Battle

The unknown threats that Casimir had seen coming had finally arrived in the most timely fashion. Casimir could see the threats that the creatures posed on the convoy and why they hadn't just ploughed straight through the abominations. The new arrivals were more like evolved versions of the totem ape they'd been fighting up until now. Contrary to the appearance of the Totem apes, These burly abominations possessed four arms And the single black dots that should have existed on their chests were now to be seen. Two tusks jut out on either side of its mouth and dripped off black saliva, the creature's eyes devoid of any pupils, were obsidian darker than night. These new abominations were terror made manifest to the not-so-strong cadets.

Casimir could feel the power burning from these creatures. They had to be at least tier threes And No lesser than superior creatures. A disbelieving laugh escaped his lips causing squad members to level strange looks at him. But he couldn't care they were in grave danger and he couldn't help but laugh at their horrid predicament. They had met a dozen or so creatures that were at least superior fiends and going by his own logic, he assumed there had to be a much stronger creature to successfully lead such a group of abominations. Hierarchies did exist amongst the abyssal creatures and they too had terrors that they feared enough to quell even their rabid behaviour.

Things were not getting any better for the convoy, the artillery from the first half of the wall was being torn apart by several totem apes. Besides them, their kin were being treated as collateral. A Machiavellian approach to things, the end result justifying the means in which they operated was about as normal to them in every sense of the word.

Captain Evelyn pressed her finger to the earpiece fighting to stay on her ear. Casimir realized Captain Margaret and Captain Morris were also doing the same. They were receiving orders from command most likely. Casimir noticed Captain Evelyn's expression turned a bit sour. She turned to face the vanguard and while doing so briefly locked eyes with Casimir.

"Cadets we're going to be providing cover for Lieutenant Bank's group follow my lead do not stray from the formation."

Soon after the battlefield shifted ever so slightly and the space between them and the barrier grew much smaller. They were going to push forwards and provide the assault now.

Following Captain Evelyn's steps the group slowly but surely gained more ground. The smell of iron became much harder to ignore. If not for Casimir's life being at stake, he would be feeling more nauseous because of. More corpses later the battlefield and the convoy moved forward. It wasn't without a cost though, the more they moved towards the barrier the more abominations they would meet. The load on the cadets was getting heavier by the second and Casimir feared that if this was prolonged long enough someone would collapse.

Captain Evelyn began fighting from the front. She had placed herself at the forefront of the group's vanguard. His squad mates were struggling to keep up and so was he. Stab after stab his body would grow weary. The energy required to extract his weapon from an impaled totem ape was among many other things causing him to lose steam. He hadn't used his origin yet and neither had any of the group members except for Michelle probably. He cycled his ether through his channels and strength seeped into his muscles. It wasn't sustainable but it would buy him time.

Lieutenant banks had advised the groups against using their origins because they lacked the necessary synergy to make it work without putting each other in danger. And with this instruction having been passed they would rely on their captains and their respective origins to be the game changers.

On queue, a blast of violet violent energy shot forth from Captain Evelyn's hand and decimated the ranks of Abyssal Creatures immediately before them. He marvelled at the destructive force behind his captain's attack. The Abyssal creatures before the men turned into gluggy bodies of charred flesh and they pushed on. The destructive power of his captain's origin was beholden For him to witness and he wondered from which domain it hailed and the rank of the Origin itself.

The opening created by Captain Evelyn and a number of the other captains provided way towards the new threats.

Lieutenant Banks along with the bulk of her force, broke from the formation and went to go greet the guests. The battle was now entering its end game. While Lieutenant Banks and her force charged the new abominations, the battle around them had not ceased. Even after Captain Evelyn's display of destructive might along with a handful of other captains, the little apes had not been dispirited but rather had entered into a frenzy.

Ahead of them, the final battle had finally begun and there was chaos and carnage. Too embroiled in trying to stay alive Casimir had devoted his attention to staying alive. Casimir kept a close eye on his steps and constantly checking his blind spot he fought away. Buzz after buzz alongside his squad they kept fighting to stay away from their own mortality. Captain Evelyn a constant reminder that's they had a seasoned veteran alongside them to protect them should things go bad.

He heard several more roars from the main battlefield. Around him a few cries erupted from random locations, they were getting tired and the onslaught seemed never-ending. Even though they were vastly more powerful, their captains could only do so much. With a quick scan, he saw the body of a male cadet lying on the floor among the corpses of the totem apes. Reality was coming much faster at them and things were going bad.

However, just that split second of changing his focus proved to be fatal. His vision suddenly went black and he was momentarily cut off from his senses. As suddenly as his vision was gone was as suddenly as it had returned but the scenery had changed. He could see the sky rapidly moving away from him and agonizing pain erupted from his left side. Above him, the debris of a broken tree was falling towards him but never reached him. He couldn't hear the battlefield anymore… or anything for that matter.

It took him a little more to process but even when he realised it, he was too late. He was in free fall towards the Sherith Canal.