novelraw Chapter 115
Chapter 115
The thud of heavy hooves ceased.
Cassian pulled back on the reins, and his massive, seven-foot-tall black warhorse drew to a halt. At his signal, the knights following him mirrored the action, their mounts shuffling restlessly.
Five hundred yards ahead, the silhouette of a small village emerged from the gloom. Beneath a twilight-red sky, the hamlet itself was stained crimson, slick with fresh blood.
A high-pitched scream cut through the air, followed by agonizing wails and the sobs of women.
"Father, they're..."
"I know."
One look at his father's gaze, utterly devoid of warmth, and Owen silenced himself.
"Ready fire-arrows," Cassian commanded.
The knights obeyed instantly, drawing longbows from their backs. From their quivers, they produced specialized red-fletched arrows, each shaft intricately carved with crimson runes. A full gold piece per arrow, Owen knew. They nocked them, drawing the bowstrings taut.
Owen's eyes widened in horror. "No, Father, you can't! There are still villagers in there!"
But the knights served only Cassian. Their bowstrings remained taut.
"Loose!"
"No!" Owen roared.
Thrum-hiss!
Over five hundred crimson arrows took flight, tracing a perfect, deadly arc against the dark sky. The moment they struck the earth, the runes flared, and the shafts exploded into a raging conflagration.
In seconds, the entire village of Redham was encircled by a towering wall of magical flame.
The beastmen and orcs ravaging Redham finally reacted.
One orc who had been sitting rose to his feet. His skin was coarse and grey, his body clad in ragged animal pelts. He stood a full seven feet tall, his face a grotesque parody of a man's, with a wide, flat nose and two thick tusks jutting upward from his heavy lower jaw.
His yellow eyes scanned the new wall of fire.
With one massive hand, he snatched a seven-foot-long iron war-hammer from the ground and hefted it onto his shoulder.
A whistling sound came from above. A moment later, an adult gryphon, its feathers a sooty black, landed steadily before the orc.
This was his partner, Ashwing.
The gryphon opened its black beak and let out a piercing cry.
Aaaargh!
It was eager for battle.
The orc kicked off the ground, leaving a small crater, and vaulted onto the gryphon's broad back. Ashwing's wide, dark wings unfurled.
Seeing their leader secure his mount, the other beastmen panicked in the encroaching flames, rushing toward him.
"Lord Marnok! Take me with you!"
"No, Lord Marnok, take me!"
As the desperate mob swarmed the gryphon, Ashwing opened its beak. A torrent of orange flame poured out, engulfing the closest beastmen.
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"Gaaaaah!"
They were instantly turned into living torches.
From Ashwing's back, Marnok watched them burn with cold indifference. The damn fools hadn't even set a proper watch. They deserved to die.
"Pah!"
One beastman who got too close was bisected by a whip-crack of the gryphon's serpentine tail, ending his suffering early.
"Let's go, Ashwing," Marnok grunted. "Time to butcher these humans."
"SKREEE!"
The gryphon roared, and with a powerful downbeat of its dark wings, it launched into the sky.
Back with the knights, the village of Redham was a roaring inferno.
The screams from within were now mixed with the guttural roars of orcs trapped by the blaze.
Cassian's sharp, dark gaze scanned the firelight. Suddenly, he looked up. A black dot was ascending from the smoke.
A high-tier magical beast. A gryphon.
His eyes narrowed. There was a rider—a massive orc.
"Prepare for battle!" Cassian's voice boomed. "Enemy from the sky!"
The knights looked up, and their hearts sank. A high-tier gryphon, and a fully adult one at that.
A four-star threat.
Zing!
In unison, the knights drew their longswords.
A knight lived for honor—and was expected to die for it. There was no retreat.
If a man fled the field, the stain of desertion wouldn’t fall on him alone; his family would lose their standing and be sold into slavery.
"Archers!"
A calm, steady voice cut through the rising panic. It was Cassian.
"Nock!"
Hearing their lord's command, the knights found their anchor. They sheathed their swords, snatched their bows, and nocked arrows, their discipline overriding their fear.
High above, Marnok saw the humans scrambling.
A futile struggle.
He leaned low, pressing his body against Ashwing's back. The gryphon tucked its wings and dove.
As they plunged, three glowing orange rings of power materialized in front of Ashwing's beak. The rings pulsed, merging into a shimmering barrier of flame that enveloped the gryphon and its rider completely.
They descended like a meteor.
The distance closed to a hundred yards.
"Loose!" Cassian roared.
Hiss!
The volley of arrows flew true, striking the flame-shield. But the arrows simply melted on impact, their steel tips turning to slag.
In the next instant, the fiery shield was directly above the knights. Ashwing unleashed, dropping a sheet of orange flame onto the men below.
"Aaaargh!"
A dozen knights and their horses were instantly set ablaze, their screams piercing the night. The burning men fell from their saddles and rolled desperately on the ground, trying to extinguish the magical fire.
BOOM!
Marnok landed with earth-shattering force, his impact creating a crater and sending knights sprawling as their horses lost their footing.
The orc stood tall in the dust, hefting his massive hammer.
He roared, and slammed the hammer into the ground.
CRACK!
The earth split open. A fissure tore through the ground for forty feet, stopping just short of Cassian's mount.
From the air, Ashwing spat another fireball, and another dozen men began to scream and burn.
Seeing the slaughter, Owen’s eyes went wide with rage. He drew his sword.
"Hyaah!"
He kicked his warhorse's flanks, and the pained animal charged toward the orc wreaking havoc in their ranks.
Owen lowered his body, leveling his sword in a perfect charging lance-grip. He poured his aura into the blade, and the steel began to glow with a dazzling blue light.
Marnok heard the charging hooves and looked up, a savage grin splitting his tusked face. He didn't even bother to move. He just raised his hammer.
As Owen closed the distance, he thrust his glowing sword.
CLANG!
The massive hammer met the sword with pinpoint accuracy.
The blue martial aura shattered. An unstoppable force battered the blade aside, and the hammer's momentum continued, crashing directly into Owen's shoulder.
CRUNCH!
A spray of blood mist erupted. Owen was thrown from his horse, his entire right arm sheared from his body.
His consciousness vanished before he even hit the ground.
Before the body could be trampled, Tom leaped from his own horse, catching the young lord in mid-air.
He checked the body in his arms. Owen had lost an arm and was unconscious, but he was not dead.
"Tom. Take him and go."
Cassian's voice was perfectly calm as he watched the orc charge toward him, hammer raised.
Tom hesitated for only a fraction of a second. He said nothing, simply hauled Owen's body over his shoulder and broke into a dead sprint for the darkness of the surrounding forest.
Jostled by the movement, Owen’s consciousness slowly returned.
He opened his eyes. A searing, agonizing pain flared from his right side. He lifted his head.
He was in the forest, looking out at the clearing.
That orc, Marnok, was standing over a body. He placed one heavy boot on the downed figure's chest and raised his war-hammer high.
The figure was his father.
As if sensing his gaze, the orc looked toward the forest. His eyes met Owen's. Marnok's face split into that same, savage grin.
He brought the hammer down.
"NOOO!"
SQUELCH.
A spray of red erupted, and Owen, choking on his own blood and bile, fell back into blackness.
Marnok casually lifted his bloody hammer.
Ashwing landed beside him. The orc swung himself onto the gryphon's back.
"Go hunt them."
SKREEE!
The gryphon roared, and with a beat of its dark wings, it took to the sky, searching for the escaped prey.