A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

The other goblin was of the same mind. It had acknowledged its brethren's death, and was dancing around erratically, looking for a way past Tolsey.

But the Vice-Captain's eyes were fixed upon it. As soon as it made a step to go around him, Tolsey's precise sword stroke cut it in half.

In that moment of inattention, the Gorebreaker made its move. Tolsey noticed it just a moment too late. He panicked. With the Gorebreaker half a step in front of him, his sword was unable to reach it, and he chased after it.

The beast ran straight towards where Beam and Lombard were standing. The Captain drew his sword with a sigh, and finished the beast with a blinding speed that put the Vice-Captain to shame. The headless corpse went skidding to a halt some distance behind them.

"It seems three squadrons worth of space is still too much for you, Vice-Captain," Lombard said, his words harsh, but his voice neutral, as though he had expected such a thing.

Tolsey hung his head in shame.

The Soldiers soon finished up their work as well. That was when Beam noticed that Judas was amongst them. There was a spear in his hand now – a spear that looked far too small for him – rather than his usual baton, and his strikes made a lasting impact on the Konbreaker.

The sergeant gave orders, apparently having noticed Judas' skills by now, putting him on the back of the beast, where he'd be more likely to deal a killing blow.

Beam could see even from a distance that the man had fear flowing through his veins. He empathized with that feeling. A fierce adrenaline leant Judas' movements strength, and with a thrust of his spear, he staggered the Konbreaker.

But even that wasn't enough to put it down. "Again!" The sergeant called, and once more the spears crossed, jabbing the Konbreaker all over, but attempting to keep its attention towards the front, where its shell would be less useful.

Another jab of Judas' spear, and this time the other men were able to join him, as the beast's movements grew more sluggish from its wounds, even as its anger grew.

Eventually, they managed to put it down, and they announced their victory with limp cheers, before moving on to deal with the goblin. Judas looked at home amongst them, despite the obvious tenseness in his movements, from the fear.

But the men looked exhausted, to the point that it surprised Beam. They looked like they'd been fighting all night.

"The fatigue has built up in them," Lombard explained. "Which is where you come in. Show me what you've got, Mountain Slayer. Here comes the next wave, are you ready?"

Through the trees, Beam could see more Gorebeasts streaming down, along with some horned goblins. He didn't feel much of anything after seeing their arrival, aside from maybe a mild irritation – for he was growing sick of their appearance by now.

But, as far as Beam was concerned, as long as they weren't the evolved versions, they could send as many as they wanted. Just the memory of the Titan was enough to send chills down his spine at this point.

Beam nodded at Lombard's question and drew his sword.

"Vice-Captain Tolsey, stand down – we're sending in the boy," Lombard ordered, loud enough so that the sergeants of the other squadrons could make note of the transition.

Tolsey nodded seriously and withdrew his sword. He worked past Beam as the boy went towards the front line.

"Good luck," he said mildly. A noble wishing a peasant luck – even that would have been special in different circumstances. But Beam was growing focused now. He had his own tiredness that he was battling with, after only managing a mere few hours of sleep. He spared Tolsey another nod, and ignored the intense gazes that he could feel the rest of them giving him.

By now, out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the other squadrons had about finished up their kills, and were busy dragging them away, towards the fire. Judas was amongst them. Beam could hear his loud voice drawing attention towards Beam, and pointing.

"Ah! There he is. Just when you wrongin's were starting to complement my handiwork, the boy's shown up and he's about to steal all my thunder," Judas said.

His words were met with chuckles and doubtful glances. He seemed to have already established himself as something of a joker amongst the men, despite his short time there.

Beam returned his attention back to the battlefield. Three Konbreaker and a pack of horned goblins. Far more than even three squadrons would normally be dealing with alone. Lombard had been about to give the order for another couple of squadrons to come in and take the load off him, but when he saw how calmly Beam was poised, he paused.

"Captain… Should we not..?" Tolsey urged from his side, but Lombard merely held up a hand.

"Why don't we wait and see, mm?" Lombard said.

With a deep breath, Beam organized his thoughts. It had been a busy morning, after all. He'd woken up in an unfamiliar place, and caused all kinds of waves in the village square. The social stuff was what wore on him most, and despite putting on a brave face, it quickly got to him, as evidenced by his increasing lack of patience during Lombard's questioning.

But now here he was, in a moment that he had trained for. In a situation that he had grown rather adept at handling. He wasn't sure how he felt about suddenly fighting on Lombard's behalf, but when he considered it, he did not think his master would quibble with his decision.

"It'll be good experience for you, fighting with the soldiers and the knights alike," Dominus said. "You'll need all that going for you if you're ever going to be capable of taking on the Pandora Goblin," Beam could imagine him saying.