Rise of the Crimson Standard

Chapter 7

Arlen looked in disgust at the burning Beastmen. Charles rode up behind him and whistled "Well, I don't know what to say". Arlen delivered a killing blow to the burning and screaming Beastman at his feet, then looked up. They'd come a few minutes ago and wiped out what was left of the Beastmen coming from the forest. Fifteen men with firejets were using them to burn down the forest on Charles' orders. Arlen had been tasked with killing any Beastman lucky enough to get out of the forest and also protecting the Vanguard's Rear with a hundred men. The rest of the four hundred were either scouting out the parts of the forest that weren't burning or protecting the firejet wielders with their Whisperstrides. Charles suddenly frowned. Arlen looked at him questioningly but didn't say anything. He'd learned long ago that when Charles was thinking, he needed as little interruptions as possible. Suddenly, one of their own officers who looked like he'd been riding his horse near death appeared and reined his horse in next to Charles. "Sir, we've found some score of Beastmen running this way from the east". Charles nodded, the frown never leaving his face. Then he turned to Arlen and said "Arlen, I want you to take fifty men and go take command of the eastern wing. Give them hell and if anything comes up, I want you to send someone for me."

Arlen nodded, put two of his fingers in his mouth, and whistled. His horse neighed some distance away and trotted back to him. He then jumped on to his horse and raised his blade to the officer "Go ride to the other scouting parties and gather me fifty men from them".

The officer nodded and rode away. Arlen looked at Charles, who smiled and said "Godspeed". Arlen nodded and rode east. The sounds of screaming and burning were growing louder every second. He reached a hill overlooking the battlefield. Rows of burning and burnt tents decorated the plains along with the dead bodies of men and beast alike. Arlen didn't stop to admire this view, instead urging his horse to run faster. He reached the forest and saw a dead minotaur just outside, with whisperstride bolts sticking out of its eye, arms, and chest. A dead vanguard soldier lay nearby. His body was being covered with his own cloak by two other Vanguard men. Arlen jumped off his horse without waiting for it to fully stop. His horse would be useless in the forest anyways. Arlen sheathed his sword and took off his crossbow, walking towards the forest, ignoring the two mens' looks.

An officer walked out of the forest towards him and said, "Major Arlen, we're ready for you over here".

Arlen nodded and walked into the treeline, the officer following him inside the forest. Arlen could see some Beastmen corpses, mainly fauns and a minotaur, lying on the ground, some laying with their backs to the trees. However, there were no corpses from the Vanguard laying about so that was good. Arlen looked up into the trees and saw the men of the Vanguard, sitting on the branches, more than a few of them equipped with sharpshooters, and the rest with Whisperstrides, scanning the surroundings. The ground was rumbling a bit. Minotaurs. Many of them and heading this way. Arlen nodded at the officer and said "Get the two men outside a few distance away from the treeline and stay with them. I want you to shoot at anything resembling half animal that comes out of the forest.

The officer nodded back and walked away, calling the two men outside by their names. Arlen slung back his crossbow and proceeded to climb the foremost tree in front of almost all the soldiers, except for the sentry they'd undoubtedly posted in front to warn them of enemy attacks.

The forest was alive with the sounds of nature. Birds chirped, leaves rustled, and a gentle breeze whispered through the leaves. But these were the sounds of the forest; the men knew that the true danger was the approaching horde of Beastmen. Their guttural growls and the thunderous rumble of dozens of massive feet echoed through the woods, growing louder with each passing moment.

Arlen observed the oncoming threat. He'd faced the Beastmen before, fierce and relentless, and he knew the devastation they could bring. His fingers clutched the Whisperstride. Each of his men was similarly armed, equipped with the deadly and precise weapons of the Recon Vanguard.