The second Kaius had rejoined the front line, he was looking for his next target.

  Only a handful remained of the two dozen or so beasts that had been harassing the villagers. Two wolf-like creatures kept a loping gate as they sprinted through the long grass — circling wide in an attempt to strike at their unwatched flank.

  It wouldn’t work, he and his team were simply too strong.

  Three more beasts worked themselves into a rabid fury straight ahead of him and Porkchop. It was an unnatural pairing — another bullish creature more than happy to stand side by side with two furred lizards as large as a horse.

  A deep twang thumped as Kenva loosed an arrow. One of the lizards was suddenly silenced, blood and pulped brain erupting from a new hole in its forehead.

  “Nice shot!” Ianmus called

  “What can I say?” Kenva replied, before switching her attention back to Kaius. “You two ready for us to fall back?”

  Kaius nodded. Their plan was simple: Keep the villagers safe, keep the Pegleg from getting overwhelmed, and never stop moving in the direction of Deadacre.

  There was no point in Kenva and Ianmus staying on the ground. The Pegleg was swift, and atop its decks they would be far better situated to protect the archers. Even now they readied themselves to fire at beasts far stronger than them.

  Plus, his back line would be far more effective from an elevated position, with their targets unobscured by long grass and the scattering of bushes and trees.

  His team was strong, strong enough that creatures that had barely broken a hundred levels were of no threat. Not with numbers as low as only a few dozen.

  That ease would fade. Kaius could see motion across the Frontier: beasts drawn by the howls of their battle, smelling strong foes on the wind.

  While the surviving villages had managed to stay ahead of the densest concentrations of the tyrant's horde, the beast army was an unregimented thing. Within only a few leagues of their position, there were thousands of beasts. The longer they fought, the more would come.

  At least, for now, they would be unharassed by fliers. For reasons unknown to him, they stayed tightly corralled, hurtling through the air in teeming flocks above the meat of the tyrant's army that was still hours away.

  Two beasts charged. Bovine and an unnaturally-thin lizard.

  They barely made it ten steps before their legs crumpled as new blood spilled on the frontier. It only took a single spell and a single arrow.

  An itch dug deep into Kaius’ soul. It would have been so easy. A simple flicker of will was all it would have taken to drop one of the teaming horde with a nail. He forced himself to leave it to his back line.

  For all their strength, he knew that he would have to pace himself, since extended battles were far from his specialty. He could feel the lingering exhaustion and dread that had found him in the boggart warrens over half a year ago. The swarm had taught him a valuable lesson: strength and certainty of might only mattered if he could maintain it until the battle was done.

  It would this time.

  His spells had been carefully tuned for the coming engagement during their flight. Heavy on Stormlash and Hateful Nail — the former more than the latter — both were more than potent enough to eliminate a beast instantly.

  He'd avoided his Eirnith spells — as well as Starfall. The beasts were so weak and numerous that the single target Compel Obsession was pointless, and both Starfall and Zone of Discombobulation had one annoying factor that hampered their use: once set, the area they covered was static.

  As they were moving as fast as the Pegleg could manage, it would be far harder to ensure it hit its intended targets.

  He still had a single charge, in case they needed to clear the field — but no more. It was far too expensive to justify.

  The two canids were unshaken by the death of their only remaining allies. The beasts raced in, claws digging into the soft soil as their maws hung open. They were smart — choosing a moment to attack from the side when Kaius and Porkchop were focused on the ‘threats’ directly in front.

  Each foot fall may as well have been a thunderclap for how easily he could hear them.

  One of the hunters atop the Pegleg let out a yell. Shaky arrows loosed — each going wide. The wolfish creatures were fast. They weren’t playing with their food any more, keeping a pace that would have been little more than a blur to the archers and hunters.

  Kaius shifted, a casual move as if he were surprised by the sudden noise. He brought his blade high.

  “Ready to make them bleed?” Porkchop asked.

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  The beasts pounced.

  Porkchop lunged to his left. One paw caught a leaping canine, his claws digging into its chest as the creature let out a wet and ragged gasp.

  Kaius kicked off with his good leg — suddenly racing towards his target. It hadn’t leapt — charging straight through the long grass. He could see its eyes. They were wide and bright, filled with a maddened hunger and fury that bound it tighter than physical chains.

  He brought his blade down right as it lunged for his throat. Honed crystal parted flesh and bone with equal ease. Its head fell free.

  **Ding! You have slain Terrormaw Wolf - Level 114 Savage Pursuer!**

  **Experience Gained! Reduced Experience for slaying a foe of significantly lower level!**

  Momentum carried the carcass forward. As it slammed into his chest, Kaius grunted as his footing slipped slightly.

  Bloody prosthetic! He’d wanted to dip to the left, but he’d misjudged the timing. Now he had blood soaking through his scalemail. No matter: it was a familiar discomfort.

  With the last of the initial wave, Kaius ran — his brother at his side as they kept pace with the Pegleg tearing its way back to Deadacre.

  The hunters atop its deck looked down at him in naked shock, disbelief and burning hope warring on their faces. Kaius shot them an easy grin.

  In all honesty, they didn’t need their assistance. While the villagers had survived, it was only because the Tyrant’s forces had been toying with them — a basal cruelty like a cat batting at a captured bird. The hunters themselves — whether those with spears below, or those who could use a bow up on deck — were weak.

  Even with Kenva’s arrows, they would barely serve as a distraction against beasts more than double their level.

  The calculus of having them ‘help’ was simple — they needed the survivors to not panic. Giving even some of them something to do helped with that. His back line would make sure they went below decks when things got truly dangerous.

  Besides, they needed this. Kaius remembered what they had looked like when he first arrived. Bone deep despair; the certainty of their deaths only beaten back by the sheer undeniable urge to just keep running. To be beaten so thoroughly…it left its mark.

  Venting some of that desperate energy, and giving them a way to turn some of that terror into righteous anger, would help.

  Besides, with how weak they were, every shot that landed would lead to levels for the group. Every iota of strength that the survivors could scrounge up now was something that could help them survive the storm that rushed towards Deadacre.

  Kaius turned his focus back to their surroundings, running hard as he kept pace next to the landyacht. Ianmus and Kenva were on the lookout, but it would have been pure folly to leave everything to them.

  The death of this group was only the start. Beasts were everywhere.

  Howls split across the plains, the calls of dozens of different species melding into a single conglomerate of gnashing teeth and rabid promises of death and blood.

  “How many, and where?” Porkchop asked, his ears twitching at the sound of so many incoming threats.

  Atop the Pegleg, Kenva frowned, her gaze sweeping across the horizon.

  “I can’t see any reaction from the main force, and we’ve got enough of a lead that there’s no way they will catch up before we reach Deadacre — even if Ophelia can't fetch all of us before that happens.”

  Most of the hunters slumped in visible relief, each and every one hanging off the rangers word.

  The sight of it made Kaius frown — even with Porkchop’s natural telepathy, they really needed some way to communicate privately as a team. Hopefully they could find a solution before they were split up for the siege.

  “But?” Kaius asked.

  Kenva hesitated, quickly glancing at the hunters behind her.

  “There’s still thousands heading our way. It’ll be fits and spurts at first, but we’ll still have our work cut out for us. It’s going to be a meat grinder.”

  One of the hunters paled, the bow he held in hand visible shaking under the force of his grip.

  “Nothing we can't handle, of course — but we’ll get little rest,” she quickly added, before she turned to address the rest. “Remember, you can go below decks at any time — we’re enough by ourselves, even without additional eyes watching.”

  The man shook his head — determined, even if he was still pale. “No — I'll stay until you say it's too dangerous.”

  Kenva gave the man a short nod, before her attention flicked back to their surroundings.

  “Two groups to our left should reach us in the next minute, maybe two. About the same numbers as what we just faced — or it will be after I've whittled them down.” The ranger said, smoothly drawing an arrow to her chin before she loosed.

  Packed with mana, Kaius watched it sail over his head — before he heard a crack as it detonated into a shower of deadly splinters far off in the distance. Pained yelps carried in on the wind — her Shattering Rain had left a few survivors.

  “We’ve got another group coming from our right,” Ianmus added — solar mana flashing as he unleashed a beam from his keyseal, scouring the group. He frowned a moment later, “They’re tough — nearly as big as Porkchop and stone aligned. They’ve got natural armour.”

  Trusting his backline to call out as their enemies drew close enough to fight, Kaius focused on his breathing. While the Pegleg was slower than his full sprint, the landyacht was a tireless machine unreliant on the supporting effects of stamina. It took a little focus, but he could maintain an odd, loping run that reduced his stamina drain to the point his regeneration covered the cost completely.

  That would, of course, completely go out the window as soon as he was in battle. Maintaining a fighting retreat was new to him — it wasn’t often he had to fight and run away. No doubt he would discover plenty of new and frustrating lessons to learn.

  He’d just barely gotten the hang of adjusting his pace when the howls of approaching beasts grew loud.

  “They’re here!” Kenva called, losing an arrow as the hunters behind her fired a salvo.

  Kaius looked over his shoulder to see more baying beasts charging forward.

  Grinning, he spun on his heel and lunged towards them. Hopefully he could mop them up quickly before more arrived.