“What’s the latest on the Skull Warrior’s army?” Lynx asked.
“I have been informed that it will be about four hours before the Skull Warrior reaches the castle. It’s good for us that we strike them just at the dawn,” the Scavenger said.
A few minutes after dawn, they caught the first glimpse of the army.
It was just a black line across the horizon, and then they heard the rhythmic sound of the marching of an army – thick, thock, thick, thock.
As the Skull Warrior’s army came closer, they all gasped in shock.
The morning sky had gone black, littered with all sorts of flying creatures – ranging from black rats with wings to large pterodactyls with long pointed tails.
The sheer size of the enemy army was mind-boggling. The growl of the ferocious dogs could be heard from far, and that made the Amozaks restless.
After a few moments, the giants with the Dark Sorcerers on their shoulders were seen marching with energy. The archers and chariots followed. They seemed endless, lines after lines emerging from the horizon.
Shock and disappointment were visible not only on the faces of children, but also on the faces of the assembled army.
The Scavenger turned to look towards them. “My friends, it is the call of destiny,” he said, looking around the area. “This is the time to rise and fulfil our fate.” The Scavenger raised his hands. “ATTTAAACCCKKKK!”
His army roared back in response. The children could already sense the mood becoming energetic again. The Scavenger’s short message proved to be enough to rejuvenate the warriors once again.
“AND IT BEGINS…” Paragon shot a single arrow from his bow, signalling the start of the war.
The arrow was not just a normal one. It flew through the air and landed short of the marching army. The arrow plunged into the ground, hurting no one, but its effects were to activate the traps.
The enemy was caught unaware by the waiting traps. As the traps got activated, steel poles fell on the front lines of the army, crushing many. The poles’ mechanisms allowed them to pull back and then fall again, causing multiple casualties for the enemy.
The giants had to step forward and catch these poles. As they caught the poles, the steel needles dug into their hands and they roared. Even then, they pulled the poles out of the ground and threw them behind them, not caring that they were crushing some of their soldiers.
The traps were carefully planned. As the enemy army moved forward, hundreds of warriors, including the mighty giants, fell into the dug-out pits.
Back at the Castle walls, the sight of the enemy falling into the pits was a big morale booster for the Scavenger’s army.
But the enemy numbers were far too many. As the pits filled themselves up with warriors, the army just trampled over them and kept marching forward.
The traps continued to get nastier. The spikes, which suddenly protruded out of the ground, killed and injured many enemy warriors. As the enemy marched further ahead, it started into get the range of the arrows.
“READY YOUR ARROWS!” the Scavenger yelled.
The children and all the others drew back the arrows in their bows as far as they could.
“Shoot the flying creatures!” the Scavenger ordered.
Thousands of arrows struck the flying monstrosities that started dropping like stones.
The children were excited, as their training seemed to have paid off. Archer was especially pleased with his accuracy.
The element of surprise on the Scavenger’s part started to wear out as the enemy started to retaliate. Arrows shot towards the wall, and the warriors on the Scavenger’s side ducked and dodged.
Archer was surprised to see that his friends were all summoning their Elemental Powers. Archer immediately ditched the bow and called upon fire. The Scavenger was summoning bolts through his Lightning Sword.
The combined attack of the Scavenger’s sword and the children’s Elemental Powers proved useful. As the Lightning bolts rained down on the enemy, roots captured the legs of the warriors. The clouds erupted in torrential rain and tornadoes started swirling around the enemy warriors. Archer used fire to burn the armours of warriors, and the archers from the walls of the Castle were precise in burying their arrows in the enemy’s chests.
The enemy army, however, kept getting closer to the Castle.
“SORCERERS!” The Scavenger raised his hands and shouted.
The group of sorcerers, which had been chanting till now, stopped chanting and at once, a blue dome formed around the Castle. As the enemy warriors touched it, the Dome went flying away.
Everyone was fighting hard. The Turtoons and Octerpillers shot bugs and animals at the enemy who was on their side of the Dome.
The Gods were fighting on another level. Paragon was waving his hand from side to side, and a whole line of warriors went flying to different sides. Oni was shooting magical arrows, which, when striking the ground, burst into grenades or shot blobs of ice and fire everywhere. Rath had bared his claws and was shooting thorn after thorn, picking off one warrior after the other. No One was aggressively attacking the Demons in the Skull Warrior’s army.
The enemy army seemed infinite. In a change of tactics, the enemy started firing cannonballs on the Dome. The Sorcerers were using all their power to hold up the Dome but not for long. As the cannonballs struck the Dome, the Sorcerers started to drop to the ground, unconscious. The Dome shattered to pieces.
The enemy warriors roared as they moved forward, getting closer to the Castle.
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