Loopbreaker

“What’s wrong? Stenson asked. “Something's troubling you.”

“I just hate using Baxter’s trust like this,” Francis replied.

The general nodded, frowning slightly. “Sometimes we must do things we dislike to win a war. I’d rather not do such a thing but because of your skill we can see what may come from this attack. You of all people know this is the only way.”

Throwing away lives because you know they don’t have consequences. Lose the battle, kill me.

“I do,” Francis replied. “Perhaps it's just some leftover frustration at how Priscilla tried to use Michael as a bargaining chip.”

“That could be,” Stenson replied. “Only a fool or someone who believed they were above any potential consequences would do that. And we both know she is not a fool.”

Francis nodded and watched as Vella and the others set up the table with all the pieces and how they envisioned the fight going.

“By the way, thank you again for saving that line of men,” Stenson said. “That one act has given us far more power than what you had described before.”

Francis nodded and said nothing, noticing the guards who had just walked in.

Soon King Baxter, his wife and seven others were present, all waiting to hear this plan to be discussed.

“General,” the king said.

Stenson bent his head and motioned to the model. “If you all will join me, I’d like to show you what Sage Francis, Captain Vella, and I have come up with. I truly believe this is a gift from the gods.”

As everyone approached the table, Francis saw Priscilla’s blue eyes fixated on him. He nodded and they quickly followed everyone else's attention as the General laid out the plan.

***

Every man roared as the horn sounded again.

The birds that feasted on the carcasses were what had given their advance away; a thick black swarm of them flying into the sky announced that more death was to come.

Francis ran behind the horses Kels was leading. Rather than get tied to a horse again, he used his newfound speed and kept up. His armor moved well and a part of Francis was sad that if he died today it would be a while before he wore armor actually fitted for him.

Stenson had given it to him, mentioning how the older man had someone working on it after the previous battle, knowing it would be needed at some point.

The sword in his hand felt wrong, yet Francis shoved his growing frustration at the General into his stomach, using it to fuel the rage he was about to unleash.

Arrows came and Francis held his shield up, laughing at himself when a shield appeared above them, deflecting the incoming death.

Carried away in my own thoughts and I forgot he has his own personal mages.

Kels wasn’t even looking back at Francis. Having seen early on that he could keep up, the knight was focused on the lines that were about to clash.

The armies collided further in enemy territory than the first time they had done something like this. Having another line of troops greatly impacted the battle, allowing them to focus more on the cavalry and elite warriors.

Francis could occasionally see over the heads of those before him, wishing for the height a horse provided. Ever so often, he would jump, noticing that the number of cat and wolf-kin was less if his eyes were right.

I swear if this works I’m going to… Actually, I’m not sure what I’m going to do…

The kingdom’s mages held their spells, waiting for the moment Stenson had ordered it. As the first wave of elites met with the advanced, clouds formed above.

Francis was surprised to learn that the healers and the mages worked together to create the healing spell. Through a few artifacts, they could combine their mana and the threads they wove, turning them into something new. It made Francis wonder if that was why the black sheet of death and this healing spell reacted the way it did. Three different kinds of magic all in a single place seemed like a bad idea.

The wall of warriors cut down the beasts that they had engaged. A combination of highly trained men, unable to be hurt or killed by claws or teeth, wasted no time using the spell to their advantage.

Rows of warriors were running behind those lines, carrying the next part of the plan. There weren’t enough lances to go around as the cavalry needed some but Francis could hear and see the large shapes coming at the men.

“FORWARD!” Kels’s cry and the horns that sounded after had the warriors on horseback shout, urging their mounts ahead, the wedge forming tighter.

Francis marveled at the magic that went out before these horses. The first time he had been on one, his eyes didn’t notice it, but now, with his increased Perception and being this low to the ground, it was obvious. Each horse had a magical gem set in its armor, resting against the base of its chest. The gem caused the ground to become flat, transforming bumpy soil into flat ground and filling holes that threatened to sink into their hooves and break a leg.

Even in a full charge, the magic could keep up with the mounts. When the cavalry broke through the last line of beastkin, a new problem arose. Large rhino-kins came, bellowing their challenge and as the first horses were less than a hundred yards away, the next trick was revealed.

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Mages, tied to horses like he had been cast the Quicksand Shift spell before them. It was a risky gamble, bringing mages into battle but the spell did exactly what the general had hoped it would, trading a mage's life for results.

Rhino-kins sank immediately, their weight and speed sending sand spraying to the sides as the ground gave away beneath them. As those beasts faltered, the mages immediately cut off the spell, and the horses struck solid, smooth ground.

Lances buried deep in targets, unable to dodge or avoid the weapons, so many rhino-kin dying and even better, fewer warriors falling in the first charge.

Roars were answered with the battle cries of men as over fifty rhino-kins never rose from the soil they had fallen into. Other beasts were struggling to break free, trying to stop the incoming cavalry attacks.

Francis joined the fight, claiming his pound of flesh for all the times he had died to a rhino-kin.

Most of the ones still alive were armored and bigger. Francis kept his shield ready, his eyes scanning the battlefield as he used a combination of his skills to end every rhino-kin he encountered.

Kels was off his horse, and Francis watched as the knight mimicked his performance from the first time. The knight tore through each creature that felt they could do something against the young man, finding out, as so many beasts before, that Kels was truly a different caliber of warrior.

Elite troops drew near and Francis spotted Stenson arriving.

“Where?!” the older man cried out.

Francis pointed in the direction of what the general was seeking.

A single nod was all that the older man gave as the general dismounted and took off in the direction of the tiger-kin that had killed him last time.

Knowledge is power…

Soon the roar came and Stenson found himself facing the beast again but this time the rest of the army didn’t stop.

Francis gazed upon the large beasts with siege weapons attached to them. Each was easily fifty feet tall and had large leathery noses with giant spikes set on the end. Their legs were also wrapped in spikes, likely a deterrent to anyone trying to get close to them.

Then what Francis was looking for caught his eye.

Arrows were coming from near the base of one of the gigantic creatures, and at first, Francis wasn’t sure if he could believe what he saw.

It was a bear, easily twelve feet tall, standing on its back legs, a massive bow in its hands and the arrows it sent were four feet or longer. Even from a distance, Francis could see that the bow wasn’t designed for just anyone to use. Thick beams were bent, metal running up and down them and the speed each arrow moved with had enough power to penetrate a man, horse and more.

Francis watched as another bear-kin stepped from behind a leg and fired, darting back to hide before appearing again. Each arrow killed someone it hit in the chest and the few who managed to get their shield up were sent flying, arm broken and shield shattered.

The sound of chaos and carnage drew Francis' attention back to where Stenson had gone.

Dirt flew into the air, a cloud of dust forming as the creature and the older man fought.

Flashes of metal were visible as it reflected the light of the day and for a solid thirty seconds, the pair destroyed a section of the battlefield. Multiple men and beasts were killed, unable to escape the carnage the pair left in their wake.

Francis raced toward the area where Kels was standing, accompanied by four other men, all of whom had shields out and were scanning the line of beasts.

“Watch out!” Francis cried out. His words were swept away in the chaos, but both man and beast broke apart, each covered in blood from head to toe. The armor Stenson wore was different from the first time, and Francis suspected it was more durable than the previous one the general had fought in against this foe. Still, the chest piece was torn to shreds, and one of the armored legs was missing completely.

Francis knew that this was a jaguar and not a tiger, his one-up-close memory refreshed as he watched the battle continue. Part of him swore it had been a tiger he had seen while pushing through the lines but clearly it wasn’t. Sections of its orange fur were missing, a solid chunk of flesh was gone from its right thigh, and a large gash covered the beast's chest.

Both swords the jaguar-kin held looked chipped and Francis watched as Stenson dropped the sword he had been using and pulled a short sword from over his back.

“He brought it,” Kels said quietly.

“Brought what?” Francis asked.

“A gift from Baxter. Let’s see what happens now.”

Man and beast clashed again, and the air grew thick with gusts of wind, dust, and a sense of power. A flash came, followed by another, and then a howl.

They separated again, and this time, Stenson was still standing, but the beast had lost its left arm at the elbow.

No one reacted when a roar washed over them, the jaguar-kin shaking as it did it, the torrent of blood that raced from its stump quickly slowing.

More roars came from the lines of troops from both directions.

Stenson didn’t look away but Francis and Kels did. The battlefield was littered with corpses.

If Francis guessed, at least eighty percent of the rhino-kins lay dead, but the cost had been expensive. The line of warriors that had been saved from the black sheet of death was gone, and if half of the elite troops were still fighting across the battlefield, they would be fortunate to have that many still alive.

Five distinct roars came again and Francis felt his stomach sink.

Appearing from the last few rows of animals that protected the beast with siege engines, shapes could be made out.

“It was a tiger-kin!” Francis shouted.

“What?!” Kels exclaimed. “There’s more?”

Francis wanted to curse and scream at the heavens, but none of that was going to save him or the men who continued to fall.

The sound of metal on metal rang out from their right as one of the men blocked an arrow, rolling back about ten feet before standing up, the warrior’s left arm dripping with blood through his arm.

“If I’m going to die, I will make it a good one,” the knight said.

Francis watched as Kels raced toward the rows of slightly larger wolf and tiger-kin. Francis could see what appeared to be a frown on the general’s face before the older man shouted.

“GO! LEARN SOMETHING!” Stenson yelled.

While Kels ran one way, Francis went the other, dodging an arrow and moving toward the bear that had tried to kill him.

Another arrow came a few seconds later from a second bear-kin and Francis realized they were operating in pairs. Their grey fur blended in with the siege beasts' legs and they had a height advantage, shooting over their allies at Francis.

Drawing closer, the sound of combat between Stenson and the jaguar-kin boomed and a wave of something washed over everyone.

Francis wanted to look, to see what the outcome had been, but he could not dodge these arrows and do that all.

Beasts came at him, trying to stop his approach and Francis unleashed skills upon the first ones that drew near, noticing that these didn’t have the threads like the ones he had faced before.

Their claws came faster and the one Francis blocked had enough force to stop his advance.

Elites…

Before he made it past the first line, Francis found himself boxed in, claws raking off his armor. The animals worked together, striking from all sides in unison.

[ Death’s Dance Activated ]

Francis’ ability activated as the beasts tore into him, and the power it gave helped turn the tide. A catkin roared as it came at him, one claw swiping downward, the other thrusting forward.

Francis was going to die and he knew it. There were too many and this battle wasn’t going to be the last one he fought. Yet, like every time death came, Francis wanted to take as many beasts as possible with him.

Ignoring the obvious decision to block and parry, Francis lunged at the beast, whose eyes widened.

[ Power Strike ]

[ Quick Attack ]

A side of Francis’ face was tore off, and claws pierced his stomach. But Francis’ sword struck true, lodging in the beast's chest, and his opponent's eyes blinked rapidly. Francis tried to speak, to say something cool, but the darkness came before words ever did.