The battle didn't seem to go in favor of the humans. I could see that their left flank had collapsed entirely and they wouldn't hold up much longer.
I had hoped to let the human forces be weakened some more before joining the battle but at this rate, they would lose the battle. Thus, I ordered the bloodrush rhinos to charge at the Aesir's left rear.
The Aesir became a little frantic but didn't shrink back in the face of this stampede. Instead, some of them split from the main group, preparing to intercept the rhinos. Their gazes were resolute as they readied their strongest spells.
Using their lives they would be able to halt and kill all rhinos and protect their rear. They intended to take advantage of the rhinos' charging-behavior that wouldn't let them stop even when they died.
Just that the group of rhinos suddenly split up in two halves and swung out towards both sides. The burst of magic from the Aesir missed most of as the two groups continued charging to different positions.
One group attacked the Aesir's left flank and gave the humans some much-needed respite. The second group bulldozed straight through the Aesir's rear. Astonishingly one figure survived the 200 rhino charge as he was pushed further and further away from the main army.
Then panic broke out in the Aesir army. From the backs of the rhinos, countless head-sized spiders had alighted their rides and latched onto the Aesir soldiers with their giant fangs.
These were horrifying widows, a beast that was feared for its potent venom.
Within minutes 400 soldiers had lost their lives on the Aesir side.
The others began a hectic retreat after hearing the call of a deep horn. I quickly located the source of this sound and discovered it to be the survivor pushed away by the rhinos. Those rhinos now lay lifelessly at his feet.
To kill so many beasts while caught by their charge meant he was most certainly not an ordinary soldier. Probably their commander.
But that didn't matter now. I had pushed the Aesir back and bought some time for the humans to reorganize themselves.
Gathering the 200 odd rhinos and 50 widows that had survived, I made my way to the human camp. Völsung received me at the edge of the camp with a questioning look.
"Thank you for your help but who are you?"
'So little time has passed and you have already forgotten about me? Do I have to question your loyalty?'
"Lord Eldar! You have a human body now! But you still speak in this creepy way."
"I can speak normally. It's just that I don't want to. Also, I think you have bigger problems at the moment, don't you?"
"Yes indeed. You came just in time, let me introduce you to the king!"
I left the beasts next to the camp and entered with Völsung. He led me to a giant tent at the center of the camp. Inside the tent were quite a few people. I could see Sven, brooding in a corner with his eyes fixed on the map.
Sigurd and Siegfried were there too but seemed more like observers. Apart from them I only knew the identity of one more person in this tent. The king stood at the end of the table bent over the map.
He was the strongest person in the room and the crown was a dead giveaway. Völsung then walked up to him and introduced us.
"Your Majesty, may I introduce to you, lord Eldar. Lord Eldar, this is king Sigmund, ruler of all humans."
"It is an honor to meet you, lord Eldar. Your help came just in time. As much I would like to exchange some political formalities right now, I'd suggest we leave that for later. Let's get back to discussing our strategy."
And just like that, I was set aside.
"Now, how's the situation on both sides."
"In the initial clash, we lost a thousand men. 500 are wounded and won't be able to continue fighting. That leaves us with 18500 soldiers. The Aesir gave lost around 400 men but if they have wounded is unknown. Leaving them with 2000 soldiers. As for the beasts..."
'I'm left with 200 rhinos and 50 horrifying widows. The others are still on their way.'
"There are others?"