As though the gods of the lake favored the lizardmen, everything went smoothly. The frogmen that Zaryusu saw on watch were few in number, and those there kept looking away from where they should have been watching. It was obvious why when Zaryusu saw the direction that they looked instead. ‘Toward home, whatever carried their army away, has them deeply worried.’ That much was obvious to Zaryusu, the remnants of the gate were still standing, put back up by the occupiers or, more likely, their lizardman slaves which had been forced to do the work for them.

Anger burned in Zaryusu’s soul, and he wondered if that feeling of hatred, that glare he gave to the frogmen he saw standing with their spears on watch, could be felt. If it was, that might explain why the frogman turned and looked at the shadow of Zaryusu before crying out in alarm.

He sprang to his feet as soon as the frogman shouted, and began to charge. Kyuku sprang up a mere moment later and together they charged at the gate with roars of battle fury, limbs pumping and kicking up dirt into the darkness at their backs, they charged blindly toward the gate. Out of the darkness a rock hurled by Sukyu destroyed the alerted frogman’s head just as other shouts came up and the encampment came to life.

Zaryusu, faster without his armor, reached the gate first and slammed his sword into the wood like a club. The gate, weakened and damaged as it had been, collapsed into splinters beneath the blow of the enchanted sword, but as a precaution, he destroyed only one half, allowing himself and Kyuku to take up the space and avoid being surrounded.

Frogmen charged with long spears, but these were not the elites, ‘Third rate, the weakest warriors, inexperienced at best.’ He realized as they charged to meet him en masse, they came on, too many at once, and got in each other’s way.

Two, perhaps more eager, wiser, or braver than the others, used their powerful legs to jump toward the lizardman intruders, but a series of rocks and blasts of magic arrows shot the frogmen down in flight, sending them thudding down where they landed among their own, causing a number of frogmen to fall in a heap.

Zaryusu saw the tangled chaos and rushed forward. [Icy Burst], he called out and the frost damage caused the frogmen to scream in pain, only for him to thrust or slash his sword into their bulbous throats while they trembled in pain.

Chaos engulfed the encampment, the guards one and all abandoned their positions to charge the intruders, while Kyuku blocked the door and began fending off blows, knocking aside spears that failed to pierce his heavy enchanted white bone armor.

Every time the frogmen seemed like they would gain an advantage, the warrior jumped behind Zaryusu and another [Icy Burst] caused a cacophony of screams through freezing pain that he would silence with Frost Pain’s point or edge, sprays of blood flew out into the night, while rocks and spells from the darkness behind him kept the fight on the ground where he and Kyuku were at their best.

With their attention focused on the intruders, the frogmen proved that they were green in more than their flesh, they forgot entirely in their panic to properly concern themselves with the captives. Shasuryu clambered over the wall out of view and found only a single frogman still minding the bound elders. ‘They’re panicking now, but we’re outnumbered, sooner or later they’ll go over the wall and surround my brother and Kyuku, I have to be quick…’ Shasuryu reminded himself and crept through the shadows, the captives watched with desperate silence, one lay dead, bleeding out on the ground, killed to keep the others silent.

The bloody tip of the guard’s spear was visible to Shasuryu, and full of hate and wrath, he leaped at the frogman from the back, his arm circling around the front where his hand caught the frogman’s bulbous throat. The sharp claws brought a flood of pain and fear to the frogman guard, it struggled viciously, kicking and flailing, dropping the spear as it tried to claw at the fingers holding his throat.

But it was useless, the body of the frogman was already dying as blood seeped through the slick scales of the furious chieftain, the sharp nails digging deeper into flesh until Shasuryu felt sure of his grip, he tightened it one more time and ripped the throat of the frogman out.

The body fell twitching into the dirt, big round eyes stared up at him, confused, lost, seemingly unable to understand what had gone wrong.

Shasuryu ignored the frogman and went to the remaining captives, he took the fallen frogman’s spear and sliced the ropes that bound the wrists and feet of the elders in profoundly contorted postures.

They remained silent, sparing a moment to look with pity at the dead of their numbers that died before they could be rescued.

If there was any mercy left in Shasuryu or his elders, it died then. He held the spear up overhead and threw it into the back of a frogman at the gate. The elders were not especially strong, nor were they numerous, but they were angry, and dead frogmen weapons lay scattered about. They charged into the backs of the clustered young frogmen, spears pierced the frogmen’s backs as they were surrounded.

A few with either more sense or fear tried to leap free, only to be shot down again by a flurry of rocks and blasts of magic that ripped through their bodies and sent them tumbling down into the fellows they had just tried to abandon.

It was a slaughter after that, [Icy Burst] struck one more time amidst the cluster of frogmen youths, and within it, Zaryusu cut the screams of pain down to silence.

When it was over, the five chiefs stood breathing hard, huffing, puffing, and staring down at the brutal carnage of pierced frogmen bodies and severed frogman limbs, they appeared mere beasts then, not even people. Just hunks of monster flesh with no value at all.

The elders, weary and in pain from their ordeal, began to explain and show off their marks. Cuts and gouges were common injuries, and the eldest of their number said, “We stayed behind to buy time for the rest to escape, they sent out some to chase our tribe as they ran away. We had our clubs, spears, and did what we could. We still killed at least ten or more…” He puffed out his chest, proud of managing that much even at his age, “but they jumped beyond us, surrounded us, and cut many down… they took us prisoner… They cut us, beat us, and made us work. They said we would be worked to death… we have not eaten since we were taken…”

Their bellies rumbled when he spoke, and Zaryusu put his hand on the old lizardman’s shoulder. “It’s over now, grandfather, all the chiefs have come together, these are dead, and the rest will be soon. There is no reason to show mercy now.”

None of the chiefs argued with his words, “Eat your fill and make your way to the Green Claw camp,” Zaryusu said and turned to Sukyu Juju, “Chief, we do have to hurry back, but can you remain with the elders and see them safely to my brother’s village?”

The yellow speckled lizardman gave a sharp nod of affirmation, “With ease, nothing will harm them unless I am too dead to stop it.”

“Thank. You.” Kyuku uttered and bowed his head.

A round of hands briefly clasped before the bloody band of chiefs went back to their cart, quietly got in, and made for the last village of lizardmen.