"Our momentum was still high.
The first wave of cavalry didn't stop. We continued charging deeper into the enemy ranks.
But after some time, we began to understand what was happening.
Our initial momentum was slowly disappearing.
Everywhere we looked, we were fighting high-ranking lizardmen.
The lizardmen were no longer trying to retreat. Their elite warriors had begun moving forward to confront us.
Rany paused for a moment before continuing.
"I saw one lizardman holding a massive hammer. That thing was so heavy that I couldn't understand how he was even able to lift it."
"Verken's sword met his hammer directly."
"That was the first time since the beginning of the charge that I saw Verken and the cavalry forced to step backward."
"They were overwhelming us."
"They had both numbers and power."
"We tried to push through and reach them, but we were fighting at our limit."
"Our cavalry was beginning to lose its strength."
"The infantry was slowly catching up from behind, but they had to move carefully. They couldn't allow even a single lizardman to get behind us and attack our rear."
"The clash of weapons echoed across the entire battlefield."
"The battle was slowly turning into a war of attrition."
"The momentum that had belonged to us was beginning to shift toward the lizardmen."
"They started trying to overwhelm us."
"We held our position and continued fighting, but we could see their numbers slowly decreasing."
"At one point, my halberd struck down a lizardman."
"As he fell, I saw the same lizardman who had been holding the massive hammer."
"The hammer had fallen from his hand."
"And Verken's sword was buried deep in his chest."
"At that moment, Azpen shouted another command."
"Charge!"
"Our cavalry surged forward again, pushing directly toward the front."
"We had already spent most of our strength during the first charge, so this attack didn't have the same overwhelming momentum."
"But we couldn't stop."
"The pressure from the enemy was too great."
"We had to keep moving."
"Azpen fought with his broad sword in both hands."
"Verken was fighting ahead of us."
"And behind us, I could finally see the infantry approaching."
"From the front, the lizardmen continued advancing."
"Their numbers were decreasing, but we still didn't know how many of them were left."
"Azpen was about to give the order to retreat."
"I could see it in his eyes."
"But then Verken pulled his hand down."
"Even in the middle of that intense battlefield, the two of them moved close enough to speak to each other."
"A brave lizardman suddenly charged toward Azpen with a spear."
"Azpen didn't even look at him."
"He simply turned his head slightly and cut him down."
"Then Verken and Azpen whispered something to each other."
"Azpen took a deep breath."
"And then he shouted."
"Everyone on our side could hear him."
"Fight!"
"Rush forward!"
"Charge!"
"We need to move forward!"
"Don't stop!"
"Even in death, keep moving!"
"Push through to the eternal battlefield, where your fallen comrades and ancestors will welcome you with open arms!"
"Those words gave us another surge of morale."
"We started charging again."
"But this time, I could see the gap between us and the infantry beginning to increase."
"The infantry was struggling to keep up."
"Our cavalry charge was also slowing down."
"And the elite lizardmen continued coming toward us."
"Then their archers and mages began attacking again."
"Sometimes more than one group attacked at the same time."
"It felt like being trapped inside an ant's nest."
"I thought..."
This is it.
I'm going to die today.
"But somehow..."
"Luck was still on our side."
Rany took a breath before continuing.
"You know why this battle was so important, right?"
I looked at him.
He continued.
"The lizardman nest wouldn't normally be easy to destroy."
"Even if we killed many of them, they could continue fighting among themselves and regroup."
"But something changes when a nest grows large enough."
"Once enough lizardmen with high concentrations of miasma are born, some of them develop unusually high intelligence, exceptional strength, or both."
"Those lizardmen can eventually become the Nest King."
"The Nest King rules over the entire nest."
"And if the head of the lizardmen is cut off, the rest of them become much easier to control and destroy."
"It's like a snake without a head."
"It can still move for a while..."
"But eventually, it becomes nothing more than a body without direction."
I listened silently.
Then I saw what Rany had been talking about.
A huge lizardman stood ahead of us.
It was mounted on a massive water lizard.
Its body was covered from head to toe in heavy armor.
It carried a shield almost as large as my body and a huge axe in its hands.
Even the water lizard beneath it was wearing armor.
Rany's expression became serious.
"Our situation wasn't good."
"Most of us were already injured and bleeding."
"And now..."
"We had to face him."