The fliers who had long bows were now loosing arrows from their hovering mounts, the missiles streaking towards their intended targets. The ones with javelins were jettisoning their own missiles, by robust throws from steeds kept to a slow, steady glide.
Outnumbered and confined to the ground, it soon became quite clear that the horse riders were at a great disadvantage.
Using their long lances, and in some cases resorting to javelins themselves, the horse riders did whatever they could to repel and frustrate the attacks, at least whenever their assailants came close enough.
Lee saw one horseman come to the aid of another whose assailant was closing in fast. Racing his horse up alongside the gliding enemy warrior, the human sent a javelin hurtling to lodge in the body of the attacker, just as its long blade was about to arc down towards the other human rider.
The victory was short lived, as the javelin-thrower did not see the thrust of the spear from another non-human warrior coming from behind him, impaling his own body scant moments after he had interceded for his comrade.
A bloody, furious struggle evolved, though the horse riders were steadily whittled down in the relentless, overwhelming assault by the aerial attackers.
Lee could not help but be impressed at the incredible skill of the non-human warriors. Even their winged steeds were living weapons, working in close harmony with their riders.
In a couple of instances, Lee saw the sky steeds utilize their powerful claws effectively, lowering their legs and viciously raking humans right off the backs of their galloping horses.
The sky riders continued to work in close concert with each other. Several endeavored to herd the beleaguered horse riders back in, while others rushed in immediately to finish off the dazed and injured riders that had been knocked from their mounts.
On occasion, such as when a horseman whirled to present lance and shield to the flying attacker, there was a firm attempt to continue the attack. Yet more often than not in such instances, the assailants from above merely banked their steeds away from their approach before the horseman could have any chance to inflict damage.
Lee did witness one horseman who was able to get in a lethal thrust against one of the attackers. The horseman’s spear rushed up from a strong, overhand grip to meet the forward momentum of the incoming sky rider, the force of both movements converging to spike the attacker. The horseman immediately had to let go of his deeply lodged weapon, as the beast-man’s body was blasted right from its low saddle.
The triumph was temporary, as another sky-borne warrior dove in to avenge its fallen comrade. Before the horseman could unsheathe his own sword and bring it up to fend off the assault, he was beheaded by the heavy blade of the attacker’s sword-like weapon.
Cries of agony were filling the air, coming from horses, humans, and a few of the inhuman assailants and their unusual, flying steeds. The end of the battle was approaching from what Lee could tell, and the result looked inevitable.
Several of the skyward warriors began to land their steeds upon the ground. The massive riders leaped off of their mounts with astonishing dexterity, especially given their considerable size. Readying their weapons and shields, they charged with a raging fury at the surviving human warriors that had been unhorsed. Their sharp, long teeth were bared in a feral mask of maddened frenzy as they brandished their weapons.
The dismounted human warriors responded with a fiery resolve of their own, several drawing swords out to meet the onslaught from their fearsome attackers. They showed no outward signs of fear, and now that the fighting field had been more leveled, proceeded to acquit themselves better.
They shouted out their own raucous battle cries, the words seeming to charge them with impetus and tenacity.
The sounds of clashing steel were added to the chorus of the fray, along with the thuds and cracks of heavy blows upon the thick wooden planking of both round and rectangular shields.
The awesome strength of the inhuman attackers was made very apparent, as round shields held by the defenders were broken asunder. Chunks of wood exploded out in showers of shards and splinters, fracturing under the heavy blades of the beast-men’s sword-like weapons, and the even more unique, long-hafted ones.
There was no give on either side. The attackers roared with a deep, wrathful vigor, and the men shouted angrily back in response, each side matching the other’s mettle.
Lee’s heart grew heavy as he watched the combat, knowing that the fates of the human defenders were almost certainly sealed. Gradually, a small remnant of the surviving horsemen was herded together by a encroaching circle of the bestial warriors. With no route of escape left, the humans were forced into a last stand against their relentless oppressors.
Weapons clashed fiercely, flesh and muscle was pierced and slashed, and bones were crushed. Casualties were incurred upon both sides during the last, frenzied moments of the fighting.
The last of the men to fall was the apparent leader of the horsemen, the one wearing the vambraces and greaves that Lee had witnessed riding close to the standard-bearer at the onset of the fight.
Lee was a little surprised that the beast-men took any risks with the lone remaining human, trapped as he was without hope of escape. The archers among the sky warriors could have taken him down with little difficulty, but those that still held their bows had lowered them, and held no arrows in their free hands.
The valiant human fighter undoubtedly understood his dire situation, but if he felt any fear, it did not show. His blade flashed in the sun as he wielded it adroitly, bringing down one of the beast-men after deftly avoiding the cleaving blow of a long-hafted weapon.
He did not hesitate as his mortally-stricken opponent stumbled and pitched over to lie still, already lunging towards another tall enemy warrior. Delivering a gash to the thigh of the enemy fighter, the man held his ground as his bleeding attacker gave way and backed up a step.
The man then straightened up and got into a balanced stance, as one particular sky rider shouldered past its comrades to confront the fierce human warrior. A terrible scowl was on the face of the new challenger, and the other sky warriors, including the one that had just been wounded, stepped back a couple of paces to give the two combatants a wider berth.
It was the sky rider that had led the attackers out over the plains, the first one of them to descend. Lee deemed that the warrior was the human’s counterpart among the airborne force.
The sky rider was a very mighty specimen amongst the inhuman warriors. Seen close to its comrades, it was quite evident that the warrior far surpassed the exceptional stature and mass inherent in its kind.
The human fighter staggered as the clang of the first blow echoed loudly across the grassland, having barely blocked the first strike of his towering opponent. With a loud cry, the human used his shield to barrel directly forward, driving his much larger opponent back a step as their shields collided.
Shuffling back quickly to create some space, the human fighter set himself again, taking up a balanced position and coldly eyeing the beast-man. With a roar, the sky rider stomped forward and raised its sword-like weapon up to strike again.
The human warrior acquitted himself well in the ensuing fight, but was finally hewn down after a rabid exchange of blows with the brawny, iron-helmed warrior.
Wielding the huge, sword-like weapon with amazing speed, the sky warrior finally found an opening in the human’s defenses after a few previous attempts had been capably blocked by the horseman’s own blade and shield. The sky warrior’s blade raced into a slim gap of space as the human’s sword was caught on the other’s large shield.