The combined factors of this ambush made it a particularly dangerous one. Spreading out had been preferable to being trampled all at once by the beast’s unstoppable charge, but a disorganized formation was much more vulnerable to the barrage of arrows that followed. Several soldiers took hits, of varying severity. Regardless of lethality, though, the injured were taken momentarily out of the fight. 

The projectiles of the Human weapons had been quicker to kill one of the beasts, but the efforts of J’eon and other Heat mages among Nellara’s forces had not been without effect. Rapid heating and cooling, in addition to any internal injuries, weakened parts of its armored hide. It made for vulnerabilities that did not even require the Humans’ weapons to get through. It became more sluggish overall, so Nellara’s agility could keep her out of the path of its initial charge. With Nellara having evaded, and no longer casting magic, it swung its claws at anyone near and swept its tail in a wide arc behind it. Even while weakened, [i]any[/i] hit from the beast could prove fatal.   

As the Humans had not been in its direct path, they had the opportunity to shift their target to the last beast. Being that it had charged right into the middle of their soldiers, there was no way to ensure a clear line of sight. Friendly fire would be a risk, but perhaps less-so than allowing it to continue its rampage for any longer. It was quite a large target, so for Vigdis, firing from a stable position, it was hard to miss. Hitting the head, specifically, was more of a challenge given how much it was moving. 

Shots from any Human weapon pierced through the beast’s hide with ease, especially now that it was weakened. Hits to the body now had more of a visible effect than before. Even without an immediately lethal hit, they could cause more internal damage. Against any notion of natural instincts, this creature appeared to ignore pain and any risk of death, but enough damage to its body and it could not stand, regardless of its mental resiliency. It collapsed, unable to move its legs properly to support its own weight. Even so, it was still trying to crawl towards the nearest mage up to its last moment, until someone could make what was now a much easier shot to the head to finish it off. 

Kareet did not see it coming when an arrow pierced roughly through the center of her chest. She did not need to see it to know that it must have had a non-magnetic arrowhead to make it through the barrier she had created. Some archers carried a few in their quivers for just this sort of situation. Her concentration was broken, and she fell back onto the boat. The protection the Humans had from the barrage was now gone, though the attackers may not have planned for their beasts to fall so quickly.