“Chen, be ready to cast illusions when necessary and stay up the ridge to coordinate” Lucas barked his orders, unsheathing his falchion. First of the ice ships were making contact with the shore, Lucas now able to see swarm of the blue skinned invaders preparing their weapons and skills “give them hell, but not let yourself be flanked” he finished his orders, designated teams of adventurer’s going on the other wing, hopefully intercepting the entire vanguard. The shoreline was littered with defenses and traps, all of their casters and ranged fighters already taking cover behind them, leaving Lucas, Ted and two other adventurers to face the full brunt of the attack.

“Ted, don’t play hero. If you are overwhelmed, retreat to Margaret” Lucas said worryingly, the sheer number of enemies making him uneasy.

“Same to you, Lucas” Ted said, extending his hand, a gesture Lucas readily accepted “let’s finish this shit” he finished, taking a slight step forward, careful not to step out of bounds of Chen’s camouflage, his illusion managing to give them some semblance of stealth, although Lucas knew the invaders had seers and that illusion wouldn’t fool them for long. The ships finally made contact with the shore, a number of invaders jumping down. That was the agreed mark and soon a number of lights and arrows and bolts and all other projectiles flew over Lucas’s head, most of them slamming on top of the hull of the nearest ship, wrecking havoc amongst the invaders. With on last glance towards the horizon, unfortunately containing even more ships, Lucas sighed and went to work, launching “Blade spin” as soon as he was level with Ted, avoiding the unfortunate drawback of his skill which didn’t differentiate between friend and foe. His falchion spun, hitting three invaders in various body parts, unfortunately failing to kill any.

The invaders were starting chaotically deploying from the ice ship, which was cracked and burning from the various attacks it withstood, some of his parts already starting to melt. Lucas started his run, catching his blade in mid – air as it was spinning back towards him, gaining momentum as he emerged from Chen’s camouflage straight in the path of two invaders. “Guiding strike” was the mental command Lucas sent, his hand automatically swinging for the neck, his momentum boosting his attack, completely decapitating the man in front of him. His colleague immediately froze, Lucas passing him like a blur, allowing Ted a chance land the first hit, a chance he gladly took as his club connected with the skull of blue skinned invader before Lucas lost them from sight, his speed carrying him fast towards the throng of the invaders.

Suddenly, he lost his balance, gravel beneath him turning from ice. Almost instinctively, Lucas activated “Bulwark of balance” stabilizing him before he broke his neck, but still forcing him to slow down. In response to his slowing down, a number of invaders diverted his attention to him, casters amongst them already launching their skills. Lucas activated “Dodge”, using ice to his advantage to slide out of harm’s way, but his movement was becoming a slog, as the boost from his “Bulwark of balance” expired, any acceleration getting him precariously close to sliding down. Remembering his advice, he activated “Dodge” once more, this time making a somersault backwards to avoid attacks, sliding backwards after landing to get to the edge of the ice. There he found Ted in a skirmish with five invaders, the man dodging and tanking the hits in equal measures. On his flank, the two adventurers were battling with two invaders each, forcing Lucas to quickly activate “Blade spin” combined with “Inflict disease”, the slowness inflicted on the hit enough to alleviate some pressure, both Ted and one of the adventurers dispatching the invaders struck by the blade. His blade returning to hand, Lucas immediately launched “Double strike” combining it with “Inflict poison” ability from his sword, the invader succumbing from accumulated damage, leaving a gap for Lucas to join his friend in holding the line, but not before he launched another “Blade spin”, another three invaders struck and subsequently downed by the combined effort of the defenders.

“Report from Chen arrived. The other team is pushed back deep, our old friend the Ice Witch leading them there. And she is much more strategic this time around, doing something similar to artillery preparations, bombarding anything that moves before advancing” Ted said, Lucas loudly cursing. He was hoping that the invaders would send new faces, who wouldn’t be expecting this defense, but the Ice Witch was pushed back already and she was certain to be better prepared this time.

“Casualties?” Lucas asked, hoping the answer would be zero.

“First volleys took three lives, but nothing since then” Ted responded matter – of – factly, Lucas still managing to hear a pang of grief in his voice.

“We either push behind the traps or we try to push and flank the other wing, then” Lucas said, casting a glance at the ice which impeded his movement. It was slowly creeping up, invaders chaotically throwing themselves left and right, chasing every illusion Chen sent their way, leaving them open for devastating volleys from the ranged defenders.

“We try to push” Lucas decided, concluding that his side wasn’t so threatening, the commander clearly not prepared for the array of defensive tools Camp Hearth defenders made. Traps in particular are going to be particularly nasty to unorganized throng, massacring them.

“My explosion is ready, and I’m sure it will also break that ice” Ted said, Lucas instantly starting to shake his head vehemently.

“No, it’s too dangerous”

“Have better ideas?” Ted simply asked.

“No, but I would rather we fall back than to risk that much” Lucas responded, his eyes darting towards the shore just in time to spot another two ships arriving at shore, carrying more invaders.

“Lucas, I’m not a baby. Now, either help me to make a path or stay out of my way and be ready to capitalize when I make an opening” Ted yelled, frustrated, Lucas gazing at him for a moment before nodding his head, activating “Double strike” and striking a blue skinned woman who thought she had an opening to strike Lucas down, her plan backfiring as she found herself on the floor, screaming in pain. Refocusing himself on invaders up ahead, Lucas activated “Blade spin”, his falchion flying out of his hand and towards the enemies, infused with “Inflict disease”, Lucas on the move as soon as the blade left his hand, meeting his blade just a step from the position of the enemies and activating “Guiding strike” decapitating another enemy with sheer momentum.

Ted immediately used the chaos Lucas created to start running his forward, his Agility impressive and second only to Lucas’s own, the two adventurers flanking him and downing another two unsuspecting invaders. The group now completely entangled in combat with Lucas and two adventurers, it proved incapable to stop Ted from running past them, his club flashing with white light. A volley from the ranged attackers went towards Ted, trying to intercept him, but suddenly the man was enveloped in blinding white light, disintegrating everything around him, even managing to catch some of the unfortunate melee invaders, and, more importantly, disintegrating ice, allowing Lucas the chance to once again catch some momentum.

As he built some speed, Lucas launched another “Blade spin” towards the casters, flaring his Perception, spotting some slight movement to protect some individuals in the throng, acquiring his marks. He met his blade halfway and immediately activated “Infused piledriver”, immediately starting to spin at breakneck pace, aiming for the woman who seemed like she was being protected when his blade attacked. The woman screamed as Lucas’s falchion pierced her side, his momentum completely destroying her flank. Two similarly looking invaders shouted something which Lucas hadn’t manage to comprehend, but he activated his “Guiding strike” nonetheless, his blade striking the neck of the nearest one, blood spraying all over the place. The third one tried to quickly retreat, but a quick “Blade Spin” managed to strike him directly in the chest, “Dodge” allowing Lucas to avoid a flurry of attacks that went his way.

Content that the ice hadn’t started spreading once again and now free from the mass of enemies, Lucas casted a glance backwards, noticing Ted and the two adventurers were already on their way to the opposing flank, Chen noticing their maneuver and supporting them with his “Illusion army”, a massive number of figures vaguely resembling Ted and Lucas charging towards the casters, preventing them from giving chase.

Lucas’s passive was working overtime to build up his speed as he sprinted towards the rest of his team, Lucas analyzing the other side of the battlefield, noticing a much more organized horde, systemically dismantling any sign of resistance, probing every illusion made by Chen, never over committing and never breaking rank. On the more positive side, there wasn’t sign of more reinforcements coming, all of the ship from that side already landing.

“Contact in five” Lucas yelled as he managed to catch up with the rest of his team, overtaking them and activating “Blade spin”, his sword hitting unsuspecting invaders. Before they managed to collect themselves from the surprise, Lucas’s blade was already in hand, allowing him to activate “Infused piledriver”, aiming at the invader who seemed to bellow orders for the rest of them. Striking the man in his chest, Lucas could feel shredding of flesh and organs, and as soon as he pulled his sword, he could see the organization falling apart slightly, as if every one of present invaders decided to try and replace the downed officer role. This organizational failure allowed for the rest of the tam to make contact unopposed, inflicting terrifying casualties to the group they firstly encountered.

Lucas hacked away with his sword, taking ground meter by meter, even allowing himself to smile slightly as the butcher’s work was getting them deeper and deeper into the host. He spotted two more officers during this time, managing to take one with activate “Infused piledriver”, while one of the adventurers managed to take care of another with a particularly nasty looking swing, most certainly augmented by some skill. Suddenly, a huge blizzard descended on their position, ripping everyone from their feet, Lucas only managing to stay on his feet with the help from “Bulwark of balance”. Cursing to himself, he flared his Perception to the max, turning to see the Ice Witch appearing.

“You have not let me down. Our seers tried to warn my compatriot that we have been spotted for days now, but he was certain we will crush any resistance with ease. I have learned my lesson the last time” Ice Witch spoke, her voice smug.

“It was a mistake, just like last time. You have taken three lives, but at the cost of how many? A hundred, a thousand?” Lucas responded back, feeling the stability from his “Bulwark of balance” slowly expiring.

“It doesn’t matter, we lay for keeps this time. I have warned you that you will draw attention from our great warmaster, and you did” Pyra responded, her eyes looking for the reaction from Lucas, who just shrugged. This mysterious warmaster was currently no concern of his, only threat right behind him.

Blizzard subsided, and Lucas managed to once again see the full scope of the battlefield, realizing his mistake, Pyra sacrificing a portion of her host to get them separated and completely surrounded. He could spot Ted already fighting to get out, his club almost full, allowing for another explosion which would clear the way. The two adventurers that were with them weren’t that fortunate, as they were getting overwhelmed by the second, with slim chance to get some help. The rest of this side completely collapsed, Lucas seeing quick retreat of his forces up the ridge, hopefully towards the rendezvous point back in the woods. As expected, Ted let his club explode, taking lives of all nearby invaders and opening a path for his retreat, Lucas prepared to follow him, his “Dodge” activated as soon as volley of attacks came, his massive Agility allowing him to land outside of the encirclement. Sending hand signals of general retreat in Chen’s direction, Lucas retreated in the woods, content that Chen managed to see his orders and signal to his original side to retreat orderly, still inflicting casualties to the invaders.