Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO ON KINDLE SEPT. 2)

The drums of war beat steadily, incessantly casting their rhythmic echoes across the field. Dark clouds swirled overhead, a portent of a coming storm, and lightning lanced through the atmosphere near the horizon. Thunder rolled, and Sadie felt her stomach tighten with anticipation.

She held her sword, barely noticing the weight as she studied her surroundings. Nearly ten thousand men and women stood, arrayed to either side in neat ranks. Their armor was worn, their weapons well-used, and their faces creased in grim determination.

They all knew the stakes.

They had seen plenty of battle over the last couple of months. Most had seen friends die. All had been grievously wounded at one time or another. Even Sadie had taken a deep slash across her torso that had left a puckered scar that no amount of healing could banish.

That was the last time she’d slept outside her armor, and she’d paid the price when a surprise attack had demanded her rapid response. The ogre who’d wounded her had been a true specimen, even among his race, and he’d very nearly cleaved Sadie in two. Once, she’d brought Elijah back from such a wound, but that had been a special occasion. If he’d been cut diagonally, it never would have worked – miracle or not.

As the drums continued, a gentle rain began. Another peal of thunder rolled across the field, and the wind picked up, swaying the knee-high grass. After only a few seconds, the storm strengthened, dumping dense sheets of rain on the gathered army.

But Sadie paid it no mind.

None of them did. Not with their target so close. Less than half a mile away was a fort. It was not a beautiful thing. Instead, it was a series of squat, blocky structures composed of rough grey stone and covered in what looked like moss. Surrounding the compound was an imposing wall bristling with enemies. Sadie could see that many of those hobgoblins carried huge, curved bows. She knew from firsthand experience that those archers could fire accurately from nearly a quarter mile away.

That meant that their charge would be fraught with danger.

That wasn’t new, though. The only reason they dared attack the fort in the first place was because they’d spent the past few months killing hobgoblin patrols and repelling their attacks. From their scouts’ reports, the fort was down to the dregs.

Meanwhile, the human army had suffered only minimal losses. However, given their limited numbers, any casualty was impactful. Especially considering that there were nineteen other identical forts to conquer, and that wasn’t even considering taking the Crown itself. But the time for defense had passed. They needed to advance, or they’d be overwhelmed when the last battle commenced. The only hope was to whittle them down, conquering forts along the way and hoping they could survive that final clash.

“At your command,” said Jari from beside her. The big Finn had proven himself in battle on multiple occasions, and though he lacked Sadie’s raw levels, he made up for it in skill and reliability.

Over the course of the past couple of months, the army had slowly begun to defer to her. She hadn’t asked for leadership, but she didn’t shirk that mantle either. If it kept people alive, she had no issues taking command. In some ways, she was born for it. Certainly, she’d trained for a leadership role for most of her life.

“Charge.”

At her word, Jari raised a hand, signaling to another soldier, who hoisted a green flag. A second later, the army surged forward. The first in line bore simple ladders, while the next few ranks carried grappling hooks. Sadie had wanted to build siege engines, but the Primal Realm completely lacked trees from which to construct them. Even building the ladders was only possible because they’d brought a little wood along with them.

The ladder-bearers raced forward, followed by the hook-men, and then, last by the infantry. They started off at a trot, but quickly accelerated into a sprint. Sadie and Jari joined the third rank, largely because the idea of sitting back and directing the battle just wasn’t a viable option. They had a couple of Tacticians for that.

Sadie and Jari were both Warriors by archetype, so they needed to remain with the infantry. Behind them came the Rangers, most of whom were armed with shortbows, which they used to cover the charging infantry. And behind them were the Sorcerers, though they lagged a little. The last thing anyone wanted was for them to expose themselves to a flight of enemy arrows. They would be important for the final stretch.

The hobgoblin archers loosed their first volley, but the infantry were prepared for it. To stymie its effect, the soldiers raised their own shields. Some were more effective than others, but at such a distance, they would be adequate. As they closed on the fort, they would become more exposed.

The arrows skittered off ethereal shields, and the infantry sprinted forward. The next volley came close on the first’s heels, slamming into the next wave of shields. They’d drilled that hundreds of times, so they knew how to alternate. However, the third volley found those shields on cooldown.

That was when Sadie activated Halo of Protection. With her people so tightly bunched, she managed to shield all but those at the periphery. Those were exposed, but there was nothing to be done to protect them.

The arrows deflected off of the shields she’d conjured, but many slammed into charging soldiers. That was when the Sorcerers let loose, spraying their magical spells across the top of the wall and forcing the hobgoblins to take cover. Then, the ladder-bearers reached the wall. They planted the bases of the ladders into the now-muddy ground, then shoved them upright.

Less than a second later, men and women were climbing to the top of the wall.

Before the hobgoblins could repel the ladders, soldiers leaped onto the wall walk, where they immediately shoved the hobgoblins back. Sadie was in the second wave, and she practically flew up the ladder, reaching the top of the fifty-foot wall after only a moment.

Then, she laid about her with Final Verdict. She didn’t bother using any abilities. She didn’t need to. The job was a brutal one, and they’d all agreed to hold skills in reserve until absolutely needed.

Thankfully, with Sadie’s attributes, she could match the hobgoblins even when they used their collective ability that boosted their power. She swung her greatsword, cutting through one hobgoblin after another.

Through some miracle, she heard a scream coming from the rear, and she turned to see the Rangers, Tacticians, and Sorcerers sprinting for the wall. And Sadie immediately saw what drove them forward.

Stolen story; please report.

A horde of hobgoblins, at least a couple hundred strong, had come out of nowhere.

“Jari!” she shouted, hacking at another hobgoblin. The creature leaped backward, then stabbed one of her soldiers in the back before disappearing into the fray. Frustrated, Sadie once again shouted for her second in command.

He was there in a second, bloody and with a gash across his shoulder.

Sadie pointed with her sword, “I’m going to delay them. Take this wall, help the ranged attackers into position, and when I break away, bury them under arrows and spells.”

“Selvä!”

She understood that to mean something along the lines of understood. So, without further delay, she leaped free of the wall. After falling fifty feet, her boots squished into the now muddy ground. She kicked off, racing past the oncoming Rangers and cutting through the line of Sorcerers. Along the way, she shouted for them to mount the wall, but she didn’t stop to ensure they followed her order.

Instead, her attention was solely on the hobgoblins.

There were at least two hundred, though one stood out from all the rest. Almost as tall as an ogre, he was broad shouldered, with the exaggerated features of his race. What’s more, he had a sadistic glint in his eyes that Sadie couldn’t fail to recognize.

Knowing she didn’t have room to hesitate, she activated two abilities at the same time. The first was Faith’s Reckoning, which conjured wings of light from her back. She used them to propel her forward at unprecedented speed, but just before she hit the line of hobgoblins, the second ability took hold: