The tension in the air was unbearable at the moment. The atmosphere was suffocating and chilling. It was calm before the storm. Before a massacre would be unleashed.
On one side stood Lord Aeos and his army, the most dangerous group of creatures born in the deserts of Essos. From the small yet lethally venomous manticores to the towering, legendary Essosi Scorpions. From the wild dogs to the large and ferocious wolves. A few thousand of them were surrounding the enemy camp from all directions, waiting in silence for a single signal from their master to unleash their fury.
On the other side were thirty five thousand men. A combination of force of disciplined mercenaries and fearsome Dothraki riders. Every man among them knew what awaited. Death loomed near, and many had already whispered their final prayers to whatever gods they believed in. Yet a final spark of defiance still burned within them. One last struggle. One last battle A will to fight one last battle before the end.
The wind itself seemed to have stilled at this moment of peak anxiety. And then Jon raised his hand. His palm was open, fingers widespread and closed it slowly.
A faint tremor rippled through the ground, spreading outward like a pulse. A moment later, the stillness and the silence shattered.
The creatures, wolves, hyenas, scorpions, and others erupted into motion as the ground quaked beneath them. They charged forward like a living tide. The screeches and the howling of the animals were cutting through the air.
The mercenaries, too, roared one last time before they too charged undeterred towards the incoming wave.
Jon was standing unmoving, the largest Essosi Scorpion still looming behind him motionless. The creatures were charging from both the sides of Jon and the scorpion.
"Melisandre," Jon said quietly. "Grey Worm."
"My Lord," both answered in unison.
"Secure the perimeter from the rear," Jon ordered. "Not a single man escapes."
Though the swarm of beasts was advancing through the enemy with ferocity, there was always a chance, however small, that someone might slip through. Harry Strickland had indeed called for his men to try and escape. Jon could not allow that.
"My Lord," they both replied, bowing their heads before moving swiftly to carry out his command. WIth Melisandre leading Grey Worm both of them vanished into the beasts.
Jon remained where he was, unmoving amid the chaos. His black cloak was swaying around him in the rising storm of dust and death. His face was calm, too calm for someone leading a battle.
His eyes were glowing faintly. Power and authority was radiating from his presence.
Harry, who had just managed to plunge his sword into one of the wild dogs, stood frozen in disbelief as his gaze fell upon Lord Aeos. It had taken nearly all his strength and skill to bring down even a single beast and that too only with the help of a couple of his men, who were desperately fending off the smaller creatures like snakes and manticores from closing in.
Lord Aeos, standing with the massive scorpion behind him, looked every inch the emperor he was said to be. For the first time, Harry truly felt it, the sheer command, the power, the terrible charisma that radiated from the man. He could at that moment understand why the common people of Lord Aeos' empire worshipped him so much.
His plan, to kill Lord Aeos and use that to scatter the beasts was collapsing before his eyes. Yet Harry refused to give in completely. He tightened his grip on his sword, edging forward slowly, waiting, hoping for the scorpion to move just enough for an opening.
Meanwhile, the battlefield had descended into utter chaos.
The creatures were everywhere. They were unrelenting and merciless. The mercenaries and Dothraki had spent their lives fighting men, not monsters. They had no strategy, no instinct for such an unnatural battle.
The Essosi Scorpions were tearing through their ranks with terrifying ease. Their pincers were crushing bodies as if they were made of clay while their tails were impaling men effortlessly. On the other hand, their equally sharp and powerful legs were keeping any man from getting close.
Arrows and spears which were able to reach them from some distance were hardly able to damage their hard shells, leaving nothing but shallow scratches.
The hyenas, wolves, and wild dogs formed the main assault. They were lunging, tearing, and ripping through both mercenaries and Dothraki with alarming coordination. Their claws slashed, their jaws crushed. On the Lord Aeos, they were also the one suffering the most damage.
No one was able to reach the Essosis Scorpions and the smaller creatures were even harder to kill. The manticores, snakes, and venomous insects. In the confusion and blood soaked dust, they were moving unseen, slipping beneath their legs and between boots, striking fast. Their poison had made them extremely dangerous, especially the manticores whose venom could kill before most could even scream.
The soldiers were trying desperately to stay alert, glancing down to watch their footing but that was their downfall. In the instant they looked toward the ground to spot the smaller creatures, the larger beasts pounced and tore them apart.
It was a slaughter beyond anything Harry Strickland had ever witnessed.
"Ser Harry," the cavalry commander screamed as he came galloping on his horse. In the mayhem, the cavalry sellsword had been able to reach for their horses.
"We should plan to carve out a path for our escape…" the man had not even finished when something came crashing on the man from above his head. It was the tail of the Essosi scorpion and the force behind that strike had slit the man along with his horse.
Harry Strickland stumbled back in shock and before he could have even processed what had happened, a hyena came pouncing on him.
"Commander," one of his men screamed and jumped in the path. The hyena struck the man and ripped apart his neck. But the man, even in his death, showed one final act of courage as he plunged his sword into the shoulder of the hyena. Although the beast did not die, it had been rendered immobile, at least for a few moments.
Harry Strickland immediately backed away, his men forming a perimeter around him. He clenched his fist in frustration and his eyes moved towards Lord Aeos.
And he was finally moving. Towards the Dothraki.
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