The Spectral Knights marched. A thousand mana-made warriors moved as one, their armor gleaming and illuminating the surroundings as they crossed the threshold into the ruined town.
Their footsteps made the sound of a drum, and the ground trembled beneath their weight. Each knight had a shield and sword, weapons forged from the same condensed mana that gave form to their bodies.
They spread through the streets. The first hundred pushed toward the town square. The next groups fanned out to side streets, probing buildings and alleys. They moved without stopping, without looking around; they were just there to make noise and lure the monsters. They did that following the commands of their summoners, who waited beyond the town's edge.
The crimson vegetation reacted immediately to their presence. The vines shifted, thorns oriented toward the intruders. The spongy ground rippled as hidden Thorn-Lashers detected the intrusion through their roots.
