This time she did not chase them. She held position, fired at close range, and used her reinforced hull to deny them the path forward while the rest of the fleet burned them down.
The beasts reacted with anger rather than strategy.
That was their weakness.
The smaller ones surged toward whatever had hurt them most recently. The adults tried to grab ships with their tendrils.
The large leaders pushed through their own swarm, attempting to reach Lysara, perhaps recognizing her as the creature that had wounded them first.
Aurelian adjusted the formation calmly.
"Left escorts, widen. Solenne, cut the smaller ones away from the leaders. Rhoswen, hold your line. Astra, second leader, mark seven."
"Understood," Astra said.
The second leader died under Black Crown's focused fire, its body splitting apart in a cloud of dark fluid and crystal shards.
