I tried not to get too carried away, so that I wouldn't have to pay too much attention to the situation as a whole, especially since the perpetrators of this whole mess continued to be inactive, which couldn't help but be tense. Even the dumbest would have noticed that they were either waiting for something to happen or preparing to arrange that "something" themselves.
Anyway, I don't know what they're up to, but it's definitely not some twisted sacrificial ritual that could use the emanations of death in this place — that's a guess I've been following very closely. Any ritual works with powerful energies, it can't help but leave traces, and in spiritual perception it's usually like circles on water, or even a tornado. I couldn't miss something like this, and the spirits helped me monitor the situation with such disturbances, so if they decided to do something like this, I would notice and intervene immediately.
I took a few minutes to help a wounded ally, pulling a long wooden spike out of his thigh, stopping the bleeding, disinfecting the wound, and then applying a regeneration seal. I had just finished when there was a deafening roar of beastly sound in the enclosed space, a loud metallic clang, and then the cheering of the enemy... which lasted only a moment, quickly replaced by screams of horror and pain.
Cautiously, I peered out from behind the column and got a good look at those the ringleaders had unleashed into the fray. Werewolves, only they were too big, about the size of bears. Angry and mad, without reason, they attacked everyone without distinction. On their bodies I could see metal rings, collars, pieces of chains, implanted in their flesh, with which these beasts could be easily and securely chained.
I think I understood their plan: they wanted to exhaust our forces and then strike suddenly. But they were in a hurry to release the beasts early, so the werewolves, who don't discriminate on the battlefield, took care of the enemy forces first, and while the enemy was destroying itself, our forces had time to prepare for the attack. Thanks to the spirits, we have enough experienced fighters, otherwise there would have been much more bloodshed!
The beasts rushed forward, pouncing on anything that showed any sign of life, tearing with their fangs and claws, pouncing on their victims, showering the stone with "redness," all the while howling and emitting the menacingly satisfied growl of a successful hunter. "Damn dozens" of beasts finished off our enemy in just one minute, some were not only killed, but literally torn to pieces, scattering body fragments everywhere... as if these fragments were not enough after the 'work' of the 'Factory of Death'.
Now it became clear to everyone that the jokes were over and more serious methods of influence were being used against the beasts. It should be clarified that in order to counter this threat, the people gathered in four large groups and quickly built powerful barricades.
When the first pair of beasts came within range, they each fired an avada and then another. The direct attack logically did not work, and the two heavy carcasses were dragged by inertia for several more yards until the shabby bodies, showing signs of torture and agony, finally froze.
They were followed by another beast, slightly smaller and more agile. It managed to dodge three combined volleys of green beams from the two groups, but then a few Reductors were thrown at its feet to disorient it, and then it was finished off with Avadas. What happened next was more complicated.
The beasts started running around, hiding behind the columns, accelerating and decelerating sharply, playing with people's nerves and knocking out their targets. Some of the unexpected attacks were almost miraculously parried, and one Auror was pulled from under the beast's claws by my non-verbal charms, otherwise he would have been decapitated. The next beast, which first galloped in a circle and then approached abruptly, covered by a barricade, was hit in the muzzle by a stream of fire, and immediately a few powerful "Reductor" and "Seco" were imprinted into the carcass, finishing the job by decapitation.
Avadas had almost fallen out of use, as it was an energy-intensive spell that drained the user quickly, so they were rarely used, only when they were sure they would hit.
Another werewolf made a beautiful leap onto a pillar, apparently intending to push it off and leap into the middle of the group, but several stone spikes came out of the pillar almost immediately. The werewolf whimpered wildly and was impaled on the stakes, and he whimpered loudly for a while as he left this life. No one finished it.
The next pair of werewolves circled around one of the groups of wizards, moving cautiously and quickly, in quick bursts, darting between the columns, confusing them. My lightning shot down one of the beasts as it emerged from cover. I spared no effort, and the werewolf even caught fire, quickly charring.
The second werewolf was hit by a stream of fire, which it dodged, but it was hit by a cloud of stone shards, instinctively turned its head away, and was immediately struck in the leg by a powerful Reductor, severing the limb at the knee, followed by another Reductor to the head.
After watching for a while, I chose my next target, waited a moment, and raised my wand to send another bolt when I felt a shuddering wave of danger and simply fell to the dirty ground. Three green beams flew at me at once. Without thinking, I immediately rolled backwards and hid behind a column, which was hit by several more spells a moment later.
My enemies must have gotten tired of standing on the sidelines and watching, so they decided to join in on the fun. I don't know, and I really don't care. What I do care about is that just now one of my men was snatched by Avadas and his soul almost went into the cage, if it wasn't for the spirits who opened a "slit" to the spirit world and the soul slipped through, I would have felt even worse. The first soul was followed by the second and then the third.
I was kept behind the column by a stream of targeted spells, and some wizards even sent homing spells, well, such spells are quite easy to deal with, and an excess of pumping them with magic must not be done, otherwise the structure of the web will be destabilized. Well, my delay had already caused three deaths.