Gordon finally recovered. His head was still a little dizzy, but he could move well enough.
When the explosion went off, he had decisively leaped from his horse to save himself. Black Wind had taken most of the blast for him, and blood had poured from all seven of his orifices. His companion of many years of battle had collapsed onto the ground, unable to move.
But there was no time to worry about that now. The enemy before them took priority. Gordon drew his spare one-handed sword and, after giving his assessment of Unas, ignored the glare Unas gave him. He charged forward and cut down the two remaining Scourge Hounds with a flurry of sword strokes.
Ahead of them, the Dreadguard beat its bat wings and floated back into the air. Several shriveled bat and Scourge Hound corpses lay at its feet. Only after sacrificing several of the beasts under its command had its wounds nearly healed, but its right arm was completely useless, and it was already thinking of retreat.
Its master had only ordered a probing attack. Now that its objective had been achieved, it had no punishment to fear, but the two humans before it were troublesome.
It let out a great roar, and another group of the beasts besieging the camp split off to attack the two humans.
It felt no regret over sacrificing some cannon fodder, as long as it could get away in one piece.
The two had watched everything the demon did and exchanged a glance. It seemed Gordon's "flying sword" had scared the courage out of it. The enemy was preparing to retreat, and now was the best time to counterattack.
"Darian!" Gordon let out a thunderous roar and raised the longsword in his hand high—the signal to attack.
In the camp, Darian abruptly snapped out of it. His initial nerves from entering battle for the first time had long since passed. Scourge Hounds and Darkblood Bats had charged into the barrier without fear of death—they were never normally this stupid. Weakened by the barrier, the dark creatures had been unable to withstand a single blow, and he had become absorbed in the thrill of cutting down enemies.
Gordon's shout brought him to his senses. Darian looked up and surveyed the situation on the battlefield. After all the fighting, the number of enemies besieging the camp had fallen considerably, and with another group sent to attack the two outside, their ranks were even thinner.
Because they had been surrounded so suddenly, the cavalry had no room to maneuver, and their commander Gordon was absent, so Darian had ordered everyone to dismount and form a defensive formation. But now that Gordon had given the signal, Darian did not hesitate. At his command, half the men mounted their warhorses.
"Charge!" Darian led the way, charging through a gap opened by the soldiers in front. The White Obsidian shone brilliantly before him. The gem was the core of the barrier, so when he moved, the spherical barrier moved forward with him, immediately engulfing the enemies ahead.
More than a dozen cavalrymen charged out after him, instantly breaking through the Scourge Hounds' encirclement. They pressed on, broke through the group of Scourge Hounds surrounding the two men outside, and joined up with Gordon and Unas.
Unas gave the big brown horse to Gordon and summoned his skeletal warhorse. Though he had not wanted to summon the Undead horse in front of others, he could not worry about that now. The battle was urgent, and if Whitemane wanted to find fault with him, that would be a problem for later.
The two joined the cavalry. Gordon roared as he charged at the front, and the cavalry followed his flaming sword, plunging into the pack of hounds once more like a spear.
With only the howl of the wind and the Scourge Hounds' whimpers in his ears, Unas had lost count of how many charges they had made. Under Gordon's lead, the cavalry broke through the beasts' formations again and again, and the soldiers who had stayed behind at the camp had long since mounted up and joined the charge.
Whitemane was protected at the very center of the group. Streaks of white light passed from her staff into the cavalry around her from time to time—her healing and Word spells gave the group great courage.
The dark creatures finally broke. The Dreadguard was long gone, and the Scourge Hounds and Darkblood Bats began fleeing in all directions. Gordon led the group in pursuit for a while before stopping.
The White Obsidian had expended most of its energy, and the barrier would not last much longer. The soldiers were also exhausted, so it really was unwise to pursue too far. But Gordon did not want to let things end there. Firekiss was in the Dreadguard's hands, and he had no intention of giving up his family's treasured sword.
"Darian," he said, turning back to give an order, "lead the group back to camp. Unas and I will pursue them a little farther. With any luck, we can catch that Dreadguard."
"I'd advise you not to go, unless your horses can walk on water." Whitemane suddenly spoke up. When she mentioned horses, she glanced at the skeletal warhorse beneath Unas, making him tense.
"Did that demon escape over the lake?" Gordon asked.
Whitemane pointed toward the center of the lake. "I placed a mark on it. I can sense it moving toward the middle of the lake now."
The Dreadguard's wings were not just for show; it could fly at low altitudes. Both men had seen it hovering in the air before, and Whitemane had no reason to lie.
Gordon sighed inwardly and lowered his sword. Unas, however, breathed a sigh of relief. He patted Gordon on the shoulder and comforted him. "There will be plenty more chances."
Gordon nodded and led the group back to camp.
The area around the camp was a mess, with Scourge Hound and Darkblood Bat corpses strewn all over the ground. They were not purely Undead creatures. Scourge Hound meat could be eaten after a simple purification, though it did not taste very good. Some parts of the bats could be used as spellcasting materials and also had some medicinal value.
Miraculously, no one had died in the battle, and only a few had suffered minor injuries. That was thanks to the Holy Light barrier and Whitemane, a high-ranking Priest.
The most seriously injured was Gordon's warhorse, Black Wind, but after a few healing spells from Whitemane, he could already stand and walk around.
Unas's impression of Whitemane improved considerably. Though she was prejudiced against him, she had not left him out when casting her Word and healing spells during the battle, and afterward she had voiced no objection to him riding an Undead horse. Of course, this could also have been her way of putting him off his guard. It was always calm before the storm.
Unas quickly dismissed his skeletal warhorse and brushed off a few curious soldiers before checking his status panel. His experience had risen to 87%. Although he had not personally hammered many enemies to death, he had still received a large amount of party experience. One more battle would certainly be enough for him to level up.
Another thought occurred to him: one benefit of leveling up was that his status instantly returned to full. If he kept his experience at around 90% before every major battle, he could be almost certain of leveling up during the fight. He would have twice the fighting power, and his chances of survival would increase greatly.
But his greatest shortcoming was his lack of combat skill. This battle was clear proof: he kept missing his targets with his hammer. Not only did that waste his strength, but it also made him prone to leaving openings. Still, he could not rush that sort of thing; he could only build it up slowly.
Once they had finished clearing the battlefield, several recruits who, like Darian, had fought their first battle were gathered together, excitedly discussing how they had killed their enemies. After healing the few lightly wounded soldiers, Whitemane disappeared through the flap of her tent, while Gordon tended to Black Wind. It was unknown whether the warhorse would still be able to fight tomorrow.
The twin moons were somewhat dim that night, and the white mist over the lake seemed thicker. After a late-night meal of dog meat, the members of the vanguard all fell asleep, save for those on watch. New battles awaited them tomorrow.