KING OF BEASTS (Hiatus)

The humans now came in full force. Ares exclaimed out. “Do not falter! Show these vermin what we do to rats when they rock up in our homes!” Ares drew his bow and then began to shoot down with Armal’s timing. The arrows continued to the fire down on the enemy, picking off a few with each volley. 

The enemy had come at them with a fervor, such intensity that Ares had to shift away his bow and then call forth his spear and shield in hand. “Marching Blades! Ready!” He exclaimed as the first of the humans had managed to force themselves into their attack range. They again struck down the enemy, though this time Ares had to shift more of their bodies, otherwise there would be a large wall between them and the humans. The arrows continued to hail down as support for them.

“Do you hear that? That’s the sound of victory!” Ares exclaimed as the arrows continued to fall down on the enemy. They were a wall of spikes, not allowing the humans to go beyond the domain of death that Ares had created. They continued to kill the humans as they closed in, though this time Ares shifted away fewer and fewer bodies so less of the humans could come through. The humans continued to funnel in, though eventually they began to wait for the arrow fire and then tossed their own spears. Ares shifted away the javelins that would have struck his group, letting some of them continue passed. The archers should have retreated far enough away that the javelins wouldn’t have reached. 

This time he waited until after the arrow fire and for when the enemy would move their shields aside to through their own javelins. “I will show you futility!” Ares exclaimed as he raised his hand and then showered down the javelins that had been tossed, killing a few of the human soldiers, who had stumbled back against their allies in confusion, knocking some of them aside.

The rain of death continued as Leoni eventually forced his men to climb up the walls and for the soldiers to walk up around the walls, hopping between them. Ares smiled and then raised a hand, attacking the men with dirt so they would fall on their allies and the spears that were yet to be pointed towards the beastfolk. 

“Marching Blades! Roar!” He exclaimed as the thirty six soldiers beside him began to roar and then Ares reached a hand up into the air. As he did he could see something in the distance, a being fly in the sky. ‘Asyllia?’ He could see the form of the dragonfolk quite clearly with his eyes. She was carrying with her a large sack. Panic wrought through his body before his attention was brought back to the soldier that had thrust their spear into him. He grabbed it and then kicked them away, shifting away the spear as the two groups crashed against one another. 

It was then that a blast of heat reached them as fire expanded across the top of the humans and Asyllia flew by. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air and Ares couldn’t help but gag, but he forced himself forward against the humans. There was loud screaming and screeching, wailing and crying as the humans were burnt alive in their armour. Even Ares had to wince at such a sound. However, he could hear the calls for retreat. Then Ares punched the guy ahead, caving in their skull. “Marching Blades! Hold the line!” Then he leapt up into the air, watching as the humans began to scatter from the rear of the army. 

“Asyllia! With me!” He called out as he then darted towards the retreating humans, running across the field to trap them in using his powers. Leoni had not yet retreated, but when they saw Ares, they turned to try and get his own unit to crash against Ares. 

Ares continued to run around, forming large walls so the humans could not scatter and retreat. Asyllia flew over as he did so. “Kill any that are not caught in the walls!” Luckily for Ares the terrain that he had shifted around and then made muddy had done much to stop there from being too many that fled the immediate vicinity. 

Ares had managed to trap about a thousand soldiers, the only figures that remained from the near five thousand that had come to destroy the beastfolk. Ares stood on the wall that had trapped the humans. “Lay down your arms! If you continue, I won’t be able to stop the arrows.”

“Kill him! Bring me his head!” Leoni commanded as the hundred or so soldiers in his unit began to march ahead. The others raised their javelins to attack Ares. 

Ares then hopped backwards off the wall as the sound of whistling arrows crashed down once again. He waited until three volleys had passed until he leapt up once again to see how many of the soldiers had been killed by the volleys. “If you continue, I will kill you myself! I won’t offer a merciful death either!” Ares leapt forward and then began to shift the earth around the soldiers again. 

“Kill him damn it!” Leoni called out as the other soldiers began to drop their arms. “Traitors!” He pointed a blade at the unarmed human soldiers and his own began to hack at them. Ares winced and then raised the earth between the two group, keeping the unarmed and armed soldiers separated as best as he could before then shooting down his own volley of arrows that he had stolen from the humans, slaying a few of Leoni’s men.

“Surrender, or I will have no choice but to kill you.” Ares warned as Leoni reached down to grab his own javelin. Ares pointed a finger and then arrows hailed upon the enemy, though he left the area that had Leoni and a few guards clear. He rained down javelins and arrows until they were all but dead and Leoni was surrounded by the dead of his allies. 
 
“Coward! Come here and fight me!” Leoni roared as Ares lunged forward, punching Leoni down with a single strike and then he grabbed the spears pointed at him. “If you continue this, I’ll grant a merciless death to yourselves and your brothers.” He warned them. 

Asyllia hopped onto the wall behind Ares. “Do you wish for me to roast them?”

“Did you get all the stragglers?”

“Yes.”

“Then, shall she roast you all?” Ares asked as the soldiers remained still for a moment. Then they dropped their weapons. “Good choice.” Ares then surrounded them with another layer of walls. “Wait here.” He said as he then went to help the Marching Blades with the last remaining enemy, though as he did, the archers then began to fire further up towards the humans that Ares had walled up. He watched as the hundreds of arrows began to fly down and then he reached a hand up to shift the arrows away. 

He pointed a finger and then shot a spear behind his Marching Blades, sinking it into the ground. “Enough! The battle is over!” He exclaimed out as the humans between he and his Marching Blades took cover between the walls. “Lay down your weapons! The others have already surrendered. If you don’t want to meet an untimely and painful death…” Ares warned as the soldiers continued to hide. “Toss your weapons…” There was a long moment of silence. “Asyllia.” Ares motioned with a hand and then Asyllia flew overhead. Then he shifted away all the other bodies before the screams and burning filled the air. Ares sighed. 

At least clean up would be easy.