The following morning, we got up bright and early. We were just a short distance from the southwestern front, which meant we were about to engage with the enemy within the day.
We were once more given a simple potato stew, this time with some meat in it, to provide us with enough energy to fight. One might wonder, I know I certainly did initially, why they would feed us so little when they were expecting us to fight a battle of attrition. I came up with two possible hypotheses: the first was that we were simply short on supply and, if we wished to drag this out, we had to conserve our food. The second, a far more depressing theory but equally likely, was that we were simply disposable meat shields; there was no need to feed us properly.
I did hold doubts whether the great general, whom I had met four days ago, would do something like this. He seemed to be a kind person, but at the same time, could I trust him? He was a great general of the Valloria kingdom and most likely a high-ranked noble. There is no way someone like him wasn't a very good politician, and if I had learned anything from all the stories I had heard yesterday, it was that nobles and politicians are the worst kind of scum there is.
"Alright, everyone, since you have all been given breakfast, we will wait for about another 5 to 10 minutes for all of you to finish up. After which, we will fold the tents back up and get ready for departing to the frontlines. It's a big day today, so we need everyone to be on high alert," our hundred-man commander said, still having not introduced himself. I was now wondering if it was because of his arrogance, or if he simply did not wish to communicate with us, which likely was not a very good idea when it came to either organization or morale.
I got up quietly, not thinking much beyond what was told to me. My thoughts would make no real difference here anyway; all I had to do was follow orders. That is a soldier's duty, after all.
***
"We are getting closer. About 2 more hours from here, and we should be at the heart of the conflict, at least according to the report from yesterday. As such, from this point on, everyone is to be on high alert. There is no telling if some demons got past the defense lines, or if the defense lines have fallen in this time," I said as we steadily started to move forward. And, as I had expected, some demons had indeed made it past the front lines; it was only natural for that to happen at this point.
"Sir, a group of gargoyles is heading for us," a scout informed me. Nodding, I sent him back to scouting the surrounding area.
"Gargoyles incoming! Everyone, prepare for combat. Take this as training for the real thing," I shouted out loud. Upon my orders, the regular infantry, equipped with shields and spears, formed a turtle-like defensive formation, while the irregular infantry, which included the prisoners, pulled out their weapons and stood on guard, spreading out a bit, giving each soldier enough room for movement.
"Cavalry unit, fall back and guard the archers. Archer unit, move behind the infantry and aim for the wings of the gargoyles. As for the irregulars, try to deal as much damage as you can. For now, I and the senior officers will only be observing. I better not hear there is a single casualty, or I will jump straight into hell, pull you back out here, and kill you myself. DOES EVERYONE GET THAT?"
"SIR, YES SIR!" the troops replied, and I nodded at their words as I fell back with the rest of the elites to observe from the sidelines how these soldiers would operate in a real battle situation.
***
We followed the orders given to us by the great general and spaced out, waiting for the gargoyles to attack us. According to what we had studied in the training camp, the gargoyles, while physically incredibly resilient, were also incredibly stupid. Once they saw humans, they would charge straight into them. As such, while annoying to deal damage to, once you were prepared enough, they were not particularly too difficult to deal with, especially if you had weapons that dealt blunt damage, a prime example being an axe.
Coincidentally, I did happen to have an axe on me.
"Two gargoyles coming in from your right, Robert, Dan. You and I will try to deal as much damage to the other, while Robert keeps the first gargoyle occupied for as long as possible," I said.
"Fuck,"
"Shit,"
Robert and Dan cursed in unison as the gargoyles crashed next to us, not giving them enough time to retort to my orders.
*CRASH*
"Fuck," I cursed as I swung my axe straight
at the right wing of the gargoyle, as the wings were generally the weakest part of the demon and, once injured, severely reduced its range of movement.
*Craaaaa*
While my axe got stuck on the rock-like skin of the gargoyle, it moved to attack me. At 3 meters in height, even with its wing being slightly injured and movement somewhat limited because of it, it was still more than capable of dealing fatal damage to me with one strike.
"Take this, you fucking monster!" Dan shouted as he used his mace to strike the face of the gargoyle, causing cracks to appear on its skin and turning the beast's attention to Dan.
"Thanks, dude," I shouted as I pulled out the spear that I had on my back and stabbed it right where the cracks had begun to appear on the gargoyle's face, piercing its stone skin slightly but also giving me enough leverage to pull out my axe and swing it once more at the crack as I started to fall onto the ground.
*Bam*
My axe struck the cracked skin, just hard enough to make the cracks larger, almost enough to cover the damned thing's face.
"Ithax, look out!" Dan shouted. However, it seemed to have been too late, as the gargoyle's left hand, which had moved without me noticing, struck my torso, sending me straight flying into the other gargoyle that Robert had been keeping occupied.
"Oye, kid, you okay?" Robert asked as he moved towards me while using his long sword to strike away the gargoyle's hands.
"No, definitely not okay, but I will live for now," I said as a loud thud came from Dan's location.
*THUD*
Having been hit so many times, all it took was one strike from Dan's mace to shatter the head of the gargoyle.
"Support coming in," Dan said as he picked up my axe and threw it at the gargoyle that Robert had been keeping busy.
"Nice timing," I said as I groaned to get up, with the support of my spear.
"Let's get this son of a bitch," Dan said as he swung his mace at the remaining wing of the gargoyle.