The Monteraynians spent the next several minutes getting into position. Per Captain Sloan's further orders, the defending third company waited to ensconce themselves in the academy until the large second company had spread out across the field opposite the Innutukian hordes and blocked any view behind them. That way, the enemy would have no idea that a company had been stationed inside the innocuous academy.

Tom, Bella, and the other members of the strike force also stuck close to the main body of troops at the moment, near enough to the edge to break out, but close enough to appear like nothing more than an extension of the formation.

One of Sloan's officers had expressed concerns to him about enduring an Innutukian cavalry charge, with their armored mounts able to trample the Monteraynians with relative ease, but the captain had only smirked and said he had something in mind. Tom kept his keen eye out for what that might be.

He saw soon enough when a group of men near the front of the Monteraynian formation hurled several balls of spiked metal into the field. No matter which side of the implement landed face up, a long spur jutted out from between the blades of grass around it. Tom smirked when he realized what the spiked balls were for—disabling or at least slowing enemy horses.

At last, the Monteraynian battalion came to a stop, and their own horsemen lined up in the front, matching the Innutukian formation as well as they could. The majority of the foot soldiers behind the lines of horses began to set their melee weapons aside for the time being and took up longbows instead. Tom found himself optimistic about the outcome of the battle, given the forward thinking and versatility of his comrades.

Tom glanced back at Bella and gave her a reassuring smile. Then with a whistle, he set his strike force in motion. Galloping hooves thudded on the grassland between the two armies. Tom veered his course slightly leftward so as to avoid the field littered with hoof impalers, and also to bypass the Innutukian cavalrymen if possible.

Once the Monteraynian horsemen had crossed about half the distance, stones and a few arrows began to fly their way, but none of the projectiles in the first wave hit their targets. Tom stole several glances at the line of horsemen and looked for signs of reaction to their own charge, but he saw none. The cavalrymen remained focused on the front lines of the Monteraynian battalion and continued slowly trotting toward it.

Tom shrugged and pressed on. A few seconds more, and they rode alongside the men in the first few lines of the Innutukian formation. Immediately, a man with a spear tried stabbing Tom, but he simply edged over to avoid the point. Of course, that took him out of range, rendering him unable to strike at the other men as he passed, but a quick glance back revealed Bella and the others in the attack force were making the first Innutukian casualties of the battle.

Tom found himself rapidly approaching the point where Innutukian horsemen gave way to foot soldiers. He leaned over in the saddle and thrusted with his longsword, but he overestimated its length and missed. The club-wielding cavalryman gave him a dirty look, but Tom's momentum sped him past too fast for anything more to come of it.

My goodness, I'm out of practice.

He returned his attention to the path ahead, and seeing he'd passed the ranks of armored horses, he made a tight turn straight into the horde of Innutukian foot soldiers. Men threw themselves to the ground left and right, faces contorted in terror at the thundering approach of galloping horses ridden by men and women swinging swords and axes or thrusting with spears.

A horse whinnied right by Tom's ear, and he glanced over quickly to see that the mount one of his comrades rode had been hit by an arrow. The beast seemed overall unharmed, only hurt and bothered. Bella's horse also protested when forced to stomp down on an Innutukian's body in favor of not being hit by an incoming arrow. The blood splatter on her legs clearly disgusted the creature in some way.

Tom's own horse became less cooperative when one too many stones flew right by her head. Tom found himself regretting bringing this younger horse of lesser training, but since his old faithful animal named Exuberance had been sick when he'd departed from the academy some days ago, he'd had to ride a different mount. This black mare he currently rode was too fearful and not nearly as intuitive as Exuberance.

Too late, Tom glanced down and saw an Innutukian swinging a scythe at his horse's legs. The blade tore into the animal's flesh, causing it to rear and throw Tom right off. He hit the ground with a grunt, immediately rolling in the grass to avoid the incoming hooves of his comrades. Tom could do nothing but watch as several of his allies lost their horses to the increasing number of men wielding scythes.

When all was said and done, half of the strike force had been dismounted, and a portion of that number had been subsequently trampled or slaughtered on the ground. Those that did remain gathered around Tom and prepared to defend themselves against the Innutukian foot soldiers all around. Meanwhile, Bella led the remaining Monteraynian horsemen to keep pestering their foes on any weak point in their formation.

The first man to attack Tom wielded a spear. He thrusted powerfully, but threw too much of his body into the movement. Therefore, once Tom had sidestepped the attack, the unbalanced man was unable to ward off a beheading. Tom didn't spare his fallen foe a second glance before engaging a pair of Innutukians who had clearly intended to team up on a limping Monteraynian.

Swinging an axe and hammer respectively, the two Innutukians wielded weapons with far greater heft than Tom's longsword. But he knew how to deal with them nonetheless. He kept his blade moving mostly offensively, forcing them to back out of range or block. Either way, their weapons' greater mass was nullified.

While Tom kept the two occupied, a pair of his comrades snuck behind and stabbed them in their backs. He gave the men a grateful smile before spinning on his heel and blocking an incoming club. His battlefield instincts were returning. The exhilaration of adrenaline coursing through his veins invigorated Tom like no sparring session ever could.

After several exchanges that went nowhere, Tom's club-wielding opponent finally landed a heavy blow on his shoulder. The knight went sprawling out on the grass, giving the Innutukian time to draw a dagger and lunge down. Tom rolled just in time. The blade buried in the soil right where his heart had been. Tom wasted no time in slaying the prostrated Innutukian.

He cried out at the impact of two stones on the back of his ribcage. Tom's glaring gaze snapped back to where a team of Innutukian slingers wound up for another pelting assault. He motioned his comrades forward, and together, they charged.

Another horizontal rain of stones flew at Tom and his men. A pair of men dropped to the ground with jagged stones buried in their foreheads, and a few more stumbled back at impacts on their breastplates. Tom managed to evade all the projectiles, and those of his countrymen fortunate enough to have a full suit of plate armor were totally unaffected. Before long, the group of Innutukian slingers had been swiftly dispatched. Tom pointed at a team of archers giving their distant strike force trouble, and with a wave of nods, the men charged behind him to eliminate the threat.

****

Captain Sloan had watched with some form of pleasure as the Innutukian cavalry had charged forward in a unified formation to engage, only for the hoof impalers littering the field to introduce a great deal of mayhem into their ranks. Horses reared, throwing their riders off to be crushed by other creatures' hooves. In the process of trying to steer clear of the fallen horses, many men only subjected their own mounts to the same fate. The formation fell apart until about two-thirds of the original force remained, and even those men were a disorganized jumble with frazzled nerves.

And that had only been the beginning of the battle.

Despite the heavy armor protecting the Innutukian horses, the Monteraynians' mounts had done a remarkable job at withstanding the bashing, even if many fell. Many Innutukian horses lost their riders, effectively becoming directionless and lacking any desire to continue the assault. Some of Sloan's foot soldiers even took control of the riderless mounts and guided them to slay their comrades.

A second wave of cavalry had more success at evading the hidden dangers in the grass, though still slowed by dead and injured horses from the first wave. When they hit the Monteraynian formation, the ranks began to give way, and soon, the fighting devolved into chaos—skirmishes between men on either side pitted against whoever was in reach of his weapon.

Captain Sloan significantly contributed to the climbing Innutukian death toll with his mastery of the pole-axe. Hacking, smashing, and stabbing alike accomplished his singular goal of taking as many of Monterayne's foes as possible. Arrows and stones flew at him occasionally, but with his sophisticated Alcontean plate armor that provided complete protection and yet gave minimal limits to his movement, they did hardly anything to him.

Many an Innutukian's spear thrust deflected off Sloan's breastplate, giving him time to retaliate how he wished. He even disabled a horse here and there with a powerful swing of the hammer at their bony legs. At some point, enemy soldiers shied away from attacking the Monteraynian captain in favor of picking off easier targets.

Sloan glanced about for a new opponent and found it in a tall Innutukian who bullied an inexperienced Monteraynian soldier about with his own thick club. Captain Sloan charged in with a hammer blow that missed, but still drove the Innutukian away to avoid the smash. He gritted his teeth and charged in with his club raised.

With a swift movement of his axe head, Sloan dug the blade deep into the club, not cutting all the way through, but gaining enough leverage to wrest the weapon from the Innutukian's hand. A quick thrust to his exposed belly, and the bearded warrior was history.

A blur of movement a few yards off caught Sloan's attention. His mouth dropped in amazement at the skill of the dual-wielding knight Tao, who bounded across the battlefield and swiftly dispatched Innutukians in quick succession. In the rare event a man saw his approach in time to make a counterattack, Tao used one sword to block while simultaneously attacking with the other. His speed and power together overwhelmed every enemy he faced.

Sloan turned his attention away from Tao, now inspired to perform feats of his own. He'd turned just in time to see a limping Innutukian approaching with a dagger in his hand. A quick upward strike at the man's chin knocked him back rather effectively, and the pole-axe's spike was in his chest before he could fully fall.

Sloan withdrew the point and stabbed another opponent with it in one fluid movement. Enemies began to surround him, but with attacks as fast as they were precise, he took them down in quick succession. The few counterattacks that connected bounced off armor, transferring a little blunt force through the plates at the very worst. Captain Sloan resolved to make the northwestern invaders to pay for their incursion on foreign turf.