-Matthew P.O.V.-

We tore through the jungle towards Argedwall, abandoning any pretense of silence. Harried footsteps and the clomping of dense steel accompanied shouts as Lords drove the Knights forward, fervor and wrath in hand. The Legion moved silently in clusters, but no one made any mistake of our disposition.

Seething was a good way to describe how we felt about having to let that kind of biotic go. We’d run into only one genuine biotic that was sentient - excluding Yaga as few counted him as a biotic at all these days - and that biotic had nearly laid all of Gilramore low. In the wake of Wolven, an unspoken objective that our people had taken upon themselves was to hunt such things with absolute impunity.

Not everyone would appreciate that drive, especially when the real world demonstrated that everything was a choice. We could have ignored Argedwall’s plight and continued our hunt, and honestly if I thought we could capture our prey, we might have done just that.

Did that make us awful people? Perhaps it would, but I would rather be known as someone who hunted biotics to the exclusion of all else, than to let a true threat to humanity's existence continue to breathe our air.

I settled the matter in the back of my mind, bringing my own mind's eye back to what was happening in Argedwall. Through a few cameras and through Alice’s own armor, I could see what was happening.

At first, I felt a pit of dread in my stomach, seeing the biotics encroach so closely to the city. As I was sending orders to Shade to forcibly extract us and move us to the city with greater haste, the situation suddenly turned. I’d heard tales of the Cavalry charge tactic that Argedwall used, and they’d insisted that the execution was something to behold. Even so, I doubted that this was an ordinary charge.

Superheated air ruined the battlefield, black smoke clotting the air thickly and rendering the previous field of corpses naught but a burning hellscape. It was impressive, a method of combat that was decidedly different from our own.

Bulwark could learn a thing or two from the Knights.

I’d have been more impressed if it had been done without casualties. As it stood, the method could be used again, and would have to be used again if the current two-pronged waves of biotics had anything to say about it. The problem was that in a battle of attrition, humanity would lose.

Biotics were numberless, requiring only time and energy to recoup their losses. Far less than humans.

Every loss hurt us far more than it did the biotics.

However, the battle would turn in our favor. The front lines of our group breached the forest, coming up behind the group of biotics favoring the north western front. The western side was entirely ravaged, but south west and north west were fresh with defenses only now being touched by the bumbling horde.

“Push through!” I shouted, “we don’t have the firepower to fight on open ground!”

The order carried through to the Lords and their Knights, the leaders of which likely estimated the same thing. Against general biotics, certainly we could manage. But against these chimera? Far too even a fight.

We hit the backside of the Centaur like a wave over the shore, churning them underfoot. They didn’t realize we were there until we’d cleaved thirty meters through their lines, using their bodies to cover and navigate three of the outer trenches. The Legion unconsciously gathered near to the back near me, knowing that we were better outfitted to be the rear guard in this occassion.

A task to which Daniel and Fran took to with flourish and poise.

Well, Fran did. Daniel unleashed a torrent of firepower like a belching, rabid animal frustrated that it didn’t get its intended meal.

The combined weight of our firepower, a considerable armament at range, kept them from engaging recklessly. We followed behind the Knights through untouched defensive positions rife with barbed wire that could cut into steel, navigating directly behind them and firing whenever possible. Eventually, only those with higher vantage points could get shots off as we managed to outpace our pursuers.

For the moment, at least.

Overhead, though, I listened as four familiar sounds approached. With my awareness, I managed to pick out rapidly moving vessels, each Reaver churning out gunfire from the auto-cannon configuration they each bore beneath them. They didn’t bother firing at our side, instead lacing the other with punishing arrays of bullets.

It was bad luck in the first place that they returned to New Damond to have repairs performed, but if nothing else they were more than outfitted for the current situation.

In minutes our group filed into the city, myself and the Legion quickly taking to the walls and setting up defensive positions. I navigated to where Harris was, finding him easily enough overlooking the land of fire that had become the western trenches.

“You made good time getting back.” He commented idly, eyes contemplatively searching the field.

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“We had motivation,” I gestured to the battlefield, “I take it that can’t be done again for some time?”’

“Thirty minutes,” he surprised me with the short time, “but we risk damaging the mechs with repeat uses. Less a problem now than it once was, but we still have no idea what the point is, if this is a one time thing or our new normal.”

I shook my head, “I believe this is a desperation gambit. One that seems to be paying off.”

He looked to me, the unspoken question clear on his face.

“The biotic - the mastermind behind these particular creatures - is using this attack to cover its retreat.” I answered, unsuccessfully trying to keep the frustration out of my voice.

“I see.” Harris' expression soured, “that is bittersweet news, indeed.”

We examined the battlefield, our own orders to our factions carried out in the background with haste. The general populace - the Masons - were already being evacuated to bunkers, the largest of which was under the command center. Knights were outfitted with as many weapons as they could get their hands on, the arsenal that was the outer areas of the city coming into use. Steadily, the biotics numbers began to trickle in from the edges of our sensors.

The army that fell back under cover of the forests beneath the withering assault of four angry gunships was still many thousands of members strong.

While our people were as ready as they would ever be, I hardly expected the fight to be easy. They outnumbered us, but no longer as dramatically as before.

And all too soon, our aerial superiority ran out of ammo. They would return as swiftly as possible, but our outpost here was insecure. If the biotics overran the facility with docked gunships, our losses would be massive. Any given Reaver was far too valuable to lose, and now that our growth was rapidly slowing, we had to be careful not to waste those resources.

We could rebuild, but the cybernetic reinforcement used in the process was not something that could be fabricated ad infinitum just yet. As such, it would be awhile before they could return. At best thirty to forty five minutes would pass before we could hope to see a Reaver returning.

But, against my expectations, the biotics did not immediately surge forward.

They marshalled, realigning themselves into three blocks that would march forward, assumedly, to the wall and break through.

“Well, if I knew they were going to give me time, I’d have settled back into the trenches,” Harris grumbled and turned to me, “know what’s going on?”

I frowned, considering the scene before me.

A grimace hung from my face as I said, “I would wager they’re waiting for something. Probably reinforcements.”

He sighed at that, “I feared as much.”

“No point in letting them off easy,” I sent the order to the kill-team leaders, “we’ll begin firing upon them with your Arbolests.”

Harris nodded to me, “aye. You may wish to cover your ears.”

I frowned but nodded, my helmet clamping back shut over my head.

It was only then that I realized that there were no people near him, for at least ten meters.

“Ready, Arbolests!” His shout actually shook me through my suit, “fire!”

All at once I listened to hundreds of strikes ring out at the same time. Surprisingly, in spite of the range, many shots hit. Some had lost a little bit of their oomph, but dozens of Centaur collapsed, dead outright, and still more oozed silvery blood. The formations, though, exhibited an iron will, simply picking up their dead and holding them in front of them for the time being.

It was macabre to see, but the Legion and Knights were not dissuaded by such. I myself planted a foot against the low wall, retrieving my rifle. With a simple will, the tri-barreled weapon reconfigured, only a single barrel well over two meters long stretching out in front of me, humming with power.

I fired off rounds and near rail-gun speeds, each shot managing to hit a biotic, though a few veered slightly. Though, a grazing shot with these rounds still tore limbs off and sent the Centaur sprawling, so regardless it was quite effective.

Then, the sensors began to feed more information to me.

All of the sensors, in every direction.

“Shit.” I cursed before turning my attention to Harris who seemed to be just getting the same information.

Grimly, we exchanged looks at the wall.

“We’ll be spread thin.” I growled.

“We will.” Harris nodded, “I hope you’re ready to do the work of ten men.”

“Closer to thirty,” I grinned, “and anytime. How about you, Knight-Commander?”

A rare grin spread across his face, gone in a flash as he bellowed orders, the Lords showing their prowess by guiding hundreds of their subordinates to their assigned posts.

The Centaur fell back slightly, even as a trickle, then a stream, then a flood of biotics began to surge forward. They had truly abandoned any thought of preservation, those in the lead literally throwing themselves onto the defensive fortifications even as they were being fired upon.

The Centaur had their fodder now, and watching the trees shake, I couldn’t help but sigh with exasperation.

Carrier’s stepped out from the woods as well, no Spindlies at all in sight.

They began to lumber towards the city.

‘The hell are you up too?’ I thought at the Carriers as they advanced, abandoning the normal strategy of staying out of immediate combat.

And still they spawned no Spindlies.

“Focus some heavy ordnance on the Carriers!” I called out, “aim for legs, we just need to keep them out of the fight for a while.”

“Got it!” I heard Alice’s voice ring out from somewhere, and not four seconds later one of the Carriers was staggering, its front leg joints suddenly exploding, spurts of silvery goop spilling from the hole in the limbs. It was still walking, but Alice certainly wasn’t done yet.

I shook my head, seeing the Arbolests beside her widening the holes with precision, the front legs no longer capable of holding the creature upright.

“Keep it up!” I called out, turning my attention to my own shots, tearing through chaff biotics with rapid fire precision.

We’d see soon enough if this was a simple tactic of numbers, or if something else was planned. We had a few tricks in store as yet ourselves, and I wagered that they would be needed soon.