"We once had peaceful lives!"
On the northern bank of the River Harnen, the Haradrim commander delivered his final rallying speech to the assembled troops.
He raised the curved scimitar in his hand and shouted to the soldiers, "Some of you were once farmers, some of you once traded freely, and all of you once knew peace, until the Gondorians came!"
"They destroyed our farms, ambushed our caravans, freed our servants, forced us to lose our livelihood, and drove us to take up arms against them!"
"Those vile Gondorians will pay the price for what they have done. The time has come, warriors!"
"Tonight, we repay them with blood!"
"With blood!"
The soldiers roared, their eyes burning with hatred.
The great army marched out, surrounding the stronghold on the lakeshore from every direction.
It was a complete encirclement, there was nowhere to hide.
---
"Don't stop, don't stop, withdraw at once!"
At the frontlines, where the Ranger company was positioned.
Even after executing a flawless operation, the Rangers did not let down their guard. The captain immediately ordered everyone to retreat quickly.
"Something isn't right. The vanguard is much larger than I expected. Why would they send so many?"
Kane wasn't blinded by the near-bloodless victory.
"So many?" Garrett glanced back.
It looked like just a hundred or so.
"Roughly two hundred cavalry."
With a single glance, the seasoned Kane gave an accurate estimate.
"If we had faced them unprepared in open battle or been ambushed, even half that number would have overwhelmed us."
For ease of movement and stealth, the Rangers all wore leather armor with cloaks and hoods. Their gear worked wonders in guerrilla warfare or small raids, but in an open battlefield with no cover, it was another story entirely.
It wasn't about their skill as fighters, just a mismatch of tactics and equipment.
"If the vanguard alone has two hundred men, then there must be far more behind them," Kane said grimly. "I don't believe they've only sent these."
"The legion commander of the Harnen basin may be brutal and cunning, but he's not a fool. With his calculating nature, he wouldn't commit just a single force."
"True enough." Garrett nodded, then asked, "So what do you intend to do next?"
"Head north, withdraw for now. If necessary, we fall back to friendly territory, then carefully watch for their true intentions."
"Captain!"
Just as he said this, a scout rushed back in haste.
"Thousands of Haradrim are approaching from the rear!"
As expected.
Kane's eyes narrowed.
At that moment, several more scouts came sprinting in.
"An army is advancing from the east!"
"There's heavy movement to the west!"
His frown deepened.
"'Heavy movement'... how heavy?"
Thoom!
The ground shook.
Everyone instinctively turned back, and in the darkness a massive shadow loomed closer.
Thoom!
War drums thundered, echoing from every direction.
Shadows upon shadows closed in.
"Halt!" Kane commanded, and the men stopped.
Figures emerged ahead as well. They were surrounded.
So, that cavalry unit was just a diversion to buy time?
Why? It made no sense. Why would they use two hundred cavalry as mere "bait"?
That was giving their enemies far too much credit.
The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
If the Haradrim commander was a fool, that didn't quite fit, because he clearly wasn't careless. Sending so many men to ambush their eighty-odd Rangers showed caution. If the ambush had worked, few of them would have survived.
But if he was clever, that didn't add up either. If he already knew his plan was exposed and that the Rangers might turn the tables, why send so many cavalry to their deaths?
Just to buy time?
If that was the case, then why not surround them straightaway while they were still in hiding? That would have been stealthier and far more likely to succeed.
In the space of a few heartbeats, countless thoughts flashed through Kane's mind. Suddenly, his gaze snapped toward Garrett, and his heart sank.
The one unpredictable factor, the one who had disrupted everything, was him.
This was troubling.
"They're here for you."
Garrett raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
Hoooon.
The horns blared. The Haradrim host advanced, sealing off the very last gap of escape.
Kane drew the longsword at his waist and shouted, "We break north!"
Shing.
Garrett unsheathed his elven blade, stepping to the very front of the formation.
"Mind if I lead?"
Kane hesitated. By regulation, it should have been out of the question. Strictly speaking, Garrett was the leader of another faction; assuming direct command of a Gondorian Ranger company without higher authorization was crossing a line.
If it were a wizard, that would have been acceptable, since wizards belonged to no single realm, or to every free people, depending how you saw it.
But in this situation...
Kane nodded. "Then—"
Thwip!
An arrow suddenly whistled in from behind. Its bloody head punched clean through his side.
"Then I entrust it... to you..."
He couldn't finish the words, he was already losing balance.
"Captain!"
Two Rangers rushed to catch him. A quick check showed it wasn't fatal, but he was now unable to fight.
Garrett glanced back. Several hundred meters away, a burly Haradrim of obvious rank lowered a massive bow. He was striking out at a nearby subordinate with fists and kicks, venting his fury.
"Good thing I've still got healing potions left."
Garrett gave a wry smile and tossed Kane a vial of instant healing. Kane caught it, ripped the arrow out with a grunt, and downed the potion quickly.
"Break through with me!"
Throwing back his hood, sword raised high, he charged forward alone, smashing headlong into the Haradrim ranks.
Arrows, spears, blades, all shattered uselessly against his netherite armor, where amber runes blazed to life with every strike.
Boom!
Several Haradrim tried to block his elven blade together, but the moment it struck, their arms went numb. It felt as though they were not facing a man with a sword, but a towering giant ten meters tall swinging a warhammer larger than a man.
Crash!
With a single upward sweep, several soldiers were hurled skyward, writhing as flames engulfed them.
For an instant, firelight cut through the darkness, and shadows danced across the ground. In that fleeting clarity, all could see the face of the one before them:
The hardened black armor.
The glowing amber runes.
The elven sword that breathed fire.
"Ahhh!"
One man screamed in terror, and then went utterly silent, unable to force a second sound from his throat.
That single cry rang out like an alarm bell, confirming the dreadful premonition that had gnawed at every heart.
The doubt was gone. The truth was revealed.
Garrett turned his gaze left, soldiers immediately recoiled, shoving frantically against those behind them to avoid being pushed forward.
He swept his blade to the right, soldiers there likewise pressed back in panic.