living humans commanding the Red Mist kept sending more undead soldiers up to the wall, even though they knew most of them would get knocked down or destroyed only a few moments later. But it was alright. To them, those soldiers cost close to nothing. And as it progressed, the Avalon’s soldiers quickly showed their limits. The Red Mist’s suicidal tatic was very effective. As they heavily outnumbered their foes and they could even reanimate on some occasion, costing two or three skeletons soldiers to take down one of Avalon’s finest meant it was a favorable trade. One after another, the human soldiers crumbled in the hands of the undead creatures. Limbs were getting dismantled by rusty blades, skulls were smashed into mush by their crude hammers, and hearts were impaled with the lances of the enemies. For some, they would get a quick and painless death, but for others, they would get thrown off the wall and ripped apart by the horde of undead creatures.
Little by little, minute by minute, the Red Mist pushed the human army back and took control over the edge of the wall. Soon the wall was flooded with skeleton creatures, and Geralt knew it just had to be done.
“Forward !!!” Geralt shouted, “Do not let them cross !!! ARCHERS !!!!”. It was suicidal. One hundred spearmen charged forward and clashed against thousands of undead creatures, pushing them back, and held the line. Even if it meant most of them would not survive. And if they did not die in the hands of the enemies, then it would be under hundreds and hundreds of arrows heading their way.
Geralt closed his eyes when the arrows came plummeting down on his soldiers, but he could not block the sound away. Right after the whooshing sound of arrows cutting through the wind came, so did the screeching growls and screams of humans and monsters. The unmistakable vile smell of fresh blood thickened in the air after the human’s screams died down. And when Geralt opened his eyes, there lay hundreds and hundreds of his people. They had done their part. Holding the line and keeping the enemies under the rain of arrows, even if it meant they would die with them. Their sacrifice did not come in vain, the monsters crumbled under the assault, and hundreds of humans dashed forward and took over their former comrades' positions. They immediately destroyed the skull and remains of the skeleton monster, preventing them from being reanimated again while fighting back against the next wave of incoming undead creatures. However, once again, they underestimated the power of necromancy.
Utter chaos occurred upon the wall of Tolemac as the undead creature wreaked havoc upon the living. All of a sudden, all of the fallen warriors of Tolemac, from just then, awaken. Lunging at their once fellow humans, the newly fallen warriors stood on their own two feet, or for some, crawling on the floor. Just one second ago, they were friends, brothers, heroes, and the next, they were bleeding, walking undead enemies. Many Tolemac soldiers were caught off guard as the newly created creatures attacked from behind the line, causing even more casualties and, in a full circle, creating more undead monsters.
But that wasn’t even the worst to come. While the first squad of the Red Mist legion focused on taking over the wall, the second squad was busy knocking down the front gate. And they were making great progress. And because the first squad did such a good job, Geralt could not prevent them from trying to force the gate open. He had a much more urgent matter at hand. The Red Mist had brought a special device of their own for the iron gate … a thick and armored stone column. With each knock, the gate shook violently. If it was any other gate, it would have been destroyed within the first or second blow. Tolemac’s gate was heavily supported and required a lot of maneuvers to open manually. However, everything had its breaking point, and it was edging ever closer with every hit it took.
Behind the gate, more than 10000 Tolemac soldiers were ready. The voice of their racing hearts matched the banging sound of the iron gate. The gate shook more violently with every second past, and then the signal drums rushed up. That meant general Geralt had just ordered them to get ready for the enemies. The gate was coming down.
“SHIELD !!!”
The drumroll roared as the brave men and women of Tolemac took their last stand. Though they were filled with despair not so long ago, none could tell if they saw these people at that moment. Steady in their formation, shields holding firm and high, spears helt forward, their cold gazes were all dead focus. They only had one thing on their mind …
“FOR AVALON !!!” Sasha shouted to her fellow soldiers. And at that exact moment, the unbreakable wall of Tolemac had been penetrated. The horde of undead monsters lunged at humans without a moment of hesitation.
*******************
“Run, … fear, … hide …” Azar thought to himself as he watched over the battle. Those were what Azar expected these humans to do. From what he had learned about them in his past life and during his years as a human, Azar saw that they should not be capable of holding their own against such carnage. In the past few days, those exact humans could not stop themself from shaking, from not being able to rest or eat, and they prayed to their Gods just before the battle, praying for their souls to be spared. But now, they all had the eyes of the tigers. Azar could not see an ounce of fear in them. Even when the skeleton creatures clashed with them and the blood of their fellow humans flooded the ground, their will did not waver, their legs did not shiver, and their eyes did not look back, not even for a split second. However, the truth could not be said for some of the humans he was sitting among at that moment.
The scent of sweat and fear stench his nostril. Could it be that his dragon sense was that powerful, or was it just because some of these humans were just that afraid … even though they weren’t the ones fighting for their lives.
Of course, unsurprisingly, those who sat along with the human king showed clear signs of fear. They had cold sweat bathed the shirts on their chest, the annoying tapping sound from their shivering legs and that desperate death stare in their eyes. But what Azar did expect was the same sign coming from some of the so-called elite soldiers standing within the chamber. But before he could analyze them any longer, a pair of shaky hands grabbed hold of his arm.
“Azar, … please tell me everything is going to be okay …” the princess quietly made her way next to Azar and sat next to him.