Chapter 290: The Last Light of Day (XVIII)
Vitali walked out from under the towering ancient pine tree, exposing himself in the open space not blocked by the branches. More than twenty soldiers who served as bait like him did the same, provocatively spitting obscenities at the scorpion-tailed lion circling in the sky.
But manticores cannot understand language, and their dull brains only think about eating and hunting.
Dozens of scorpion-tailed lions discovered the target underground, and a sharp sound like a hammer hitting steel fell with a huge shadow.
Vitali's eyes were fixed on the swooping scorpion-tailed lion. He had killed one before and knew that he should not panic when dealing with such a monster. It was not until the shadow of the scorpion-tailed lion pressed down on Vitali that Boyer suddenly leaped to the side.
The monster was caught off guard and crashed into the snow pile, but it also subconsciously stabbed its tail stinger in the direction where the human was leaving.
Vitali rolled four or five meters before he stood up and hid behind a tree nearby. The monster's tail needle pierced the ground where Vitali was before, and Boyer swung out his battle axe with quick eyes and hands to cut it off directly.
The monster's shrill screams emboldened the Kislevites. Dozens of soldiers approached the monster together and, just like they did with the mutant black bear, set up a simple encirclement with the help of iron wire and thick tree trunks.
They can't trap the monster, but they can delay it for a while.
Following its bloodthirsty instinct, the scorpion-tailed lion rushed towards the nearest creatures and crashed into a spider web made of several iron wire ropes. The ugly mutated lion head held the ropes close to the mortals who were fleeing in panic. The ropes that could bear a weight of ten thousand pounds groaned under the heavy load. The first things that collapsed were the knots tied on the tree trunks by the soldiers and the trees that had stood for hundreds of years.
Before the monster was about to break through the blockade and kill all the warriors with axes and hammers, Vitali quickly ran towards the scorpion-tailed lion from one side. When he got close to it, he jumped up, and with the determination of either you or I, he smashed the heavy iron axe on the scorpion-tailed lion's head.
The steel axe handle was nearly broken by the inhuman force. The strong recoil force shook apart Vitali's hands that were tightly gripping the iron axe. The manticore's screams spread throughout the snow forest, but simply being on the verge of death could not stop the beast's final frenzy.
Human cries of pain were frequently heard from other directions. Not everyone had the same brute strength and reaction ability as Vitali. More soldiers panicked when the manticore pounced on them and missed the best chance to dodge.
The soldiers who dodged earlier, allowing the scorpion-tailed lion to react first, turned the ambush into a one-sided hunt by the monster; those who were frightened silly were directly fed to the tiger.
Vitali was no longer able to pay attention to the overall situation. Although old Valery had always taught him to control his emotions and always pay attention to the direction of the battlefield, it was too late for him to react.
The giant claws of the scorpion tail lion before its death were already close at hand, falling in his unwilling sight.
His luck was not very good this time and he was not able to replicate his past hunting experiences.
Levich hid it from the other boyars and chose the worst possible enemy.
He took the most soldiers with him, and most of the Winged Hussars were in the Rivet Army. Only the strongest team could attract the Chaos Lord of the Blood God.
After fleeing for several days, more than 800 Winged Hussars gathered on a slope on the grassland south of Zoshenk, where they rested and waited for the arrival of the enemy.
Fear spread in Big Boye's heart. He knew he was seeking his own death. This was how his father died.
If it weren't for an Imperial named Magnus who was adventuring in Kislev at the time, Rivet would have died twenty years ago.
That imperial man later became the emperor, and merchants who passed by once said that he had been recognized by the Church of Sigmar and had entered the legendary Holy Flame of Ulric in Midden. He was the living incarnation of Sigmar, Ulric.
Obviously, he would not come again, because he was already the emperor, not a down-and-out adventurous nobleman. He was the emperor of the empire.
Each Winged Hussar put on their gorgeous feathers and majestic animal skin cloaks for the last time.
All the soldiers who grew up on the border knew about the battle twenty years ago, in which thousands of Zoshenk's Winged Hussars were killed.
Those experienced warriors, the "Spears of the North" who scared off the Yankees time and time again, all disappeared. The mentors of many of the Winged Hussars present died here.
All the Winged Hussars knew that they were seeking death and that charging towards a group of Chaos Warriors was not a good idea, but they had nowhere to retreat.
Where else can I go?
Erengrad? Kislev? Or Praag? Forget it! Death in battle is the fate of soldiers. Rather than dying in a foreign land, it is better to pay the last respect to the warriors who once covered the retreat of the people at the place where the "Spear of the North" was broken twenty years ago.
The sunlight in the sky was just right, and the sun was standing in the sky behind the Winged Hussars, making the armor on the war horses glow with a dazzling halo.
The wings made of feathers from wild beasts such as manticores and horned eagles fluttered in the cold wind, making a rustling sound against the wind, like the groans of a dead monster.
"Are you afraid?"
Rivet, who was at the front of the cavalry, could not help but turn around and ask the people behind him. The confused faces had already told Boyer the answer, but the replies he got were exactly the opposite.
“Don’t be afraid!”
Rivet couldn't help but smile slightly, even though he had turned to look north, the wind carried his words to the ears of every soldier.
"I am a little scared."
More than 800 people fell into a brief silence. It was unknown who laughed first, and then the laughter became a whole bunch, and Boye also laughed.
Amid the laughter of the warriors, dense drum beats came from the north. Ten mammoths that did not seem to be too deformed, carrying war drums, and a sea of Chaos warriors pressed towards the south.
The mammoths, which were much smaller than those towering elephants, attracted even more laughter from the Winged Hussars. These Chaos Warriors were not as tall and strong as Levich remembered. Compared with the evergreen grass, they seemed much smaller.
The profound memories were replayed in front of Levich's eyes again and again. They were indeed smaller, but Levich no longer had the chance to find out the reason.
The Chaos Lord Matilda sat on a Khorne Steel Bull made of demon metal. The Chaos Champion riding on the demon raised his spear high and roared the same battle cry as the Chaos Lord who destroyed Zoshenk twenty years ago.
"Skull for the Skull Seat!"
The scenes in his memory gradually overlapped with reality. Levich subconsciously looked to his side, but did not see his younger self holding the flag. Instead, he saw a group of determined faces that had just recovered from their confusion.
The barbarians on the mammoths enthusiastically beat the drums of war, responding to the shouts of "Skulls to Skulls". The overwhelming sound of killing did not scare away the Winged Hussars, but instead aroused the most enthusiastic fighting spirit in their lives.
(End of this chapter)
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