Luckily, Odysseus' scream was fast enough that all his men were able to dodge the cyclops' lunge, though all of them are terrified, fearful expressions on their faces. A voice can be heard, though Odysseus nor his crew seem to notice it. It simply says a single word. "POLYPHEMUS. POLYPHEMUS." It cries out, and the cyclops stands, roaring as it towers over Odysseus and his men. Odysseus begins to come up with a plan, as he and his crew brace for battle. "My brothers! The rest of our fleet, they wait at the beach, and if we're defeated, they're good as dead! Straight ahead! That is who we're fighting!" He says, his sword drawn, as he talks to his crew. "POLYPHEMUS!" The unheard voice says. "No backup!" Odysseus states, continuing. "No chance for support! So draw out your swords! Our foe must be thwarted right here and now! Show me how great is your will to survive!" He cries out, his crew all unsheathing their own blades. Odysseus speaks to himself now, re-iterating how important it is he and his men win this.
"Six hundred lives at stake! It's just one life to take! And when we kill him then our journey's over." Odysseus turns to his men, and speaks as if issuing an order. He and his crew are dashing around the cyclops, dodging its blows as best they can, swiping at its hands and arms when they're able to, and his feet and legs when they can't get to the arms. Eurylochus' great sword is making a visible effect on Polyphemus, as the cyclops' anger begins to grow. "No dying on me now! Defeat is not allowed! We must live through this day, so fight! Fight! FIGHT!" Odysseus yells, using the opening he sees as Polyphemus' fist hits the ground to stab his hand deeply. He and his men all charge at Polyphemus as one, and he charges right back at them, roaring in anger and pain as he does so. "Surround him!" Odysseus yells, his men echoing his orders. "Surround him!" They yell, as Odysseus directs them on what to do. "Attack from behind! Keep distance in mind! And stay in his blind spot and strike his heels!" His soldiers yell out the order as well, a resounding "Strike the heels!" echoing out as all of them stab and slash at Polyphemus' heels. "Show him that we're deadly!" Odysseus yells, his own men yelling at the same time, dealing devastating strikes to the cyclops heels, Eurylochus' great sword and Polites' sword seeming to cause the greatest pain.
Odysseus continues giving out orders, his men echoing and following them. "Exhaust him!" He cries out, his men responding with a resounding call of their own. "Exhaust him!" They yell, trusting the orders of their captain. Odysseus smirks as he sees the attacks are making the cyclops bleed. He continues to direct his men, ensuring none of them get hit. "Don't let him get close! He's strong but he's slow! He can't land a blow if we're out of reach! Find a breach! Stand up and fight for your lives!" He says, as his men retreat, dodging a slam of Polyphemus' fists that would have crushed them all had they not moved in time. Polites is moving riskily, getting closer to the cyclops when he can, and only barely moving to avoid its attacks, but he's still following his captain's orders, and continuously landing blows on Polyphemus. The soldiers begin to echo Odysseus' spoken thoughts from earlier. "Six hundred lives at stake! It's just one life to take! And when we kill him, then our journey's over!" Odysseus calls out to his men, yelling out "Push forward!" as they gently grab Polites and pull him away from an attack that would have killed him. "No dying on us now!" They say, smirking at their friend. "Defeat is not allowed! We must live through this day, so fight! Fight! FIGHT!"
As Odysseus and his crew rain blows upon the cyclops, it roars again, its anger reaching its peak as it crawls in pain towards the darkest part of the cave, reaching in there to grab something. Polites, trying to take advantage of this, runs after it. Suddenly, Polites is hit by something, his body flying backwards, landing in front of Odysseus, but still some distance away. Polites' body is destroyed, his bones twisted in ways they shouldn't be as he lies there, looking up at his captain, blood pooling around him. "...Captain..." He quietly says, almost as if he's trying to tell Odysseus to run. Polyphemus walks forward, a large wooden club in his hand as he steps on Polites, crushing him underfoot, some of the blood coming up and splashing onto Odysseus' face. The cyclops looks furious as it raises its club. A soldier begins to quietly speak, terrified, as they'd seen what happened to Polites. "He's got a club..." The soldier says, horror upon his face as he yells, trying to warn the others. "He's got a club!" The soldier yells. Unfortunately, the warning comes to late, as Polyphemus slams his club down on the nearest soldier, who had no time to dodge. Odysseus stands there in shock, unsure what to do, even as one of his men asks "What are our orders? Captain? CAPTAI-" Before the soldier can finish begging for some kind of guidance from Odysseus, Polyphemus hits him with his club, sending him flying into the wall of the cave.
"You've hurt me enough." Polyphemus says, the cyclops glaring down at all those who harmed him with nothing but pure hatred, his single eye appearing to glow almost like a raging fire. Odysseus is still in shock, unable to move as he watches Polyphemus continue massacring his men, killing them with his club, or by stomping on them, or even by grabbing one and biting them in half. "Six hundred lives I'll take." He says, as he lets the half of the soldier he didn't bite fall to the ground, spitting out the half he did bite, making sure to do so in a way the soldier's torn apart body lands in front of Odysseus. The soldier, covered in his own blood and the saliva of the cyclops, is somehow still alive even after being ripped in half and spat out. He looks at Odysseus as if begging for help as he crawls towards his captain, only to be stomped on by Polyphemus. "Six hundred lives I'll break." He says, grabbing one of the soldiers and throwing them back into the ground as hard as he can. "And when I kill you then my pain is over. You're dying here and now! Escape is not allowed! You won't live through this day, now die!" He says, slamming his club down on one final soldier, suddenly starting to tip over. "Die-ie-ie..." As Polyphemus speaks and tries to kill another soldier, he suddenly falls to the ground, passed out, landing in front of the entrance to the cave, everything becoming darker than it was before as the cave shakes around them.