“Here comes the third wave.”
Another wave of foot soldier eucharists reached the front lines where the hand-to-hand fighting was taking place. It was time for the Miran foot soldiers to take the field to counter them.
“We’re moving in! Advance!” called one of the generals.
A group of foot soldiers charged forward in formation. Then, as if in coordination with the men on the ground, several black shadows shot past like bullets. Even the Miran troops looked shocked for a brief moment, but the shadows passed harmlessly through their ranks. They were clearly much faster than the other soldiers.
Those things might even be faster than the mounted cavalry…
The shadows kept low as they raced through the bewildered lines of Miran soldiers. They were the black leopardman warriors of the Country at the End of the World.
Geo Shadowblade’s Band of the Shining Leopard had taken to the battlefield. I remembered how Geo had come to me the other day…
“You want to be a part of the first army?”
“Well, we came here to be reinforcements, but we ain’t got much to brag about out here in the big wide world…yet.”
“So you want to prove yourselves right off the bat? Show that the Country at the End of the World can fight?”
“There’s that. I figure we might get treated better down the line if we work hard here. That’s part of it, but…I want to show everyone that we ain’t just here as guests or anything like that. I want to show everyone we’re one of them. Fightin’ shoulder to shoulder. And it’s been a lot easier gettin’ through to them at the top, thanks to you, Lord of the Flies.”
Geo Shadowblade led the Band of the Shining Leopard into battle, demonstrating to all of his subordinates that he was willing to take to the front lines. His unit was exposed to the furious attacks of the enemies as the battle descended into chaos. One of the larger centaur eucharists was wielding a great war hammer like it weighed nothing at all, sweeping away Miran soldiers who stood in its path. The monster was unique on the front lines—and made a fine target for Geo.
The twin-bladed black leopardman leaped, but the centaur eucharist seemed to have noticed Geo closing in. It was quick to counter his attack, keeping its war hammer in its right hand as it drew a double-edged scimitar from a scabbard with its left. It swung the blade at Geo as he was in midair. Geo parried the blow with the black blade in his right hand, angling his sword to dissipate the strength behind the blow. Metal clashed with metal in intense strikes that sent sparks into the air. Geo slashed with the black blade in his left hand—bringing it down upon the centaur eucharist’s head. The creature seemed to hesitate for a moment.
It’s too fast—I won’t be able to parry with my war hammer at that speed, the creature seemed to decide. It dropped its war hammer and tried to guard itself with its arm instead, turning the silver bracer on its forearm toward the attack.
Slash!
The centaur eucharist was severed in two from head to hooves. Geo landed softly on the ground, a feat completely at odds with the daring attack he had just landed. The tip of his black blade had reached the end of its swing just barely above the ground. He had cut through the eucharist as it tried to guard itself—a fearsome slash that no bracers could have prevented.
Not to mention, he’d done it one-handed.
The Miran soldiers around Geo saw what happened and looked utterly stunned. The eucharists, seeming to judge Geo as someone to be wary of, kept their distance from him. Then the wave of leopardmen piled onto the field, overtaking Geo and moving to support the Miran soldiers around them.
“Go!” cried Geo, tightening his grip on the two black blades in his hands as he stood. The leopardmen rallied at the sound of their leader and engaged in combat with the eucharists. Inspired by their actions, the Miran soldiers fought harder too.
“W-we ain’t losing to no leopardmen! We got to prove the worth of the Miran army to His Majesty right now! Go!”
War cries went up, just as the soldiers of Mira arrived on the field a little after the leopardmen, forcing the eucharists to retreat.
“I should have expected as much from Sir Geo and the Band of the Shining Leopard,” said Seras, watching it all unfold.
“Yeah.”
Yet there was no sign that the horde of advancing eucharists would ever end. Facing down an endless white waves of soldiers which only seemed to swell with each passing moment, the Miran army reinforced their flanks to continue engaging the enemy.
If this keeps up, they’re going to be swallowed up to the north and south.
Suddenly the sound of thunderous hooves drew near. An army was charging straight toward the northern flank of the eucharist army. It was Cattlea and her combined forces, who had been lying low behind a small ridge to the north of the battlefield. The army poured into the wave of eucharists like an avalanche. The enemy saw the army coming and tried to form ranks, but the cavalry charge hit them before they could react, cutting down some of the eucharists’ momentum in the north.
“That was the perfect timing for a blow to their side,” I said.
“I expected nothing less of the princess,” said Seras. I could hear the trust she placed in Cattlea in her voice. “If I were the enemy…that would have been terrible timing to suffer such a blow.”