[center][h2]Saikoten Region[/h2][/center] [center][h3]Sanjo Sortie[/h3][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/88dciJb.png?1[/img][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/0zvnz6I.png[/img][/center] [center][url=https://youtu.be/26MUv9nh-9A]🐉[/url][/center] [sub][@PaulHaynek][@FrogRFlowR][@Restalaan][@Rune_Alchemist][/sub] Cutting down scores of soldiers, Shizuka continued his campaign through the Varjan ranks. Many of the warriors were alarmed at the sound of thunder and fierce winds; they certainly weren't briefed of a storm brewing on the day of their assault! One grunt was so startled he stopped in his tracks and began to look around with a panicked expression. As he looked, all he could see were his compatriots engaging the island defenders. He took a few steps back, shaking in a cold sweat. Suddenly, he felt a strong gust lifting him off his feet. As he yelled and frantically darted his head, he saw several of his fellow soldiers had joined him in the air. Almost without delay, countless cuts began to tear at his body while he cried out helplessly. He soon felt his body go numb from pain and a feeling of breathing charred air. As his comrades were also being sliced up, they found themselves being electrocuted by powerful lightning bolts. Fading away from the shock and pain, the man could've sworn he'd seen a blue flash of something amongst the winds. But it was moving too fast to really tell. Soon they, along with the feeling of pain and fear, slipped away into nothingness. The lightning and winds dissipated, and their bodies fell to the ground with loud thuds. The corpses simmered with smoke, having been charred from the bolts. In the center, Shizuka phased into view. In one seamless motion he swung away the blood on his blade and placed it back in its sheath. He eventually cleared an opening in the fray, but as he looked at the ongoing battle a painful realization came to mind. It didn't matter how many he cut down, there were just too many… He grimaced as he saw many more ships sailing into the harbor, unloading more troops. The Shizuyama samurai had dwindled down to but a mere few, and he saw the barricades were about to be overrun. What was worse was that he saw his team was busy dealing with a powerful foe, one who seemed to be above his peers in terms of strength and prowess. He seemed to be strong enough to take on Gringor, Tomi, and Nyla by himself. This concerned him even more, were there others like him coming? Unfortunately, he had no time to dwell on his thoughts. He had to make a decision, a best course of action. Ideally he was thinking that his team along what was left of the defenders along with should form up and make a tactical retreat and assist as many townsfolk as they could. However, he knew how warriors in his homeland tended to think: They would fight on to the last person, if they couldn't win then they would gladly die with honor. Shizuka always hated that mentality, what good was honor if you and those you cared for died because of it? Certainly cowardice had its own vices, but discretion was the better part of valor. He knew his words would likely fall on deaf ears, but he had to at least try. With his Shinsoku, the swordsman swiftly made his way to the archers and spellcasters who were preparing to engage the invaders head on - while cutting a few more down along the trek. He spoke quickly and with urgency [color=0072bc]"My name is Kannazuki Shizuka, I'm here with a small force of fighters to aid you in this battle! Please listen to me, this is but a small fraction of Varjo's forces! They have more boats coming from the harbor; we've tried to assist your fighters as best we can but this is suicide! Please, retreat with us, my team can cover you!”[/color] Best case scenario was that the defenders took heed to his words and would fallback, meanwhile Shizuka would regroup with his party and take them back to the village to join the other team. If that armored bastard gave them too much trouble, he’d slice him to ribbons. But, he had faith in their abilities: they were monsters after all. [color=0072bc]“Are the lords of this island here on the battlefield? If so, please relay my message to them, we can’t waste anymore time!”[/color] [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/cDfjYN0.png[/img][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/UEASvtf.png[/img][/center] [center][url=https://youtu.be/VmfH9vpp2aQ]🕸️[/url][/center] Atsuha was on her way to rendezvous with Gringor and Nyla, providing offense and support where she could. However, she stopped when she felt the fading chi of a nearby human. She looked over to the side and saw him, a warrior battered with ruined armor. He crawled limply as arrows stuck out from his back; his armor immediately marked him as a member of the Shizuyama defense force. But, it would seem he was the last survivor of his squad; his comrade’s corpse laid before him on the beach, the sand stained with blood. Seeing all of these dead humans made Atsuha sick to her stomach, it was almost too much for her. But, perhaps there was hope for this man, perhaps he could still be saved. She sensed that her comrades were currently engaging a powerful foe, but she felt they would be able to handle him for the time being. Part of the mission was also to help save lives, and this one looked like he needed saving desperately. Wasting no time, Atsuha made her way over to the warrior. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too startled by her appearance, she knew that monsters were mainly myths to these people. It wasn’t like he was in a position to be anyway, she thought. [color=9e0b0f]“You there, sir! Please, don’t move. I’m here to aid. First, let’s get these arrows out!”[/color] She stated to the man. She gently, but quickly pulled the arrows out, carefully in case some breached the skin. She then took out a talisman and channeled energy into it until it dissipated into a bright green hue that began to surround him. The man would find that his wounds started to heal immediately. She looked around and saw the new batch of ships entering the harbor, all of them pouring out more blood-thristy Varjans. She swore and turned back to the man. [color=9e0b0f]“I’m sorry for your fallen comrades, we couldn’t save them. But I promise we’ll get you out of here; I’m here with a few others. We can help clear a path so that we all can escape.”[/color] Unfortunately, choosing to tend to the warrior made it more difficult to support her team, but hopefully they could pull through and either defeat that heavily armored foe or have enough sense to pull out and retreat if the situation became too hopeless. [hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/0u0wcUo.png[/img][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/lNqQehU.png[/img][/center] [center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbfOVMI-pKw]🌀[/url][/center] [sub][@WanderingDragon][@Hammerman][@Dark Cloud][@Noblebandit][/sub] Hinami along with her comrades had hastily made their way to the nearby village. Hinami looked on in horror as it seemed they were already too late. Many of the denizens were being slaughtered as the enemy troops plundered the village and burned whatever they saw fit. Her ears were filled with the sounds of screaming townsfolk and searing flames. [color=7bcdc8]"No…"[/color] Hinami was no stranger to fighting, but this, this was genocide. Her monster instincts caused her severe distress and nausea at the sight of such a loss of human life. While her allies scrambled at Wyn's orders, something snapped in Hinami's mind. As if someone set off a switch. The gentle disposition her eyes held had completely vanished, being replaced with a sharpness that befitted a predator in the wild. She summoned a sister blade to match the one she already had, and just like that she was on them. The soldiers should count themselves lucky that Hinami's weapons were made from demon realm silver, non lethal but more than capable of incapacitating foes. A small group of Varjan troopers fell victim to her charge almost in the blink of an eye. Before the rest of them even realized it, two were already on the ground. Having received clean slashes across their abdomens from her twin blades. One of them let out a war cry and tried to swing at her with a polearm. With deft acrobatics, Hinami dodged into the air. She then landed gracefully on the pole of the weapon, causing it to hit the ground. The man would then receive a powerful kick to the face, one could see teeth and a bit of blood sprawling from his mouth as he was sent tumbling back. Before another soldier could even react, a thick chain suddenly shot out from Hinami's sleeve and bound itself to him. With frightening strength, she used the man like a flail and swatted another one of his comrades. He was sent flying into a wall, making a sizable hole in it. She then sent the bound man along with the chain crashing into a nearby tree. Hinami made no attempts to restrain herself, the cruel sight had set her off well past that point. Wyn's order to assist Luna was at least heard. [color=7bcdc8]"Understood,"[/color] She replied in an emotionless tone. She joined up with Luna without delay, slicing away any interlopers who got too close.