Darren walked to the front of the group of six and looked far ahead. He looked at the battle scenes of the four demon generals and tried to read their battle styles, analyzing their moves.
He had to designate the tasks accordingly to ensure the highest chance of victory. Every single grain of advantage that they could get was most welcome. The demons were far stronger, bigger, and used to more grave battles than they would like to give them praise for.
"Gregory and Rayla, forgive my lack of honorifics."
Bjorn spoke, answering for both of them, "I'm sure my brother doesn't mind. Do you, little brother?"
Gregory shrugged his brother's large palm off his shoulder as he released a soft chuckle. Rayla, on the other hand, stared at Siestri without uttering a word.
Darren continued, "You would pair up and slay the demon general that wields the guandao. I have hopes that Gregory's strong spear techniques will be able to fend off that Chinese style of fighting. And with Rayla's casts and spells, victory should be assured."
From the bracelet strung around his wrist, Gregory willed his long spear to appear before him. It had a faint blue glow that matched the shade of his eyes, pulsing with the runes engraved along its length. The bladed head had a bright gold sheen to it and glistened under the well-lit night.
This was one of the weapons that Darren had commissioned Siestri and the weapon enchanters of the Feather clan of the witch tribe to make for the leaders of the tribe to carry into battle.
Made with the rarest of ores and with the finest level of blacksmithing, it could be said to be the strongest set of weapons to ever be seen on Earth.
Bjorn walked towards his brother and wrapped him in a warm embrace. In his heart, he knew there was no assurance that they would return home to their families and they had made sufficient preparations for the worst-case scenario. Whispering words of love into his brother's ears, he hoped to hold his brother again like this.
Rayla had never really liked werewolves. To her, they were a sweaty bunch of brutes who had little to no brains and used their fists to solve all their problems. She had tried as much as possible to keep them away from her kind, preventing any interbreeding but today, they would stand together as allies.
Glancing at the exchange between the two brothers right before they stepped into the heat of battle, she smiled and wished she had a sister who could send her off into battle, rooting for her return.
"Come."
Rayla called out to Gregory and only two people could notice the teardrop that streaked down her right cheek. Darren could only sigh in his heart while Siestri looked at Rayla with sadness in his eyes.
With a wave of her staff, she teleported along with Gregory into the battlefield to greet their demon foe. They raised their heads to look far ahead to see how the first faceoff would start but Darren had already completed his analysis of the four generals.
"Taiwo and Kehinde, you are twins and would understand each other the best. I want you to face the tall and slender demon reaping the lives of our comrades with his twin blades. Your set of twin swords should easily match up against his blades."
No words were said; the only reply Darren got was a nod from the twins as they whizzed across the field, weaving through hordes of demons to complete their mission.
Darren was fully aware that their inexperience would put them at a disadvantage but that was the only opponent that they had a chance against. He looked on as their rings glowed and their hands wielded twin short swords for Taiwo and twin daggers for Kehinde.
Darren's expressionless voice rang out again.
Looking at the two men that still stood by his side, one huge and the other almost a dwarf in comparison, he smirked as the words left his lips, "Bjorn, my sworn brother, I know you like to face things head on and even love the hardest of challenges. You Vikings have always been that way. Do you see the one with the large battle axe? That's your opponent. I don't need to mince words with you now. Bring his head down with your greatsword."
"Hahaha. You read my mind, brother. I've been eyeing him since the moment he stepped out of that hellish portal. He's been marked as my prey since the moment he wielded his battle axe on our lands. Valhalla will welcome me into its arms if I am to die today."
With loud laughter, he walked forward and steadied himself as he squatted in preparation for a massive jump.
He looked back at Darren with a wide grin plastered across his face. The thought that would pass through anyone who looked at him right now was that he was battle-crazed.
Now it was just Siestri and Darren that were left standing at the backlines. It seemed like the silence that brewed between them would last forever as they both stared straight ahead.
Siestri's silver wooden staff made from a thousand-year-old maple tree, released a low hum as it hovered inches above the ground in front of Siestri's left arm.
Darren was the first to break the silence, "You already know what to do and who your opponent is."
"Yes. I don't need any more words or any cuddling theatrics as goodbyes or good luck wishes."
"I see. Then that would be all. Today, we forge our fate."
"Yes. Till the end of this battle and tiresome world."
With that, Siestri grabbed his staff and flew off into the distance as he approached the only female demon general who wielded a bow and arrow, devastating their forces from the demon backlines.
Darren stood alone, the screams and cries of war filling his ears. Although he had friends and a sworn brother, he was still truly alone and that would be confirmed by the end of this long battle. He sighed and looked around him once more; he couldn't let this bloodshed last forever.