For a brief moment I just stared at the Bearkin wondering what she was expecting, only to hear a rather loud crash behind me that made me let out a sigh; I didn't need to turn to know that they had gotten loose, nor did I need to prepare to defend myself since I could feel them both.
I wasn't even surprised when I felt something rush past me, but I was somewhat surprised when I felt the looming presence of the Leopardkin right behind, not moving an inch further as she instead just... waited.
Instead of looking back to question her, I instead watched as Erdene rushed to the side of the Bearkin, who was sneering down at her when she immediately prostrated herself, begging for forgiveness.
"Weak... pathetic. You lost to a bunch of idiotic miners and logisticians? A bunch of rabble managed to defeat you and Sarnai?"
"I-! W-We didn't..! The town was ours, and then these Deerkin showed up! One is definitely a former soldier, and the other is insanely talented! They-!"
"Quiet, whelp. Sarnai! Are you coming out or what?!"
Altan just nudged Erdene away from her, causing the minx to leap to her feet and dash behind the mountain of muscle so that she could get herself rearmed and recuperated for a fight; meanwhile, the Bearkin was glaring at the entrance waiting for the Leopardkin to emerge... and yet she was right behind me.
"Don't take this the wrong way, Altan, but... I think I found someone better than you. Far stronger, far more handsome... a lot less of a dick, though she definitely~ has a really nice~ and strong cock~!"
The Bearkin's lip curled at that as she let out a low huff, causing the Leopardkin behind me to snicker quietly before she whispered "That's the extent that I'll 'help' them, stud~! Now she's really~ angry, so have fun~! Make it out alive and I'm your bitch for life; die and be happy knowing I'll raise your babies to be stronger than you ever were."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head, yet I kept my focus on the outside since I sensed nothing at all from the Leopardkin; she was just standing there behind me, ignoring the murmuring and scared civilians while also not making any move to help either me or Altan, since she was just... here, waiting, watching...
Meanwhile I could tell that Aethisia was struggling a little with how quickly Erdene 'turned sides' again, though I desperately wanted to scold her for being so damn naive and thinking her cock was magic; she didn't even fuck the bitch properly, just opting to ravage her mouth over and over again...
Obviously she was going to go back to 'her side' when she had the chance, and honestly I was the one who was supposed to be shocked with how Sarnai was still here; I really had expected her to just cut all ties and flee during the chaos, yet there was nothing coming from her at all...
"Stronger? Some random Deerkin is stronger than me? Sarnai, you needn't lie to yourself just to cover for your inadequacies... it's unbecoming of a Leopardkin. For that, I won't offer another chance; your choice has been made, so prepare to die. Everyone! Advance!"
Opting to cut away the rest of the speaking, Altan hoisted her hammers and began walking towards the entrance of the cavern, making me smile wryly as I readied my spear and watched as a wave of enemies approached.
On one hand all of these civilians were going to be in my way if the mercenaries managed to get inside, yet at the same time they were going to help hinder the rest of the rabble so that I could focus on what actually matter...
Deciding against the 'safer' option of telling them to flee, I tapped Aethisia on the arm and made my way over towards the entrance itself, showing myself to the hulking Bearkin and immediately earning her ire as she pointed a hammer at me.
"You're the one who got in the way of my plans? You?"
"You are such an astute observer, Altan~! I am in fact the one who beat Sarnai into a pulp and then got her pregnant~! Oh, and I killed everyone else; they aren't really worth mentioning though."
The Bearkin snorted and rolled out her shoulders as she replied "They might have been weaklings but they were my weaklings. I despise having my things taken from me, and I absolutely hate having my plans interrupted. For that, Deerkin, you must die."
I shrugged in response, watching her approach and allowing her the freedom of the opening attack since it would give me far more value than attempting to strike first; I needed to see and feel how she attacked before I could begin figuring out how to handle her, and considering how curled her lip still was... she was going to be a lot stronger than she normally was.
What that level of strength looked like I don't know, but I was also hoping it made her more rash and impulsive since those would make this far easier on me... but considering she was some religious zealot that apparently yearned for some new age, I was going to take a guess and say she was accustomed to fighting like this.
"I won't make it painless either... I will break you, and then I shall flay you. Your skin will make a worthy sacrifice to many a Goddess, while your skull will be my tribute to Moriartra. I shall turn you into my stepping stone for power..."
"You talk a whole~ lot for someone who's done fuck all in their life. Congrats, you made a band of misfits convert to some idiotic religion simply because you had the biggest dick and largest muscles; no one gives a damn, and you're honestly only here because you were so pathetic you couldn't land a position as a guard or-"
The immediate roar made me grin as she rushed at me straight on, and while I was half tempted to burrow into the earth and leave only my spear anchored to the ground, I had a feeling the giant flaming hammers would probably kill me even if I was underground, so... y'know...