Chp.34: The fall of the beastmen commander

Gorsh lunged at Carrion as if he were a rabid beast. His body moved with lightning speed, so much so that the air around him exploded, generating a small shock wave. His sword collided with Carrion's, again and again, yet it all happened in total silence. Around them, the world seemed to have slowed down.

Only after a while was the rest of the world able to hear the bangs of their swords. It wasn't hard to understand what had just happened: the two legendary levels were fighting with such rapidity that they had literally broken the sound barrier. When at last they could be heard again, the din of their blows was such that the wyverns beside them screeched in pain, as the loud noise was jarring their delicate eardrums.

Gorsh and Carrion had turned into two shapeless blobs in the eyes of most living beings. All that a normal human being would be able to see were very fast beams of light that constantly collided with each other. Even the adamantium-level soldiers flying around them could barely make out the outlines of their commanders. The only one who was able to truly follow the fight was the other legendary level present on the scene, Hara.

Gorsh struck with full force, forcing Carrion back. The lionman was still an indomitable warrior and in twrmins of physical strength he had the advantage over the human. Carrion was forced to stay on the defensive, but he still used every trick in his possession to help fight back, even if none of them seemed to work. Gorsh had strength, technique and experience on his side; while Carrion possessed these characteristics himself, they couldn't hold a candle to the lionman.

But even so, Carrion wasn't the least bit concerned. He knew that doing so would make Gorsh more and more tired. The energy needed to attack was much greater than that needed to defend. While Carrion, tired as he was, remained at his full strength, Gorsh was slowly draining away. Furthermore, Carrion wasn't relying on his strength alone to hold his own against the lionman: magical barriers continued to form over his body, protecting him and decreasing the force of blows. Those magical barriers were obviously the work of Hara, who had stood back but was still helping her companion in any way she could.

Humans were good at working together, and that was their great advantage. The beastmen also worked together, but still had a culture very much based on individual strength and personal pride; when they fought, even if they were part of an army, they fought mostly for themselves. Humans were much better at cooperating. This was one of the reasons they had defeated the beastmen in their first fight, despite starting from an apparent equal position.

Furthermore, Hara and Carrion had an additional advantage over Gorsh: the latter was in fact at a disadvantage in terms of divine power, having shared much of it with the hydra. While Hara and Carrion had also used a lot of it in the last few days, they were still ahead of Gorsh. And against the power bestowed by the gods, individual strength counted for little.

Gorsh knew this, therefore he tried in every way to prevent his opponents from using their power. Continually attacking would prevent them from concentrating enough to use the gift of the gods. Carrion had to defend against him and Hara had to defend Carrion: as long as that situation persisted, they could not counterattack efficiently.

However, Gorsh clearly couldn't go on forever. Even though his stamina was better than that of humans, if he continued like this he would tire before them. He had to change his strategy if he was to stand a chance.

As he continued to fight Carrion, he slowly began to alter his position. He spun around his opponent, pretending it was a technique to strike him from behind. Finally, it was right between Carrion and Hara. This was a big gamble: turning his back on the enemy was risky, but Gorsh was confident that Hara wouldn't stop protecting Carrion with her spells. Even if attacking him would have been the best choice, to do so she would have had to risk the safety of her companion; he doubted she would go that far.

When he was in the right position, he decided it was time. With a blow stronger than the others he broke the magical protections and threw Carrion back a few meters; the impact was so violent that the human's body shook like a bell and for the first time Carrion's expression became tired and nervous. While he was still recovering, Gorsh turned and lunged at Hara with sword drawn, just as he had done before. This time there would be no one ready to intervene at the last second: Gorsh was sure he could hit Hara. If he succeeded, he would have eliminated at least one of his two opponents; by then, things would improve for him, if only a little. Tackling one legendary level was always better than tackling two at the same time.

As he had expected, Hara didn't have time to defend herself. Mages were always at a disadvantage against warriors in close combat. In less than a second he was in front of her and plunged his sword into her body, pulling upwards and splitting her in two. But before he could triumph, Hara's body shivered and changed into several luminous filaments that vanished into the air shortly thereafter.

Gorsh grit his teeth, realizing that he had been duped. He turned and saw that Hara was actually standing in the complete opposite direction, next to Carrion. "A simple illusion spell, enhanced with divine power to deceive you. I cast it while you two were busy playing great warriors" the woman said in a teasing tone, then she looked at her companion: "Now, Carrion!"

A powerful aura began to emanate from the two humans, and divine power emerged from their bodies like a river. Gorsh tried to defend himself as he had before, but this time the result was very different. His divine power, already debilitated by the hydra, couldn't hold up against that of two other legendary levels. As the wave of energy hit him, he felt his skin and flesh begin to burn, even though there was no fire consuming it. Very soon his mane was gone, replaced by all his hair, and his skin turned black and sore.

And yet, Gorsh managed to hold on. Even though his own soul seemed to be harmed by that immense amount of divine power, his willpower allowed him not to be totally obliterated by it. When the energy wave subsided, the lionman was still alive; tired, burned out and at the limit of his strength, but alive.

But even if he'd survived, Gorsh knew it was over now. His body was too damaged and his opponents were too strong. He had no more way to turn the tables. All he could do now was die like a warrior, fighting with all his might to the end.

With an effort that seemed beyond his means, Gorsh roared and hurled himself at his two enemies; he ignored the pain in his muscles and burning flesh, and focused solely on the fight. But his movements had become too slow; Carrion stood in front of him and managed to dodge them easily, and struck him repeatedly creating countless wounds on his already battered body. Then Hara whispered a spell that Gorsh couldn't hear, and suddenly his body slowed even more, as if invisible chains were tightening all around him; at that point Carrion swung his sword and struck him in the neck. Gorsh barely felt a slight pain as his head flew off before he died.

Gorsh, the last level legendary beastmen, was dead. And with him, any chance of resistance had died.

Carrion swung his sword and with one shock wave alone instantly killed the wyvern of Gorsh, which no longer had any protection after the death of its master. After that Hara whispered a spell and empowered him with her divine power, and around them all the beastmen died instantly. They and their winged mounts fell lifeless from the sky, not even knowing what had hit them. The humans instead cheered in triumph, knowing they had won.

Carrion and Hara descended to the battlefield below them, posing beautifully above their wyvern, and raised Gorsh's head for all the beastmen to see. "Your commander is dead!" Carrion announced. "This battle has no more reason to continue! Surrender, and your life will be spared, you have my word!"

The beastmen looked disheartened by that sight. Even though the head was burned and damaged in multiple places, they could recognize their commander. All of them knew that by the time a legendary level fell, the army had already lost. In addition, no beastmen still alive exceeded the level diamond: all level mithril or adamantium beastmen were in fact those who fought in the sky and were slain by Hara and Carrion immediately after Gorsh's death. Therefore, the disparity of forces was far too great.

But despite this, the beastmen did not flinch, nor did they throw down their weapons; none of them, not even the most frightened, gave any sign of giving up. They were clearly terrified, but still they didn't want to give up. "We will follow our commander to the grave!" they shouted. "We will never give up!"

While beastmen had a highly individualistic culture, they felt a deep respect for their commanders, especially those who proved themselves worthy of the role. Gorsh was almost revered by his army, and therefore no soldier would ever think of betraying him, even if it might have saved his life. Even though he was now dead, surrendering would be an affront to his memory, no different than a betrayal. Therefore, no one was going to do it. Even if they knew there was no hope, the beastmen would continue to fight.

And in fact, after those words, the beastmen didn't look at the two legendary levels above the wyvern and returned to attack the human army. Carrion and Hara expected that would be their reaction, but they were still a little disappointed by it: after all, they hoped to end the battle with as little bloodshed as possible. But now there was only one thing to do. Divine power emerged from their bodies and struck the frontline beastmen. In an instant, their bodies began to decay and they grew old and emaciated, and then turned to bone and dust. But despite this, the beastmen of the following lines didn't give up and continued to advance, regardless of the danger.

Seeing this, Carrion and Hara realized there was no way to scare them; the last hope of finishing that fight without too many casualties vanished. A new wave of divine power emerged from them, much greater, and this time it swept through the entire beastmen army. In a fraction of a second, the thousands of soldiers were reduced to a mass of dust. There was nothing left of them.

The human soldiers began to cheer. They had won, and more: now that the beastmen's last defense had been destroyed, the war was definitely over. Without Gorsh and his army, the beastmen would no longer be able to oppose the human advance and their cities would have surrendered one after another, without even needing to fight.

However, Carrion and Hara knew it wasn't over yet. The beastmen problem had been solved… but now they had to think about the hydra. And above all, they had to find out who or what had been able to get its attention and hold it so much. Surviving several minutes against a calamity wasn't something easy. Anyone who had been able to do this was certainly not a normal individual.

And so the two legendary levels spurred their wyvern to head for the nearby wood, where they knew they would find the hydra. And with a little luck, maybe even its mysterious opponent.