Jeriah stood at the front of the Warlord’s army. The forces of Camelot had finally gathered and stood against them. They had taken losses during their conquest of Dracon and now held control of half the country. Without the Warlord with them, however, they had limited ways of replenishing their numbers. They had slowly been whittled down, those that remained were the strongest of their army, but they were outnumbered five to one.
Their army was not made for defending castle or city walls so they had taken to the field where they could be the most effective. The pike formations set against them and the ranks of armored knights on horseback made Jeriah uneasy, but he didn’t show it. He and his brothers stood at the front of the army. They didn’t ride horses except for going between places in battle unless you were rich enough to afford gifted steeds a horse was only good against non-gifted.
The heavy thud of thousands of feet striking the ground at once filled the air and sent vibrations through the earth as the army of Camelot advanced. Howls and roars rose up from the army of the Warlord, the pike formations stopped as the din of monstrous noises rose up but their commanders drove them forwards.
The two armies clashed. Goblins were skewered off their mounts by long pikes and men were dragged out of formation by fur clad warriors while razor raptors jumped over the wall of spears. Blood began to drench the ground the smell of iron and excrement filling the air as death fell on both sides. For every one of theirs that fell two or three died on the other side but Jeriah could feel the end coming they just didn’t have numbers to continue.
“Run brothers,” Jeriah said turning to his blood and half-brothers. “The battle is lost for us.”
“Are you running?” Tobias asked.
“I am the commander of this army,” Jeriah said shaking his head. “I will die with it.”
“Then we will die with you,” Rejiah said clasping his elder brother on the shoulder. “We are with you till the end.”
“Then let us make our end echo through history,” Jeriah said. They turned to front line that fell under the never-ending pike phalanx. They charged into the snapping jaws of spears ready to smash through and cut through them into the very heart of the army.
A roar louder than anything else on the battlefield cut the air. Jeriah’s head jerked up and he looked at the dragon that had invaded their battle once before. Arrows rose up to strike the dragon’s underbelly, but an invisible force halted the rain midair, and they dropped uselessly to the ground.
A wall of green fire cut through the center of the army. Men screamed as the blighted fire boiled them inside their armor. Crimson lightning lashed down from atop the dragon a man astride its neck now visible. The dragon swept low, and the man jumped off into the very heart of the army where their most powerful officers and knights were stationed.
--
Hitting the ground with the balls of my feet I turned my impact into a roll springing to my feet Clarent coming alive in my hand. He screamed as I swung him through the air and bisected a man in plate armor in half. Black mist rose around my body as I slew the man and I spun forward my sword blocking blows that came at me from all directions and cutting and melting through armor. Men in plate armor only had to be touched by Clarent and were driven to their knees as lighting traveled across their bodies leaving burning and charred corpses behind.
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The army’s high command rushed me, and I met them eagerly. While I had fallen behind in rank during my year of exile below ground that did not mean I had become weaker. If Guinevere had taught me one thing it was that if you weren’t a good fighter, it didn’t matter if you were of a higher rank.
Arrows thudded into me from behind my cloak absorbing and letting the fall to the ground harmlessly. The general of the army swung a heavy two-handed mace at me. At this point my Might was high enough for me to just block his strike. He stumbled backwards as what he had thought was a devastating attack was blocked by my one-handed grip on Clarent.
I constantly was spamming Chain Lighting out. No longer needing to even say the phrase, the crimson bands of lightning tore out spread through the army. I unleashed Helheim’s Scream and Voice of the Chasm inflicting fear and sending men flying as my voice ripped them off their feet.
Plunging Clarent forwards my blade melted through the man’s enchanted breastplate and drove through his heart. All around me the soldiers of Camelot were in a state of panic, their lines broken. Some were attacking their own comrades others curled up on the ground in the fetal position and being trampled by those trying to flee from me.
Exar’kun was laying waste to the cavalry he had trapped in a ring of fire. He had landed on the ground and his tail whipped around him sending men off their mounts as he gored himself on horseflesh. Arrows fell into the disoriented ranks as my army rallied and dove into the fight. The army that had been at the brink of victory had been routed in under five minutes.
I wasn’t aware of most of this lost to my berserker rage as I tore into anything that moved within sixty feet of me. Soon there was nothing but mounds of charred and burning corpses. My rage slowly subsided as I regained control of myself. My arms were stained with blood, my chest covered in blood from myself and others.
604 rank points gained.
Exar’kun slowly walked across the battlefield on his two legs, the fingers on the ends of his wings gripping the ground as he walked. His head lowered beside me, and I mounted behind his crown of horns. Raising his head, I was able to see and be viewed by my entire army.
“I have been gone for a long time,” I said. “But I am glad to see you have not been idle in my absence. Today you will pick this battlefield clean of any gear and divide it amongst yourselves, we shall feast and drink. Tomorrow we shall take the rest of this country from Camelot!”
My army cheered. “Mordred!”
The cry was taken up and soon my name rolled and echoed across the bloodstained hills as my army shouted in exultation.
---
A massive tent was constructed for me. It was still only large enough for Exar’kun to fit his neck inside but the women who had followed the army still poured out barrels of wine for him and set down several spitted hogs for him to eat.
“Why did you attack Dracon?” I asked Jeriah.
I could tell he was somewhat uncomfortable at having taken direct control of my vassals like that but I didn’t assuage his fears wanting to see what he had to say.
“I knew you had the Pauldron’s of Aries,” he said. “The other two pieces are said to both be in Dracon, the Lion Clan has one and the royal family had the other.”
“I’m not angry at you,” I said. “An army deserves to be used and I was underutilizing you.”
“What are your plans next?” Jeriah asked me.
Setting down my drinking horn I looked out over the men, goblins and myrmidon feasting all around us. “Tell me what you know of the Dragon Tourney.”