At the wall, the situation deteriorated rapidly.
A shield line broke apart under a surge of snarling bodies and goblins poured through like water through a shattered dam. The sight was soaked through with blood, smeared into a dark slurry beneath boots and bodies. Steaming guts lay tangled across the broken stones, and severed limbs were kicked aside as soldiers fought for every inch of ground.
"Push them back! Don't let them through!" Harlic's voice boomed, bringing a brief surge of courage to the men around him.
Harlic stood in the center of the carnage, drenched to the elbows in blood. His axe was red from edge to handle, bits of flesh clinging to its steel. Every swing tore through bone with a wet crack that echoed over the battlefield.
The old soldier was shaking in exhaustion, rage and blood loss twisting together, but he refused to fall.
Not yet…
Bodies lay piled around him, friend and foe alike, forming a grisly barricade that slowed the advancing swarm. But it wasn't enough... Not nearly enough.
The wall trembled under the weight of hundreds of clawed feet rushing forward.
Harlic's legs almost buckled as the world spun. The screams around him drifted into a distant echo, as though coming from the bottom of a dark pit. The cold wind on his face numbed the burning pain in his chest.
Then, suddenly… everything went quiet.
His surroundings softened, the chaos fading as if swallowed by snowfall. A gentle soft, warm and familiar touch brushed his cheek.. It was his wife.
She stood before him, smiling through the haze, whispering strength into his bones.
"Fight one more time" she seemed to say.
Slowly everything goes back to normal, flames raging, soldier screaming and a ground covered with blood. A goblin lunged at him with a shriek. But Harlic forced a bloody and weary grin and swung his axe to it's chest.
"Yes, my love… I'll be there soon enough," he whispered.
Then he roared with everything he had left.
"COME ON, ALL OF YOU! TO THE LAST MAN!"
His defiant cry tore through the battlefield like a spark in a raging fire.
Smoke, blood, and winter wind mixed into a choking haze. The men fought with everything they had, but the truth was becoming clear
The line would not hold much longer.
Arrows rained from above but many flew wide. The archers' hands were numb and their quivers are nearly empty. One archer dared to lean over the ledge for a clearer shot a goblin scrambled up the stone, sank its teeth into his forearm and tore it off. His scream was cut short as the creature dragged him over the wall and smashed him against the battlements.
A shieldman swung wildly, but three goblins leapt onto him. One sank its fangs into his throat ripping away a chunk of flesh. Another clawed out his eyes. The last jammed its poisoned dagger between his ribs, twisting until his screams faded into wet gurgles.
Another soldier was dragged down and before he could cry out, they were on him biting, clawing and tearing him alive. One creature plunged its entire arm into his chest cavity and wrenched out a handful of organs, shrieking triumphantly as blood sprayed across the stones.
Another man tried to flee but a goblin leapt onto his back and sank its teeth into the side of his head ripping off his ear. He collapsed, twitching, while the creature gnawed on him like meat torn from a roast.
Even with this carnage no man dared to stand down and no man dared to turn away.
Their prayers is to borrow strength from the heavens in order to hold the line until reinforcements arrived. Even with limbs torn from them, even with hands severed by this slaughter they fought on desperately. For they would choose to face death itself than letting their beloved family to be taken by it.
But then…
A new sound thundered across the battlefield.
Drums... A heavy battle drum that's becoming louder and louder each time it get's closer. the goblins froze and the ground trembled.
"ATTACK!" a powerful voice roared and wave of men begin to surged forward with a deafening battle cry, charging toward the wall with Commander Lucian at the head of the line.
Reinforcements had arrived.