Chapter 81

Kane wasn't crazy. At least not completely. He knew the Kokarian knights were stronger. He wouldn't have normally volunteered himself but he had two advantages as well as an eye for rewards. He knew that Kellogs group was waiting behind a group of trees for them to pass by. He had a feeling the smart orc would have a plan. He also had BOT to help him out. Plus he hoped this mysterious knight who could rival General Bushivo would have some nice rewards for him. And because the princess of the White Sparrow Kingdom was safe and he had helped then it would improve the relations between him and the king.

Before his rash decision could bear fruit though he had to survive the approaching cavalry. He had eight crusaders left and had them get off their mounts. He would take this fight to the ground. They all had long and heavy weapons which would help against the horsemen and hopefully slow things down. Kane was also counting on Kellog and the horde to be ready in the trees. He had no idea what they were planning but either way, it would help.

The crusaders were almost upon him and his men. He readied his lance. A thought invaded his mind and he remember something. He had gotten 100 earth troop vouchers. Seems like he could still even the odds. He had to act fast though.

"Bot! Summon 100 Roman Hastati recruits!"

[Done]

Kane felt the vouchers disappear and a bright light filled his vision. Screams could be heard, and the splatter of blood could be heard. When the light disappears and Kane could see again all became clear. 100 lightly armored Romans crowded the road many of their spear tips were impeded in the throats of horses. The Kokarian Knights were mostly on the ground now. They started to reorganize and the Hastati were being slaughtered by the much more experienced knights.

"Charge! For Deus Belli!" Kane and the crusaders joined the Hastati. He had hoped that the light and the appearance out of nowhere by the Hastati would be enough to confuse the knights but they were already coming to their senses. Kane spotted the leader. He was reorganizing them and apparently the light nor the Romans had fazed him. It seemed like this battle would still be difficult.

With the Romans Kane now outnumbers the knights which would be good but their Hastati were only F-rank. They were easily killed by the knights. Kane was worried that the main war party would get here soon and had to end this now.

"Kellog whatever you have planned do it now!" Kane yelled at the orc.

Loud snaps could be heard. Harsh and deafening war cries could be heard. Trees fell on many of the knights killing them. Then began a rain of crudely made spears and axes. This disoriented the knights more than it did damage to them.

Luckily now there were only a few knights left. Kane knew that he had to kill the leader for it to end. It would be risky though as Kane could sense the man was stronger than him. He would need to be clever.

Bausan the Bald was one of 12 knights who had mastered their battle arts and reached the peak of warriors in their kingdom. His arts may not have been nearly as useful as the other 12 but he had come from a poor background so it was already an impressive feat to gain access to the arts in the first place. His arts were a support type that strengthened the warriors around him. He had become feared and now directly served the king. A spy had told the king about a certain group that included the princess and he and a war party had been ordered to ambush the group so that they could capture the princess.

Originally Bausan thought it would be easy but never did he think he would see such sorcery as 100 troops appeared from thin air. His cavalry was now infantry. His troops were now afraid and confused and to make matters worse another force had started to attack from the treeline. He had to finish this battle fast so that they could catch up with the White Sparrow carriages.

He noticed 9 warriors who had been there from the being. He did not know the crest on their armor nor the name that was yelled from their mouths. He had never heard of Deus Belli. He did notice that one of them had gold trimming on their armor and was the same person to start the war cry. He assumed this was the leader.

"Time to deal with this filth." He could worry about the sorcery that summoned the other warriors later. After all, they were weak and killed easily. The leader, however, had to be dealt with before any more surprises happened.

Bausan slaughtered his way through the crowd until he reached the other side's leader.

"You stand in the way of the Kingdom of Kokar! You have fought bravely but that is not enough and you shall perish here"

The stranger in red did not respond at first which agitated Bausan. Then all of a sudden a lance was thrown toward him. It gave the feeling of fear toward Bausan. It was as if a dragon was swooping down to devour him.

Bausan focused his energy so that he could dodge the surprise attack. Even with his quick thinking, the lance grazed him. It did not break the skin but a fire could be felt in his organs. His armor was crushed and he struggled to breathe. Before he had a chance to recover a stream of fire headed toward his face.

Bausan blocked the flame with his shield. It did not damage him at all. He still needed to recover from the first attack though. He was not given the opportunity to though as the man in red had already appeared right in from of him.

"You think you can kill me!?!?!" Bausan was able to use his weapon to parry the man's morning star which had been swung toward his chest. "You are nothing!"

Bausan was a master when it came to combat and used his battle arts to numb the pain from the first attack and then launch a flurry of attack toward the man in red. The man's armor immediately started to wear under the Bausan's barrage.

Bausan was so focused that he had neglected to keep track of the ongoing battle. He did not see that the last of his troops were killed.

"You really are amusing. Your group has been slaughtered and you may be strong but I think you have a high chance of joining your men. Surrender now" said Kane. He was breathing heavily and felt pain throughout his body but did his best to not let it show. He hope this knight would surrender as continuing this combat could be dangerous. He also lost many in this battle and would rather now lose anymore. It had been costly.

Bausan looked around disgruntled. He notice that he really was the last of the cavalry. At least his men took the majority of the other side's troops. Only a few remained.

"You will die for standing in my way!" yelled Bausan.

He lunged toward Kane. Their weapons clashed and their bodies danced with each stroke. Kane was hit several times and his armor looked like it would fall apart if it took any more of a beating. Bausan on the other hand did not seem to be struggling. He just kept attacking.

Sweat dribbled down Kane's face. He furrowed his brows. He. started to think of a way to win. His men were starting to encircle their fight. If needed they could aid Kane in his battle but Kane would rather they not risk their lives. Only the crusaders and 24 Romans remained.

"Sir here!"

A crusader threw the lance at him. This was perfect! Kane had the dragon lance as well as the ability that coincides with it. This was the only thing giving him an edge.

"Just you try using that weapon again !" Bausan had already expected what that lance could do and wanted to stop Kane from using it.

Kane was quick though. He used his blood aura which slightly stunned Bausan before sliding down to knock into Bausans legs. His greater strength made the man lose his balance and Kane took the opportunity to aim his lance up toward the warrior's neck.

Blood squirted everywhere. A harsh yell sounded from Bausans helmet. Kane was not able to celebrate though as Bausan had stabbed his blade through a tear in his armor which injured him. In fact, it seemed Bausan was somehow able to survive a normally fatal wound and was about to launch a death blow against Kane. Luckily an arrow shot the knight's knee where the armor had fallen and Bausan fell again. A group of goblins waited with poisoned daggers. They quickly pounced on Bausan. They thrust their weapons into the knight's injury while he tried to get back up. Many of the goblin's heads were squished by the knight's hand or thrown into trees. Finally, the knight's slaughter slowed down and he fell to the ground. The surviving goblins kept stabbing until no breath could escape the knight's breath.

Kane was gasping for air of his own and before closing his eyes he saw Kellog come out of the trees with a crossbow.

"Do not worry chief as we will clean this up and get you to safety."

"Thank y..."