“Evie! Take command! They are coming from behind! Jared, lead the Dreadmaws! Pierre, Buramog, watch our backs in case this is another diversion!” Aldrin shouted, rushing forth with the Dreadmaws leaping over the rooftops towards the oncoming sandstorm.

  Aldrin fully shifted into his bat swarm, piercing through the sandstorm. With his predator vision, the once blinding sand turned into a grainy film with a highlighted mass of white fighting against shapes of black that attacked from all sides. The mass of white moved as one, covering each angle as they struck with their swords and shields against the specks of black that darted in and out.

  Aldrin circled once above before crashing down into the middle of the mass of white. He pounced onto one, grasping him in an encirclement of his swarm, shifting only his arms and head as he took hold of them before rising up and out of the sandstorm. Once above, he returned his vision to normal, easily seeing what he was dealing with? among the Scarab Sons.

  The Scarab Son wore a gold breastplate, bracers, and greaves with silver trimming along with leather padding for the rest of it for easier mobility. A large kite-shaped shield was strapped to his forearm, and he held a golden-bronzed short-sword in the other hand. His face was covered with a t-visor helmet, but Aldrin could see faint glimmers of runes running along the edges of it.

  The Scarab Son made an effort to stab Aldrin, but he grabbed his arm before he could. The man struggled and kicked his legs to free himself while below him the remaining Scarab Sons were busy fending off Aldrin’s pack of ghouls and the encroaching Dreadmaws that were flinging their tail spikes. Aldrin took another second to look over the Scarab Son before releasing him, letting him fall back towards the group he had been plucked from. He watched as the man flailed in the air before hitting the ground with a wet splat. His death ended the sandstorm as it broke the focus of those around with the sudden surprise of a body falling from the sky.

  Fully shifting back into his swarm of bats, Aldrin rushed downwards again, this time appearing on the outside of the Scarab Sons’ porcupine circle formation. With a raised Sin-Screamer in hand, he swung with both hands gripped on the hilt, activating Cleaving Strikes as he did so. The blade mixed with Aldrin’s unnatural strength cleaved through the shields like paper, cutting down three and leaving one injured. The Scarab Sons were no slouches in combat, however, for the three that died, the Scarab Sons tightened the circle, making it so that they seemed endless while dragging their injured member back into the middle of the circle.

  The Dreadmaw spikes were no use as they pelted against the shields of the Scarab Sons, and the ghouls themselves had to dart in and out of reach from their short-swords that licked out between the gaps of the shields like a snake with its tongue. Aldrin used Cleaving Strikes again to swat away three more and injure another one. Once again, the Scarab Sons closed the gap created, but not before activating their own Skill that had their shields and short-swords shine with an intense bright yellow light.

  Aldrin had to cover his eyes from the intensity and jumped away in fear of a strike he couldn’t see. He was not yet good enough to fight with one of his senses hampered, let alone his regeneration was not as it should be thanks to the silver dust that ran through his bloodstream. Although that didn’t stop him from hearing a hiss from one of his ghouls that quickly turned into many other hisses of pain.

  When Aldrin was far enough, he squinted his eyes open only to see the Scarab Sons finishing off three of the eleven ghouls that had been harassing them. Their swords still glowed fiercely and with renewed confidence, they moved as one unit. They took one step forward, lashed out once then raised their shields, forming a barrier that forced the Dreadmaw tail spikes to bounce harmlessly off it. The ghouls, unaccustomed to their new forms and the tactics from the Scarab Sons, fared no better as another two fell from the counterattack.

  Aldrin snarled in displeasure before turning the point of Sin-Screamer downwards and plunging it into the ground. Bloodletter Slam showed its usefulness once more when the bladed spikes of crystalized blood erupted in the middle of the Scarab Sons, skewering the unlucky few that failed to react in time. The Scarab Sons closed their ranks again as half stepped back and turned to start chipping away at the pillars.

  Jared took that moment to intervene, shooting arrows of air and fire combined with Explosive Shot while jumping from roof to roof with his own Dreadmaw. The Orcs who were riding the Dreadmaws dismounted and jumped down to the street level. They charged with all their Orcish fury they could muster as a vaporous red mist wafted off them. Aldrin removed his blade from the ground, ending his Bloodletter Slam skill, and led the charge.

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  The Scarab Sons let out their own war cry as they hunkered down behind their shields, forgoing the need to save their allies as the Orcs charged. The two sides clashed on the wide street. One side exuding discipline and the other, wild ferocity. The ghouls skittered in between the gaps of the groups, swiping with their paralytic venomous claws. Aldrin noted that their claws had no effect on the Scarab Sons as they quickly lashed out at the passing ghouls, hoping to at least nick them on their way. The Orcs didn’t give them time to breathe, and Aldrin had to give it to the Scarab Sons; they were well trained and capable of holding their own.

  Yet something tickled the back of his mind, a question that made him slightly nervous. Where was their captain among them?

  Aldrin ducked, slashed, and rolled. He never felt more alive than in the midst of battle, and perhaps his friends were right. He was a battle maniac, but it's what kept him alive all this time, even before his turning. Still, he scanned the battle as best he could, hoping to identify the captain but all the Scarab Sons looked the same and even worse, he hadn’t heard any of them utter a single word, almost as if they moved and communicated as a single mind.

  Aldrin clenched his jaw and had even more of a reason to find the captain of this group. The coordination was too flawless, and it worried him since his Orcs could only do so much against an enemy that fought like this. He swung Sin-Screamer in a wide arc and the Scarab Son blocked the blow but not the effect of being pushed back which he turned into a backwards roll then came up with a small hand-held crossbow, firing it point blank at Aldin that took him by surprise as he weaved around it.

  In that instant, his sense sphere alerted him to a Scarab Son that came from his left, his shield glowing the same bright light as before. He closed his eyes and turned into mist, letting the Scarab Son’s Shield Bash skill pass through him. He reappeared behind him with Sin-Screamer aiming to decapitate him, but the Scarab Son ducked like he had eyes in the back of his head. Immediately that sent Aldrin off as he realized there was more at play than the wordless communication.

  One of his Orcs cried out in a rage and glimpsed two Scarab Sons pulling their blades free from the lifeless body of the Orc. Aldrin felt rage bubbling within, rage that was begging to be released and let the beast he held at bay be free to rampage. The piercing shriek of the rider’s Dreadmaw stopped him as it announced its arrival, pouncing down onto the two Scarab Sons, ripping into them with its serrated beak and claws. The other Dreadmaws stopped slinging their tail spikes at any openings they could see and instead pounced down, fighting next to their riders as one unit.

  The Scarab Sons adapted quickly, pulling out their hand-held crossbows and letting off bolts at the armored hides of the Dreadmaws. Some made an impact and others didn’t, blocked by the riders with their Runed Iron armor. That only incensed the Dreadmaws as they leapt all around, crashing and trampling down on the Scarab Sons. Jared still hopped from roof to roof, firing off any arrows he knew would make a difference, leaving Aldrin quickly surveying the battlefield.

  The battle was still favoring the Scarab Sons as they quickly regrouped to better combat the Dreadmaws. One was brave and maneuvered towards Aldrin, his shield raised high, leaving only the top of his helmet visible with his short-sword poised to thrust. Aldrin snarled and used Roar of the Apex, cutting off all enchantments that affected the Scarab Sons. There was a slight stutter visible among all of them as their enchantments powered down, leaving them open. The Orcs, Dreadmaws, Jared, and Aldrin all took advantage of that. Rushing and overwhelming the Scarab Sons with their renewed vigor.

  The remaining ghouls that lay in wait with the Ghoul Baron charged from the shadows along with the Giant Rats, Mutant Dogs, and the lone Chimera. The battle quickly devolved into a brawl that the Orcs were used to, easily overtaking the Scarab Sons. Still, the Scarab Sons were no strangers to battle, especially urban warfare, as they adapted once again, this time speaking in their native tongue as they started a defensive retreat.

  “Don’t let them regroup!” Aldrin shouted, seeing them trying to link back up from the scattered pockets they held themselves in.

  Aldrin felt the wind pick up, and with it carried the sound of a horn. What followed was another sandstorm that obscured them, forcing the Orcs to cover their eyes as their Dreadmaws encircled them with their bodies. The Giant Rats and Mutant Dogs cowered away, seeking shelter among the alleyways that offered some sort of reprieve from the sandstorm. The Ghouls, along with the snake-headed chimera, still attacked, the sandstorm not hindering them in the slightest. Aldrin switched to his predator vision, igniting the living in silhouettes of white.

  Dread Charge covered the distance he needed, appearing at the closest Scarab Son. Sin-Screamer released its Echo ability, sending a screaming wave of purple energy crashing through the huddled Scarab Sons. There still wasn’t a sign or inclination of who led this group, which still worried Aldrin, so he would have to do it the old way, which was cutting down as many as he could until they surrendered.