The Core recognized the opening.
It flared violently in response, blue veins flashing brighter, a surge of energy flooding outward that sank into every guardian on the field like oil poured onto flame. Red light seeped deeper into the Turtles' armor, deeper into the Golems' crystalline frames. Their auras swelled in tandem with the Core's pulse, vitality and will rising together as the sentient intelligence behind that crystal poured everything it had into its defenders.
They roared.
The sound was unified. Not chaotic. Not mindless rage.
Territorial. Patriotic.
It echoed across the frozen expanse with the weight of a war cry from soldiers defending the last wall of a besieged city. These weren't beasts fighting on instinct. They were guardians fighting for their world, and the Core had just reminded them what surrender would cost.
