The Misguided Druids
Chapter 202
Few minutes later, more screams were heard deep in the forest before a cry, resembling that of a dying beast, reached the camp. The cry was so horrific that some of the Langobards soldiers were trembling in their boots staring into the forest wide-eyed. Then, there was once again silence. The two generals quickly formed a small group of thirty men and headed to the location they heard the cry. In the dark, moving through the dense forest was quite difficult but the group eventually made it to a clearing. There were a dozen or so men that had their heads smashed in or had their neck at an impossible angle. Two survivors were being tended by fellow soldiers while the rest stood in a circle around something. The generals ordered the man with the torch to come illuminate the thing and what they revealed had everyone taking a step back. The earlier accounts were accurate that the creature had a body of a human. However, the head of a horned beast was nothing more than helmet of an animal no one can identify. Some sort of paint was traced along the helmet giving it a more terrifying sensation. The generals did a quick count and noticed that there must have been at least three dozen deep wounds in the corpse. They questioned the soldiers learning that the creature was still resisting until one of them managed to stab his sword straight into its sternum. They claimed the beast kept swing its club at them and killed many while wounding a few. They also stated that several corpses were taken away by the beasts that ran away.
The two generals knelt down to take a closer look at the creature. What struck them first was the smell that suggested these Druids weren't in baths and cleanliness. Osvald would be the one to take the helmet off despite having difficulty pulling it off. The helmets seemed to fit onto the head so well that he needed daggers to pick apart the helmet. When the head was revealed, everyone was shocked to see a face that resembled their own. They have just discovered that these Druids who terrorize the interior were merely humans that wore a horned helmet and had terrifying strength. The generals ordered the men to carry the corpse back to camp so everyone can have a look at it (or him). The two generals hoped that their men would be less fearful once they knew what they faced off again. Fighting against creatures that one didn't know could put their men on a mental disadvantage. Once the soldiers knew that they were facing off against larger men who actually aren't that different from them, the generals felt confident that they could reinstall some calm into their men. Five soldiers were already lifting the Druid and were carrying the corpse when several large creatures came out of the darkness. These creatures were silent and they alerted the Langobards men only when one of them stepped on a branch. Everyone turned around in time to see five Druids charging at them. When they saw five giants beasts charging them with large clubs in their hands, all of them froze in place as if they were in a trance.
Osvald was the first to snap out of his trance and unsheathed his weapon to fight the creature nearest to him. He raised his shield in time to block the first strike of his enemy but the blow knocked the shield clean out of his hands. Without a moment to think, Osvald ducked seeing him dodge the second blow as he swung his sword at the knees of the Druid. Osvald felt his sword draw blood but the Druid seemed unfazed with its club ready for a blow downwards. Meanwhile, the other general and the men snapped out of their trance and engaged in battle. Unlike Osvald, the four soldiers that engaged the Druids first took direct hits to their head ending their lives instantly. Preben fared better by using his quick feet to avoid the enemy's attacks. As for the soldiers that were carrying the corpse earlier, they dropped the corpse to draw their bows and arrows. These men waited patiently and fired whenever an opening show up. The arrows would hit the Druids' soft spots but they continued fighting. Soon, the two generals decided to withdraw seeing their chances of victory low. The thirty men they brought with them and the twenty survivors that were at the clear has dwindled to only five soldiers who were supporting with bow and arrow. At first, the remaining three Druids made no attempts to stop them from backing away. However, just as Preben entered the forest and Osvald was the only one in the clearing, the Druids attacked.
The largest of the Druids made his war cry that seemed to shake the floor itself before he charged forward. The Druid was very fast catching the Langobards off guard and his first blow smashed Preben right in the head sending the general crashing into a nearby tree. When he landed, he wasn't moving which made Osvald believe his brother was killed. The Druid was going to attack Osvald next but it was taken by surprise when the outraged Osvald charged at it with his sword aiming to disembowel it. Osvald was no longer thinking logically as he was determined to take the beast with him. The Druid barely managed to avoid the worst as the sword only made a deep wound on its side avoiding any organs. As the Druid sidestepped, one of its companions didn't react fast enough and crashed right into it. The companion, however, saved the large Druid's life seeing it taking a ballista bolt to the head. Apparently, several officers in the camp quickly gathered their engineers to quickly assemble a ballista they brought with them. A hundred or so men, with a few operating the lone ballista, made steady progress to the clearing when they heard the war cry. The ballista crew set up their weapon and waited for an opportunity to arise. When the large Druid sidestepped, one of the crew members fired the bolt which was meant to kill the large Druid but its companion managed to knock it to the ground and took the bolt for itself . Despite having reinforcements, the battle was far from over.
The large Druid noticed the enemy the reinforcements and, with incredible mobility, closed the distance between it and Osvald delivering a blow to the general's stomach knocking his breath out. Then, it lifted the general onto its shoulder before making its escape with the other living Druid. The two creatures disappeared into the darkness without making a sound and the only noise was from the incoming Langobards soldiers. The reinforcements arrived onto the clearing only to find the aftermath of a horrific battle. There were several dozen of their comrades dead while only four casualties for the enemy. The soldiers didn't pursue in the darkness fearing they would enter a trap. Meanwhile, the officer leading the reinforcements spoke with the five soldiers who stood in the rear and learned that one of their generals was taken while the other one took a blow to the head that most likely killed him. The officer immediately took up leadership by giving orders for the five soldiers to keep carrying the corpse to camp while everyone else helped carry the corpse of their comrades where they would get a proper burial at the camp. The officer himself would take several men with him to locate the general who laid where he fell after colliding with the tree. The officer looked back before he knelt down to carry the general. He saw too many losses so early in the campaign and, with one general dead and the other captured, the Langobards forces might need to withdraw until reinforcements came. The officer realized that they were ill-prepared for this campaign and may need the blessing of the gods if they hoped to find victory at the end.
Chapter 202
Few minutes later, more screams were heard deep in the forest before a cry, resembling that of a dying beast, reached the camp. The cry was so horrific that some of the Langobards soldiers were trembling in their boots staring into the forest wide-eyed. Then, there was once again silence. The two generals quickly formed a small group of thirty men and headed to the location they heard the cry. In the dark, moving through the dense forest was quite difficult but the group eventually made it to a clearing. There were a dozen or so men that had their heads smashed in or had their neck at an impossible angle. Two survivors were being tended by fellow soldiers while the rest stood in a circle around something. The generals ordered the man with the torch to come illuminate the thing and what they revealed had everyone taking a step back. The earlier accounts were accurate that the creature had a body of a human. However, the head of a horned beast was nothing more than helmet of an animal no one can identify. Some sort of paint was traced along the helmet giving it a more terrifying sensation. The generals did a quick count and noticed that there must have been at least three dozen deep wounds in the corpse. They questioned the soldiers learning that the creature was still resisting until one of them managed to stab his sword straight into its sternum. They claimed the beast kept swing its club at them and killed many while wounding a few. They also stated that several corpses were taken away by the beasts that ran away.
The two generals knelt down to take a closer look at the creature. What struck them first was the smell that suggested these Druids weren't in baths and cleanliness. Osvald would be the one to take the helmet off despite having difficulty pulling it off. The helmets seemed to fit onto the head so well that he needed daggers to pick apart the helmet. When the head was revealed, everyone was shocked to see a face that resembled their own. They have just discovered that these Druids who terrorize the interior were merely humans that wore a horned helmet and had terrifying strength. The generals ordered the men to carry the corpse back to camp so everyone can have a look at it (or him). The two generals hoped that their men would be less fearful once they knew what they faced off again. Fighting against creatures that one didn't know could put their men on a mental disadvantage. Once the soldiers knew that they were facing off against larger men who actually aren't that different from them, the generals felt confident that they could reinstall some calm into their men. Five soldiers were already lifting the Druid and were carrying the corpse when several large creatures came out of the darkness. These creatures were silent and they alerted the Langobards men only when one of them stepped on a branch. Everyone turned around in time to see five Druids charging at them. When they saw five giants beasts charging them with large clubs in their hands, all of them froze in place as if they were in a trance.
Osvald was the first to snap out of his trance and unsheathed his weapon to fight the creature nearest to him. He raised his shield in time to block the first strike of his enemy but the blow knocked the shield clean out of his hands. Without a moment to think, Osvald ducked seeing him dodge the second blow as he swung his sword at the knees of the Druid. Osvald felt his sword draw blood but the Druid seemed unfazed with its club ready for a blow downwards. Meanwhile, the other general and the men snapped out of their trance and engaged in battle. Unlike Osvald, the four soldiers that engaged the Druids first took direct hits to their head ending their lives instantly. Preben fared better by using his quick feet to avoid the enemy's attacks. As for the soldiers that were carrying the corpse earlier, they dropped the corpse to draw their bows and arrows. These men waited patiently and fired whenever an opening show up. The arrows would hit the Druids' soft spots but they continued fighting. Soon, the two generals decided to withdraw seeing their chances of victory low. The thirty men they brought with them and the twenty survivors that were at the clear has dwindled to only five soldiers who were supporting with bow and arrow. At first, the remaining three Druids made no attempts to stop them from backing away. However, just as Preben entered the forest and Osvald was the only one in the clearing, the Druids attacked.
The largest of the Druids made his war cry that seemed to shake the floor itself before he charged forward. The Druid was very fast catching the Langobards off guard and his first blow smashed Preben right in the head sending the general crashing into a nearby tree. When he landed, he wasn't moving which made Osvald believe his brother was killed. The Druid was going to attack Osvald next but it was taken by surprise when the outraged Osvald charged at it with his sword aiming to disembowel it. Osvald was no longer thinking logically as he was determined to take the beast with him. The Druid barely managed to avoid the worst as the sword only made a deep wound on its side avoiding any organs. As the Druid sidestepped, one of its companions didn't react fast enough and crashed right into it. The companion, however, saved the large Druid's life seeing it taking a ballista bolt to the head. Apparently, several officers in the camp quickly gathered their engineers to quickly assemble a ballista they brought with them. A hundred or so men, with a few operating the lone ballista, made steady progress to the clearing when they heard the war cry. The ballista crew set up their weapon and waited for an opportunity to arise. When the large Druid sidestepped, one of the crew members fired the bolt which was meant to kill the large Druid but its companion managed to knock it to the ground and took the bolt for itself . Despite having reinforcements, the battle was far from over.
The large Druid noticed the enemy the reinforcements and, with incredible mobility, closed the distance between it and Osvald delivering a blow to the general's stomach knocking his breath out. Then, it lifted the general onto its shoulder before making its escape with the other living Druid. The two creatures disappeared into the darkness without making a sound and the only noise was from the incoming Langobards soldiers. The reinforcements arrived onto the clearing only to find the aftermath of a horrific battle. There were several dozen of their comrades dead while only four casualties for the enemy. The soldiers didn't pursue in the darkness fearing they would enter a trap. Meanwhile, the officer leading the reinforcements spoke with the five soldiers who stood in the rear and learned that one of their generals was taken while the other one took a blow to the head that most likely killed him. The officer immediately took up leadership by giving orders for the five soldiers to keep carrying the corpse to camp while everyone else helped carry the corpse of their comrades where they would get a proper burial at the camp. The officer himself would take several men with him to locate the general who laid where he fell after colliding with the tree. The officer looked back before he knelt down to carry the general. He saw too many losses so early in the campaign and, with one general dead and the other captured, the Langobards forces might need to withdraw until reinforcements came. The officer realized that they were ill-prepared for this campaign and may need the blessing of the gods if they hoped to find victory at the end.
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