Foreword: Hello guys, as you can see I can only update this work once a week because of my hectic schedule, maybe during my two week vacation from school I can release faster, but then I don't want to make promises here.....

Im squeezing all the free time here so I would appreciate it if you guys can wait patiently....

And that's it, I present to you chap 10 of AWT... Enjoy :)

*Klak Klak Klak*

The sound of hooves coupled with the creaking of the wooden wheel of the wagon was the only thing that I was hearing as the wagon travelled through the wide grasslands.

*Yawn* Arent we there yet?

3 hours have passed since I boarded the wagon. The inside of the wagon is quite packed, with all the ration crates piled into pillars, making it hard to move freely inside it.

Only a faint light could be seen as the entrance of the wagon located at the end, was covered by a thick layer of cloth, concealing the contents of the wagon from the outside world.

Eventually, the monotonous sound that I was hearing got me bored and eventually got me dozing off, wanting to sleep for at least the next few hours.

*Klak Klak-------*

Suddenly… The wagon stopped in its tracks, ending the sound that had been bugging me for the whole time.

Finally…

Thinking that I finally reached the destination, I began to stretch my limbs that were numbed by the uncomfortable position that I took inside the wagon. Creating cracking sounds as I exerted force through the muscles and tendons of my arms and legs.

But just to be sure here…

Leisurely exiting the wagon would undoubtedly get me into trouble since I was only hitching a ride with no permission whatsoever, so I decided to take a peek of what was happening outside…

After stretching the pointer finger on my right hand as to invoke the spell that I chose, an owl shaped familiar materialized from thin air with a ghostly presence that was pretty common in most conjuration spells. But then, it looks like a normal owl to me with two wings and feathers all over its body.

It began to flap its wings as I directed it to and soon took flight after receiving enough mana from me.

As I said before, all summoned beings requires continuous injection of mana for it to keep its form and perform its corresponding use for the mage who casted it.

Confirming that everything was set, I started to open the curtain with nimble movements, creating a small sized entrance just enough for the summoned owl to pass through.

The owl shaped familiar began to ascend as it got out of the wagon with its wings flapping just like a normal bird would do, making it unsuspicious from anyone who witnesses its flight.

After the owl disappeared from the edge of my vision as I was watching from the small opening of the curtain, I closed both my eyes and began to concentrate on the flow of magic that connected me with my familiar.

The vision of the owl was transmitted to my head, giving me real-time overview of the surrounding area.

The Empire’s crimson army followed by the supporting personnel which consists of cooks, black smiths, healers and many other people stopped at the fields just beside the ruins of Sjogren.

They began to set up a makeshift camp which prioritized practicality over comfort, unloading the contents of numerous wagons that transported all the necessities needed for the upcoming war.

Afterwards, I instructed the owl familiar, through mere thoughts, to soar at a higher altitude and proceed to the direction of the main force of the army.

And there I saw, the crimson army adopting the same formation that I saw earlier. About ten thousand fully armored and lightly armored soldiers stood their ground, facing their opponents with unwavering determination.

The opposing forces can also be seen from here…

A legion of half human half beast soldiers equipped with armor made out of monster skin with weapons made out of crudely forged iron adorned with bones of animals.

Crossbows made out of flexible wood served as their long range weaponry and their cavalry consisted of lance wielding beast men riding mounts that seemed to resemble ostriches but somehow oversized.

I can easily identify such creatures but then, the bestiary was confiscated from me after I was captured.

Numbering by about 50 thousand troops, they would easily outnumber the crimson army whom soldiers only numbered 10 thousand.

“Whoa so many!”

After witnessing such a surreal spectacle, I let out an amazed voice.

Such events were nonexistent back at my home world. Well… small scale confrontations between armed groups were commonplace, especially in the Middle East. But then battles of this magnitude could only be seen in movies that used computer graphics to create a scene where thousands or even millions of soldiers clash for the sake of victory.

But then… something was peculiar with the sight of the beast men army.

The formation of the beast men were somewhat unorganized with no segregation of ranks whatsoever. They just moved as a single mass of soldiers throughout the battlefield, similar to an army of ants that used their sheer number to defeat the enemies before them.

Both sides stopped their march with 300 meters of empty land separating them. As soon as they stopped their march they started to throw death gazes at each other, as if telling each other that they’ll do anything to win this battle.

……………………………………………………

“Archers Ready!!!”

Not wasting any time idling, the leader of the archers at the far back shouted with all his might. Issuing an order to his subordinates to ready their longbows similar to the English long bow used during the medieval ages.

Each and every one of the archers after retrieving an arrow from the quiver situated at their backs, started to knock arrow stretching the string of their bow to its limits, aiming at the direction of the beast men with their bows held at a 45 degree angle.

“Fireeeeee!!”

Hearing the orders of the commanding officer, the archers harmoniously released the arrows from their bows, creating a storm of deadly projectiles that flew through the air.

*Fwoooooooooooosh*

Such sounds were heard as the arrows sliced through the wind that blew above the lands of Estad.

Oh shit I’m going to get hit!

Realizing that the current position of the owl was inside flight path of the arrows, I frantically instructed the familiar to soar even higher than before. Flapping its wings vigorously as if death was certain, it soon reached the cotton like clouds, successfully evading the wave of arrows released by the 2000 archers of the crimson army.

Phew that was close.

Getting pierced by 2 thousand arrows was no less than a living nightmare. Even though my life wasn’t really in danger, I reflexively heaved a sigh of relief after surviving through it.

Meanwhile…The released arrows swiftly flew across the battlefield and eventually rained upon the frontlines of the beast men which consists mainly of warrior type soldiers equipped with swords, maces, clubs, shields and bucklers.

“Ugahh!”

They desperately tried to shield themselves using iron shields and wooden bucklers but a lot of them didn’t succeed as the piercing force is too much. Letting out cries of agony as the 2 thousand arrows pierced through their bodies. The attack easily decimated about 10% of the beast men soldiers, causing the ones who survived to panic after seeing their comrades dropping lifelessly onto the ground.

“Archers Ready!!!”

…………………………..

“Fire!!”

The leader once again issued the same order, causing another wave of arrows to rain upon the beast men, not giving them any time to recover from the previous attack.

*Fwooooooooosh*

Noticing another the incoming attack the beast men began to compress, connecting their bucklers and shields as to form a single reinforced barrier from the barrage of arrows.

*Pap pap pap pap*

Sounds of projectiles hitting the barrier could be heard as the arrows reached its targets. Compared to the previous attack, they somehow managed to devise a plan to counter the relentless barrage of attacks and reduced the casualties by a large sum.

They learned how to defend after suffering from the same kind of attack in the nick of time.

Confirming that releasing another wave wasn’t going to be effective, the archers began to withdraw their bows and

decided to rest for the moment.

Right after that, an ear shattering silence enveloped the whole bat field coupled with the faint breeze and the hot sun that illuminated the whole surroundings.

The suffocating stench of fresh blood diffused through the air, making the soldiers from both sides to cover their mouths for a brief period of time.

Frustration can be seen from the faces of the beast men as they suffered a lot of casualties without even putting up a fight against the empire.

“T### f####g ###ps i#l k##l t### ###!!!”

Furious of the current situation, leader of the beast men began to shout incomprehensible words with saliva spraying from his mouth.

A bulky beast man, his body covered with thick muscles and a fearless look could be seen from his eyes.

He wore a helmet that covered his hair, adorned with two humongous horns on top of it. An armor made up of thick monster leather with portions of it covered with crude iron was fitted into his large body.

Truly a terrifying appearance that deviated from the look of a normal beast man.

He continued to shout for about five minutes as to snap out his subordinates from the fear of death and to fuel anger into the hearts of the beast men which could substantially heighten morale.

Then suddenly…

The large mass of beast men soldiers began to separate into two parts as to make way for the incoming troops previously situated at the back of the army.

It’s the cavalry… consisting of beast men riding a sort of creature pretty similar to an ostrich but double the size with its limbs thicker. Most of them were equipped with swords, spears and maces but some were using the crossbows as their primary weapon. Light armor made from the thick monster leather, which prioritized speed over defense, served as their primary equipment.

“Uwahhhh!”

After brandishing their weapons high up in the air, they began to charge straight through the grass fields and into the front of the crimson army while issuing a fearless battle cry.

*Tlot tlot tlot tlot*

The thundering sound of limbs hammering through the ground could then be heard as the ostrich like creatures ran at breakneck speed towards the ranks of the crimson army.

“Spearmen ready yourselves!”

In response with the move of the enemies, commander Hordzak issued his command, ordering the troops at the very front of the army to ready themselves from the incoming wave of beast men cavalry.

“Humm!”

The spearmen at the front let out a sound as to affirm and started to ready their spears by thrusting it forward, making any reckless charges lead to impalement.

“waaahH!”

*BAAaaM BAaAaaaM*

Followed by the momentum of their charge, the cavalry collided with the spearmen producing sounds of metal and flesh crashing together. Most of the cavalry we're impaled with the metal tipped spears after this reckless move.

“Aaaargh”

The high speed collision successfully disrupted the well-formed rank in the frontline, causing the whole formation to be flawed as the cavalry broke through the spearmen and were currently situated between the ranks of the spearmen and the swordsmen.

“Attack!!!”

An ear shattering sound from the pitch black knight, commander Hordzak reverberated throughout the crimson army, as to not let this opportunity to slip by.

“Uwaaaahhh”

After hearing the orders of the commander, the swordsmen from behind provided support to suppress the cavalry by sandwiching the enemies with the cooperation of the spearmen at the front.

*Shing* *Clang* *Cling* *Clang*

The battle started immediately, with all the swordsmen unsheathing their swords and began to fight the ostrich mounted beast men. Numerous battle cries could be heard that drowned the grasslands but after a while, the ear shattering silence reclaimed its place as the battle quickly ended in about ten minutes.

“HuurraaaaH!”

The first and second lines were reformed after a while as the cavalry was almost completely decimated, while the soldiers of the empire voiced out shouts of joy and celebration.

Judging from the strategy of the beast men it was safe to say that they were unexperienced in wide scale battles such as this. Mr. Leader there must’ve been a total amateur in commanding a large army, leading to their demise in this merciless battlefield.

Dead bodies of beast men, humans and mounts littered the lands with the stench of blood even stronger than before, giving no choice to the crimson army but to dispose of it as fast as possible.

The supporting personnel made their way to the scene and began to drag the dead bodies to a considerable distance from the battleground.

…………………………

Meanwhile…. At the far back of the formation, commander Hordzak continued to conduct his plans. It seems that his next move was to mobilize the cavalry, not letting the few beast men cavalry, who escaped from the previous battle, retreat to other side of the battlefield.

The empire’s cavalry which consisted of knights wearing full plate armor up to the face wielding long lances began to advance forward with the swordsmen and spearmen making way for them.

Oh wait a minute... so the commander is going with them...?

I could see it clearly from above, the commander’s armor stands out a lot with its pitch black hue. Riding a pitch black horse which was bulkier than most horses in the cavalry, it was also fully armored with plates of steel all over its body.

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

With commander Hordzak leading, the thundering sound of the hooves of all 2000 cavalry resounded through the surrounding area.

Not letting the remaining enemy cavalry to retreat, they slaughtered them by thrusting their lances forward, impaling the bodies of the remaining enemies.

“Ugahhhhh!”

Faint screams of agony could be heard as the last beast men cavalry fell from his mount and lied onto ground lifelessly with a puddle of crimson blood beneath it.

The beast men from the other side, gnashed their teeth in fury as they witnessed the slaughter of their comrades while commander Hordzak and company continued to advance to the side of the beast men with the whole army following, seemingly wanted to end the fight quickly.

Not fazed by their opponents, the beast men stood their ground showing their fearless demeanor in front of the charging forces of the crimson army.

“#####o## ##si### ###wW!!”

Mr. Amateur commander frantically began to issue his next order with his mouth open and closing at a fast rate causing his saliva to spray out from it.

Recognizing his large voice that reverberated through their ears, the beast men army began to separate again making way for an enormous entity that easily outsized the tall soldiers in terms of size.

An enormous beast that looks like a combination of lion and a jaguar about the size of a mini bus with purple fur covered its whole body. Shackled in enormous metal chains that was handled by about 20 muscular beast men.

*Kling* *Klang* *Kling* *Klang*

It is then released in front of the army, producing sounds of metal hitting the ground after the shackles that restrained its four limbs were unlocked by the 20 beast men caretakers.

After all the chains were removed, the beast stretched its limbs similar to what cats would do after waking up from sleep.

*Thud Thud Thud Thud ---------*

The crimson army suddenly stopped at its tracks after witnessing the appearance of the enormous beast, seemingly taking precautions of what it would do next. Is it going to attack or not?

Then suddenly, the beast began to change its posture, lowering all of its limbs as if readying to pounce the enemies in front it.

“ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrr!!!!!!”

“UwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahHH!

It didn’t pounce at them, instead it released an eardrum shattering noise that would surely impair the hearing sense of all people suffering from it. But then, it’s not really just a sound, it was coupled by a powerful shockwave that blew off everything from its path.

The soldiers situated at the middle row of the formation was blown off from the ground, just like dried leaves being blown off by an afternoon breeze. Making them release voices filled with fear and confusion as to why would such a thing be possible. About 25% of the army were unable to continue fighting after the shockwave.

But the shockwave didn’t disappear after that, it continued to travel straight towards the makeshift camps at the far back where I was currently situated.

Oh hell no!!

“Uwaaaaaaaah”

The large surface area of the wagon caught the incoming shockwave, causing it to roll for about ten times, making me dizzy in the process…