Chapter 642: I Stand Alone
Laz checked his armor, but like always, Kat was perfect. His sword was secured, another gift left by Nesha as the weapons they had were in pretty bad shape after their first campaign of reaching the walls and there was no way to repair or replace it. As for the spear in his hands, it was still the one he had picked up during his first march and it’s life was quickly coming to a end. The tip was nicked in several places and the shaft was just one bad swing away from cracking in two. It wasn’t a quality weapon to begin with, but it could still have some use left.
Laz’s trash legion was flanked by other legions on both sides, but they had the ’honor’ of being the ones directly in front of the gate meaning that any beasts that wanted into the fort would have to go past them first. As for the other legions outside the wall, Laz could only imagine what kinds of sins they had committed to be stuck out here as well. With a perfectly good wall and defenses set up, what was the point in being outside the wall?
The simple answer was that there was only so much room inside the fortress to fight. The full truth involved mouths to feed over an extended period of time, logistics and a bunch of other bullshit that lead to a simple fact; people had to die and the numbers thinned before the entire fortress was cut off. As for any reinforcements... they were on the way and had been expected to be here before the beasts arrived, but that didn’t end up happening. So now the fortress was in siege mode until the help arrived.
While the trash legion was deployed in front of the gate, no one was mocking them as the other legions on both sides knew that they were also a sacrifice. Or, at least the leaders knew it even if their solders did not.
At the cut back tree line, dozens of beasts with dark auras arrived, their entrance marking the start of the battle. Just when everyone braced themselves, the beasts didn’t charge and instead stayed still. Soon, more and more of these dark beasts arrived as well, joining the ones that arrived first. Over the course of the next hour, more and more beasts arrived, causing the moral of the legions to plummet as they realized their enemy was gathering first before charging, a sign of intelligence that beasts weren’t suppose to possess. Bears, elephants, massive dogs, deer, huge lizards and a whole bunch of other beasts that were almost twisted beyond recognition soon arrived and joined the line, waiting for something only they knew.
A massive growl sounded out from behind the beasts after the full hour passed and the beasts, like a furry army of death, began a slow march forward towards the towering walls of stone and the men both in front and on top of them. While marching, other beasts came out from the woods to join them, the original beasts who had been present that had fought the legions arriving to help. Their bodies were much less twisted and still resembled their original selves, but they now followed the newly arrived beasts as though welcoming royalty.
The numbers had mixed in with the rest, some acting as shields and others as swords. Number two took the spot of command at the rear center of the line while Laz stood alone in front, several meters in front of where his legion was gathered. While looking brave, those at the wall saw him doing this and laughed, wondering just who it was who had such a death wish. While being a hero was nice and all, there was no such thing on a battlefield of this size as standing out from others just made an easier target.
Nesha and her company stood on top of the walls as well, heavily armed and ready for the battle. None were missing from their members despite the possibility of being pregnant as there would be no way for them to escape at this point even if they wanted to. Instead, they wished to grant their children strength by giving them a blessing in blood before their birth by fighting in battle while pregnant. Others gave them a bit of distance as while they were respected as warriors, they were looked down on in every other way possible for not only the poison of their bodies but also how unhuman like they were.
Nesha could see the trash legion from where she stood and couldn’t help but gasp when she noticed Laz standing so far forward as though he was giving up on his life. The one time mother who had tried to seduce him stood next to Nesha with a look of concern on her face as she too observed Laz’s stance.
"Why is he being stupid? He didn’t seem like the type who wanted to die..." she asked.
"He isn’t...." Nesha said, still remembering the strength she felt by being close to him and singing with him. The strength in his voice wasn’t that of a dying man searching for his last days, but of a warrior preparing for war.
Laz began to walk forward, even as voices assaulted him from the ramparts.
"GET BACK IN LINE SLAVE!" Was something shouted by the commander’s assistant who was responsible for the legions’ positioning. While he didn’t have anything against Laz or his legion, he knew that they were nothing but the surviving gladiators and prisoners and felt there was no need to keep them alive to waste food and wares on.
Laz didn’t listen an kept walking, channeling something within his blood that told him things, whispering ideas into his head.
*You know I will always support you, but even I think this is crazy,* Kat said, a small laugh as she had heard the reason. As an AI built to support an Asura warrior, she had an understanding of their characters. And what Laz was doing was right in sync with what an Asura would do in a situation such as this.
"Good. If any of this sounded sane, I would be concerned," Laz responded out loud with a laugh.
Once he had gotten a good distance away from the line. He stopped moving and stood in place as the line of beasts approached. Even the Numbers were a bit lost as they looked towards number two, but he didn’t respond. Laz had told him as they were marching that he would command the line and no matter what he did, hold them back and wait.
So he was doing just that.
As Laz was alone in the slick black armor provided by the Demons, he stood out against the snow coated plains. When the beasts saw him, several of them looked provoked and made to charge at him, but the growl in the back stopped them all in their tracks.
Laz raised his shield and spear and slammed them against each other, making a loud noise that echoed out, carried by the empty fields.
CLANG
CLANG
CLANG
Laz then waited until the count of ten before repeating the process.
CLANG
CLANG
CLANG
Laz then waited again.
Just as he was getting ready to do it again, the marching lines of the beasts stopped and an answer echoed out.
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
Out from behind the front of the beasts line march a massive wolf like creature, it’s snow white fur covering it from head to toe as it walked forward on two legs, a tunic over it’s muscled body and a huge club in it’s hand.
Laz repeated the process, slamming the spear and shield together and the beast answered back, slamming the club into the ground with the earth shaking booms.
Unlike the rest of the creatures, this one showed no signs of mutation and if it wasn’t for the black smoke coming from it’s eyes, Laz wouldn’t have guess it was something touched by the nameless god.
Walking ahead, the beast started coming for Laz as the other beasts began slamming the ground and roaring their battle cries. In response, Laz just slammed his spear on his shield, even while the sound was drowned out.
No matter what, he kept the same beat and the same timing, even when it could no longer be heard.
The men back at the line, hearing the clamor of the beasts, couldn’t help but feel their hearts falling even more, the fear creeping even deeper in their veins.
"That damned slave. If he wasn’t going to be killed, I would have him whipped and quartered," the aide to the commander said, spitting on the ground, all the while the commander kept his eyes on Laz as an idea suddenly popped into his head.
"It was your idea Chadson to send their group out in the front? Had you ever talked to this person before or any of the ones following him?" The commander suddenly asked, surprising everyone.
"Of course not sir. What possible use could a group of fighting slaves and prisoners have in the defense of this fort?" Chadson said, missing the tone in the commander’s voice that set his oldest advisors on edge right away.
They knew there was something that the old man’s eyes were seeing and they struggled harder to find it, knowing their lives were on the line if they couldn’t grasp it, unlike Chadson who didn’t even know his life was now over.
As the beasts roared, the wolf like man came forward and started running, massive club in hand as his feet carried him faster than most eyes could follow. The rear legs of a wolf were incredibly strong and could send him flying forward in an instant. In another instant more, he would plow into Laz with his club and send him flying, right over the wall if he aimed his hit right. He didn’t even bother to see what the smaller man was doing as he pulled back, preparing to swing, right before everything went dark.
The massive headless body hit the floor and slid right past where a hunched over Laz stood up straight, stretching his back. He then pulled out his sword with the hand now missing the spear and in the complete silence of the field, once again tapped his shield hard.
CLANG
CLANG
CLANG
