Siège - 1

The Aries could finally show the extent of their might. It was often said but they are a race that is tailored to fight. They wield their weapons splendidly and charge headfirst into battles. Their peripheric vision is outstanding and they don't take many damages in the head - the weakness of many bipedal beings.

The mountain cats still fight and live in groups of 5 to 15. They ranged from rank 1 to 4. They seldom fought groups of rank 4s. They did not get ahold of a rank 5 mountain cat, but followed the mountain cats. They were moving in different territories and attacked every non feline race.

The magic Ents were a prodigious supporting force. They had an enormous magic regeneration rate and could literally cast magic continuously. From mana bolts to buffs, they were creating magic left and right, debilitating mountain cats and strengthening Aries.

During all these fights, experience points flooded them. 10 mana Ents reached rank 2 and 5 of them rank 3. They all asked Algen to convert them to the magic wooden human race for their rank up.

10 Ents became 1.8 meters magic wooden humans, their apparearance was close to Algen's but they had pure blue mana leaves for hair. They all became the Epic Rank 1 mages of pure mana.

The 5 rank 3 Ents were born from the fruits of the council members.

A rank 3 magic ashen wood human became a 1.8 meters tall humanoid figure, with fiery red glistening leaves for hair and an ashen bark. Whenever he moved, smoke followed. He became a rank 1 epic mage of pure fire mana and fought in the backline, throwing out fire attacks and sometimes igniting his non flammable bark damaging close enemies.

A rank 3 magic frozen wood human was a 1.8 meters figures with light blue and blue glistening leaves for hair and oure white bark. The ground became frozen under her every steps. She became a rank 1 epic mage of pure mana. She was like a moving icestorm.

A rank 3 Shadow wood human was a 1.7 meters tall figure. He had a thin and agile build. Her movements were covered by darkness. She became a rank 1 unique class: magic ghost assassin. She had incredible stealth and took down enemies quickly at close range, which were hallucinating when struck. She sent shadow bolts at close range and could manipulate shadows to increase her stealth.

At rank 3, the light wood human was a 1.7 meters tall, with white bark, golden and light blue leaves for long hair and radiated a golden glow. She became an epic Rank 1 mage of pure light mana. She was healing allies and damaging enemies.

The toughest of then all was a rank 1 magic warrior of pure mana, an epic class. Standing 1.9 meters tall, his tough brown bark and light blue glowing needle leaves pulsate with mana. He was fighting at the frontlines. Continuously in the middle of enemies, he sent powerful Mana beams and his mana armor was never pierced by enemies. He was a rank 3 magic sturdy wood human.

The Aries did not have enough experience to push their classes to rank 4.

The groups did not have many mountain cat's corpses.

----

They decided to create a camp in an unoccupied area, at the junction between the territory of shadow cats and the Poisonous swamp.

The 4 rank 4 Ents were to move north. They would be followed by Algen and 6 wood humans, after they are equipped with the weapons that they commissioned.

Harma and the Gorillas were to be joined by the golden bee unit and Eve, and fight in the air and atop trees in the Poisonous swamp. This region was particularly dangerous and difficult to conquer as land based movements involved moving around in Poisonous mud and water.

The Aries and magic wood humans were to join Ezyze, the baby langur and the goblins in their colonization of the shadowlands.

The 2 rank 3 langurs were sent to Ezyze's group while the remaining in the Poisonous swamp.

Lampa was to go back to Emberwood forest in order to update the various inhabitants of their progresses and joining with the newer forces sent to the Eternal mountain range. She was close to become a legendary rank 5 class, as well as a monster lord.

Because of this they had to have a forward camp close to their stronghold. They abandoned the idea of conquering first the northwest area as the golems and faes make for a fearsome combination and couldn't be killed easily without tough rank 4 frontlines. The mountain cats were physically strong, agile and resistant, but very few wielded mana, decreasing by a strong margin their unpredictability and thus their danger levels.

Shadow cats are tricky hunters and quite hard to kill. Their elusiveness and burst power is worrisome. They also have a variety of attacks using shadow and dark skills. Their numbers are impressive.

The Poisonous swamp will be excruciating to conquer especially without healers. It was filled with predators and monsters that could gravely threaten the alliance.

They emulated the shadow cats and created their forwards camps in 4 big tress, linked with bridges and leaves pathways.

They soon resumed conquering the nearby lands.

The gorillas divided their groups in order to guard the forward camps and the immediate surroundings, while the others would fight with the golden bees.

The hoplites and Magic wood humans were hunting together and the Aries and goblin mages did the same. Baal was in charge of the latter group, while Ezyze and Eve were fighting with the hoplites.

They toiled and fought and bled. The number of shadow cats that they killed was higher than 10.000. It is also hard to realize, but they were fighting so much shadow cats and despite that they havent seen the cat's main camp for a few days now.

Finally, the goblin mages, scouts and hunters reached rank 2 and evolved.

The goblin mages focused their evolution around the fae that they absorbed. 8 fairy high goblins were born. They grew slightly, standing around 1.4 meters high and had transparent butterfly wings on their shoulders. The archdruid stayed green and he had two little protrusions dangling from his wings which were actually partially made of roots and communicated with nature sending signals like waves.

One goblin focused his evolution around the core of the diamond golem that he partially absorbed. He became a 2.5 meters tall Diamond earth hobgoblin, his limbs elongated and he became buffer and felt being one with earth mana. He was glistening and could be seen from a distance, even with the shyest rays of the sun.

Another goblin focused his evolution towards the blazing ent race. He became a 1.6 meters tall high blazing GobEnt and gained S tier fire affinity and S rank ashen body. His head was continuously burning and his bark like skin had fire veins. He felt tough, yet with a vast increase in his magic capacities.

The 6 scouts became shadow cats hobgoblins, rare rank 2 and obtained the S Trait 9 lives and C Trait shadow assimilation. They were 1.7 meters tall, with feline head, a strong nose and shadow like smoke sticking to their skin.

The 3 hunters became mountain cats hobgoblins. They were 1.6 meters tall with feline head and lightly buffer than the scouts. They became feline goblins. They gained the S rank Trait 9 lives and C rank Trait predatory senses.

Their equipment was sub-par but their fighting capabilities were still decent. When battling with other units, they had great coordination and showed great battle senses.

The S rank Trait 9 lives was both great and worrying. The cats must have this Trait and be able to return to life 8 times after being killed. This explained why their corpses disappeared and why the number of cats never decreased.

8 female goblins became pregnant and were less active in fights.

The Aries ranked up experience points and the Aries archer and Aries at rank 2 became rank 3 classes.

Roland was still an infant, yet became a rank 1 Aries swordman. When they are children, bipedal races gain more experience when practicing their skills, however less experience when fighting, thus couldn't increase the rank of their class as easily as adults.

The magic wood humans were a terrible fighting force. They had enormous raw power and innate strong bodies. While they devoted all their experience in ranking up their classes, they could fight even rank 4 without being pushed back too much.

The honeybees fighting with the gorillas engaged in hundreds of small scale squirmishes. They fought snakes, Poisonous slimes and venomous birds in wild abandon and reached rank 2 in their class. Nebuch, Eve and the 12 knights were fighting blitzkrieg like battles, where they focused in collapsing the command center of their enemies as quickly as possible. They thus fought higher ranks creatures and gained more experience. Harma was a rank 3 thunder gorilla boxer, a rare class. Others were developing their classes first, after listening to langurs' insight.

The langurs were extraordinarily strong and the turning point in gaining victory at numerous times.

----

400 meters from 3 gigantic shadow pine trees, a battle was raging.

At the backline, cat like goblin archers, a Langur and magic wood humans were blasting cats' ranks.

20 hoplites formed a wall and kept advancing while mercilessly crushing shadow cats by the dozens. They were supported and buffed by the magic wood humans and their auras were stacked. This unit was a formidable killing machine. They were not hit often, yet, their wounds could be seen closing.

10 meters or so behind on the right side, Aries warriors led by Olivier were killing many shadowcats. The Aries are single-minded during war. They focus their entire being in the being that they face them. They focus everything that they are to take the enemy down. Roland was with this group, his small stature dancing around. Goblin scouts, Rea and the magic sturdy wood human hovered and took part in this side's fight. The magic sturdy wood human was using a curved longsword made of wood, that he enchanted with pure mana. At his rank, he was an impressive fighter as not only his physical prowess were outstanding: he was sturdy, strong and regenerated, but his magic power, sometimes conjuring a mana shield, sometimes buffing himself or throwing bolts of pure mana made him a warrior with amazing diversity.

Opposite from them, Ezyze, the remaining Aries led by Baal, the shadow wood human, the langur paladin and Zephyr were fighting. They were as fast as their counterparts on the right. Baal blasted many cats continuously, lighting the whole area on fire. The Aries oppressed the scared cats and fought even among the flames. In the middle of them, the paladin langurs was fighting and killing numerous enemies while healing and buffing the Aries. The shadow wood humans was hovering in and out of existence and took out cats after cats with wooden daggers coated in purified dark mana. He also sent dark rays to injure or kill cats.

While Ezyze became a barbarian, fighting at close ranges and delivering heavy blows one after the other, he was buffed by the white langur, that kept throwing purified mana spells around. He quickly became the target of many cats, that Zephyr cut down mercilessly.

Flying over such battle, the high goblins threw spells after spells, deep in the cats' rank. The golem goblin was directly behind the hoplites and threw diamond javelins in the air, raised diamond spikes and diamond walls from the ground. Close by, the Ent arsonist was a flamethrower, scorching the incoming shadow cats.

Like that, they have been fighting since early morning, for 6 hours continuously. They hacked and thrusted and slashed continuously for 6 hours. They decimated thousands upon thousands of shadowcats. None of them could check their system's messages. While they relied on ambushing strategies, surprising and attacking the shadow cats that went hunting, they were soon hunted back by larger and larger forces of shadow cats. What they didn't have in quality, they had in numbers. And the numbers they have.

The unshakables had no other options than pushing them back towards their camp. Thus, they kept fighting and fighting. The healers had a crucial role. While the Aries were a strong martial race and the hoplites a fantastic martial group, they became tired and were eventually slashed or bitten. While most of these injuries were not immediately life threatening - and some were, as several werewolf hobgoblins eventually had to be taken care of- they eventually piled up to significant damages. The healers were to heal them as quickly and efficiently as possible. While many of them were initially throwing damaging spells while healing, they now solely focused on the latter.

Cats threw themselves in wild abandon. Finally, the hoplites took their first step in the vicinity of the cats' camp.

Hundreds of corpses behind them. The Unshakables were exhausted. It felt as if each of them killed a thousand enemy. They reformed their rank, left and right, perpendicular to the hoplites. The magic wood humans and goblin mages were immediately behind the hoplites.

Thousands of shadow cats were surrounding them. Several rank 3s and 4s shadow cats that were perched atop trees slowly stretched and yawned. They looked at the scene with a glint in their eyes their tails swaying left to right.

It was like time came to a stop. Only the wind and the shuffling sound of leaves could be heard. It was already dark. The moons were not visible tonight. Only the cats' eyes could be seen.

The Unshakable knew what they were doing. The wood humans as well. Many high hopes were riding on their shoulders at this precise instant.

Ezyze felt the growing tension, the rough breathing of the hoplites. He felt the dread of fighting shadow cats at night and the need to establish themselves far away from the Blacksaber's prying eyes. He didn't know what to believe in, in this new world. However, he was certain that he could believe in himself and his faction. They were hardened warriors, that fought hundreds of enemies and always came out victorious. The tarsiers and now shadow cats are an enormous faction that requires army like units to fight. Stronger individuals would be able to make an impact, however few weaker individuals fought in as many battlefield as quickly as them.

"Listen up everyone! We are the cream of the crop. We are the best and biggest hope after being humiliated for centuries. We are elites that were trained with history's best techniques. We have fought and killed thousands of these damned cats. Before us lie thousands more of them. We either flee, or fight and kill them all. For us to have a place to live in, we must fight. We must fight and win! Advance!"

After his thunderous roar, Ezyze rejoined Baal's group. Those with various magic abilities ignited their powers. Light, flames, mana, ice and martial auras could be seen in the deep darkness.

Broblin took a step. The other hoplites followed.

Every single cat on the ground hissed and jumped at the newcomers.

This battle was the start for the conquest of the shadowlands.

----

It was suffocating. Like a pebble in the river facing an unending current, the hoplites were a small unit surrounded at all sides. If even one goblin, Aries or any member falls, the whole formation would crumble like a sandcastle.

The warriors were fierce. They are the backbones of the army, slash, hacks and physically obstruct them. The hoplites are especially great as they literally make shield walls and move as one. The Aries warriors however are less constrained by a strategy and the intricate workings of their class. They sometimes fight in groups of 2 to 3 and also fight individually. Still, because they moved around so much and using skills depleted their energy, they eventually lost their edge.

The magic classes had a significant part to play. They can be thought as portable artillery, decimating the frontlines and ridding the soil with craters and destroying the nearby environment. Many of them however could help the nearby troops. Some casted buffs, that were like mana armors or magic Agility or strenght and allowed the frontliners to be more powerful. Most of the magic casters were however physically weak. It is especially true for the high goblins.

The Ents however have strong builds, and can take several hits before dying. Still, if the warriors let through shadow cats, the magic classes would be quickly overun.

The hunters, archers and scouts were sniper like units. They took down quickly cats after cats. They were tougher than magic caster but however quite frail.

In the Frontline, several individuals made a difference. The magic tough wood human was an impressive warrior, his already tough physique was complimented by his impressive magic capabilities. He was a strong, magic warrior that slashed many cats with his wooden longsword.

Olivier was extremely strong. He could heal nearby troops and his light magic dealt increased damages to the shadow beasts. Similarly, Baal was like a God of fire, drowning the area around him with a sea of flames.

Rea and Zephyr are the backbones of their faction. Strong, they dealt enormous damages and didn't receive many hit. They were always deep in enemy lines and allowed some breathing room for the other warriors. The shadow wood ent and langur paladin were making a difference. While the Ent assassinated various cats, the paladin could heal, buff and fight enemies. Moreover, the holy flames that her sword created could both heal comrades and injure enemies.

Lastly Ezyze and the little langur were unstoppable. Ezyze no longer restrained his use of magic and was firing his spells continuously. The spatial chains and increased in gravity had enormous utility in a battlefield, disrupted the enemies' movements and allowed for his allies to finish them off. The langur was firing spells continuously. All around them, white and pink magic spells flew continuously, killing and injuring countless cats.