Chapter 17: Warlord’s Grip
Colt’s war-hammer descended with devastating force....
The opening strike caught a charging Bora squarely in it’s underside, shattering its armored body in a violent spray of chitin and gore.
The shockwave hurled two more creatures to the ground, creating an opening that the gathered fighters immediately exploited.
Bertram ran into the fray with a thunderous roar, his machete carving brutal arcs through flesh and shell.
Iris maintained a steady rhythm beside him, each arrow finding its mark with terrifying precision. Callum’s pale light flared repeatedly, repelling the beasts and shielding the wounded as they struggled toward safety.
With every additional fighter who reached the central position, Colt’s weapon grew in power. The hammer’s head expanded, its energy thickening until the air around it hummed and distorted....
Another Bora lunged toward the group. Colt pivoted smoothly, planted his stance, and executed a rising swing that launched the beast high into the air. It crashed down broken and lifeless.
"The more of us who stand together, the stronger it becomes!" Colt’s voice rang out over the chaos. "All fighters, come to me now!"
Lucas observed the scene from the side, his chest heaving as flames continued to brun around his clenched fists. The pattern was unmistakable.
’This is the advantage we need.’
Colt’s skill clearly amplified with unity and numbers. The larger the defensive core around him, the more deadly their position became.
If they could rally the scattered survivors still fighting for their lives throughout the camp, they might create a stronghold capable of withstanding the onslaught.
He took a step, preparing to run into the battlefield...
Something grabbed him by his shirt. It was Iris.
"Where do you think you’re going?" she asked...
"I’m going out there," he said.
Her bow string was half-drawn as she replied. "Lucas, are you blind?? It’s suicide. You’ve seen how quickly they overwhelm anyone isolated."
"We need more people," he pressed. "Every survivor we bring back strengthens Colt’s ability. It may be our only path to survival."
Iris held his stare for a long moment, jaw tight. The conflict was clear in her eyes, but she finally gave a single, reluctant nod.
"Fine," she said quietly. "I’ll cover you from here. But you better come back."
Lucas offered no further words. He turned and plunged into the fray.
The moment he left the relative safety of Colt’s growing formation, the battle swallowed him once more.
A Bora attacked from his left flank and he met it with a flaming strike to its head, the impact reverberating through his arm but he pressed onward without pausing.
He spotted two survivors near a tent. A woman gripping a spear and a young boy clutching a knife. Lucas charged forward, driving another burning fist into the Bora assaulting them. The creature recoiled with a shriek. He seized the woman’s arm and pulled her to her feet.
"To Colt!" he shouted. "Run! both of you!"
They obeyed without hesitation. As they sprinted toward the center, Iris’s arrows streaked overhead, cutting down threats before they could close in. Her covering fire created narrow safety, each shot precise and unrelenting.
Lucas continued his search, locating three more survivors huddled behind broken crates and then another pair dragging a wounded companion.
In each instance, he engaged just long enough to disrupt the immediate danger before directing the survivors toward Colt’s position.
"Head for the hammer!" he called out. "Stay together and keep moving!"
The defensive cluster around Colt had transformed into a formidable rally point. The war-hammer now swung with immense power, each strike sending visible pressure waves through the air and killing some beasts even on glancing blows. For the first time since the wall’s collapse, a fragile thread of hope took root in Lucas’s mind.
Then the Avallion altered its strategy.
It abandoned direct, crushing assaults towards the ground.
Instead, it circled high overhead, wings beating steadily in the sky, and began targeting isolated individuals with calculated precision.
Lucas watched helplessly as it dove once, claws extended, and snatched a fighter from the periphery of Colt’s group.
The man’s scream was brief. Then a sickening crunch was heard overhead, a small drizzle of blood raining down.
On its next pass, the creature raked its claws across another small cluster, tearing them apart.
Lucas was too far away to intervene. The distance and surrounding threats leaving him powerless to assist.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed forward toward the final pair of survivors he could reach—an older man and a younger woman crouched behind a collapsed supply tent.
"Come on, move!" he urged, reigniting the flames around his hands to clear their path.
He never saw the Bora....
It had lain in wait, motionless amid the debris of the shattered barricade, its form blending seamlessly with the wreckage.
The instant Lucas turned his back to guide the survivors forward, it struck from behind.
Agony erupted through his left side as teeth tore deep into muscle and bone. The force lifted him from the ground and slammed him into the dirt.
"Shit—!"
He twisted desperately, trying to summon his flames, but the creature shook him violently, its jaws locked around his ribs and tossing him around like a ragdoll.
He heard the sickening crack of bone, warm blood spilling freely down his side.
The pain consumed everything. Distant sounds blurred—shouts, roars, and Iris’s scream of his name.
Soon he was through away. His bod
y landing in a wet thud.
Everywhere went dark...
[You have died.]
[Regression activated]
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