Dreu watched in awe as Zhao easily disposed of the scaling demons with his spear. He wielded the spear like a master and Dreu had already seen how powerful he was last time Zhao fought the large beasts. Because Zhao was taking the spotlight, Dreu and his other summons could only stand back to watch. The destruction of the portals and Zhao holding an entire flank allowed Dreu and the adventurers to take a quick breather. While the other human defenders didn’t have the same luxury, they were also holding their ground and morale was high.

Just as Dreu sat down to rest, he watched as a large pincer appeared over the battlement. The pincer was easily twice the size of a human. As the rest of the creature came into view, the young man found himself staring at the largest scorpions in his life. Taking account of its tail, the scorpion was easily the height of three humans. Its six eyes scanned the walls while it readied its pincers. Even the stinger looked poised to strike something. Seconds later, a dozen other scorpions scaled the walls towering over the human defenders. Their presence caused the defenders to freeze up.

“Those are Demonic Scorpions,” remarked Bayard. “We should avoid angering them by-”

A human spellcaster fired a spell at one of the scorpions but the spell didn’t leave a mark when the smoke cleared. The scorpion turned its attention to the aggressor and struck the spellcaster with its left pincer with lightning speed. Once the poor spellcaster was stuck in the pincer, the scorpion closed it slowly until the man was cut in two. Then, it simply discarded the man aside. The death of the spellcaster put a brief pause in the battle as both sides watched the man breathed his last breath.

“What do we do now?” Dreu whispered.

Despite never seeing the scorpions before, the warning from Bayard and his gut both told him to avoid them if possible. The scorpion’s pincer strike, far too quick for him to discern, was enough evidence. When a bunch of spellcasters coordinated an attack on the same scorpion, Dreu shook his head and watched the carnage unfold. The scorpion, likely angered by the attacks, charged far faster than a creature of its size should be capable of. Its large mass bowled over the soldiers while its pincers made short work of the spellcasters who were too slow to escape. Dreu knew a one-sided battle when he saw one and he almost pitied the humans on the receiving end of the scorpion.

The other scorpions made their move shortly after the first one went on its carnage. They charged towards the nearest human with killing intent. One of those scorpions charged at Zhao who had been studying the creature since they appeared. The summon stood his ground as the scorpion closed the distance. When the creature got close enough, it sent out its right pincer which Zhao dodged deftly. Zhao was also ready for the other pincer as the scorpion tried a combination attack. With both pincers failing to get their target, the creature used its tail. This time, Zhao barely got the spear between him and the stinger. The spear bent under the force of the stinger but it refused to break. Dreu wasn't used to Zhao being so defensive in combat.

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Shouldn’t we help him, asked Dreu.

I wish we could, responded Bayard.

Dreu followed the footman’s line of sight as Bayard scanned their flanks. To their left, most of the humans were defeated and the remaining few resisted futilely. Meanwhile, the humans to their right fared only slightly better as they managed to halt the scorpion’s advance. Two Holy Knights stood between the scorpions and the spellcasters. Once those two men fell, then the two flanks would be left wide open. To assist Zhao meant they would be encircled as soon as the flanks completely collapsed.

“Fall back!” shouted Zhao who managed to dodge the attacks of the scorpion he faced. “We don’t stand a chance here.”

Bayard grabbed Dreu and carried the young man over his shoulder.

“Let’s go!” Bayard shouted to the others as he ran towards the nearest stairs.

The other adventurers followed him. Dreu, facing the battle, could see Zhao expertly dodging the attacks. When he went in for an attack, the spear failed to penetrate the scorpion’s exoskeleton Despite his best efforts, the summon failed to wound the creatures. At the sight of this, Dreu had to wonder how Zhao was able to crush giant beasts that seemed better armored and struggle against these scorpions. Could the appearance of their armor be misleading? Regardless, Zhao was eventually surrounded by two more scorpions who had cleared their flanks. A few more attempts later, one of the scorpions succeeded in landing a hit with its stinger. The stinger went straight through Zhao and, after muttering an apology, the summon disintegrated.

Before Bayard descended the stairs, Dreu caught sight of the scorpion, upon defeating Zhao, charging straight at them. Moments later, the winding stair shook but, by then, everyone was a quarter way down the stairs. Everyone could hear the scorpion noises but none of them stopped to see how long the stairs can withstand its struggles.

Why did Zhao have so much trouble against those Demonic Scorpions?

Dreu didn’t hear an answer from Bayard so he rephrased his question.

Given how easily he killed those armored beasts the size of elephants, why did Zhao struggle so much against those scorpions?

After a lengthy pause, Bayard responded.

Those Demonic Scorpions are stronger than those beasts because they are fundamentally different. Those beasts have more similarities to your summons than those scorpions. Therefore, those two differ greatly in their strength and abilities. Zhao fought easy enemies before but today he wasn’t so lucky.

Similar to my summons, thought Dreu.

As Bayard stepped out of the stairs into the courtyard, he stopped and put Dreu down. After drawing his weapon, Bayard got into his fighting stance.

“Bayard old friend! It’s good to see you again! I expected you to pay me a visit sooner!”