"Run for it!"

"Damnit stay away!"

"Ahhhh!"

Shouts and screams filled the run down residential area as scattered men and women made a run for it, escaping as quickly as they could from the unrelenting invaders

Squee Squee!

How could such a meal be let free however? The bats wouldn't have that happen under their watch as they plunged down en mass, sacrificing their lives so that their kin could make a meal of these delicious two legged creatures

"Escape through the tunnel to the south! I will keep them here"

Not everyone was cowardly or weak, some chose to take a stand, whether it was an act of bravery or foolish confidence remained unknown

This man clearly didn't mean to go back however, clutching at his large demolition hammer he shouted to the sky

"Cooommme Heeeerrrrreee!"

His neck muscles bulged with veins stretched out and his face turned red making him look exhausted with merely two words

The effects of his shout however were miraculous, attracting nearly every bat flying about to switch their gaze onto his well built figure

With hundreds of red eyes locking on him even the tough man couldn't help but feel a shiver run up his spine, he stood his grounds however, looking challengingly back at them

SqueeSquSquee!

Not just a dozen or two, not even a hundred, but hundreds of small and big bats rushed over to meet his provocation with ready fangs

"Thats right you dimwits, come e'r"

Swinging his hammer he showed surprisingly well practiced movements, with every swing he took the lives of a few bats, his moment not allowing any room for fatal counter attacks but instead used to put more strength into the next attack, taking down even more each time

Of course, no matter how good he was, when one was surrounded from all sides by the enemy there had to be some injured, not to mention the bat's suicidal attacks that spared not the smallest chance of biting into him

Bam Bam Whoosh! Bam

Still he swung one time after the other, uncaring for how hard they bit into his extra hard skin, in his mind he was already a dead man, so long as his family and friends got to survive

"....Should we not help him sir?"

"And risk everyone's lives for one man? It would be better to help the others escape

Not too close yet not too far from the area was a group of humans trying their best not to attract the bat's attention, while planning to help out as much as possible

"Almost all the bats are focusing on the man right now, I think we should jump in and kill the few stray ones chasing after the survivors then escape through the sewers as he said"

Another suggested to the darkly clad man leading this team

Dag looked at everyone's firm and brave eyes, the same eyes he held once before as he led this team to save one human after the other, now however….

"It's too late"

He pointed a finger upward, sending everyones' eyes to the once moonlit sky only to find it devoid of any light except the fleeting red dots appearing every now and then

""...""

Everyone was quiet upon witnessing that dark cloud above for they knew it spelled the end for the entire camp, hell even they wouldn't survive if found

Sure enough, one huge figure plunged down after the other only moments after covering the sky, heading straight at the brave man defending his loved ones

Not the well practiced ammer techniques nor the hard skin, not even the foolhardiness of the man could prevent the bat's large claws from pinning him to the ground while its smaller kin suck on his blood, only letting go when he passed out as the huge bat lifted off with him in hand

It wasn't alone either as every bat that came down was going back up with a human or two, unconscious in their clutches as they ascended into the sky where its kin was

'They should be alright'

Dag convinced himself, holding a little more hope for these victims than his comrades, after all Ika said the Lord wouldn't kill them but use them as bait for the upcoming mission, and he chose to bet on believing her words rather than doing something reckless and possibly useless to stop all this

'The Lord….Just how is he doing this'

Staring at the cloud in the sky he knew it was an actual smoke cloud, unlike what his comrades believed to be a huge swarm of bats because of the many dotting the outer ring to make it look that way

'No scouting methods can pass through that smoke could, if not they would have known its true nature long ago'

Sadly no one would answer his questions

"Sir, should we send someone to inform the settlement nearby? They did ask for information and they might be the next target judging by the way the swarm is moving"

Dag nodded at the man but when he turned around to issue someone to send the message he spoke

"We will all go"

"Sir? We can just send anyone to deliver it"

"That wouldn't be convincing enough, if we just send a random member and ask them to evacuate then they might not take it very seriously, they aren't a small camp that would keel over any possible threat"

He glanced over at the few people hiding in the back of the group

"No offense"

"None taken"

These were the leaders whom they saved from the few camps they could warn before calamity struck, though they should be with their people now Dag had suggested they come along in case there came a chance to fight the bats

'I need to get them to come along'

In reality however he just wanted to drag them to the settlement with him so he may sound more convincing, seeing a few somewhat reputable figures tagging behind his small team would certainly be more convincing

"I agree with him, we should all leave for the settlement immediately and inform the others"

One of the leaders pitched in unexpectedly before he could try and convince them

"Yes, a reasonable choice"

"Let's go then, what are we waiting for"

Everyone quickly agrees making him somewhat surprised but very grateful

'The survivors of the human race, those who lasted this long indeed house no cowards'

He believed, meeting their firm eyes with his own before leading them to the settlement with haste, as hasty as one could be when sneaking under a swarm of beasts…..

...

"How is the process of eliminating the camps going"

"Pretty well, except for five camps that got warned beforehand by Dag and one that managed to escape using some unknown methods the rest have been fully captured"

"Casualties?"

"Almost none, bar the few accidentally sucked dry"

Nodding his head YuJu seemed satisfied with Mia's report, everything was going well and they would soon move onto the next phase of their plan

"Are you not uncomfortable like this Master?"

"...."

Well, almost everything, the way he flew in the arms of the huge winged thrall wasn't at all comfortable, in fact it was a little embarrassing

"Should I give you a lift Master? I promise I won't drop you"

Mia suggested in her huge bat form to which he merely gave a dull stare, getting hugged might be embarrassing but it would be even more so to dangle from her clutches like some prey

"Does Sofia need extra convincing"

Switching the conversation he asked

"I don't believe so Master, Dag has a good reputation and so do many of leader's with him, if they all go to deliver the message, along the warning that I gave earlier, Sofia should be deciding to evacuate on her own, that woman is too soft to have her men take a stance and defend knowing the upcoming danger"

"Hmm, in case she doesn't however do proceed with plan B"

"Aww, but I really do not want to pretend to be injured and running for my life, it seems too fake and easy to reveal too"

"You won't be pretending to be injured, just strike yourself and make it a real injury, it will quickly heal with some blood afterward"

Mia kept quiet at this, one could tell she wasn't happy with it whatsoever with how her mouth seemed to pout, unobvious as it was in her bat form

"My Lord, we are approaching the settlement, three hours till we clash with them"

Came Ika in her bat form, she looked the most stressed of them all as she bumped into a few other roaming bats on the way, after all most of the stakes riding on the next phase concerned her thralls, something she was very uncomfortable with yet hopeless about

Whether she liked it or not however the plan was coming into shape, the next bit deciding which course it would take

'Dag, don't fail us, please'

Looking far off into the distance where the settlement lay she prayed