Milia made a mad dash to the front of the procession, rampaging through the shattered formation that was once crowded together. The rather large axe she carried appeared weightless due to her nimble movements, her hooves bashing apart the terrain beneath them. As she ran across the battlefield, her troops were helplessly locked in a defensive position.
But not for much longer. The chants produced by the back line mages reached their zenith and flooded through the entire area, their voices seeping into the very snow that quietly fell throughout the cold region. Bunches and hexes of arcane origin could be seen gravitating from the rear end, shrouding the mages in a magical smog. From the smog a large platform crawled into existence, the translucent surface glowing brightly in a myriad of colors. The platform slowly yet surely covered the entire sky around Hettur, halting the gheckla's fervid throws.
"Grand Spell: Skyward Rainbow Barrier!" Houren's shrill and timid sounding voice rang in the ears of every monster present. He had taken control of moving the barrier that blotted out the sky in an attempt to lessen the burden on the spell casting monsters that had produced it. As half of the more arcane monsters were preoccupied with keeping the barrier afloat, the other half charged spells and aimed them at the gates of Hettur. The sooner they broke in, the sooner they wouldn't have to worry about the gheckla throwers putting the infantry to death.
The floating obstruction that was larger than the whole cyclops tribe put together had stopped the seemingly unending projectiles. The infantry, now freed, quickly broke out of their protective positions and switched to their more familiar combative ones. They moved towards the frenzied cyclopses and skillfully dodged their hasty blows, closing in through the gaps in their movements. As soldiers neared the tall aggressors in their midst, the cyclopses were forced into a situation as similar as what their opponents were just in mere seconds ago.
Krista watched all of this and bit her lip in frustration. She had gotten carried away witnessing her people push back against those that would harm them for the first time, underestimating the capabilities of the army before them. Thinking back on it, their offense had only been possible because of their opponents underestimating her allies as well. She turned and searched around for Lat who was similarly enthralled with his thoughts, seeking for a way to redeem the now from state of affairs.
"Lat!" Listening to her own voice, she was surprised at how afraid she sounded. She had a tone that was laced with uneasiness and apprehension, her vocal chords dripping as a sinking feeling settled itself into her throat. Try as she may to repress the worries that assailed her mind and body, she met with the first failure she had suffered from the beginning of the war.
"I know, Krista! I know...ya don't have to tell me. It's not over yet, though, so dry yer tears." Lat's voice was distraught yet still firm and steady. It reassured her and made her wonder how that brother of hers was so confident and reliable at this moment. Though he had always tried his best to protect her, he had never come off so resilient as he did now.
Lat grit his teeth before howling once more. The howl dragged out long and terse, signaling to the cyclopses that they no longer had to stick to the plan. As the monstrous army proceeded towards the gates, their front most part was met with dozens of leaping cyclopses hindering their progress. The cyclopses had wild looks in their eyes as they frothed at the mouth, swinging at the very front of the procession unskilled yet with such fervor that the army could advance no more. Both sides were now caught in a deadlock.
Surja stood directly in front of the gates, her stance firm and unmovable. She was the second strongest cyclops in all of Hettur, weaker than Blackbeard only in pure physical strength. It was thus very natural for her to be last obstacle the invading monsters would have to deal with in order to penetrate the town's defenses.
As the desperate cyclopses gave their all just to keep the monsters from marching forwards, Milia had arrived in front of one of them and quickly knocked it down. The stormy air around her imbued itself into her body, making her movements fast and domineering. Before Surja could even blink 6 of her fellows were quickly taken down, their forms toppling onto the cold ground.
The monsters that were no longer engaged in a fierce brawl stepped around the large group of cyclopses and started beating at the walls in a bid to simultaneously distract their opponents and infiltrate the enclosed town. Milia kept beating down the rabid cyclopses, lessening the infantrymen's load and allowing more and more of the monsters to knocking against the firm blockade. It didn't take very long for their to be only one cyclops remaining.
"You didn't kill them. Why?"
"...Fight me. You look rather strong, so I should have the pleasure to witness your greatest." The two imposing women respectively uttered these words before staring at each other. Although Surja was much taller than Milia, she felt as if she was being looked down upon by the minotauress. Unlike her people though, she did not become insecure or hasty to beat the virago down. She raised her towering arms and got ready to do battle against the enemy commander, to which Milia responded in kind by raising her axe.
A large swoosh broke apart the air as it carried a massive fist traveling toward's Milia's face. Milia jumped into the air and landed directly on the clenched hand and smacked the butt of her axe onto it before propelling upwards again. Her target was the amazon's shoulder, as it would be unlikely for her adversary to react quickly enough to reach it.
However, she was knocked aside by Surja's leftmost fist and was thus send hurling towards her foot. The appendage in question kicked at the minotauress's prone form and succeeded in pushing the woman back even further.
As Milia's frame skidded along the snowy ground, Surja ran after her and stamped her deep into the terrain. She then settled over Milia's current position before unleashing a flurry of blows all over her procumbent form. Her punches broke apart the very ground that surrounded Milia, browbeating the dangerous woman so intensely that it seemed as if she would never get up.
Surja had the complete advantage as she whooped cold air into her starving lungs. She refused to let up for even a second, the minotauress was barely even bruised. Surja gave it her all, intent to pound on Milia until the end of time if need be. But she couldn't keep it up forever...and her huge frame toppled backwards.
The culprit of this wasn't exhaustion at all. It was Milia who had found a brief moment to throw her axe at Surja's forehead. Rising up from the deep crevice she was previously buried in, she shambled towards the gates. Blasts of magic accompanied her movements, the two approaching the blockade in tandem. Milia and the blasts of magic instantly destroyed the gates...it was finally time for them to enter Hettur.
A young man who was gorgeous without compare stood in front of them, a feral grin upon his jubilant face. The savage looking boy appeared as if he was the son of the goddess of beauty, though the bearing he carried appeared to be the very opposite of his look. It was raw, ferine, primal. Just like the massive bolt of flame that blanketed their vision.
"Welcome to Hettur!"