The battle was pure chaos.
Five knights on one Orc. Five Orcs on one knight. It was a total mess.
The next attack could come from anywhere. No one was safe. Anything went to survive.
Blows rained down from all directions.
A knight was hurled against a tree, the air knocked from his lungs. An Orc roared in pain as a sword pierced its flank. Blood splattered the ground.
But the knights of the Order of the White Swans held their ground.
These Orcs were strong, but not enough to be an unmanageable threat.
Eric moved through the chaos like a deadly dancer.
An Orc charged at him, axe raised.
Eric leaped into the air with a spin, striking diagonally from high to low.
SWISH.
The blade cut deep into the Orc's shoulder, forcing it to collapse.
Two more Orcs tried to flank him.
Eric chained rapid pirouettes, sword extended horizontally. The spins created a defensive circle, forcing the Orcs to retreat or suffer multiple successive cuts.
One didn't back off fast enough. The blade carved a bloody line across its chest.
A third Orc attacked from behind.
Eric dropped into a roll, then sprang low and swung his sword in an ascending arc, aiming for the belly.
SLASH.
The Orc screamed, collapsing while clutching its entrails.
"YOUR HIGHNESS!" a knight shouted. "ON YOUR LEFT!"
Eric pivoted and dashed forward with blinding speed, thrusting his sword.
The move was so fast it seemed he vanished for a moment.
His blade pierced the throat of an Orc about to strike.
A few meters away, Sacha fought just as fiercely.
Even in human form, he was impressive. His reflexes were supernatural, his movements fluid and precise.
An Orc swung a mace at him.
Sacha dodged gracefully, then countered with a horizontal slash that opened the creature's stomach.
"Sacha!" Eric called. "With me!"
The two men exchanged a glance, then moved in sync.
They charged from opposite sides of a massive Orc, crossing at full speed with diagonal strikes.
Their swords carved a perfect cross on the enemy.
The Orc collapsed, blood gushing from the deep wounds.
"Again!" Eric shouted.
Sacha leaped into a midair spin, striking downward.
Eric slid along the ground, sweeping horizontally.
The targeted Orc was hit from above and below simultaneously, trapped between sky and earth.
It didn't even have time to scream before collapsing.
But not all Orcs were as coordinated as those targeting isolated foes.
A group of Orcs decided to focus on Eric after witnessing the carnage he wrought.
"KILL HIM!" one roared. "ALL TOGETHER!"
They charged at the prince simultaneously, with no coordination.
Some swung horizontally, others vertically.
CLANG.
Two of them ended up clashing their weapons together.
Eric dodged with a simple sidestep.
Half the group nearly killed each other.
"Bunch of idiots!" one Orc spat.
"REFORM!" another ordered.
They loosely encircled the prince, then rushed in at once.
The result: four collided head-on. Two tripped over the falling bodies.
Only the last two reached Eric.
But their blows clashed before even touching him.
CLANG.
Eric seized the confusion to slit both their throats.
"Pathetic," he muttered.
The remaining Orcs hesitated, exchanging nervous glances.
Two tried to dive in from the sides.
But a third leaped between them to "steal the kill."
"I'LL KILL HIM!"
The three ended up crossing weapons in a useless metallic clash.
Eric, unscathed, watched them tangle with a smirk.
"Keep going. You're making my job easier."
One of the boldest Orcs decided to attempt a spectacular strike.
He leaped for an aerial attack, axe raised overhead.
But five others did the same at the exact same moment.
The result: a pile of bodies crashing into each other, completely missing their target.
CRASH.
They formed a heap of tangled limbs and incomprehensible curses.
"No way, MOVE!" one yelled from the bottom of the pile.
Every time one managed a decent attack, another shoved him aside.
"NO, I'M LANDING THE FINAL BLOW!"
"GET OUT, IT'S MY GLORY!"
Eric dodged almost effortlessly while the Orcs fought… among themselves.
He performed a backflip, his sword whipping in a circular arc to repel the last few still trying to approach.
Then, with Sacha, they circled the surviving Orcs at blinding speed.
Their blades created a shimmering spiral.
Then, in an instant, they tightened the spiral and struck together.
Like two tornadoes converging at the center.
The Orcs collapsed simultaneously.
High above, the Orc leader watched the scene with growing horror.
This isn't possible. This is NOT possible!
He'd been confident at the start. Fifty Orcs against three hundred humans, with the element of surprise, should've caused significant damage.
But now…
They're screwing it up down there!
Watching them fight hurt his eyes.
Incompetents. Every last one of them.
Seeing nothing was going right, he made a snap decision.
He fled.
Because he could see the battle from above, he anticipated the outcome and escaped in time.
He scrambled down the opposite slope, vanishing into the dense forest.
I'll come back with real warriors. Then you'll all die.
On the battlefield, the final wave of Orcs was crushed.
The knights roared their victory, raising bloodied swords to the sky.
"VICTORY!"
"FOR THE ORDER OF THE WHITE SWANS!"
Eric wiped the blood from his blade, scanning the scene.
Bodies littered the ground. Mostly Orcs. A few knights, too.
Acceptable losses, he thought coldly.
Gus approached, slightly out of breath but smiling.
"Fine performance, Your Highness."
"Thank you, Gus. Count the losses and tend to the wounded."
"Understood."
Eric turned toward the carriage.
Cassian was still watching through the window, his turquoise eyes gleaming with fascination.
He wasn't even scared, Eric noted. Interesting.