The towering creature was soon fully revealed, breaking out from behind a group of trees, followed closely by two others who began to spread out into a boar's head formation. Each one held the appearance of moving, swirling shadow, save for the bright eyes and gaping maw at its torso.
What the…? Thorsen half thought, but was interrupted by Erumon still atop the wall.
"Nenvalur, Thorsen; go!" Erumon boomed, though his face wasn't one of worry, but cold, calculating determination. "Finally," Nenvalur said with a wolfish grin, but even Thorsen had a hard time feeling confident against these new creatures. "Follow my lead; you'll be fine," the elf said, having felt his comrade's apprehension, before they darted into the woods at breakneck speeds.
The difference between a second stage and a fifth is incredible, Thorsen realized when the cones of air began to form around his torso and arms.
As they were going to meet their targets head-on, Nenvalur caught sight of a few of the archers who had been pelting them with arrows earlier. He quickly leapt off one of the massive trunks to his left and moved from tree to tree, slicing the Thran archers' heads cleanly from their shoulders.
Big fuckers aren't you? I can't wait to tell Siraye about this, he thought, trailing a mist of blood behind him as he moved.
Thorsen did the same, but was far more surprised by their size than Nenvalur was. His eyes widened when he found his first target, though due to his speed, it hadn't noticed he was even there. With a swing of his blade, the first of many Thran fell to his blade, as a diagonal slash carved cleanly through the beast's torso.
Before the two halves hit the ground, he'd already found another group of archers hiding in the trees to his left and proceeded to hunt them all down. Each swing cracked the air around it, sending bits of bone and trails of blood trailing in long arcs from the tip of his blade.
He decapitated one, ducked beneath an incoming blow from his right, and severed the legs of the as soon as spun, but one of the archers drew a dagger the size of a human longsword and swung downward in his direction. He deftly side-stepped the blow to the left, and brought his sword up through the midsection of the creature, infusing it with ample amounts of mana that caused it to explode.
Impressive. Where did you learn that one? Nenvalur asked, already working his way through another group of archers, scattering limbs and soaking the earth with their blood. Bernar, actually, Thorsen sent back briefly, finding it a bit difficult to keep his focus on the battle and talk. I should've guessed as much. Clean up those on your side, and we'll meet up at those three charging at us, Nenvalur sent with a mental nod.
As they each moved through their respective areas, the air quickly filled with the scent of blood, entrails, and the sounds of dying creatures. Erumon observed Thorsen carefully, making sure that he wasn't overstepping his limits as a new fifth stage.
He fights like he's been wielding a blade since birth. As expected of a descendant of my kind, he thought, seeing him crush the throat of a creature in one hand, while stabbing his blade through the skull of another.
Their enemies began to retreat in fear of their combined prowess, but Erumon could sense something much darker hiding behind the trio of obcasi that tore through the distant trees. As Thorsen and Nenvalur met back up along their original path, Nenvalur raised an eyebrow at his comrade, who was drenched in a thick coat of blood.
"I'll have to teach you to move out of the way of the blood you spill," Nenvalur chuckled briefly. "I've never moved this quickly in my life. I feel I'm allowed to be covered in blood as I grow accustomed to it," Thorsen said, using the back of his gauntlet to wipe some blood off his brow. "So long as it's not your own," Nenvalur said casually, staring off toward the titanic creatures drawing closer during the lull in their fighting.
"What the fuck are we going to do about them, though? I've never seen one before," Thorsen sighed, flicking the blood from his sword. "Only one way to find out," Derion's voice came from behind them. "Ah, hello, old friend! I didn't know you would be in this fight," Nenvalur said with genuine surprise.
"We wouldn't be a part of the Commander's strike force if we just hid away at home, would we? I do apologize for our late appearance, but we had to ensure the other gates were secure first," Haldir said, spreading his arms widely. "That, and Derion keeps wanting to stop and examine the bodies you've left behind," Vyra said, pinching the bridge of her nose as Derion squatted over a large, severed arm.
"Who's this? Did you find Erumon's long-lost brother buried in something's remains?" Eirenne asked, pointing an arrow at Thorsen. "Not quite. It's just my brother-in-arms, Thorsen from Hjalfar," Nenvalur began proudly, patting his blood-soaked shoulder twice, assuming they hadn't already met. "Sarcasm flows right over your head sometimes, doesn't it?" she sighed.
Oh, he looks handsome, even when covered in all that blood, Vyra thought with a pair of raised eyebrows. Don't you dare! I laid claim to him first, Eirenne sent back with a glare, to which Vyra merely shrugged.
It would seem subtlety flows right past her. I wonder if she at least bid it farewell, Nenvalur thought, observing the brief exchange, though Thorsen could only offer a confused glance at Haldir, who sighed and raised his hands defeatedly.
"It's an honor to finally fight beside you all, but we need to figure out how to handle those things," Thorsen said, pointing over his shoulder, while Derion's ears perked up attentively. "Let me see," he quickly moved over to get a better look. His eyes flared with mana, allowing him to see the wicking tendrils of Leech mana seeping from their bodies. It also allowed him to see its swirling, writhing skin as its thick arm pushed another tree aside.
After a few brief moments of consideration and rubbing his chin as he paced back and forth, he finally turned to face the others. "Fire attribute spells will work the best on these creatures, but we can't really afford to get too close to them until we test that theory. Eirenne, Haldir; I'll need your support in hitting them with powerful ranged attacks," Derion said, surprising Thorsen at the speed with which he'd figured it out.
Is he always like this? Thorsen asked Nenvalur privately. Has been since he was a child, but his word is as good as mine when it comes to oddities like those gigantic bastards, the elf shrugged, prompting Thorsen to blink a few times.
"In the meantime, Vyra, Nenvalur, Thorsen, and I will do what we can to damage them, but we'll have to see how effective fire is against them first," Derion continued, entirely oblivious of Eirenne's frustrated sigh. "I'll go with Thorsen. I already know Nenvalur wants to take one of them on alone," Vyra said, rubbing salt in the wound. "Couldn't have said it better myself," Nenvalur grinned.
"In the meantime, keep an eye out for more archers. They hit harder than you'd think," he said, already turning in the direction of the incoming horde of Thran. "Let's move," Haldir said, getting a nod from the others as they rushed into their respective positions. Vyra gave Eirenne a wink and dashed off to Thorsen's side, prompting Eirenne to groan in disapproval.
As they made their approach to the first obcasus, they realized that by their feet were dozens, if not hundreds, of Thran spread throughout the trees, though many more trailed behind them. "Shit, that's a lot more than I thought they would have," Vyra said with a click of her tongue. "A few are going to get by us regardless, but we have to do what we can to protect your kinsfolk," Thorsen said, his voice calm and steady, as if he'd already taken this into account.
Vyra looked at him curiously for a moment. It certainly wasn't their first time meeting, though they hadn't interacted much since Leona's arrival in Caegwen.
Steadfast and a realist? Oh, my, she thought, feeling a smile tug at the corner of her mouth.