Hoofbeats pounded through the slush as the scarred lord rallied fifty armored retainers near the granary, raising his serrated poleaxe to order an immediate counter-attack.
"Slaughter every living thing in this square!" the scarred warlord screamed, spit flying from his lips as he pointed his poleaxe toward the huddled commoners. "Leave no witnesses to babble about royal charters!"
"Hold the square!" Hajin barked, his voice cutting through the panic like an unyielding decree. "Keep them out of the civilian alleys!"
"Southern thoroughfare sealed!" Elise shouted back, planting her lead foot into the mud while weaving an emerald barrier across the cart passage.
"Cassie, lock down the eastern escape route," he instructed, his eyes tracking the mounted retainers as they surged forward in three disorganized wedges.
"Nobody steps past my ward today!" Cassie yelled, planting her staff into the gravel to anchor an interlocking grid of protective shields.
