Rise of the Horde

Chapter 97: Chapter 9

“Ahh! Save me!”

“I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

“Save us!”

“Ahh! Save us!”

“Get out of the way!”

“Don’t block us!”

“Move! Move out of the way!”

.....

Shouts sounded all over the frontline as those at the very front turned tail and wanted to flee while those behind them, who still hadn’t witnessed the chaos in the very front, were trying to push their way through towards the front. The previous battles with the army of monsters weren’t like this. They were normal farmers and servants and can’t do much on the battlefield except overwhelm their foes with their numbers.

They fought the previous battles in a more orderly manner where the regular army was sent first ahead of the rest to repel the monsters, then the peasant soldiers will join in the fray after the cavalries hammered their foes from the flanks or rear. They didn’t know the reason behind them being sent first this time and their own greed blinded them and now it is going to cost them their lives.

The two cavalries who set out before were still nowhere to be seen, which should have arrived already and trampled their enemies. Arrows continued to rain down upon the monsters as they were being blocked by the sacrificial soldiers. The arrows didn’t have eyes to distinguish whether the one they were hitting is a friend or foe since His Highness personally ordered them to shoot as much arrows as they can .

The arrows whistled as they soared through the air before falling down in an arc and piercing those who were in their path.

“Ahh!” _{i????????rℯ????????． ????o????}

“Damn archers!”

“Where do you think are you shooting at?!”

“Damnit! Damnit! Damnit?”

“We’re all doomed! Doomed I tell you!”

“Get yourselves together!”

“Overwhelm them!”

“Don’t retreat or else we all die!”

It was all chaos in the frontline as the ad hoc leaders of the panicking soldiers tried to rally their peers to engage the monsters. They all knew it that retreating was no longer an option as the regular soldiers of the kingdom were marching towards them. All of them are going to be squeezed in the middle with the monsters in front of them and the regular army of Ereia behind them who wouldn’t allow them to retreat through their ranks.

There were few who managed to escape the chaos but were soon easily dispatched by the Bulwarks of the Sand, “Cowards don’t deserve to live!” The others who made it passed the two lords weren’t lucky either as they got skewered by the Ereian Royal Army or shot by the archers.

Death was certain for them, but they could gamble by overwhelming the ranks of the monsters and retreat through their rears.

“Push forward! They have already abandoned us!”

“We only have one path of retreat!”

“All together! Push forward!”

“Fight for your lives!”

“Cut through the monsters!”

A young man with a long blonde hair shouted as he rallied his peers. He was armed with a spear and a shield like those around him, with no armor at all except for his personal clothes that would do no good to protect him from the bites and claws of their foes.

He charged forward with all his strength and ramming through the rank of monsters. Thrusting his spear forward with all his strength and piercing through two or more enemies with one attack. He wrecked havoc among the ranks of the monsters and made a small clearing around him. A few scratches were all over his body from the attempts of the monsters to kill him.

“Charge forward! We’ll carve a path of retreat for ourselves!” He raised his spear in the air and sprinted forward again, ramming the monsters that tried to pounce on him with his shield. It didn’t take long for his already damaged shield to break into pieces and no longer useable. He breathed out warm air as he winded up his spear for whacking attack.

His actions inspired those behind and fought back with renewed vigor. They slammed themselves against the army of monsters that seemed to have no end as more and more of them made their way from behind the dune. Wave after wave, the number of monsters grew even more as the sacrificial soldiers couldn’t kill more than the number of monsters joining in the battle.

“Through the flanks! Make a path to the flanks!” The young man shouted as he caught sight of the new wave of monsters sprinting down from the dune. He weaved through the chaos of the battlefield with everything that he got. Piercing, slamming, whacking, ramming, punching and even kicking. He executed every possible means of attack that he knew of. Even biting his enemies from time to time when he is corned by multiple enemies. He was covered in darkened blood from head to toe, as well as chunks of flesh. His mouth was also covered in a nasty and bitter darkened blood after he bit many enemies, mostly on the ears and arms.

The progress of the peasant soldiers was like that of a turtle, but they were making progress. The right flank of the monsters was being overrun by them. After seeing that their left flank was succeeding in breaking through the enemies, more and more soldiers poured to the right flank of their enemies. They left their very own right flank exposed, but they didn’t care. The regular soldiers of the kingdom were there to keep the monsters busy.

As the peasant soldiers shifted their attack towards the right flank of their enemies, the regular soldiers at the right flank were the first ones to engage in the battle than their peers on the other flank. “Establish a solid line! Don’t move on your own! Look to your left and right! Ensure that you have friends on both sides of you!” Viscount Redore bellowed as he led his own soldiers into the fight.

After the peasant soldiers abandoned the right flank and poured more to the left, Viscount Redore and his soldiers quickly move forward to engage the monsters. It was also a way for the Viscount to save the sacrificial soldiers who will surely be torn apart by the monsters after leaving their right flank exposed. He first thought that it was just a mistake or because of poor or training at all that the peasant soldiers were quick to be overpowered but as soon as he saw the archers letting loose of their arrows with reckless abandon under the personal order of the prince. That is when he finally knew that His Highness was letting them die intentionally.

The young man, who was one of the ad hoc leaders, finally managed to break through the ranks of their enemies with the help of those around him. They finally escaped and can breathe easily after carving a bloody path through their enemies. He glanced behind him and saw his peers were still in the middle of the enemies and trying to make their way out.

“Let’s help our peers! To me!” He shouted as he brandished his spear and started attacking the right flank of their enemies. The other soldiers who finally escaped the chaos stared at each other. They were all just standing there and didn’t move a muscle. They were like statues but after a few seconds, some of them stilled their heart and charged towards their enemies and joined the young man in aiding their peers to get through.

They soon spotted a tall hollowed cloud of dust on the horizon as the Royal Cavalry finally showed themselves. Their big steeds, which had long legs, long necks, and a protruding snout with big lips, but the most distinct feature of their steeds were the humps on their backs. They were animals that are more suited to the climate of the Burning Sands as they can go for longer distances than horses. Even the warhorses of the nobles which were specially bred, trained and taken care of were not match for those animals with humps since all horses, even the biggest ones, would run away when one of those animals with humps gets near them.

The heavily armored steeds and their riders charged forward with lances pointing towards the sky. When they were only a hundred meters from the enemies, the long lances were then lowered and pointed forward. It didn’t take long for the Royal Cavalry to crush the outer layer of the enemies’ right flank. The long lances skewered the monsters, but most of them broke apart upon impacting their targets. Something soon unsheathed big curved swords as the Royal Cavalry did their thing and slashed at the monsters. They charged through the enemy flank, then started breaking away from battle.

The Royal Cavalry were quick to disengage from the melee and distanced themselves away from the monsters. Some of the monsters chased after them for a few hundred meters, but soon were trampled upon by the smelly steeds after turning around to do another charge. Like a battering ram upon the gates of a fortification, the Royal Cavalry broke apart the right flank of the monsters who were being kept busy by the regular soldiers of the kingdom under the lead of Viscount Redore. They disengage once again from battle and distanced themselves away from the chaos before turning around to hammer their foes again with a charge. Monsters were thrown in the air after being rammed through by the Royal Cavalry who were heavily armored from head to toe.