Shono clenched his jaw, swinging his mace with all he had. Those Aberrations were strange. To be able to deflect his blows that easily... That probably wasn't their first time battling against soldiers. They'd gotten there just in time to save Fen, but those things were rather troublesome. Frederick's words came to mind. Exhausting themselves before even reaching the Ringleader was a terrible idea. They'd somewhat managed to break the creatures' formation, though that didn't exactly make a difference.
The two soldiers abruptly distanced themselves from the creatures. Brute force wasn't enough. Shono signaled the Captain to follow him. The sooner they finished the fight the better. They approached the Aberrations casually, as if they were taking a walk. The Aberrations didn't react, glaring at them. Shono stifled a smirk. Een had been right. Anyone would falter if their foes' bloodlust suddenly vanished, even those monsters. That sort of reckless bluff wouldn't work more than once on the same enemy, but they didn't need it to. By the time they realized what the two men were plotting, they'd already gotten close enough. Shono's mace connected with the Aberration's knee, ruffling its fur. Immediately, the man got a second hit in, aimed at the same place. The creature let out an annoying screech, falling flat on its back. A second Aberration swiped its claw at Karabell.
"So it was a Gargling, after all," Karabell said as he jumped back.
The feathered Aberration's eyes were full of anger. That one was probably a regular Aberration, and it was trying to prevent them from finishing off the Gargling. Karabell focused his attention on the beast's arms. He could more or less predict its next move. Even if he could evade its attack and was somehow able to slip past the Aberration, he had no way of killing the furred one lying on the ground. No, there was a way. Where had Shono gone? Karabell glanced over his shoulder, ready to call out to his teammate. His lips tightened, and all color drained out of the Captain's face. Shono was struggling to fend off yet another Aberration. If they didn't hurry, the furred Gargling would get up. But they couldn't do anything in that situation. The rest of the beasts were all patiently awaiting their turn, too.
Karabell spent the following minute dodging the feathered creature's blows. The Aberration was thrashing around wildly, desperate to buy time. The Gargling had almost pushed itself up to a sitting position. He needed to find an opening. His opponent was covered in feathers, meaning that Karabell could kill it by himself. He spun to the side, effortlessly avoiding the monster's claws. Without realizing, he'd gotten considerably closer to the Aberration. All of a sudden, his eyes went round. An opening... The Captain regained his footing and swiftly thrust his spear at the Aberration. He could clearly feel the weapon sink into the creature's flesh. But he couldn't celebrate that feeble victory. Karabell turned his attention back to the Gargling. It was still struggling to regain its feet. However, the Captain couldn't get rid of it without Shono's help... And Shono couldn't get rid of the scaled Aberration without Karabell's help. Out of a sudden, they heard a loud scream as someone dashed past him, leaping towards the Gargling.
"I hope you haven't forgotten about me!" Fen exclaimed, hitting the creature directly in the chest. "Like I could just sit idly by while our comrades are all risking their lives. I can take care of this one, Captain! Shono seems to be in a bit of a pinch."
Karabell pressed a hand to his throat as his face twitched in surprise. He'd almost forgotten. He wasn't alone, he had so many comrades he could rely on. Karabell examined the battlefield. Oddly enough, it looked like Kirru and his Aberrations were doing just fine. Aided by Een, they'd managed to incapacitate a few Aberrations, and Alice had already finished off some of the creatures. Aside from the three that had gotten hurt earlier, the apprentices seemed to have also joined the battle. Some of them were lying on the ground, but he couldn't tell if they'd been injured or were simply biding their time, waiting for a chance to strike. The Captain grimaced. The Garglings' screeched were deafening. He could barely hear his own thoughts. He couldn't spot Lyra and Gull, but they were probably watching from the sidelines. There was no doubt in his mind that he'd made the right decision. Karabell had instructed Ono, Ergo and the rest of Squad Ress to find a place to hide.
"We're doing fine. Sometimes, you have to wait a little before a gamble pays off," Karabell muttered to himself, racing across the battlefield.
Shono parried the scaled Aberration's blow. He'd landed a few hits, but none of them strong enough to break through its armor. That one seemed to be a lot more resilient than the others... And it wasn't even a Superior. There was a spot on its chest that had weakened considerably. If he could just get another hit in, the Captain wouldn't have any problem killing the beast. He didn't necessarily need to knock it to the ground. Out of a sudden, an arrow glanced off the Aberration's scales. Shono realized that him moving around like that made it impossible for Lyra to shoot the beast's eyes, but he didn't have any other choice. He clenched his jaw. How many creatures did they have to kill? After a few seconds, his mace finally struck the creature, revealing the pinkish skin hiding beneath those troublesome scales. Just like he'd expected, the Captain took it from there, killing the Aberration in one rapid movevement.
"You did a great job, Shono," he said stiffly, heaving for breath.
"It was all thanks to you, Captain."
The number of enemies slaughtered by Alice, Een and Kirru's Aberrations was steadily increasing. Fen seemed to have gotten rid of the furred Gargling as well. The apprentices were all fighting more fiercely than ever. Karabell stopped for a moment and caught his breath. Surprisingly, it looked like they had the upper hand.
"Come, now... How long are you going to make me wait?" he asked with a note of disapproval.
Shono decided to ignore the Captain's words. Sure the Captain hadn't talked to him. Plus, they couldn't rest easy yet. They still had to take down all those enemies. Shono drew in a long breath, gripping his mace's handle. He'd sensed something approaching. Something fast. He jerked his head in the direction of the sound. A feathered Aberration was running towards them on all fours. Shono's brow tightened with anger as he lifted his weapon.
"Calm down, Shono. That's Pik, one of the Garglings that retrieved Gun," Karabell said, a pleasant smile playing on his lips. "Finally..."
Pik was a member of Squad B. The Aberration wouldn't have just come there for no reason. It was also carrying a boy on its back, meaning that the creature had a message it needed convey. Karabell's smile broadened. He was glad he'd asked Arago's squad to keep watch.
"Looks like my hunch was right, after all."