Wulf on the Battlefield

Kenric rode, leading his troops through the green fields, Elizabeth's arms tightly grasped against his chest. The mountains that always stood just beyond Blaidd were getting closer, along with the mountain pass, and most importantly, the enemy.

They came into view from afar. It wasn't like they had been hiding. The enemy forces were standing with the mountain pass behind them, infantry with their spears, cavalry with their horses, and archers with their bows. They were waiting.

"That doesn't look like Wereionic armour," Elizabeth said from behind Kenric. She must have learned of this in the Royal Academy, and indeed she was correct; instead of the well-maintained silver and green armour that defined the soldiers of the Wereion, these soldiers were wearing ratty black armour. It had the appearance of being scavenged from various battlefields, but was too good of quality to have been found in such quantity.

"It's not," Kenric confirmed, "They're mercenaries hired and supplied by Wereion. Attacking in this way allows them to maintain the façade that they're still abiding by the peace treaty."

"I see," Elizabeth said, "No matter who we defeat or capture today, they will be denounced by Wereion as mercenaries who acted on their own."

"Correct."

Kenric could see Targur within his sea of soldiers now. Exceptionally tall, dark, and muscular, he sat upon his strong black horse, his dual short swords strapped to his back. The only hair he sported was in the form of a buzz cut, the colour of which revealed that it was unusually white.

Kenric had his forces approach the enemy until they were within running distance, and then had them stop. For a moment, both sides stared each other down, two thousand strong each, by Kenric's estimate.

"LORD CRIPPLE! WHAT AN HONOUR TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Targur shouted. His voice was strong and deep, carrying over the distance between them with ease, "HAVE YOU COME TO SURRENDER?"

Kenric didn't even justify that with a response.

"I THOUGHT NOT! YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN A STUBBORN PIECE OF WORK!" Targur laughed.

"YOU CHALLENGED ME," Kenric bellowed. His voice was not as loud as Targur's, but he knew it reached him all the same, "COME ON THEN, LET'S MAKE IT QUICK! A DUEL—JUST YOU AND ME!"

Targur laughed even harder at that, "AND WHY WOULD I ACCEPT THAT? IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT ME, YOU'LL HAVE TO REACH ME FIRST!"

"Cast your spell now," Kenric muttered to Elizabeth.

"R-right!" Elizabeth said in a shaky voice. He could feel her take out her wand and begin casting her spell. She was slower than she usually was during their usual morning training sessions, but he did not hold it against her: this was her first time on a battlefield.

As soon as he saw the blue band spring to life around his left leg, he turned to his deputy, a man covered head to toe in steel armour, holding a spear, "Charge."

The deputy raised his spear high, "CHARGE!"

Kenric's forces began their advance, slow at first, but then quickly gaining speed. Within moments, his soldiers crashed against the enemy, and the battle was begun in earnest. The cavalry skirmished on the wings, the infantry vied for dominance in the middle, and the archers shot arrows from behind.

Kenric's horse was currently on the backlines, behind even the archers, beyond the range of the enemy archers. A circle of troops surrounded them, the typical commanding officer's position and his guard. Normally he would have charged alongside his troops, but right now, he had Elizabeth to worry about as well.

"Under no circumstances allow your spell to deactivate," Kenric ordered her.

She looked confused, but he had no time to explain. He unsheathed his sword and jumped off his horse with a soaring leap, running and weaving past his troops with ease. The battle line approached, and the first enemy soldier died before he even had a chance to realise who was upon him.

Kenric entered the enemy's side of the battle, hacking and slashing his way through their infantry, never stopping. He couldn't even spare a moment to look behind him, but from the sounds of it, he could tell his infiltration had created a weakness that his forces were exploiting.

He had to keep moving, he had to keep killing, if he stopped for even a single moment, he would be caught and skewered in a flood of spears. The grip on his sword grew slick with blood, but he kept a tight hold on it.

For a split second, Targur's eyes caught his, and they widened, and the fact that he could see this was close enough for Kenric. He cut through three more soldiers in the blink of an eye and leapt upon a fourth. Using him as a springboard, Kenric leapt higher into the air. His instincts had guided him perfectly, he was on course to colliding directly with Targur upon his horse.

Targur bared his teeth and threw one of his dual short swords at Kenric, and Kenric was forced to deflect it, losing his balance. His centre of gravity thrown off, he was only able to slice through the legs of Targur's black horse as he landed.

He rolled and launched forward, slicing his way through as Targur and his horse fell behind him. He was well and truly behind enemy lines now. He swung and swung, his arms tiring, but he kept his eyes focused on the next target. Movement was the only way to survive now. Every nerve in his body twitched, spears stabbing where he had been just a split second ago. The attacks were getting closer and closer, and soon—

Suddenly, the resistance around him lightened. It wasn't a drastic thing, but it was enough for him to sense, and he took full advantage of it, turning on the spot and beginning a mad, blood-soaked dash the way he had come.

It seemed his initial charge hadn't amounted to nothing. He could see that the chaos he had caused had given his forces a good weakness to exploit, and like a hammer and nail splitting wood, the enemy infantry was breaking into two groups.

Targur was a tall man who stood head and shoulders above his soldiers, even on the ground, and that made him easy to single out. Kenric made sure to keep him within his vision as he killed his way to him, his sword flashing wildly in a deadly charge of death.

The screams and yelling alerted Targur to his approach well before Kenric reached him, and he turned to ready himself. He'd found and recovered the sword he'd thrown by now, and was holding them in front of him defensively.

Several soldiers tried keeping their distance while surrounding Kenric. It did not matter. The circle was broken instantly, with two dead before they'd even realised it, and Kenric finally reached Targur, their blades resounding in a loud CLANG!

Targur looked panicked, "Y-your leg! You shouldn't be able to fight any longer!"

"Did you count on that to save you?" Kenric asked, his voice ice. He twisted his blade, shifting Targur's defence and landing a powerful kick on his chest. Targur flew through the air, and Kenric chased, closing the distance once more.

Targur collided with his soldiers, stopping his flight. He made to raise his blades once more, his eyes wide and his expression twisted in fear, "Wait—!"

Kenric sliced through his neck before he could even finish, lopping off his head in one smooth stroke.

A sudden silence fell upon the battlefield. The enemy, still surrounding Kenric from all sides, froze. They stared at him as though seeing something unthinkable, something completely alien.

And then, Kenric raised his sword high, "TARGUR IS SLAIN! VICTORY IS OURS!"