Gray took a sharp breath, his eyes trained on the Nightmare Creatures.
The soldiers quickly regained their focus, their training kicking in.
"Shields up!" a soldier bellowed. The order spread like wildfire as men scrambled for their weapons.
Gray spotted three Nightmare Creatures in total, two pincering them in while the other was off in the trees.
Their forms were a hulking mass of flesh tied together in a gross manner, protruding skeletal limbs that smelled of rotting flesh.
The first creature lunged, tearing through the underbrush like thunder. Shields caught the brunt of its weight, but the metal creaked under the force.
Gray staggered back, falling on his back in fear. "What the fuck!" He muttered in fright.
Gray tried to stand up but fell once again, his limbs shaking without stop.
The second of the creatures broke through the ranks, darting straight towards the startled Gray.
He raised his sword in an attempt to defend himself, but his shaking arms told everything that needed to be told. He was not ready for this.
The creature surged forward, its grotesque frame twisting forward.
Gray swung. The blade barely grazed its side before being smacked away like a toy. He tumbled backward, crashing into the mud.
The monster loomed over him, its many-jointed limbs flexing, the sound of the skeletal limbs grinding echoed in his ear.
Its face split open, revealing rows of needle-like teeth.
Gray's mind went black. At that moment, he knew he was cooked.
The creature's claw came down, suddenly, a row of arrows pierced through the air, pinning the limb of the creature.
The monster screamed, surging back — the arrows held. With a tight tug the monster pulled himself from the ensnarement, sacrificing his limb in the process.
But just as it tasted freedom, three phalangites shot from the ground swinging their pike downwards.
The creature roared in pain, losing all his limbs from the attack. The spearmen pinned the Nightmare Creature to the ground with all their might, sweat dripping down from their forehead as they struggled against the creature.
Gray, finally coming back to his senses, knew that if he didn't act fast enough those men would die for nothing.
He pushed himself off the ground, drawing his falcata in the process, he rushed towards them.
The creature thrashed beneath the crossed pikes, its guttural howl shook the soldiers resolve.
Out of the corner of his eye, Gray saw the rest of his men pincering the other Nightmare Creature but he also spotted the third Nightmare Creature closing in on them from the side.
"Damnit!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, sprinting toward the struggling soldiers.
He swung his falcata down in a brutal arc, cleaving into the Nightmare Creature's exposed neck.
The blade bit deep, as black ichor sprayed across his face. The creature howled and jerked violently, nearly throwing the spearmen off their feet.
"Hold it down!" Gray barked, his voice jerking the soldiers back to their senses as they pushed their pikes deeper.
With one last strike, Gray drove the blade through the creature's skull, pinning it to the earth. The thing let out a final shriek before going still, its grotesque body twitching in death.
[You have killed a Dormant Monster, Herald of the Faceless One.]
Gray ripped his weapon free, panting, his heart hammering in his chest. There was no time to breathe. He looked up, and his stomach sank — the third Nightmare had reached the flank.
The soldiers there barely had their formation set. The creature crashed into them with the force of a battering ram, sending men sprawling through the mud. Shields shattered as screams filled the air.
Gray dashed forward, yelling to rally his troops. "Flank the damn thing and surround it!" Gray roared, his voice striking like thunder.
The order cut through the chaos, and his soldiers obeyed without hesitation. The phalangites moved with decisive precision, their steps causing tremors in the ground as they tightened formation.
The creature screeched, its elongated limbs lashed out, snapping spears like twigs. The enclosement made the monster struggle to leverage force, dampening the force of its blows.
But the steel shields still creaked and groaned under the weight, the soldiers lost ground steadily as the monster pushed them back bit by bit.
Suddenly, a figure enclosed in darkness shot up from the ground, vaulting over the struggling line — it was Polycles.
He swung his sword in an arc, severing one of its limbs as he crashed into the ground, rolling to cushion his impact.
Polycles stood up before lunging forward, driving his sword forward, stabbing the monster's eye. The monster recoiled, its remaining limbs lashing out as it struggled to break from the formation.
But Polycles, like the goat he was, sidestepped all of them. "Come on then," he snarled, raising his blade. "You want me? Then try and take me!" he roared, his voice cutting through the air.
The soldiers looking at their dauntless lieutenant cheered for him, who fought the creature of profanity gallantly.
Polycles fought valiantly.
Polycles fought nobly.
Polycles fought honourably.
And the Nightmare Creature, died.