From out of a haze of dust, at the point where the descending valley turned rightwards, out of view, came the first ranks of enemy soldiers, chainmail clad axemen, leaning their weapons against their shoulders. They had a slow, steady pace, set by the beating of the distant drums. The effect was ominous and I felt my stomach tighten. Behind them came a large body of lightly-armed spearmen, the silver points of their upright weapons flickering in the sunlight.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo04CpAWbSp
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisLExUBp1g
Then came their light cavalry, thirty of them, taking a long while to file into view; next the ten heavy cavalry. Their archers were not yet in sight, nor the drummers, nor their commanders or the Shaman, yet the axemen were coming straight on to the bridge without pausing. Whether it was complacency or stupidity, they were going about this all wrong.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZyLwbZB7WP
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolyAvThcn0
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JzIHIY4Jf
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3p63nfCCa2
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0CwdrUiKy
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbV1P8ahGyz
I laughed. 'I can do better than that. Follow me. Open the gate!' I shouted. Then I took the potion bottle, uncorked it and gulped down the contents. 'Rhino!'479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwxmayf59M
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4drCauqsu2
For once my great bulk was valuable, I felt it stretch and stiffen as I fell forward onto all fours. Probably I was not a full adult rhino, but the weight and sharpness of the horn in front of my eyes was up to the job at hand.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLuiCDjiQh
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSJvYQmwY3
I set off, a lumber at first that was a trot, once through the gate I stepped up to a canter and finally hit my stride at a gallop. Being a rhino was intense. Although my vision was blurry, I could smell the sweat of my enemies and heard the loud thuds of their marching steps on the wooden bridge.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmM4C4p8A2H
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3SCYRVCCI
Fifty yards and their shouts of alarm rang through the air. The axemen needed the spears in front of them, grounded. But my calculation was that we would get there first. It was intuition and it was the kind of decision that you make in an instant and have to commit to.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMFGrwsM4d
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwOjmscxPk
Forty yards and I was throwing mud up from my hooves as I urged my heavy body to its upmost. This was living! No longer trapped in a body that couldn't walk up ten steps without having to pause for a rest, I was a raging storm; an unstoppable torrent; a tsunami about to crash on the shore. And I loved it.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aV9uiRv6A
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Zkg6E091k
Thirty yards, some of the axemen were trying to run back through the spearman, who were massed too tight on the bridge to bring their weapons to bear.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxriwxHSCGa
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡth3DldURTJ
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEE2hNsydqD
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLqF0xHdjL
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORblZXB8Mr
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvPz8WOSnp
Impact!479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRSLPXtLQx
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQujKQAstKp
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gB2K6FI3D
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AMR70izSK
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaLxUmoNjn
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHYqkaXdni
You have killed an axeman!479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MbxG0KQJN
You have gained 60 Experience.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqcUrZsuKn2
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYHBnlsLS9
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlBtJ05TcX
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryCfbhyKvU
You have killed an axeman!479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjRUz4Zaptw
You have gained 60 Experience.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xaZQOTKMV
You have become better at Bash: 2479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZx9cKJ9Ni
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpIZoM36CX8
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVFnNtSitm
You have killed an axeman!479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1W54Lq6jyV
You have gained 60 Experience.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavrWcdXJRB
You have become better at Bash: 3479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPxcsXJfmS
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdeRnJLeVQE
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRUiy6ZZ7G2
You have killed a spearman!479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKY2ZWHpJm8
You have gained 40 Experience.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpJOARRt6k
You have become better at Bash: 4479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ592waKnvBl
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqKySi4sPB
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QNBkYVc5v
You have killed a spearman!479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSP0KYHUdaj
You have gained 40 Experience.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpGoruorMH
You have become better at Bash: 5479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dyL3dbhcB
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAAB4DhHdx
The notifications flew by and I ignored them as I pushed on, crushing soldiers under my hooves, impaling them and throwing their dead bodies to the side. Several axe blows struck home on my front shoulders, flanks and chest but twice I experienced the sweetness and glow of a level increase, each time completely healing my wounds.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBuY2HTuc0
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNi4rAjGrn2
Screams of wounded and panicked men rang out all around. But through the cries, I could hear a voice like a howling wolf, it was Lord Arval, screaming, 'come on! Come on! For Greyland!'479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtGlN4OJ34
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHmVuRthORF
The crush on the bridge was intense, which favoured our side. While their axes and spears could not be brought into play, I could still smash my powerful head into faces ahead and either side, as well as break legs with stamps and kicks of my feet. Our horsemen, too, were nearly immobile, but they could still cut down with sword or stab with lance.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28uMVrd05V
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2WN3NgkD6
Step by step, we pushed on, nearly clearing the bridge. My only concern now was the timing of the potion. How long had it been since I drank it? Surely only a few minutes, despite the massive carnage we'd inflicted on their army.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMs3NOPJF5
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiR8evSYmq
Then, with a sudden release, we were through, the remnants of the unit of spearmen running back down the narrow path in panic, which instantly disrupted the formation incoming light cavalry. Did I have time to keep going into them? I had to try.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOKyDTEQtD
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavjCj0zqOC
The fact that I'd levelled up twice meant I experienced no fatigue and a quick check told me my hit points were at 32. Filled with confidence and energy, I used the room ahead of me to build up momentum again.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyS5bwXhIA
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEa7WeEWgmT
'Follow the king! For Carlos!' Behind me, Lord Arval was still going strong it seemed and the answering roar of our soldiers had a clear note of triumph. Again, I could smell the fear of men and horses even before I crashed among them, showing no mercy to the animals whom I gutted and whose delicate legs I crushed.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpz9ThhGtlB
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wxUSPiB2m
Far louder than the cries of men and the clash of metal on metal were the high-pitched equine screams of injured horses. Unlike the heavy destriers behind me, these horses had not been trained for the press of the melee and they were frightened, some of them rearing up and throwing their riders to the ground. Even so, one or two lances managed to stab down and cut through my thick hide. My hit points dropped quickly from 32 to 19 following a third hit. But then I levelled up again, soaring up to 40 hit points.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81O44wriON
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjeveC9qelr
Their light cavalry unit was in full retreat. I was just preparing to launch myself again, with the intention of smashing right through the heavy cavalry and into their archers when I found myself staggering, once more in human form, completely without armour. Fortunately, there was no immediate threat.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWsteSzJ2E
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6qFC8cNrJ
'Get back sire!' Lord Arval urged his mount past me and ceased his own charge, guarding me by interposing his large destrier between me and the enemy. Our four other knights did the same. Either side of our little defensive knot, our light cavalry came past, cheering that they were scattering their foes. Even so, the tide of the battle was turning. The ten enemy heavy cavalry were drawn across the road and were not budging, even for their own fleeing infantry and light horsemen, some of whom risked going over the broken terrain of the rising hillside, others trying to squeeze past on the river bank, falling in as often as escaping.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXs4ZmMqVzM
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDyzaVJbje
Beyond the line of horsemen, their officers must have gotten some order among the archers because arrows flited overhead with increasing frequency, some struck striking the plates of Lord Arval and his armoured horse.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8js7tyTEQ
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHajAQ47s1
Our problem was that we couldn't easily reach their archers. Our light cavalry lunged ineffectually at the enemy knights but couldn't break their ranks. There was room for our archers on the other side of the river, but if I ordered them to go there, we would be outnumbered and lose in the exchanges with enemy fire. The ballista was far too slow to bring up. This could really hurt us. Our riders and horses were beginning to suffer.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vgqpfYyDY
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYI97f409Jb
Another rousing cheer from behind me. It was the arrival of our twelve heavy infantry and a large body of light infantry with Carlena at their head. There were a good mix of spears, axes and swords among them. This was exactly what we needed!479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSnlkCxLfb
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2rxLaE8vd
There was a fierce look on Carlena's face as she ran past me, pausing to raise her hands and then, with a flash, half a dozen fire darts splashed onto an enemy horse. The animal collapsed. Cheered by the success of this magic our newly arrived soldiers ran past and also cut and struck at the horses in front of them. We were winning again, a huge press of our soldiers climbing over the dead animals and past enemy knights who were still fighting, so as to get among the archers.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7xHiawBuy
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlmUcwjuNj
I felt that we were on the brink of victory, when cries of consternation from our men made my heart sink. The very land was working against them: bushes and grasses reaching out to entwine their feet and immobilise everyone. The enemy archers, on the cusp of routing, took heart and through the chaos, I could hear an officer of theirs urging them to hold and fire at the immobilised targets.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04q41isBtK
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygHpITIe6d
'There,' screamed Carlena, pointing to a man in a bearskin, whose sabre-tooth tiger pet was walking in a circle around him, protecting him while he cast spells. It was their shaman, who had climbed up the hillside and come close enough to cast what to me seemed like an Entangle-type spell. 'He's out of my range.'479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuW3xj6834r
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKwOaxfj4N
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9L0FI1LuA
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXx7H8sDby
Carlena ran towards the enemy spell caster and I admired her, because that tiger was fierce looking. The enemy Shaman had spotted her run too, and was clearly aiming a spell at her, his arms gesturing swiftly.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujNxqzBi2j
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUo1Ocanc3z
Caster battles could be short and violent. I found myself clenching my fists anxiously as I watched, oblivious to arrows and screams and the movement of the people around me. Was Carlena going to be taken out by a powerful spell? It would be a disaster for us if this went wrong.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkrIEWSTgg
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRzIBMye5c
Then the Shaman was down and behind him was the chancellor. Parrin had backstabbed their caster and taken him out! Our men were free again, the enchantment of the plants dissolving with the death of its creator.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJPg5JNIMb
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGDKaueQdc
'On, on! We have them!' Lord Arval set off again, the other four knights moving with him. It left me unprotected, but it was right. Even though a few enemy archers saw me as their target and I did get hit twice, we had them. Archers were no match for heavy cavalry and they knew it. Soon bows were abandoned as most of their army fled for their lives, while dozens of men huddled in groups, hands in the air, trying to surrender.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgbyvS5iQv
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhoECiDg7Tu
Up on the slope, our elderly scout was being savaged by the dead Shaman's pet sabre-toothed tiger and was clearly wounded. Carlena, however, had not stopped running and was in range for a spell.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSltEv9yrs
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnv4To1HiQe
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlf1C4JESi5
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JHILq0JH3
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32i8wqmJ0Z
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfSKAecRun
It took several hits, but Carlena had enough mana for a second Freeze and was able to keep the animal locked in place while the arrows thudded home.479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnKNVwgzOr
479Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSGqCFseKs
All at once, it was relatively quiet. Yes, there were still groans and the clank of weapons and armour but the sounds of fighting were in the distance now, down the road. All around me Greyland soldiers were smiling and laughing. Some looked at me with frank delight, as if in this moment rank did not matter, that we had shared an experience that transcended the barrier between king and foot soldier. And we had. This was a victory to savour.
