Overlord: World of Gown

Chapter 11: Fools End

"We wait here until the path is free again!" Barbro ordered his troops, and his command spread even to the last soldier, awaiting until the fire stopped rising from the ground.

"Do you hear that?"

"Yeah. Seems like marching sounds."

"What's that sound?"

The front row of levies heard a strange sound from around, where only trees could be seen. Yet the sound was indistinguishable. It was the unified sound of an army walking at one pace.

"What is that commotion?!" Barbro questioned, his eyes fixing on a colossal silhouette at the forest's edge. It was huge, easily over two meters tall. But nothing more was visible as the darkness of the dense forest covered most of the being's features. Yet aside from it, more of its kind appeared, walking towards him and his legion of soldiers.

"Prepare for an attack!" The captain told his troops, taking the matter of commanding the forces in his hand, much to the disliking of the Prince.

"Be ready for an attack, soldiers!" Barbro thought it vital to state it himself. Now, soldiers readied their spears, swords, or whatever they had. They formed a square-shaped formation of roughly 1500 men, ready to defend four sides simultaneously as the enemies seemed to appear from all directions.

"W-What is that!"

"M-Monster!"

"No, please, no! Oh god!"

"By the four gods..."

Sounds of terrified men could be heard on the left side, while the right wing didn't enjoy seeing what the foes looked like. Yet as the shadow of the trees couldn't hide their appearance any longer, most faces went pale white from the sight.

Monsters with enormous tower shields and pure raven swords in hand formed a wall around them. Their faces were the most dreadful thing they could offer. Despair. It was nothing they had ever seen. And a darkness that seemed to want to devour all life was hidden behind the rotten eyes of these knights.

Their helmet sprouted two massive horns on each flank. Most of their bodies were covered in dark cloth, with some parts protected by what appeared to be armor. Just as they thought they had seen it all, one of these beings let out a terrifying growl, driving the soldiers to shiver in fear, some drenching their pants or getting unconscious by the mere existence of this dread.

"R-Run!" It took just one soldier to say the word, and slowly the front lines tried to flee from where they came from, the flames behind them long burned out. But just as they turned around, a giant, all-consuming void opened, from which the same kind of monsters appeared, readying their weapons and tower shields for the incoming soldiers.

Now there was only one way to escape, to go forward. Yet screeches of horror echoed through the plateau, making every man look up from where the horrible sound came from.

On the hill came forth creatures similar to horses, yet far apart from those simple creatures, burning in an eternal flame that could consume one's soul just by looking at them. Horns sprouted from their skeletal head, forming an even more cruel appearance. Some could even see beyond the flickering flame to see that it enwrapped pure white bones, no flesh. On these existence-removers rode the same creatures that stood all around them.

"We... We are doomed."

"Am I going to die?"

"No... No. This can't be!"

"May the gods have mercy on our souls."

Once disciplined and resolute, soldiers now resembled frightened children facing a nightmare. They thought this was a simple mission to retrieve a magic caster, but who said they had to encounter such monsters? Facing impossible odds was not something they could overcome with the power of friendship. No, this was real life, one life and one death. They had families, friends, and foes who would never see them again. At least not alive.