As the first bomb sailed towards a tight knit group of soldiers standing guard over a group of Kingsworn I watched as soldiers noticed it and began to react. I quickly pelted out as many as I could, giving each one a small overlap as I threw them. My unnatural strength allowed me to throw the bomb hundreds of feet through the air, longer even than I could detonate them.

When the first bomb landed on the ground shields had already started to appear around groups of soldiers. I detonated the first major bomb and the sound was deafening as the explosion ripped through the guards. Notifications raised across my view but I stifled them all. Without giving the army a break I quickly began to detonate as many as I could. Some of the bombs were even triggering other bombs as the explosions expanded.

I jumped off the roof and started sprinting through the crowded square. My spear out in front of me and only stopping to attack any soldier that tried to prevent me from moving. During any gaps in combat I continued to trigger any bombs in range from my allies. I even kept throwing my own out to clear the path in front of me. The square was in chaos as I made my advance.

One of the Kingsworn soldiers was unarmed and standing slightly off my path. He had a look of determination despite his eyes being closed and I stepped to the right and skewered him through the neck before continuing on. The soldiers near the middle of the square had begun consolidating around the Royal Advisor and prisoners up ahead. I threw bombs at the outskirts of the crowd but realized if I went any deeper with them I would risk the prisoners being caught in the crossfire.

Only around one hundred soldiers remained between me and the gallows when I saw an Ice Bolt fly over my head and hit another unarmed Kingsworn. As soon as the man died the spell blocking communications died with him and my bond returned with an impact that left me off balance. Marci practically slammed against my mind through the bond in a rush of undecipherable emotions.

I deflected a sword from a stubborn Kingsworn and probed him with my spear for an opening while trying to communicate with Marci. Marci was here in the city, that much was clear. It wasn’t distance blocking our communication over the last days, it was the spells of the Kingsworn. With the bond broken she could find me now and she was closing fast.

The next few things I realized truly shocked me, she wasn’t alone. I couldn’t risk using See What I See in the massive melee the square had turned into but I could get a sense from her emotions and images. Nadia was here with her alongside a group of fighters and they were approaching the square at a full sprint. The second thing that shocked me was my sense of her level and intelligence, she had grown far more powerful.

I risked a glance at her interface to see she was level 42. It was easy to forget that she shared experience from all of the fighting I had been involved in on top of her own fighting. I quickly triggered Empower on her to keep her safe. She completely ignored my attempts at warning her away from the square.

There were citizens of the rebellion in the square now too, hundreds pouring in from all sides. Most of them were far too well armed to just have been citizens, the second and third armies were here mixed in. Each Kingsworn was capable of handling five to ten average soldiers with the class enhancements and level advantage. Their mages were disastrously effective against crowds.

Every foot I gained towards the platform came at the cost of blood. Each step forward was another kill, my mind siloed off between the violence in front of me and trying to communicate with my companions. My superior stats gave me the edge against the average soldier and even the more advanced Kingsworn. Stab, sweep, dodge, stab, sweep, advance to the next fight.

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Marci was too emotionally overwhelmed to communicate with. From starting near the farthest gate away from me she had already almost covered the distance. Mental images flooded in of her swooping down to rescue besieged citizens and tip the fight in their favor. My sense of pride in her was immense. I switched to Van to make sure he was safe and found an even more shocking realization. Van was in the city too fighting in the streets, and he wasn’t alone.

Van sent a mental image of a horde of forest apes deployed across the rooftops, barraging barricades from above. Van was level 41 and our bond felt incredibly strong and fluid. Emotions were pouring across no words could explain. Van was delighted with the combat and was personally devastating a barricade that was preventing Nadia's forces from entering the square. When he realized our bond had been restored he started sprinting in my direction with a roar that sent chills up my spine.

I urged my companions to be safe and focused back on the fight before me. There wasn’t much room between me and the platform but there were still plenty of soldiers. I was trying to get past a particularly skilled swordsman when an arrow took me in the side. The pain felt like I had been set on fire and the poison indicator popped in my vision as I pulled the arrow free with my offhand.

I stepped back and chugged a health potion before the swordsman closed and the dance started again. I probed upwards towards his helm and he got my spear on his sword and re-directed it to the sky. He stabbed forward and closed with surprising speed, slamming his shield against my chest. I had no time to look for the archer but I heard the whizzing of an arrow over my head as I ducked the sword.

I jumped back and groaned in frustration. The swordsman was fast and strong, the unknown archer scarily accurate. I felt pinned in and my frustration was mounting, any second now they might choose to kill the prisoners. It wasn’t clear if they had continued the hangings during the fight. My health bar was still five sixths full and I wasn’t feeling the effects of the poison yet.

Flashing forward with a stab, I managed to slash the man across his thigh and the force of my spear caused his leg to buckle slightly. Sensing my opening I rapidly stabbed and slashed at any opening and pressed the man backwards. The archer was still letting arrows fly in my direction but only one managed to hit a glancing blow against my shoulder. The poison indicator flashed again as the second arrow had broken the skin. I saw an opening to stab through the soldiers midsection and dashed forward faster than ever before. My agility was increasing thanks to the bonds restoration with Marci and our shared attributes. My strength increase due to Van’s nearby presence providing enough strength to stab through the Kingsworn armor.

My spear burst through the back of his armor as a blunt force impacted my side like its own explosion. I was thrown several feet to the side and rolled to avoid any follow ups, jumping back to my feet. Another hulking Kingsworn was approaching me with a wicked mace, this one larger than Arthur, maybe the largest human I had ever seen. I could see the archer tending to the swordsman who was down but not out.

A quick check on my health bar showed it now at half full. My side was still burning from the arrow and the feeling was spreading. My left arm was beginning to feel numb, I drank a health potion while I had the chance. I would have to rely on my stamina to outlast the poison. I quickly looked around and dashed backwards to create some space. The health potion was working against the blunt force damage but barely slowing the poisons effects.

My left arm became limp at my side even as my health bar stabilized. The Kingsworn knew I was weakened and advanced with a menacing snarl. I weakly battered away his first few strikes with my spear but I was at a clear disadvantage. If the archer started firing again or the swordsman regained his feet I was in trouble.

The next strike had too much power behind it to deflect with one working arm and my spear was ripped from my grasp. The Kingsworn kicked me in the chest and it sent me flying backwards. My health bar was back below half as I rolled to avoid a follow through with the mace. Van distracted him with a roar from his position charging across the square.

The Kingsworn turned to face him and met his charge on his shield. The impact knocked both of them to the ground but Van was far better at grappling than any human. He quickly mounted the Kingsworn and began pummeling his helmet with his fists. The Kingsworn gave a few feeble attempts at defending himself and managed to stab Van with a hidden dagger. That only served to make Van angrier and his roars became more chaotic and fierce. Marci was almost to my location now as one word rippled out through the air.

“STOP”