[color=red]"WE KILL."[/COLOR]

The sarcophagus lid blew off and exploded against the wall.

[color=red]"WE MUST KILL."[/color]

A cold shudder ran down the spine of every goblin in the group. From the dust emerged a figure, wreathed in shadow and clad in darkness, from whom a single word groaned over the din.

[color=red][i]"DIE."[/i][/color]

There was a streak of shadow, and a goblin's head rolled to the floor.

["FIRE! FIRE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!"] shrieked Snahl. Another goblin collapsed to the floor, cut lengthwise from head to groin. Dozens of arrows buried into the fiend, and for a moment, they thought they'd got him as he kneeled on the floor.

[color=red]"HUNGRY."[/color]

The creature rose to its feet and ripped the arrows out of its chest. Horrified, the goblins lost all semblance of order and fled for the exit, only to find a formation of knights blocking the way out. Trapped between a horrific nightmare and the well-trained Imperial soldiers, the goblins did the only thing they could do - pray for help.

["YOUR MAJESTY!- YOUR MAJESTY PLEASE!- PLEASE HELP US!"]
___

The barrier around the city finally shattered under the concentrated fire from her battleships. As she surveyed the battlefield, a call came in over her comm device- a cry for aid from within the tower.

[i]Could it be? Have the reincarnations awakened?[/i]

The woman furrowed her brow. [i]The fools! They've gone and antagonized- no, this is my fault. I was the one who sent them down there. I should have sent someone capable of diplomacy, like myself. Ugh, I'm such a fool! This whole mission is a wash if I cannot recruit at least one of them. I need to go down and observe the situation for myself. I cannot make any judgments on what I have not seen with my own two eyes.[/i]

She directed her vessel closer to the tower and leaped down to the tower entrance. She dropped upon a knight and plunged her spear into his neck. The other knights recoiled in fear when they recognized her.

The Witch.

Their momentary hesitation was all the advantage she needed. She struck another knight on the chin with the butt of her spear and beheaded him with a clean sweep. The other knights moved to impale her with a joint attack. The Witch leaped into the air and balanced on the intersection of their spears before beheading the lot of them with another empowered sweep.

She groaned into her mask as the golden embers of regeneration filled her injured arm. The entrance cleared, she composed her feelings and strode into the tower.

The steady click of her boots echoed through the halls over the din of battle. When the goblins saw her, they rushed to her side and took a knee. Just outside the open coffin room, several figures stood with weapons drawn, their faces already hardened from the stress of battle.

[i]They are unlikely to join my cause if my forces already attacked them. But maybe I can salvage the situation.[/i] The Witch stepped to the side, bowed her head to the reincarnations, and pointed her spear toward the exit.

At the very least, she could allow them to leave unopposed.