What followed next was the first true test of our skills and determination. So far we hadn't had to face any true opposition. Even the skirmish up in the pass had hardly been worth the mention. In Winter glen we would face people defending their very homes though. For the briefest of moments I even felt a little bad for attacking them there. My memories of the head hunters I had to face during the fight for my home quickly reaffirmed my resolve though. I would strike with all the might I could muster. These damn cannibal head hunters deserved no mercy. And the scum who had no problem living with them were scarcely better.
It wasn't just about resolve though. The attack on the glen wouldn't be an easy fight. The forest homes of the pale elves of the east weren't exactly sharply defined settlements like ours or those of the humans. They would use the whole forest to their advantage. We would be at a disadvantage. We couldn't exactly completely surround them either. Our best bet was to make it look like we wouldn't go for them at all. I stretched out our marching column a little and withdrew our cavalry from it entirely. I positioned them a bit further away, on the side facing away from the elven grove.
Our lancers wouldn't go entirely unnoticed. The elves probably already knew about them after all. They probably wouldn't be able to pinpoint them exactly though. Especially as our scouts and rangers were tasked to neutralize any of their scouts. We weren't heading directly for Winter glen either. It would look like we would bypass the forest settlement and head for Gothol'gul instead. With our lines thinned out like that we would present an incredibly tempting target and hopefully the elves would take the bait. Once they committed to an attack, probably near the spot where the distance to their forest would be the smallest, we could turn the tables on them.
I positioned my self near the center of our marching formation with one of the lighter infantry units that was flanking some of our pack animals. This part was probably the most tempting target of all. My heart beat fast and I had a hard time not twitching at every innocent little noise. Most of my men and women probably felt the same way. Maybe their nervous twitches would make the bait I was dangling in front of the elves even more tempting. I couldn't see the very ends of our column, drawn out as it was but I couldn't hear any fighting so far. And just as we approached the spot where I expected the enemy attack it indeed did happen.
A hail of arrows was the first sign that the enemy had taken the bait. I raised the shield I had borrowed to cover my head. Most of soldiers did the same. Those without shields took cover behind their better armored comrades. A hard hit to the shield let me know that I had been right to raise it. It wasn't the only arrow aimed at me either. Three more splintered against the overlapping scales of my armor. The force of the impacts along was enough to knock me back a step despite the fact that none of the projectiles penetrated my protections. Screams from along the line suggested that not everyone had been this lucky.
The volley hadn't been very dense to begin with though. In addition it had not been spread evenly across our column. Half a dozen more arrows stuck in the ground around me gave testament to that. Well, every arrow that missed me was one that hadn't injured any of my warriors either. I could live with that. I took only a brief moment to look around, my small shield still held high, in case an enemy archer was still waiting for their opportunity. They obviously had figured out that I was someone important after all. That brief glance reassured me that it wasn't too bad. I focused on gathering Mana for a moment. I used it to fuel a Lion's Roar spell. Except I didn't roar. “Line of battle! Form up!” My call to arms carried far and wide.
Well, if there was an enemy unaware of my importance left that would clue them in for sure. It was the signal for Tora'pheer's cavalry to form up for a charge as well. They would come around the back of the column and take the flank of the enemy unless something unexpected happened. Another volley of arrows peppered our line. By now everyone was well prepared though. As a result our losses were minimal. The enemy's fire wasn't terrible accurate either. No dead as far as I could see. Just some minor injuries for the better part. A few would require proper attention from our healers. More arrows shattered against the curvature of my shield and my scale mail and I covered my eyes with my weapon arm behind my shield just in case to make sure no wooden splinters would hit anything vulnerable.
Once a third volley didn't do any better the elves stopped altogether. I gathered more Mana and cast Blur anyway now that I had a little time to breath. My warriors had heeded my call and formed a line of battle. It wasn't a shield wall bristling with spears and the likes since we were spread out thin but it would have to do. I stepped up as well, resting the shaft of my glaive on the edge of my shield. I didn't really like fighting like that but I would since the shield would protect not only me but potentially those to my sides as well.
Finally the elves revealed themselves. They stepped out of the woods and formed up as well. Most of them were equipped with shields and half pikes. We outnumbered them overall but right here at the center of our column and right now they had the advantage of numbers until either the front or the back could swing around to pincer them. That would take time though. The fact alone that they left the woods let me know that they were still blissfully unaware of Tora'pheer and her lancers. They thought that they had time for a decisive strike. I would educate them about their errors of judgment soon enough.
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In theory they could have broken a charge by light cavalry without problem. If there were to face it head on at least. They weren't though. They were focused on us and me especially. There were some head hunters, running ahead of the rest, together with some more lightly armored skirmishers. Those would reach us first. I waited until the enemy main force was halfway to us. I gathered more Mana and cast Cat's Grace in preparation for what was to come. That wasn't all though. I cast Lion's Roar a second time as well and this time I did roar. It was a mighty challenge and it shook at least some of them to the core. Their line of battle fell into disarray as some of them hesitated.
There were holes in their formation now. Like that they wouldn't have been able to take a charge even if they were to expect it. Good. A few of the skirmishers dropped their weapons and outright ran. My challenge had an entirely different effect on the head hunters though. No less than five of them came charging at me now, entirely ignoring anything and anyone else. I didn't mind. Not in the slightest. My loud challenge had served another purpose as well though. It served as a distraction as well and as a signal for all the warriors at my sides. They started taunting and challenging the enemy as well now, making a fine racket as they did so.
Uzzana had told me once, during one of my less physical lessons with the weapon master that one could feel a charge by human cavalry long before the first heavily armored knights on their equally well protected horses came into few. Supposedly the earth itself shook under their charge. Things were different with Tora'pheer's light lancers. The giant mountain ibex might be even larger than the human's horses but they weren't heavier. They weren't wearing iron shoes either. Their feet were soft and spread the shock of impact nicely. By the time the elves at the very edge of their formation saw them coming it was too late to do anything meaningful.
The lancers crashed into the surprised elves like a hammer unto the anvil. The elves' left flank crumbled like wet paper. One of the lancers ran down the rearmost of the headhunters coming my way as well, her lance skewering the flabby, pale elf with the gruesome trophy heads at his belt. Any resemblance of order was gone at the moment and pure chaos reigned on the field of battle. The lancers in their half and three quarter plate armor were now within the ranks of the much lighter armored elves and they were wreaking bloody havoc with their sidearms.
Now it was up to me to deliver the finishing blow before the elves could get their wits back. If they did they could seriously cripple my cavalry after all. I couldn't let that happen. I raised my voice once more, empowering it Lion's Roar for good measure. “Charge!”
No one needed any more prompting than that. Our line surged forward. We hit what was left of the elven skirmishers first. The front most head hunter, a lithe girl probably no older than me, tried to vault over our shields, aiming for my neck. I struck the moment her feet left the ground. She took my glaive straight to the chest before she ever got a chance to get close enough to land her intended blow. Black ichor spewed forth as she screamed in pain and terror. I could see the black rot of the wyvern's poison spread through her body, even as the light of life left her eyes. The sight of her crumbling, blackened body was enough to give the next two head hunters pause. It was enough for the warriors at my side to end them as well. I rammed the edge of my shield into the throat of the last one. The blow was hard enough to send him to the ground as well, with bot his throat and his spine crushed.
I let go of the shield then, gripping my weapon with both hands and Cat's Grace let me dance ahead of the rest of my soldiers a few steps. The next moment I was diving into the bloody skirmish that had developed between the lancers and what was left of the elves. I struck again and again, as if in a frenzy. Pointy eared bastards died left and right wherever I turned. And those I missed found a no less bloody but possibly slightly more merciful end on the blades of my comrades. It didn't take us long to utterly obliterate the enemy. It probably was only a few frenzied moments but I couldn't really tell. It all became a blur to me.
I only stopped when no one came at me anymore. I was breathing hard but as far as I could tell I wasn't injured. My armor had a few new scratches but that was all the enemy's resistance had amounted to. I straightened up and looked around. It was over. It really was. The lancers had managed to disengage safely once we hit the enemy formation or what little was left of it. I could only see a single downed ibex. A few were limping though. They would receive the same attention from our healers as the soldiers themselves. There were a few more of my warriors on the ground but they were few and far in between. At a first glance our losses were light.
The same couldn't be said for our pale pointy eared enemies. Their bodies littered the ground all around me. Only a hand full of them were still alive. They had dropped their weapons and were now held at sword and spear point a few steps away from me. They eyed me, eyes wide with fear. A moment before I had had nothing but contempt for them. Now I almost pitied them. Most of them looked far to young to don armor and pick up weapons. They probably were the last resistance their community had been able to muster. Their parents probably were off to the south with the army of the council at the gap.
I decided to ignore them for a moment. I turned to face my men instead. “Regroup! Take care of the wounded! Prepare for the second part of the plan.” Sergeants immediately sprang into action all over, whipping their units back into shape. Wounded were being carried or led of the field of battle so their wounds could be seen to. The same was true for the lancers' mounts. Even as that was happening the vanguard and the rearguard of our stretched out column started arriving. They in turn prepared for the second step of our plan by building fires.
Now I turned to face the few captives we had taken again. I stepped across the blackening, pointy eared corpses surrounding me, straightening up to stand at my full height in front of them. “We will let you go. You have one hour to return to your village and gather anyone there to leave. Then we will set your forest ablaze. You will spread the word that this will happen to any of your forest homes we come across unless they welcome us with the corpses of any and all of their head hunters in one pile and their heads in another. There will be no further discussion of terms. Am I clear?” No one dared speak up and I turned to them men and women guarding them. “Let them go.”