46 The Langford Army (1/2)

Undead to the front, certain death behind — there was no choice.

If you only wanted to survive, you could easily do so — but now you had people you needed to protect. They are now your charges — and you would do your best to keep them safe.

”Stick to the road as much as possible,” Collin commands. ”The scouts said they'll be coming from Langford — which means they'll be cutting through and not using the roads.”

You ride for close to an hour — leaving the massive bats behind. Still no sign of the undead — but their stench in the wind grows stronger.

The horses might not make it, a couple of them are already showing early signs of exhaustion. If anyone of you loses a horse — that would be it for them.

Halfway to Windcrest, you spot them — a horde of undead. These are not like the blind old man from before, they are merely mindless undead — but there are a lot of them.

Their twisted figures blankets the fields — some of them close to reaching the roads and cutting you off.

”Thomas, shoot the bastards — Bruce take point!” you bellow as you veer to the side, ”I'll draw them off — keep riding!”

You veer your horse into the mass of undead — smashing the head of any undead you pass by.

Bruce is using Horizon like a lance, skewering undead and dropping their frozen bodies to the side.

You hear the twangs of bowstrings as Thomas starts shooting his arrows. The first few miss their marks, but the rest find their targets afterward.

The soldiers form a wedge with Bruce in the front. A line of horsemen guarding the right flank, while the rest ride safely on the other side.

Seeing the others are relatively safe, you dismount from your horse and grab your shield. You give the horse free rein, hoping it could escape or that the undead won't go after it.

You dash towards the undead — moving at speeds several times faster than when you were mounted. You spot a bunch of undead grouped closely together and you slam Skybreaker at the foremost undead.

Khadlag!

The glowing hammer smashes into the creature's torso — sending a wave of concussive force in a five-foot radius.

Undead bodies are sent flying through the air around you — they crash into their rotting brethren, unbalancing their already unstable bodies.

”Don't stop riding!” you roar as you dash into the wake of your hammers strike — wading into the downed bodies of undead to strike at those still standing.

Karthag!

You clear another swath of undead — but those behind you begin to stand up.

Move and strike, move and strike — your actions become repetitive. The hammer and its concussive explosions are great for disabling the undead — but Bruce's greatsword would have been much more efficient in mowing them down. Each of your strikes disables a handful to a dozen of these creatures — but only eliminates one of them.

You hear the screams of men and horses — probably taken down by the rampaging dead. The screams are few and the hoof beats continue on — getting fainter by the second.

The undead around you start to teem — forming clusters and emitting a pale green aura.

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A witch among the dead?

It was likely. The report said close to ten graves bore marks of someone digging themselves out — they could be hiding among these drudging undead.

Eldritch magic in the form of lightning blasts the spot you just left as you charge to another group of undead. The evasion happened coincidentally as you had no idea you were being targeted.

You slam into an undead soldier, this time with your shield.

It breaks apart on contact, bursting in a wave of bone and eldritch energy.

Your raised shield protects you from most of the blast while your armor does the rest. You turn to catch the source of the lightning. You explode in a burst of speed and power — crossing 40 yards by the time it takes to blink.

The undead at the forefront begin to glow with green energy — signaling their fortification and destructive nature.

It was all for naught.

You smash Skybreaker into a creature's torso — holding back the demonfire until the moment of impact.

Darthak!

The hammer breaks its torso immediately sending a concussive burst that drives the undead body's explosion away from you and into its brethren.

A chain of explosions occurs — eliminating a large swath of undead.

You glance at the fallen undead in front of you — noting any changes that would mark them as special.

There.

One of the undead recovers faster. It tries to stand on its feet instead of immediately reaching out to attack you.

You grab the witch-infested undead, twisting its body so it could see your face. Pale-colored eyes stare at you as if clouded by years of cataract.

”I am Caleb, the girl is my charge,” you speak to the witch controlling the corpse. ”Leave from here or I will make my name resound on the shores of Vendil.”

The corpse starts cackling. It grabs you in turn and shoots eldritch lightning from its eyes.

Red lightning?

The world is at a standstill as you ponder the color of the witch's lightning. The arc of energy seems to crawl painfully slow towards you — like roots grasping for water.

You twist its neck clean off the body.

The lightning flickers out as you sever the witch's connection to the corpse.

The magesmith's ability to anchor a soul suddenly comes to mind. It would be a potent weapon against the faraway witches.

You continue smashing into the corpses — all the while searching for more witches.

There seems to be no more.