Southern Front

The combined force of Seekers and Luminous Knights formed a coordinated assault line. They moved in synchronized patterns, each covering the other's vulnerabilities.

At first, they fell into a familiar rhythm, one born from years of training and countless skirmishes against the unpredictable. But it soon became clear that this enemy demanded an improvisation bordering on madness.

When a Seeker with the body of a leopard rushed forward with his spotted skin hardening to a metallic sheen. His movement was mirrored by a Knight in pale violet armor who swept her halberd in an arc, batting aside a volley of needle-sharp spores.

When a Luminous Knight fell, a Seeker would drag them back to safety and immediately fill the gap, the line never breaking.

The first of the Seekers to rush forward was a woman whose hair had fused into a mane of armored spines. Each tipped with a droplet of toxic, while her talons were covered in the blue blood of downed Kabas. Every swipe she left streaks of venom that sizzled on contact with the beasts' fungal hides.

When the Kabas fell, their bodies would burst in a cloud of spores. But a Knight's shield would flare, catching the spores and incinerating them in a controlled burst of white flame.

Another male Seeker with emerald scales and glowing patterns across their face had begun to glow. When he exhaled, a cloud of corrosive vapor streamed forth, eating at the advancing wall of roots and forcing the Tetan berserkers to stay away, lest their own limbs be melted off.

A Luminous Knight beside him raised her staff. Ice crystals formed in the air, swirling in tight spirals before launching forward. They struck a cluster of Kabas with mushroom shells, and frost spread across their wooden bodies, slowing their movements.

Another Seeker wielded a spear that glowed with golden light that left trails in the air. When the roots tried to grasp those trails, they ignited before golden flames rushed along the tendrils and consumed them rapidly.

A new threat entered the fray.

The ground itself began to tremble, and fissures opened beneath the feet of everyone. Several Seekers tumbled into the crevasses, but not before a nearby Knight, seeing the danger.

He waved his hand, leading ice to appear, and rushed out before then forming a ramp, giving his allies a path back to the surface.

Another Knight with armor like glass dropped to one knee and pressed both hands to the ground. Instantly, a network of crystal bridges grew outward, covering the growing chasms and offering a catch to those who had fallen.

"Hold formation!" The glass-armored Knight shouted, and the command was echoed down the line by a half-dozen voices.

The Seekers adapted, shifting their stances to distribute weight across the precarious platforms. The roots lashed upward, but the crystalline bridges withstood its constant blows for a few seconds. The roots shattered against the structures, raining splinters that were quickly swept away by the Knights' counterattacks.

Above the chaos, a Seeker with the wings and eyes of a hawk hovered in the updraft, his gaze spotting enemies. Then relaying their movements to the ground with terse calls, and when he saw a pack of Tetan saboteurs crawling along the underside of a crystal bridge.

He swooped low and smashed them away with steel-tipped talons, sending their bodies tumbling into the abyss below.

The ground battle intensified.

A Luminous Knight summoned a dome of light that flashed so brightly, it burned the retinas of every beast in a fifty-foot radius. Temporarily blinded, the Kabas and Chimeras thrashed in confusion, giving the Seekers time to regroup.

One, a lithe woman with fox ears and a tail, darted through the chaos, twin daggers flashing. Each strike found a vulnerable joint or exposed nerve cluster, and she moved so quickly that her afterimages seemed to fight alongside her.

Several Seekers had taken wounds, but the Knights covered their retreat. Their figure stood between allies and the relentless advance of the enemy. Where healing was needed, a Knight would go to the dozens of figures with a healer Beast Spirit who quickly mended their wounds and stopped any toxins inside of them.

But the enemy learned as well.

The Kabas adjusted their approach, using fallen bodies as shields to protect the next wave from the worst of the Seeker attacks.

The Tetans coordinated their spear attacks, aiming not for flesh but for the armor joints of the Knights.

Even the roots adapted, seeking out seams in the platforms or weak points in the crystal lattice.

Each side escalated, countered, adapted, and counter-adapted.

A Seeker with horned beetle traits anchored himself when the ground buckled, and a trio of Seekers began to slide into a widening fissure.

He wrapped them in a vine before he heaved them to safety and then used his own back to shield them from a barrage of poisonous projectiles.

A Luminous Knight took advantage of the opening, slamming her staff into the ground and sending a cascade of blue lightning spreading out. The wet forest amplified the effect, the Kabas and Chimeras convulsed as the lightning burned them from within.

The ground erupted again, this time not with roots but with a grotesque hand formed from thorns and pulp. It tried to crush a cluster of Knights near the center, but a Seeker with mantis-like arms leapt high, slicing the hand at the wrist. Sap gushed like blood, and the severed hand collapsed in a heap.

"Stay close!" Shouted another Knight. "We can't afford to be separated when dealing with these things!"

The Seekers needed no further urging as they moved back together.

When a gap opened in the line, two Seekers would fill it before the enemy could exploit the breach. When the rain of spores became too thick, a Knight with wings would unleash a wind to blow them away or burn them out with flames.

But the enemy was never-ending.

For every Kaba felled, two more took its place. The Tetans became more aggressive, forming cages and battering rams that hammered at the Seekers and knights.

The Seekers began to tire, their stamina taxed by the relentless pace. The Luminous Knights, drawing on their deeper reserves of power, redoubled their efforts.

The woman in violet armor called down a storm of frozen lances, impaling half a dozen Chimeras in a single volley. A Knight with a lion's mane roared, the sound amplified by his armor, and the shockwave shattered the nearest Phantasm Beasts into pieces.

At the center of the line, a Seeker with a long tongue sprayed out a green and grey beam that rushed into the onrushing Kabas. The moment the beam crashed into the beasts' throats, the poison reacted violently, causing the Kabas to be destroyed from the inside out.

The Seeker with hawk-like features shouted. "Incoming from the left!"

Three Chimeras burst from the tree line that made the ground tremble with each step. They opened their socket eyes, and black tendrils poured forth.

The acid-breathing Seeker exhaled a concentrated stream, melting the tendrils before they could reach the formation. The hawk Seeker dove, talons extended, raking across one Chimera's face and tearing away chunks of pale wood.

A Luminous Knight with silver hair summoned chains of pure light. They shot forward, wrapping around the Chimeras' legs and pulling tight. The creatures stumbled, crashing to the ground and shaking the area around.

More roots lashed out from the barrier itself.

The golden-spear Seeker thrust rapidly, his weapon's light trails forming a defensive net that caught the tendrils. Each contact resulted in golden flames spreading, forcing the roots to retreat or burn.

But the assault intensified as the forest threw everything at them, desperate to drive them back.

The fighters held their ground, each protecting the others against the overwhelming onslaught.

…

Eastern Position

Reinhard stood with the others, watching the distant flashes of light and hearing the muffled sounds of battle. Marie gripped Longinus tightly, the Star Jewel hanging from her neck trembled with anticipation.

Joseph held Arondight, Janus shifted his weight, and Amiya clutched the map against her chest, trembling slightly.

Casseo's black helm turned toward the sounds of combat, while Veryn's focused expression never wavered. Honor stood at the front, his wyvern helm tilted as if listening to something beyond physical sound.

The distant battles raged.

Explosions of magic lit the horizon in three directions. North, central, and south were all under simultaneous assault, with the shaking of the area reaching them.

The group had already input their magic and abilities into the Herald Mark around Reinhard's neck. And he had already connected with all of them, allowing everyone around him to use the powers.

Saint Lucian's voice rang out in everyone's head. "Everything is ready. You guys can go ahead and rush to the center now."

Brunhilde's voice rang out. "Be careful and go, we're all counting on you guys."

Vlad's voice rang out. "Don't be broken or lose faith by the forest whispers, know that everyone here is fighting with you all!"

Reinhard and the others trembled before they nodded, then Amiya rushed out with the others following behind her.

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