The rest of the evening passed by in a blur. Andrew alerted the evening guards as soon as possible and they quickly began to prepare to defend themselves. Of the twenty six remaining survivors, twenty were in good fighting condition, though only eight including himself, Carter, Kalan, and Bailey had any kind of confidence in doing so. Ten of the twenty were roused for the night, to keep watch and be ready to react at a moments notice, the other ten went back to bed, mostly clothed and with weapons nearby. Andrew doubted they were sleeping with any kind of peace, he wanted some fresh minds ready in case this was a tactic to tire them out. Several guards equipped with hobgoblin bows climbed to the roof of the two story building to keep an eye on the surroundings, while the rest pulled the palisade gates shut and flipped a wagon over the hole in the wall Andrew made on his own assault on the simple fortifications. Then Andrew sat down and started making good use of his new Auto Mana Inscription skill. A mana grenade required a earth, air, fire, and battery rune along with each of their connectors and the skill allowed him to inscribe most of the runes in a third of the usual time. That meant he could produce a fully functional grenade in about twenty minutes. Using Auto Inscription also consumed mana more quickly than using the chisel did, so Andrew took care to make sure he had at least three quarters of his mana pool available at all times.

Andrew was on edge the entire night, but the sun rose without incident and by that time the camp's grenade total rose to twenty five. Andrew distributed two to each of the ten guards on duty, kept an extra two for himself, and left three on a table inside for the resting team to take advantage of in case the alarm was raised again. Fatigue was beginning to wear on him, and Andrew's eyes were beginning to drift when a shout came from one of the rooftop watchers.

"HEY! ALARM! It's here! One big ugly sonofabitch with a scarred up-- Uh, scarred up everything basically, it's got It's hands out to the side and is moving slow. I- I don't think it's hostile. "

Andrew jumped to his feet, letting the grenade he was working on tumble to the ground as he quickly splashed his face with water from a nearby barrel and ran his way over to the ladder leading up to the roof. He was breathing heavy as he clambered his way to the top and peaked over the center ridge of the roof to look at the offending invader. It was the same giant he saw before, though this time he could see that it's lower body appeared just as scarred as it's head and eyes were. They looked just like the scars crisscrossing the giant wolves which pulled the Hobgoblin caravans, but this creature lacked their vacant gaze. It's single functional eye was boring a hole into Andrew and the other rooftop guards as it approached. It's arms were spread to either side, bent slightly at the elbows with palms flat and facing the camp. It wore a simple cloth wrapping around it's waist that looked like nothing more than a couple of those same wolf pelts tied together. The walls were around twelve feet tall and this giant looked to be head and shoulders over that. When it was about forty feet from the wall Andrew shouted out from atop the roof, holding an open palm out in a 'stop' gesture as he did.

"Hey there! Giant! That's far enough, do you understand?"

It paused, it's head tilting to the side curiously as it maintained it's posture, still staring unerringly at the rooftop Andrew was standing on. Andrew glanced behind him to the crowd of quickly assembled fighters, gathered in the courtyard looking up at him. They were a crowd of anticipatory fidgets and Andrew gestured for them to stay quiet before turning back to the giant. It's brow was slightly furrowed, it's one good eye seeming to squint against the dawn light as it continued to study Andrew and the others on the roof, it's massive nostrils flaring as it inhaled deeply.

"You stand beneath open sky in a monster's home. Your defiance honors us." The giant's voice rumbled out, shaking the roof beneath Andrew and sending a startled shudder through the crowd below. He spoke carefully, lowering and turning it's head slightly to the left, before returning his gaze to the small crowd on the roof. "I speak, peace and purpose, unarmed, unaided." The giant then sat, legs crossed, palms coming down to rest on his knees, his head again lowered and turned slightly to the left, stretching slightly to expose as much of his neck to the crowd above as possible.

Andrew shared a glance with the others atop the building, before searching the courtyard crowd for Kalan. He gave a nervous shrug, mouthing 'why not' as he did so. Andrew turned back to the giant and raised his voice.

"Your courage honors us. We speak peace and hear your purpose." He was doing his absolute best to echo the giant's solemn cadence while maintaining a straight face, but his insides were churning and he could feel sweat beginning to bead on his forehead despite the morning chill.

The giant slowly shifted his head to face the crowd again before speaking. "I have been shamed." The giant gestured to his eye and the scars along his head. "We are four." The giant extended a hand in the direction of the tall grasses, then swung it around to rest against his chest. "We are not, until shame is paid ten times. A debt for debt. A shame shared. Purpose united, guided by-"

The earth shook violently as three more giants thundered out from the tall grasses several hundred feet away. Each one more gruesomely scarred than the last, two were missing their right arm at the elbow, but all three had both eyes intact. Adrenaline shot through Andrew's veins as they charged and his hand reflexively jumped to the pouch of grenades at his side. The giant rushed to it's feet, turning away from Andrew and towards the charging giants, a look of fear on it's face.

Oh fuck they're running from something

HP: 1,180/1,180

SP: 1,175/1,180

MP: 1,150/1310

"Prepare for combat! Ground team get that gate open, the giants are on our side! Something's coming from the tall grass, and quick!" Andrew yelled down to the crowd gathered below before turning and running across the rooftop, tossing his replacement spear and shield flat across the wall as he jumped the two foot gap to the other side. He had a brief moment to register the sight of eight massive wolves, coated in scars with armored lance wielding Hobgoblins on their backs bursting from the tall grass as he fell.

I have enough vitality for this right?

Andrew landed hard, collapsing to his hands and knees with a sharp exhale before looking up at an expression of sheer befuddlement from the scarred giant. He climbed to his feet, barely aware of the ache in his knees and elbows as he gathered up his spear and shield and flashed the giant a smile.

I'm so fucking dead. No armor, four grenades, basic spear. If these giants survive they better fucking help out after. Shit.

Andrew sprinted to keep up with the giant as it lumbered towards It's retreating allies. He heard the squeal of the palisade gates opening behind him and the roar of twenty terrified voices gathering courage. The giant slid to a stop, massive palm wrapping around a small boulder and launching it at the crowd of charging wolf riders, who smoothly parted around the falling rock. Three of the riders were threaded with thin red lines of light, far less than the brute that Andrew barely defeated only a few days earlier, not that it was much comfort. Especially because all ten riders had threads of green light looping down their arms and into the fur of the wolves they rode.

Stay calm. Grenades to cause chaos, stick to the outskirts, avoid friendly fire, don't hesitate to kill. Fuck Fuck fuck.

"Stop here!" Andrew shouted up to the giant, before skidding to a stop himself, heaving in a great breath as he planted his spear and charged a grenade in each hand. The other giants were barely fifty feet from him now, the wolf riders about as far again behind them. Andrew threw the two grenades, the charged two more and threw those too. The first pair landed in the dirt just behind the escaping giants exploding a moment later into clouds of dirt and shrapnel which under the feet of the leading wolf riders. Two of the red threaded riders were thrown from the backs of their wolves as the grenades exploded directly under them, thin lines of green light snapping and dissipating into mist as they were thrown free. The riders directly behind smoothly leaping over their fallen comrades just to be hit by another set of explosions, which knocked another pair of riders from their wolves, lines of light seemingly blown away with the explosion.

Four knocked, one red rider, three base riders. Reinforcements are…. Not going to make it here before them.

Andrew barely had time to register one of the unburdened and recently bloodied wolves scanning it's surroundings blankly, seeing the small crowd of downed hobgoblin's and snarling before chaos exploded around him. The retreating giants slid to a halt in line with Andrew, turning as their speaker took one step forward and decked the absolute shit out of a pursuing wolf rider, knocking them a handful of feet back with a sickening crunch. Then Andrew was raising his shield and bracing as a lance slammed into him, exploding into splinters as the obsidian tipped point punched through his shield just above the arm and the impact knocked him off his feet and onto his back. Massive wolf paws threw dirt into his face as they churned through the dirt inches from his face. He heard a roar of pain and wiped his face to see the speaker giant ripping a similar lance from his shoulder, the arm below spasming uncontrollably.

The ground shook as another of the giants collapsed to one knee, a similar lance embedded into it's thigh, remaining arm raised to protect it's neck from the red threaded hobgoblin circling it and jabbing with a shorter metal tipped spear. As Andrew rolled to his feet he heard the crack of an explosion and saw the rider that knocked him to the ground go up in a cloud of dirt as reinforcements arrived. Andrew ripped the broken lance head from his shield and ran at the rider harassing the downed giant. He wasn't sure what happened to the spear he brought with him, but his hammer was still at his belt and that would have to be good enough. The hobgoblin didn't see him coming as he rushed up and stabbed the massive wolf it was riding right in the ass with the obsidian tipped spear. The wolf broke gait, it's back leg spasming violently knocking it on it's side and trapping one of the hob's legs beneath it.

I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. I know you don't want to be here wolf. Gotta kill that fucking thing.

Andrew sprinted around the downed wolf as the giant ripped the lance from it's thigh with a roar. A shadow passed overhead as a boulder flew across the battlefield from behind him, but he had no time to track it's progress. The threaded hobgoblin was cursing violently as it kicked it's way free from under the still convulsing wolf and rolled to face him, planting one arm under as it began to rise.

I need to kill this fucking guy before he has a chance to get up. These ones are goddamn fucking tanks.

Andrew dove on the hobgoblin sideways, pining the hob's wrist back into the dirt with his free hand as he slammed his knee into it's chest, slamming it's back into the ground. He raised his shield with his right hand and slammed it's edge into the hobgoblin's forehead, bouncing it off the dirt. With a snarling terrifying strength the threaded hobgoblin pushed and rolled him over, grabbing his shield arm in a vice-like grip as Andrew struggled to maintain his grip on the hobgoblin's other wrist. It pulled free, wound up, and punched him right in the face with a studded gauntlet. He felt his nose crunch and his vision flashed white. His free hand quested upwards sightlessly, palming the hobgoblin's face, trying to push it away as another blow landed and he felt his cheekbone crumble.

I'm going to die.

Panic flooded through Andrew, and he did the only thing he could think of. A tiny bead of concentrated mana formed on his palm, pressed against the forehead of the hobgoblin. Andrew pushed it as deep as he could, straight through the skull and into it's brain. The hobgoblin convulsed and Andrew took the opportunity to shove it off of him, turning and crawling away, trying to wipe the blood from his eyes and avoid the thundering footsteps all around him. He could hear shouting, a lot of it. The world was spinning around him as he dragged himself unsteadily onto his feet, turning to see the threaded hobgoblin doing the same, a savage grin on it's face, a bead of crimson running down his face from his forehead. A massive foot swept across Andrew's vision, absolutely launching the threaded hobgoblin from his blurry sight with a deep rumbling laugh that shook the earth. Andrew looked up to see the one armed giant that was downed earlier, smiling at him with a terrifying flat toothed grin. He did his best to smile back. It hurt a lot.

His head was ringing, the world was blurry, and everything seemed to be spinning, but he was standing and his vision was clearing, triplets shifting to twins, then solidifying into a single image. It was only then that Andrew realized what he was looking at. The speaker giant had a red threaded hobgoblin clutched between two fists, and it was pulling.

Yep. Looks like he's doing just fine. I'm just going to look literally anywhere else now.

The other one-armed giant was laying facedown in the dirt, unmoving as four humans wielding hobgoblin swords methodically circled and hacked away at a single hobgoblin. The earth was thundering as another giant slammed it's fist into something in the dirt under it, over and over again. Kalan rushed towards him, the blood on his blade burning off into a trail of black smoke. Behind him a man was convulsing on the ground, veins of black crawling across his chest as member of the gathered crowd pulled an obsidian lance tip from his abdomen and pressed his own bundled shirt into it's place. Nothing else moved.

Oh good… We won.