Clambering over a small pile of corpses, I finally reach the rear of the army.

It’s a complete mess, bodies lay broken everywhere and there’s no clear distinction between the Arthian and Rover groups.

The fact that this is where our command echelon is stationed and it’s already become this chaotic and disorganised, does not bode well for the Empire's chances in this battle.

But what I find worse is that there are people wearing hoods fighting other people wearing hoods and since that’s one of the few ways I can tell who’s friend or foe I don’t know who’s on my side anymore.

I don’t want to have to just butcher everyone in my way but it seems like there’s no other option.

I just need to find her and get her away from here, that’s all that matters but I can’t see her.

I swear I left her right here but now she’s gone, which is probably a good thing considering all the dead bodies around.

For a brief moment everything slows down as a horrible thought crosses my mind but I banish it quickly by focusing on our link, she’s still alive.

Damm it, if she was awake I could track her better but all I can feel right now is the general direction she’s in.

It feels unnatural to throw caution to the wind but now’s not the time to take things slow, every second I waste could be a second she gets closer to death.

Still, I can’t just charge in, I think a better idea is to rush forward in short bursts before pausing and quickly checking the link to make sure I’m going the right way.

It’s slower but there’s far less risk of me going the wrong way so hopefully, it's worth the extra time it takes.

Immediately putting my plan into action I skirt around a desperate melee between a wounded pikeman and an overly aggressive Rover welding a warhammer.

Then I take a moment to assess the link, it feels ever so slightly stronger so I must be getting closer.

I accidentally move a little too close to a Rover group during my next burst and one of them manages to slice off one of my tendrils but I can’t afford to waste time killing them so I just move on.

Yet I seem to have just encountered a different threat, as a nearby mage reaches out to me with a bloody hand just as I stop to assess the link.

This is the sort of thing that requires a response, so I give her one and slam a tentacle on the side of her head, I’m already starting to move away when I hear the thud.

This time there’s no easy path towards my creator, everything ahead of me is blocked off by a mass of entangled fighters who’re being mutilated by a variety of different vines and roots.

I can go to the left or righ sidet but that wastes time, so instead I back up a little bit and then start to sprint at the poor grunts.

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I barely manage to leap over them but I do succeed, my impact is far from soft though as I land on top of a pile of shattered stone.

Looking left and right I zero in on my creator's presence, she’s on my left but to get to her I’m going to have to get through an actual cohort of monsters.

Unlike the creatures from before these ones are far less uniform in their appearance, the base form seems to be a canine animal but some of them sprout wings and others have deformed arms so it's hard to tell what species.

Currently, they’re preoccupied with fighting against a trio of mages and a dozen guards so they shouldn’t be too hard to get past.

While analysing the situation I’ve also made sure to grab as many of the rock fragments as I can carry.

I can’t waste time deliberating on what to do so I pick the most direct and easy option, hurling clusters of these rocks at the mutated animals.

Throwing with all my might is certainly effective but it means that my volley also hits a few of the Empire soldiers.

Hurridly I grab another dozen fragments and hurl them at the beasts again, this time I only hit one of the soldiers.

Four of the creatures have split off from the rest of the pack to charge me so I can only throw one final volley.

Choosing to concentrate on the frontmost hybrid, I throw everything at it.

Most of the rocks go sailing past its head and the rest are only glancing blows.

I don’t even have a chance to dwell on how unlucky that volley was before they leap at me.

Turning sideways slightly, I lower my mouth and catch one of the hybrids in my maw, quickly taking advantage of this opportunity I shake myself left and right to inflict as much damage as I possibly can.

Throwing its brutalised body on the ground I quickly wipe away some of the brown blood on my eye while flailing my limbs around to score some blind hits.

One of them gets overzealous in its attacks and makes the same mistake as its predecessor, jumping up to attack my centre of mass.

I can’t see properly but I still manage to turn open my mouth and catch it.

I do the same tactic as before but maybe in an attempt to save their friend the remaining two hybrids also leap up to attack me.

Why are they so obsessed with this way of attacking?

I can’t see at all since my mouth is full, so they both claw their way onto me with little issue.

I try wrapping my appendages around them but they're proving difficult to dislodge.

The moment the one in my mouth stops struggling I drop it onto the ground right next to its friend and without wasting any time to clean my eye I drag one of the ones on me into my mouth.

Its claws rake deep groves into my flesh and it’s definitely taken a bite or two out of me but it still fails to escape my clutches.

Even while listening to its final friend be consumed the other one still refuses to flee, it's just tearing into me with reckless abandon.

Finally getting a good grip on it, I yank it off me and slam it onto the ground.

It gnaws through a few of my appendages but even when my grip loosens on account of the missing limbs, it makes no attempt to escape.

Dropping the third lifeless hybrid corpse onto the ground, I lean down in its direction and begin to bite it.

Unlike the other three it’s managing to avoid being completely dragged into my mouth but that just means its death will be slower and more painful.

A waste of time for both of us.

Once it’s struggling finally stops, I pull back and get to work cleaning my eye, all while quietly assessing our link.

She’s so close to me, I literally just need to get past the hybrid horde and I’ll find her.