Jack had caught the flank attack in time but was now struggling to maintain control. Without the line of guards to retreat behind, he and Grim were becoming more exhausted by the second, and there always seemed to be one more warrior behind the last.
As another warrior approached Grim's flank with a spear, Jack aimed his handgun again, taking careful aim so as not to waste any of his diminishing ammunition, and pulled the trigger. Rather than the explosive discharge he'd been expecting, Jack heard the hollow click of an empty chamber. Somewhere in the chaos, he'd lost count and was out of time. He hurried to load his last magazine but knew there was no way he'd be able to fire in time when at the last second, the warrior jerked to the side as if pulled by an invisible string.
Looking over, Jack could see Fea'en lowering her belly bow and nodding to Jack before picking her spear back up to deal with another charging threat, though from the look of things, she wouldn't be able to last much longer. Jack wheeled Grim over to try to take the pressure off her and the workers but found his path blocked by yet another warrior. More and more, the warriors facing them were injured in some manner, be it a bolt sticking out of a body part or a wolgen mangled limb, but they fought on regardless, as if the certainty of their fate was driving them into a frenzy.
Fea'en was being pushed back, and as she backpedaled in the face of the warrior's assault, one of her limbs tangled with another worker's, and they both collapsed. Grim cut down the warrior in front of him, but Jack knew he'd never get to the craft master in time.
Out of options, Jack started taking aim at the back of the warrior, trying to be careful not to miss and hit one of the workers he was trying to protect instead, but with Grim constantly shifting, he simply couldn't get a good enough shot.
As the warrior's blade fell to end the craft master's life, a large silver body bowled into the warrior, sending him flying back into his own people's ranks, most likely with a broken rib or three. Relief flooded Jack until he noticed Angela didn't get back up as he'd expected. Instead, she seemed frozen in place, most likely out of power.
A couple of warriors now approached the frozen AI, spears at the ready, and their hesitation fading as she seemed to remain helpless. Fea'en and the worker had regained their feet and approached either side of Angela, but judging by their gapping breaths and sagging spearpoints, they were also near their limit.
Jack pushed Grim forward, wondering how much longer they could keep up the defense of this position...
-
S'haar watched in horror as Jack's extended position repelled attack after attack. So far, the only thing keeping him from being overwhelmed was all the chaos caused by the effectiveness of the trap he'd designed, but he could be overpowered at any moment.
The battle was nearing its end as the army they'd trapped began to fall to pieces, torn to shreds by sword and bolt alike, but the remnants seemed all the more determined to fight to their last breath. Making a decision, S'aar switched from containment to offense and started pushing forward, intending to finish this battle on her own if necessary.
The first warrior was cut down before he even realized the threat he was facing. The second managed to get his guard up in time to block S'haar's first attack, but her left blade slipped in, stabbing him in the exposed stomach. As she pushed forward, the line of guards closed ranks and tried to follow. However, she quickly outpaced them as their assault was impeded by the wall of warriors in their way.
As she found herself deeper and deeper into the enemy position, their numbers started to tell as S'haar had to spend more time deflecting attacks than attacking as spears and swords thrust in from all directions. She blocked a downward strike from the right while deflecting a spear thrust from the left. The warrior in front of her saw his opening as he swung his sword toward her unguarded neck, but a half step back took S'haar just out of his reach, leaving him now vulnerable to a return strike from her left blade, letting her regain the ground she'd lost and another step forward as her opponent fell back.
S'haar's breath was coming in ever more ragged gasps. None of these opponents were anywhere near the threat her father had been, but in such numbers and coming from all sides, she was at her limit.
Another two attacks came in from either side, both of which S'haar blocked, then another came from in front, forcing her to step back again. But this time, she could not counter in time, instead having to step back a third time to keep a fourth warrior from stepping in behind her. She jabbed at him with her elbow spike to keep him at bay before bringing her sword back up to block another attack, but the warrior grabbed hold of her spike, and even though his grip quickly slipped, it slowed her block a fraction of a second and let the attack get through and strike against her leather armor. She spun to reduce the impact, weaving her swords in an arch around herself to drive back her opponents, but while the maneuver had been successful, it also left her winded.
As another three attacks came in, coordinated this time, S'haar realized that in her haste to rush to Jack's aid, she might have doomed herself as she raised her blades to block two of the incoming attacks from the front and left. But rather than feeling the third blade bite home from her right as she'd expected, the warrior to her right flew back and collapsed. Then, taking advantage of the reduced numbers, S'haar swung her right blade around, deflecting her opponent's swords before following up with a stab from her left that put down the warrior to her front while the one to her left flew back like the right one had.
Finally, S'haar realized what was going on as Lon'thul's voice could be overheard behind her. "S'haar, we need to talk right now! There's no time!"
With her need to push on and save Jack at war with her duty to her people, S'haar finally relented and retreated back to her line. She noticed that in the confusion and chaos her assault had caused, the line had moved forward several yards but nowhere near enough to save Jack on the other side of the battlefield.
S'haar put a hand over her armor where the attack had gotten through. It had a new crack, and a little blood seeped through, but it was minor enough that she knew the damage to herself was only superficial.
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The warrior woman stared daggers at Lon'thul for forcing her to retreat, and her voice dripped with acid between breaths. "What's so important?!?"
However, Lon'thul didn't flinch. His face was grave as he answered. "This army is only a distraction. The real force is being led by B'arthon and is coming around the lake to flank us! If we stay here much longer, he'll sweep in and wipe us out! So we must end this fight and retreat before he gets here!"
S'haar's eye's narrowed. "How do you know this? There's no way even you could have scouted that far this quickly!"
Lon'thul looked crestfallen as he answered, as though afraid of what S'haar would think. "My father led this group before we trapped them, but he broke away to give me this warning. I know he's not on our side in this, but I trust him. He can be a bastard, but he's never lied to me."
S'haar thought quickly. She couldn't afford to trust Lon'thul's father the way the hunter did, but what was the cost if he was lying and they ran versus him telling the truth, and they stayed and fought? If they let the remnants of this army go, they were all in bad enough shape they wouldn't be a threat in the short term, but long term, they could return and threaten the caravan again. On the other hand, if he was telling the truth and they got caught out, everything would be over.
Making up her mind, S'haar turned to the guardsmen holding the line to shout her commands. "Pull back up the hill and let the survivors retreat!"
Some guards looked around in confusion for a moment, but all eventually complied. Any warriors who pushed the attack as they fell back were put down, but any that retreated through the now-open flank were allowed to pass without challenge. At first, only a trickle took the opening, but the retreat began in earnest as more and more realized what was happening. S'haar only hoped word would get through to the rest in time.
-
Dan'tol was dying, but at least he'd get to see the end of that pathetic excuse of an argu'n riding on the back of that wolgen. At one point, the warrior thought he'd be the one to end the sickly-looking male, but then the wizard had pointed his strange wand at him, and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground, missing an arm. Even after tying off the stump, his blood continued to ooze out, and he knew it was just a matter of time, but then the wizard had gone and gotten himself surrounded, and the warrior knew he only had to hold on a little longer to see the male who killed him die as well.
After a dozen near misses, the male had finally put away his wand, his magics apparently spent; the metal goddess lay still, seemingly slain, and the workers were all exhausted and injured. Dan'tol could feel the final moment approaching. He just had to hold on a little longer...
But that was when all the warriors started to flee. Running away like craven cowards afraid to die a proper death on this battlefield turned slaughterhouse. If the dying warrior was any judge, less than one in four warriors were in any condition to run, and many of them probably wouldn't survive their injuries anyway. But worst of all, That male was still alive, riding tall on his wolgen, forever out of Dan'tol's reach!
The dying warrior was about to lose hope when he saw the male hop down to inspect the fallen goddess. Even as his vision blurred, Dan'tol recognized his one last chance at vengeance, and he started slowly creeping forward, gabbing a spear in the process. It was a race against time as the warrior tried to balance out, moving slow enough to avoid detection but fast enough that he could strike before bleeding out.
-
Jack was looking over Angela with concern. In a dozen different places, it appeared like her armor had been peirced, but none seemed to have been very deep, so he hoped it was all superficial. "Angela, are you alright? Is it just power, or is something else wrong?"
Relief flooded over him as he heard his sister's voice begin to respond. "I'm alright. I just don't have the power to move this body anymore. I've also shut down most of my secondary systems just to be safe, but I seem to be mostly in one piece. Once someone gets me the spare battery from my sled, I'll be fine. Nothing a few light repairs while on the move can't handle!"
Jack let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Oh, thank the gods! When you stopped moving, I was pretty sure it was just power, but I was still more than a little worried!"
Angela apparently had enough power to add a little amusement to her voice. "Well, about time you got to experience the shoe on the other foot! Also, what's this 'gods' thing? I'd say you are learning bad habits from S'haar, but she's never been particularly religious!"
Jack grinned and laughed. "Well, 'glad to hear you're alright' seemed insufficient, and when in Rome and all that!"
Suddenly there was a shout behind Jack as Ger'ron's voice cut through the moment like a knife. "Watch your back, fool of a cub!"
As Jack turned to see what was wrong, he saw a sword flash, and his face was splattered in blood. There stood Ger'ron, having just cut off the hand of a warrior who'd been sneaking up on the human with a dagger ready to strike.
The old guard grinned at Jack in a reproachful manner. "Just because your enemy is beaten doesn't mean he's harmless. This is a battlefield, lad. Keep your eyes open!"
-
Ger'ron was just glad he'd gotten there in time. After all this, losing Jack would have dealt a severe blow to the entire caravan. There was a moment when he was sure the human would fall in battle, but the remnants of the army they'd fought retreated just in time. Someone less pragmatic might think it was almost like the gods were watching over the human.
The old guard opened his mouth to make a slightly reproachful joke at the human's expense when Fea'en shouted out from a little further up the hill. "Listen to your own advice, you old kovaack!"
Ger'ron turned in time to see another warrior rise to his feet, spear in his one remaining arm. The guard readied his sword to meet the charge, but instead, the warrior readied to throw his weapon.
The old warrior tensed to dive out of the way but remembered the much more frail Jack was on the ground behind him. Reading his sword to try and deflect the spear instead, he watched as the warrior drew back and loosed the spear, only to be flung back a moment later as Fea'en's bolt landed squarely in the middle of the dying warrior's chest.
Everything slowed as Ger'ron swung his sword, no one was more amazed than him when he felt the blade make contact with the spear, but it was too little too late as the projectile bit into the older guard's chest plate, flinging him to the ground.
The weapon bit deep, and every breath felt like fire in the guard's chest. In a moment, Jack was there, looking down at the warrior as he dug through his pack for various bits of cloth and other trinkets. "Hold on, old man! Just hold on! We'll get Angela her battery, and she'll fix you up again! You just gotta stay with us a little longer!"
Ger'ron patted the tiny human's hand and coughed, feeling his chest burn with each spasm. "I don't... I don't think you'll work that miracle twice, lad."
Shortly after, Fea'en was on his other side. Her hand wrapped around the hand Ger'ron was holding the spear with. "Damn it, you careless old male! You should have dived to safety! What were you thinking?"
Ger'ron reached up to the face of the female he cared for, resisting the urge to cough more. "Like we said before the battle. Us old kovaacks can't save ourselves at the expense of these young pups!" Despite his best efforts, the old guard coughed again. "Besides... This way I won our competition... I'm still...two games up on you... The chair...is...mine!"
Fea'en sobbed and laughed as the world faded around the edges of his vision. But just as everything went silent, the old guard heard a new voice. It felt familiar, like an old friend, long forgotten, but all the more dear for the time spent apart. "Welcome home, Ger'ron."