With each passing moment, Ares grew heavier and heavier. His regeneration was not keeping up enough for him to move as fluid as he wanted to. The pain of the goring was annoying him, but that wasn’t exactly his biggest issue at the moment.

The buffalofolk seemed almost endless. Every time he burnt or stabbed one, another took their place. Ares tried to kick them away, but it didn’t work. He stabbed another and tried to pull back, but a horn forced itself through his face which he shifted to flames.

It was then that Ares realised…

‘Oh no… this is bad. This is really bad.’

Ares continued to struggle against the enemy, the pain and the noise mixing together before it was too much for him. Even his mind began to melt, but soon the panic set and all he could think about was that he was going to die.

‘Not like this! Not like this!’

Ares gasped for air, though he didn’t find what he needed, which was freedom. He was drowning in his own foolishness, his own ego, his own arrogance. The panic set deep within his core, but before it could truly take root, there was a snarl beside him and then the buffalofolk were occupied with something else.

A whirlwind of Reptai had arrived, not more than twenty. They had cut through and managed to force their way towards the King.

“Man am I glad to see you,” Ares said as he gasped for air, stepping out.

The Reptai snarled. “Destroy the enemy!” It was Zika that had appeared, the Queen of Zanz.

Ares wasn’t sure what he was feeling at the moment, but he could feel the relief pour through him. The Reptai and the buffalofolk were savage, facing one another with such force that Ares believed they were a force of nature.

Yet Ares did not turn towards the rhinoman, he turned towards Zika and his allies. The buffalofolk, a few hundred of them, would overwhelm the Reptai for sure. Ares surrounded their backs with large walls, and then around them too, trapping them in a dome. It would be bad if they were assaulted from behind, but at the same time it would give them some protection. Ares would keep that in the back of his mind as he leapt forward to lead the charge against the few hundred buffalofolk that were ahead of him.

“Don’t mind me,” Ares said as he raised his blade, “but I want some fun too.”

Zika didn’t seem to mind as her Reptai went feral, ready and eager to meet the feral buffalofolk. Yet it seemed as though the buffalofolk at the back were moving, going around back, though Ares couldn’t follow after them as the Reptai would be endangered. Instead he kept working the wall around them and stepped forward to stab a few buffalofolk with his blade.

Several buffalofolk fell under his assault, and any time one managed to get close to Ares, Zika would handle them with relative ease. By the time they had handled half the buffalofolk that remained, the rest scattered around the place. None had gone up around the dome to assault from higher ground, instead they retreated to the rhinoman.

Ares wondered just why exactly they had returned to the rhinoman’s side, as the boarfolk that he had hired were struggling. Yet then he heard the drumming in the distance. He looked back to the fort, where the drums were still being played, but there was another set of drums being played. He narrowed his eyes and then he looked out beyond.

He could see a shower of arrows falling from beyond the walls, over the boarmen and the rhinofolk, and then the hundred or so Flaming Wolves being led by Heria.

“The wolves are coming…” he whispered to himself. Then a thought crossed his mind. He raised his sword and exclaimed. “The wolves are coming!” He repeated the phrase over and over as he marched forward, however his words were then drowned out as about a thousand more arrows appeared from behind the wall, striking down in a similar manner, before a thousand or so hyenafolk appeared, shooting their own bows.

His phrase had become a little redundant, but Ares realised that now… now they were no longer in trouble. He laughed as he stepped forward, ready and eager to charge towards the rhinoman.

The arrows continued to whistle from the heavens, and due to the fact most of the boarfolk had been either killed in the assault or had turned against the rhinoman, the archers that were riding on the wolves and hyenas were free to pour arrows upon arrows all over the rhinofolk and the enemy.

Ares raised his sword, catching the sight of the Heria’s eyes. He motioned with his blade towards to one side, towards the rhinofolk and buffalofolk. Heria nodded and then she led the Flaming Wolves to the side, having the wolves run around and firing arrows in a circle, reloading their arrows when they turned and then firing them so there was always an arrow in the air to rain down on the enemy.

The rhinoman was struggling now, a panic setting through him and his own rank. Even now Ares could see many of the beastfolk trying to regroup, even some fresh soldiers from behind were breaking, unsure of what to do since the hyenafolk had cut off their retreat. The hyenafolk continued to shower arrow after arrow until Ares caught the eye of the rhinoman.

There was a deep hatred within them, but they were also resigned. The rhinoman raised a hand. “Enough! Enough! We surrender!”

Ares looked out to the rhinoman and then he cleaned his sword and sheathed it. He turned to look at Heria, who was still in the process of reloading when she heard that the enemy was surrendering. She rode aside, having her warriors keep in formation as she rode to one side, looking towards Ares.

Ares looked at her for a long moment as the arrows continued to fall. Then he turned to look at Zika. “Please return to kill whoever is still besieging the fort… oh, and thank you. I won’t forget what you did for me.”

Zika nodded and then her Reptai, what few of them that remained, returned to attack whatever enemy was still trying to siege the fort. Ares saw that about a hundred or so Reptai had come, but by the time they had managed to get to him, only twenty remained. Staring at all those dead bodies, the surrender calls were drowned out.

Ares then turned to look at the rhinoman, who was definitely quite panicked at the moment.

“There will be no surrender.”