The bandit leader commanded his men to charge forward, and the Killen wielding scimitars rushed forth, whilst the others holding ranged weapons walked forward slowly. The villagers were waiting up at the top of the hill, giving them little room to run if things went awry.
As the front line reached the bottom of the valley, a volley of pebbles and arrows flew down, nailing the bandits. The villagers were wildly inaccurate, with only a couple of pebbles smashing into the bandits. Out of those that hit, none of the injuries were enough to slow the advancing Killen.
Standing at the front of the villagers was a human, and next to him was what looked like a box. In reality, it was five Killen forming a tight shield around them. The bow-wielding bandits stopped part-way up the climb and pulled out an arrow.
Whilst the melee bandits were attempting to reach the bandits, and being peppered with stones, the ranged bandits received a far worse fate.
Two bolts of lightning streaked across the sky, frying the ranged bandits. Their fur was charred and burning as they fell to the ground, lifeless. Dustin's bolt chained from the initial explosion outwards, claiming another two lives, and injuring the final two.
Lei-Lei's bolt was unable to chain, but still had the same devastating effect against a single target. Dustin looked beside him to the Killen armed with slings and bows, watching them fire at the bandits. Blue flower petals formed a thin sheet of ice just in front of them, stopping the enemy from getting close. They reached the ice and were unable to climb.
Some of them use their scimitar to stab the ground, managing to climb a small distance. But the shower of pebbles stopped their attempts, as they would lose their grip and fall back, or receive a lethal amount of damage and die.
The ranged units that remained were able to fire, but their shots were useless as they aimed at the closest target, which just so happened to be the shield wall Dustin had designed. There were no gaps in the bark, and the arrow heads only barely managed to penetrate the wood, dealing no damage to the actual Killen inside.
The melee bandits were completely pinned down from the impossible task of climbing up hill on ice, combined with the unending shower of pebbles and arrows. Dustin was able to used his bow as the number of bandit Killen thinned.
His arrows were supposedly weak at dealing damage of a non-magical mean, but they still packed a punch as they slammed into the Killen, pushing them back down the hill.
Had they been regular arrows, it was almost a guaranteed one-shot against the Killen.
Just the distance of which he pushed them back, and the little amount of health remaining was enough to doom the bandits to their fate. The Killen fell over one by one, and the battle ended in Dustin's complete victory, a 30-0 win.
Before they could be teleported away, Dustin had his Killen loot the dead bodies. The bows that the bandits wielded were a welcome addition to his platoon, replacing almost half the slings. The scimitars were fairly useless, as the villagers were accustomed to using such weapons. The spears and pitchforks were easier to use, and forming a shield wall was a more attractive formation.
As it currently stood, letting the bandits get into melee range was disastrous regardless of the weapons the villagers wielded.
The shabby armour the bandits wore was useful in making his shield wall distraction for formidable. If the bandits kept focusing on them, it was better for his chances at victory.
When the bandits were stripped clean, Dustin felt a shimmer of magic, and saw the surroundings transform from a battlefield, into the walled off section with just a blink of his eyes.
The village chief walked over to him, a grin on his face, as Dustin looked through the list of newly acquired loot.
"Congratulations on your victory! That was the best performance I've seen yet. If you're able to win another two consecutive victories, I shall provide you with additional forces and equipment. Good luck!"
The village chief walked away, completely calm despite the encroaching bandits.
[3-F, Dusty's Platoon.]
A platoon of Killen militia, untrained in the ways of warfare, but determined to defend their homes.
30 Killen available.
Weapons available:
Spear (5)
Scimitar (5)
Pitchfork (15)
Bow (10)
Knife (10)
Sling (15)
Bark Shield (5)
Leather Armour (3)
Dustin immediately equipped the armour onto three of the shield-wielding Killen, and had them stand at the forefront of the shield wall. The seven additional bows were given to replace slings, giving a more formidable look to the ranged unit.
After his wave, the next commander was thankfully not a human, and it shared the same formation as the other villagers did. Dustin watched with interest at how the bandits behaved. They gave off a visage of fearlessness and terror, but in reality, often avoided the most dangerous situations.
In areas where the villagers might be winning, the bandits were unwilling to help, and simply ganged up on whatever villagers they deemed as easy pickings.
The wave Dustin was watching lost after dealing minimal damage to the bandits. The next two waves did not fare much differently, and only one more remained until his own.
Surprisingly, the Village Chief took to the field, commanding his own platoon of Killen. Unlike Dustins, there were over a hundred villagers manning the field, and an equal number of bandits to counter them.
For Dustin, it was actually easier to handle smaller fights, as his magic had a much higher impact. Commanding many troops was difficult, and managing to fight your own battles in between only added to the mess.
He watched intently as four lines formed in front of the chief, each of the Killen armed with a shield and scimitar. Dustin wasn't sure whether the chief had won previous battles, and stolen the loot from the bandits, or if he was granted more equipment due to his status.
The bandits rushed forth with vigor, holding scimitars above their heads. Despite the villagers awkwardness, they seemed like much more professional.
Swords clashed as a wave of bandits smashed into the front shield line. The villagers standing just behind them thrust spears through empty gaps, hammering holes into the bandits, and covering their fellow villagers with a spray of blood.
When the shield wall looked close to collapsing, the second lot of villagers would move forth, and those who stood on the front line would head back, picking up bows from the ground to fire over the battling forces to pick off bandits standing back.
The village chief himself was firing a bow with excellent accuracy, nailing bandits left and right. Dustin had to give him credit for the performance. The bandits were very quickly dropping like flies, unable to form up as any area that showed signs of weakening was immediately reinforced.
The chief won with moderate losses, and the bodies disappeared from the field immediately, none of the villagers bothering to pick up fallen equipment.
Just after returning to his platoon and double checking the gear, he was put back into battle. The valley remained the same chosen field of combat each time, but his ice petals disappeared as soon as he left, returning it to its natural state.
The bandits maintained their wild approach, and Dustin repeated the same action he had previously. His ranged units dealt a lot more damage with the newly acquired bows, and Dustin was free to fire off Storm Bolts, filling the space before him with blackened bodies and the smell of burning fur.
The bandits once again futilely tried to climb the icey incline, falling even further from the shieldwall than they had last time under a strengthened onslaught.
Dustin was already heading towards the bandits to pick up loot as the final one died, giving him another flawless victory.
There was one more battle to go until he received an upgraded platoon, and if the bandits retained their reckless nature, he was confident in winning again.
Battles passed as villager Killen commanded their platoons to the field, each falling in kind under the pressure of the bandits. The timer for Dustin ticked down once more, and he was placed exactly as he had last time.
The only differences were the higher number of bows, and the increased sturdiness of the shield wall.
Looking across as the bandits, Dustin was alarmed at the unusual formation facing him. The bandits had chosen to equip a lot of ranged weapons, and split into two different groups. They immediately took a side each, with one group on the left of the valley, and the other on the right.
Dustin held off on placing his ice petals on the ground and commanded the shield formation to move forward instead. They shifted forward unsteadily, not used to moving whilst retaining the protective stance.
He stopped them when the bandits halted their advance, and prepared to fire.
"Ranged, move up!"
The bow and sling wielding villagers pushed up with Dustin. In front of them, the shield wall had already begun to show signs of damage, arrows penetrating the wood and pebbles glancing off of it every couple of seconds.
Standing up the hill from them, Dustin took a more aggressive approach, and threw two throwing knives into the groups, both with an ice petal attached. They fell into disarray as two of the Killen in the center were pushed back from the knife slamming into their shoulders.
Lightning bolts struck forth from Lei-Lei, frying the bandits, and his platoon wasted no time in peppering them with arrows. Splitting up the bandits into two forces made it harder for the untrained villagers to land hits, just not impossible.
When the bandits once again keeled over in death, he checked over the Killen huddling behind their shields. Some of the arrows had managed to pierce or scrape skin, but failed to provide any lethal wounds. Dustin sighed in relief and gathered up the loot, retrieving another two sets of armour, only three bows, and a shield.
The village chief was there to greet him upon his return again, a group of hardened Killen following behind him.
"Wonderful job Dusty! You have proven yourself a valuable ally in our defense of the village. I dare not limit your expertise to fighting the smaller battles. Please, take these Killen and choose some equipment from the storage house. The bandits are relentless, and we need all able arms in fending them off."
[3-F, Dusty's Platoon.]
A platoon of Killen militia, untrained in the ways of warfare, but determined to defend their homes.
45 Killen available.
The 15 Killen that had joined him looked a fair cut above the rest. Underneath their fur he could tell they had some bulging muscles. He replaced the shield wall with the formidable looking Killen. They stood taller than the rest, and the shield wall was steady in their rough and matted hands.
The courtyard his platoon awaited in remained the same, but a new building seemed to pop up nearby. It was a long, wooden hut, topped by a thatched roof. A single door led inside, with four open windows letting the sunlight spill in.
Inside the hut were table filled with weapons and armour. Parts of the metal blades were rusted, and wooden shafts darkened and gritty. The armour was missing pieces, offering only protection to the vital areas.
A different Killen awaited him inside, wearing a set of grimey chainmail. He grinned at Dustin and gestured at the tables around him.
"Chief's told me you've been upgraded. Pick fifteen weapons, and four sets of armour."
The armoured Killen turned around and disappeared through the open doorway into the back of the storehouse. Dustin shifted the weapons and armour on the tables around. There were bladed weapons, polearms, side arms, crossbows, shortbows, and plenty others.
His mind drifted back to the fifteen extra Killen given to him. The best use of their strength would be to use longer, heavier weapons. He picked up a halberd with his hand and twirled it around. The shaft was cracked, but was able to maintain the spiked metal head on top. It was tempting to fit his platoon with cool looking weapons like the halberd, but it wasn't practical.
Dustin's original strategy might have worked, but given the recent wave's tactics changing to face him, it was likely they would continue to adapt. The next stage of his defense was similiar to the chief's tactic. A line of shields backed up by spears and polearms. The bandits didn't have cavalry, so he didn't need a line of pike or anything long, spears and shorter polearms that could be moved around easier, and stab at the bandits dueling with the shield line, was Dustin's goal.
Out of the fifteen weapons, he chose two crossbows, as the easier aim was hard to pass up when the bows were largely ineffective in the hands of villagers. The rest were hooked spears, known as bills, as they could be used to stab, and then drag bandits back towards the shieldsman, potentially pulling them off balance and into waiting blades.
The armour selection was rough in comparison. The stronger pieces, made from metal, were incomplete. He chose another three sets of leather armour for the frontline to wield, and a single piece of chainmail that seemed intact.
The scimitars he had taken earlier were finally going to use as Dustin returned to the platoon, seeing his newly chosen weapons and armour there.
He rubbed his hands together and formulated the new platoon. With shields held steady and formidable hooked spears peaking over them, they were looking less and less like a ragtag group of villagers, and more like a militia.