We found ourselves perched behind a pit towards the left of center of the main battle. Our retreat provided only temporary relief as gnolls pushed forward without a care for their lives, like berserk animals that only knew how to kill.

Rocks launched from overhead sent gnolls and earth flying alike. Yet if only one in three gnolls made it through, that was apparently a sacrifice they were willing to make. The ground in front of the charging gnolls had been lit ablaze by vats of tar, but that didn’t stop them. Dark smoke billowed from scorched gnoll bodies that smelled putrid, like burning hair and rot.

“Keep it up!” Lucas yelled. He was waiting just behind a pit, sending Wind Slash after Wind Slash at any gnoll able to make it past that killing zone in front of us. His passive skill, Ruler, was showing its merit right now, as any gnoll hit by Wind Slash died almost instantly: being completely bisected at the chest.

Jessica and Maria were releasing arrows from over a wall of fire, behind the safety of wooden barricades. They had both declared themselves to be fully out of MP, as was Anna. Thomas was nearly out of MP. While Lucas was wreaking the most havoc, he was almost spent as well, and I could see everyone in the group was growing exhausted.

The Fiend had been terrifying, but so was this relentless pressure and threat of being overwhelmed. I had never experienced such a constant battle. My squad were constantly being destroyed and resummoned, and without them assisting our tanks, we would have been run over long ago. As soon as the nature of the war became clear, I gave up casting Decay. All of my MP went into resummoning undead to keep up our fighting strength.

In fact, our frenzied defense was the only thing keeping Rhugar from calling a full retreat. “We can’t hold much longer!” I yelled towards him. He was patrolling twenty feet to the left and right trying to pick up any gnolls fortunate or unfortunate to cross that barrier of death. He couldn’t see the MP situation through the party window like I could. “Three minutes at most!” I said again.

Rhugar’s horse jerked with the tug of its reins and dirt flew through the hair, “MEN, PREPARE TO RETREAT!” He yelled. This needed to be somewhat organized or the casualties would be unimaginable. He raced to under the wall and yelled at the top of his lungs. “ARCHERS, COVER FIRE!”

The air above was thick with arrows. Preserving supplies for later meant nothing if it could save dozens or hundreds of men’s lives now. “SOLDIERS, RETREAT!” Rhugar yelled before rushing towards the front line.

“What are we doing?” Maria asked. She had been ready to retreat ages ago, and as soon as the order was called her body was already turned.

“Hold a moment.” Lucas said before sending out another Wind Slash. “Just thirty seconds!”

“Don’t push it!” Thomas responded. I could see his MP was already incredibly low. Everyone was nearly out of MP. We were okay now, but a lot could change if a gnoll breakthrough swarmed us.

“We can save so many lives.” Lucas pleaded. “Only thirty seconds!”

“Thirty seconds and not one longer.” I yelled to everyone. Thirty seconds we could manage as the arrows still rained like hail from above. It was like an obstacle course in front of us for the gnolls. If the wooden barricades and pits weren’t enough to slow a rush, half the ground was burning and boulders sprinkled the field. It wouldn’t be easy to overrun us.

Maria groaned without retort before turning back and nocking an arrow. Everyone pulled the last bit of MP out of their tanks and fought on. Anna sucked it up and drank a MP potion just to cast another Blizzard. Jessica laid two Quagmire traps to ensure our escape and then assisted others running out.

I was fully prepared to sacrifice my squad, and they filled any gaps discovered by gnolls attempting to reach us. They were enough to block the narrow passes between obstacles. Alan and Richard went into full rescue mode and were hoisting soldiers by the shoulder and rushing them towards the wall.

This was the longest thirty seconds of my life, and it hurt my heart to see some of the soldiers we left behind as we departed. Thirty seconds was all we could muster safely. The thick rain of arrows above thinned until almost no support came from the walls. I noticed the cackling now more than ever, as the gnolls chasing us went into a frenzy.

“Don’t stop!” I yelled at everyone before sending my undead squad backwards and into the approaching gnolls. Arrows and the occasional spear whizzed by us, tearing up dirt and grass.

“Please God, please God.” Maria was nearly hyperventilating.

“No God’s coming to save us.” Richard yelled before dropping back a bit to assist Anna. Alan followed his example and raced to Maria’s side. The two turned from side to side, scanning the terrain in all directions. Richard had made the right call as he deflected an arrow about to pierce through Anna’s back. “No more shield for anyone, RUN!” He yelled.

We were only a dozen yards out from the gate. Lucas moved beside me and I could see his head wander towards every wounded soldier on the field. Their hands stretched out towards the wall, some screaming for us to help them. “We can’t stop!” I reminded him through erratic breaths. “Helping him is hurting yourself.”

Stopping now would put us on the chopping block. The gates would close soon, with or without us. The city couldn’t afford to allow gnolls to breach the walls. Support had now flocked above the gate, as a new wave of gnolls with battering rams appeared beyond the smoke and flames.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

My throat was dry as sandpaper when we reached the gate and passed through safely. I couldn’t even let out a good job through the panting, opting to smile and give a thumbs up instead.

“Is anyone hurt?” Jessica asked. Which got a bunch of head shakes. I opened my stats to take a look.

Name: Mike Reynolds Class: Necromancer Level: 27 EXP: 32%

HP: 1172/1290 MP: 32/485

STR: 5 Fear Resistance: 5

AGI: 2

DEX: 5

VIT: 29 +14

WIS: 27 +26

Available: 18

Skills: [A] Summon Skeleton LV. 10 | [A] Summon Skeleton Mage LV. 4 | [A] Decay LV. 3| [A] Reanimate Dead LV. 3 | [A] Bone Armor LV. 2 | [A] Vast Shadows | [A] Temporary Grave LV. 1 | [P] Sixth Sense | [P] Bravery LV. 2 | [P] Mutated | [P] Pain Resistance LV. 2 | [P] Skeletal Mastery LV. 4| [P] Intimidate Living | [P] Inner Calm LV. 2 | [P] Necrotic Vision | [P] Blood Thirsty LV. 1 | [P] Cold Hearted LV. 1 | [P] Poison Immunity

I had leveled and gained another thirty-two percent EXP. We had been absolutely plowing gnolls at the end, well, mostly Lucas was. With Ruler activated and hundreds of nearby enemies, his stats were inhuman. He was a natural leader, and the role fit him perfectly. He would do excellently as a general in an army like this.

My eyes scanned the surroundings and my relieved and happy mood slowly disappeared. While we had made some great gains and came out relatively unscathed, the rest of the army wasn’t so well off. This was a horrible and dreary sight.

More than half of the men I saw around me were wounded badly, and another quarter needed some form of medical attention. Triage was badly needed, and there were clearly not enough healers to assist this many wounded men. The losses this day were a horrific blow to the city of Rigar.

General Rhugar was too busy to speak with us as he constantly met different men and women for orders and information. “Reinforcements are coming!” Rhugar yelled. “Rest and heal, the wall will be defended on shifts. The gnolls will not breach!” He yelled. There was no enthusiastic response like before, there was only the groans of wounded men and their broken spirits.

“Let’s return to our quarters,” I said to everyone. We needed at least a day before our MP would be fully recovered. There was nothing for us to do here. The gnolls couldn’t breach the thick walls, but the wooden gate was a worry. I could see the dozens if not hundreds of men perched at the top of the gatehouse. All remaining rocks and oil were being brought up ready to be used in keeping that gate safe.

“Do you think reinforcements are actually coming?” Anna asked. I couldn’t say there was no reason for Rhugar to lie—there was a good reason. Morale was at an all time low and being thrown to the wolves without hope might have seen men refusing to fight and instead flee the city.

“We’ll ask him when we see him,” I said.

We made it back to the barracks without incident and some of us were lying down and trying to relax in order to get MP back as rapidly as possible, when, much sooner than I expected, Rhugar came in.

“Do you have a few moments?” He asked much more politely than I was used to. It was clear his attitude had taken a turn during that battle. Seeing was believing, and we hadn’t disappointed in the slightest.

“Can we meet in your office in fifteen minutes or so?” I asked. Not everyone was here at the moment. The women were off bathing, and Alan and Richard and Lucas were waiting for their finish to bathe as well. Those three had been covered in dirt and debris by the time we returned. I was fortunate enough to have bone armor, which only left me sweaty instead.

“That’s fine. I’ll be in the barracks for the next hour or so,” he said before turning and walking down the hall. I wasn’t brave enough to go and tell the women to hurry up as Rhugar expected us. I did find the guys and told them about our appointment.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Richard didn’t have the same hesitation as I did. His head peeked through the door and yelled out, “HURRY UP, RHUGAR IS EXPECTING US AND I WANT TO SHOWER!”

Almost immediately after his yell came Maria’s voice. “GET OUT YOU BUFFOON.”

And just a moment later was Jessica, “Sorry, we’ll be out soon.” We could hear the muffled shouts of Maria, no doubt a joint operation of Jessica and Anna’s hands over her mouth was keeping her from spitting more profanities.

“I’ll let you handle it.” I said to Richard. I didn’t want to be in the crossfire. “Meet in my room afterwards.” It took about twenty minutes for everyone to arrive. I could see Richard and Maria side-eyeing each other, but decided to not comment on it.

“Let’s go see what Rhugar has to say,” I said. I felt we had done all we could in that battle and performed without holding back. His room was wide open when we arrived, and Rhugar was inside pacing back and forth. There was no worry on his face, but his actions said otherwise.

“Ah, I’m glad you’re here,” the commander began, “your performance earlier was excellent.”

“Thank you,” Lucas replied. “We promised to do our best and did.”

“That’s good. I wasn’t wrong about you all. I felt you would keep your word, from a gut feeling I’ve honed over many years. It’s a skill that’s allowed me to keep my place here.” I understood that comment after having spoken with Lazemus. Holding a position of power wasn’t easy when someone was always looking to take your place.

There was an awkward silence as we waited for him to continue speaking. Eventually Maria couldn’t take it anymore, “What did you need from us?” she said. Her mood still wasn’t great, probably as a result of Richard demanding she leave the shower early.

“Excuse my rudeness,” Rhugar said, “I didn’t bring you here just to flatter you.” He paused. “The gnolls are acting strangely this time. In previous attacks, even when we were pushed back into the city, they would continue rushing forward endlessly until their numbers were too depleted to continue. So far, they have never managed to breach the walls, and even now we held some confidence they won’t be able to.”

“Is it true there are reinforcements coming?” I asked the question several of us were wondering.

“That’s true,” he replied. “The issue is that the gnolls are not attempting to put ladders against the walls or ram down the gate. We are prepared to rotate guards through the night for the foreseeable future, but the gnolls have pulled up just out of arrow range. That’s new. Normally, they attack constantly for several days.”

“You fear they aren’t looking to storm the city but to set up a siege?” Lucas asked.

“Right,” Rhugar confirmed, “Even with the arrival of reinforcements, I fear we won’t be able to dislodge them.” He suddenly unfolded a map and began pointing at a forest to the south east, tracing it with his fingers. “They’ve infested Delamere forest. The southern gate is being blocked by their numbers, and the east is being watched. Losing half of the trade routes out of Rigar is a catastrophic disaster we can’t afford.”

“How bad?” Jessica asked. I wasn’t as worried as she sounded. There had to be reserves or supplies in the case of something like this happening.

“Bad,” Rhugar confirmed, “the city can keep people fed for at most two weeks.”