Hymo's guardian spread its wings, taking flight off the mountain's top. As it moved, all Thawed on it could sense a fleeting emotion. Like lost hope.
It was their connection to the Nine being destroyed as the guardian awakened itself. Something was seriously off, no guardian did this without their reasons.
And this one sensed a highly powerful entity on its mountain. That one being Valentine Primed, which completely twisted the basic laws of existence.
While challenging to dismantle all Nine Rules of Reality. Except Valentine hadn't unlocked that kind of power... yet. The guardian was there to warn everyone about how dangerous this threat was.
Thawed from all sides of the battle glanced up at the skies, feeling themselves grow worried as the guardian seemed stressed. It frantically flapped its wings and shook its talons in hopes of conveying a message.
Only to be perceived as the other side beginning to lose. Unknowingly bringing light to the end of the tunnel for most onlookers.
Hitirus watched, keeping her arms crossed as her Legion was getting ravaged and destroyed. She kept a serious face on, acknowledging she took this challenge too lightheartedly at first.
"Go!" Hitirus' shifting voice ordered. "Halt their advance before they can reach Hymo's middle cities."
Two rows of highly experienced and experimental warriors departed from behind her back. Each one wielding different weapons suited for different purposes.
Even some using weapons the Trilogy had never seen before, such as the explosive-tipped lance. These were the ones Hitirus deemed as worthy to help him fight for heir.
Clouds, now tainted with hints of red, grew heavier. Threatening the night with a storm - possibly a flood for the lower parts of Hymo.
While she watched her secondary home get claimed, distant tapping caught his attention. Prompting her to turn around and rest her vision on a single warrior that remained.
"Why are you standing here?" Hitirus' masculine voice bellowed. "Get out there and resist the siege!!"
Befehlnadir unmasked itself, keeping a smirk grin on its face. "If only you were a good leader to begin with..."
Upon realizing who this was, Hitirus grunted with anger. He could feel it swell up inside himself as he rose to challenge his rival.
"Perhaps you should step off this platform, and -" Befehlnadir dashed closer to Hitirus. Then drove a well-placed kick straight to his chest, knocking him off the platform. "Help out your warriors."
Wind whistled right by, completely deafening Hitirus as he pummeled off the side of the mountain. Rocks and boulders got loose as he crashed straight through them.
Dying repeatedly until he reached stable ground. He landed through a roof, pieces of furniture penetrated his limbs. Halting his revival for a brief period.
Hitirus grunted with frustration as he emerged from the rubble, unknowingly crushing an unexpecting worker beneath him. He jumped right through the opened roof, feeling the instability warn him of it collapsing further.
Lines of Conqueror warriors marched down the paths leading to the lower parts of Hymo. While flyers got mobilized and deployed to aid from above.
It was almost like seeing a machine at work, except these were Variants, Hitirus thought. None of them stepped out of line, and they did as they were told in case of an invasion.
No one panicked, they instinctively grabbed their weapons and armor then headed to defend their home. In a way, this was their strong suit, their willingness to die.
Warriors stepped aside as Hitirus approached the front, letting him get better looks at what was happening to his mountain. He gritted his teeth, understanding he could go and support.
Feral genetics came into play, causing his leg muscles to enlarge. He growled and darted through his men, ready to engage with the battle head on.
-Back in the front lines-
Volatile elites charged through the streets, knocking warriors off their feet and punishing them for siding with Conqueror. They hunted like a pack, picking apart groups and moving on.
They ran to a clearing right before they arrived at the next city, a large fountain stood before them. Spewing pure, drinkable mountain water from Hymo itself.
Sarorin arrived, ready to break their numbers. One charged straight through the main body of the fountain, pointing their horn directly at the incoming forces.
All elites dodged the first one, only for some to get caught as more came in. They screamed in pain as they felt entire portions of themselves suddenly disappear.
Roads crumbled as the beasts turned around and took aim for a second time, that's when allied flyers came to support. They rained projectiles from above, namely fire arrows, and pelted away at the creatures.
Breaking what little focus they had while dealing good amounts of damage to their blubber. Seeing this as an opportunity to open up the path for their backup, they charged towards each beast.
One slid past a Sarorin, letting go of an arrow as they reached the other side. It whizzed right into target's eye, blinding them right away. Another pounced on the Sarorin's back, attacking the rider.
A third, one that wielded a mace, spun to the side as a Sarorin dashed past them. They elegantly propelled themselves off the ground at an angle, allowing them to strike the injured one with the mace.
Their horn cracked, and so did the socket surrounding the horn itself. Then the Feral from earlier leapt at their large head, then kicked as hard as they could.
Sky Beasts dove for another go at damaging the Sarorin, this time they were attacking with the beasts themselves. Storm Chasers crushed bones and destroyed organs upon contact.
While Mountain Ascent Sky Beasts slammed then dragged the Sarorin for a while. Leaving behind disturbed rubble as the multi-ton creatures struggled against flyers.
All they could hear for a short while were the sounds of marching warriors, ready to make one final stand before nightfall. Their stepping was in unison and so were their adrenaline pumped hearts.
The elites slowly backed away from the ambushed beasts, letting themselves catch a small break before continuing their next strike against the next city.