A loud horn ripped through the air, causing Ben to twist his neck towards the gate facing the trail leading towards the Chateau.

  Once the gate had been raised, a knight from the scout unit entered with his horse huffing and puffing as if it had run a marathon. Within seconds of him talking with one of the other knights, the horn blew another two times, which Le’Vieux had earlier explained meant the enemy was on the march.

  Almost instantly, the settlement erupted into full-scale organized chaos as soldiers, archers, and knights rushed to their posts. The knight commander emerged from his tent along with his Majors before yelling several orders. They each dispersed in different directions before the commander moved towards the van where Le’Vieux was situated.

  “Grand Marshall, Sir,” The commander saluted before explaining, “The men should be in position within a few moments. The mages have split into two halves, the first of which will station themselves along the watchtowers while the others should arrive here in a moment.”

  Le’Vieux nodded. “Great work, Commander. Inform the men to clear the area directly before the gate. We will soon depart and take our hidden position. You’ve trained decades for this moment, and I believe you know what must be done.”

  The knight commander saluted once again. “Yes, Sir.” He then approached the mass of armored bodies that had formed into their ranks.

  A group of mages arrived, including the one in charge who had cared for Alfred and Hauxwell back at the inn. They stopped before Le’Vieux before waiting.

  “Follow me and Hauxwell into the van, where we will take our positions," Le’Vieux ordered, motioning the portal into the spatial storage and leading the way inside.

  Moments before, Ben had opened the portal for them to enter and placed a rope they had jerry-rigged to signal the people inside to make their move. Another thing that had been discovered was that the area beyond the portal stayed still regardless of how fast the van traveled or rocked on uneven ground.

  Once everyone was inside, Ben approached the side door and tied it with one of the bungee cords he normally kept in a box of random things to keep it open. He then opened the driver's door and took his seat.

  Jerry climbed the van's side and strapped himself down at the top like before. This time, he had also created a space where he could keep his quiver to make it easier to grab arrows while in the heat of battle.

  Alfred planted his butt in the passenger seat and looked like he was in a similar state of mind. Huffing out a sign, he muttered. “This feeling you get before a battle like the one we’re about to face is unprecedented. I don’t know what’s worse, feeling like this or having been subjected to those two old timers bickering as if they were at war with each other.”

  A sharp pain tremored through Ben’s head; it was a reminder of what they had to endure the previous day. “Alfred, please, let’s not talk of this again. My head still hurts.”

  Jerry had overheard that and began to laugh before thudding on the roof. “Hah, don’t say I never warned you.”

  The soldiers and knights had moved out of the way, creating a path to the gate that led towards Dimmiwood and the Chateau. That was the side they expected the enemy to arrive at and where most of the Hollow Moon forces had gathered.e

  “We’ll have to wait here till when the time is right,” Alfred muttered before glancing at the archer who had been in charge of signaling them to go.

  ***

  A couple of hours later, around midday, everything darkened. Ben thought it was unusual for that time of day, but everything made sense once the tar-black clouds began sweeping across the sky unnaturally as they had done at Dimmiwood.

  The mages who stood at the watchtowers started casting their spells. Beams of white light emerged from their staves, shooting up above before spreading out. The mages looked like they were putting everything they had into combatting the darkness but could only stop it still in its tracks and not push it back as they had done previously.

  Ben shook his head. “This thing is way stronger now than it was before.”

  One of the archers leaned over the edge of the watchtower before shouting. “Captain Alfred, we’ve sighted the enemy. Their men and knights have stopped while the mongrels and beasts advance.”

  “Understood.” Alfred gave the man a thumbs up.

  “Oi!” Jerry yelled, stopping the archer from turning back into position. “Don’t shoot them with the enchanted arrows while they’re near the trenches. Save those for the infected men.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  The archer gave Jerry a thumbs-up before aiming with his bow.

  The next few moments were filled with a deafening silence as all the normal sounds of nature ceased to exist. Then, out of nowhere, the growling and howling emerged along with the stampede of their feet. And soon, the ground shook as if an earthquake had hit.

  The archers' leader ordered his comrades to take aim and nock their arrows back. With the ground shaking worse, the order was given to fire. Countless bowstrings twanged before arrows began to fly, and explosions erupted like a barrage of artillery.

  The palisades rocked inwards as the creatures must have made contact. Even though they were subjected to the weight of what felt like hundreds of creatures, they held their place. Next, they crawled and scratched up the walls, some getting impaled on the sharp spikes while others fell over and crashed to the ground.

  They were a mixture of Bloodhounds, regular dogs, a few wolves, and things that looked like giant spiders that had taken steroids. The moment they landed on the ground, their infection provided enough protection that the fall damage had little to no effect on them. Without gathering themselves, they strode like lions on a hunt for the first humans they set their sights upon.

  One of the Knight Majors had shouted orders for shields to be raised and one of his platoons at the front to begin engaging the enemy. His men broke rank, igniting the bladed parts of their weapons, which had been dipped in a gel-like variant of the Greek fire earlier on. After swinging and slashing, the enemies were set alight and dispatched to their burning deaths.

  A stench of decay filled the air, causing Ben and a few others to cover their noses. Some younger-looking soldiers had puked their stomachs on the ground, garnering a scolding from their knights.

  When the creatures stopped raining down and the arrows ceased, the archer leaned over the watchtower and glanced at Alfred.

  “Don’t just stand there. Tell us what’s going on?” Alfred asked.

  “Sir, the smaller creatures will no longer be a problem. I’ve seen their unarmored humans, around two hundred in total, form into what appears to be a horde and move towards us. They look like the rabble you’d send to wear down defenses before launching a main attack.” The archer explained.

  “Understood.” Alfred nodded before continuing, “We’ll stay put till the main attack is launched. Keep your eyes peeled for unusual behavior. They’re smarter than they look, which is undoubtedly the work of Sudfield, who may have taken over their minds with that evil magic to which he’s become accustomed. Keep clear of the trenches and give them hell.”

  The archer nodded before passing another set of orders to the other watchtowers and turrets.

  After the next few moments, the same thing occurred. Arrows flew and hit their targets with explosions on the other side. The enemies once again hit the palisades, concentrating their efforts on the gate, which began to rock in as great force was being pushed upon it. Ben was surprised with how well the iron bars that reinforced it held up.

  As the bodies piled upon one another, the gate started to bend inwards, with cracks starting to form and splinters shooting out. The enemies wailed and growled like vicious animals as they were crushed before the gate started moving, giving Ben a glimpse of the zombified humans whose entire skin had been enveloped by the dark tar-like slime.

  The soldiers of the Hollow Moon had been ordered to form defensive formations and prepare their weapons. They had moved into a semicircle with shields at the front and stuck spears out from the spaces between, ready to hold back the horde. Another unit had ignited their weapons and stood at the ready.

  To Ben, the soldiers would have easily dealt with the enemy if the gate had broken through. However, the massive pile-up of the bodies created a mound that the ones at the back used to climb up before leaping over the palisades.

  “Damn it, that was unexpected,” Alfred yelled before knocking on the roofline. “Cover fire.”

  Jerry started shooting explosive arrows at those leaping over while they were in mid-air, alleviating the pressure below where the defensive formation had been shattered and dispersed like fragile glass.

  A few other units and their knights had been forced to join in. Magical skill and abilities shocked the battlefield before the thread had been eliminated, with only a few wounded soldiers who had to be taken back by the medics to a care tent a short distance away.

  The archer looked down upon Alfred and started yelling. “The crushed ones are still moving around, but they’ve formed a bridge to the top for their soldiers and knights who’ve started moving. I can see Sudfield with his commanders at the back.”

  Alfred turned to Ben. “There’s no way we can fight them if they start coming down from the top like that. We’ll have to break the bridge they’ve created so the men can meet them in battle outside while we get into position and enact the plan.” He then glanced towards the knight commander and yelled, “Sir, ask your men to clear the gate area and open it up so we can move and take our positions.”

  As the gate was opened, Ben squeezed the steering wheel with a vice-like grip. He exhaled an anxiety-filled breath as the butterflies buzzed through his stomach, and he could feel his chest thumping with each beat. As much as he hated violently running things over, this needed to be done to save the lives of the living. He hit the gas, causing the van to jolt ahead.

  A few enemies fell from the mass with broken legs that wobbled like jelly, making their faces slap the dirt. They soon rose and started crawling in like cockroaches. Jerry shot an explosive arrow into the center of them, setting them alight and causing cracks in their biological structure.

  A loud clang rattled the suspension as the van crashed through the bodies, causing them to fling in different directions. Ben stopped before he got too far through the gate and started reversing to avoid the ones tumbling down like a Jenga tower. He figured if any fell on Jerry, he’d be super angry. Once the danger was clear, he shifted into first gear and ran over the remaining ones.

  [+168XP and +50MP.]

  [MP tank is now full.]

  “Good work!” Alfred said before pointing at the trail around the fortifications to an off-road path leading them further down the road. “With that done, the knights and their soldiers can form their ranks here. Come on, it’s our time to shine. Let’s get into position.”