“A raid?!” Alexx’s face paled. “But why?!”

“We already knew that Mountain Goats and Iron Ants have a history with each other,” Yang reminded him. “Not sure if they need more of a reason than that.”

“Whatever the reason, we’ve been caught in it.” Zed turned to Alvor. “You seem pretty calm about the whole thing.”

“The raids come every so often and the goats can take care of it, we’re kind of used to it at this point,” he said with a grimace. “This is the fourth raid in the last three months.”

“So… how many do you think are out there?”

“If it’s anything like the last few raids, there will be over ten thousand Drones, a hundred Warriors, a dozen Soldiers, maybe a Guardian or two.”

“Warriors? Guardian?” Yang asked, a cold chill running down her spine.

“They’re both bigger variants. The Warriors have wings but can only hover a bit, and have blades for their front legs. The Guardians are massive, almost as tall as an adult goat, and with much thicker armor.”

“You’ve seen them?”

“Not up close. During the last raid I found an outcropping up on one of the cliffs that overlooked the passageway. The fighting was insane, my eyes could barely keep up.”

“Alright then,” Zed huffed as he stood up. “I guess we’ve got a long day ahead.”

Alvor’s eyes widened, as did the other players from the basin. “You… you aren’t seriously going to go out there are you?!”

“Well I don’t know about these two, but I’m always down for a fight, especially one like this.”

“I mean, me and Zed have already fought like a hundred Drones,” Alexx said. “The variants might change things but I think we can handle it. The goats will probably be doing most of the work anyway.”

“I guess I’m coming too then,” Yang said as she stood up. “What kind of Tank hides out with the rearguard?”

“An under-leveled one,” Zed said with a mocking tone.

“Exactly. I came out here for EXP, it’s about time I get some.”

The three began walking away, the others looking on with slack jaws. They were partially worried that these three were going to get themselves killed and that they would lose their escort out of Ziege Basin. But each of them had just watched Yang fight Van bare-handed, they had heard Alexx boast of his monstrous STR stat, and they could feel how perfectly calm Zed was despite the obvious danger.

Despite common sense saying otherwise, they began to believe that these three could take part in such a massive battle and survive.

The three had walked maybe a dozen feet away before Alvor pulled up next to them riding Van.

“I know Zed doesn’t need it, but let me give you two a ride. No reason to exhaust yourselves before the fight even starts.”

Yang smiled appreciatively. “Thanks.”

~~~~~

It took a few minutes for them to reach the passageway, the sounds of battle growing ever louder until they could barely hear themselves think. Countless cries of pain and rage could be heard from the Mountian Goats within, along with the drum beat created by the repeated use of [SKULL BASH] to crush a countless number of Drones.

Just as before there was a continuous tide of Mountain Goats entering and leaving the fifty-foot-wide passageway, but those that left did so with numerous injuries and the occasional Drone stuck in their fur.

Yang noticed that there were more goats entering the passageway than leaving, and she hoped that meant they were pushing the tide of Iron Ants back.

A few of the adult goats saw them approaching and tried to push Van back, deciding he was too young and weak to participate in the battle, but they stopped as Alvor explained that they weren’t there to fight.

“I’m not going any further,” Alvor shouted over the noise. “Try not to die in there.”

“That’s the plan,” Yang said, eyes locked forward in a determined expression. Dropping to the ground, Yang equipped her armor and weapon, startling Van with the sudden transformation and stunning Alvor with the size of her battle gear.

The goat rider wished them luck as he turned to leave, moving towards one of the basin walls rather than the grove, likely to watch from the vantage point he mentioned before.

“So do we actually have a plan?” Alexx asked, bouncing from foot to foot as he hyped himself up for the intense battle only a few hundred feet away from them.

“The goats probably won’t go out of their way to help us, so we need to stick together,” Yang said.

“That won’t work,” Zed said. “With this many Drones, we need to keep moving.”

“I never said we needed to stand still. Just watch each other’s backs and focus on surviving. Remember to fall back the moment it starts to get too hot. There are too many for us to take all at once. Sound good?”

Zed and Alexx nodded.

Yang tightened her grip on her War Pick. “Then let’s FUCKING GO!” she roared, charging forward as the other two kept pace.

Getting through to the front line was difficult. The Mountain Goats were each a good distance from each other, mainly to avoid friendly fire but also to allow injured goats to retreat, but as they got closer to the front the goats were acting more and more violent and erratic. Furthermore, the dust and dirt kicked up by the goats’ attacks made it harder to see the individual ants as they pushed forward. As difficult as it was, Yang and the others made steady progress toward the front, eventually reaching a point where they could begin fighting the ants.

The space between the goats also allowed the Drones to pass through, though at ever-shrinking numbers. Thus, while most of the ants would try to swarm the goats at the front, a few would push forward to attack those in the back.

Yang swung her War Pick down at a Drone as it tried to pass her. It tried to dodge, but reacted far slower than normal, and had a fist-sized chunk of its abdomen ripped away as the tip of the weapon tore through it. Perhaps the dirt in the air was messing with their senses, but the individual ants they were running into were far easier to deal with than normal. Of course, Yang and the others weren’t doing much better; between the oppressive noise, the constant tremors, and the dirt clogging the air, the players’ [DANGER SENSE] was nearly useless, leaving with only their eyes as they squinted through the dust.

Fighting the Drones while also avoiding the attacks of the goats around them was difficult, but even that problem quickly solved itself. As they continued fighting, the Mountain Goats around them began to notice them. These were not adolescent goats like the ones that went berserk when Zed and Alexx fought with Loran, they were older, wiser beasts that paid attention to their surroundings and soon realized that the three players were on their side. Soon, the goats around them gave them more space to fight. Each ant that entered their small clearing was swiftly killed, either crushed by Alexx’s fists, pierced by Yang’s War Pick, or their heads cut off by Zed’s Soldier Spear.

Yang waved her hand and the three moved forward. There was little verbal communication between them, as it was simply too loud for them to hear anything, even shouting could barely be heard and there was no reason to strain their throats unless it was necessary.

The goats continued to make room for them, allowing more and more ants to enter the small clearing as they got closer to the front of the battle.

Although they couldn’t speak to coordinate, the three players fell into a comfortable rhythm as the battle grew more intense. With the Drones unable to swarm them due to the chaos of the battlefield, Alexx and Zed were able to focus on offense instead of evasion, remaining mostly stationary as they stabbed, slashed, and crushed every ant that came their way. Yang was unable to stay still as the weight of her weapon kept pulling her around, so she was allowed to take the front half of their clearing as she moved back and forth.

An ant leapt out from under a goat at Yang’s back, the Tank completely oblivious without the use of [DANGER SENSE]. Just before the insect could land on her, the blade of Zed’s spear came down like the ax of an executioner, lopping off the Drone’s head and bouncing harmlessly against her back. Yang glanced at Zed to confirm that there wasn’t a still living ant on her, he responded with a calm nod, and the two returned their focus to the fight in less than a second.

In this formation (Yang at the front and the other two behind like a triangle) they advanced step by step. Each time an opening appeared in front of them they pushed in, with every step forward more and more ants would appear. Still, the battle was going smoothly. The pace of the fight was certainly intense, especially for Yang whose only experience with so many enemies had been The Wise One’s ambush, but it was still manageable. Alexx and Zed in particular were very calm despite the chaos, both felt that this was nothing compared to when they had been swarmed by Drones with Loran.

‘Maybe we were worried for nothing?’ Yang thought as she swung at another ant. ‘It’s a little rough, but as long as we pace ourselves it should be fine.’

Another opening had appeared in front of them, but as Yang moved to fill the gap she flinched, unwilling and unable to take another step forward. Alexx and Zed wondered what caused her to stop, before catching a glimpse of what lay beyond through the space the Mountain Goats left for them.

They had reached the front lines.