The sounds of carnage echoed through the caverns as the battle raged on. All around, armored knights clashed against the bokoblin savages, their valor matched only by the sheer number of their barely clothed foes. Painted bodies flying forward were impaled by Hylian spears, their bloodied corpses soon trampled under the next wave of savages. Tripping over their own dead, the barbarians stopped for a moment, this hesitation resulting in a swift death from arrows raining from the ramparts above and behind the Hylians. With a small gap created between forces, A trumpet sounded from the back of the mass of blue-armored soldiers, signaling a reformation of the line.
"FOOOOORM" shouted the lieutenant, towering over his comrades. Soldiers ran back and forth along the line, picking up discarded shields and standing at the ready, interlocking them tightly. The row directly behind them lifted their pikes, resting them in each divet between shields. An uneasy quiet swept over the battlefield for a moment, as both forces stared each other down, goading one another into making the first move. A loud shriek shook the ground as a tall figure rose from the bokoblin mass. Raising its mace, the short-lived silence was shattered by a cacophony of cheering barbarians. This new creature, several feet taller than his cohorts, lunged forward to the front of the pack, now gripping his club with two hands, holding it low in anticipation for an upward swipe.
"HOOO AH!" The Hylian lieutenant yelled, signalling the front row to dig the bottoms of their shields into the ground, steeling themselves for the collision. As the creature neared, a spear pierced its side, ignoring this pain the creature wound up and swung toward the wall of Hylian steel, splitting the line in two as the crushed shields flew backwards, far behind the line. Like a tidal wave, bokoblins began swarming into the troop's now cracked formation, causing chaos in the ranks as an intense melee broke out. Clubs splintered against shields and pike shattered against bokoblin teeth, the ensuing noise disguising the rhythmic tapping of an incoming force. The tall demon responsible for this disaster now began tearing his away through flesh toward the lieutenant, who awaited him, pike ready. Once again the creature tightened his two-handed grip on this skull-adorned club, swinging it behind him and around again, he aimed for the officer's helmet.
The sound of water rushing like torrent filled the demon's ears as his head clattered to the floor, his final moments of vision, a scowling sheikah.
"Just in time!" The lieutenant laughed, batting away bokoblins with his pike. "We've been holding them off, but there doesn't seem to be an end to them."
"I know lieutenant, we're still trying to find their leader, my attempt to break through their right wall proved fruitless." the sheikah said, the same scowl as before still spread across her face. "But that's not important now, what matters is getting this shield wall reformed!" The lieutenant quickly nodded, shouting to his forces, "Fight with fury, friends! Impa has come to aid us this day!" A shout of relief filled bokoblin ears as the tide of their attack ebbed backwards, pushing them gradually backward until nothing remain behind Hylian lines but bokoblin blood. This defeat momentarily stopped the rampaging spirit of the barbarian, causing the horde to retreat to their fortifications a short distance away. With a moment to rest, a fanfare announcing the deployment of medical staff was played as the lieutenant spoke to Impa.
"So since the right flank proved fruitless, and the bridge across the molten rock to the left was sabotaged, what do you have in mind now, Lord Impa?"
"The only thing we can do, await support from the Royal Guard."
"Are you sure they'll come? The surprise invasion through the Kokiri has been their main focus for several weeks now."
"Perhaps not the whole force, but with Zelda leading the counter-campaign with the Deku King, *He* is bound to make an appearance here." As Impa finished speaking a roar was heard across the battlefield from the interior of the enemy's fortification.
"Let us hope your theory proves correct" said the lieutenant with a sigh, signaling the fanfare to reform the lines. As he observed fresh pikes and new sheilds being passed to the front of the line, he thought back to how quickly things had turned south. "Not even a day ago" He thought, "These caverns were under our control, and now we're barely hanging on." This train of thought was derailed as his focus turned to the commotion inside the enemy fort.
"Oh what fresh hell is this" a soldier said wearily, looking up at the plume of flame now towering above the walls of the enemy. Impa's eyes narrowed as she leaped over the newly-formed shield wall. The lieutenant signalled the archers on the outcroppings above them, telling them to fire on his signal. The tightening of bowstrings was muted by the sudden explosion of the enemy's nearest wall, the boulders and thick wood used to form it now shattered into kindling. Shrouded in fire and smoke a tall figure stepped out from the fortification, his lance hissing with intense heat.
"Of course it'd be you" Impa said under her breath as she slowly unsheathed the giant's knife strapped to her back. The lance-master stepped closer to Impa, gripping his lance tightly with two hands. In the blink of an eye the lance cut through the air, sending a wave of fire towards the sheikah warrior. Leaping over the flames, Impa responded as the knife sailed through the air, launching a barrage of water bolts at the figure. Back and forth their exchange continued, each figure sending ranged strike after ranged strike. Impa gripped her knife, preparing to swing it again, instinctively, the lance-master raised his guard. As Impa swung she changed the knife's path slightly, slamming it over her head into the ground. A shockwave penetrated the earth and made its way towards the figure. Attempting to leap to safety, he shifted his weight to his back foot, a shot of pain fired through his leg as he looked down, a crystalline bolt stuck into his leg, freezing it in place. The lance-master no longer had a moment to react. As the shockwave launched him upward, Impa jumped underneath him, using her momentum to kick him higher into the air.
The lieutenant's hand shot up with two fingers, causing the archers to draw new arrows from their packs. Hearing the sound of the bows being drawn to their limit, the lieutenant shouted, "LIGHT HIM UP!" The arrows whistled as they sailed toward their target, as each arrow made contact an explosion shook the cavern, sending the figure flying into his own fortification, slamming against the far wall. "Is he dead?" The lieutenant asked, running up to Impa.
"No" She replied, "Volga's armor is made from dragon-hide, he's rattled for sure, but there's no way he's dead. How much ordnance do you have left after that strike?"
"About 25 bomb arrows remaining, with several bombchus stationed at the cavern entrance, as you commanded."
"Good, with any luck we'll receive word from a courier soon about our relief...force." Impa trailed off as her a sound from the enemy fortification stole her attention.
Ting Ting Thwack
Ting Ting Thwack
Ting Ting Thwack
The sound grew louder with each rhythmic pounding, until the culprits of the noise were hidden only by a thin layer of smoke from Volga's entrance. Suddenly the noise stopped, a low hissing, almost like laughing, sent a wave of tension through the ranks.
Suddenly, a wave of bladed boomerangs ripped through the smoke, tearing its way toward the shaken shield wall. As the boomerangs attempted to returned to their masters, shields were cut deeply, while others lay embedded into soldier and shield alike.
"Lizalfos" the lieutenant said quietly, "Impa, we can't handle them now, not in this state."
"I know I know" Impa responded, looking over to the sea of molten rock to their left. Running off as the first lizalfos began appearing through the smoke, shouting behind her, "Keep them busy! If we can fight this last wave off, we can stop them permanently!"
Unsure what to think of Impa's sudden departure, the Lieutenant ran back into his ranks, shouting at the top of his lungs, "STAY STRONG MEN, WE MUST PROTECT IMPA, FOR HYRULE!".
A proud, but exhausted cry arose from the soldiers as the Lizalfos drew closer to the wall of men. As the first arrived, their attempts to slash down the shields proved fruitless as several pike impaled them simotaneously, killing them instantly. Behind them, the main force followed, wooden shields held higher and in closer cohesion. The hissing lizard mass slammed hard into the Hylians, shield against shield, a test of strength and constitution for both forces. The lizalfos struck hard with their swords against the shield users, snapping helmets and crushing bone with each blow, in response, the pike line found each hole in the lizalfos guard, punishing such carelessness with 6 inches of embedded steel. As the lines struggled, the lieutenant's attention turned to Impa running around behind them inside their small fortress. Suddenly, she leaped onto the outer-wall, a bombchu held above her head with one arm, and a spell scroll in another. With these items she leaped once more past the left flank, shouting to the lieutenant as she landed, "COVER ME!".
"YOU HEARD HER" said the lieutenant, directing the archers to focus toward the left flank should any lizalfos go after her. As if on cue, a group of lizalfos began attempting to break rank to pursue Impa, who had now unravelled the scroll in front of the sea of molten lava, speaking words of power to the scroll's paper.
"What are you waiting for? FIRE AT WILL!" the lieutenant shouted as the archers let their arrows fly, striking down several lizalfos, yet the others still charged undaunted. "There's no way we can get there in time" thought the lieutenant, as the enemy drew closer to the meditating Impa. Using a volley of ice arrows, Impa was momentarily secure due to the appearance of an ice-wall separating her from the Lizalfos. A young man in a bright red garb caught the corner of his eye momentarily as a spiked boomerang flew slightly past his face, reminding him of the task at hand. Gripping his pike, he strode toward the front of the line, each step filling him with more seething rage. Lizalfos shield craftsmanship splintered into nothing upon contact with his mettle. Like a madman he charged into the fray, his heavy plate armor protecting him from the many blades that stabbed towards him. Soon their fortunes has shifted as the Lizalfos began to be pushed back. Stabbing the nearest lizalfos through the throat in a single strike, he raised three fingers, and pointed toward the hissing mass backing away from the line
"DIN'S FURRRYYY" He cried as the archers let loose their ammo, reducing the enemy ranks into twenty-five blackened craters. He wheeled around to search for the assailants on the left side, Impa still stood in meditation, channeling the power of the scroll within her as the remnants of the ice wall lay broken and melted near her. The lieutenant looked around, wild-eyed, trying to find the lizalfos that were charging her before.
"Sir, Look!" a soldier said as he pointed upwards above Impa, where a young man clad in red laid into the Lizalfos sailing upward, sending scaled limbs and shattered blades in every direction.
A wave of relief rushed over the exhausted soldiers even as the heavy breathing of an unseen beast emanated from the enemy's walls. For finally the Hero of Time had come!