The forest was silent.
Deep within the forest stretched a wide clearing, though calling it open would have been too generous. A few crooked trees stood scattered across the clearing, their roots twisting above the soil like old fingers. Patches of reeds grew near the lower ground, where dark, damp earth swallowed footprints more easily than it should. Here and there, shallow puddles reflected the pale sky between the leaves.
The smell of wet grass, mud, moss, and distant water drifted through the air.
Richard stood on one of the higher rises near the edge of the clearing. His red feathers stirred faintly. His crimson comb caught the pale light slipping through the branches. Around him, rabbits, chickens, snakes, and lizards waited in absolute stillness.
For creatures that had once spent the latter half of their lives sleeping, eating, chasing insects, and occasionally getting kicked down hills, they now held their positions with a discipline that would have made any proper commander nod in approval.
Rabbits crouched behind bumps in the ground, stones strapped to their waists with vines. Chickens waited near the scattered trees and reed patches, claws flexing, wings tucked, eyes sharp with very serious chicken murder intent.
Snakes coiled beneath leaves, roots, and damp grass, only the faintest flicker of tongues betraying their presence.
Lizards spread across both sides of the clearing, half-hidden beneath mud, flowers, and the shadows of crooked trunks.
The black-scaled lizard was not beside him. Richard had sent it ahead, hidden near the left side of the field, where the ground dipped and the trees grew thick enough to break a formation's sightline. There, it waited for his signal.
His claws pressed into the damp soil.
Golden threads stretched from his soul, invisible to all but him. They connected to every creature in the clearing. Every rabbit, chicken, snake and lizard. Each thread carried a faint pulse.
Ahead, the forest trembled from footsteps.
A faint metallic rhythm drifted through the trees.
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
Richard raised his head.
The otherworlders were coming.
Through the gaps between the trees, shapes began to appear.
At first, they were only shadows moving beneath branches. Then sunlight caught on shields, spearheads, cloth armors and crude blades glowing faintly in the dim forest air.
The players emerged slowly.
Richard's eyes narrowed.
The first line came with shields raised.
"HALT! ENEMY IN SIGHT!" a shout came from within the players' ranks.
"Stay calm everyone! Just like we discussed! First line, advance slowly!"
Their steps slowed further.
The uneven ground forced their boots to rise and fall at awkward angles. The shield wall bent slightly whenever it passed around a tree or crossed a muddy patch. Spears rested between the gaps, points angled forward and slightly downward, ready to stab anything that tried to slip beneath.
"Second line, follow!"
Behind them came the second line.
Players with bows, throwing spears, stones, and short blades moved with cautious spacing. Their eyes did not wander. Their weapons did not lower. They watched the grass, the trees, the shadows, the wet ground, and the creatures waiting across the clearing.
Farther back stood the third line made of supporters, healers and reserve fighters.
Their distance from the front was deliberate. Too far for rabbits to reach easily. Close enough to heal and reinforce. Some carried staffs. Some held their hands half-raised, light gathering faintly around their fingers.
Three lines.
Richard understood at once.
His knowledge of games, battles, and tactics stirred inside his mind.
The first line would receive the charge.
The second line would kill whatever got stuck.
The third line would keep the formation alive.
It was an effective formation.
But not perfect.
Especially not for the terrain he had chosen.
His claws dug deeper into the earth.
The other creatures also noticed the newly arrived players.
The rabbits near him shifted. The folded-ear rabbit crouched slightly behind the front group, three smooth stones tied around its waist with a vine belt. Its small chest rose and fell quickly, but its eyes were steady.
Richard did not look at it for long before his gaze returned to the players.
At their center stood a golden-haired woman.
Even from across the clearing, Richard recognized her from the last battle.
The otherworlder's sword rested at her waist, her posture calm, her face bright with that strange holy confidence that made nearby players look at her as if the sun had personally descended into mortal flesh.
Around her stood players with similar costumes.
Some looked determined.
Others looked nervous.
One appeared to be whispering prayers while kneeling.
Richard's expression remained calm.
Beside Aelius stood William.
Richard's eyes sharpened.
Among the players, William's aura stood out like a blade kept carefully sheathed. He did not fidget. He did not shout. His eyes moved calmly across the clearing, studying positions, distances, hiding places, the angle of the trees, the muddy dips, the raised bumps, and the suspicious stillness of the grass.
Then William's gaze paused slightly on him before quickly looking away as if afraid of something.
Near William stood Roxana, smiling softly as always. Her expression looked gentle enough to soothe a crying child.
The players stopped at the edge of the clearing.
The two armies faced each other.
Grass swayed between them and muds glistened beneath their feet.
A bird cried somewhere deep in the forest, then quickly seemed to regret its life choices and went silent.
For a long moment, no one moved.
Then Aelius raised one hand, and the player formation halted completely.
Her voice carried across the clearing.
"Everyone, remember the plan. Do not break formation. No chasing, and most importantly, do not panic no matter what happens!"
The first line lowered their shields slightly.
The second line adjusted their weapons.
The third line spread out with practiced care.
Aelius drew her sword.
"We lost before because we treated them like ordinary monsters."
Her gaze passed over the players one by one.
"But we have learned," Aelius said. "Do not underestimate them, and we will surely win!"
"Ooooo!"
A ripple passed through the players.
Richard exhaled slowly.
His crown-like aura pulsed faintly.
The threads connecting him to his army tightened. He then simply sent his will through every golden thread. It was something he had learned during the past week.
An order that sank directly into the creatures under his rule.
'Wait'
The rabbits lowered their bodies behind the small rises. The chickens stilled beside trees and reeds. The snakes sank deeper into the damp grass. The lizards pressed themselves closer to mud and shadow.
The players began to move slowly again.
Step by step.
The shield wall entered the clearing first.
Then the second line followed.
The third line kept its distance.
The formation advanced like a blade being pushed toward Richard's throat.
Richard watched.
A player's boot sank slightly into a muddy patch.
Five.
A snake's tongue flicked.
Four.
Bent-Ear's paw tightened around one of its stones.
Three.
William's eyes narrowed.
Two.
Aelius lifted her sword.
One.
Richard's eyes turned cold.
Now.
"PAPAAAK!" he crowed.
Immediately, a golden aura enveloped his army.
The grass exploded as they surged forward.
The rabbits rose from behind the small bumps and low hills, dozens of white shapes appearing across the uneven clearing like angry snowballs given military training. Stones were tied around their waists with vines, tucked against their sides, or clutched tightly between tiny paws.
For one strange heartbeat, the players stared in surprise at the sudden appearance of the rabbits.
Then a storm of stones flew across the clearing.
They were not large.
But there were many of them.
Pebbles, smooth stones, sharp stones, flat stones, round stones, and one suspiciously beautiful stone that Bent-Ear seemed deeply reluctant to release all whistled through the air together.
The first line reacted by instinct.
"Shields up!"
The shield wall lifted.
Clang clang clang!
Stones rattled against shields, shoulders, and spear shafts. Some bounced harmlessly away. Some struck gaps. Hitting someone's fingers.
One stone passed perfectly through the space between two shields and struck a player directly on the nose.
"MY NOSE!"
Another hit a player's forehead with a hollow bonk.
He staggered back, eyes unfocused, then dropped onto the ground, flailing dramatically.
"I'm hit! I'm hit!"
For half a breath, his nearby teammates froze.
Then the player blinked.
"I'm fine? Fuck… I thought I was dead for sure."
"Idiot, our stats have risen during this week! Stop being dramatic and stay in formation!"
"Shut up man, it hurts like hell"
The first volley did not kill anyone.
Richard watched from the rise, eyes cold and clear.
His golden threads pulsed.
'Again'
The rabbits threw the second volley.
This time, the stones came lower. Toward the exposed edges beneath shields.
A shield-bearer grunted as a stone struck his fingers. His grip loosened for half a breath. Another player flinched when a rock smacked into his knee. A third lifted his foot after a stone skipped through a puddle and splashed mud into his eyes.
It was a small mistake, an opening but it was enough.
The snakes moved.
They slid through the damp earth, beneath reeds, around roots, and between the shadows of scattered trees. While the players raised shields against stones, coils snapped around ankles and boots.
One shield-bearer tried to step forward, but to his shock his foot did not move at all.
"What-?"
A snake pulled.
His shield dipped.
A third volley of stones arrived.
Three rocks struck his head in quick succession.
Crack.
The player's head jerked back.
A chicken launched itself from behind a reed patch.
"PAPAPAPAPA!"
It hit his face with both claws extended.
"Arrghhh!"
The player screamed.
His shield dropped completely.
The lizards took the opportunity and slammed into his side.
The player fell into the mud, dragged half under the shield wall before his allies could react. Rabbits swarmed over him, their stones already spent, tiny paws and teeths striking wrists, elbows, and throat with frantic precision. A snake tightened around his throat.
The first player was dead, his body burst into motes of light.
For a heartbeat, several players froze.
Richard's command passed through the golden threads again.
'Do not stop'
The creatures obeyed.
The rabbits threw their last stones.
Some flew too high and vanished into tree branches. One struck another rabbit on the back of the head, causing it to turn around with a look of absolute betrayal.
Bent-Ear held one of its three treasured stones, its folded ear trembled.
Then, with all the solemn dignity of a son sacrificing a family heirloom, it threw.
It missed the player it had aimed at completely. The stone curved strangely through the air, bounced off a shield, ricocheted from a spear shaft, and struck a second-line player directly between the eyes.
The player froze.
Bent-Ear froze.
Even the nearby rabbits froze.
Then the player collapsed backward.
Bent-Ear slowly puffed out its chest.
Clearly, this had been intentional.
Richard's beak twitched.
But there was no time to admire its throwing skill.
The next batch of rabbits charged as they had exhausted their stones.
The first line, still recovering from the rain of rocks, suddenly found dozens of rabbits rushing low across the damp ground.
They did not leap at throats nor did they try to overpower shields. Instead they slipped toward boots, knees, and exposed hands, using the same muddy dips and low rises that had hidden them moments earlier.
The first shield-bearer tried to kick one away.
His boot sank into soft mud.
His eyes widened.
"Fuck!"
A rabbit slammed into his knee.
Another bit his ankle.
A snake coiled around his other leg.
The player swayed.
The chicken on his face made a sound that could only be described as righteous poultry thunder.
"CLUUUUCK!"
Without much surprise he fell.
The second player died before the second line could pull him back.
Light rose again.
The player formation wavered.
"Watch the ground!"
"Don't raise all shields at once!"
"Snakes! Snakes under the grass!"
The cries came too late for the right side.
There, a cluster of rabbits had used a small hill to hide their approach. After throwing their stones, they tumbled down the slope like a white avalanche with ears.
A shield-bearer lowered his shield to stop them, only for three chickens to burst from behind a crooked tree and strike his face, shoulder, and weapon hand at the same time.
His spear fell, before he could recover it, a lizard dragged it away.
Another player stepped forward to help.
The reeds beside him bent as the snake rose and wrapped around his wrist.
Another snapped around his ankle.
The player shouted, pulled, slipped, and fell backward into a shallow puddle with a splash that sent mud over his own face.
A rabbit jumped onto his chest.
The player screamed as the rabbit mauled his face, biting and tearing with frantic fury. Then a lizard arrived, claws raised, and finished the matter.
Third death.
Then fourth.
For a brief moment, the players' three-line formation bent like a branch under too much snow.
The first line had been forced to defend high against stones, low against rabbits, and beneath their own feet against snakes. The second line kept turning its weapons from one threat to another, never striking where they were needed fast enough. The third line hesitated, unsure whether to heal, attack, or drag fallen allies back before they disappeared beneath the swarm.
The creatures surged.
Rabbits slammed into their knees.
Chickens turned heads into nests of panic.
Snakes dragged boots sideways at the worst possible moments.
Lizards struck wherever shields dipped.
The fifth player died near the center when a stone-dazed shield-bearer stumbled into a muddy depression.
His shield tilted.
A rabbit grabbed the edge and pulled with both paws, accomplishing absolutely nothing by itself, but looking extremely committed. Before the player could recover, two snakes and a lizard joined in and the shield fell.
So did the player.
Another light burst upward.
On the left side of the clearing, hidden beneath shadow and wet leaves, the black-scaled lizard's thread trembled.
It wanted to move.
It wanted to charge.
It wanted to crash into the players and tear their line apart before they recovered.
Richard held it back.
'Wait, it's not the time yet'
The black-scaled lizard obeyed.
Its claws carved deep lines into the mud. Its dark body remained pressed low between crooked roots and damp grass, scales blending with shadow. The smaller lizards hidden nearby trembled from the pressure leaking off it, but none dared make a sound.
Richard's gaze returned to the front.
Aelius raised her sword.
"First line! Split shield positions!"
Her voice cut through the chaos.
"Half high, half low! Do not all defend the same angle!"
The command spread quickly.
The next rabbit volley found fewer easy gaps.
Some shields rose to catch stones.
Others stayed low to block rabbits.
Spears angled downward, no longer waiting until snakes coiled but stabbing into grass the moment reeds moved strangely.
"Second line!" William shouted. "Target the rabbits after they throw!"
His eyes moved faster than the others.
The next group of rabbits rushed after exhausting their stones.
William moved.
His fist struck the ground.
Mud and force burst outward.
The rabbits scattered before impact, but their charge broke apart. Two stumbled. One rolled into a puddle. Another slid directly into a shield and bounced off with a squeak.
The shield-bearer kicked it away.
Luckily, not hard enough to kill.
Noticing the situation changing, Richard's claws dug deeper into the rise.
The players had begun adjusting.
The first line no longer panicked when stones flew. They lowered their heads behind shields and endured the noise. The second line began targeting rabbits that had already spent their stones, striking before the little creatures could reach knees and ankles. The third line stopped rushing forward to rescue every fallen player and instead reinforced only those still inside formation.
A rabbit leapt at a shield gap.
A spear met it.
Another rabbit tackled it out of the way, barely saving its life, but blood still sprayed from its shoulder as it tumbled away.
A chicken flew toward a player's face.
The player ducked.
The chicken sailed over him, eyes widening in sudden regret.
It crashed into the second line where the player tried to catch it with both hands.
For one terrible heartbeat, chicken and player stared at each other.
The chicken pecked his nose.
The player screamed and missed the catch. The chicken hit a muddy patch, bounced once, and lay dazed, feathers twitching with deep personal offense.
A snake lunged from the reeds only for a spear to be pinned to the ground in front of it, forcing it to retreat.
Another tried to coil around a boot, the shield slammed down, forcing it back.
A lizard rushed through a low dip.
Three spears struck together, driving it away before it could reach the shield wall.
The creature army's first momentum slowed.
Then halted.
Then, step by step, the players began to push back.
A shield advanced.
Then another.
The first line moved as one, forcing the rabbits away from the soft gaps they had used earlier. Spears stabbed downward, keeping snakes from approaching freely. The second line rained stones, arrows, and short spear throws into the spaces behind the creature front.
Rabbit fell, wounded. Chicken crashed against a shield and dropped into the mud, dazed. A lizard was forced backward by three spear thrusts in quick succession.
Richard felt every one of them.
His breathing remained steady.
His claws, however, sank deeper into the damp soil until earth gathered around his talons.
Bent-Ear clutched its remaining stones.
The creepy snake slipped through the grass, searching for another opening.
The muscular-thigh hen lowered her body, eyes fixed on the second line, legs trembling with the urge to charge.
The black-scaled lizard still waited on the left, hidden and furious.
Richard watched the players push forward.
One step.
Then another.
Aelius's voice rose again.
"That's it! Keep the rhythm! Do not let them drag you into chaos!"
The players answered with a shout.
"Goddess is wise!"
"Follow the Goddess's orders!"
Richard's eyes narrowed.
The first exchange was over.
The real battle was only beginning.