William spotted the six adventurers among them, already spreading out along the line. Sibrek grinned beneath his matted red beard, muttering something about earning his pay. Amra gave a curt nod, her bowstring creaking as she tested it. Pip vanished into the shadows between two wagons, her twin daggers like shadows in the moonlight.
Will passed the elf girl to Fredric’s mother. “Keep her safe.” She stirred in her sleep, unaware of the terror drawing closer.
Fredric jogged beside him, weapon already drawn. “You think we’ll have time to regroup?”
“No.” William watched the horizon. “We’ll be lucky to be ready for the first charge.”
They fell back into the still-moving defensive line, six hundred soldiers forming a wall of steel beneath the pale moonlight. The air was thick with tension, every breath drawn tight. From somewhere far ahead, Veylan’s command rang out again. “Keep the column moving! Do not stop for anything!”
William heard the rumble before he saw them, a deep, rolling growl that carried through the ground like distant thunder. Then came the sound of snarling. The goblin riders broke from the darkness, a tide of worgs racing across the plain, their glowing eyes streaking through the gloom like burning coals. Two hundred riders, shrieking and howling, their weapons raised as the worgs bounded forward with terrifying speed.
“Archers!” came the cry of one of Veylan’s men, “Loose!”
Arrows streaked through the air, vanishing into the oncoming dark. Screams answered them as worgs stumbled and crashed, their riders flung aside. Still, the rest came on.
“Brace!” shouted a sergeant. “Hold the line!”
The defenders stopped and turned towards their attackers, pikes and spears bristling, ready for the first wave.
The first impact hit like a hammer blow. The worgs crashed into the pikes and shields with snapping jaws and cracking wood. Goblins leapt from their saddles mid-charge, slashing with curved blades. The air exploded into chaos; the clash of metal, the roar of beasts, and the guttural screams of the dying.
Sibrek’s axe cleaved through a mounted goblin, splitting both rider and beast in one brutal swing. Amra’s arrows whistled past William’s ear, each shot finding its mark even through the swirl of movement. Pip appeared behind a worg, slashing its hamstrings before vanishing again, the beast toppling into the dirt.
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“Hold steady!” Carl shouted, his scavenged shield locked with another soldier’s, their teeth bared as a worg slammed into them. Marie darted in beside him, driving her blade through the creature’s neck in a single, clean strike.
William met his first worg with a downward strike that split its skull, the blade glowing golden in the dark. The rider tumbled off, shrieking, only to meet the same fate a heartbeat later. Another worg lunged, and Will pivoted, the flames on his sword leaving an arc of light as he severed its throat.
Fredric fought nearby, his sword slick with blood. A goblin’s spear grazed his shoulder, but he countered, thrusting forward with a cry.
“Keep close to me!” William shouted, stepping between Fredric and another charging worg. The beast met with his sword, and its front paws flew across the grass in a spray of hot blood. He brought the flaming weapon up and through the worg’s throat, severing its head.
All around him, the soldiers held. The smell of blood and wet fur filled the air. Horses whinnied. Men shouted for healers. Veylan’s voice rang over the din: “Hold formation! Don’t break ranks! Archers, to our flanks; pick off the riders!”
The order was obeyed at once. Lines of arrows hissed into the melee, cutting through the chaos. Dozens of goblins fell. The remaining riders pulled back, regrouping for another charge.
“Push forward!” came Veylan’s next command. “Finish them before they regroup!”
The soldiers advanced with a roar, their pikes and spears at the front. The goblins faltered, realising they had failed to break the defence. Some tried to turn their mounts to fight; others fled outright. Archers cut them down as they ran.
William’s breath came heavy, his arms burning from the weight of his sword as it cut through the neck of another worg. As the [XP: +1] notifications faded, he looked across the field where piles of dead goblins and broken worgs littered the ground.
Near the centre, a soldier broke from the line as a worg leapt for a fallen comrade. With no time to think, he threw himself forward, driving his spear up through the beast’s chest even as its jaws closed around his arm with a bone-shattering crunch. The creature fell thrashing, and the man groaned as his arm was mauled. The man he’d saved roared and finished the worg with a single thrust of his sword to the heart before dragging the injured soldier clear.
Within minutes, the last of the riders were either dead or scattering into the dark, leaving behind a carpet of corpses and broken weapons. The night was filled only with the sound of panting men and the moans of the injured.
“Cease pursuit!” Veylan called. “Tend the wounded! Regroup and move! We cannot delay!”
William lowered his sword, the divine flames fading to dull embers. He looked across the carnage. Several dozen soldiers lay still, and more groaned where they’d fallen. Fredric sat on the ground, breathing hard, streaked with dirt and blood but alive.
William knelt beside one of the fallen soldiers, his hand trembling. Without waiting for an order, he reached out and willed the corpse into his storage space. A faint shimmer rippled across the air, followed by a hollow chill that made his stomach twist. That feels awful. Soldiers and defenders gave him respectful nods as he passed them. One by one, he repeated the motion, storing every fallen comrade he could find until the field was cleared.
When he finished, he wiped his brow and sheathed his sword. The world seemed still for a moment, the only sound the heavy breathing of men and women and the distant murmur of orders being given.
Veylan passed nearby, his voice hoarse but steady. “Form the rear guard! We move immediately! The horde is still coming!”
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Fantasy Isekai Kingdom-building Cool weapons Spicy poly-romance
While the Zoran Empire is about to conquer the entire continent, Jack is reincarnated as a leader of refugees seeking a haven.
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Chapter 054 [Game Notification: Judge, Jury and Commander]