CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"Offense"

Tri-Klops stood upon the cliff looked forward. His eyes twirled until he reached his Gamma Vision and he got a better view. The villain pressed a key on his wristband and contacted Snake Mountain.

"Skeletor, it is as you said. He-Man is leading his forces through the Mouth of Hiss," Tri-Klops reported, watching as the large army marched forward.

Hundreds of soldiers headed forth on foot, but still some rode Lazor Bolts, or Wind Riders or even Talon Fighters. Man-At-Arms sat upon lead Blaster Hawk, which was to give them cover fire as they came upon Snake Mountain.

He-Man was in the lead of them all, though, riding Battle Cat as the sun sank into the horizon. They were coming through the Mouth of Hiss, which was South of Snake Mountain. It went between two mountain cliffs, allowing some cover for He-Man and he forces. It also put them on the higher ground.

The hero of Eternia and Primus figured that Skeletor knew he was coming by now, but hopefully an offensive strike was beyond Skeletor now.

"Man-At-Arms, sound pick-up! We need to speed this up!" commanded He-Man.

"You heard him, troops!" shouted Man-At-Arms. "Double time! Come on!"

The army quickened its pace as it went up a hill between the two cliffs. He-Man turned to She-Ra, who was in the air. He pointed forward. She nodded and took Swift Wind forth up for a better view of what they were facing.

The sister of He-Man disappeared ahead of them, then came down and joined her brother. She-Ra looked a little more than nervous. "There's a lot. Nearly equal to what we have."

"Wonderful," he said sarcastically.

Suddenly, an explosion shook the hill and the cliffs. "They know we're here, that's for sure."

"I know. Man-At-Arms! Full stations! Let's get these boys and girls ready for war!"

The Army of Eternos and the Defenders of Eternia hurried up to full jog, while still maintaining their lines. Within twenty minutes (amongst the rocking from explosions on the cliffs), the forces of good came atop the hill that overlooked Snake Mountain.

There it sat in all its glory. A great wall had been erected around it, keeping intruders and attackers out. From their angle, He-Man could see the legions of Goblins behind it, all lined up and ready for the battle.

"COME TO FACE ME AT LAST, HE-MAN?" came the voice of Skeletor, loud and crystal clear from the top of Snake Mountain.

He-Man cocked his head towards the base of evil and looked to Oroko. The Trollian sage casted a spell that would allow Skeletor to hear He-Man.

"GIVE UP NOW, SKELETOR! NONE OF US WANT WAR!"

"OH, ON THE CONTRARY, MY OLD FRIEND . . . I DO!"

There was loud, strange nose as the gates of the wall opened up and the Goblins came charging out. He-Man's eyes widened.

"BLASTERHAWKS! FULL VOLLEY!"

As the Goblins began to quickly march out of the gate, He-Man could see Spidors, Land Sharks, and Night Stalkers being ridden out.

Man-At-Arms and his unit of Blasterhawk soldiers opened fire at the oncoming Night Stalker commandos on the left flank of the dark army. Explosions rippled through, but they continued on - led by Trap-Jaw and Jitsu.

Just then, there was an explosion from behind, in the lines. He-Man looked back and watched in horror and Fright Fighters came circling from the dark sky and began to blast at the soldiers.

The Fright Fighters were then fired on by his own army's Talon Fighters and the ariel battle was in full swing.

The hero of Eternia and Primus took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he pulled out his sword and held it high into the air.

"Right flanks! Match up!" he shouted. "Left flanks, hydra formation! Center flanks push right on!"

He paused, eyes glowed to the on-going onslaught of enemies. "CHARGE!" he commanded loudly, the Sword of Power pointing straight at the army.

The call echoed out as He-Man rode Battle Cat and led the Center flank towards the Goblins Center line. He swung his sword around and deflected on-coming laser fire with his shield. He-Man could hear soldiers fighting at his left and right as He-Man and his faithful companion collided with the Goblins.

Blood appeared on He-Man's sword in no time. Part of him winced at this. Death was nothing that he wanted to bring.

But then He-Man did it again.

And again.

And again.

He-Man looked to his left for a moment and saw a soldier getting shoved in the chest with a knife. He-Man leapt off of Battle Cat and let the ferocious feline go off on its own, tearing down opponents left and right.

His axe in hand, He-Man hoped to find the Goblin that killed this soldier. He was blocked by two Goblins and found himself decapitating them. He-Man barely had time to register when he saw five of his own getting shot.

"No . . ." he muttered, a blood-rage boiling within.

Suddenly, death began to surround him. Whether it was his own hands or someone else's, death became nothing but a bloody blur around He-Man. Murder was being committed everywhere and he was taking part in it!

He-Man blocked arrows and lasers with his shield and got a good look at the others. Soldiers were falling everywhere and the Goblins seemed to giving them all a run for their money. He even spotted Evil Warriors taking part in all of this.

Stinkor kept most of the soldiers at bay with his toxic scent.

Trap-Jaw blasted away anyone near him.

Jitsu had left his Night Stalker and was currently laying waste to Fisto.

And between Whiplash and Clawful, even Ram Man was having trouble standing up.

Just then, He-Man felt a burning against his back. "You should watch yourself, He-Man," stated Saurod.

He-Man rushed forward, his sword and axe spinning in his hands. Just as he was about to slash the villain up, Saurod blasted him right in the face. He-Man spiraled backwards. Saurod stood above him, ready to take He-Man prisoner when - suddenly - four beams of energy sent the bounty hunter flying.

A young soldier helped He-Man up.

"Be careful, sir."

"Thank you, son. Thank you," He-Man replied. "What's your name?"

"My name is David and I - "

David's body erked and fell into He-Man's arms. He-Man's eyes opened wide when he saw the knife thrown into David's back. He-Man brought David to the ground.

"Rest easy, son."

Everything seemed to slow down for He-Man, then. His people were being slaughtered now, completely. Blood was soaking the dirt and bodies were littering the ground. He-Man lifted his sword. Battle Cat charged over and He-Man hoped onto him.

"RETREAT! RETREAT!" He-Man screamed, running from the battle.

The others heard his commands and began to pull out.

From the top of Snake Mountain, Skeletor smiled. "Should I signal our pursuit?" asked Karg.

"No," Skeletor answered. "In fact, I want our forces pulled back into the wall. Have them rearmed. Leave all the bodies out there. We'll be leaving in the morning."

"But Skeletor, I thought you said not to pursue."

"We're not going to. I've got other plans in mind."