A chunk of bloody entrails slid down in front of the Portal. Annan stared in shock, then realized something had gone wrong!
"Warriors, attack! Mages, follow close behind!"
Olmedo reacted first and ordered the Auxiliary Legion forward.
The warriors charged through the Portal with a roar. Fresh and uninjured, they immediately steadied the crumbling battle line.
Before the mages even had a chance to enter, the Ratfolk had been driven back toward the passage.
"Where's Femi?" Annan asked Ymir, who stood nearby.
"I'm here, Lord Annan." Femi stepped up to the Portal, his Plate Armor and face covered in blood that had yet to dry. "It's a good thing you came a few minutes early..."
"How did the Ratfolk get in? Did the Camp fall?"
"Yes. A large number of Soldiers caught the Rat Plague. The Ratfolk also rang a great bell and sent elite units to raid the Camp. We had to retreat underground to defend it."
"You should come ba—"
"We'll retake the Camp and hold it until August 12!" Femi cut off Annan's suggestion that they return.
Annan was silent for a moment, then said, "The first Auxiliary Legion has fifteen hundred people. We should be able to send roughly another thousand tomorrow."
"The more, the better..."
After a full day of fighting the Ratfolk, Femi had shed every trace of arrogance.
"Do you need me to send you the Guard Legion and the Musketeer Legion?" Annan asked.
"No, my lord. You've helped us enough." The war had changed Femi. He had grown quieter, more reserved. "If I win only because you poured resources into this, I don't deserve to be Legion Commander."
Annan stopped trying to persuade him. He watched them join forces with the Auxiliary Legion to drive the Ratfolk out of the Basement, then