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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aYrcCGJdv
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxc7U2OZe78
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0nfv7oefV
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYX6ZpeXJ9
'Blood and Thunder, do you see the chance?' I looked a Lord Arval for confirmation.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMeQ7xsRyp
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAU8WFe3C4C
His face was grim. 'Order us on sire and we'll go to hell or glory.'489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7bHLomHVw
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvmDxhkCFXk
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!'489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7RCCBDoEdW
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhtoHe78KX
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEPeAmx6h9
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQL5RylWHKe
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqOmypNJSp
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlsiAp8PwOK
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyhZ7IsZ2XS
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkYo7trkmK
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0wOk4r8Bgc
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bUuppS5il
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdo8nOaRz0R
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40QCCWh6T2
Twenty yards. Splashes either side of the bridge as men dived out of the way of the coming hell: me.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzjjvHitzw8
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBqPbeXSWW
Ten and I was the tip of an avalanche. From the scent of fear, they knew they were going to be engulfed.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd03SWZ1mQj
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc73Xk4nheJ
Impact!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcXJ69pktz
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nnsUFPam8
There was a green box flash and I took it, of course.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOl7nLNC4U
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkrDWat2V6
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iXjg0fNTo
You have hit an axeman for 147 hit points.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXy9yK5B3D
You have killed an axeman!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0lJvU1G37
You have gained 60 Experience.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpsISuQn47f
You have unlocked the Impale proficiency.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvGZqaJKpx
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo9eEHFmhAw
You have bashed an axeman for 31 hit points.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwS79qe0GjN
You have killed an axeman!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpmTjutcvn
You have gained 60 Experience.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsTF3BzQFG
You have become better at Bash: 2489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhprnpPibc
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Nlm0vCX7F
You have bashed an axeman for 34 hit points.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBRuTgUDZMN
You have killed an axeman!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvUHdREZIQ
You have gained 60 Experience.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6CD2Bmfnt9
You have become better at Bash: 3489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnuODzzbcF8
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcA7pfog2ux
You have bashed a spearman for 26 hit points.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4us6DYOvH
You have killed a spearman!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUltLkcKYH
You have gained 40 Experience.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFLDa44ACO
You have become better at Bash: 4489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPDvdTJMQg
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VzVpcEBm1
You have bashed a spearman for 22 hit points.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGsvfC26ZI
You have killed a spearman!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5d4J0yKXue
You have gained 40 Experience.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlyFPdxRKo
You have become better at Bash: 5489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6QEYCHXWc
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEVaHNb2ek
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh4oTW0ciz3
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBt9oWBPgM
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!'489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xwSH4JnPR
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84zHEMgkOW
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqaNAp4UuPG
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtympZJFGUJ
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeheUkLeDy
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVCT5toUD9
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQy9VcIihi
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OOWV5Up8A
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFhdwt2Kkj
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QltV1cgVi
'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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJXyZgE3Lh
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdH7VYzxTG
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhxuaaRn8D
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0x5AalRtab
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgMZ8JF7ut
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWokjBCIRQf
'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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PvFAFNyde
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV63QXNb6mh
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZf7eUMhuB
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWSUhSyegaT
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaeLVyrxvPm
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAO3s5DPK5l
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!489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuO5i8AjTg6
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkkEw5OAzm
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkpgBDUPprG
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEEWMjad1H
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkfE4cyvUA
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZCngGDK5e
'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.'489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKZrD7XdI5
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTku0igmmtc
'Archers!' I called, but we only had a few men around us with bows.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKRMV6NtDkF
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWEIyWRbla
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO25aKFCCjq
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGmsBDGbSn
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOBBsReqyU
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DHLcsSsSX
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2T7apliLi
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYSycJCOCW
'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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiXKTyKxiNV
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJMNR2lTBlu
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmspI9fJCYF
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoY5fz6mMn
'Freeze!' The animal was checked and Parrin scrambled clear.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ858wBExf5
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJGzyssNuN
'You! You!' I got the attention of two of our archers with an urgent shout. 'Kill that tiger.'489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSJG2aubK7
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEx6REuAdR
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.489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3aDamqe8RX
489Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pZcbo5HpW
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.
