the chasm, racing forward, close behind their leader and Gwen. Thor was hoping only a few would survive—but more of them escaped than he would have liked. There seem to be about thirty still alive, charging towards them, like ants, out of the chasm, and rushing to meet Thor’s group of seven. He was badly outnumbered. But he had no choice now but for a head-on confrontation. At least he had killed dozens of them; he would rather face thirty of them than a hundred.
A battle horn erupted from the Nevaruns and these fierce warriors barreled down on Thor.
Thor heard the whizzing of an arrow, and glanced over to see O’Connor firing three arrows as he rode. Thor watched them sail and was impressed by his friend’s aim, the three arrows finding their targets with deadly precision, three Nevaruns falling from their horses. Inspired, Thor raised his sling and hurled it, careful not to hit Gwen or their leader, and with his perfect aim, took out two soldiers himself, hitting each in the side of the head and knocking them off their horses.
Elden followed suit and threw his throwing hammer, and Reece threw his throwing axe, and they took out two more soldiers. The numbers of Nevaruns quickly shrank as they all braced for impact, Thor and his men now outnumbered only three to one.
Those were still tough odds, especially with warriors like the Nevaruns, who had devoted their entire lives to combat. None of them seemed afraid, and none of them even had a moment’s hesitation as they charged for Thor and his men, wielding tridents and axes and halberds as if they had been wielding them since birth. They let out a fierce battle cry themselves, and moments later, the two groups met in the middle in an ear-shattering clash of arms.
The fighting was fierce. Their leader singled out Thor and charged him directly, wielding a two-handed battle axe with a single hand and bringing it down right for Thor’s head. Thor had to be careful in how he defended himself, given that Gwen rode on the same horse. The leader, of course, knew that, and he smiled, reveling in it. Thor was compromised.
Thor raised the sword Kolk had given him, and blocked the blow at the last moment. It was one of the fiercest blows Thor had ever received, and he could feel the warrior’s strength reverberating through the handle. There was a great clang of metal, Thor’s arms shook, and he closed his eyes as he held his new sword, made of a material he did not know, praying that it did not split in two.
He was relieved that it did: it stopped the axe but inches from his head.
Normally Thor would have swung around and slashed back—but with Gwen on the back of his horse, he could not risk it. He was forced to just keep riding, past him, and as he did he caught a quick glimpse of Gwen’s eyes, wide with fear, as she sat there with her hands bound behind her.
“THOR!” she screamed out, frantic.
But there was no time for Thor to look back. As he charged into the group, two more warriors came at him, one swinging a war hammer sideways, right for his ribs. Thor leaned back at the last second, and the hammer just missed, saving him from crushed ribs; he then raised his sword and brought it down on the man’s extended arm, chopping it off, the arm and hammer falling down to the ground as the man shrieked.
The other soldier swung his axe sideways for Thor’s head, and Thor ducked at the last moment as it went whizzing by. He then swung around with his sword and chopped off the soldier’s head; it bounced off and rolled to the ground, as the man’s body continued to ride, headless, for several more feet, until it finally slumped over and fell to the ground.
Thor had no time to rest on his heels: he was attacked in quick succession by Nevaruns on all sides, and with all manner of weaponry. He felt a hard blow on his shoulder, resonating against his armor, and he realized he had been hit by a mace, the clang ringing in his ears; luckily his armor had blocked it from piercing his skin, but the pain from the deep bruise shot up and down his arm.
Another soldier charged Thor from the side, raised his shield, and used it as a battering ram, something Thor did