"Forward! Charge!"
The Vice Captain of the Warrior Troops, Arthan bellows amidst the bloody clash against the Empire's forces.
"Commander." said the woman next to him, causing his attention to snap in her direction. "Order another push. Nock the arrows and after the moment the riders turn to circle, let loose."
"Nock!" Arthan commanded and turned to the men at the forefront. "Heave Men! Push!"
The men answered with a loud chorus of shouts and yells. Shoving the riders on their hind legs with their shimmering ten foot pikes.
With the loss of their momentum, the riders diverted to the side, guarding their exposed sections with their swords.
"Loose!" but Arthan's words cut through both the Imperial Cavalry and the pikemen of the Kingdom.
And in a hail of arrows, shouts of pain, cries, and struggle marked the land. Death bathed the dirt in both blood and flesh.
"""""YAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"""""
The men of the Kingdom cheered. Relishing in victory, and driving away their fears.
"Regroup!" Arthan commands. And without preamble, Albedo unsheathes her sword.
The longsword, Excalibur, changed before their very eyes. Morphing into a pole of silver. Wrapped in noble blue, extending to a royal blue flag that is marked and trimmed in gold.
"[•Widen Magic: Greater Healing•]!"
A golden light washed over everyone. Healing wounds, easing pain and once more, courage exploded into cheers.
*BOOOM!
An explosion at the far side of the army took their attention. And before doubt could seep in, Albedo's voice echoed.
"Be afraid and die! Embrace cowardice and suffer! Stand strong! And do not falter!Together!"
Another cheer left their lips. Each one trying to drown their doubt in their ears.
And with one command, they marched as one unit.
"Forward!"
—.—.—.—.—
"Let's see how well you fair!"
"Move!" Leinas immediately threw herself aside.
The ball of fire missed her by a hair's breadth.
*BOOOM!
The explosion threw her back against a slope and rattled her ears, causing them to ring for a few seconds. And with a huff, she gathered her senses. Letting her Spiritual Prowess dull the pain away with [Dull Sense].
Just in time for her instinct to scream at her.
She raised her spear and– *Clang!
"Hmn~ Impressive indeed."
The rich voice sounded against her ears. And from the dust, she saw him. The Black Knight of Re-estize. Standing there with his sword pressed against her.
"Tsk!" Leinas clicked her tongue as she felt her arms shake, with her back digging harder and harder against the dirt. "Graah!"
She struggled, she realized, against his one arm. With his blade now pressing the pole of her spear against her chestplate.
"[Cleave]!" bellowed Ernard with a full swing of his axe headed for the Knight's neck.
Said Knight backhanded the strike. But Leinas kicked one of his feet, causing the Knight to fall on one knee.
With the sudden movement, she shoved his sword aside and spun the butt of her spear against his helmet with a loud *bang!
Sensing an opening, both she and Ernard used a Martial Art.
""[[Flow Acceleration]]!!""
Allowing them to strike in quick succession. Faced with his mutter–
"...[•Time Alter: Triple Accel•]..."
First was her spear swipe that he dodged by leaning backwards.
Then came down Ernard's axe. That he kicked away from.
With her martial arts still active, she matched his speed and thrust. But a single lean made her graze against his pauldron.
And finally, Ernard's diagonal-upward swing, that received a swing of the Knight's greatsword. Cutting off the bladed end from the pole.
And by the time her sense of time blurred back into normalcy, she felt herself folding in half, with an intense pain in her stomach that made her want to puke out her guts.
"Haagkh!" she roughly breathed out. Feeling her armor press against her stomach. "F-fuck!" she cursed out of pain as she took out her hidden dagger, and cut the straps of her armor.
With her body freed, she greedily took deep breaths. And looked back into the fight. With the Black Knight easily holding his own against ten men and Ernard.
The Imperial Cavalry had rejoined the clash, deciding to kill the Kingdom's Hero instead. Deeming him as a greater threat but–
'Wait! Doesn't that mean that–'
As if to confirm her fears, she turned to the Kingdom's side and to her horror they are now rushing at them with their own Cavalry.
"Regroup! Riders incoming!" she shouted. Knocking some sense into a few.
One of the field commanders ordered a reassemble to meet with the Kingdom Riders but–
"Look out!" Ernard shouted.
And Leinas turned just in time to see Ernard jump at the Black Knight's back, trying and failing to pull his extended hand away. And from his open palm, he cast.
"[•Grand Fireball•]"
*BOOOM!
"Uhk!" Leinas grunted out as she was thrown from the explosion.
And with her own dulled senses, she saw as the assembling cavalry was scorched with a giant hole in their line and from that line–
"Kill them!" speared through the Kingdom's cavalry, led by a purple armored woman.
The following clash was bloody and costly. As the stunned and disarrayed forces of the Empire were trampled down and rammed through by the Kingdom's momentum.
While their own forces tried and struggled to reaffirm cohesion.
"...we can't win like this!" Leinas cursed as she looked for Ernard only–
*Splurk– "Arrkgh!"
She recognized her colleague's voice easily enough, and she turned to see and froze in horror.
Ernard, the Executioner Axe of the Emperor, was pierced through the lung by an Imperial spear. And with a monstrous display of strength, the Black Knight lifted him up, and impaled the spear deep into the ground. Trapping Ernard against the dirt.
Leinas gritted her teeth at the feeling of impending defeat. But she wasn't one to surrender.
With her remaining strength, "Out of my way!" she kicked an Imperial Knight, taking his horse for her own and snapped at the reins, guiding the horse back to the Imperial Camp.
Just as she felt a slight relief, leaving the dust, dirt, and commotion behind, she felt a sudden chill on her spine. And looked back just in time to see the Black Knight floating high above with his red cape billowing in the air.
And without warning, fell towards her like a cannonball.
Her senses barely registered what happened. Her trained eyes reduced to a few moments.
Her shirt grabbed.
Dismounted and on the dirt.
His fist raised.
Her hands as if begging him to stop.
And when the fist blocked her vision, all she knew after was black.
As she lay down, losing her consciousness. She had one last thought–
Curse the Empire for sending her against the Monster from the Kingdom.
—.—.—.—.—
The Imperial command tent was no longer quiet.
Shouts overlapped. Chairs scraped. A map table was nearly overturned as one of the officers leaned too hard against it.
"Pull the image back. I want the east wing—no, wider. I said Wider!"
Three mages strained, sweat running down their temples as the scrying image shifted. The floating vision expanded, showing the chaos spreading outward from a single point.
Jircniv stood rigid, hands clasped behind his back. His face was tight, holding back his panic, but his eyes moved with calculation.
"Report." he said evenly.
One of the generals swallowed. "The cavalry engagement has failed, your majesty. Complete loss of momentum. Casualties are… high. We estimate over forty percent of the first wave."
"Because of him!?" another demanded, pointing at the image.
"Yes. Primarily."
Jircniv did not look away from the scrying spell. "Not solely," he corrected. "The paladin's support magic is reinforcing the levy. Their morale is holding."
"But! Your majesty, they are sections apart!" another denied.
"It doesn't matter, so long as they can see it. Because of those two, the men of the Kingdom have yet to fall into disarray like before."
"We are barely holding on as well, your majesty." a third general snapped. "They should have broken already."
"They would have," Jircniv replied, "if the pressure had remained distributed."
On the image, the Black Knight descended from the sky like a falling siege stone. The moment he struck the ground, men and horses were thrown aside as if caught in an explosion.
Silence fell in the tent.
"He is not fighting like a mere warrior," Fluder said as he stepped back into the tent. Speaking in a calm, almost clinical tone. "Nor like a Magic Caster either."
"No casting time," muttered one of the acolytes. "No chant. No visible preparation. No magic circles."
"Hmm~ Physical reinforcement layered with time manipulation," Fluder continued. "At least three effects active at once. Possibly more if he involves Martial Arts... Ingenious."
One general clenched his fist. "Then why is he in armor? Why use a sword at all?"
"Because he can," Fluder replied bluntly. "It protects him, allowing him to keep moving and capitalize on his spells. Self enhancements layered on top of each other and mixed with his own equipment enchantments. I've never seen anything like it."
That drew attention.
"What do we do then?" another officer asked. "He just annihilated an entire cavalry formation."
"Yes," Fluder said. "And he could have done worse."
The words settled like lead.
Jircniv finally turned from the image. "Status on Leinas."
A pause.
The officer responsible for knight deployment lowered his gaze. "Unresponsive. Last visual shows her incapacitated. Ernard is ...confirmed dead, your majesty."
Several men swore under their breath.
"Two of the Four," someone muttered. "Gone in minutes."
"No," Jircniv said sharply. "Not gone. Removed."
He returned to the image. Watching as the Black Knight stood amid broken bodies, already moving again, and drawing Imperial attention back toward himself.
"He is forcing our hand," Jircniv said. "Every unit that engages him stops fighting the rest of the army."
"And every unit that doesn't," a general added grimly, "risks him breaking through to the command line."
"Yes."
Another officer leaned forward. "Your Majesty, we should deploy the second mage corps. Saturation bombardment. If we can pin him—"
"No," Jircniv cut in. "Too slow to march and too wide in deployment. You will hit our own men before you hit him."
"What about adamantite reserves?" someone suggested. "The city guard?"
"They will die," Fluder said flatly. "And teach us nothing."
That earned a glare.
Fluder met it without flinching. "You are thinking in terms of attrition. He is not."
The image shifted again. The Black Knight raised one hand. Heat shimmered around it, forming a spell that caused further devastation. Either killing or disabling their cavalry's ranks.
Several mages stiffened at the sight but kept observing.
"He's now using large-scale casting in succession." one warned.
"Not yet," Fluder said. "He's waiting."
"For what?" Jircniv asked.
"For us to commit," Fluder replied with a smile.
The tent went quiet again, this time with a small release of tension.
Jircniv exhaled slowly. "So this is not a breakthrough force."
"No, this is a wedge." Fluder said confidently.
"A distraction," one general added.
"A fulcrum," Fluder corrected. "Everything pivots around him. He is shaping the battlefield by presence alone. And when our men turn their attention elsewhere, he unleashes his spell."
Jircniv nodded once. "Then we need to stop reacting." he straightened as he commanded "Issue the following orders."
All eyes snapped to him. With scribes taking note of every word.
"First: pull remaining cavalry back into defensive arcs. No more charges. Anyone who breaks formation is on their own."
A murmur of unease ran through the tent.
"Second: deploy shield walls and anchor them with anti-charge stakes. Force the Kingdom to advance on foot."
"But your Majesty," one officer protested, "that gives him more targets—"
"It gives him fewer angles," Jircniv snapped. "And denies him and their cavalry momentum."
He continued without pause.
"Third: Fluder, prepare a layered counterspell field. Not to attack him but to contain him. I want every anti-teleport, anti-flight, and interference effect you can sustain."
Fluder's eyes narrowed. "That will exhaust my acolytes."
"Then rotate them," Jircniv said. "I don't need you winning. I need him slowed."
A beat. "And fourth," Jircniv said quietly, "signal the rear command. Begin contingency withdrawal planning."
That drew sharp looks.
"You don't mean—"
"I mean we prepare for the possibility that this battle cannot be stabilized," Jircniv said. "We haven't lost, not yet, but we need control. Playing by their field is a losing strategy paid in blood."
He looked back to the scrying image, where the Black Knight stepped forward again. Unfazed and unstoppable as before.
"We misjudged the Kingdom. To think those proud fools would unleash something like this against us." Jircniv said with a weary smile.
No one argued.
"Well, you aren't wrong, Jir." Fluder added with a smile and soft laugh. "Still, I am surprised by the turn of events. And here I thought quality was our most advantageous disposition."
"So did I, old man, so did I."
The tent erupted into motion once more. Orders barked, scrolls sent flying, mages chanting in tight, efficient bursts.
And on the image, the Black Knight moved again, dragging the war forward whether the Empire wished it or not.