Lyra broadcast through the network to all named settlement defenders:
"All named commanders and elite fighters—deploy to frontline combat. The humans have sent their senior officers to hunt our leadership. We meet them directly. Show them what happens when they underestimate us."
From positions throughout the settlement, the settlement's veteran fighters and named leaders moved toward combat.
Commander Vex'ahlia with her eighteen elite demon warriors, purple-tinted skin and centuries of combat experience.
Kelvin who'd survived three days of siege warfare, wounded shoulder and all.
Skar, the serpentfolk chief whose natural predator instincts made him deadly in close combat.
Urgak and his son Gruk, leading the remaining orc shock troops—sixty-four orcs who'd become the settlement's primary heavy infantry.
Jessica remained at the medical stations, but her brother Kelvin carried her blessing into battle.
