The front row of the attackers threw one of the axes strapped to their armor. Then they switched with the ones behind them. The axes whistled through the air and cut down the angels, but more replaced their downed comrades.
“Second row throw.”
“Third row throw.”
More and more axes flew forward and found purchase within the enemy ranks. Some of the attackers were caught by the arrows but they were easily rescued and replaced. The bastion that they created with their shields remained unbroken.
“Tenth row throw.”
The last ranged attacks finally flew. A lot of the angels had been cut down but they were about to reach the attackers.
“Front row Brace for impact. Second row prep spears. Third to thirteenth row prep axe.”
He sent out orders quickly.
“Hold. Hold. Hold.”
The angels smashed into the front row like a wave against rocks. The front row stood their ground under the impact.
“Second row impale.”
The soldiers in the second row used the small space between shields to attack the enemies.
“Third row throw.”
The axes cleared out the front lines of the angels. The arrows were still incoming so some of the attackers were caught. The angels don’t care about their comrades and kept firing arrows. They don’t feel pain and they have a larger number. They could afford to exchange some of them for the lives of the invaders. The angels are energy beings, an arrow to the head won’t kill them, it will only reduce their energy and weaken them. Only a heavy attack will kill them. The invaders on the other hand are flesh and blood, an arrow can kill them or at least injure them.
Then the army moved as a whole. The front row stepped over the bodies of the downed enemies and pushed against the ones still standing to move forward. They used the blades in their hands to kill the ones beneath their feet while the second row used their spears to reduce the resistance against the front row.
The angels are a difficult opponent to fight. They don’t feel pain or tire out. They can heal from small injuries at least once before their form disperses from more damage. The one good thing about them is that it is easy to know when they are still alive. If they still have a form, then they are alive. A dead angel is a dispersed angel. Only when there’s no corpse left can you be sure that an angel is well and truly dead. So the attackers can safely determine the situation of their opponents.
“Fourth row throw. Advance and scorch.”
The army moved forward like so. They turtled up and minimized their losses. Though the enemy showered them with arrows and beat them with swords, they couldn’t break their defenses. They were truly unbreakable. Even though their pace was slow, they were unstoppable. They would move a single step at a time, clear out nearby enemies, claim that ground, reinforce their numbers, and rotate their front lines with fresh soldiers. Then they would repeat it.
“Slow and Steady.” Soverick encouraged while he ran amok the angels, running interference.
There is little he can do against the numbers of the enemy but that increases when he is being backed up by his soldiers. The angels might have stood a chance against him if they used their body blockade tactic but they couldn’t because it will leave them vulnerable to his soldier’s attacks. So now, he can kill them very easily.
The attackers fell into a rhythm. They matched in tune with one another. Their actions and their minds were in synch. They began singing the song of the army as they matched forward.
“To battle, we go.”
The defending army was like a swarm. Unrelenting and in large numbers. They felt no pain and they moved with a purpose. But they are ultimately mindless, incapable of higher thought. Angels weren’t supposed to be this weak. The changes to the divine plane siphoned energy from them which reduced their quantity and quality. The lowest of angels used to be transcendent, capable of emotions, thought, planning, and full of might. Now they moved to the orders of their superiors like mindless drones or dungeon mobs. They are the enemies that Soverick and his army are facing in battle.
“For one thing we seek.”
Their enemies might be unfeeling, but the attackers were also stoic. Their enemies might be in large numbers but the attackers were a mass of many working as one, for one purpose, of one accord. There is only one thing that unites them in body and soul.
They sang as they matched in tune.
“We fear nothing.”
There is nothing to fear. They can say that because Soverick made them go through illusion arrays meant to mentally torture people until they let go of their fears. No matter what they face, they will not scatter, they will not run, and neither will they abandon their brethren. They will remain together with a bond forged by a single purpose and face all enemies together. It is this bond that made them hold steady and match forward under pressure.
“We fear no one.”
This isn’t exactly true. There is a lot that they fear. They fear Soverick, a lot. It is because of their fear of their army commander that no one will consider desertion. They also fear defeat. So they grit their teeth when a stray arrow finds them, or when the blade of an angel finds a weakness in their defense into their flesh.
“Only victory will do.”
They do all those things because only victory will do. They won’t accept any less.
“Bloody bodies of foes.”
“Rivers of blood will flow.”
“The earth will gorge on it.”
“But we trample on it.”
On and on they marched. The battlefield was filled with the sound of clashing weapons and grunting soldiers. Metal against metal and metal against flesh. But the only ones bleeding are the attackers. It started as a drop here and there from the smallest cut until it escalated into something more.