Looking back to the situation over at the two opposing forces at the entrance to the rebel camp, with all their gained momentum and disciplined force, the two forces have clashed in a loud and violent manner.

With all their strength, the incoming Core Group of the Temple Guards have charged into the towering steady line of shields. Their attack carried a tremendous amount of strength, causing a loud sound emission to traverse and fill the surroundings.

Yet, even though with all that strength, all their garnered momentum, the sturdy line of giant metal shields didn't break apart, but only slightly dented, which the Elite Fighters standing behind them rewarded with muffled grunts and groans only.

"[Reptilian] Don't falter, push against them! Second line! Attack through the cracks, aim at their joints and shoulders!" Seeing as how their charge failed to provide the result they have hoped for, the commanding captain standing at the back yelled out his commands after a moment of thinking.

The soldiers immediately shifted according to the commands, their strongest instantly stepping to the front, acting as battering rams to push against the sturdy line of the metal blockade in an attempt to create small openings for their brethren standing behind them with their weapons firmly held in their hands, ready to strike at the moment the opportunity revealed itself.

Though they were caught off guard by the failure of their initial charge, they weren't greenhorns either. Each of them survived countless battles already, and just like their captain, they could easily shift into the proper mindset and not freeze if their first plan failed to bring satisfactory results.

Seconds slowly passed as the loud initial clash transformed into this sudden stalemate, this deadlock. Though the attacking force had the lead in terms of battlefield experience, the front line consisted of only pure elites, the strongest and most trained of the soldiers. Each of them could easily overpower the soldiers, the warriors in the Temple Guards forces in a one-on-one battle, with having not much difficulty in carving out a victory even if they were facing two or even three of them at once.

Though they were vastly outnumbered, the elite front line of Draghan's Elite stood firmly at the front line, holding firmly against the heavy, constant assault. Eventually, the clash of loud yells and heaving grunts filled the area all around.

Suddenly, catching the Temple Guards' forces slightly off guard, the sound of faint whistles reached their ears. Not even a moment later, a shadow birthed above them, as a blanket of arrows filled the skies.

A rain of carnage was unleashed from somewhere behind the resistance forces, dishing out heaven's punishment upon the ill-prepared warriors.

Still, each of them garbed in heavy steel from head to toe, leaving only their slender tails hanging out in the open, the damage this pouring projectiles made from sharpened stone and wood were minimal.

Sounds of light clinks, suddenly mixed into the occasional guttural and hoarse screams. Most of the arrows that have failed to land in the small connections between the metal plates on the soldier's armors have simply grazed off, failing to do any damage.

Still, with the hundredfold of the heavy blanket, there were those unlucky few percentiles that grunted in pain and fell down as the occasional neck, shoulder or arm have been penetrated. For one poor skink, the arrow managed to land behind the visor and plunge deep into its eyes, ultimately halting after penetrating the skink's brain and causing instantaneous death.

The warrior fell without even the chance to help himself. A look of disbelief was the only reaction that could flash through his face, as he fell down in the next instant on his back. He failed to understand how did his life had come to such an abrupt and misbegotten end even as he breathed his last.

After the first wave of surprise rain of arrows, a momentary silence, an unexpected pause loomed over the battlefield. Draghan's Elite Warriors stood firmly at the stations, holding onto the large, giant shields just as firmly as before. Though their left, connecting arms were started to slowly grow numb under the relentless barrage, this unexpected pause of attacks have given them the breathing room they were each wishing for.

Far behind the lines, guarded by a circle of the militia, the Bowmen group didn't falter, did not pause for a second after their first unleashed round of attack. Showing an unexpected display of discipline, each of the women and men already had their arrows armed into their bows and were once again aiming towards the distant cavern ceiling just like a moment ago.

They were awaiting their captain's command, the bow strings were stretched to their limits, as they held their weapons armed, ready to fire as soon as the magic word was commanded once again.

"..[Reptilian] FIRE!"

Just as their fingers were starting to hurt under the strained string, a shout came from their right -as if also coming to end the strange, mysterious and heavy silence that engulfed the battlefield-, their captain have given them the command to fire.

They all released the bow strings, launching another cloud of arrows over the enemy lines. This time, with a bit more added strength, their general direction, the target of their attacks were slightly aimed towards the back line instead of the front. historical

As the dark shadow of dark wooden bolts traversed the air with a large, generous arc, Aiden followed their path with his golden gaze. His eyes glowing under the activated effects of his draconic innate ability, he was circulating his power constantly.

His heightened senses were scanning the crowd, analyzing each figure among the hundreds, searching for figures of interest.

Still, though he retained his attention at his surroundings, inwardly, he was only half present. He was also connected with Madam Dara, and was unfortunately forced to shift some of his mental capacity and attention to the issues, the problems slowly growing behind the scenes.

The unexpected situation that put a wrench to his plans of flanking attacks has demanded him to change his stance, and analyze the change in the situation. Though he was unwilling to do it, he also knew that he couldn't just ignore the situation and let those twenty-one strong strike force of Temple Guards go back and cause a murderous carnage in the city slums. Even if he were to choose to ignore it, from the processed memories of the absorbed ex-archbishop, Aiden was sure that Madam Dara wouldn't be able to do the same and would instead change targets.

In the end, he could only sigh inwardly, and decide to alter his plans accordingly, even if it were to cause a bit more stress on the ones stoutly standing their guards, and holding off the looming onslaught.

"[Reptilian] Do what you can. Stop them, with whatever means necessary.." After a bit of silence, Aiden sighed his command through the mental connection.

---

AN: Hey there Readers!

Just a friendly reminder, that from wherever you are reading , you can reach out to me using any of the below methods!

For you, sailors of the seventh sea (non-WN readers), be a bro/gal and throw me a cup of joe, show your appreciation!

Also, feel free to reach out to me in either one of the below links, or just on WN. :)

Links:

/shaele