The Kalkurn Tribe recognized the 68th and 69th Legion’s slow, methodical campaign across the Ashari Tundra would slowly starve the ever-growing swarm and cause the desperate mammoths to turn on their masters. They had to act while they still could.

Their plan was to gather their vast horde and head west to break the 68th legion, then feast on the settled lands while the 69th marched across the continent.

780,000 mammoth spiders took part in their gambit. 60-70,000 house-sized spiders, 710,000 of zemtak size, commanded by 12,000 kalkurn. Just 118,000 peldaks stood between them and the west.

The 68th Legion bravely met them in the Canrias Foothills. Thoroughly outnumbered, the legion fell into 10 circles, facing out five ranks deep as the swarm overtook them. They fought, slashed, stabbed, and slaughtered, the rear ranks fired volleys and arachnids fell by the thousands. The soldiers rotated to keep fresh, and after six hours the corpses formed mounds that funneled spiders into kill zones. Diminishing returns forced the kalkurn’s retreat.

With 100,000 fewer warbeasts, the horde tried circumventing the elves to push west, but the 68th intercepted them.

The battle of Obrebi Forest depleted our muskets’ ammunition but we cut down another 80,000 before they retreated.

The Kalkurn diverted 120,000 spiders to keep us busy while their main force continued into the Styxer Countries. We eliminated the distractions and chased them to the coast.

The swarm poured over the walls of Gunderwel, but the locals and logistics troopers of the 68th retreated to vast stone temples and held them long enough for the veterans to arrive.

The slaughter that followed broke their chance to dominate Ashari. Half the Kalkurn were dead, the mammoth spiders reduced to 1/10th, and the survivors fled to ransack surrounding villages, but the legion is hunting them down.