The dragon didn’t hear him and flew on. As the creature flew over him, Arnel felt his knees buckle beneath the giant shadow but his annoyance at the dragon for not following the plan gave Arnel the strength to keep standing. Arnel looked on as arrows and spells flew towards the dragon. The dragon responded by flying upward but he wasn’t fast enough and a few missiles managed to hit him. The dragon roared!

He was clearly furious at being hit and Arnel watched as the great creature’s flight suddenly slowed. The dragon arched his long neck into an S-shape before opening his mouth. Arnel had seen the dragon shooting green mist out of his mouth before but those had always covered a wide area. This was different.

A green ball shot out from the dragon’s mouth and it sped towards the barrier. When it landed, the force of the ball knocked over parts of the barrier before bursting open. Green mist covered the area. The mist did not cover a big area but it didn’t need to, the humans near it began doubling over. Some of them were even vomiting!

The green mist quickly dispersed but the humans affected by it were still weak from the mist. Arnel marveled at the versatile breath weapon of the dragon. Then he heard the howl. Arnel was not a Werewolf but he knew what this means. The pack looked at him as other packs began dashing towards the human barrier. What else could he do? Arnel shrugged and shouted.

“ATTACK!”

His pack surged forward and Arnel quickly followed. They started their run among the buildings of the Southern District and when he came out into the open square, Arnel found that his pack was behind others. Several packs had already reached the human barrier and Arnel could see several engagements all along the barrier. The fighting was not without cost. The humans had the defensive position and Arnel saw several Kin dead in the open space and along the barrier. A silent sorrow filled his heart. For once, Arnel felt his age. He was getting too old for war.

Arnel’s musing was broken when he noticed the Alpha. The Werewolf leader was at the barrier and he was ripping humans apart with ferocity. The human defenders noticed him and several warriors were now trying to surround him. Arnel shouted at his pack, directing them towards the Alpha. The werewolves of his pack reached the Alpha first.

The three of them took positions beside the Alpha, trying their best to support the leader while the rest of the pack catch up. More human warriors began swarming the area but with the Alpha holding the center, the four Werewolves managed to hold on till the rest of his pack arrived. Big Jeffery immediately took the place of the Alpha, allowing him to fall back. The Werewolf leader grinned at Arnel.

“You are too slow. Maybe you could asked the Creator for some power to increase your speed the next time you meet it.”

“If we survive this.” Arnel snapped back. “Just like you to joke at this time. Told you we can’t trust the dragon.”

“Oh, you worry too much. The dragon is going great.”

Arnel look up at the sky and saw that the Alpha was right. The plan they had was relatively simple. It requires the Kin to attack the barrier first and after engaging the humans, the dragon would fly deep into the human lines to engage the more powerful members of the humans. His job was to keep the more powerful humans busy while the Kin work their way through the mob.

Now the dragon was just creating chaos but in a way, he was doing what he was supposed to be doing. The humans knew how dangerous the dragon was and numerous spells were now targeting it. Arnel wouldn’t be surprised if the more powerful members of all three Councils were now all planning to take out the dragon together. The timing wasn’t perfect but in a roundabout way the dragon was doing it’s job.

“Time for part two of the battle plan?”

“Of course.” The Alpha’s grin grew wider, and then he gave a long howl.

Arnel felt the ground shake and looked back at the Southern District. From the shadows of the buildings they came, a line of Bullmen dashing towards the barrier. Big, muscular and powerful, they were to be the battering ram of the Kin. When the Bullmen were halfway from them, the Alpha howled again. The Kin at the barrier disengaged from the humans and open up paths for the charging Bullmen. The big brutes needed no further invitation and smashed into the barrier. Pieces of wood flew and just like that, several openings appeared all along the barrier. The Alpha howled for the fourth time as the Kin rushed into the openings.

The Alpha rushed into an opening after the howl and Arnel had no choice but to follow. The humans were no fools. They rushed towards the openings to prevent the Kin from clearing the barrier and chaos ensued. Everyone was so close to each other there was hardly room for Arnel to swing his sword. Then shadows flew over him. Arnel looked up and saw them. They were jumping over the barrier; over the humans; over the fighting. He never thought he would one day be glad to see them.

“Bunny-Men.”