Valorum stood atop a hill overlooking the plains below. He stared out at the horizon, looking for signs of movement from the approaching army. There was nothing except dead grass and trees, and a few small animals scurrying about. Most of the fauna had been scared off by the previous battle held here. Valorum sighed and turned away from the view.
He heard footsteps behind him and knew it wasn't his men. Turning around, he saw Alisa walking toward him. She wore black leather armor similar to the ones worn by the soldiers under her command. Her golden hair flowed down her back, and she carried a staff in one hand.
"General Valorum, the available mages are ready to fight. Are the Knights prepared?"
"Of course, four hundred Knights are ready with their incantations. Now, we just need to get in position. Have the Daemons started moving?"
"Not yet, they're waiting for us. We've seen them preparing the field for battle, so we know they plan on fighting."
"Good. Then we shall begin our attack once the enemy is in range," said Valorum. "We don't want to waste time killing each other while the real threat approaches."
"Agreed. Let's move out." Knight General Ainsler waved his hand and the ground shook. A large group of knights charged forward, followed closely by a second wave. They were all carrying shields. The two groups met halfway across the plain. After exchanging salutes, the first wave began charging ahead. Their momentum propelled them over the top of the second wave and onto the battlefield. As soon as they landed, they split up, forming a line facing north.
A third wave of knights joined the fray. These men and women marched along side the main body, but didn't charge. Instead, they formed another defensive wall, protecting the northern flank.
At the same moment, the Daemon army appeared from the west. The mass of creatures moved slowly through the forested hills. Each step they took created a loud crunching noise, like thousands of tree stumps being crushed beneath their feet. When they reached the edge of the plains, they stopped and waited patiently for the humans to arrive.
From the south, Valorum watched as more and more Daemons emerged from hiding places within the woods. They were all different shapes and sizes, ranging from huge beasts to tiny insects. Some were made entirely of flesh, others were comprised mostly of bone and teeth. Many had multiple heads, some even sporting twenty or thirty horns. One creature stood out among the rest: a giant worm, ten times larger than any other monster. Its massive jaws opened wide, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. The beast looked straight at General Ainsler and let out a deafening roar. The general raised his shield and held his sword high above his head.
More and more monsters continued emerging from the trees, until every inch of land was covered. In total there were close to three thousand of them.
Not nearly as many as last time, but Internia had just as few forces. Esper, Queen of the Daemons, and her Heir Korush stood at the frontline, observing the enemy.
"They're here," whispered the queen. Her voice sounded much deeper than usual. She turned to Korush, who nodded. Together, the pair walked down the hillside towards the human army. After reaching a suitable distance, Esper stomped the ground with her heel, and a thundering boom emanated. "I, Esper, Queen of Daemons, declare that if you allow us to harvest this power, no blood shed will be neccessary!"
In response, the entire army drew weapons and charged forward. The Daemons were fast, faster than any normal person. Within seconds they were upon the front lines. Men and women screamed in terror as they ran away from the advancing horde. As soon as they cleared the line, the Daemons attacked. Spears flew through the air, cutting down anyone foolish enough to stand still. Swords clashed against shields, sending sparks flying. Shields broke under the pressure, allowing swords and spears inside where they cut open throats and stabbed through stomachs. Blood splattered onto the grass, covering everything.
A young girl was running along one of the lines, dodging attacks from all directions. Suddenly, a spear pierced through her side and she collapsed to the ground. Screaming in pain, she tried pushing herself up, but another spear buried itself further into her body. Another soldier grabbed hold of the shaft and pulled it out with a loud screech. With tears streaming down her face, she lay there unmoving.
One of the Daemon approached her, raising his blade over her throat. Before he could bring it down, a black shadow appeared behind him and struck the soldier across the back of the neck. The force knocked the monster off balance and sent him crashing to the ground.
Another soldier rushed the fallen Daemon and plunged his sword into its chest. A third stepped around to the other side and thrust his spear through the creature's heart.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot forth from nowhere and hit the first two soldiers dead center. They dropped their weapons and tumbled to the ground. One remained conscious while the second was motionless. Both stared at the sky as smoke billowed from their bodies.
***
Tears streamed down Alisa's cheeks. She had seen death countless times, but some of the Knight's were just young fledglings aged around fifteen or sixteen, and they were massacred.
Screaming and crying, the young Knights fell apart, but the Veteran Knight's continued to fight on. Four hundred Knight's in the rear guard began their incantations to seal the Magic Storm.
After several minutes of chanting, the wind died down and no more rain fell. The clouds slowly dissipated until there was nothing left except for a few wisps of gray cloud.
Alisa looked up and saw the sun shining brightly above them. Looking closer, she noticed that the storm wasn't completely gone; it was merely pushed back.
They waited patiently, hoping the spell worked without issue. Finally, after half an hour passed since they finished chanting, the skies opened up once again.
During the hour it took to seal the Storm, the Daemon's and Knight's ravaged each other. Lore stood atop a pile of Daemon corpses. He held is signature twin Longswords and cut down any enemy who approached.
When the storm was sealed, the Daemonic army retreated. As soon as the last of them disappeared, the rain stopped falling and the sun shined bright.
With a heavy sigh Lore turned toward the front line where Alisa was standing.
Valorum, Ainsler, Soren, and the Omega Squad Knights,, three Knight's who together could rival Bartholomew, stood together in a line, watching tbe enemy flee.
Ainsler nodded in satisfaction. "You did well today, Captain."
"Thank you," Alisa replied. Her voice was shaky and she couldn't look away from the dead Daemon's scattered all over the battlefield.