Tetsuya watched the orc warband with a blank stare on his face. Like a deer looking into the headlights of an oncoming vehicle.
The orcs marched forward through the forest clearing, a thick sea of tall redwood trees surrounding them at both sides. The earth shook beneath them as they marched. Some orcs beat their shields with their weapons, others pounded their chests with their fists. Others brandished their weapons in the air and howled savage battle cries into the night. At the front of the warband rode their cavalry, dire wolf riders at about fifty units strong. Behind the cavalry marched their mixed infantry, making up the bulk of the warband at two hundred and fifty units strong. Together the warband was three hundred units strong, three hundred battle-hardened barbarians looking to lay waste to anything that stood in their path of destruction.
The boy felt a hand brush up against his, he turned to see Chelsea standing beside him.
"Are you scared?" she asked him.
"Yeah," he replied softly.
"There are worse things in life than dying a hero's death," she said thoughtfully.
"I'm not scared of dying," he said.
"Then what are you scared of?" she asked.
"I'm scared of losing you," he blurted out without thinking.
"I'm not going anywhere," she reassured him.
"Then neither am I," he replied.
Their fingers intertwined for a fleeting moment that was theirs alone.
They watched with bated breath as the looming threat crept closer and closer towards them.
The orcs were clad in an assortment of mismatched equipment, spoils of war from the enemies that had fallen to them in combat. Composite bows from the centaurs, dwarven pauldrons and chest plates from a war of a bygone age, shields engraved with the emblems of various noble houses from the southern kingdoms. Any equipment that they had looted that were not to their liking were melted down and crudely reforged into something usable. Weapons and armors forged by master craftsmen, melted down to create a crude parody of their work. As was the nature of the orcs, they did not create or innovate, they only raided and pillaged, taking the creations of others and parading it as their own.
The sea of orcs parted right down the middle, making way for an orc riding to the front of the warband. From the distinct scar pattern on his face, it could have only been one person. Dubaku the Butcher. The warchief looked across the battlefield and scoffed, unimpressed by the enemy resistance standing before him. Behind the warchief, an orc serving as the flag-bearer rode closely behind him. Most orcs do not have banners or emblems to represent their warbands, instead, they carried around the banners of armies that they had defeated in battle. The banners were desecrated and stained a dark crimson with the blood of their dead enemies. The banner the flag-bearer carried was black and bore the emblem of a golden rose.
"There's far too many of them," Jason said, shaking his head, gripped by the clutches of despair. "What are we going to do?"
"Evacuate your village, just as we discussed. Take them as far up north as you can. " Lord Edward told the village chief. His voice was calm as still water, but his heart burned with rage. His eyes fixed on the banner and on the emblem of the family that he swore his undying allegiance to. "Lend me your men and we'll buy you as much time as we can."
"My men are yours to command, my lord," Jason said, turning his sight back on his village and the task in front of him. "May the gods watch over all of you."
Lord Edward turned to the villagers. Their eyes were filled with terror, bodies shaking in fear. They were like children playing a game, a crude imitation of war. They carried weapons like soldiers but barely knew how to wield them. They were hunters, farmers, foragers, none of them were soldiers. But for their family and friends to survive, soldiers were what they had to be.
"I can't force any of you to stay and fight," Lord Edward said to the villagers, his commanding voice cutting through their fears and doubts. "If you wish to run, now is the time."
The villagers stood silent. The offer was alluring. To turn tail and run, to live another day. An escape from the certain death that awaited them. Still, their feet dared not move, their hearts would not allow it.
"But if you stay and fight, if you follow me into battle, I swear on my honor that the world will remember your names long after you're gone! Your people will sing songs of your bravery! Tell stories of the courage that you showed here tonight!" Lord Edward's voice resonated into the heart of his allies. "Follow me into battle and I will make all of you immortal!"
The villagers let out a rallying cry. The old man's words resonated in their hearts, now their resolve to protect the people of their village was unwavering. They were hunters, farmers, foragers. But tonight, they were also going to be soldiers.
Tetsuya saw something out of the corner of his eyes. A horse-drawn wagon barrelling wildly towards them. The horse made such a sudden stop that it threw its rider off. The carriage tipped over, making a cacophony of noise as metal crashed into metal. The rider stood up and waved to him and Chelsea.
"Liam?" Tetsuya asked, befuddled at the high elf's unceremonious arrival.
"What are you doing here?" Chelsea asked, equally befuddled.
Liam pulled out a scroll from his pocket, cleared his throat and began to read it out loud. "By order of Princess Deirdre, any adventurers that wish to guard Galanis' Village from the possible threat of an orc horde invasion... Something something... Potentially extremely dangerous... Yada yada yada... Loss of life and/or limbs... Will be paid fifteen hundred crowns for their service," Liam looked around at the orc barbarians standing at the distance. "Okay, I'm going to be perfectly honest here. I didn't think actually think that there would be that many of them."
"Cullen, you knife-eared little shit! You told us you knew how to ride a horse!" the lizardman yelled at the high elf as he climbed out of the overturned wagon. He wore a full tartan over his plate armor and carried a greatsword strapped to his back.
"Could have, would have. I got us here in one piece, didn't I?" Liam yelled back at the lizardman. "Hey, can you toss me my shillelagh?"
The lizardman grabbed a walking stick made of blackthorn wood from inside the wagon and threw it irreverently at Liam's general direction.
Liam scowled as he bent down to pick up his shillelagh. "Thanks, MacGregor. You're such a sweetheart."
A dark elf dressed in wizard raiments climbed out of the wagon and dusted herself off. "You could have killed us, you know?" she chastised the high elf.
"I'm sorry, Frida" Liam apologized facetiously. "I saw a few hundred orcs heading towards the village and I thought, you know what, maybe we should hurry it up a bit."
"Please stop fighting," a young high elf cleric pleaded as she stumbled out of the wagon. "It's not really-" she turned around and vomited violently on the ground. "It's not really appropriate given the situation that we're in."
"Are you okay, Darcy?" Frida asked, putting a hand on her companion's shoulder.
"I am okay," the cleric smiled, wiping the vomit from her mouth with the back of her hand.
Darcy turned towards one of the villagers. "Umm, That wagon is full of very sharp and very deadly weapons. If you have any more villagers that would like to take up arms, there's plenty of weapons here for them." she smiled pleasantly at the villagers.
"I'll let them know at once!" one of the villagers said, rushing back to the village.
"How many weapons did you bring with you?" Lord Edward asked.
"Fifteen spears, fifteen swords, thirty shields," MacGregor replied.
"You lot just doubled our numbers," Lord Edward said, thankfully for every little bit of help that they could get.
"So, it's us against all of them," Liam said, staring out at the very slowly advancing orc barbarians heading their way.
"Can we actually win this thing?" Frida asked.
"I'm sure we can do anything if we try our best!" Darcy replied.
"I can't believe you guys are here," Chelsea said, throwing her arms around her fellow adventurers. "I can't believe that I'm going to die surrounded by my friends."
Lord Edward placed a hand on Liam's shoulder. "What did you say your name was, lad?"
"Liam," the high elf replied.
"Liam Cullen, is it?" Lord Edward studied his face. "You wouldn't happen to be-"
"It's a common family name," the high elf lied, but the five-leaf clover emblem that he wore told the truth.
The old man chuckled to himself. "Of course it is."
Tetsuya gripped his sword tightly in his hand. "It looks like they're making their move."
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Dubaku sounded his battle horn, signaling for his fearsome orc cavalry to commence their charge.
"Everyone, move into formation!" Lord Edward shouted his instructions to his allies. "Infantry square, just as we practiced! Spearmen at the front! Archers at the back!"
The old man shot glances at Alexis and Liam, he had heard of their individual feats and accomplishments, though he had never seen them with his own eyes. He had no choice but to put his faith in the two young men. "Alexis! Take the left corner point of our frontline! Liam! Take the right!" The two young men did as they were told. As soon as they were in position, they knew right away what the old man had in mind. With a simple pivot, they could switch from defending their frontline to defending their flanks from stragglers.
Frida held out a small pouch, showing it to Lord Edward. Inside was the heart of an infant flame dragon, a rare component needed for casting a devastating magic spell. "I can have a flame dragon's breath ready for you," she said.
"Very well," Lord Edward told her. "Prepare your spell. We'll use it on their infantry."
"Everyone else, at the flanks!" Lord Edward shouted, taking his place in the frontline, in the middle of the spearmen.
Tetsuya was lost in his thoughts as he watched the villagers scrambled hastily into position. His mind drifted to a memory of one particular Monday back in his middle school years. As soon as school had let out, he made a mad dash for the nearest bookstore. Out of breath, he grabbed a copy of the latest issue of a popular shonen anthology magazine from the shelf. That week's edition was quite special, inside was the six hundred and eighty-sixth chapter of his favorite shonen manga, which served as the series' long-awaited finale. He was so overcome with excitement that his hands wouldn't stop shaking the entire time.
The boy looked down at the sword and the shield in his hands. They were shaking.
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And it terrified him.
Chelsea grabbed Tetsuya by the arm, pulling him along. "Come on, Tetsuya! Now is not the time for you to be spacing out!" The half-orc dragged the boy to the left flank of the formation, joining Alexis and Darcy. The rest of the left flank was made up of half of the swordsmen from the village. On the opposite side stood Liam, Frida, MacGregor, and the other half of the swordsmen, forming the right flank.
"Archers! Volley fire at my command!" Lord Edward commanded, waiting patiently for the enemy cavalry to charge within the effective firing range of his archers. Once they were within thirty feet, the old man gave his orders to attack. "Nock! Draw! Loose!"
The archers did as they were told, firing the opening salvo of the battle. Their arrows stormed down on the enemy cavalry, striking orcs and dire wolves alike. Though each archer lacked the experience to be able to shoot accurately with their bow, firing together in a volley made up for their individual inaccuracy.
"Nock! Draw! Loose!" Lord Edward ordered a second volley of arrows.
"Alexis! Liam! Fire at will! Thin out their cavalry as much as you can!" Lord Edward ordered the two young men. Even in the heat of battle, the old man was eager to see what the number one and number two ranked Queensguard candidates were capable of.
"Close your eyes and cover your ears!" Liam warned his allies. The high elf channeled the mana around him, casting a peculiar combination of light and thunder magic. An intense flash of light enveloped the sky, temporarily blinding anyone who saw it. The blinding light was accompanied by a thunderous blast, temporarily deafening its victims, causing further chaos to the charging enemies by disrupting their line of communication.
"We've got a few moments before they recover from the effects of my flashbang! Don't waste this window of opportunity!" Liam said, unleashing a magical barrage of stone shrapnel at the enemy cavalry. He fired his stone shrapnel in small clusters with unpredictable trajectories, making them extremely difficult to dodge or defend against. It was a devastating weapon perfect for suppressing large groups of enemies.
"Wasn't planning on it!" Alexis said, synthesizing half a dozen arrows in his hand and firing them in rapid succession. His aim was immaculate, taking out all six of his targets with a flurry of headshots. Within moments of taking out his targets, Alexis synthesized another half a dozen arrows and took out six more.
The remaining dire wolf cavalry regained their senses and commenced their charge towards the villagers' frontline of spearmen.
"Spearmen, hold your positions!" Lord Edward reminded the inexperienced villagers. He knew that an infantry square would be the perfect counter to the enemy's cavalry charge. But he also knew that this formation could easily be broken if his men succumbed to their fears and abandoned their positions. It was a test of will to see which side would break first. "If you break formation, then this battle is as good as lost!"
The first line of dire wolves lunged. Staring death in the face, the villagers stood with their weapons at the ready. Unwavering, they maintained their formation.
Most of the dire wolves stopped, intelligent enough to recognize the futility of charging the spear wall in front of them. The more aggressive dire wolves followed through with their attack, skewering themselves into the wall of spears. Seeing the carnage in front of them, the remaining dire wolves animalistic sense of self-preservation kicked in. They ignored their rider's commands and turned around to make a retreat. The retreating cavalry fled in the opposite direction, crashing into their own allies. Some dire wolves thrashed wildly, throwing their riders to the ground, leaving them to be trampled by their own allies amidst the ensuing havoc. In the middle of the chaotic scene, an orc with a scar on his face shouted orderers at his men, in a vain attempt to regain a sense of order.
"That's their warchief, Dubaku the Butcher!" Lord Edward shouted to his men. "If we can take him out, it will be a huge blow for their side!"
"I've got this!" Liam said, launching a barrage of stone shrapnel across the battlefield, landing several direct hits at the orc warchief.
Dubaku sneered, pulling out a piece of shrapnel from his should and two more from his abdomen. He set his sights on Liam.
"Shit," Liam cursed under his breath. "I think I just pissed him off even more."
"Don't worry! Leave him to me!" Alexis said, readying his bow. He synthesized a single arrow in his hand. The faun, took aim and fired, shooting an arrow right into the orc's chest.
"Got him!" the faun shouted.
"It's no good! He's still standing!" Liam said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Not for long! Look!" Alexis said, pointing to the orc. The warchief's movements were sluggish, at one point almost falling off his dire wolf. "I coated that arrowhead in nightshade extract! Once it works it way into his system, he'll be out cold!"
"How long will it take for the nightshade to take full effect?" Lord Edward asked.
"Five, maybe ten minutes," the faun replied. "Once it kicks in he'll be out for a full hour."
"He'll have to retreat, at least momentarily," MacGregor said.
"That should give us enough time to evacuate the village," Chelsea added.
"Jason will continue his evacuation as planned." Lord Edward said. "We have to kill Dubaku here and now. If we wait, he'll just regroup and attack again once he recovers."
Dubaku turned his dire wolf around and rode towards his infantry. He knew that his cavalry was crushed, but his infantry still outnumbered his opponents four to one.
"He's going to retreat behind his infantry lines!" MacGregor shouted. "We have to take him out now while we have the chance!"
"Wedge formation!" Lord Edward shouted, preparing his side for their counter-attack. "All eyes on me! Follow my lead!" The villagers shifted into a triangular formation with the archers at the center with the spearmen, swordsmen, and adventurers forming the outside of the wedge. Taking point, Lord Edward lead his forces into a charge of their own, cutting through the dire wolf cavalry that was now thrown into complete chaos. Behind him, his spearmen used the superior reach of their spears to skewer any enemies that attacked their formation.
Alexis fired his arrows, prioritizing enemies that were closest to his flank. But even with his marksmanship, a few managed to slip past his watch.
Tetsuya braced himself as a dire wolf rider charged straight towards him. An arrow struck the orc through the neck, causing him to fall off his mount. The boy didn't have to look to know that it was Alexis who made that shot. Even without a rider, the dire wolf continued its attack. Tetsuya smashed its snout with his shield, knocking the beast back. Alexis finished off the dire wolf with a lethal shot to the head.
Another dire wolf rider attacked the left flank, this time within Chelsea's range. The half-orc raised her battle axe and swung, splitting the rider's skull open in one fell swoop. The dire wolf snarled and lunged at Chelsea, She kicked it on the side of the head, stunning the beast and causing it to retreat.
On the right flank, Liam watched Darcy out of the corner of his eyes. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe!" Liam said with a confident grin. The high elf mage didn't notice the dire wolf rider coming towards him from his left.
Darcy intercepted the attacker, smashing the dire wolf rider's face in with her flanged mace. Though the weapon was made for the purpose of penetrating plate armor, it could also be used to penetrate skulls. The cleric raised her flanged mace again to crush the dire wolf's skull. The rider, determined to get his revenge, stumbled forward towards the cleric, without hesitation, Darcy smashed the rider's skull in repeatedly, his blood spraying all over her innocent face.
"Thank you for keeping me safe," Darcy smiled at Liam.
MacGregor let out a burst of mocking laughter, witnessing the exchange between the two.
With the enemy's dire wolf cavalry in shambles, Lord Edward set his sights back on the fleeing Dubaku.
Dubaku rode his dire wolf in momentary retreat, disappearing behind his frontline of orc warriors. Lord Edward marched his formation in pursuit of the orc warchief, cutting down the remnants of the orc's dire wolf cavalry that stood in their way.
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The orc infantry's frontline of warriors made way for the orc shamans that stood concealed behind them, a dozen orc shamans that had been covertly preparing a barrage of powerful spells. Spells powerful enough to end the battle in an instant.
"It's a trap!" MacGregor shouted. "He led us right into his shaman artillery's line of fire!"
"Keep moving forward! Leave their casters to me!" Lord Edward said, steadily advancing his allies towards the firing of orc shamans.
"Are we going to be alright?" Tetsuya asked, watching as the orc shaman's artillery of fireballs grew larger and larger by the second.
Chelsea smirked. "You're about to find out why they call that old man The Mage's Bane."
The orc shamans launched their spells, they looked around in a panic when nothing happened. Before they knew it Lord Edward and the spearmen behind him shredded through their ranks, dropping them one by one in a savage slaughter. They watched helplessly, trying to cast a spell, any spell that they could use to defend themselves, but nothing happened. All they could do was watch in horror as Lord Edward and the villagers struck them down, one after the other.
"What's going on? Why aren't they fighting back?" Tetsuya asked, confused.
"Remember what I taught you about how you can use mana block to deprive a spellcaster of the environmental mana they need to cast a spell?" Liam began to explain. "That's what Lord Edward is doing. Except his mana control is so insane that he can use mana block against every single one of their spellcasters."
"This is the kind of power you need to have to become a member of the Queensguard," Chelsea said, awestruck.
Lord Edward led his allies deeper and deeper into the orcs' infantry line.
"Is your dragon's breath ready?" the old man asked Frida.
"Yes, my lord," Frida replied. "Just give me the word."
"Fire it down their right flank!" Lord Edward instructed.
Frida gripped the infant fire dragon's heart tightly in her left hand, setting in aflame as a sacrifice to activate her spell. She set her eyes on her targets, raised the staff in her right hand and conjured the spell dragon's breath, unleashing a stream of flames reaching up to sixty feet in front of her. Frida directed the dragon's breath, with only a few seconds to work with, she made sure to hit as many targets as she could. The smell of burning flesh and anguished screams filled the air.
"Well done, lass!" Lord Edward praised the young wizard. "Their right flank has taken heavy damage!"
Tetsuya stared out into the sea of orcs around him. An orc lunged at him, but the boy instinctively bashed his face in with the edge of his shield. Another orc impatiently shoved his dazed ally out of the way so that he could go after the boy. Tetsuya held out his sword and shut his eyes tightly. When he opened them, he found his blade buried into the orc's heart. He pulled out his sword, his enemy's blood dripping on the blade. He felt a quiet sense of comfort that he could not explain.
Orcs from the left flank swarmed the group, enveloping their formation from the rear, surrounding Lord Edward and his allies from all sides. They used their sheer numbers to cut down the villagers, breaking down their formation and boxing them in.
From the corners of his eyes, Tetsuya watched the villagers fall one by one. A sword through the heart, a war hammer through the skull, a spear through the throat. Steel mangling flesh in every conceivable combination. He turned away and shut his eyes. The anguished screams of the villagers took the boy by the hand and led him somewhere dark. A twisting path that he had never walked before, but somehow knew a little too well. He followed the path further and further down until he found the place that he was looking for.
The boy opened his eyes and looked down at his shaking hands. He found himself at home.
He thrust his sword into the eye of the orc in front of him, then shoved his body out of the way. As if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do. The boy cut down an orc to his right with his sword, bashed the skull of an orc to his left with his shield. He slowly began to move forward through the sea of orcs, fighting for every single inch that he could get.
"Tetsuya! What are you doing!?" Chelsea screamed at the boy, going after him.
"Hold your ground!" Lord Edward commanded. "It's too dangerous to break from formation!"
Chelsea ignored the old man's orders and pushed forward.
"Alexis! Liam! Give them cover fire!" Lord Edward shouted. "Everyone! Follow my lead! We're pushing forward after them!"
Alexis let loose, unleashing a flurry of shots at the orcs closest to Tetsuya. Liam followed suit. With Tetsuya in close proximity to the enemy, it was no longer safe to rely on his stone shrapnel. He switched to his lightning bolt spell, which was far more taxing on his body, but its extreme accuracy made it worth it.
The orcs that saw him immediately went after the boy. They pushed and shove each other for the chance to cut him down. Out of instinct, or adrenaline, or maybe something else, the boy evaded their attacks. A block with his shield, a parry with his sword. It felt like it was something he'd done a million times before.
But he knew that he was on borrowed time. Whatever it was that took hold of him, he could feel it slipping away. With every thrust, with every kill, his instincts grew duller.
The boy fought his way past the last hurdle of orcs, plunging his sword into their bodies. Parrying their blades, and cutting them down with lethal counter-thrusts. With nothing left standing between him and Dubaku, he lunged forward to make the kill.
The boy ran out of time.
Dubaku smirked, palming a dagger he had hidden in his back. In one swift motion, the orc warchief dodged the boy's thrust and plunged the dagger into his stomach.
"Tetsuya!" Chelsea screamed, fighting her way to the boy.
The boy's arms fell limp as blood poured from his mouth. His sword and shield falling to the ground.
"What did you think would happen?" Dubaku laughed, twisting the dagger. "That you would kill me and end this battle? That you would end up being the big hero?"
Tetsuya reached his left arm forward, shoving his palm right into Dubaku's face. On his ring finger, the fire artifact gleamed in the moonlight. The boy activated his fire magic, blasting the orc warchief in the face at point-blank range.
Dubaku howled in pain, clutching at the burnt flesh of his face.
Bleeding out and rapidly losing consciousness, Tetsuya picked up his sword. With the last of his strength, he pushed forward and thrust his sword at Dubaku's throat. Dubaku caught the blade of the sword with his bare hands, cutting his palms but saving his own life in the process. Even under the effects on Alexis' nightshade and Tetsuya searing his face to a crisp, the orc warchief refused to die.
"I'm through playing games with you," Dubaku scoffed. "It's time for you to die, hero."
"I'm not a hero," the boy muttered, a smile twisting on his face. "But she is."
Chelsea leapt into the air and with a fierce battle cry, she brought her battle axe down on Dubaku's skull, dropping the warchief where he stood.
The boy collapsed on the ground, coughing violently, choking on his own blood. Chelsea fell to her knees beside the boy, cradling him in her arms.
"Why?" Chelsea asked, tears in her eyes."Why would you go and do something so stupid and so reckless?"
"Didn't have much of a choice," Tetsuya gave her a weak smile. "Had to do something. Anything. To give you a chance to..."
A thunderous battle cry roared from a distance. Tetsuya turned his head and saw a sea of black and gold tearing through the orc infantry's rear. Flashes of lightning flickering in the night, a perfect marriage of beauty and violence that could have only meant one person. The boy let out a sigh of relief, knowing that Chelsea and the others would be safe. He closed his eyes and drifted out of consciousness.