"Hold the line!" Kael shouted from his vantage, his voice carrying over the din of battle. The Boar King was trapped, but only barely. It still had the strength to turn the tide, to throw off its chains and unleash its fury. But they were close now, so close to bringing it down.
Below, the Seraphs moved in closer, tightening the chains, dropping more debris—wooden stakes and rocks, anything that could limit the Boar King's movement.
The beast snarled, its head thrashing back and forth, but it could not break free. The stakes had been driven too deep, the Seraphs too strong. Its movements were growing sluggish, the wildness in its eyes dimming as the chains pulled tighter and tighter, draining it of its strength.
The battle unfolded in a storm of chaos as the Boar King, sensing the noose tightening around its throat, unleashed a bellow so deep and primal it seemed to shake the very sky.
Trees swayed and the earth trembled beneath its massive hooves, but worse yet, the beast's cry was a summons. From the shadowed depths of the jungle, the Boar King's herd emerged—scores of wild boars, smaller but no less fierce, crashing through the underbrush in a cacophony of grunts and snorts.
They came like an avalanche of flesh and tusks, rushing to their king's aid, overwhelming the Seraphs and Valkyries stationed on the ground.
The Seraphs struggled to maintain their positions, their towering frames built capable for single combat and siege, not for the swarm of beasts now circling them. Wooden stakes, once an impregnable barrier, were torn from the ground or trampled underfoot.
Boars smashed through the crude fortifications, their sheer weight shattering the defenses like brittle bones. Seraphs, swinging their massive stone arms, managed to fell some of the creatures, but their movement was restricted by the sheer number of the herd.
Valkyries fought in desperate flurries, steel flashing as they danced between the beasts, blade and crossbow bolt finding purchase in the thick hides of the smaller boars, but even they were beginning to tire.
The trap they had carefully laid for the Boar King was now a chaotic battlefield, with each moment threatening to tip the balance in favor of the monstrous horde.
Kael, standing on the platform above, watched in horror as the battle turned. Below, the Boar King thrashed violently, its tusks shredding the chain bolts and stakes as it used the confusion to free itself. With a final, deafening roar, it tore its great bulk from the chains that had bound it, flinging the broken links aside as if they were made of straw. The ground shuddered beneath its release.
"We're losing control!"
Gwenbelle's voice cut through the din, her crossbow reloaded but her expression grim as she surveyed the battlefield.
"The traps are failing—there's too many!"
Kael's mind raced. The Seraphs and Valkyries below were being driven back, their once-coordinated assault now faltering under the weight of the boar horde. Even the Scorpios, poised high in the air, couldn't fire with the herd swarming the ground—it would be impossible to target the Boar King without hitting their own forces.
The air was thick with the tension of the battle as the floating village hovered above, casting its shadow over the dense forest.
Below, the Boar King, now a wounded giant, barreled through the jungle, flanked by its boar herd. Trees cracked and toppled as the massive beast roared in fury, its eyes gleaming with a feral cunning that made Kael's heart race.
"Seraphs!"
Kael shouted from his perch on the floating village.
"Keep dropping the stakes—don't let it charge freely!"
The Seraphs, with their mechanical precision, responded instantly. From the air, they descended like vultures, dropping heavy wooden stakes into the path of the Boar King.
Each stake was sharpened and aimed with ruthless accuracy, intended not to kill but to slow, to hinder. The stakes landed in the dirt, blocking the Boar King's wild charges, forcing the beast to swerve and falter.
But the Boar King was no fool. It quickly learned to avoid the areas where the scorpios could easily target it, steering itself and its herd through narrow corridors of the jungle where the terrain gave it cover.
"Keep it moving! Don't let it stop!"
Kael barked, his voice carrying over the chaos.
On the ground, the Valks danced with death. They moved swiftly, darting in and out of the Boar King's reach, their blades flashing as they delivered flesh wounds to the massive beast. Each cut bled thick, black blood, but the Boar King was relentless, its pain only fueling its rage.
The herd of smaller boars, sensing the threat to their king, began to work together, clearing stakes from the ground, uprooting the carefully placed traps with their tusks and hooves, creating paths for the Boar King to charge.
Gwenbelle was a blur of movement on the village's deck, her crossbow in hand, her eyes locked on her targets. She loaded, aimed, and fired with deadly precision, her bolts not only striking the Boar King but also thinning the herd.
Boar after boar fell under her fire, each one a testament to her deadly accuracy. But the numbers seemed endless. For every boar she dropped, two more charged into the fray, their squeals filling the air as they surged around the King.
"It's learning,"
Gwenbelle muttered, reloading her crossbow.
"The damn thing's avoiding our shots."
Kael nodded grimly. The Boar King had started to zigzag, avoiding the open areas where the scorpios could get a clean shot. It was forcing them to fight on its terms, using the terrain and its herd to its advantage. The beast was far more intelligent than they'd anticipated.
"Seraphs, adjust positions! Cut off its escape routes!"
Kael ordered.
The Seraphs moved swiftly, dropping stakes and rocks from the sky, trying to corral the Boar King back into the kill zone. But the Boar King's herd was proving to be just as formidable. They swarmed the Seraphs, some crashing into the mechanical beings with bone-rattling force.
The Seraphs were sturdy, but even they were not immune to the brutal strength of the boars. A few were knocked off balance, stumbling as the herd fought back. Yet, through the chaos, none were destroyed. They recovered, their mechanical limbs whirring as they continued to harass and obstruct the herd.
The Valks fared no better. Despite their speed and agility, several were hit hard by the charging boars, sent flying into the dirt with the sheer force of impact. But like the Seraphs, they were quick to rise, retreating just in time to avoid being crushed beneath the hooves of the massive beasts. Blood stained the ground from both sides, but the Valks, grim-faced and determined, kept up their relentless attacks, slashing at the Boar King and its followers.
Gwenbelle's bolts struck true, each one a sharp crack as it found its target.
"I think it's getting desperate!"
she called out to Kael, her eyes narrowing as she aimed at the King again.
"It's clearing a path!"
Kael saw it too. The Boar King, aided by its loyal herd, was attempting to create a safe zone, a corridor through the jungle free from stakes and traps, where it could charge at full strength. It was clever, and if they didn't stop it soon, it would barrel through their defenses.
The Seraphs and Valks redoubled their efforts, but the Boar King was too strong, too fast. It slammed into a few more stakes, splintering them with its massive body, and one Seraph was nearly crushed beneath its hooves.
The mechanical soldier managed to escape, but the damage was evident. Time was running out.
He had one last option.
"Prepare the Exploding bolts,"
Kael ordered sharply, his voice carrying with authority across the floating platform. The Valkyries stationed by the Scorpios hesitated for only a moment before rushing to follow his command. There were only two of these bolts, kept in reserve for when the situation turned dire. It was a weapon they had yet to test in battle, but there was no choice now.
"Exploding bolts?"
Gwenbelle asked, her brow furrowed as she hurried to Kael's side, the question in her eyes.
Kael glanced at her but said nothing. His attention was fixed on the scene below. "Load them!" he barked, and the Valkyries did as they were told, the heavy bolts creaking into place in the massive Scorpios.
These were no ordinary bolts. They were tipped with a volatile concoction, an explosive force strong enough to shatter stone.
The Scorpios were drawn back, the mechanism winding slowly, their tension palpable as the Boar King below shook off the last of its chains.
With a snarl of rage, it began to move again, smashing aside the few remaining stakes as if they were twigs. The herd around it surged forward, emboldened by their king's defiance.
"Fire!" Kael shouted.
The air screamed as the Scorpios loosed their deadly payload. The secret bolts flew true, streaking through the sky toward the Boar King.
The first bolt struck the creature's flank with a dull thud, burying itself deep into its flesh.
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Then, the world exploded.
Boom!
The force of the blast shook the trees and sent a shockwave rippling across the battlefield. A deafening *bang* echoed through the jungle as the explosive tip detonated, sending shards of metal and bone flying in all directions.
The Boar King roared in pain, its massive body staggering as shrapnel tore through its hide. The explosion caught the surrounding herd in its wake, boars squealing as they were maimed and thrown aside by the blast.
From atop the platform, Kael could feel the reverberations of the explosion in his bones. The Scorpios strained as they recoiled from the shot, smoke rising from the point of impact as debris rained down on the clearing below.
Gwenbelle, her eyes wide in shock, turned to Kael.
"What in Bezmadan's name was that?"
Her voice was edged with disbelief, as though such power could only have come from ancient, forbidden magic.
Kael, grim-faced and focused, didn't look away from the battlefield.
"Explosive tip," he said simply. "A bolt with concentrated liquid explosive material, based on water."
The boars that hadn't been caught in the blast were panicking now, their once-coordinated rush turned into a chaotic retreat.
The injured squealed and stumbled, blood pooling on the forest floor, while the survivors scattered back into the jungle, terrified of the force they had just witnessed.
But it wasn't over.
The Boar King, though grievously wounded, still stood. Its flank was torn and bleeding, and its eyes, once full of rage, were now clouded with pain.
It swayed on its feet, its massive form visibly shaking. The explosion had done its damage, but it had not been enough to kill the beast.
With a final, defiant roar, the Boar King turned, lumbering away from the battlefield, desperate to escape.
It staggered through the broken trees and shattered stakes, its massive body leaving a trail of blood as it fled.
Kael watched it go, the tension in his body slowly easing. The battle was won, but barely. The Boar King had been driven off, but it wasn't dead—not yet. And as long as it lived, it would remain a threat.
"We need to finish it,"
Gwenbelle said, her voice low and determined.
"Before it comes back."
Kael nodded.
"We will. But for now, we've bought ourselves time."
He looked out over the battlefield, where the Seraphs and Valkyries were regrouping, their bodies battered but unbroken. The floating village had survived, but Kael knew the fight was far from over.