Mud covers the clothes when one sits in it. And the longer one sits, the more mud sticks. The night is cool and wet. Rarely does a desert rain, but when it does, it storms. Raindrops fall from the sky like they hate the ground, trying to beat it into submission. The wind whips past the heads of nearly three hundred heroes, almost all of the ones left in the city. A small contingent of fifty was left behind to guard the walls, but the army that was crawling through the mud towards Lahmi's encampment made up the last remnants of the city's forces. Tonight is do-or-die. Either they will kill Lahmi, or the city will be virtually defenseless.
It's as quiet as death as the heroes slowly make their way towards the horde. Breaths are held, everyone hopes that they are not spotted until they are close enough to launch the surprise attack. Closer… closer… closer. Fingernails drag heroes closer, each small sound and faint scent drowned out or erased by winds and rains, the only benefit to the storm. But finally, everyone is in place. A single order comes over their radios.
"This is Han, all squads… attack."
There's no warrior's battle cry, or shouts. Only the sounds of two hundred weapons being used all at once. Aura rifles, pistols, high caliber bolt rifles; all of it fires in an instant, and keeps firing until they run out of ammunition or aura. A third of the horde is wiped out in ten seconds, and chaos erupts.
"Advance." Han orders, and finally, the shouts follow. Like the sky itself was screaming, a pervasive roar of heroes, monsters, and gang members echoes, and the real battle begins. Heroes run forward, still caked in mud and grime and gun powder. They meet the monsters from all sides, and are met in return. Swords hit scale, chitin, scrap armor, hide, fur, stone, and everything between.
Marcel enters the fray, staff and sword in hand. Each swing kills something, be it man or monster. He moves through the battlefield like death itself. Following closely to his left and right are Sara and Jackson, each like some sort of avenging angel. The three of them cut a swath that other heroes follow, driving deeper into the horde, one goal in mind… break their formation. And it works.
Elsewhere, Han and his team watch the battle unfold. They are crouched at a distance, surveying every movement. "Target sighted. North by North-West, 18 degrees. Standing by the red tent." One of Han's teammates says.
"Confirmed." Han says, checking the location. "Target is moving East, towards his personal guards."
"Should I take the shot?" Another teammate asks, leveling a bolt action rifle at Lahmi.
"Negative. See the wirehawk? Bullet wouldn't get past that thing. Plan D is go. Move." Han says. One by one, each of Han's team disappears. Some simply turn invisible, others teleport. But Han seems to meld into the shadows of the night.
Below, Lahmi is in a panic, shouting orders to various gang members and monsters. "What are you still doing here? Go to the front! Stop those three heroes from getting further!" He'd been made aware of Marcel's efforts, and how well they were progressing. If this attack had happened six months ago, it would have been meaningless. A futile attempt that would have resulted in the complete defeat of the heroes. But Lahmi's forces are now sickly, starving, tired, and scared. Internally, Lahmi curses the reactor, and the ones who put him on the path of finding it, blaming them for what is happening. "You!" Lahmi points at one of his largest personal guards, a ye'iitsoh, one of the last of his original personal guard. Most of the rest were killed attacking the city, or in the many attacks by the heroes trying to take back the reactor. "Go and stop those heroes breaking our formation." Without hesitation, the ye'iitsoh rises and starts to move. It is identical to the one that knocked down the section of the city's wall so many months ago. A large, stone-bodied, living mountain of a monster with gems and minerals dotting its rocky exterior. Each step it takes shakes the ground.
Other heroes between Marcel and the ye'iitsoh spot its approach first, and move to intercept it. They remember this monster, or at least this species, and while the one that knocked down the wall was already long dead, each of them wants payback for everything that's happened since.
"Protect Marcel's team! Do not let that thing slow them down! This formation has to break!" Abishai, Wanderer, yells out to her team of five. They move to intercept the ye'iitsoh. Rushing forward, they all remember how Marcel and his team beat the last one, by knocking it over and attacking the head. Two heroes work together to stop it by creating a single pillar of flame in its path. The ye'iitsoh stops and steps back, then begins to move to the side to go around, but the flame moves in equal step, blocking the ye'iitsoh's path. This provides enough time for two more heroes to get closer. They run in lockstep, holding their arms interlocked at the hands between them, then grunt and mimic throwing something at the ye'iitsoh's head. But there is nothing there. The ye'iitsoh swings its massive hand at the heroes, and knocks them aside. Then turns to the two creating the pillar. Glancing at one another, they separate and pull back. The pillar disperses, and the ye'iitsoh, while confused, proceeds on its original mission. At the base of the ye'iitsoh's neck however, Wanderer reappears, no longer invisible. In her hands she holds several bricks of explosive putty and a detonator.
Marcel looks around, surrounded by monsters and gang members. For the first time in a long time, his breathing is getting heavier. He doesn't know for how long he's been fighting, but it was starting to take its toll. But he can't give up. The formation is nearly broken. Already, monsters and gang members are starting to ignore orders and retreat. A few of the monsters have even turned against their own and are simply wreaking havoc. A sword swings at Marcel's head, and he's almost too late to dodge, but Jackson's spear blocks it and retaliates on his behalf. No words are needed, the three of them have already saved one another countless times since the fight began. Marcel glances up, and sees the massive form of a ye'iitsoh towering over him. He's too tired to exert the kind of power needed to kill it, but prepares to try anyway. But before he decides to shift his attention fully, he spots Abishai sliding down the monsters side, and then seven massive explosions follow suit. The rocky form of the giant is shaken, and its head rolls off, landing on and killing several monsters, before its body does the same.
Lahmi, unaware of what has happened, only sees the explosion and his ye'iitsoh falling dead. Fear shoots through him like a bolt of lightning, and he starts to plan his escape. But he makes it only two steps before a sword juts out of a shadow and pierces his throat. In an instant, Han's team make their move. They do not just kill him, but all of his commanders and personal guard monsters. In less time than it takes to tie a shoe, all of his leadership and protections are killed. Han pulls the blade out of Lahmi's neck, then lets him fall to his knees. Lahmi barely has time to process what happened before a second swing of the blade cracks through the air like a whip, disemboweling him. He feels his guts spill out in front of him as he falls to the side, dead.
Han looks around at his team, their mission a total success. The moment Lahmi dies, the horde breaks, as if he was all that was keeping it together. In ten more minutes, the heroes have secured a total victory.