Chapter 396: Invincible No More

Once, Taki had thought that the armies of the southern kingdom were as invincible as their miracle king. Once, he had thought they were unbeatable. Now, he knew better.

Sure, their enemies had come faster than they had thought. Of course, their defenses had been insufficiently prepared. Still, a lack of preparation alone wasnt enough to explain their failure. No, the persistence of their enemies had come as a shock even more so, to the point of disbelief.

Why wont they retreat?

In abject horror, Taki watched the wave of red-armored demons charge towards his position. Maybe that was the image these old armors were trying to convey: Inhuman creatures, with skin and will made of steel, reddened from the blood of their enemies. It was certainly working on Taki.

His s.h.i.+vering fingers somehow managed to fill another paper cartridge into his rifle. Yet by the time he looked back up again, the red figures were twice as large as they had been before. The warriors charged ahead without fear, their s.h.i.+elds and armored shoulders pushed forward to protect their bodies.

Shocked, he raised his gun once more at the figure closest to him. A pulled trigger, and the vicious looking old warrior fell to the ground. Yet none of those behind him stopped, not even in the slightest. None of the demons looked fazed in the slightest, as if they had completely forgotten the emotion called fear.

Again Taki looked down to reload his gun. He fumbled at the bag with the cartridges inside, but his fingers just wouldnt get into the opening. He fumbled, and somehow, he managed to loosen the bags strings. With ever widening eyes, he watched as all his powder and shot just fell into the snow, wet and useless. Head empty, Taki looked up front for guidance.

Hold! Qhatuq shouted. For this battle, the veteran scout had picked up a halberd and taken the responsibility to hold off the brunt of the enemy charge right in front of Takis line of musketeers. So far though, the enemies had only made contact to their left and right. On both flanks, the fighting was already heavy. With concern, the veteran looked to the right, where their lines seemed to buckle just for a moment, but Taki was more concerned with their own survival.

Careful, in front! he shouted and pushed Qhatuqs back with his empty gun. When the veteran looked back up, the old warrior was already close.

Im sure I hit him. Why isnt he dead?

Frozen solid from shock, and confusion, and cold, Taki watched as the warrior charged into their lines. Immediately, four halberds stretched out of their formation, to break the beasts charge. Yet his st.u.r.dy frame, shoulders and elbows simply brushed aside all the weapons like they were mere toys. The children who held those toys were bowled out of the way. One was given the hit from an axe, as a gift goodbye.

It would be the last of his life, Taki was sure. Unlike these monsters, normal people wouldnt survive from a wound like this.

The worst had happened.

Their formation broke.

Only Qhatuq alone somehow managed to hold on to his position. In the struggle, he had managed to lodge the s.p.a.ce between his halberds axe head and spear point against his enemys neck armor.

Like the monster he was, the old warrior didnt seem to care that his most vulnerable point was being attacked. Now that he finally stood still, Taki could see the manic grin in the creatures face. While he swung his axe left and right to hold off the other soldiers around him, he simply pushed forward, against the halberd that was still lodged against his neck. Yet despite his poor position and ridiculous actions, he pushed Qhatuq back step by step.

Have to do something.

Taki looked back down, at his useless, empty weapon. His paralyzed body just stood there, without any action. At last, a hard and cold piece of metal b.u.mped against his thigh, and reminded him of the something he could do. With manic speed he picked the bayonet off his belt. A scream from Qhatuqs direction made his hands shake even worse, but he still continued on.

Come on, fit.

Somehow, despite his condition, he managed to fumble the bayonet into the muzzle after what felt like an eternity.

Yes!

Once more armed with a weapon, Taki looked back up at last, to rejoin the fight. While he had been busy with his own things, everyone seemed to have waited for him. The old warrior had only taken a few extra steps forward, nothing more. Responsible for his halt was Qhatuq, who still held on to the warrior with his halberd. By now, the weapons stock and the veterans feet were both buried deep into the snow, stemmed against the ground to withstand the warriors raw power.

The halberds st.u.r.dy hardwood handle was bent like a twig, about to break at any moment, and Qhatuq himself was on one knee, while his other leg was leveraged against the ground at an unnatural angle. It was a miracle that he had withstood the force until now.

Yet the warrior still looked relaxed, with the same manic grin on his face as before, still with a halberd pressed against the armor around his throat. He still swung his axe at anyone who would dare approach. Of course by now, no one dared anymore. Who would dare close in on such an inhuman beast? Who would be dumb enough to join the three soldiers who already lay at the monsters feet, struck down by the vicious blows from the beasts axe?

While Qhatuq wouldnt hold out much longer, the warrior was just playing with him. Clearly, the beast could have just taken a step back to free himself from the halberd and then end the veteran scouts life any time he wanted. The beast was just toying with them, confident in his superiority. Pure strength overwhelmed skill and determination. It was just a matter of time until the beast would get bored and end Qhatuqs life.

Someone needs to do something.

Yet the soldiers around were either busy with the other warriors charging their lines, or were too intimidated by the old warriors ferocity to get close.

d.a.m.n it, I really am an idiot

, Taki thought, before he screamed a broken, high-pitched scream and charged his enemy with his improvised spear.

Maybe it was fear, or maybe the cold air blowing in his face, but Taki could not even keep his eyes open to face the beast. He squinted and screamed and ran, until his blurred vision was entirely filled with the red of the warriors armor. Then all he did was thrust forward, and pray.

Please just hit something.

Somewhere, someone must have heard his prayers, of that he was sure. Somehow, miraculously, his spear didnt simply bounce off the thick armor, and somehow, impossibly, Taki wasnt hit by a swing from the warriors axe. Maybe the Divines had smiled upon the rookie, or maybe the warrior had been busy holding off someone else at the exact right moment. Either way, Taki could feel some resistance, and then his bayonet slid through soft flesh.

When he opened his eyes again, he was face to face with the old warrior. The grin on his face was finally gone, replaced by a shocked, wide-eyed stare. The wrinkly, weary face of the old man didnt look like he was in pain. Rather, he seemed to be confused. Taki looked down and realized the state the warrior was in. Even as a monster, he could still bleed it seemed.

Two small holes in the mans armor were clearly from previous gunshots. One had hit him in his chest, and another in his shoulder. Taki wondered which one had been his as he stared at the wounds that were gus.h.i.+ng red blood like mountain springs. The only reason they hadnt seen the blood was the blood-red armor. The color had covered up the injury and had made the old man look invincible.

Still, even with all that damage, he was able to fight off ten of them by himself, without slowing down at all. The wound that had finally done the old warrior in was Takis bayonet that was stuck under his elbow. The bayonet had penetrated the weak armor at the joint and gone straight through. Taki didnt know if he had hit the heart, the lungs or whatever else, but it had clearly worked. Even so, despite everything, the warrior still wasnt dead somehow.

The old man lifted the axe in his right hand, like an immortal ready to pa.s.s judgment. Fear turned Takis limbs to lead. A reflexive jerk somehow let him drop his rifle. He fell back into the snow out of pure terror, but it saved his life. The old mans weakened swing missed the scout by a hair, before a shove from Qhatuqs halberd still on the warriors neck pushed the monster over. The immortal had turned into a simple beast again, one that was on the verge of death. The injured creature tumbled back down the hill and disappeared into the snow. This time for good, Taki hoped.

If this guy came back again after all that, he may really have been an immortal. Taki knew he wouldnt have the strength to face the monster a second time. He didnt even know how he had managed the first time. While Taki was still taking greedy breaths of icy air to calm his banging heart, Qhatuq was much calmer.

Hey, are you alive? he asked in a strained voice.

Taki looked over at the veteran scout, who leaned on his weapon, one leg dragged behind him through the b.l.o.o.d.y snow.

I think so, he said. What about your leg?

Broken or dislocated. It wont kill me quite yet. Qhatuq frowned. Unlike the worrisome frown on his colleagues face, Taki felt liberated.

He looked at the front line of the battlefield, or what was left of it. The warriors had driven into their ranks and disrupted their clean lines, but now, their momentum seemed spent.

After Takis charge, maybe inspired by his own heroism, many of their musketeers had installed their bayonets and charged to reinforce the lines. By now, it looked like they had just barely held, and caused heavy losses to the monsters that had attacked them with reckless abandon.

From here, Taki could see over a dozen pieces of red armor lying in the snow.

Looks like we did it. In the end, Taki laughed. With his muscles s.h.i.+vering from exhaustion, and with the smell of blood in his nose and several dead comrades around him, he still had to laugh for some reason.

All tension left his body when he realized that the battle was over. They had done it. They had survived the worst of it. However, he cursed his excellent ears when he heard Qhatuq mutter under his breath.

Heavens, no.

Taki looked back up to his comrade, who was looking towards the west, away from the river. When Takis eyes followed, he saw red once more. It was the same red armor that had just become spa.r.s.e on their front line. They had just stabilized against the beasts attacking them, and now even more of them had appeared across the horizon.

Its a flank. Immediately, Taki understood and thought,

what happened to the men we sent to protect our side?

While he was still shocked by this new development, Qhatuq had already reacted.

Retreat! he screamed in a full voice, in spite of his injuries. Finally, Taki understood what a real battle was, and he was frankly glad for any excuse to get away from it. Although the defeat stung, at least they could get out alive. However, as he left to organize his unit of musketeers behind the front line for a planned retreat, he suddenly remembered something.

What about you? he looked back at Qhatuq and asked a question he dreaded the answer for.

Me and a few others will stay here for now. Anyone in front, and anyone too heavily injured to retreat safely, will stay to cover your retreat. Well hold them off until you are safe.

No way! You-

Follow your orders, soldier, remember? Qhatuq gave a miserable smile. I cant get away anyways, not with that leg. Now you go back to camp and report what happened here. Bring more reinforcements and retake the hill immediately. We cant waste any time. Keeping the hill and preventing the dam here is more important than anything, more than any of our lives. Now go! And never forget what happened here!

For a second, Taki wanted to respond again, but he saw the red in the distance draw closer, and then Takis leg that dragged behind his body, and he knew that his insistence would only get everyone killed. He couldnt have said anything anyways, his throat choked as it was. Thus, Taki turned and led about half their troops south, down the hill and back towards their camp.

The charge up the nameless hill that would later carry the name cannon hill is widely considered the first military defeat of the southern kingdoms line infantry against warriors in Medalas history. By the end of the engagement, only 297 soldiers made it back to the camp to report on their defeat. Although the engagement was small and of minimal strategic value, the defeat broke the myth of the southern kingdoms invincible army.