The Edge of MINECRAFT (Being the Second Volume of the Minecraft Trilogy)

Bloodshed in the Fields

Steve led the wave of men, cavalry and infantry, to the battlefield. His horse, Notchwrath, winnied beneath him. The white stallion had been dressed in light iron. Steve himself wore his full diamond armor, with his enchanted diamond sword at his side. Jack and Lucas rode on either side of him. Jack sat atop a brown horse speckled with white, who had acquired the name Stormfury from Jack's father. Lucas, by contrast, rode a dark brown mare. Both wore armor, and Jack was armed with his axes and his sword while Lucas had his bow and full quiver.

The army came to a stop at Steve's signal. He drew his sword and peered out from the forest into the field in front. Sure enough, a large band of monsters was sweeping the area. Steve estimated at least four hundred monsters had gathered. Compared to his forty-six men, it seemed like quite a challenge. However, these monsters lacked the element of surprise.

Steve continued to hold his hand in the air. The villagers stayed stock still. The monsters were getting closer. Most now had their backs to the men. Steve flicked a drop of sweat off his brow. Then, with a commanding air, he lifted his sword toward the enemy and pointed his hand forward.

At the silent motion, the army of villagers charged. The monsters barely had time to figure out what was moving in the forest before the first soldiers were struck down and battle cries went up. Steve decapitated an orc in front of him and pushed into the crowd of bodies. He and his fellow cavalry led the charge, while the foot soldiers behind them met any remaining monsters in combat.

The villagers had already cut through several lines of monsters before a retreat was called. Steve watched the monsters regroup a few yards away. The war machine now charged straight at them. Steve rode forward and the two forces collided in the middle of the field. The battle had begun.

Steve fought next to Lucas. The archer took out distant monsters while Steve kept any closer ones at bay. He found himself agreeing with Ben. He hadn't fought a force like this since his encounter with Herobrine. Few of the men from that battle were even here. Lucas, Jack, Ben, Patrick, and William were the only ones beside Steve that were with them now and had been in that battle. But Jack was right: they had trained these men to be the best. Each villager took on two, some even three, monsters at a time.

An ax spiraled past Steve's head and sunk into a monster soldier behind him. Steve turned to see Jack dismount Stormfury and join in the fray with his sword and other ax. Steve had known Jack was going to dismount sometime soon; the blonde warrior much preferred ground combat to being mounted. Steve himself felt more inclined to stay on his horse. His diamond sword had a long reach, plus he could cover Lucas much more easily.

Surveying the battlefield, Steve took in his adversaries. Armored zombie orcs made up the front lines, equipped with swords, shields, and their own claws. Further back, skeletons attempted to pick off villagers. Some were mounted on bone horses and spiders, some were armored, but almost all remained. Aside from the ones Lucas had sniped, the men were just starting to reach them. Meanwhile, creepers were just beginning to lead an attack, with the coordinators armored and fighting with their talons while the grunts used explosive berserker tactics. Large spiders and a couple dozen big slimes also were among the army.

Steve noticed a gold armored skeleton that seemed to be giving orders. He motioned to Lucas, who recognized the significance of the figure.

"Cut off the head, and the beast dies," yelled Steve over the noise of the battle.

"These skeleton commanders are normally pretty good shots," Lucas pointed out. "If I try to take him out, he'll fire back."

"Hey, you've beaten guys like him before," Steve argued, "including that time you saved my life. I have faith in you." With that, Steve rode forward to rally the men. He pulled some bandages out of his small saddlebag and tossed them to Patrick, who was guarding and attempting to help two injured men, though neither was hurt that bad. He continued to ride into the battle. Monsters and men rushed past him like a breeze. He swung his sword out, knocking a skeleton off its spider here, stopping a creeper from exploding there.