The armies marched with Glyea in the lead. The greenhorn followed from the shadows, and the mercenaries remained the primary vanguards with adventurers right behind them, and the fangs scouting the scene. Any unfamiliar smell should've given the fangs the advantage, yet the putrid stench of something burning rendered their sharp sense of smell useless.
Riding on one of Zephyr's bicorns, Glyea squeezed her fingers around her fencer blade and her wand. Keeping them ready for any trouble that might peek through the trees, she anxiously led the march with devils by her side. Many question the decision–after all, what use did a merchant have in a theatre of war? But since the trackers' beastmen were useless as of now, the army had to rely on Cecilia and Custer to read the monster tracks.
After only an hour's crawl, silence descended on the soldiers. Blanketing them with an air of restlessness, the silence made them more keen and heightened their senses, with the exception of their smell. Eyes roamed the forests and captured the fall of every leaf, and the chitter of critters and smaller animals was recorded ever so briefly.
That is, until they came upon a marsh. Sinking their feet into the watery plot, the soldiers tried to move yet further.
"What is that?!" Freezing every single one of them in place, a female soldier's voice turned them around. By the time their eyes reached her, something dragged her into the sludge. A wave of mud washed over the rest and knocked a handful of others as well.
"UGHH–SOMETHING IS GRABBING ME!!"
"I CAN FEEL A HAND! HELP!!"
The silence broke into chaos as the fallen soldiers were being buried alive by the reptilian monsters. Watching the air bubbles pop as the last breaths of their drowning companions came to an end, the rest of the army was still frozen with shock. That is, until a thick vine descended from the trees and snatched even more of them away.
Looking up, they finally saw the monsters. A band of nymphs hiding in the trees. Already their claws were digging into their companions, tearing them away and eating their entrails as they screamed out their hearts.
"AUGHHH! GET AWAY! H-HELP MEE!!"
"What's going on?!" Being at the head of the army, it took Glyea a moment to realize what was happening. Casting her gaze upwards, she saw the nymphs eating a pack of their soldiers. Wide-eyed, she could feel her heart pounding out of her chest, and yet with a sharp nudge from Zephyr, she swallowed and pulled herself out of her head. "S-stop standing there and attack them!!"
Raising her staff, she conjured floating blades and directed them to the nymphs. Hitting them with great precision, she fell a crowd with ease, as well as the soldiers that they were eating. Finally, watching one of the beasts fall, the rest sprang into action and lifted their blades.
"HOLD POSITIONS! SPIKE THE MONSTERS UNDERNEATH AND SHOOT THE NYMPHS AT SIGHT!" Ordered one of the leaders amongst the mercenaries, and the rest quickly fell in line. Following his orders without questioning, as their very lives depended on it.
"This is… awful," turning her head to Zephyr, Glyea's brows narrowed with despair. "You said nobody would die, and now look!"
"Nobody important will die, master didn't have the heart to tell you the truth, that's all." Smiling even amidst the chaos, Aura gestured the knight to look around her. "Time to complain will come later. How about you focus on leading these people right now instead? How many of them will die relies on you now, after all~."
Glaring at Zephyr, Glyea held her tongue, for if she started, there would be no end to her complaints. Now was not the time to bicker; forcing through the storm of trepidations, she must lead most of these people back home.
Turning her horse around, she lifted her staff and conjured more blades. Shooting them at the nymphs one by one, she kept striking them down while she exclaimed.
"Mindless monsters! They will fall to our tactics, just hold rank! SHIELDS FIRST! TIRE THEM OUT AND HUNT THEM WITH RANGED WEAPONS AND SPELLS!" Lowering her head for a moment, she looked to the marshy ground. "As for these bastards under our feet–"
Getting on top of her horse's back, she sheathed her blade and held the staff with both hands.
"JUMP EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! NOW!!!" Although the screeching from the monsters and the direct confrontation with them didn't let a great deal of them register what she'd just said, Glyea still jumped off her horse and planted the staff in the ground while the rest of the soldiers jumped off the ground in sync with her movement. "CHANNEL LIGHTNING!! DIE!!"
Shocking the marshy soil and the water along with it, she sparked every hidden monster in the mud, as well as herself and the soldiers trapped within. Her body crackled with lightning for a spell, and even as the effect of her spell subsided, the sight of the reptilians surfacing as dead bodies kept her going despite having her feet half-roasted.
"Fire for the nymphs! Lighting for the reptiles!" She heard Aura call out in her stead.
'Bitch didn't say anything until I figured it out…' Still hunched forward in the mud and panting, Glyea cursed the slave under her breath. 'Should've expected as much from a dev–'
A gust as sharp as a dagger sliced through her bangs–cutting not just her but her thoughts as well. Lifting her head, however, she found the hero and his party standing between her and the monsters.
"Stay back! They've figured out that you're the leader and are trying to take you out first!" Charlotte exclaimed while drawing all four of her elemental swords. One in each hand and two held by her furry tail.
"Thanks…" Picking herself up as Rudy took the brunt of another gust spell against his shield, Glyea got a moment to look around, and to her surprise, everyone with the exception of those who'd been stuck in the mud was holding comparatively fine.
'Those weapons…' Catching a glimpse of fire, lightning, and even wind enchantment in the weapons handed to the soldiers by Zephyr, she turned to look at the fiend with a baffled look in her eyes. 'You fucking knew? HOW?!'
She wanted to scream and demand an answer, but of course, right now wasn't far from the right time.