Egret Bay's Grand Counterattack

The Holy Silver sounding stakes on both sides of the river bend were still vibrating, but Fabien could no longer feel the steady low hum from underwater.

The knight keeping records crouched at the bank and drove another sounding probe into the water.

Its tip trembled faintly. All it carried back were the high-frequency vibrations made by the stakes themselves.

He tried two other spots before looking up at Fabien. "The command signal's stopped."

Fabien did not rush to withdraw. He sent the third combat group to check outward along the bend and waited on the bank.

The low-frequency echoes that had come from different directions at regular intervals never returned. Soon, though, the nearby water churned.

The Gillsplitter Beasts that had been converging on the bend lost their shared direction. Several already close by suddenly turned toward deep water, while those behind kept pressing along their old route. The two groups of Demon Beasts collided, stirring up great clouds of muddy water.

Fabien pulled off his wet gloves and pointed to the motionless Command Beast. "Send the result back to headquarters. Check the gill sacs again. Don't pull the sounding stakes yet. Hold the bend."

The north-bank observation post noticed the change almost at once.

An observer lay high on the embankment. As his binoculars swung across the western tributary, he beckoned to a recorder. "The beasts in the western branch are turning back. Mark their positions. This group near the main river is still advancing, but the ones behind have scattered."

--

Another observer reported a change elsewhere. "Beasts are withdrawing downstream on the north bank, and their numbers are growing."

The Gillsplitter Beasts, no longer under command, crowded against the bank. The front ranks even rushed into the Second Legion's field of fire, while those behind kept