The next several days were hard marches with little fun to get in the way. Only the call of a frantic scout broke it. The enemy was but an hour away. Daisy watched as the camp came to life in moments.

She rushed outside to find Selena and Cedric in tow. Rast was there with his own party. She looked towards the approaching army in the distance and frowned. "This is it." She could see countless stat windows popping open, as if trying to view every single one of the enemies at the same time. It meant nothing, but one thing. They were all enemies, to be vanquished, or be vanquished by.

Rast smiled as he walked forward with the rest of the group. "Now this is what it's all about! Fighting the enemy together."

Daisy focused ahead. The enemy army was rushing right towards them. She hefted her heavy hammer. "Selena, Cedric, support me and I'll—" She trailed off with a frown, eyes flicking towards buttons only she could see. She turned her pheromones on. "This will almost certainly not work, but there's no harm trying. Be ready, everyone."

Selena nodded as she raised her spear and took her place alongside Daisy. Cedric held up his staff, which glowed brightly for a moment. He cast protection on the two girls.

The opposing forces clashed a moment later. Those at the front took the first crushing impact, but Daisy rushed to join them with a shout. She wasn't even sure who or what she was shouting about, but it felt right. She brought down her hammer. A shield shattered, then the man behind it, the metal armor crumpling inwards. Her next swing caught a horse's rider as the beast went down under the force of her weapon.

"Her, get her," came some distant shout. Her terrific efficiency had been noticed, and the press of enemies heightened. But she still had her plan.

─ Pheromones failed!

Daisy grumbled, but kept up the fight. Selena lashed out with her spear to keep anyone from flanking her, stabbing and piercing, but mostly trying to keep people away from her. "Too many people to try an illusion," she sheepishly defended, trying to stab a cheetah person back. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Daisy kicked that cat back and slammed her hammer down on a human woman. "Barely hurting me, not fast enough." She could see her MP bar slowly draining as she healed her wounds as quickly as they came. "They'll have to try harder." She looked around. "I can heal, when you need it."

"I'm good, for now." Selena stabbed out and cut open someone's throat, then she spun around to block another attack from the side. "Ew." Despite her moment of distaste, she pressed in behind Daisy.

Cedric was hurling elemental fury around Daisy from all sides, striking those foolish enough to approach her with fire, cold, and lightning. His magic was not strong enough to finish anyone, but he still managed to keep them off Daisy and Selena.

"Keep it up," Daisy called out as she slammed her hammer into another soldier, the man going down in a heap. The press suddenly parted and she almost stumbled in surprise. Marching into that void was a soldier with a scar across the right side of his face.

"You." He pointed his long sword at her. "Me. We settle this." He charged towards her.

Daisy let out a deep breath, then smiled as she felt the others backing away to give them space to duel. "You're one of the enemy leaders. You're not just walking away if you lose." She hefted her hammer into readiness. "Cedric, Selena, keep anyone else from getting involved, but he asked for a solo match. Let him have it."

Daisy rushed forward to meet him. He swung his blade towards her head. She managed to bring up her shield in time to block the strike, though her arm still rang with the force of it. Sparks danced from where the two impacted, making her wish she had deflected it more than taking it directly. Another swing and she brought her hammer down against that, but the blow was deflected off. The man smiled at her.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"I'm going to cut you down." He grinned broadly. "And then I'm going to enjoy you."

Daisy felt heat rush to her cheeks even as disgust boiled in her. "What is with this world and that!" She lunged at him with renewed fervor. "I'm not interested!"

"You don't have to be." The man smiled as he slashed out towards her. "It's a right for the victors."

"Disgusting," she growled out. Daisy slammed into his shield, sending him staggering back a pace. Though her family wasn't fighting with her, she could see they counted, and their buffs were strong with her. "You challenged momma mouse, and she's not happy."

He laughed as he rushed back in towards her. He slashed his sword down towards her again. This time he managed to connect, slicing into her side, only to bounce off her armor. Sparks danced over her fur and he frowned. Her clothing was also sliced, a fact she distantly noted for later repairs as she returned the favor with a crushing blow of her hammer that sent the man staggering back several paces.

The man grunted as he regained his balance. He looked over towards his troops and shouted, "I want her alive!"

"Than take me," she hissed out, catching him in his left side with a twirling two-handed swing that crushed into his vitals with several jarring snaps and crunches.

He staggered back, coughing blood with the effort to remain upright. The other troops were suddenly closing in on her. Daisy could see her own family looking ready to fight. "Fight's on," she shouted, detecting that duel was completed. The press returned from the front and the back, her side sounding emboldened with the victory over the enemy leader.

She lashed out, knocking a wolf girl back into her fellows, then crushing her shield down onto another person's head. She felt someone grab at one of her breasts, but she lacked time for more than a snarling yowl before stomping on the foot of whoever had grabbed her. "This is a damn war. It ain't time for that."

The fight was long and draining, but the tempo was clearly on their side as the battle continued. Their enemy fell back and regrouped several times, making another push each time, only to be repelled.

In time, the enemy was in full retreat. The battlefield was clear, and she found herself among the winners. Leaning against her hammer, she huffed softly for breath. "You two alright?"

"I'm fine." Cedric leaned against his staff. "I feel a bit tired, though."

Selena nodded at this. "Yes, it was an exhausting fight." She rubbed Cedric's shoulders gently, helping to soothe him.

Daisy nodded, smiling warmly. "You two did great. Oh, what about Rast? Bit of a jerk, but he is on our side." She scanned over the field for any sign of them.

Rast was nearby. He smiled as he approached. "Hey there. You were a real force out there." He gestured towards her. "You know, I'm impressed."

Daisy looked his offered hand, unsure a moment before she thrust a hand to meet it awkwardly. "You held your own. We won today." She nodded, deciding to focus on that. "We won."

"That we did." He gestured down towards the retreating forces in the distance. "And they know not to mess with us." Rast grinned at this. He looked back over at Daisy. "What say we celebrate this victory?"

Selena huffed at that. "Sure, we can all go celebrate together." She leaned in. "That's what you meant, right?" Selena ruffled Cedric's hair affectionately. "Doubt this family's doing much alone."

Rast looked obviously disappointed, but kept his words civil. "Oh, yes, of couse. Together." He spotted a fallen soldier of the enemy side. "Excuse me, going to take—"

Daisy thrust an arm in his way, blocking the path to the fallen woman. "No soldier I helped put down is being treated with anything but respect for a battle hard fought, even if they lost."

He laughed nervously. "Oh, come on, what does it hurt?" He waved towards the body. "She'll never know."

"She fought and failed." Daisy held his eyes with hers, keeping her arm firmly blocking his path. "If you were the loser, wouldn't you hope for the same respect?"

He grumbled softly at that, turning away from her. "Whatever you say." He folded his arms. "But you can't stop all of them, only the ones you see."

She looked over as another soldier knelt to claim fallen gear from a corpse.

Daisy grumbled softly. "I hate that he's not wrong." She could only guard a small little patch of the wide battlefield, where she knew others were having their fun, with things taken, or people. "I can still hate it."