Right after Heather said those words, a surge of Eternum swept over them, followed by a barrage of barbed quills. She screamed and ducked for cover. Her most reliable summon, Toby the mantis, moved swiftly in front of her and blocked most of the flying missiles with its body. Its carapace was hard enough to deflect most of the quills but a few pierced its vulnerable abdomen.
At the same time, the others were also attacked by a wide array of long-range abilities. Shuhua was briefly pelted by poison spitballs before she could take cover behind her flower demon, with one landing on her right arm. Nellie dived behind a tree but not before suffering from a shower of flying leaves. Blood sprayed everywhere and she cried out in pain.
The remaining three, Zachary, Carlos, and Jean-Pierre, were met with more sharp quills before they could react or provide aid. Zachary ability summoned Wander's glowing green shield and held it out in front of him with his palm. Carlos dived behind his monstrous crayfish, cursing loudly. Meanwhile, Jean-Pierre disappeared into the trees with a gust of wind. Nothing could touch his body while his trusty owl was on duty.
"Is everyone okay?" Heather shouted even as attacks continued to rain down all around them.
"Fine!" Carlos replied.
"Not fine!" Nellie retorted.
Her legs had been cut up and she was bleeding heavily. Shuhua was also struggling as her arm had turned a concerning shade of purple.
"Damn it, I'll kill them!" Carlos shouted.
He summoned his muddy bullfrog in an attempt to return fire but the poor beast had to immediately duck for cover from another barrage of quills.
"Broody, come on!" He urged but bullfrog was more concerned about self-preservation and rightly so.
Eventually, the long-range attacks ceased momentum as those summons ran out of energy or ammunition. However, there was no rest for Zachary and his group as several powerful Ensouled charged through the underbrush toward their position. At a glance, there were furry pigs bigger than Onkie, gray wolves, overgrown bugs, strange plant creatures, and even a fearsome-looking alligator.
"Onkie, go!" Zachary urged..
"I got it!" Onkie squealed and charged into the fray, directly colliding head-first with an opposing furry pig.
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"Max! Roger!" Heather shouted, sending her gray wolf and treant forward.
Shuhua's treant and vine demon followed as well as a pair of giant pill bugs from Nellie and Carlos.
Meanwhile, the long-range attackers on their side started to retaliate. Heather's poison frog, which she had named Alan, laid down a messy barrage on the approaching enemies. Nellie's crowned caterpillar ensnared one beast after another. Even Carlos' muddy bullfrog was finally able to hop up and get some payback.
The battle was sheer chaos of noise and action. Beast cries mixed with human shouts and commands. Everybody was fighting everybody else at the same time. All the survivors could do was stay out of harm's way. Every summon on the field was an adept. The summoners, as weak humans, could lose their lives in an instant if they were careless.
Out of all the combatants, Onkie in particular thrived in this mayhem. She was strong and agile. She could pick her opponent and avoid the tricky ones with her speed. She smashed into one beast after another, sending them reeling backward. She was like a boulder rolling downhill, flatting everything in her way. Her thick fur and tough hide protected her from retaliation.
"Hon! Hon!" A much larger furry pig snorted loudly as it stepped into Onkie's path.
It was a male of her species; its tusks were much more pronounced.
"Onk! Onk!" Onkie replied indignantly, accepting the challenge.
Although the other pig was bigger, it didn't necessarily mean it was stronger.
"Onkie, earth crush!" Zachary commanded.
"Alright!" She replied eagerly.
Eternum surged through her body, bearing the color of earth. It carried her soul's intent and her control over the element outward and into the ground beneath her feet. Then, with a brave shout, she charged at the bigger pig which also broke into a sprint. The two sides rapidly approached each other, kicking up a dust storm behind them. There was no intention to dodge. They were going to see whose skull was thicker and who would roll over who.
On the last step before the collision, Onkie stomped hard on the ground, causing the surrounding earth to tremble. This tremor shot forward in a wave, past the other pig's feet, and erupted directly behind it. A pillar of loose rocks and dirt formed in the blink of an eye, just as the two furry pigs smashed into each other.
With mixed cries, both beasts flew backward. Onkie hit the ground several meters away while the other pig smashed into the pillar she created. She had plenty of room to roll and dissipate the energy from the impact. She quickly got back on her feet and shook her head to clear any remaining discomfort.
On the other hand, her opponent remained motionless in a heap on the ground. It had been smashed twice in rapid succession, once by her thick head and once by the mound of rocks and hard earth. Unlike Onkie who had rolled a far distance, the other pig was forced to absorb all of the damage of these impacts. One could imagine what kind of injuries it had suffered.
Expectedly, a ray of light hit the wounded pig soon after as its summoner performed a long-range recall. The light traveled through the foliage to a spot beside a large tree a short distance away.
Zachary smiled to himself, noting the location of that enemy. Now that they had shown themselves, he could spring the trap he had prepared. He felt in his soul for the connection with Doro which was already active. He willed the earth elemental forward and gave it the signal to attack once it was in position.