Sol and his rescued women return to camp, only to find the soldiers suddenly arming themselves as they charge towards a certain direction. Sol sees his fellow Knights Templars, Hospitaliers, Teutons, holding a line as numerous upon numerous refugees retreating to a safer position. He runs up to the Grandmaster, saying.
"What is happening!?"
"Demons have raided us! Abominations from the darkest pits! We must hold the line or else these refugees may die!"
Sol then points to the refugees, saying,
"Join them for now, I will come back for you two, okay?"
The girls nodded as they ran to the crowd. The crowd ran to the edge of the oasis.
Sol got into position with his fellow knights, who were mounting their horses. He saw the numerous troops next to him. Levies, Sergeants, Billmen, Teutons and Hospitaliers, shouting and taunting as Haru rode up on his horse.
"Men! We have been brought away from the Holy Lands to some unknown god-forsaken country in the forest! While we may not know why or how we got here, we know one thing for sure!"
Haru points to the encroaching army of monsters and creatures.
"That these abominations do not come in peace! They are demons! Upholders of all that are wicked and horrible! Servants to Satan! They shall grant us no quarter, and I expect you all to be no different! Hear my words, as I say, killing an infidel may grant you your place in Heaven, but refusing to kill these spawns of Satan will seal your fate in Hell!"
The men cheered, bashing their weapons against their shields, hooting and screaming.
"DEUS VULT! DEUS VULT!"
The chant even overpowered the cry of the monsters, who seemed intimidated by the shout but persisted in their advance. Haru and his army shouted in high spirits. Haru raised a hand as he gestured to the trebuchet.
"Ready! Aim! Fire!"
The trebuchets let loose, sending balls of fire into the charging enemy, dwindling their numbers greatly. The general then signals the six platoons of Yeoman Archers behind him.
"Light your arrows! We will cleanse them with flame!"
The general then raises his and signals the six Longbowmen at the back
"Longbows, fire at will!"
The archers fire thousands of arrows into the charging enemy, killing even more monsters. The fire arrows did their work and set many of the demons aflame. The demons were now growing scared at their losses as their charge suddenly slowed. Haru then signaled the Teutonic Knights, Templars and the Hospitaliers to ride out. The knights ride past the enemy, confusing the charging monsters. But the raining arrows forced them to get closer as they readied themselves to charge.
"Spear wall!"
The billmen and sergeants form a wall of shields and spears, holding the position. Their morale was not easily broken as the monsters came down hard on their defensive line.
"Hold men! No demon can overcome those who believe in the Lord!"
"In the name of God! DEUS VULT!" the spearmen shouted as they defiantly pushed back the enemy.
Haru then raises his lance, tipped in oil as it burns, leaving a fire on his spear tip. The knights noticed this from afar and shouted.
"Fellow knights! That is the signal! Charge!"
Hundreds of mounted knights turned around and charged with their lances down. The enemy saw that it was too late as the knights butchered them with a hammer and anvil. Haru then shouted.
"Knights! Withdraw! Put pressure on their flank with cycle charges!"
The knights withdrew and went afar, before charging again to the backs of the enemy. The enemy grew weary as they were flanked by the more mobile knights, something they have never encountered. They did the only rational thing. They ran.
"Men! The demons are breaking! By God's grace run them down!"
"Hurrah! We have triumphed over the enemy!"
The soldiers cheered, shouting, praising, raising their weapons in triumph. They all circled Haru as they shouted.
"Long live Duke Haru of Whirlingpool! For he has led us to victory against the forces of Satan!"
Haru then turned around to check on the refugees, who were cowering and fearful from what they witnessed.
"If there are more of these things out there, then we won't last long in the wilderness, we must find a fortification!"
His thoughts were interrupted by Grandmaster Oswald riding up to him.
"Milord!"
"What is it, Grandmaster?"
"The knights have tracked down where the demons are headed! A large castle not too far ahead!"
Haru was intrigued that the demons were headed towards another fortification after battling with them. He then asked.
"What are they doing there?"
"Milord, it's under siege by even more demons! The walls look ready to fall!"
The general grimaced at it, but he needed to know one more thing.
"What castle is this?"
"Milord! It's the castle of Thore!" a woman's voice explained.
The general and his companion turn to two women riding on a horse, with a Templar leading the horse.
"Master, I have rescued these two native women from a group of demons, their clothes were torn up by the beasts and I have slain the beasts before they could do any ungodly act on them."
The general and the Grandmaster shared a glance before the general rode up.
"Miladies, could you tell us the exact nature of these demons?"
The women's faces darkened, their expression silent, as if they could not muster the courage to say. The general notices this and says,
"I understand if you cannot fathom the horrors these beasts have done, but what is this castle of Thore?"
"It's where Celestine Lucullus resides, a goddess incarnated into a High Elf."
"Goddess incarnate" was all that registered into Haru' and the Grandmaster's mind.
"Blasphemy!" Grandmaster Oswald shouted. "Who dares name themselves a deity in these lands!?"
"Be calm, Grandmaster, we still have wounded to attend to. Gather some priests to oversee recovery."
Oswald rode to the huts, where some priests already sat. The priests exited and tended to the wounded soldiers. One priest brings out a Bible and kneels in front of a soldier, crippled by the attacking demons.
"LIn nomine Patri, et Filli, et spiritus Sancti. " he said while making the Sign of the Cross. "E t oratio fidei salvabit infirmum et adlevabit eum Dominus et si in peccatis sit dimittentur ei."
(And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.)
The priest then touched the injured man's forehead, who also made the Sign of the Cross after making a silent prayer. Suddenly, the man's wounds disappear. He suddenly stood up, as if his legs were not broken. He jumped, he kicked, he was well. He screamed in French.
"C'est un miracle! Dieu soit loué!"
(It is a miracle! God be praised!)
The same strange phenomenon occurred with the other injured. After the priests gave the man his blessing, the man would get well after praying. It was a miracle. Injuries that should have taken days to partially heal, were now disappearing within minutes. The soldiers and refugees sang praise.
"God be praised! He has given us his blessing!"
"Alllah subhanah wataealaa! 'ant alrrub alhaqiqi wahidan!" the Sudanese auxiliaries screamed.
The general rode up, confused at the cheering.
"What is going on!?"
"Milord, it is miraculous! The men have been fully healed by the Lord! We are back to full numbers already!"
The general stayed quiet, but decided to take advantage of this morale. He then rode to the center of the cheering and shouted.
"People of faith and virtue! The Lord has given us His full blessing!"
The men and women cheered as they shouted in joy and jubilance.
"And that means one thing! That even the Lord will support us in our endeavors against these mad beasts! Our mission in the Holy Lands has been abandoned for a more noble cause. To slay, every last demon that inhabits this land!"
Everyone cheered, the refugees, the soldiers, the knights, showing their full support as the miracle they had witnessed that day strengthened and emboldened them, for they knew the Lord was with them in their endeavors, and with Him, they would triumph.
"Now! There is a castle not too far from here! With a ruler claimed to be a goddess incarnate!"
The crowd booed at that.
"Blasphemy!"
"Heresy!"
The general then calmed the crowd down.
"But we all know that is not the real issue. As we speak, those demons encroach upon the castle walls, determined to get to the other side! We will not stand for it! These demons are a cancer to this land and we will cleanse it!"
The crowd cheers once again.
"Now everyone! Be ready, for we will march in a few hours! For those demons will know the true wrath of the Christian armies!"
The soldiers cheered, as the general then pointed to the castle's general direction, with the daylight finally revealing the tall structure, as the masses of Christians finally marched their way to the castle. And may God help those who stand in their way.