“Yes, Master. Here they are,” Jerek replied, relaying the coordinates to his leader through his mind. Althor looked them over and nodded in approval, then called all the mages together so they could bind their powers together into one deadly force.
A chant of ancient syllables started, and before long they were even loud enough for King Christopher’s troops to hear.
Then, as suddenly as the fireball had struck their infantry line, the ground began to shake under Fusong’s backline.
A massive creaking noise broke through the din of battle as the ground shuddered and shook under Althor’s command. The awful sound started to dissipate right as the ground gave way with a giant moan directly under Fusong’s mages.
Several of the shocked wizards were swallowed up whole in that instant, screaming as they fell to their deaths.
The remaining Fusong mages screamed as the crack widened, threatening to take them out as well. The mages scrambled and ran for it, but several still fell as the crack raced toward them, its unforgiving maw swallowing all it came across.
Althor smiled as he gazed out at the chaos. It was a lovely sight to behold.
Then the crack in the ground widened further, threatening to swallow several of Fusong’s reserve troops and their frightened general. These panicked fighters turned around and sounded a retreat.
That was their first mistake. The ground kept tearing apart, opening wider and quicker as it went. Soon, not only had all the mages been swallowed by the gaping hole, but several of the fleeing troops had, as well.
More troops cried out in terror as they ran back toward Christopher’s army, horses bucking and rearing as the enemy cavalry scrambled to get everyone back under control.
Back behind the wall of fire that was now dying down without mages to support it, several of Althor’s lesser mages fell to the ground, mostly unconscious, although a few had died from the exertion.
Althor was starting to feel weak from the exertion, but he couldn’t give up. Not yet. The king had given him one more order to complete. Besides, he still had Jerek and Blatool to assist. He called them over to his side.
Together, the three wizards cast a powerful gustblast spell at the back of Fusong’s army, forcing another few dozen troops and cavalrymen into the gaping chasm. Not a major blow to troop strength, perhaps, but the aftereffect sent the rest of Fusong’s troops back into a wild frenzy, running for their lives.
Next, Althor and his elite caused a great patch of ice to form under the bulk of Fusong’s troops using an icerink spell, causing several to lose their footing and a few to get trampled, thus slowing down their advance.
Finally, Althor’s remaining wizards resorted to hurling fireballs and lightning bolts into the middle of King Caballar’s remaining troops with what little strength they had left until they all collapsed in a tired heap.
Althor grinned at the enemy forces. They were running scared and scattered about. He’d done his job. Now it was up to his king to finish the sordid task.
* * * * * * * * * *
Christopher barked a few orders and his spearmen and archers broke from their hiding places, rushing in on the remnants of the enemy forces. He watched as several of the frightened men howled and screamed as death rained down on them, unrelenting, from above.
The young king raised his sword and brought it down on an infantryman’s skull, blood and brains spraying everywhere as the enemy breathed his last. The enemy’s death wail gave him a sense of grim satisfaction and he hacked into another man’s side as he marched forth, the hooves of his war horse churning the ground into a mix of dirt and blood.
He scanned the battlefield. His side was well ahead, he knew, but this was where it came down to shear bloodshed.
A throng of cavalry raced forward to his left, spurring their horses on into a wave of enemy footmen. He heard the enemy’s screams as they were trampled and hacked apart, along with the occasional whinny as one of his horsemen fell, bloody, taken down by the rival’s spears.
It was hard to watch it all play out, but he steeled himself and spurred his own horse onward, taking a glance over his shoulder to make sure Talon was still nearby. The big man’s presence had a calming effect on him.
He heard a loud clang and was forced forward into his saddle as an enemy spear collided with him from behind. He spun in the saddle and cleaved the man’s spear in two, then hacked and hacked until there was nothing left of the man but a bloody heap.
The young king breathed a sigh of relief. His armor was as good as the old fables claimed.
Off to his side, he saw Talon slicing through several enemy troops with one massive stroke of his glow-sword. The energy weapon cut through armor and bone like it was paper, sending blood spraying everywhere and adding to the chaos.
King Christopher looked around him once more. His army was winning. He smiled wide, even though he knew they would have several losses before the day was through.
The rest of Fusong’s army began their retreat a while later, and Christopher’s archers and spearmen picked off several more of them before Talon gave the order to let them go.
That night, they did not march on to the capitol. Instead, they had a large party, and, per their traditions, they held a vigil to remember those who had died for the cause.
* * * * * * * * * *
Three days had passed since the battle of Huozong Field, and King Christopher’s army had marched long and hard to arrive at King Caballar’s castle in the Capitol
