The word "light" hadn't even left Will's mouth before the cavern erupted.
Triggered by the flare of the [Warlord Aura], the sea of parasite spawn stopped gorging. Hundreds of eyeless heads snapped toward the squad with a synchronized, mechanical click. They didn't charge in a mindless horde; they scrambled up the roots and swung from the vines, leaping through the air like armored, acidic spider monkeys.
"Vanguard up!" Will roared.
Maddie slammed her boots into the moss, leveling the 'SANTA MON' halberd. "Let them break on the shield! Come on, you overgrown scabs! I've had worse rashes from cheap hotel sheets!"
The first wave hit her like a freight train. She deflected two with the haft, the rusted metal of the sign ringing out with a heavy clack, but three more slammed into her carapace. She grunted, sliding back as she absorbed the 20% physical bleed-through.
