[color=A0A0A0][h2]Fleuri Jodeau[/h2][/color]

[color=A0A0A0]"As long as we're standing between them and the girl, they'll keep sending soldiers our way even with the other knights playing havoc up there,"[/color]  Fleuri replied, noting two more mercenaries coming at him.  One carried a thrusting sword and buckler, the other with a one-handed hammer and shield.  They were approaching at the same speed, clearly not wanting to face an Iron Rose one-at-a-time.  A somewhat sensible and pragmatic approach, but not nearly sensible enough.  [color=A0A0A0]"Their only measure of success here is getting the girl, regardless of how many men they have to spend to do it."[/color]

Fleuri had heard that some mercenaries, like Gerard's old company, supposedly gave extra pay to troops that'd take on the extra risk of fighting on the frontlines or being the first into the fray.  He wondered if these Golden Boars were getting the same sort of extra pay to rush into certain death.

He didn't have any time to reflect on it now, however.  He stepped back, positioning himself behind one of the fallen Boars that he had slain down a few moments ago.  He swung his weapon upward at the warhammer-wielding boar, who manage to come to a stop and narrowly avoid running right into the tip of Fleuri's greatsword.  The other one jumped over his dead colleague with his sword raised, aiming a thrust squarely for Fleuri's neck.

The Iron Rose deflected the incoming blade with one of his armored bracers, glancing it off harmlessly to his side.  Then without skipping a beat, Fleuri tackled the swashbuckler mercenary, pushing his foe back and causing them to trip on the fallen Golden Boar behind him.  No sooner had the swordsman fallen that the hammer-wielding mercenary came at Fleuri, attempting to bring the weapon's spike end down on the knight.

Since the dream, since the arrival of that foreign rabbit-woman, Fleuri had been training on improving the speed at which he could swing his sword, in hopes of being able to strike charging foes before they could strike him.  Now was the time to put what he had been working on to the test.  Returning both hands to his sword, he swung it at his foe's head in an attempt to decapitate them before they could bring their hammer down.

The blow was partially successful- Fleuri managed to strike first, almost without looking, but his blow had been a bit high, perhaps a tiny bit premature, and slashed the man in the face rather than finding his neck.  The man dropped his hammer and screamed in agony, and even Fleuri didn't want to look too hard at the gruesome disfigurement he had just inflicted.  It was almost certainly a fatal blow, but not immediately so.  Clearly, Fleuri still had to work on his technique.

There was no time to waste, though.  Fleuri stabbed the fallen swordsman in the chest as he struggled to pick himself up, then administered a mercy-killing to the other mercenary by stabbing him in the neck.  It was just then that he noticed Haelstadt struggling, having been overwhelmed by their foes.  He was in no position to intervene when Veilena's protector was decapitated.  Gone in an instant, just like Sir Rickard.

[color=A0A0A0][i]Our defensive perimeter has just gotten smaller.  If only the others had...wait...[/i][/color]

To his shock shock, Haelstadt continued fighting and felling Golden Boars even with no head.  Fleuri had no idea what sort of sorcery enabled this, even many forms of undead were unable to keep fighting after being beheaded.  He wasn't going to worry about it now, though- if Fanilly and Tyaethe had concerns, they could wait until the end of the battle.

And the battle was not over yet, not by a long shot.  Another wave of mercenaries emerged from behind the treeline.  Most alarming was the quintet of monstrous, mutated men that were with them.  One of them struck at Sir Fionn, but the other four were heading directly towards the perimeter, while other Golden Boars engaged and occupied the knights' vanguard.

According to what Clarice was saying, those mutants were filled to the brim with curses, twisting them into their unnatural forms.  It left no doubt as to just how vile the Golden Boars were, to disfigure their own men into such monstrous curse-bearers.

[color=A0A0A0]"I don't think you'll have to worry about missing the fun this time, Sir Renar,"[/color] Fleuri remarked as he readied himself.

[@Psyker Landshark][@VitaVitaAR]