Like the ocean's waves, the Grimm horde came and went as the armaments on Vale's walls kept firing at them. Rather than coming in all at once, the Grimm came in intervals. Cardin personally couldn't tell if there was any difference in the kind of Grimm that were approaching. Being stationed as close to the walls as possible, he, along with other students were much closer to backup, only coming in as relief for the more professional huntsmen that actually fought the front lines, if they had to at all.

He couldn't see how the setups were like on the walls but there was a certain volley to them. If one row fired their shot, the next row would follow suit and the one after that. By the time all the rows had fired, the first row had already loaded their cannons again. They weren't perfectly in sync and after repeated volleys, Cardin could see which ones were not in rhythm with the others. Probably the rush and inexperience in dealing with these sorts of things plus whatever issues that might have been inherent in the weapons themselves.

Sprinkled among those volleys were the bullets being fired by huntsmen and huntresses that actually had range options. For what good they are worth given the distance said ammunition had to travel, then again, they were heading downwards so perhaps gravity was doing the work? He couldn't tell, his mace, the Executioner, had significantly shorter range, emphasis on shorter.

He, Russel, Dove, and Yang, formed a temporary team called CRBY (Cranberry). They were, all four of them, meant to act as a single unit mainly because, despite their role, they were still students. As such, when the professionals, namely Qrow and Taiyang, would retreat, it is they would come in and cover for them.

However, that may take a while. The first few Grimm may have avoided the artillery being fired at them but the only thing that awaited the Grimm were the trenches full of spikes. They didn't need to go there and clear them out since Grimm dissipate over time. Right now, there was little that they could but wait. They were getting closer though, inch by inch. Cardin wasn't sure if keeping up the volleys would have been detrimental on their reserves; not many people here exactly had military experience.

"Boom," Yang said. Her fingers shaped like that of a gun, she followed a random projectile and flicked her hand whenever there was an explosion. "Boom. Boom." It was something to entertain everyone if nothing else.

"You know," Cardin said. "I'll be honest, when I signed up to be a huntsman, I didn't expect that I would be fighting in a siege. Now that I am, I expected that there would at least be…"

"Fighting in a siege?" Yang guessed. "Can't blame you. The Grimm are taking Xiao-Long to get here."

The only people who have Xiao-Long in their names were the only ones to laugh at that; everyone else cringed. That was another thing that Yang did. Really, it was both father and daughter. For his sake, Cardin just likes to think that it was simply an attempt at keeping the Grimm at bay by lifting everyone's spirit and all. Grimm being drawn to negativity means anything that even remotely makes them not feel it was welcome. However, such comedy makes him wonder if cringe counts as negativity.

"Get what rest you can, kids," Qrow advised. "They'll be here soon."

"What little of them there will be," Russel commented. Cardin can't help but agree. At this rate, how much Grimm would there be in this continent? Then, there is the Grimm that might be attacking the other kingdoms. Would there even be Grimm left after this?

"What do you think Salem's plan is here, Tai?" Qrow asked. He took his advice to heart as he sat down.

"Can't say." Taiyang shook his head and shrugged. He soon followed suit. "Maybe it's a last ditch effort to get all the Relics?"

"Well good luck to her," Qrow replied. "Oz kept that one hidden even from us." He then turned to address them. "Specifically chosen just to make sure that at least one Relic is kept away from her hands."

Shortly after, team CRBY found their own spots to rest. None of this felt right to them as they were the ones who get to recover their strength while the others on the walls were busy running back and forth and carrying ammunition and essentially fighting for all of Vale.

"We'll get our time soon," Taiyang assured them. "Those volleys have limited ammunition after all and they are going to conserve them soon. That's when we come in."

It still felt long ways away. Being the earliest of the tides, the volleys were rather liberal as they thinned the horde as much as they could. Grimm numbers kept coming though. For every one Grimm that fell, another took its place. Inching still closer, the Grimm have begun to fill the trenches full of large spikes. Some patches had Grimm that have yet to dissipate and were being used as a platform for other Grimm to cross.

Those further in front have met their first Grimm. However, they also had ranged options and thusly it took some time before any Grimm would even reach them in melee. Qrow himself had to march forward just to get that effective range of his weapon.

"You know," Yang said. "I'm surprised that there aren't any flyers around. All ground."

"I know." Cardin noticed that too. "Maybe this Salem person isn't quite as smart."

"Can you blame her? Being cooped up in who-knows-where must have been really… grim."

"Ugh." Cardin buried his head in his hands.

"Hey don't leave me… Yanging." She just couldn't stop herself from grinning, can she?

"Alright, kids!" Qrow called out. "They'll be here soon. Get ready to cover for us."

"Maybe if you get out of the way, we could, old man," Yang retorted. Anything to lift up their spirits, Cardin supposed.

"Watch it firecracker." Qrow returned with a smirk.

There was some more time before team CRBY actually had to stand back up. Even then, they still needed to wait before the first few Grimm actually came close enough for them to fight against.

/-/

The artillery was finally silenced. When one kept hearing the repeated booming of artillery, they learn to really appreciate the quiet times. It certainly didn't help that in-between their respective shots, one could hear the shouting commands of those in-charge as they rushed everyone in their group to reload the cannons.

For Blake, given her faunus ears, such booming noises were the worst. If it wasn't for Ruby having a spare set of ear protection, she wasn't so sure if she could have handled it. Them being what is essentially a tight space certainly made said noise louder.

Down below, the melee group were engaging with the Grimm that have reached them. The waves have ended for now with the remaining ones being capable enough to be handled by the spikes in the trenches and those below. The trenches were filled with blackness as Grimm stepped on Grimm to get across. Some stumbled and others were pushed onto the spikes as those that came before them had dissipated enough that they could be easily dislodged. Some of the spikes had begun to break and snap. In any other circumstance, that would have meant that the Grimm would be less likely to be impaled and while that is true, the trenches dug were also a trap by themselves. Namely, the Grimm trapped below would be crushed by the weight of the Grimm above.

Ruby, Blake's current partner in manning the cannons, was using Crescent Rose's sniper to aid the melee fighters. She wasn't alone as others who had weapons with far longer ranges were also helpful. Ruby didn't really need to aim much since all she had to do was aim in the general direction of the Grimm further back; it didn't really matter which one it would hit so long as a Grimm would get shot. Still, that didn't stop little red riding hood from aiming. After all, while the shot may be guaranteed to hit the Grimm, it wasn't guaranteed to kill them and that is what mattered to her more; one shot, one kill.

Blake couldn't afford similar luxuries as even if she sprayed all of her shots, it would do nothing given how far the Grimm are. Gravity wasn't going to be much use for them here even if they were aimed downward. Instead, she had volunteered to clean up and take stock of their cannon's ammunition. They were the only ones for this one given their background as huntresses. There was a minimum of two per cannon with civilian-manned ones having entire teams dedicated to them. It was mainly a difference of strength. In their case, with Ruby's speed, Blake really only needed to set the cannons alight to fire. With them being fired in volleys, well there was certainly a lull to be had on their end.

"The first wave's receding." Ruby scoped out the farthest possible end that she could see. "I think we're doing it."

Ruby didn't sound so sure. While this was certainly welcome if nothing else, it still felt as though they were being bunkered down if nothing else. The Grimm and civilization may have been in an eternal siege in a sense but this one felt like it was a deliberate. What was Salem thinking of doing?

"You think she's testing us?" Blake asked. "This Salem?"

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know."

The sounds of battle intensified as more of the Grimm are finally reaching the walls. However, it didn't last long mainly because much of them had been reduced to such a degree that Blake, and some huntsmen and huntresses, could descend and aid the ones below. She didn't really try to find her way to her team and simply cut through whatever Grimm there was. Teamwork among these strangers certainly needed work but they all kept their distances and that had been enough. Grimm, despite having a leader of some kind, still weren't as intelligent as they know them to be.

From down below, battles turned to shrinking skirmishes as the remains of the initial horde was dwindling by the second. The black stains left behind by their dissipating corpses had begun to wash away, leaving only those that remained on the fighters there.

As expected, many were shouting and cheering. They had repelled the horde, after all and it really had been a massive number. Thousands upon thousands of Grimm must have been culled this day alone. That alone warranted celebration and even talks of expanding further outward. This was especially true among the younger huntsmen and huntresses.

It should have been a glorious moment. A massive tsunami of Grimm had been halted by the sturdy and impregnable walls of Vale. Even after being devastated by the attack on Beacon and with the lack of resources, the kingdom of Vale stood strong and refused to bow like a tree with its roots buried deep into the ground. A grand stand against the enemies of man that should go down in the history books for generations to recount and remember.

Yet, the two members of team RWBY felt none of that. If Blake were to guess, the same can be said for their teammates down below. For someone who had been warring with Salem for an unknowable number of years, surely there was more to her than that.

"You don't think that she's trying to attack all four kingdoms at once, do you?" Ruby asked.

"I don't think that it would be a good idea." Even with the near infinite number of Grimm at her disposal, spreading them out like that would be ill-advised. Pretending to be in Salem's shoes for a moment, Blake would envision her strategy as simply overwhelming one kingdom and then move onto the next, using what sea-faring and avian Grimm to prevent any aid from the other kingdoms.

Ruby returned to looking through her scope. There was only so far that said scope could see and Blake doubts that it would be any better than simply looking over the horizon for any more sign. A lull perhaps? Making them confident in themselves only to come in when they had exhausted themselves against the never ending tide of Grimm?

They certainly did use quite a lot on resources on their end and would need to reestablish ties with Atlas if they wanted more Dust. They could gather on their own but the smaller providers have a big vacuum to fill without the SDC around to supply. It left a slight bitter taste in Blake's mouth, having to rely on the SDC now of all times. It was only slight because Weiss was there and she was certain that Weiss would so everything she can to make that company's treatment of the faunus better.

"Still nothing?" Blake asked. She couldn't see any better but hey, maybe Ruby might get lucky.

Ruby shook her head. "It really doesn't sit well, doesn't it?"

The hairs on Blake's body still stood. It really does not.

The feelings she had did not end there. Even as the sun descended and gave way to night, she never could get rid of that feeling. The rest of her team, being aware of Salem's existence before the others, could not shake it off. Did it have to do with the fact that they knew it wasn't just Salem? To everyone else, it might just be some new kind of Grimm as far as their concerned. The only one who was absent here was Qrow Branwen.

He had been sent out earlier to scout them further. Given that he could become a bird, he could travel back and forth without it causing much suspicion.

"It will still take a while though," Ruby explained. "Depending on how far they are." If there are any at all, she didn't say it but everyone there heard it.

Surrounding them were various cheers of jubilation and song. Some have made a fire to dance around. The younger ones especially used this time to build up their own hype as they imagined themselves to be one of those brave defenders from the history books.

It was only them who failed to enjoy this night.

"Get some rest," Taiyang advised. "Be on the lookout for anything that may be off."

The older blonde particularly looked in Blake's direction. She nodded. It was probably a bad thing that her paranoia is being enabled but considering the circumstances and that everyone else feels the same way, it was probably warranted. While there was going to be a rotation on the walls, nothing was said about them having their own rotation as well.

Blake was the last to go to sleep. The reason behind that had been obvious. While everyone else slept as soundly as they could possibly manage, she had stayed up. There was a strange contradiction in sneaking around what should be their own camp. However, she needed speed just as much as she needed subtlety. Being held down by small talk of passing huntsmen may be a problem. Well, at least here, she didn't have to worry about being caught, hiding in plain sight.

Pushing her faunus abilities to its limits, Blake's eyes and ears were at their most alert here. With little other noise to distract her, she could freely hone in on anything that may have been out of place.

Her first order of business was the walls themselves. Expectedly, there was little in the way of damage except perhaps the paint job. However, that wasn't the priority for Blake. What drew her to these walls was the one gap and weakness found there. Experience in the White Fang had taught her to find weaknesses in enemy stronghold and such tactics were still in her memories.

There it was, a relatively small gap in the walls. To call it small would be to use the rest of the walls as the comparison. It had been made large enough to allow more water to flow into these areas. Serving essentially as the canal, it provided the weak point in the walls. The depths were low enough to allow intruders to hide beneath the water's surface. All they needed was the appropriate tools that would cut the bars that prevented it.

Before approaching the gaps, Blake investigated the immediate area surrounding it. To anyone else, they might have had a hard time here trying to see without a torch of some kind. Combined with her vision, she managed to see that there really had been a disturbance in the ground. Disturbances in the ground that were unnaturally. Deliberately made and hastily covered no hands could have made this.

Expanding a little further, Blake could see that said disturbances could be traced back to those same walls. The ground became softer with each step with Blake nearly losing her balance and falling over.

When she had been next to those walls, she knew she found her answer. It might have taken a while. By her estimations, it had only begun recently as well. Perhaps around the same time as the attack.

Blake turned around and rushed her way back. She found that her team were still asleep though she was certain that it must have been light. They will be informed of it soon enough. For now, she washed up and got her own rest. Finally, she felt herself at enough ease knowing just what earlier today had been. She was expecting more of it tomorrow.

The Grimm horde will throw themselves at the walls to distract them all. Disguising the rumblings of their stampede to cover the fact that the grounds on those walls were being weakened enough to collapse.

AN: I have been told that on sense of humor alone, me and the Xiao Long family would get along.