As the halberd lizardman was cut open, the bow lizardman froze in shock.
His hands trembled as he stared at his fallen companion. For a brief moment, he seemed unable to believe that the rider beside him had died.
I didn't give him time.
The spear came crashing down with all my strength.
His shaking hands holding the bow as he tried to block the attack, but the axe blade attached to my spear cut through the bow and split his skull open.
For a moment, I tried to catch my breath.
Then my instincts screamed again.
This time, both my sensory field and instincts reacted a little slower.
Something struck my back.
Water.
A water spell.
The force threw me off Rusty's back and sent me crashing into the muddy ground.
As I opened my eyes, I saw a mace descending toward my head.
I immediately rolled away.
The mace smashed into the mud where my head had been only moments before.
My entire body was covered in mud. Thankfully, my spear had fallen nearby.
I grabbed it and forced myself to stand.
Rusty was rushing toward me, but before he could reach me, several lizardmen surrounded me.
They carried axes.
Three of them.
They formed a semicircle around me.
I tightened my grip on the spear with both hands.
My eyes constantly moved between them while my sensory field searched for enemies behind me.
At the moment, only these three stood before me.
Distance was my advantage.
I couldn't allow them to come close.
The rightmost lizardman moved first.
Planting my foot firmly into the muddy ground, I drove my spear forward with all my strength.
It was a perfect textbook thrust.
The lizardman stepped back at the last moment.
The attack missed.
But I didn't stop.
I couldn't allow them time to react.
The thrust immediately became a horizontal swing aimed at his side.
He tried to block with his axe.
The impact sent him flying backward.
He crashed into the mud.
I heard something crack, though I didn't know whether it was his weapon or his bones.
At the same time, the leftmost lizardman leaped toward me, his axe aimed at my head.
I pulled my spear back and struck him with the flat side of the axe blade attached to it.
The blow hit the side of his head.
I sidestepped.
He lost his balance and fell face-first into the mud.
The remaining lizardman still stood before me.
His axe remained raised.
I noticed his hands trembling.
Not much.
But enough.
I stepped forward.
He stepped back.
Immediately, I spun the spear in a circle and drove it into the back of the fallen lizardman, making sure he was dead.
As I exposed my back, the last lizardman rushed toward me, believing he had found an opening.
The moment he entered my range, I spun the spear once more.
The axe blade came down from above.
He raised his axe to block.
The weapon shattered from the impact.
He fell to one knee.
Only then did I notice the blood flowing down his legs and mixing with the mud.
Without hesitation, I thrust the spear between his eyes.
I pulled the weapon free.
By the time Rusty reached me, the three lizardmen were dead.
For a moment, I looked around the battlefield.
The aura knights were still fighting near the mages. Neither side seemed able to gain the advantage.
However, the number of lizardmen had started to decrease.
The mounted riders were pushing them back.
Everything seemed to be going well.
Then the sixth horn sounded.
The sixth cavalry wave charged into the nest.
For a moment, relief filled my chest.
I only needed to survive thirty more minutes.
After that, the infantry would enter, and perhaps I could finally withdraw.
But that hope quickly disappeared.
I still had to survive those thirty minutes.
And somewhere on the battlefield, the mage who had attacked me was still alive.
I wanted to kill him.
But reaching the mages was impossible.
Even if I survived the spells, their bodyguards would kill me before I ever reached them.