Piercing the Steel Wall
Loki observed the enemy's formation from afar. It was surrounded by thick but tall barricades. The problem was that the Nod warriors weren't inside the barricades, as one would expect for a defensive setup. It was more like they had the barricades on their backs.
What in the world are they thinking? Loki gripped a knight chess piece between his fingers.
A drowning formation, perhaps? If so, that's desperate.
He had placed the chessboard and pieces he'd made himself on the ice plain and was studying Aum Linia in the distance.
"Well, it has nothing to do with me. To uncover the enemy's intentions, it's best to fall into their trap. For now..."
Loki seized the chess piece and placed it on the board.
"Knight, advance."
The skeleton cavalry moved first. The skull horses reared up on their forelegs, bellowing as they charged. They lowered their skyward-thrust lances and barreled forward at full gallop.
The ice path, which hadn't shaken even under the weight of 5,000 men, cracked and trembled beneath the skull horses' hooves, resounding across the earth.
-Kraaaaaah!
The wraiths opened their mouths and screamed. From jaws that would have breathed fog if they were human, only crimson wisps poured out, as if devouring souls. Black, inky haze rose from the skull horses and their lances—the skill Collision. It boosted speed while enhancing attack and defense.
The skeleton cavalry racing across the icy plain were faster and more powerful than any cavalry in this world.
Aum swallowed dryly at the earth-shaking rumble from a mere 50 riders and thrust out his hand, shouting.
"Tighten ranks!"
Full-body plate armor of steel. Massive round metal shields hefted in both hands. The Nod warriors' shields overlapped layer upon layer, evoking a towering mountain of rock.
"Pikes!"
Behind them waited Nod pikemen with long spears at the ready.
"Berserk warriors!"
The elite from each tribe, handpicked by Aum Linia himself. The Divine Gift users known as the Berserk warriors gathered at the rear. They had no intention of clashing head-on with the oncoming undead horde.
The undead never tired. Devoid of emotion, they felt no fear, obeyed orders without question. They were an absolutely immortal legion that would carry out commands even as their bodies disintegrated.
Against such foes, a delaying tactic was the worst of the worst. The optimal strategy was for the tribal warriors to hold them off as long as possible while the Berserk warriors eradicated as many undead as they could.
Nearly 5,000 Nod warriors would serve as the shield, while the 50 or so Berserk warriors and skilled chieftains acted as the sword.
It's an absurd tactic... but right now, it's the best we have! He prayed they could wipe out the undead in one go. They couldn't lose everything in their first battle.
"Sparta tribe! Show them what a wall of steel truly means!"
The Sparta chieftain bellowed, intent on blocking the cavalry head-on. They believed themselves the world's strongest shield. No arrow, sword, or spear had ever pierced their ranks. Only massive trebuchets or large ballistae could breach them.
So even against a hellish legion straight out of myth, being undead, they figured they could hold easily.
The skeleton cavalry pulled their lances back at high speed. Just before impact...
They thrust forward in a mechanical spiral, unwavering, piercing like a drill.
Kwaaaaa—!
The conical lances spun, scattering black haze everywhere. As they met the steel mountain, the shield-bearing Nod warriors glimpsed through tiny gaps: their shields melting under the spiraling lances!
The shields twisted and deformed in the lances' rotation. Realizing this, the warriors' faces twisted in horror—too late. The shields were pierced in helical punctures.
"What... Kraaaak?!"
Kwakwakwang—!
Collision! The steel mountain crumbled in a single clash.
Warriors in heavy gear flew over 10 meters before crashing down.
Thud—!Crack!
The impact shattered bones as surely as their weight demanded. Dozens hurled like light objects met gruesome ends.
But they were the lucky ones. Those who endured were trampled by skull horse hooves, their sturdy armor and shields crumpling.
"P-Pikes!"
Rear warriors hastily lowered spears, but it was futile. Spear tips merely scratched skeleton armor before shattering.
Puk!
The spearmen were instead impaled, huge holes torn through them in instant death.
"Th-This can't be! We weren't told they were this strong...?!"
The Sparta chieftain at the front staggered back in panic. But as a lance neared his face, despair flickered—then he ducked swiftly. Searing heat singed his hair like flames.
"You think I'll just take it?!"
The chieftain swung his axe at a skull horse's knee with all his might.
Kwajik!
Finally, one skeleton rider lost balance and toppled. Momentum and the axe blow shattered the horse's knee; it skidded, flailing.
"Damn bonehead! Nothing special after all, huh? I got scared for nothing! Good! Stay dead like the corpse you—"
A lance pierced the chieftain's skull mid-rant.
Even after a high-speed fall, the skeleton rose, eyes gleaming, towering over the Nod warriors.
"S-Surround it! It has no horse!"
Hundreds encircled the dismounted skeleton. It seemed to mock them, clacking its jaw in laughter.
-Kahahahahaha!
"Y-You bastard!"
As warriors lunged to finish it, majestic music swelled from afar—drums, trumpets, lyres resounding across the earth. Loki's skeleton band, instruments in bony hands, played their skill Performance. It healed allied undead, boosting attack, defense, and mobility.
The shattered horse knee regenerated; it reared wildly. The skeleton remounted and resumed its mad lance swings. Though a thrusting weapon, swings alone massacred Nod warriors.
Hooves trampled, lances impaled. As the encirclement loosened, it rejoined the formation, wheeling in a semicircle back to base.
"My god..."
One clash. Over 200 Nod warriors dead. The enemy unscathed. More ferocious than a storm.
"...Damn it!"
Aum ground his teeth. The undead's power exceeded expectations; he had no time to command. In minutes, 50 riders slew hundreds. Zero damage to their lines.
If this continued, defeat was inevitable. The Nod warriors, roaring moments ago, now stared fearfully at Loki's distant army and their fallen comrades—dolls strewn about, some fused with armor in death.
They yearned to fight, but overwhelming might made them mere sacrifices.
Just one clash, and morale's in tatters.
The Nod warriors now warred between fight and flee. If a few screamed and bolted now... the panic would spread uncontrollably.
It's holding for now... but the next attack...!
"B-Brother!"
Per rushed to Aum.
"Wh-What do we do with those things...?"
Aum glanced at Kudan.
"Kudan, could you take them down?"
"I could... but..." Kudan frowned, shaking his head.
"Too fast."
"Fast?"
"Mobility issue. If they charged me blindly, maybe. But on foot, I can't catch them. And I'm no horseman—chasing mounted would make me prey."
Aum sighed in thought. Per shouted.
"Brother!"
"I'm thinking."
Aum closed his eyes, then snapped them open.
"Tighten ranks again."
"What? B-But brother, that didn't work! They pierced the Sparta tribe's steel wall!"
"Exactly. So make it deliberately loose, with agile fighters."
"...Pardon?"
"I have a plan."
Aum smiled faintly.
"When they charge... we'll turn their momentum against them."
The returning skeleton cavalry's lances showed change: the inky haze fading.
Cooldown. Skills weren't spammable; they had limited duration, followed by downtime.
These skeletons could unleash peak power briefly, then needed recovery. Still, even basic attacks could shatter the enemy lines.
"No matter their numbers, humans tire. And they're fragile."
The enemy had no cavalry—or none to match skeleton speed. Their weapons couldn't pierce skeleton armor.
Hit-and-run would eventually crumble them, though time-consuming.
"Or they could swarm me blindly on numbers alone."
To counter that fatal flaw: overwhelm their leader with masses. But with 5,000 targeting him, the cost would be immense.
Loki glanced at the Nod formation. Shields overlapping into a mountain again—but looser than before.
...What's their game?
Suicide. Yet there must be purpose.
"Intriguing."
Loki gripped the knight again, advancing it. The skeleton cavalry's eyes glowed red. Cooldown over—inky haze reformed on horses and lances, amplified by the rear band's skill.
-Kraaaaaah!
Battle cries echoed as they charged in wedge formation, like a flying spearhead. The ground quaked, ice shivering.
"H-They're coming!"
"Hey! Hold position!"
"Maintain formation!"
"B-But they told us to make it loose on purpose...!"
As Nod warriors hesitated, wheel rumbles sounded behind them.
"...No way?"
They glanced back just as the cavalry closed in.
Aum smiled at the charge.
"Everyone... evade!"
"Scatter!"
"Move, or you'll be porcupines!"
The shield wall shattered instantly. All fled for their lives—some even ditching shields. The mountain vanished, revealing one man: Kudan Raguna, glaring with his massive warhammer.
Behind him: dozens of Aum's prepared war machines. Chariots with mounted small ballistae, aimed at the cavalry.
The skeletons faltered, eyes widening. They yanked reins to wheel away, but momentum made it hard.
Skilled horsemanship turned them— but that hesitation marked them as targets.
As their wedge split slightly, Kudan charged fearlessly into the gap.
He smashed his warhammer into the lead skeleton rider's skull horse.
Kwang—!
The hammer clashed with horse barding, cracking and crumpling it. The encased skeleton shattered, bones grinding to dust, rider exploding into fragments scattering as glowing motes, fading away.
"Not done yet—!"
Kudan pressed on, smashing skeleton cavalry relentlessly.