Mist Valley – Kill Zone. Morning – Seconds before detonation.
Hissssss...
The fuse lit by Lady Rumina disappeared into the earth.
Three seconds of silence. Time seemed to dilate for Rianor, who was peeking from behind a bush. His heart beat in rhythm with the footsteps of thousands of enemy soldiers crowding the narrow path below.
"Please God," Rianor whispered. "Let the mixture be right."
Down below, the captain of House Valerius's vanguard just realized something. The ground beneath his feet felt... hollow. And there was a strange smell of sulfur.
"Wai—" he shouted.
KABOOM!
Not one explosion. But five consecutive blasts triggering one another.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The earth erupted.
The narrow valley turned into a giant megaphone. The sound of the explosion was amplified by the cliff walls, shattering the eardrums of anyone within a hundred-meter radius.
Shards of rock, clay, and rusty iron nails sprayed out at supersonic speed.
The Valerius vanguard—three hundred heavy infantry in iron armor—were blown away like bowling pins. Horses whinnied hysterically, throwing their riders and trampling their own allies in panic.
Thick black smoke billowed high, blinding everyone.
"NOW!" Sir Roland screamed from the east cliff. His voice was hoarse from the sheer volume needed to signal.
"DROP IT!" Lady Rhea replied from the west cliff.
Garrick's mercenaries hiding atop the cliffs cut the retaining ropes.
Massive logs and boulders the size of cars rolled down from a height of 50 meters.
RUMBLE...
The sound of the artificial landslide was more terrifying than the explosion.
Enemy soldiers who survived the blast and tried to retreat were now crushed by a rain of stones from the sky. Human screams were swallowed by the sound of crushing rocks.
House Valerius's proud "Iron Turtle" formation was obliterated in seconds. Not by swords, but by physics and gravity.
At the Barricade Front Line.
Sir Riven stood tall behind the wooden barricade, shielding his eyes from the dust.
He saw the chaos before him. Corpses, severed limbs, and enemy soldiers crawling aimlessly.
"Insane..." muttered Garrick "The Butcher," standing beside Riven. His jaw was on the floor. "I've fought in fifty wars. But I've never seen a slaughter this fast. What was that? Dragon Magic?"
"No," Riven answered coldly, cracking his neck. Crack. "That was Physics. Natural Science."
Riven raised his battleaxe high.
"THEY ARE PANICKING! CHARGE!"
Riven vaulted over the barricade. He ran straight into the black smoke alone.
Behind him, 50 "Iron Mercs" and 30 "Red Lions" roared, their courage exploding at the sight of the scattered enemy.
"Slaughter them!"
Melee combat began.
But this wasn't a battle. This was a cleanup.
Riven swung his axe horizontally. SPLAT. Two dazed enemy soldiers instantly collapsed.
Riven kicked an enemy shield until it dented, then smashed the helmet with the pommel of his axe.
"Fall back! Fall back!" shouted a Valerius lieutenant trying to rally his troops.
But they couldn't retreat. The path behind them was blocked by horse carcasses and the rockslide. And behind that debris, thousands of other troops were still pushing forward, unaware of the carnage at the front.
Crowd Crush occurred. They were squeezed to death.
On the Cliff.
Rianor watched the horrific scene through his simple spyglass (made with Rumina's lenses). His face was pale. He vomited a little in his mouth but swallowed it back down.
"This is war, Nor. This is war," Rianor whispered to himself. "If you pity them, Riven dies."
Rianor turned to Roland.
"Lan! Signal B! Archers!"
Roland waved a yellow flag.
From behind the cliff trees, ten of Northreach's best hunters (recruited by Riven) appeared. They didn't shoot randomly. They aimed for enemy officers wearing crested helmets.
Swish! Swish!
Arrows flew. Valerius field commanders fell one by one, severing the enemy's chain of command.
Mid-Battle.
Amidst the chaos, an elite Valerius knight—a giant man in golden armor—managed to survive the explosion. He saw Riven rampaging.
"YOU!" the knight shouted. "Die, Sudrath dog!"
He charged at Riven with a spiked mace.
The attack was heavy and fast.
Riven parried with the haft of his axe. CLANG!
The vibration traveled up to his shoulder bone. Riven was pushed back two steps.
Strong, Riven thought. Finally, an opponent.
"I am Sir Boras! The Right Hand of Duke Varkas!" the enemy shouted arrogantly.
"Don't care," Riven replied.
Riven tossed aside his dulled axe.
He took a bare-handed stance. The stance of Tarung Derajat.
Sir Boras was confused. "You surrender?"
"No. I'm putting you to sleep."
Boras swung his mace vertically, intending to crush Riven's skull.
Riven stepped in. He parried Boras's hand to the side, then launched a rock-hard right hook straight into the slightly open jaw of Boras's helmet.
BAM!
Boras staggered. His helmet dented.
Riven didn't stop. Left elbow to the solar plexus. Right knee to the chin.
And finished with a Suplex.
THUD.
Sir Boras, the elite pride of Valerius, lay motionless with a broken neck.
Garrick, who witnessed the brief duel, laughed maniacally. "Hahaha! Our Boss is crazy! He beat a knight with bare hands!"
The morale of the Valerius troops collapsed completely upon seeing their champion die like a fly.
They threw down their weapons. They turned and tried to climb the cliffs or ran into their own comrades.
"DO NOT CHASE!" Duke Lucian shouted suddenly. His voice cut through the battlefield.
Lucian spurred his horse to the front line.
"Defensive formation! Back to the barricade!"
Riven, whose bloodlust was high, stopped. He looked at his father.
"Why, Dad? We can finish them!"
"Look up," Lucian pointed.
At the southern end of the valley, the fog began to thin.
The enemy's vanguard was indeed destroyed. But behind them... there were still 3,000 fresh soldiers who had just arrived. And they brought Trebuchets (Siege Catapults).
Rianor saw it from the cliff too.
"Shit," Rianor cursed. "Wave one is clear. But wave two brought artillery."
The bombs were gone. The cliff rocks had been dropped.
Now, the real war began. A war of survival until the last drop of blood.
Riven wiped enemy blood from his face. He picked up his axe.
He stood beside his father's horse.
"Okay," Riven said, his breath heavy but his eyes burning. "Round two. Bring it on."
[Battle Status]
Enemy Casualties: +/- 400 killed/severely wounded (due to explosion & landslide).
Sudrath Casualties: 0 Killed, 5 Lightly Wounded.
Condition: Trap ammunition depleted. Enemy is furious and ready to bombard the barricade.