Chapter 96 - 96

After Commander Karim's warning, the Ereians were first confused by what he means but soon found out what he was warning them about. A thousand meters away behind them was a vast group of monster that just finished climbing up a dune. They all look battered and exhausted, but after seeing the Ereians, they bursted into a cacophony of noises as they charged down the dune with renewed vigor. The corner of their lips we filled with saliva which trickled down to the sands from time to time and evaporate into nothingness because of the heat like they weren't there in the first place.

"Turn Around!"

"Battle Formations!"

"Shields to the front!"

"Archers! Archers!"

"Prepare for engagement!"

Commands came one after another as the Ereians, despite their exhaustion, formed their ranks. The peasant soldiers were at the forefront like before and behind them were the regular soldiers of the kingdom. At the rear of the formation were the few archers that were a mix of both regular and peasant soldiers.

"Protect His Highness! Full Circle!" Commander Barika bellowed his commands. The Ereian Royal Army kicked up a dust cloud as they rapidly formed a full circle around the prince and the two lords. They planted their shields to the ground and their spears pointed outward while being laid directly atop their shields.

Commander Ishaq glanced behind him and heaved a sigh of relief as the safety of the prince was secured, for now. He unsheathed his curved sword and raised it up in the air. "Sandstorm Cavalry! To me!" He shouted and rode to the right flank of their battle formation. The thundering hooves of horses sounded as they followed after the lead of Commander Ishaq.

"Royal Cavalry! To me!" A dark-skinned man with long black hair and long beard bellowed as he kicked the sides of his steed, heading towards the left flank of their formation. His steed grunted as it sprinted to where its master was steering it towards. The two different cavalry of the Ereian Army headed in opposite directions. They kicked dust and sand up behind them as they galloped towards their destination until they can no longer be spotted on the horizon.

"Lord Masud and Lord Husani, I bestow upon you the honor to lead the first attack. Get yourselves to the frontline and prove to me that your titles as Bulwarks of the Sand aren't just for show." Prince Gyassi said to the two bootlickers beside him. Upon hearing what the prince had said, the two lords can't help but frown. They had been hanging back at the rear during battles and complemented the prince a lot in order to avoid taking part in the battles themselves.

"Your Highness, I think that's a bad idea. We have commanders to lead the soldiers to battle for us. We nobles should refrain from endangering our lives to ensure that our noble lines don't perish. The longer we live, the longer we will be able to serve you, Your Highness." Baron Masud said while hoping that the prince will retract his words.

"He is right, Your Highness. If we take part in the battle, all we would then strip away all the glory from the commanders if we lead the soldiers ourselves. Let the lowlifes deal with these kind of things. Our own soldiers are enough to prove our loyalty to you. Most of our own soldiers are here which left our lands with a minimal number of defenders." Baron Husani added, as he too doesn't want to take part in the upcoming battle.

"Look at the frontline carefully. Viscount Redore and his friends are leading their soldiers into battle. Don't tell me that you two are all bark and no bite." Prince Gyassi teased as he smiled towards the two lords who were trying to avoid taking part in the upcoming battle.

The two barons were taken aback by the words of the prince as His Highness seemed to have already decided on their fates. "As you will, Your Highness." Baron Masud bowed his head and guided his steed forward. Baron Husani stared at the back of his fellow baron and thought about for a few moments before deciding to follow after him.

The Ereian Royal Army opened their formation to allow the two lords to pass through before restoring their encirclement of the prince. "Is His Highness trying to kill us?" Baron Husani muttered as he guided his steed to match the pace of his fellow lord's steed. A frown was on his face, as he truly didn't want to participate in the upcoming bloodbath. "I don't know Lord Husani. Perhaps he is testing our loyalty." Baron Masud answered and shrugged his soldiers. "Let's just hope that Faerush and our ancestors watch over us in the chaos and allow as live after this trial." Baron Masud continued as he closed his eyes while saying his prayers silently.

*****

"Glad you could join us, Bulwarks of the Sand..." Viscount Redore greeted the two and stretched the end of his words. "Hmph! I hope you don't piss yourselves after getting up close and personal with the monsters." An old man whose face was full of wrinkles snorted as he ignored the two and didn't even bother taking a look at them.

"Don't say that, Lord Kasto. They are Bulwarks of the Sand and they have protected Ereia for many years against the beastfolks to the south. The two of them had taken plenty of lives already and their hands are drenched in cold blood many times in the numerous battles that they have taken part in...", Viscount Redore said as he glanced at Baron Kasto. "If... Those reports were indeed true." he continued, as he had a mocking smile on his face.

Baron Masud and Baron Husani had deep frowns on their faces as they moved away from the other nobles, who are obviously displeased with their presence. The two of them went to the frontline right where the peasant soldiers were at. Baron Masud cleared his throat and faced the soldiers. "You men are lucky that we, the Bulwarks of the Sand, are leading you personally. Now stay close to me and let's slaughter us some monsters. Every enemy that you kill will be rewarded by us with a hundred Ereian silver coins." Baron Masud enticed the peasant soldiers. A hundred Ereian silver coins were enough for a family of five to survive for more than half a year, even without working.

His enticing seemed to have worked as the soldiers had an excited look on their faces and they all had smiles plastered on their faces. They were clearly daydreaming about receiving the hundred silver coins for every kill that they make. A hundred enemies killed by them would mean that they would become filthy rich and could have the life of luxury that they always have dreamed about.

"Where are we going to get that much coins?" Baron Husani approached his fellow lord and whispered in his ears. Lord Masud looked at him and a mischievous smile was on his lips. Baron Husani was confused at first, but then a knowing smile crept up to his lips. 'Right, the cavalry would delay their assault and let most of them die to the monsters.' he remembered the words of His Highness.

"Alright! Kill as many of the enemies as you can and a life of luxury that could rival ours will be yours! Now charge!" Baron Masud unsheathed his sword and kicked the sides of his horse. His steed galloped forwards as the enticed soldiers broke into a massive charge behind him. A smile was on his face as he glance to his left where Baron Husani was riding his steed at the same pace as him.

The peasant soldiers overtook the two barons as they were excited about the coins that they were going to be rewarded with. Lord Masud and Lord Husani controlled the speed that their steeds moved and hang back behind the eager soldiers. Arrows soared through the air as the archers began their attack which fell off a few of the charging monsters.

The mass of soldiers stopped an arm's distance away from the monsters as they readied their shields and brandished their spears. They might have been enticed by the reward that the two barons promised, but they aren't idiots who would charge through the group of monsters and have themselves surrounded by them. They established a crooked line as the soldiers thrusted their spears forward to pierce the enemies that were in front of them. 'You can't receive your reward if you are already dead." This was what was running through their minds as they contained their greed and tried their best to kill as many enemies as they can while not getting themselves killed by the monsters and also by the arrows of their archers.

The monsters were quick to overpower the lightly trained or untrained soldiers easily. They pounced on them and invaded their ranks with ease. It was a massacre as blood, flesh, limbs, innards, weapons and sand were raining all over the frontline. The monsters bit and devoured their victims while clawing and forcing their way to get their hands on more preys to feast upon. Chaos and confusion ensued as some of those nearest to the monsters tried to retreat, but their peers who were eager to join the fray cut their path off and score their first kill. Mercilessly, those who tried to retreat only to be blocked by their excited comrades got slaughtered.. Slowly but surely, the monsters invaded deeper and deeper in the rank of the humans as they wreck havoc.