Cries echoed through the air.

Not the peaceful shouts of small children playing, but the terrified screams of injured people. Hectic steps, metallic clangs, and curt commands would cut through them from time to time, always followed by more animalistic howls. A battle was unfolding. And given the never-ending cacophony, it wouldn’t end soon.

Following the sounds, one would find a small village with a shaking pile of rags behind wooden shields, wielding spears with shaking hands, missing their targets. Only a small group in the center stood tall and fought the horde of monsters before them. An archer, a spear carrier, a bear of a man with a massive shield, and a heroic ax warrior tried their best to make up for their comrades’ shortcomings. Their desperate fight for survival was worth its own song, but no bard would tell this story in a smoke-filled alley bar.

A small group of warriors defending against their enemies.

I had experienced these situations countless times in the game, but this differed. It was chaos, a cacophony, and I couldn’t hear my own thoughts. No group chat, no sound options to mute the background noise, no overlay. My commands didn’t even reach Drew, who stood right in front of me.

This battle attacked our senses and destroyed all planned steps.

I had also experienced the chaos during my first mission, but a larger battle worsened the situation manifold.

The earth underneath my feet had turned to mud, mixed with both blood and urine as people wet themselves in fear. The enormous mass of enemies filled the air with their offensive breath. And the horrid stench of burned people flesh lingered after the leprechauns had attacked with burning balls of linen. Multiple farmers puked right at their feet, before continuing the battle in a daze.

From time to time I would use my spear to stab a tumbling Leprechaun, but my primary duty was to stand on the second wall and be seen by the Púca. Furthermore, all my skill usages were saved for our later duel, so I barely killed any leprechauns. A few more experience points toward level five, but not the deciding factor in this battle.

The same was true for Torphin, who had nocked an arrow but just observed the battlefield. With only four arrows left, each one needed to count. Thea, by contrast, ran around, helping the wounded farmers back into the central hut. And although the battle had continued for barely an hour, the wounds had piled up.

The farmers with light wounds returned, a result of them literally fighting with their backs to the wall. But even if their weakened figures were counted as fresh warriors, we still had lost over twenty spears. More and more gaps in the wall of steel. Too many to further hold the first wall.

“We’re retreating,” I shouted into Drew’s ear before making my round, informing all the other shield-bearers. This had to be in sync, this had to work. Or otherwise...

Their first few steps were fine, dragging their shields through the mud on the ground. The outer pairs dropped their shields and helped to carry the other shields up the second wall. To the right, a leprechaun tried to pounce on a retreating farmer, but an arrow ended his short-lived attempt. Enough to scare the others for a few seconds. Enough to complete the new shield-wall.

Was what I thought...

Screams from my left alerted me of a problem.

A farmer had tripped while climbing the earth wall and fell onto the shield, tearing it down and burying the others beneath it. And the leprechauns spotted their chance and flooded the gap.

“Another wall,” I screamed at Drew, signaling with my arms, before I switched my weapons.

Another arrow killed the foremost Leprechaun, but their group pressed on regardless, attacking the immobilized farmers.

No way to reach them.

Hence I concentrated on shielding the retreating farmers, using my only skill to slay two leprechauns. Their tightly packed wave made it easy to hit them, but my usage count dropped fast.

A few breaths later, not even half a minute, it reached single digits.

The view in front of my eyes blurred as dizziness attacked me. Too much endurance wasted.

Death screams pierced through the noise.

An arrow grazed my left shoulder before felling another leprechaun in front of me.

I retreated backwards over the second wall, but stumbled over a dropped spear, landing hard on my back and pushing the air out of my lungs.

My vision went black for a moment, before a new view greeted me. A dozen leprechauns jumped at me.

No time to stand up. I pushed myself over the ground.

Until my back hit the earth wall.

One leprechaun jumped and caught my right foot, trying to bite into my leg.

But his comrades used my motionlessness to attack me, trampling him.

A knife was swung against my head and I barely got my arms up. Too slow to parry, but enough to block it with my bracer.

I tried to reach towards the stone in my pocket, but another Leprechaun jumped at me, holding my arm in place. So I lifted my arm, using Heavy Strike, crushing its head between my bracer and the ground.

But three more leprechauns had already arrived.

Ignoring the arrow that took one of their lives, the remaining two pounced on me, when a battle cry sounded behind me.

Drew, carrying a shield by himself, pushed against the flood with brute force, before dropping it and pulling me up the earth wall. Safety in front of my eyes, I used my skill with my leg, stomping against the ground and pushing both of us over the top.

Three farmers put their shield in place and we were safe. At least for now.

For the next minute I just lay on the ground, catching my breath and reassuring the panicked farmers around me.

Vitality returned with each breath I took, but so did the pain. A myriad of slight cuts covered my entire body, dyeing big chunks of my clothing red. I hadn’t even felt their impact.

Thea dragged me into the hut, insistent on checking my wounds. And as the wall was holding for now, I let her be and concentrated my thoughts on our situation.

We had more or less successfully completed our retreat to the third wall, which reduced the length we had to cover. Now we should have been able to allocate more spears to each segment, fortifying our defense. But the reality differed from our plan. A lot more people had been wounded or killed, while others reached their limits.

One failed retreat and our situation wasn’t that different from before. Still barely holding the wall.

We still had one more wall to fall back to. But would that change anything? Would we gain more than we lose with another retreat? A short gaze at the farmers answered the question. Insecure faces and trembling bodies. There was no way. The third wall would become our last stand.

And our future appeared bleak.

Torphin had run out of arrows and wielded a spear with untrained hands. More than a third of the farmers couldn’t fight. And the leprechauns’ losses were fewer than planned. So much for forcing the Púca to fight through a prolonged battle. Even if they lost the same amount again, it would be a success for them. There was no need to endanger the commander.

We had lost our gamble.

But what now?

Should we try to break through and run away? I might make it on my own, but each additional person would reduce our survival chances. At most, a handful of people would make it out alive. And that was already rather generous. This wasn’t about us running away, but about me running away. Everything else became just smoke and mirrors.

So should I stay and die with them?

Even if I couldn’t return to the recruits, I could still travel the world. And equipped with my game knowledge, time became the biggest wall between me and a carefree life. Even if the story line appeared to be different, the foundation was still the same. And a few low-level dungeons would be enough to enable a luxurious retirement.

Was there a better choice? No. This was obviously the wise decision.

An audible sigh escaped my lips.

Wasn’t this the only thing that didn’t change with my rebirth?

I chuckled.

A fantasy world full of monsters, adventures, and beautiful maiden. A second chance blessed with powerful knowledge that resembled a cheat. And what was my main activity? Sighs! Whether it was inside my sick bed or in front of a beautiful landscape, I would sigh. Well, at least I stayed the same.

And so I forced myself up, grabbed my weapons, and made my way to the second wall.

I patted Drew on the back. Thank you for saving me. Although our only communication comprised a simple nod, drowned by the noise. A brief farewell. I also nodded at Torphin. He was useless without his bow, but he still fought for a village that wasn’t his. Okay, he tried to protect his own village, but it was still an applaudable commitment.

“What are you doing?” Thea’s voice sounded in my ears. Did she notice my behavior?

“I was thinking about my situation,” I screamed back at her.

How to answer? Uhm, what did she say? A man should protect the fields and homes?

I laughed.

“I’m going to my protect my ditch!”

And with that I put the little, smooth stone into my mouth.

Tightened the grip around my weapons.

And threw myself over the wall.