Now with First Flake over, it was time for the Infinus Legion to return to the front against the Light Legion. But they were completely unaware of their enemy's status.
A quarter of the Infinus forces were scheduled to strike down the stronghold. With only a small amount of elites there to take part during the siege.
Ether, Jakery, Hedix, and Risk took the positions of leaders. With the help of Pearl and Suth, in case anything happened to any of the primary leaders.
-In the skies around the stronghold-
Risk took the lead. Two of his Ferals accompanied him on the beast. His careless flight patterns on the Sky Beast worried everyone around him, except for his Ferals.
"Hey Risk! What's up with your Sky Beast?!" Ether called out over the rapid winds.
"JUST A LITTLE BIT OF FUN!" Risk broke out laughing.
The little interaction made the warriors and elites calmer. Hearing how calm someone was when they were on enemy territory felt assuring.
As they were coming closer, they heard distant drums beating. It sounded like random patterns, but the Thawed in the group knew it wasn't.
It was a rhythm that meant to strike courage into the Thawed hearing it. Which included the ones above.
"Sounds like they're having fun," Ether commented. "Start descending, we'll strike from the front."
Everyone understood instructions, and began descending. All except for one Sky Beast, Risk's.
He kept his altitude the same, while studying the stronghold below them for any weaknesses. Archers patrolled outside the walls and on the planks placed beside the top of the walls.
Most of their defending forces were unarmed. They sat around a massive campfire that melted away all the snow from the day before.
The comforting warmth attracted most of the Variants, while Thawed played their instruments. From above, they seemed like normal passive Primes.
But the truth was, they were there to enforce the Light Legion's order. No one had any difficulty in slaughtering anyone, especially when they were innocent siblings who did nothing wrong.
-Down on the ground-
"Where is Risk?" Pearl asked the group.
No one replied, leaving her to make her own conclusion. Risk stayed up above while they fought the Light Legion below.
Several footsteps approached from behind. But they weren't hostile footsteps. It was Hedix riding on the back of an armored Stram.
He helped design the Infinus Stram designs during the celebration. And now they were testing them out.
"Ready for the chaos?" Hedix grinned.
"You call fun, chaos?" Suth shot back at him.
Ether put on his newly made helmet. Unlike his previous one, this helmet was wildly different. Instead of a grey Eddision glass visor, he had three pieces of black Eddision glass pointing towards his nose.
One that stretched from his chin to the tip of his nose. Another one that stretched from his left ear to the side of his nose. And another that stretched from his right ear down to the other side of his nose.
The major change was to hide Ether from the Light Legion. Many rumored he was dead, so he wanted to hide himself from everyone during sieges.
"Ready?" he called out to the group.
Infinus Legion archers stepped in front of them, arrows drawn. They tilted their new metal bows and waited for instructions.
"Alright, listen up," Hedix announced. "Since there are rumors of more snow falling today, flammable weapons are useless... unless if they are explosions."
He pointed at the closest wall. "When we were coming down, I saw large explosives right back there. If we can cause a reaction, the wall and anyone around it will go down. And their Cemtras will have nothing to throw."
Archers heard Hedix's instructions, and estimated where their arrows would have to go in order to blow up the explosives.
Ether unsheathed Tellendor. The weapon greeted him with a reaction he hasn't seen in a long time, a crimson glow. In a way, the weapon told Ether this battle was unique because of an unknown reason.
"Show them mercy isn't an option!" Ether cried out.
Arrows took to the skies as Stram howled. The sudden howls alerted the Light Legion they were being attacked.
While they tried to recover their equipment, arrows pierced through wood and armor. Finding their way through the seemingly safe walls of homes.
Through all the panic, Cemtras got up from their balled up positions at the corner of every wall. Their masters ordered them to grab what they could, and throw.
Not long after, the area where the arrows came from began to look like a campfire of its own. The sudden bursts of reds and oranges melted away any flesh and snow.
Any unfortunate Infinus warriors screamed in agony as the bursts pounded the area around them. It was up to Suth and Pearl to bring them to safety.
Pearl took the lead. She moved through melted snow and hidden grass. Hearing the sound of incoming help made it worse for the warriors.
Jakery noticed Pearl's dash and followed behind her. He focused all of his energy on his hand while he ran.
While Pearl got closer to three wounded warriors, an incoming explosive was nearing her. But the focused electricity Jakery made earlier stopped it.
A blue orb of focused energy traveled towards the explosive. When they collided, a large explosion sent Light and Infinus warriors back.
"We need to push!" Ether ordered Hedix.
He nodded and rallied three other Stram to his side. The group of four charged towards the walls, avoiding explosions and arrows from both sides.
When they reached the walls, it was time for their Stram to climb. Their beasts leapt upwards and used their claws to grab onto the rough stone wall.
Then they pulled themselves up.
The sight of four mounted Stram caused several Light Legion warriors to retreat behind the Cemtras for safety.
"Take down that Cemtras! It's possible!" Hedix ordered.
All four Stram jumped down from the walls and rushed the Cemtras. When they got closer, each Stram split away from the other to force their target to pick one.
One of the four aggressors charged the Cemtras from the left side. It turned its head to catch the incoming Stram in its jaws, completely forgetting about the other three.
But they stopped. Another Stram jumped from the right side onto its head. it began clawing away at the top of its head while the much larger beast swung its large head around.
After the fourth try, the Cemtras nearly succeeded. The attacking Stram still managed to keep its two front claws on the other side of its head while its two hind legs dangled off.
The weight of the Stram caused the Cemtras to fall over. It fell on the Stram and the rider, crushing the rider instantly.
But also opening a window for the others to attack. The last three Stram rushed towards the belly and began chewing away at the softer underside.
Small pieces of flesh quickly became larger chunks until the beast finally ceased its resistance.
During their little moment of triumph, each Stram forgot there were three more Cemtras around. Their reminder was a sudden explosion beside them.
The blast instantly killed the three Stram and two riders, leaving Hedix alone. He struggled to get back on his feet.
With nothing around him to use for protection, he allowed adrenaline to take over. His armor was scorched, same as his skin. This was a different kind of pain to him, it felt unreal.
Just as the same Cemtras came for another throw, a third party interfered. A Sky Beast screeched from above, as little poppers exploded beside the Cemtras' explosives.
The first explosion was enough to destroy the beast's arm, and the ones following that one were enough to leave small pieces where the whole stood.
"GET UP!" Risk called out to the only survivor.
His Ferals jumped off the Sky Beast and performed a smaller Wild Hunt against those around them. Their claws unsheathed and teeth revealed themselves as they broke out into a sprint.
Risk kept attackers away from them by throwing his poppers at anyone trying to get close to them.
Hedix looked down at his legs, and realized something spine-chilling. The blast was enough to blow the bottom half of his right leg clean off.
But that wasn't where his mind went. Hedix mustered all of his strength on getting up. The Zegus felt the unrelenting pain took over his mind.
While his mind begged for death, his body begged for victory. After managing to get on one foot, Hedix hopped his way to a nearby explosive.
"Okay," he whispered to himself. "Here we go."
Hedix grabbed onto the large metal canister, then pushed it towards the wall. Each second of him pushing felt like a thousand years of pain. But that didn't stop him.
Once the canister was close enough to the wall, he turned around and hopped away as fast as he could.
"RISK! BLOW THIS THING UP FOR OUR ALLIES!" Hedix shouted.
And the Feral listened. The Sky Beast came down for another swipe, and Risk prepared his final popper.
When he got close enough, he threw it. Another massive blast to make the wall crumble. But the same blast threw Hedix forward, knocking him unconscious.