"We cannot win a war of attrition. We have to decapitate them."

"We hit the front as per the plan," Aldric said.

"Good. Hopefully, when the line starts to buckle, Aaron will step out. He'll come out to stabilize the defense, leaving Judas to us."

"And that is our window," Seraphine said, looking at Lena.

Jake stepped into the circle. He looked small among the armored adults, but his presence was heavy. "And Aaron is mine…"

Matthias opened his mouth to object, but Jake silenced him with a look that was far too old for his face.

"No heroics, kid," Helga grunted, though she grinned. "Just keep him busy while we smash his toys. It will be Lena to take care of him, ok?"

"He nodded."

"Let's move," Seraphine said.

The group dispersed.

…

…

…

The perimeter of the War Hound base was a fortress of scavenged industrial waste. Walls of welded scrap metal and reinforced concrete rose even to twenty feet high, topped with watchtowers where sentries scanned the area with bored eyes.

Lena and Seraphine moved through the pre-dawn shadows like smoke. At Level 285 and Level 201 respectively, they were fundamentally on a different plane of existence compared to the Level 120 guards patrolling the catwalks.

Plus, both of them had stealth skills that made it impossible for the others to see them. But better to be safe than sorry, and so they were sneaking their way around instead of blatantly walking there.

They reached the outer wall of the base, a slab of concrete patched with iron sheets. Lena pressed her hand against the surface. Predator's Echo, flared to life, painting the world in weird signals and heat signatures.

"Three on the catwalk above," Lena said. "Facing east. Two more patrolling the inner yard, moving away."

Seraphine nodded. She activated Silent Step, and both scaled the wall, finding handholds in rivets and seams that lesser fighters would have missed. They vaulted the parapet and landed in a crouch on the metal catwalk. They still made no sound, as the noise was dampened by their skills before it could ring out.

A sentry walked past them, paused, and frowned as a slight breeze touched his neck, but saw he saw nothing.

He shrugged and continued his patrol, unaware that death had just breathed on him.

They slipped past the outer defenses and dropped into the shadows below. Ahead of them shimmered the translucent dome of the Settlement Barrier. It was designed to repel monsters, but it allowed humans entry—unless specific individuals had been blacklisted. Of course, a complete lockdown was possible, but unless Judas wanted to keep even his people out, it was not advisable.

"Do you think they added us to the list?" Lena asked, eyeing the barrier.

"Judas is paranoid, but he's arrogant," Seraphine said. "Maybe me, but not you. He doesn't even know who you are… Well, you didn't leave people alive during your ambushes."

"Right," Lena said.

"But what if he blocked you?"

"I doubt it…"

"Why?"

"Because he is not just arrogant, and… Well… Let's say he made a couple of appreciative comments about me that I didn't like. He WANTS me there. Plus, I don't think he is expecting this attack. Killing the patrols is one thing; assaulting a fortress is another."

She paused. "I made sure to leave information among the War hounds, that we only had a few fighters and that we were trying to reduce their numbers. The spies I planted made it look like we were desperate."

"Aaron is not stupid; I don't think he fell for that."

"Maybe," Seraphine said. "But there is still no need for them to blacklist us right now. They do not expect an attack like this, and neither do they expect our numbers, as I said."

They stepped through the barrier. It rippled like water, accepting them without resistance.

"We're in," Lena said. "I hope your spies are as good as you made them look like."

"They are," Seraphine said, and then she took a steadying breath and reached into her mind, finding the link to a specific summon. It was a small mana hawk, currently perched on a piece of rebar on the ridge overlooking the base, visible only to Helga and Aldric.

"Light the fuse," Seraphine said.

She snapped the mental link.

On the ridge, the hawk dissolved into a burst of brilliant white mana sparks.

Helga and Aldric saw it.

"THAT'S THE SIGNAL, BOYS!" Helga roared. "LET'S BRING HELL TO THESE IDIOTS!"

She stood on the crest of a ridge, raising her warhammer high. Behind her, a thousand survivors rose from hiding.

"SUMMON!" Aldric said, thrusting his spear toward the sky.

The air above the ridge tore open.

It wasn't just a few creatures. It was a deluge. Every single member of the coalition bought summoning skills with their pooled resources, and now, they unleashed them all at once. There were at the bare minimum 3000 summoned monsters, since everyone had the same summoning skill. It was nothing much.

Thousands of portals ripped through the area, and creatures appeared.

Spectral creatures made of mana, others of flesh. Some looked human, some beastly, and others, neither of them.

"CHARGE!"

The coalition surged, and the War Hound screamed warnings. The first wave of summons crashed into the outer gates with the force of a battering ram.

They died in the dozens against the War Hounds' defenses. Spells flew from the ridge as the Spriggan mages unleashed their volley. Fireballs and lightning arcs hammered the walls, blowing holes in the scrap metal and sending defenders flying.

Inside the base, alarms blared. The War Hounds scrambled, rushing to the walls and summoning their own creatures to fill the gaps. However, the initiative belonged to the attackers.

Helga smashed through the front gate, her hammer pulverizing a War Hound's shield and the arm holding it. "IRON SIDES! PUSH THEM BACK!"

As Helga and Aldric pushed, Jake's creatures started appearing. They were going to act as soon as Aaron appeared on the battlefield.

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