Hilda stood before her army, which numbered five hundred soldiers and twelve Sky Reapers.
The soldiers stood in even ranks, holding spears and shields in their hands. Behind the army stood archers, ready at any moment to shower the enemy with a hail of arrows.
Above them hovered squadrons of flying Sky Reapers, ready for battle.
The Sky Reapers were warriors equipped with wings made of dragon scales, obtained during dragon hunts. Their arms were adapted for aerial combat, and each carried special blades resembling swords. Thanks to their wings, they were able to move freely through the sky and attack their enemies from above.
Lyria stood beside Hilda and looked out at the vast army.
"Five hundred soldiers and twelve Sky Reapers… Is that all we have?"
Hilda clenched her hand around the hilt of her sword.
"It'll be enough if each of them fights for those standing behind us."
A low, ominous roar echoed in the distance.
The soldiers looked toward the horizon.
Lyria swallowed hard.
"They're coming…"
Hilda raised her sword.
"Let them come."
The snow began to fall harder and harder, and an icy wind pierced the army's ranks.
"We must wait for Lord Patrick's reinforcements to arrive."
The soldiers struck their spears against their shields.
"DEATH TO THE DEMONS!"
Hilda looked at the approaching enemy army.
"Soldiers! Prepare for battle!"
The entire demon army, consisting of a thousand warriors, charged forward. Leading the way was their commander — Hogsworth.
His heavy footsteps crushed the snow, and behind him followed hundreds of demons, roaring and brandishing their weapons.
Hilda raised her sword.
"Shields up!"
The soldiers immediately formed a tight formation, creating a mighty wall of shields.
Behind them, the archers drew their bows.
Hilda looked at the approaching demons.
"Just a little longer…"
The demons were getting closer and closer.
"Just a little more…"
Hilda raised her hand.
"NOW!"
Hundreds of arrows shot into the sky at once, then streaked toward the demon army.
At that very moment, a squadron of Sky Reapers flew over the Imperial soldiers.
Their machines moved at tremendous speed, heading straight for the advancing army.
Lyria looked up.
"The Sky Reapers are already above them!"
Hilda gripped her sword tightly.
"Don't let them reach the outpost!"
In the next instant, the first shots rained down on the ranks of demons, and a mighty roar echoed across the battlefield.
Hogsworth suddenly roared, and every demon pulled a small, black orb from their pocket.
"What are they planning to do?" — Lyria asked.
Hilda narrowed her eyes.
"I don't know... get ready!"
A moment later, Hogsworth and several demons hurled black orbs.
The orbs flew high above the Imperial army and landed inside the outpost.
Suddenly, demons appeared from the spots where each orb had landed.
"What?! How did they get in there?!" — Lyria shouted.
A battle immediately broke out inside the outpost. The surprised soldiers didn't even have time to prepare. The demons began to fight their way through one building after another, and within moments, most of the outpost's defenders were already lying on the ground.
Outside, the armies clashed.
"ATTACK!" — Hilda roared.
The Imperial soldiers charged forward, blocking the demons' blows with their shields and striking back with their spears.
Suddenly, a massive explosion rang out from inside the outpost.
Hilda turned her head.
"What's going on in there…?"
Just then, the outpost's massive gate burst open.
Dozens of demons poured out from within.
"Commander!" — Lyria shouted. — "They're surrounding us!"
The demons clashed with the Imperial army from the other side, trapping the soldiers in a deadly pincer movement.
Hilda looked around.
"We're under attack from two sides..."
Lyria gripped her spear tightly.
"What do we do now?"
Hilda raised her sword.
"We're not retreating."
Her soldiers raised their shields.
"Hold your formation!"
A fierce battle was still raging in front of the outpost. The Sky Reapers attacked from above, flying over the battlefield and firing at the demons, but the demons had a massive numerical advantage.
One Imperial soldier after another fell into the snow. The ranks began to crumble, and the demons were pushing them further and further toward the forest.
Matheo, Hilda's right-hand man, assessed the situation and shouted:
"Commander! We have to get out of here!"
Hilda didn't respond for a moment. She watched as her men died one by one.
"No…" — she whispered.
Matheo stepped up to her.
"Hilda! If we stay, we'll all die!"
Hilda clenched her teeth, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
"RETREAT!"
The soldiers who were still alive began to retreat toward the forest. The Sky Reapers also rose higher and followed them.
Not everyone managed to escape, however.
Inside the outpost, the last soldier was still trying to put up a fight, but after a moment, he fell to the ground.
The demons took over the outpost.
One of them walked over to the Imperial flag, grabbed it, and set it on fire. The flames quickly engulfed the fabric, and the symbol of the Empire began to vanish in the fire.
Hogsworth appeared amid the ruined outpost.
He walked slowly through the snow, chuckling to himself.
"Run…" — he said with a broad smile. — "Run while you still can."
He looked toward the forest, where the remaining soldiers had disappeared.
"This is just the beginning."
Hogsworth raised his sword.
"After them!"
Half the demon army, led by Hogsworth, set off toward the forest, following the trail of the fleeing Imperial soldiers.
After a few minutes of fleeing, Hilda ordered a halt. The army stopped in a small clearing surrounded by dense trees. The soldiers lit a bonfire and began tending to the wounded.
Some, however, were too severely wounded. Despite the medics' efforts, several of them died, and their bodies were laid to rest away from the campfire.
Hilda stood in silence, looking at her surviving soldiers. Her face was filled with sorrow.
After a moment, Lyria approached her.
"Reporting, Commander… we have only eighty-four soldiers and five Sky Reapers left."
Hilda closed her eyes.
"Out of five hundred… we have eighty-four left…"
Lyria lowered her head.
"Yes."
But after a moment, the wind began to pick up violently. Snow began swirling among the trees, and heavy, dark clouds covered the sky.
Lyria and Hilda looked up.
Hilda smiled.
"There's our key to victory."
Seeing the approaching blizzard, the soldiers began to regain hope.
"Everyone to your positions!" — Hilda ordered. — "Set the trap!"
The soldiers quickly scattered among the trees. Some climbed higher, others hid behind snowdrifts, and the rest moved between the trees, taking up their assigned positions.
Soon the forest was almost completely hidden beneath the snow.
Meanwhile, the demons, along with Hogsworth, were fighting their way through the blizzard.
"Don't slow down!" — Hogsworth shouted.
The strong wind made it difficult for them to move. Snow settled on their armor and bodies, and visibility grew worse by the moment.
"Where are they?!" — shouted one of the demons.
"They must be somewhere ahead of us!" — replied another.
They didn't know, however, that the Empire was already waiting among the trees.
Hilda stood motionless, sword in hand.
Lyria sat high up in one of the trees, watching the approaching demons.
When the last of them entered the designated spot, Lyria raised her hand.
After a moment, she gave the signal.
"Now."
Several soldiers cut the ropes.
Suddenly, four massive trees began to tilt.
The demons looked up.
"What the—?!"
The trees crashed down onto their ranks.
"RUN!"
But it was too late.
The massive trunks slammed into the ground, knocking over many demons and shattering their formation.
The rest scattered in panic.
Hogsworth leaped back and charged forward, trying to escape the trap. Suddenly, his foot slipped on the ice, and he fell to the ground.
"Damn it...!"
He raised his head.
Through the blizzard, he saw Hilda standing before him.
The queen held her sword raised high.
Behind her, the remaining Imperial soldiers began to emerge from the forest, armed with spears and shields.
Hilda looked at Hogsworth.
"Now we're the ones doing the hunting."
Hogsworth slowly got to his feet.
The demons began to gather chaotically around their commander and form a defensive line.
"Don't let them get close!" — roared one of the demons.
The Empire charged forward.
The spears clashed with the demons' weapons, the shields absorbed the first blows, and the snow was quickly trampled by the combatants.
Another battle began.
Hogworth defeated every man who stood in his way. After a moment, Hilda appeared before him.
The two charged at each other. Their shields clashed with a thunderous crash, and a moment later they began a fierce sword fight.
The demons fell one after another.
Meanwhile, not far from them, seven horsemen were galloping. Each of them wielded a spear, and at their head rode Lord Patrick, holding two spears in his hands.
Some of the demons began to flee, but after a moment they stopped when they saw Lord Patrick on horseback.
Lord Patrick raised his spear.
"Forward!"
At his command, the six horsemen charged straight at the demons. At full gallop, they pierced them with their spears, leaving them no chance to escape.
Meanwhile, Hilda raised her shield, trying to block Hogworth's powerful sword strike. The demon swung and struck her in the head.
Hilda's helmet fell to the ground, revealing her hair, and she collapsed, clutching her head.
Hogworth slowly moved toward her.
"If I'm going to die anyway… I'll take you with me."
Suddenly, he heard someone scream.
Hogworth turned his head and looked to his left. He saw one of the Sky Reapers.
It was Lyria.
The girl flew toward him and attacked from behind, knocking him to the ground. The impact caused his sword to slip from his hand.
Hogworth tried to get up, but then he noticed he was surrounded by Imperial soldiers.
The Imperial army had defeated all the demons.
Hogworth slowly got to his knees, then raised his hands in the air in surrender.
"We did it…" — Hilda whispered.
Lyria rushed over to Hilda and hugged her tightly.
"We won…"
Lord Patrick removed his helmet and looked at Hilda.
"Your Highness, we should return to the capital."
Hilda turned toward the battlefield.
"They've taken the outpost. We have to retake it."
"Not now. Your Highness's safety is the most important thing right now. We'll retake the outpost and the other villages soon enough. For now, let's take Hogworth to the castle dungeons."
Hilda looked at her soldiers. They were exhausted after the fierce battle. Only fifty-two soldiers and two Sky Reapers remained from the entire unit.
"All right…" — she replied quietly.
Hogworth was bound and tied with a rope to Lord Patrick's horse.
After a moment, they all set off toward the capital.
Behind them lay only the battlefield and a massive mound of earth piled up for the fallen. Swords were driven into the ground above it, paying tribute to those who had died in battle.