“KILL THEM ALL!”

Marcus saw the Tauron vanguards roar with Hialjia as the Zhurkin marksmen brought their muskets to bear. But he held them back.

Pipers, Marcus telepathed. Look to the trees.

Those who weren’t frozen with fear saw what Marcus was – the slight swaying of the boughs and branches, the flickers of leaves in the bushes beneath the bridge, and the patter of claws against the rushing water below.

And in the next second, a storm of air rushed through the Zhurkin rearguard, slitting the throats of every Yokun who was ready to take his place in the row of volleys.

The commander turned, seeing a sea of eyes emerge from the darkness of night itself, and then brought his longsword to bear as the horde of yipping Oshu fell from the skies and buckled his ordered line of soldiers. Attacked in the flank, with little time to affix bayonets, they faltered and fell like a row of dominos, toppled by the onrush of the shadow warriors led by Sakri, who roared high above them on the bridge’s high apex.

Shai-Alud – the Oshu stand with you!

That was the cue Marcus needed. He signaled the Piper forces to charge headfirst into their enemy with a blast of Gloomraav that sent three soldiers in their vanguard over the bridge beams and into the river below.

“Push through!” Hialjia cried out to her brethern – who needed very little by way of encouragement. “For the Pale Lady! FOR THE SHAI_ALUD!”

The Tauron – though few in number – dominated the bridge instantly, tearing through the Zhurkin who did manage to fire into the mass of muscular flesh that stormed towards them. They gored through their armor, shredding it to paper before crushing their scaled limbs under their hooves. When the Tigran flanks entered the bridge center, all they found were the broken bodies and crimson covered armor of their foes.

The human regiments, meanwhile, focused on their more pressing foes. Marcus directed them into the tree tops to hurl their Hakkatovs at the approaching Keth-Tari who, now focused entirely on nothing more than satiating their appetite, clipped a whole swathe of Marvin’s regiment before they could even make it into the trees. Meanwhile, the Zhurkin ranks were caught between the ferocity of the Taurons, the bloody dances of the Tigrans, and the bestial sneak attacks of the Oshu who had flanked them.

They would take the bridge, Marcus knew. But could they hold it against those monsters above?

“Marc!” Mari cried out. “I’ll get Takeshi and his archers into position. We’ve got a chance if we can lure those monsters in.”

Marcus nodded as he crouched beside Mari at the edge of the bridge, hearing nothing but the shrieking wails of the airborne predators and the screams of Marvin’s grenadiers as they were torn from their treetop positions.

“Just – don’t go far,” he told Mari, squeezing her hand. “I need you beside me.”

“You’re the one with telepathy,” she smiled back before running towards their Yokun ranged support. “Just call me when you need me.”

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The plan was prosecuted as they had first conceived it: Takeshi’s archers would come up the rear and provide suppressing fire, while the Taurons led the charge. Marvin’s forces provided their mid-ranged firepower, and the Tigrans would mop up any resistance not dealt with by their vanguard shock troops.

But while the Taurons were cracking skulls, the Keth-Tari decided to switch their attention to them. Marcus saw a unit of at least one hundred break off from the pack and swoop down towards Hialjia and her crew, piercing the chests of a few of them as they tried to retaliate. They landed some sound blows, tearing the membrane of the pterodactyl-beast’s wings and sending them crashing towards the rushing waters below, but not before sustaining wounds that slowed them down. The claws of the Keth-Tari were sharper than any Yokun blade.

Seeing those mountains of bulk and muscle stagger and fall was enough to convince Marcus he’d need his little contingency plan…

Marvin! he called out. You know what to do.

Already? he shouted back from the top of a flailing, burning tree. But the fun’s just getting started, lad!

You’re the only man I can trust to slip by with speed. We’re gonna need our ace in the hole.

G-gotcha! the human shouted before throwing himself out of the way of a screeching Keth-Tari. I’ll be back in a wink!

Marcus then refocused his attention on making sure the Yokun archers were covered as they moved into the center of the bridge, keeping an eye on the fleeing Zhurkin who by this point represented no great threat.

“Push!” he heard Mari scream to Takeshi and his soldiers. “Yokun of the Pipers - we need your arrows to fly!”

The archers assented with a collective “Sha-hah!” as they opened fire on the descending Keth-Tari above. They managed to puncture a few as they came in for another dive bomb assault, crashing into the rushing waves, a few barreling into the pillars of the bridge and causing the whole edifice to shudder.

Karliah held the flanks of the bridge now – her warriors leaping with extraordinary feline strength as the Keth-Tari screamers tore into their ranks – a few of them slicing the heads of the riders clean off before slitting the unarmored throats of the beasts. Marcus watched with a certain admiration for their efforts. The Tigran, more than any species he’d encountered on this planet, knew how to put on a show…

“Marc!”

Mari’s shout snapped Marcus to the Keth-Tari who had just dived towards him. On impulse he sent a spear of green lightning arcing towards the helmet of the beast and watched as it collapsed to the ground, eyeballs sizzling and brain electrified to goo. Its rider dismounted to a rabble of Taurons bringing their axes and clubs down on his head.

A general cry went up from the ranks of the airborne predators, then. Not the cry of their mounts, but those on their backs.

When next the tide of screaming death turned to make another pass on the bridge, all of them were fixated squarely on Marcus.

“Shit!” Mari shouted. “Protect him!”

Before Marcus could even think, Hialjia and her Taurons surrounded him like a living barricade of concrete, tanking the bites and piercing scratches of the Keth-Tari before they broke off and clipped the eyeballs of the Yokun archers who represented the only real threat to their dominance.

Marcus looked up at Hialjia’s bloody face.

“This is real combat, human!” she roared, pointing up at the beasts who ruled the skies and issuing a personal challenge. “Hialjia’s blood burns for this moment!”

“Just burn in moderation, Princess!” Karliah shouted from the bridge’s eastern flank. “Or you may find you’ve got no blood left!”

Their camaraderie might have been comforting, but Marcus and Mari could see the truth. As their eyes met over the next few passes of the vicious pterodactyl warriors, they shared a knowing look.

We’re losing ground, Marcus telepathed.

And we’re running out of time, Mari nodded.

The Tigran soldiers were swept off their paws by the onslaught of the Keth-Tari’s right flank while the Taurons surrounding Marcus gored a few before their wounds started gnawing at their resolve. Marcus saw them flail. He saw them falter. Above, he saw the Hakkatovs of Marvin’s men fall and explode on the jungle floor. Even Sakri’s Oshu couldn’t keep up with the relentless assault of the brutal beasts of the skies.

All the while, Marcus knew that this commotion would awaken the garrison of Sakri. By now, there must have been a relief force on the way…

He took his chance. As Hialjia’s roaring brood broke ranks and slashed at their tormentors with wild abandon, Marcus made his way to the highest point on the bridge, climbing atop the beams that would take him to its apex.

“Marc!” Mari shouted from beside the Yokun archers. “What –“

Keep them focused, Mari, Marcus telepathed back. I meant what I said before: no one else dies because of me.

The Keth-Tari turned in the air – a force of at least 150 still filled with energy and the exhilaration of bloodlust. From above the bridge of Yanghzhao, Marcus could see the bodies of the Pipers they’d taken being crunched, their ribcages broken open and their innards spilled over the crimson waters below.

But he looked past them. He had to.

Instead, he focused on the eyes of the units in the center of the flying horde. The ones who still hadn’t dropped their bombs.

He focused. He felt the night air fill him. And he breathed.

“What in the name of Sheav is that human doing!?”

He ignored Karliah’s cry and kept his focus. Right there. In the center. All he needed to do was reach just one of them. Their banshee-like screeches came closer and closer, and all the while he strained his unblinking eyes. He couldn’t look away now.

Come on…he murmured as his mind reached out. Come on…