Following such news, there was no panic, only steely resolve. They had prepared themselves to face whatever enemy came their way, there was no running away.
Lance turned his gaze to Kaeli who had spent a while equipping the goblins with weapons and other gears. The enemy were numbered in the thousands from their scouts’ estimations, apart from the old and the young, every one was a warrior in the coming battle.
The goblins now stood armed and armoured, gripping spears, axes, and blades.
Kaeli wiped sweat from her brow, her rough hands stained with soot. "Every goblin is armed, Lance. They won’t be defenseless."
Lance gave a firm nod. "Then we fight." Kaeli returned the nod, gripping her war-hammer tighter.
The orc leader, Gorvak, let out a deep, guttural laugh, his massive axe resting against his shoulder. "Finally. I was getting tired of all this waiting." His orcs roared in agreement, pounding their chests and sto0mping the ground. For one, these battle loving beings were more enthusiastic about the impending battle than anything.
Ruzak, the beastkin chief, rolled his shoulders, his sharp claws flexing. "We strike hard and fast. Do not let them dictate the pace of the battle."
Lance raised his hand, and silence fell over the assembled warriors. Almost a thousand strong.
"Hold the line," he commanded. "Do not let them push us back. If we lose ground, we die… and that is the last thing we do!"
A single warhorn echoed through the valley following the cheers and chants of the gathered warriors.
Just then, as though on cue, the forest erupted, the trees shaking violently as a wave of demons broke through the treeline.
They came like a living flood, humanoid figures with charred skin and glowing eyes, massive beasts with jagged fangs and blood-drenched claws, hounds with exposed ribs and smoldering breath.
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The stench of sulfur filled the air and the earth trembled under their charge. It was clear, this demon force was not just an ordinary one, neither were the demonic beasts especially.
Immediately, the archers took action.
From high above, hidden within the thick canopy, the goblin and beastkin archers loosened their arrows. Shafts tipped with barbed iron and poison whistled through the air, striking deep into countless demonic flesh.
Shrieks of agony followed after, the demons stumbling, some crashing into each other, but their charge did not falter in the least, in fact, from watching, it was as though nothing much had happened. They simply rushed forward, unrelenting.
The archers weren’t as successful at slowing them down, so it was only a matter of seconds before they reached the frontlines where the orcs were the first to engage.
With battle cries that shook the ground, they collided with the demonic horde like a battering ram. The first demon, a hulking brute with four arms, swung a massive club down toward Gorvak, but Gorvak dodged, his movements deceptively fast, and in a single swing, his axe cleaved through the demon’s torso, blood and entrails splattering around.
The other orcs followed suit, their heavy weapons crushing bone, tearing flesh, rending demons limb from limb. It only helped that the demons themselves individually didn’t appear to be much skilled.
Ruzak’s beastkin warriors did not wait either as they engaged the enemy, claws and blades slicing, as they tore through their enemies. A panther beastkin leapt onto the back of a horned demon, raking its throat open before spinning midair and kicking off its lifeless body to attack the next. Their battle style was sporadic, quick, and certainly, devastating.
Just then, a goblin screamed as a demonic beast lunged for him, only for Rikka to intercept, knives flashing as she moved with terrifying speed, dodging and weaving her blades, carving through tendons before she slammed a dagger through the beast’s skull.
"Don’t get ahead of yourself, fall back and stick to the plan." She said coldly to the goblin before vanishing into the fray. The goblin she had just saved didn’t waste any extra second, doing as he was told immediately. They who had not been trained were supposed to remain behind, more so as a last line of defence than anything else, to catch any enemy that snuck through. Using speed and numbers, they would overwhelm any lone demon that managed to pass through, swarming them and attacking relentlessly. A simple but effective method they were very accustomed to.
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It didn’t take long before the battle descended into madness, swords clashing, flesh ripped, bones shattered. As the battle raged on, the demons were not the only ones suffering anymore, even the army of the monsters started seeing casualties, though considerably smaller than the demons.
The leaders were just as involved in the battle as everyone else, taking the forefront with their army behind them as they slaughtered their enemies at every turn. A massive demon, standing almost twice the height of an orc, let out a roar as it swung a spiked club-like weapon, sending three beastkin warriors flying, certainly badly injured from the attack.
Lance watched from a distance, narrowing his eyes. With no hesitation, he rushed forward, running past Gorvak.
The demon saw him coming, and without hesitation raised its club again aiming to strike him down, but Lance dodged left, easily, his sword slicing deep into its exposed side and through its thick ribs.
The demon stumbled, snarling in rage, but before it could retaliate, Gorvak charged it, his axe splitting its head open simultaneously as Lance attacked from behind with a huge war axe he had picked up, perfectly suiting the demon’s size as he hacked at its abdomen, chopping into it more than half way through.
Watching as the demon fell, Lance exhaled sharply, with no time to rest. More demons were coming, the wave was endless. He watched as from the treeline, fresh waves of monstrosities pushed forward, their numbers seemingly endless.
Before anything else, he rushed to the downed beastkin warriors that had been hit earlier, healing them before focusing on the battle again.
This was far from over. The real battle had just begun.