First Time?

A cacophony of crackles rang beyond the makeshift barrier, arcane and mundane projectiles collided with the rabid abyssal creatures. The ranged dealers from Lieutenant Bank's convoy had already begun firing away in quick succession. They were providing cover for Casimir's group and the other group that was disembarking from the second half of the barrier.

Amidst all the chaos, however, the cadets seemingly kept their cool. They had undergone training tailored for such scenarios for weeks, so their organisation was a mere formality. Although they did go through the initial shock of having such a situation sprung upon them from out of the blue, they adapted reasonably well and responded in an exemplary fashion—a response befitting esteemed military personnel. Captain Evelyn led her group away from the barrier and they all followed silently and quickly. Behind them, Captain Morris and Captain Margaret followed closely with their respective groups.

A quick scan of his surrounding environment revealed to Casimir that the formation Lieutenant Banks had decided to use was one that was overly cautious against a siege. He remembered this tactic from the lectures they received. It was textbook in every sense of the word, it was reliable it was safe.

Once they got around the fifth vehicle which had housed the team that was currently covering them, they turned to face the battlefield. The squad adopted a regular interpersonal formation that optimized the efficiency with which a group both defended and attacked. The vanguard took charge from the front, by its flanks where pairings between a member of the rear guard and a member of the scout group. and behind them, two members of the rear guard stood steadfast and ready to advance.

The formation was simple, if one could describe it in layman's terms they would say it was akin to a warrior wielding a blade in one under the shield in the other. There was much going on around them and even more to take in, however, Casimir had run out of time and Captain Evelyn already was barking out orders.

"Vanguard ready for breaches. Maintain formation, do not panic. Archer fire on site policy, rearguard protect the formation. Vanguard do not stray away from the formation, forward stabs vertical slashes aim for the black dot in the middle the chest."

One of the abominations made it past the proxy wall and charged forward while Captain Evelyn was still dishing out instructions. A lone arrow flew silent and true towards it at breakneck speed narrowly missing the creature's glabella but piercing straight into its eye. The creature howled in pain and furiously clawed at the arrow protruding from its eye socket. Very swiftly, a spear came down onto its chest in the midst of its struggle against the arrow protruding from its face and sunk into it with uncanny ease. Casimir had moved instinctively and purposefully, paying attention to Captain Evelyn's advice to go for the dot on the chest.

The now one-eyed monkey let out a dying cry as Casimir pried his spear from its chest. He felt a nudge from his consciousness to glance at his glyph, his glabella was literally buzzing.

[You have defeated an Inferior Beast Totem ape]

[You have received an artefact]

He was visibly surprised, he didn't know that he would be alerted when he successfully slaughtered a creature. He received a core in the process as well. His eyes went back down to the red furry creature. Totem ape, that was the name is glyph had given the hideous monstrosity.

"Cadet Nagid return to formation now!"

Behind him, Captain Evelyn called out to him and he followed instructions There was unrestrained urgency within her tone. He returned a few steps back and took his position on the frontline of the group's formation, to his left Oliver held his spear quietly and levelled a nod at him. Ahead of them, the carnage continued but there was a general impression that it wouldn't stay ahead of them for long.

As time went by, more of the creatures slipped past the impromptu defences. Using their own kin as shields to get past the continued onslaught of projectiles. Although he had not released his aura, he already knew that the majority of creatures were just mere beasts and the one he had slaughtered only had a single-layer core. So they were most likely to be inferior beasts to the lot of them. However them being weak did not alleviate any danger whatsoever, their numbers alone were enough to pose a threat to the large convoy.

As more and more creatures came past the barrier, the squads got busier and busier. Soon Casimir and his group were stabbing and slashing at several creatures making a beeline towards them. The buzzing sensation came up whenever he killed one. The numbers were increasing and soon another squad from the rear had joined the fray.

They were being pushed back slowly, but Captain Evelyn was dispatching the majority of the crazed creatures. They were so much inferior to the powerful captain. Behind him, captain Margaret was firing away from a bow that manifested arrows from thin air. Casimir began to realize how light their own workload as cadets was, however, he couldn't shake the sinking feeling within his chest. Things felt… amiss.

Given that the creatures were just inferior beasts regardless of their numbers, the convoy should have been able to plough through them but they didn't, they formed a barrier and took up formations that were more inclined to a prolonged battle that required a healthy balance between attack and defence. Because of this Casimir couldn't help but wonder, was there possibly an enemy yet to join the fight?

He let his aura loose a little but he didn't feel anything. His sensory range was fairly large but not large enough because moments after letting his aura out and not having felt a thing, the battlefield was stilled by a large bellow.

Beyond the barrier, a red four-armed abomination had emerged. Casimir's senses picked up a little on what he estimated its strength to be and his worry rose even further. Soon after that, his heart dropped.

The new threat had brought similar company.