Fighting strangers was part of a mercenary's trade. Joy's Legions fought against bandits, rioters, diamond dogs, zebras, griffins, manticores, rebels, slavers, slave revolts, and the occasional large beast from the Everfree. Some where more dangerous than others. Each one had their own style, experiences (or lack thereof), strengths, and weaknesses. But despite the variety of foes one faced, most tended to share a singular characteristic in common: mortality.
If there was one foe Snow Tail wanted to avoid, it was the undead.
Unlike the previous examples, ghouls and ghosts were far less predictable. What would usually take down a living pony in one swing may just be a minor inconvenience for a ghoul. Or it could take it down, only for the corpse to rise again latter. Sometimes they were intelligent, sometimes not. It all depended on the method used to reanimate the corpses.
As such, Joy's Legions tended to avoid getting into melee fights with the Laughing Cult or necromancers. They would fall back, secure the perimeter, and have it's artillery and grenadiers bombard the area until it was leveled. And just to be sure, have it's unicorns blast the ashes.
I have neither grenades nor grenadiers right now thought Snow to herself, still hiding behind a tree. I just hope steel claws can take these monsters down. I need to know how strong those creatures are, and the best way is try to lure one here and take it out, hopefully She lowered herself again, and peeked. Seeing their reaction to her thrown stone, Tail frowned. That didn't tell me much… but they did take a few seconds to look at the sound. Maybe I could cause another distraction and-
The sellsword heard a voice, a living voice, from behind. It wasn't Star. Startled, Tail looked back and saw a Stormwing trooper not far from her. And she realized that the creatures near the lake also heard the pegasus' urgent warning.
"Shit", Snow Tail whispered. Her trained wings opened, and she flew towards the newcomer. Grabbing the trooper, Tail then flew behind a fallen log and then the pair dropped to the ground. "Quiet, there's more of those monsters nearby," Snow Tail said to the soldier. "Stay low and out of sight - they have arrows ready. Name's Snow Tail by the way. Thanks for the warning, you alright?"
Star Dancer saw Tail and the other pegasus dive behind some cover. From her perspective, the pair was unobscured by the fallen logs and they appeared to be unharmed.
The Scholar went back to look at the lake, worried about Torrential. She froze in fear at the swarms of ghosts charging at the alicorn. Then speechless at the sight of the icy spears that came from the sky. Finally, confusion by the nonchalant reaction of the Mare over her recent losses.
Right out of an ancient tale, the fight between two immortals who walk on a lake. The dead rise, and the sky storms death. Dancer thought. If only Professor Sweet was here, she could compose a ballad fitting for such a sight!