Amid the deep, thunderous beat of the Amazonian war drums, the battle, one carefully engineered by Alaric, finally erupted within the forest.
On the side of the Argonaut heroes, their numbers were few, but nearly every one of them was an elite.
Among them were demigods, children of deities themselves, each possessing formidable power.
Though their weapons and armor differed, their mastery of combat was beyond question, they were the very definition of heroes.
Yet even so, they were still at a disadvantage compared to the Amazon warriors.
It was precisely because of this that Jason had tried several times to prevent this war from happening.
After all, the Amazon warriors were not a band of heroes, they were an army.
Numerous, disciplined, and expertly coordinated.
Individually, save for Hippolyta and Penthesilea, they might not surpass the Argonauts in pure strength.
But as a military force, they possessed advantages that individual prowess could never match.
The first strike came in the form of an arrow storm.
The Amazon warriors favored three weapons above all others: the bow, the javelin, and the spear, wielded either two-handed or one-handed with a shield.
From childhood, they trained relentlessly, and through years of tireless practice, these women forged their bodies and spirits into those of warriors no weaker than men.
The divine bloodlines of Ares, god of war, and Artemis, goddess of the hunt, flowed through them, granting unmatched mastery of their chosen weapons.
It was through this power and discipline that the Amazons, despite their limited population, were able to dominate entire regions and inspire fear in neighboring nations.
Their skill was evident from the very first volley.
Although fewer than a thousand Amazon archers faced the Argonauts, their arrows rained down like locusts in flight.
From Alaric's keen observation, their archery alone could rival that of the high elven rangers.
Alaric and Circe each cast a Protection from Arrows spell.
Though a low-level spell, it shielded the caster from most ranged attacks, making arrows nearly useless against them, a reason why warriors so often dreaded facing mages.
For the two spellcasters, the arrow storm posed no real threat. But the Argonauts had no such protection.
Though their bodies were strong, they could not entirely ignore the lethal precision of the Amazons' arrows.
In an instant, each hero responded in his own way, some raised shields, some struck the shafts aside with spears or swords, and others relied on agile movement to dodge and weave through the deadly rain.
Their exceptional skill blunted much of the assault, and countless arrows struck only earth, carpeting the ground like a thick bed of thorns.
Even so, some heroes were inevitably hit, though most wounds were minor, thanks to armor or sheer luck.
The formation remained intact, but the Argonauts had realized one thing:
This could not continue.
If they allowed the distance to remain, they would be whittled down to nothing. Their numbers were too small to win a battle of attrition.
Ordinary archers, when facing such a storm, could do nothing but evade. Only a master like Atalanta could return fire under such pressure.
Thus, the heroes resolved to charge through the deadly rain.
Fortunately, their opponents had not planned to rely solely on arrows. Hippolyta and Penthesilea were already leading the vanguard.
The Amazon archers loosed only two waves before drawing back.
But before the Argonauts could close in, a new threat arrived, javelins.
Compared to arrows, these were far deadlier.
Though their range was shorter, each throw carried immense power, easily piercing ordinary armor.
When the two sides were less than thirty paces apart, the javelins whistled through the air toward the advancing heroes.
As before, the Argonauts each relied on skill and instinct to defend themselves, but this time, with far less success.
The strongest managed to deflect the deadly shafts; the nimblest dodged just in time. But others, whether slower or distracted, were struck down.
And a single hit meant grievous injury.
Alaric saw at least two men fall instantly.
Still, the barrage failed to halt the Argonaut charge.
There was only one volley of javelins, and then, the two sides clashed in close combat.
At the forefront, Hippolyta struck first, her spear crashing down on her foe with bone-shattering force.
The man staggered under the blow, his arms trembling, barely able to keep hold of his weapon.
Just as she thrust forward for the kill, his comrade leapt in to intercept her next strike, buying precious seconds for his friend.
Elsewhere, Penthesilea swung two colossal flails, each nearly half a ton, their chains whirling in deadly arcs.
The air howled with each motion, and no one dared to come near her.
Whenever she released a swing, someone was forced to meet it with desperate strength.
And when a flail struck the ground, it left behind a crater large enough to swallow a man whole.
These two Amazonian queens held back several Argonauts apiece.
But the rest of the Argonauts, ferocious and battle-hardened, tore into the Amazon lines like wolves among sheep.
Their overwhelming might ripped open a breach in the formation.
Having endured the enemy's volleys, the heroes finally unleashed their fury.
Against their honed martial prowess, few Amazon warriors could last even a single exchange. Only their captains could barely hold their ground.
For a moment, the Argonauts seemed destined to triumph.
They sought to wear down the two Amazon leaders through relentless rotation, while crushing the rank-and-file warriors with sheer individual strength.
If things continued this way, victory appeared certain for the Argonauts.
But the tide soon shifted.
It began with the ordinary Amazon warriors.
In one-on-one duels, they could not hope to match the Argonauts' skill. Yet they were fearless, utterly unshaken by death.
The Amazonian creed revered battle; to fall in combat was the highest honor.
When one fell, another immediately stepped forward.
Again and again, they charged, heedless of their lives, determined only to wound, to bleed, to drag their foes down with them.
And before long, it was the Argonauts who found themselves pressed back under the weight of that unyielding courage.
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