CHAPTER 33: FINAL CHARGE

Eunice rode hard onto the front line. Her horse skidded to a stop in a spray of dirt.

She jumped down from the saddle before the horse even stood still, her eyes already scanning the area.

"Lady Eunice!" a knight said, rushing over to her. He was covered in dirt and his armor was dented.

He gave her a quick bow. His name was Rach, he was the captain in charge of this part of the line.

"Report," Eunice said, her voice sharp and clear.

"Yes. Most of the troops have pulled back, like the orders stated. Only this battalion is left to hold the line," Rach explained.

His voice shook a little as he pointed a hand toward the sky.

"Also, as you can see..."

"I know," Eunice cut him off, her eyes were fixed on the giant island hanging above them. "What about the enemy?"

"It’s bad," Rach said with a hint of worry on his face. "We kill them, but a lot of them just get back up. They turn into those... monsters. In theory we should have killed a lot of them but their numbers are still the same."

"I see," Eunice said. She looked past him at the tired, disheartened faces of his soldiers. "Your orders have changed, Captain."

"Ma’am?"

"Your men will form a shield wall right here. You are not to advance. You are not to break formation. Your only job is to hold this line and stop anything that gets past me. Do you understand?"

Rach looked confused. "Hold the line? Lady Eunice, we can’t possibly win by just defending!"

"Oh? So are you going to tell me how we are going to win?" Eunice said, her voice playful. "Is it perhaps because I’ve not been on the battlefield lately that you all have forgotten who I am?"

"N-No Ma’am. That’s not what I mean!" Rach answered, trying to clarify his intentions.

"I told you all that we are going to give these bastards hell and make them pay for every single bit of suffering they have caused us, didn’t I?"

"Yes Ma’am!"

"Then why are you doubting my intentions? You all are my soldiers, you should know better than anyone I’m not the type of person to go back on my word," Eunice said, her voice firm and unshakable.

"I-I apologize Ma’am! I made a mistake!" Rach said, bowing down.

"As long as you understand," she said. "Now, have I made myself clear?" she asked, her voice loud like a sergeant.

Rach’s eyes widened in shock, but he saw the unshakeable certainty in her gaze. He swallowed hard and hit his fist to his chest in a salute. "Yes, ma’am!"

Eunice didn’t waste another second. She jumped back on her horse and kicked it forward, charging alone toward the enemy lines.

I hope we’re not too late, she thought as her eyes gazed upon the shadowed sky.

In a minute, she could clearly see the enemy. A large crowd of half-dead knights, with their rotting bodies and jittery movements.

She took a deep breath, relaxing her whole body. Then, in one smooth move she jumped up and stood on the back of her horse as it ran forward.

Her hand rested on the handle of her sword. Narrowing her eyes she focused on the target in front of her, letting out a breath from her parted lips.

"Let’s get this done," she whispered.

Then, she vanished.

One second she was there and the next, she was gone.

A moment later she appeared behind a group of half-dead knights. Before they could even turn around she swung her sword.

SHIING!

Five heads flew from their shoulders at the same time.

Just like that she vanished again.

She appeared behind another group of knights and killed them all with a single, fast strike.

She was like a blur, jumping all over the battlefield. A flash of purple and silver. One second she was here, the next she was over there, leaving a pile of bodies behind.

In less than a minute a whole company of the half-dead was gone.

Then, she appeared again in an empty spot.

She was bent over, using her sword to hold herself up. Sweat dripped from her forehead and her breathing was heavy and ragged.

She was struggling to catch her breath.

"This is... not enough," she gasped.

She forced herself to stand up straight, her legs shaking a little.

She looked at the next group of enemies, her eyes full of determination.

And then she disappeared again only to appear before a group of four half-dead knights, though this time stumbling as her feet hit the ground.

She was breathing in short bursts of ragged, burning gasps.

Every muscle in her body screamed at her to stop as a sharp, pounding pain started to build behind her eyes.

She leaned on her sword, the world spinning for a second before she forced it back into focus.

She looked up. A sea of the half-dead still shuffled forward, their glazed red eyes fixed on the shield wall Rach’s men were desperately holding.

There were still too many. Far too many. The line was already starting to bend. They wouldn’t last long.

She gritted her teeth, ignoring the screaming pain in her head. The taste of blood was in her mouth.

Just a few more, she thought. I have to kill a few more.

She pushed herself off her sword, her legs shaking from the effort as she dashed toward another half-dead.

This time her movements were not as clean. She appeared next to a knight but her sword strike was a fraction of a second slower, a little less precise.

It didn’t matter. The mindless creature was too slow to react. Her blade sliced deep into its neck as thick blood sprayed into the air.

She didn’t pause. She blinked again, a blur of motion, appearing in another spot.

Her sword took the legs out from under another half-dead. It fell to the ground and she finished it with a quick thrust to the head.

With every blink, the world started to go grey at the edges.

The pain in her head was now a constant, pounding drum. But she kept going. Although doubts had started to form in her mind.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have agreed to come here after all.

Perhaps this was a mistake.

Perhaps Luna was the right person for this, not her.

Perhaps Luna’s skills would have been better than hers in this situation.

Perhaps Luna would have commanded the knights better than her.

Perhaps Luna was... better than her.