Jack, Angela, and Em'brel crept forward at the back of their formation. Despite not being fully grown yet, the wolgen were hard to miss due to their size, and Angela's body was visible from some distance away, so they held back a bit to keep from giving away their position. Angela kept track of Lon'thul and the nearby enemy line as she and Jack quietly debated their options.
The AI shook her head, speaking in hushed tones to prevent her voice from carrying through the trees. "They seem to be standing there waiting for us. If we wanted, we could probably sneak around them. It wouldn't take more than a couple dozen minutes. Given how long a fight would last, it might actually save us some time!"
Jack shook his head, hissing back as quietly. "As important as speed is to us now, time isn't our only concern. You and the wolgen will pack a serious punch on the charge, but with all these hunters going up against seasoned warriors, we can't really afford to fight a prolonged battle. Our main advantage is the ferocity of our charge. We can't afford to leave an enemy at our backs who can flank and sandwich us into a prolonged fight. We must clear them out of our way and get into position before S'haar shows her hand!"
Angela looked like she was about to offer another counterpoint before standing a little straighter and speaking at normal volume. "Looks like it's a moot point. Lon'thul just said he might be in trouble and that we need to charge and do it now."
Jack looked like he had questions for a moment but then shook his head to clear it. He knew going into this he'd have to trust the hunter implicitly, now wasn't the time to question why he was making a call like this. "Alright, let's move to the front. Make sure the hunters all know we're going in loud and fast!"
As Angela turned to issue orders, Jack looked down at Em'brel. "You ready for this?"
The young noble gripped her spear tightly as she looked at Kunes, who seemed to think they were just out for a pleasant walk. The small horse-sized murder puppy snapped playfully at her sister. They were both easily more massive than two full-grown argu'n males, which is to say somewhere in the seven to eight hundred pound area, but still only about two-thirds of their max height and maybe a bit less than half their total potential weight. They were old and large enough that they'd probably have left the proverbial nest by now to strike it out on their own in the wild but still young enough that the much smaller argu'n woman seemed more concerned for them than herself as she answered Jack's question. "Well, we don't have much choice, do we?"
Jack urged Grim to pick up his pace and follow after Angela as he answered. "No, we don't. Just remember, your main job is to keep those two from over-committing. You don't have to be a hero out here. Leave that to Angela, Grim, and me."
Em'brel smiled a little as she enjoyed a rare moment of finding a flaw in Jack's statement. "I thought you told S'haar you were done being a hero?"
Jack smiled sadly and nodded. "I am, except where you're involved. What Kind of an adoptive parent figure would I be if I let you take any more risk than was absolutely necessary?"
Em'brel kept her thoughts to herself as she followed after the man who'd already given up an eye and a leg on her behalf, silently determined to make sure he didn't lose any more of himself for her ever again.
-
Lack'nul was already tired. Admittedly he was pushing himself twice as hard as the workers around him to try and keep them all in one piece, but still, he had no idea how much longer he could keep this up. He took another step back to give himself more space to swing his spear and catch another warrior unprepared for the sudden offensive move when he seemed to only act defensively most of the time. That meant one less warrior, only a thousand and change to go.
Lack'nul had probably taken a hundred such steps back to create openings and only a few dozen forward. The line was definitely starting to bow, with the workers falling back a step at a time while the more experienced warriors on the ends held their place.
As another fresh and energetic enemy warrior rushed to fill the gap, the enemy thrust his spear forward, catching Lack'nul across the ribs plates. Any other time such a move would have likely punched right through his bone plates into his vital organs, but the Gambison armor Jack designed once again did its thing and twisted the momentum of the spear just enough that it only grazed across his plates, sparing the new guard captain once again. He thrust back, forcing his opponent to release the spear as he retreated.
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With an annoyed grunt, Lack'nul pulled the spear out of his armor with a twist and dropped it before deflecting another attack aimed at his head. He could almost hear old Ger'ron's words, "If an enemy is stabbing for your head, that's never the intended killing blow. It's a distraction. Be ready for a second strike near your stomach immediately after!" Sure enough, when Lack'nul spun his spear in his hands to deflect a blow he never even saw, the weapon's haft made contact with another spearhead aimed directly at the supposedly unprotected belly. A second warrior pulled back, frustration evident on his face. These two likely worked together in the past and were used to that little trick ending fights before they began.
With an annoyed grunt, Lack'nul lashed out, driving his spear between them, then used the weapon's haft to slap the rightmost warrior across his ear. It wasn't exactly a finishing blow, but it distracted him for several precious moments while the worker next to the guard captain lunged forward and drove his spear into the warrior's now exposed flank.
Another spearhead was headed right for the worker, but Lack'nul used the butt of his spear to deflect the bow while a worker on his other side used their own spear to protect the guard captain's now exposed flank.
Despite this aid, the captain had to take another step back to avoid another blow, and he noticed the line of workers move with him. They were now well within the ash of the forest fire they'd burned and had to be as careful of their footing as they did the enemies' spears.
The new guard captain was panting, trying to catch his breath as another warrior stepped forward to take advantage of his exhausted state, and he wondered how much longer he could hold the line...
-
B'arthon watched as a silver figure burst from the trees in front of his men. There was Lady Angela, which meant right behind her would be... Sure enough, Jack was Charging forward on his wolgen right behind his sister, getting off a couple of impossibly loud shots with that damned magic weapon of his. They'd form the spearhead to what was likely a group of hunters...
That was when B'arthon saw the first of his miscalculations. Behind Jack ran out two more wolgen with Em'brel close behind. The noble narrowed his eyes as he watched Angela, then the wolgen crash into his warriors. Sure enough, the rest of the line were hunters like he'd expected. They were lighter in build and gear than his warriors, but years of hunting and killing in the wilds meant they were still dangerous, as they showed by stopping short of his line and letting lose a barrage of throwing spears to thin his ranks before grabbing their long spears and charging in. His warriors countercharged to the best of their ability, but with that damned metal female and the three wolgen sitting right in the middle of the line, it was a half-hearted charge at best, twisting his battleline into an inverted wedge formation.
None of the wolgen was fully grown, but the three of them working in tandem was a nightmare to behold. They twisted and danced around each other like serpents rather than the three half-ton monsters they were. Their teamwork made them almost impossible for any warrior to get in a solid strike because the exposed flank of one was quickly covered by the terrifying jaws of another or the bladed tail of the third.
On top of it all was that thrice-damned Jack. For the most part, he kept that magic weapon of his pointed to the sky, probably to keep from endangering his nightmarish pets with a stray shot, but whenever the monster he was astride of came to a halt long enough, the human would point his weapon at a warrior, and with a roar of thunder that warrior would fall.
If they could finish off the hunters quickly enough, then maybe they could surround the wolgen and wear them out through a series of small attacks designed to inflict countless minor injuries rather than a single killing blow. It would come at a heavy cost, but it wasn't impossible.
That was when the noble noticed another miscalculation. He'd expected Lady Angela to stay at her brother's side, protecting him as she's reportedly done in their previous battles, but she was slowly working her way through his battle line, and every time she flung another warrior bodily aside like they were no more than an annoying child, her gaze returned to him. He was her goal. With the addition of the other wolgen, she was free to focus on the real threat. Without him here to make any calls, their ability to react to new surprises would be minimal.
As the tall metal female snapped another spear in two like a twig and tossed the warrior who'd been wielding it a dozen feet away, B'arthon was suddenly unable to think clearly. He'd been expecting to wear her down much the same way he was planning on wearing down the wolgen, but if she was focused on him and him alone, how could he hope to stop that metallic monstrosity?
B'arthon grabbed his closest bodyguard and pulled his head down to a speaking level. "Take all my guards and take down that metal woman! Focus your spears on the joints in her legs and arms! That's where her armor will be weakest! If I die here today, your cushy jobs with all the drinks and females you could want will be over, and you'll be back to just being another nameless guardsman! Now go!" With that, he released his guard, who started shouting at the other guards, and soon they were on their way to join the fight.
As he stood alone, the noble could only hope they were enough to stop that damned metal female. If not, his part in his father's new empire may already be at an end...
-
Lon'thul heard the sound of battle and wondered if he should just go and join the fight. Ever since he's spoken aloud, he'd expected his father to appear out of the underbrush like some avenging spirit, but aside from the nearby battle, everything remained as it was. Where was his old man? What was that wily old wolgen planning? How much longer could Lon'thul afford to wait?