Without so much as disturbing a leaf on the ground, or an insect in a mossy pad, they disappeared and got into their respective positions. While they could have placed themselves in locations prematurely, there was no consistent way of telling which direction the creatures would come out of, only the time and location. Thus, it was easier to adjust positions according to the direction the creatures faced as they left the portal, while hiding behind a piece of natural concealment.
The bow-casters infused mana into their bodies and leapt upward, concealing themselves in the high canopy that overlooked the portal. The spear-casters, already having gotten into position half-mooned behind the creatures, stood perfectly still behind a set of nearby trees. The sword-casters, including the commander, waited behind their piece of concealment for the moment the portal would close.
I count twenty of them, one of the female bow-casters said, gently blowing a strand of blood-red hair away from her hazel eyes. I confirm Eirene's count, Vyra, her twin sister, chimed in with a mental note, gripping her spear tightly. Thrice confirmed here, Derion said, his raspy, gravel-like voice carried his murderous intent, even though mental transmission as he fiddled with his twin daggers.
The portal closed.
Without a word verbally spoken nor mentally transmitted, arrows infused with mana rained down from the canopy, striking a few, unwarned creatures; piercing their skulls and forcing their eyes to roll into the backs of their heads. Blood like molten tar dripped from their mouths, as the air inside the now unalive creatures' lungs escaped with a croaking sound, its muscles reactively twitching as subconscious nerves spasmed.
The remaining creatures had all of a second to react to this assault, screeching in surprise and challenge like a pig being slaughtered. Even while many of them screamed, more arrows and the tips of spears borne from behind the numerous, large trees struck out, forcing more of their numbers to plummet. Some of the creatures managed to escape the secondary assault, but a war cry resounded from the fallen tree behind their original direction of travel.
One of the creatures managed to look back, just in time to see a pair of glowing, yellow eyes flash in front of its field of view, then disappear as its vision faded. Like a bolt of lightning, the commander dashed between multiple different creatures, slashing their necks and severing limbs from their bodies, while her teammates picked off any stragglers.
The entire fight lasted all of twelve seconds, as their efficiency was unmatched, yet again.
"Fuck, these things are hideous," the commander said, sharply twisting her sword and bumping the small, circular guard with a balled fist to shake off the excess blood. "Still can't find a better word than fuck to use?" Haldir asked, pulling a strand of his dark, green hair away from his face as he bent down to pull an arrow from a creature's skull. "Would you rather I called out your mother's name, instead?" the commander shot back, eliciting a chortle from Haldir.
"We haven't seen these before," Derion said, his voice rougher than the texture of the horns on the creature he was examining. "What do you want to call them?" he asked, the scar on his eyebrow gently contorting beneath a lock of black hair.
"You know I suck at giving names to people, let alone creatures," the commander said in jest. "True, though with that in mind, we should probably let you name these creatures anyway," Vyra chimed in, her scarlet eyes locking onto the commander's with playful intent. "Mi-mi-mi-mi-mi. Shut the fuck up," the commander mocked Vyra's tone in return, punching her lightly in the shoulder. "Hey, that's my throwing arm, watch it!" she chuckled.
"It will never cease to amaze me how fast you are," Eirene said. "It was like watching a bolt of lightning spread across them. I could hardly keep up, even looking down from where I was perched," she said, her eyes, like Vyra's, looking the commander up and down. "Reach the fifth stage, and I'll teach you how to do that," the commander said playfully.
You know damn well I can't, Eirene shot mentally. You could if you tried. Your sister is almost there, after all, the commander replied, a wry grin showing on her face. Train me, then. I'm too scared to try it alone, Eirene shot out desperately. When this mission is over, I'll do what I can to help all of you break through from your current fourth stage to the fifth, the commander said, trying to comfort her companion.
"If you two are done having your moment, we still need to decide what to call these things, and what our report will be when we return. Today should be the last day until our replacements come," Derion said, his near-black eyes stared intently at the intricacies of one of the horn's structures.
"Did you just rip that one out of its head? Gods above, you creep me out sometimes," Vyra shot, noticing the creature beneath him missing a horn. "I need to analyze it, though a larger sample might be required," he said distantly, thinking of all the experiments he would do when they returned.
The commander, able to read his thoughts, walked over to the nearest felled creature and swiftly separated the head from the torso. She kicked it up and over to Derion with her foot. "That a big enough sample for you?" she asked. With a terse nod, Derion immediately turned to analyze the severed head. "Aaaaaaand he's gone. It'll be a week before anyone aside from the commander can hold a conversation with him," Vyra said, throwing her arms up in the air as she did.
The rest of the strike team chuckled at her comment, and finished plucking the arrows, not the horns, out of the deceased bodies. "Hurrrok… I think I'm gonna puke," Eirene said as she caught Derion stick his finger into the creature's mouth, feeling around for whatever he could find. "That's a good name, Hurrok. We'll call them that," he replied, unfazed by her demeanor.
"Hurrok it is, then," the commander said playfully. "Still, though, I have to wonder what the hell is happening in the Underworld to force them to become like this," she said pensively. "Does it really matter? Perhaps the Undergod is just angry that his minions aren't working as well as intended," Haldir said, wiping the blood from the tip of his spear. The commander paused, ruminating over his words for a moment before shaking her head.
"It's not like him to throw careless thought into his creations," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look at this," Derion said, his gloved hand soaked in black blood. "The plates are growing together, but where there were deformations, horns sprouted instead," he said.
A brief analysis won't really give us many answers right now, Derion, but I'll be sure to keep that in mind for whatever experiments you may need to perform, the commander transmitted. Again, with a terse nod, he continued inspecting his newfound toy.
"Well, well! It looks like all the work is done for us," a voice called out from behind a score of trees. "Velgar, it's good to see you again, my old friend," the commander said, clasping his forearm. He was a burly elf, a rare genetic occurrence, with a thick beard and braided, walnut hair. Some considered him to potentially be of dwarven descent, but there was no record of that anywhere.
"It's good to see you, too, commander, but I know you've been out here for far too long already. We'll catch up between another rotation," he said. "Of course. I'm long overdue for a long bath and some warm food," she chuckled. Cracking a small grin, he patted her shoulder, and got into position immediately.
The average time between portal openings is finicky, but on average it's about once an hour. It's just too bad I can't stay and catch up with the rest of them, the commander thought.