The conflict had been noisy, but the trio knew they could put that to good use. Kai and Lyla jumped back over the fence to take cover. Davon stalled behind, preparing some more traps for any foes who would come to investigate the sounds of battle.

  As he placed the first trap, Davon felt a strain on his mental strings, followed quickly by a note of caution from his Reliquary. Shaking his head in exasperation, he turned and joined his friends in their hiding place.

  “Won’t be able to do the trap thing much anymore,” Davon warned. “They’re pretty draining. I guess I’ve been pushing myself.”

  “That’s fine. We are still plenty capable of killing some Crimson Reavers,” Kai replied, pounding a fist against his chest.

  Lyla sighed. “Just please be careful, Kai. I won’t be able to patch us up too many times, either. The Godslayer hit me… particularly hard.”

  “I was wondering about that.” Davon searched her face. “How are you holding up?”

  “Still recovering, but not as fast as I’d like,” Lyla admitted as she clutched her spear close. “I’ll live, don’t worry about me. I just need to not push myself too hard.”

  Davon nodded. “Fair enough. I think we all need to be careful.”

  Davon waited for Kai’s reluctant nod of agreement. Then the trio gave their full attention to the road.

  Silence suffused the atmosphere, causing anxiety to rise in Davon’s chest. Ever since the Crimson Reaver Assassins attacked the Vanguard archers on the rooftops, he couldn’t help feeling like they might attack again at any moment. They could be lurking in the shadows even now, waiting for just the right quiet moment to strike…

  Grimacing with frustration, Davon shrugged off his anxiety and refocused himself on the task at hand. He expected the Crimson Reavers to send a larger group to investigate the explosion made by his traps. It was important to be ready.

  As the wait dragged on, though, Davon’s brain started to turn in a different direction. From his experiences as a solo scout behind enemy lines, Davon knew Tenebris was more than willing to pop out at any minor noise in the streets of Heinburg. But now there was combat in the inner city, as close to his lair as the Vanguard had ever gotten, and the general hadn’t so much as poked his head out.

  That Godslayer shot must’ve really hurt him, Davon reasoned, feeling a surge of glee wash over him at the thought.

  Grant did claim the Godslayer would weaken the general, but Davon had been doubtful about the extent of that damage. If Tenebris was unwilling even to peek out of his hiding place, then the blow must have been significant.

  Davon’s rumination was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Kai with a serious expression on his face. The young warrior nodded towards the road. Davon followed his gaze and spotted a new group of Crimson Reavers approaching their location.

  Proving Davon’s gut instinct correct, the group walking down the street was nearly double what they had just faced. Four Heavies, four Duelists, but still only one Necromancer. The Heavies also bore different weapons. Two of them carried massive great swords, while the other two wielded a long sword in each hand.

  A mix of excitement and cautious confidence bubbled in Davon’s chest as he prepared his blades. He was ready for action.

  With each combat the trio went through, Davon had found a sort of hunter’s instinct settling deeper and deeper into his subconscious. He knew he could trust it. So long as he didn’t get carried away, this instinct would pull him through.

  When one of the great sword-wielding Heavies stepped onto Davon’s trap, the explosion echoed throughout the inner city. Yet, the Crimson Reaver that stepped onto it seemed to be only slightly hurt. Davon could see damage on the soldier’s leg armor and blood dripping from tiny wounds, but otherwise, the beast was only taken off-balance.

  Davon knew they couldn’t give the enemy any time to recover. Thinking on his feet, he decided the Necromancer was the most dangerous of the group. Davon immediately Shadow-stepped and placed both swords against the Necromancer’s neck.

  Taking no risk, Davon invoked the Sharpness rune and pressed the blades into his foe’s skin. He took the Necromancer’s head off his shoulders with no difficulty, sending spatters of blood into the air.

  His attack had landed him in the middle of the group, surrounded by Crimson Reavers. They raised their weapons to strike at him. But before any hit could land, Davon invoked his Shadow-step rune again, placing the Crimson Reaver group between himself and his friends.

  A pang of sharp pain pierced Davon’s head as soon as his vision cleared. The mental threads he used to invoke his abilities strained against his efforts, threatening to fray.

  You’re pushing too hard, Davon, he scolded himself.

  He couldn’t move. He could barely keep his balance under the onslaught of pain.

  While Davon was struggling to stay on his feet, he could feel the Crimson Reavers’ full attention on him. But he wasn’t worried. He knew that his friends would have his back… or front, in this case.

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  Kai and Lyla exploited the enemy’s distraction to its fullest. Before anyone could react, a spear pierced through the neck of one of the great sword Heavies.

  The Crimson Reaver fell to his knees with a gurgle. When Lyla recalled her spear, the Heavy fell forward, dead.

  Almost at the same second, Kai charged into the enemy formation, shouting in rage as he swung his axe at another Heavy. The soldier raised his two long swords an instant too late. Kai’s axe bit into the enemy’s torso, sending him into a stumble.

  The remaining great sword Heavy retaliated by swinging his weapon at Kai’s chest. Without skipping a beat, Kai let go of his axe and ducked the swing. As the great sword went over him, Kai shot back up and grabbed the blade with a gloved hand, pushing it into the soldier he’d left his axe in.

  Still stunned by the pain, the wounded Crimson Reaver stood no chance. Kai redirected the blade towards his enemy’s neck and, carried both by the initial momentum of the swing and Kai’s own force, the attack decapitated the foe with terrifying efficiency.

  The four Duelists dashed into action. They surrounded Kai, each preparing a strike. Just as the enemies’ blades were about to pierce into him, Kai grabbed the hilt of his axe and conjured a barrier, stopping every attack in its tracks. The sound of cracking glass echoed in Davon’s ears as a spiderweb of cracks formed on the barrier. It shattered almost instantly.

  A look of fury came over Kai’s face as another rune lit up on his axe. He placed his other hand on the axe and pulled it from the dead Crimson Reaver’s torso. Before the body could even hit the ground, Kai was spinning on his heel, axe outstretched.

  Three of the Duelists reacted in time to move out of the way, but the fourth was met with the full force of Kai’s anger. The soldier fell to the ground in two pieces, bisected at the hip.

  With the Duelists retreating, the two remaining Heavies stepped into their place. The great sword wielder braced his weapon defensively and intercepted Kai’s spinning slash. Sparks erupted from the point of impact, showering the two combatants as their weapons locked. Meanwhile, the second Heavy prepared both of his long swords and swung at Kai’s torso, aiming to put a quick end to the Revenant.

  Before the blades could connect, the ground shifted beneath the attacking Crimson Reaver’s feet. Davon raised his eyes towards Lyla. The young woman had her spellbook in hand and was chanting feverishly.

  Lyla stretched out her hand toward the remaining dual sword Heavy, launching a bolt of condensed energy at her target.

  Still off-balance, the Crimson Reaver couldn’t react in time. Lyla’s attack struck him directly in the chest. The blow pierced straight through him, leaving a plate-sized hole in his torso. The Heavy dropped to the ground with little fanfare.

  The rune on his axe was still glowing as Kai looked at the final Heavy. The young warrior’s pure rage overflowed in the form of a bloodthirsty war cry. Kai let go of his weapon, allowing it to fall unceremoniously to the ground with a heavy clang. Then he drove a knee into the flat side of the soldier’s great sword.

  Golden energy erupted from the point of impact as the weapon shattered under the force of Kai’s onslaught.

  Stunned by the Revenant’s sudden and brash attack, the Heavy couldn’t react in time. Kai sent fist after fist into the soldier’s chest, caving his armor in further and further with each energy-infused blow.

  When the Crimson Reaver’s ribcage cracked, the sickening crunch echoing through the battlefield, Kai turned towards the three remaining Crimson Reavers with murderous intent in his eyes.

  Davon hadn’t moved, still stunned by the pain piercing his head, but he could see that the final three enemies were wavering. Their hesitation lost them the opportunity to strike at Kai with another pincer attack. Instead, only one of the Duelists moved towards Kai, holding their weapon with both hands and swinging in a wide arc.

  Kai simply caught the blade with his hand and squeezed. Golden energy emanated from the point of contact. Then the blade shattered into pieces, leaving both sides of the confrontation stunned by Kai’s display of raw power.

  Following up on this show of force, Kai launched a flurry of jabs into the Duelist’s chest, the cracking of bone echoing with every landed strike. He finished his flurry with a haymaker that sent the Crimson Reaver’s body flying several dozen feet backwards.

  For a moment, Davon was afraid the body would hit him. Pain still had him in its grip, preventing him from moving out of the way. He let out a sigh of relief as the body flew by.

  Of the two remaining Duelists, one reached for a war horn hanging from his belt, while the other moved to block Kai from reaching the first. But he needn’t have worried. Kai, absorbed by his rage and focused entirely on the nearest enemy, didn’t even try to prevent the first Duelist from sounding the alarm.

  The pain in Davon’s head finally dulled as the war horn’s shrill cry echoed around them. Davon reattached his blades and raised his bow, aiming at the war horn Duelist. He put an arrow through the distracted Crimson Reaver’s neck with little effort, cutting the horn’s call short.

  With a furious howl, Kai grabbed the only remaining enemy by the head and dragged him downwards while throwing his knee upwards. A terrifying and sickening crack rang out as Kai caved the Duelist’s helmet inward, killing him instantly.

  Then silence claimed the battlefield, broken only by Davon and Kai’s heavy breathing. With his enchantment fading, Kai stumbled backwards, visibly exhausted.

  “Heh. I don’t think I can do that too much,” Kai admitted between heavy breaths.

  Davon laughed wearily. “Yeah… I think I’m spent as well.”

  “I hate to interrupt you boys’ discussion, but we should move,” Lyla whispered urgently, leaning heavily on her spear. “That call will surely bring down more than we can handle.”

  In the distance, further into the inner city, Davon heard the echo of another war horn.

  “Fair point. Let’s move,” Davon agreed.

  But as he turned away, Lyla put a hand on his arm.

  “Hear me out. I have a bit of a… risky idea,” she offered, provoking a curious look from Davon. “Let’s move towards the place where the response came from and duck into a building. We can gauge their forces when they pass and possibly ambush them when they return.”

  Davon didn’t have to think long before deciding the plan was genius.

  “With little surprise, your ideas are always great.” He grinned at Lyla. “Lead the way.”

  The trio quickly moved further into the inner city, looking for a suitable hiding spot. They found it in the form a small manor. The building was humbly sized, though too richly decorated for Davon’s taste. Still, the attic windows gave a good view of the street below.

  Posting up by these windows, the trio waited patiently for their enemies to walk by. Several long minutes passed.

  “Looks like they’re a ways away,” Davon observed idly, eyes glued to the empty street outside.

  “No complaints here. It gives us the chance to catch our breath,” Kai countered, settling into a mess of sheets he’d turned into a makeshift chair. “Come on, let’s take a quick rest while we wait.”