The knight with twin axes surged forward, his swings heavy enough to cleave tree trunks. The soldiers behind him pressed in like a tide, their steel a wall meant to crush Kael's small band.
Kael met him head-on. His sword flared, black lightning dancing down its edge as he parried one axe and sidestepped the other. The ground split beneath his counter, his blade carving a line of crackling red and black through the knight's armor. Sparks and blood burst in the same breath.
Darius bellowed and skewered two soldiers at once, wrenching his spear free as another blade scraped across his armor. "Stay with me!" he barked, knocking them back with the butt of his weapon.
Seliora unleashed a volley of searing crimson bolts, cutting through shields, forcing the tide to stagger. "Focus the leader!" she shouted. "Break their will!"
The knight roared and lunged again, axes crossing in a killing arc. Kael caught the blow with his sword, the shockwave rattling through his arms. He let the force roll past him, then pivoted. His blade rose in a sharp arc, his voice cold and commanding.
"Crimson Rend!"
Black lightning split the mist. The knight's chest armor cracked open, blood spraying as he collapsed to his knees. His axes clattered to the ground.
The vanguard faltered. Their leader's fall broke their charge, and panic spread like fire. Darius swept through them, his spear cutting men down in wide arcs. Seliora's bolts pierced those who tried to retreat.
Aric finished the last, driving his blade into a soldier's chest before yanking it free. His breathing came hard and fast, his young face pale, but his grip did not falter.
The fog thinned, revealing only corpses and blood steaming on the ground.
Kael stood silent for a moment, his sword humming with fading sparks. He wiped the edge clean, then sheathed it.
"They'll know we're moving against them now," he said at last. His gaze lingered on the fallen knight. "No more shadows. The Sovereign's eyes are on us."
The companions gathered close, weary but alive. Their circle held.
The mist closed again over the dead, as if the Vale itself swallowed the bloodshed whole.