The perfect storm

Erik skidded to a halt, his eyes widening at the clusterfuck unfolding before him. The northern gate area was a damn Warzone. Only some higher power could've cooked up this level of chaos, albeit, and incredibly crazy one.

"Well, shit," Erik said, taking in the scene. "Rebels, blackguards, Volkov's troops, and now Thaids? It's like someone threw a handful of angry cats into a blender and hit puree."

He watched as a rebel took down a blackguard, only to get blinded by a Thaid's… tentacle? At that point, Erik couldn't even understand why that kind of creature came from within the forest, much less how no one thought about killing it yet.

Nearby, one of Volkov's soldiers was screaming at a rebel, "I'll kill you!" right before both of them had to dodge a Thaid's acid spit.

<Looks like Volkov's boys didn't get the memo,> Erik thought.