63 The 300 (2/2)

And finish it we would. Even if I had to use every ounce of brainpower I could squeeze out of my head. My dead soldiers deserved no less.

Eventually, we'd reformed the mess of Dara soldiers into something that vaguely resembled a three-hundred strong force.

Ashley's Shield squad was positioned at the very front. They'd been supplemented by twenty halberd-wielding Foolhardies who now carried the grey shields of fallen Magesong soldiers.

I too carried a bronze shield in one hand so I could lead from the front.

Luca's Raiders and Qwipps' Talons were right behind our squad. Luca's unit, which was being led by Edo and was positioned to the left, also place shield carriers at the leftmost position. Qwipps' talons had the same shield-wielding pixies at the rightmost position of their lines.

Behind their units was the thirty-man drow squad led by Thom. They had two jobs. Support the rest of the unit as our archers, and once the opportunity presented itself, glide up to the sky so they could rain destruction down from above.

Last but not least, the two hastily constructed hundred-man squads were positioned in ordered rows at the rear. Luca led the soldiers Qwipps brought in. Varda stood beside him as his second. Aura led the group from Dash Kadash with Xanthor as her second.

In order for her to lead them effectively from the front, I had Aura ride one of the female centaurs in that unit. She didn't want to at first because she claimed the centaur might find it insulting, but after I pointed out that no matter how fleet-footed elves were she wouldn't be able to catch up, she finally relented.

As I glanced behind me, I could see Aura fidgeting on her seat. She was definitely uncomfortable. The centaur carrying her seemed equally uncomfortable. But at least she wasn't trying to buck Aura off her.

”Why do you look so amused, Dean?” Ashley, who was standing beside me, had just finished inspecting her steelbark shield for dents. She'd found none. ”You realize we're about to wade into two thousand enemies, right?”

I turned my gaze toward the square formation of Magesong soldiers in front of us.

”Technically, we'll only be going up against five hundred... maybe a thousand at most,” I explained.

Ashley raised an eyebrow. ”Only?”

I patted her on the back. ”Don't worry too much. It'll be fun.”

”Fun?” Ashley's other eyebrow rose too. ”You are such a strange boy, Dean Dapper.”

She was right about that. I was just a boy. What business did I really have leading soldiers on a battlefield like this one? Well, it was either this or run home to Mudgard and wait to hear the news that Luca had died in some alien land.

I sighed. then turned around to gaze at the mass of soldiers behind me, most of whom were much much older than me.

”After we broke through the thousands of enemies behind us, all I could think of was how proud I was of all of you... I would rather fight beside you than any other force in the Fayne no matter how big...” My voice filled with more and more emotion after each word. ”To have endured and struggled and come out of it stronger... that's what Foolhardies do.”

There were no cheers because it would have been stupid to shout and grab the enemy's attention now. But all their eyes were focused on me—and in them, I saw fear and hope mixed equally.

”Before us lies the head of an enemy general,” I explained. ”Our chance to claim the biggest reward in tonight's battlefield!”

”What about the soldiers surrounding him, muddamit!” someone yelled from the middle of the formation. By the tone of voice, I could tell it was Qwipps.

”That's nothing to soldiers who've already faced thousands,” I insisted. ”We only need to kill three enemies each!”

There were a few laughs at my answer, and I could feel the tension died down. It was just like Qwipps to give me opportunities to lighten the mood even when he didn't intend to.

”It's time to show our enemies the quality of the Foolhardies,” I ordered. ”Let's go to war!”