Battlecries still erupting from their throats, the Templar sprinted away from the lake and ran parallel to the river that separated Myshk and Igna. The sounds of fighting drowned out their yells, but it was too much too hope that they'd be unaccosted for long. Thankfully, Lamb was keeping an eye out.
Ahead of them, shouts started to rise up from the boats as humans drew swords or started gathering Aether to release attacks. There were a cluster of ten boats between them and the largest vessel that they would need to escort everyone off the island.
On each boat, there were a handful of sailors that were mostly there to manage the boat, but the main vessel had a full contingent of soldiers. One of the mages on the main vessel leaned over the side and sent a blade of wind slicing through the air towards them.
"SCATTER!" Samba's command was followed instantly and the wind blade crashed into the new gap in their lines. With the threat of attack, Samba let loose his Domain [Radiant Guard] and small shimmers of light spread throughout his vanguard of Templar.
Reaching the shore, Samba dove into the ocean, its cool waters feeling refreshing after the heat of Igna that was still present after the surge. The shallow dive brought him under the boat and he kicked upward. With a surprised cry, the humans fell in the water as the boat flipped over from Samba's attack.
Another wind blade struck the water near him, but now that he and his Templar were in the water, they were much too fast to hit easily. In a matter of seconds, all of the humans in the smaller boats were killed, leaving the boats as a path to the main vessel.
Samba leapt on the side of the ship, using his claws to find purchase in its wood as he leveraged himself up to the deck. Fire and wind crashed into him as he leapt over the edge, but his Domain and C Vitality was enough to ignore it.
A couple dozen soldiers were already ready for his arrival with their swords drawn, but they were the equivalent of an Adolescent. Nothing for him to fear. The first swordsman lunged at him, but Samba sidestepped the attack as he stepped forward. Hooking his arm around that of the swordsman's, he wrenched upward and snapped his arm at the elbow.
Most of these humans were too small for him to use his (Coastal Clinch) as intended, but that didn't mean it was useless. He dragged the screaming human by his broken arm, directly into the path of another sword. Horror spread across the attacking soldier's face as the sword slid into the screaming human's chest silencing him. Another pair of swords swung for Samba, but he deflected them with his scales and his Core ensured that no damage was taken.
A paw lashed out to grab one of the attackers by the neck and slammed him into his fellows. Swords and Aether broke on his body, leaving him completely unharmed as he tore through the combatants on the ship. It only took killing half of them before the rest broke, jumping over the side.
A dozen Templar had joined him on the ship by the time his fight was over.
"Clean out the inside too. We don't want any surprises once we leave."
Samba turned back to the larger battle. Lamb was already shooting towards him through the water. Her shouts were getting lost in the clatter of the larger battle, but he could see where she was pointing.
The main human army had skirted around the outside of the wall of death that had been created from the clashing of the mud mage and the Still Gluttons opposing Aether. They were already pushing up through the Bazaar, making their way towards the Fort and the fighting had grown thick enough to slow their advance.
Fire still battled shadow in the skies, but the human elites had been blocked from participating due to the wall of death. Half of them moved to help the stalled army, but the other half was now sprinting directly towards the procession of monsters making their way towards the ship.
Tala was only just now coming out of the lake with their rear guard. With the slow procession of the Adolescent Cleaner Slugs and Cave Goblins, there was no way they'd be able to make it free without fighting the Elites. He wasn't the only one that saw the issue.
The other half of the Templar that weren't in the vanguard had posted up to protect their noncombatants in the cracked ground between the lake and the ocean. Corin, one of his Templar, still stood beside him while the rest cleared out the below.
"Send me some backup when you're through here. We're gonna need all the help we can get."
He didn't wait for Corin to respond instead diving back into the water and kicking for all he was worth back to shore. Lamb caught up to him as he did, but since he was already headed towards the problem, she followed along beside him.
The humans arrived first.
Flames licked the feet of the first row of swordsman and as one they charged forward much faster than was possible without use of a Skill. His Templar put their shields up, but the attack was just too fast. Those closest to Samba were protected by his Domain and the rest managed with minimal injuries, but one of the Templar didn't get their shield up in time and was ran through.
With his Vitality, he wasn't dead yet, but without aid, it would come soon. Hearing his scream, Lamb kicked forward, racing behind the sudden line of battle to try and get to the dying Templar. Shrieks came from the Goblins and Spiders behind their fighting as each of them started to run faster, pushing on those in front of them and unfortunately slowing the process down further.
"Tala!" Samba yelled, unnecessarily as his wife was already rushing to aid the defense. His job was a different one. A half dozen swordsman protected another half dozen mages at the back who were already starting to weave Aether to fuel their Skills. He activated [Darting Fortress] just as their first attacks started to fly out. Lances of fire and shadow shot arced towards the fighting Templar.
Samba felt little dings on his Aether as his [Radiant Guard] domain activated to protect them from the Aether attacks, but it wasn't enough to truly drain him.
Despite his speed, the swordsmen protecting the mages were able to form a wall before he arrived, but his sheer mass sent three of them tumbling to the ground as he smashed into them. Even with their line broken, the others that flanked him still reached out to attack him. Samba skated right, deflecting another sword, and then grabbed one of the still standing swordsmen.
Pain lanced through his back and Samba cried out. Spinning around, he tried to grab a rogue that had both his daggers embedded in his back just above his armor, but the agile human leapt away. He had to backpedal as the swordsmen got to their feet and started to harass them with his swords. The mages in the back were already focused on him as they prepared their next attacks.
He'd needed to get this half of the human elite's attention to protect the rest of the clan, but now he was in trouble. Coordinated lunges and slashes from swords kept him from properly closing the distance with [Darting Fortress] on cooldown. The mages' attacks of fire and shadow forced him to dodge or block the extra attacks and with his size, there was no concern of them hitting their own troops.
Worst of all before he could focus on any of the myriad of threats before him, the rogue would appear at his back, both daggers biting into his flesh. Only his [Towering Physique] and enormous Vitality was keeping the attacks from hampering his ability to defend.
Sorry, Kumo, I'm going to have to steal your move, Samba thought, wishing he had the violent Otter to guard his back at that moment. As much as she never listened, she'd always been reliable in a fight.
Two oversized maces dropped into Samba's hands and a couple massive swings gave him plenty of space to finally protect himself. He wasn't as good with his maces as he was bare handed, but he did have the [Blunt Weapons] general Skill. With that, it was possible he could slowly dismantle these Elites with his skill if the rogue didn't stop him, but it would be dangerous.
And that's just not how he fought.
Samba took a huge horizontal swing with one mace towards the first line of soldiers. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the rogue materialize out of thin air, blades already heading for his back again. Samba smiled as he used the momentum of his first swing to perform a backhand with his second mace that went careening towards the rogue.
The rogue's eyes widened at the incoming blow, but he couldn't scramble away in time. The rogue's momentum allowed him to avoid the head of Samba's mace, but his bicep still collided with the rogue, sending him flying away from the fight. Samba's attack wasn't over though. He stepped forward and continued to spin. Surprised by the continued attack, three more swordsman went flying in the direction away from the rogue.
His spinning attack had separated their forces perfectly, but he wasn't done. [Darting Fortress] ticked off cooldown and Samba immediately activated it. Two shimmering walls of light appeared on either side of him and he bulled over the last few swordsman still on their feet.
A handful of Aether attacks broke against his body as he rushed the mages, but it was too late. The hefty iron ball at the end of his mace crashed into one of the mages and she exploded like a piece of fruit as her insides became her outsides from the sheer power of his crushing force.
Unlike the swordsmen, these mages had barely upgraded their Vitality. Two more mages were crushed by his attacks before the rest scattered and the swordsmen had formed back up. The rogue was either slow to recover or stealthed and waiting for a better moment to strike.
Samba wasn't concerned though. He'd stalled long enough for his Templar to defeat the humans that had charged their lines. Tala, leading almost two dozen Templar crashed into the still recovering Elites. Lamb's hand rested on his back and [Cure] sent Aether racing through his body to close the few dozen wounds he'd received in the fight. With their formations broken, these Human Elites were much weaker than the Spiked Eagles.
As Tala's group routed their enemies, Samba looked back to check their progress. All of their clan had made it to the water now with all of the Hidden Spiders already on the ship. The Cleaner Slugs were the slowest of all. They couldn't swim at all and lacked the Agility to dart across the overturned boats. The Priests were having to carry them one at a time to the ship and it was taking far, far too long.
Samba's eyes studied the main battle as well and there were no more humans between them and the army pushing up Igna. That didn't mean they were being ignored though. His Heart shivered when he shared a gaze with the fiery King and the mud mage who both had turned their attention towards their exodus.
They had to get out now.
"We have to MOVE!" Samba yelled. Tala followed his gaze and her own eyes widened at the attention of their betters. All of them started rushing back towards the shore when Samba suddenly realized that Elizabeth ran beside him. The drowned human looking mercenary stood out even in this world of humans with her deathly pale skin.
"Let's make a deal," she said as they ran.
"Fuck you," Samba replied, not able to help himself. He was tired of monsters taking advantage of his clan. First Elizabeth and then the demon Galvina, it had to stop somewhere.
"Don't be hasty," Elizabeth said dully, her clan had already caught up to her and were running along side their own group as though their cooperation had already been decided. She pointed back towards the mud mage.
Rage had cracked her features. Even while she maintained the giant shield of mud that protected them from the river of death and the platform upon which she and the King stood, another line of mud rose out of the ocean, this one dripping in the form of a snake that headed straight towards the ship.
Just how much Aether did she have?
All of the smaller boats and vessels were caught up in its path, pushed away and then mired within its muddy passing. If they couldn't stop it, there was no way for them to get the entire clan off the island.
"Take us with you," Elizabeth said, "and I'll deal with the mud mage."