Finally, the time for battle is upon us. While Mender and her healer friends are preparing to face the carnage from the sidelines to save as many lives as they can, in the meantime the rest of the pack is off to clash with the incoming barrage of bloodthirsty hidden runners in the middle of it all. In these kind of situations, feeling afraid is only natural, but one must not forget their commitment to the cause. Orchid here is a prime example of this; while he is naturally terrified, you can still see that he’s grown considerably since the last time.
Youthful enthusiasm certainly is a big obstacle to pass and since some, if not most, of the young biters in the battle pack are feeling overly confident, sooner rather than later it will come back to bite them in the ass for being careless. The way they seem to view this battle as some sort of a game speaks of their youth and overall inexperience and even if Littlefoot and his pack are trying to guide them to victory, it is easier said than done. And this kind of arrogance does indeed cost them quite dearly when they so severely underestimated the hidden runner’s ability to counter their preferred tactic, ending up costing them several fighters on the frontlines.
The way the hidden runners utilized the spiketails to work in their favor is quite ingenious. Instead of putting themselves in harm’s way right at the start, they allowed the onlookers to take that blow for them, softening the enemy force before they go in for the killing blow. Any capable battle commander would know that if your enemy is afraid of you, you have the upper hand and this plan has worked to disorganize the opponent, even if for a while. Even in the midst of battle, various characters are expressing their emotions in a rather… profound and amusing way. For the most part, Taunt has taken this task upon himself with Verant and even Orchid in the background. I wonder if this sort of a thing has happened in real battles around the world throughout human history.
Orchid’s feelings about the battle are none too surprising if you are at least bit informed of his character. Those who have served as healers during combat engagements know that while the fighting may have ended on the battlefield hours before, the struggle against time is still underway with those that have been injured. In this scenario, the person must make quick, but decisive decisions if they mean to keep as many as they can alive. The risk group are those that are critically wounded, but even then all of them cannot be saved. They cannot afford to waste precious resources on those that are deemed a lost cause and even if that sounds cruel, it is the nature of war.
The ending of the chapter certainly raises further questions in regards to what is going to happen in the following chapters, but as of right now, Chronos’ plan to liberate his mate is successful. The hidden runners will not take this recent event lightly and will no doubt attempt to pursue Logos. However, due to the plan the rainbowfaces so cleverly crafted, it is looking unlikely they’ll be able to catch up to her in time, so at least Logos is out of harm’s way. I fear what this act of defiance will cost Chronos, for it surely will not be overlooked.
I will say this about the chapter, the battle scenes were paced equally and well, but jumping from perspective to perspective like this was confusing at times. I liked to see each side given time in the spotlight and even if the majority of the attention was on Seeker and his pack, most of us are likely pleased to see them being the good guys in all this. But I’d like to point out one thing: in war there are no good guys. All of them, despite their goals, are just as bad in the grand scheme of things. I will be looking forward to the next chapter to see how things develop from here.
