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Valindra glanced that way, then at the crawling ene fracas within

"It is hi warrior cried He pointed to the far end of the line, to the battle with the Netherese

A large for red even in the dark of night

"The Netherese Lord, my lady!" the nearest Ashreat victory awaits us!" another cried, and charged at the distant forht and it took only a few moments to understand they couldn’t win Most of her zombies were inside the city walls, and her Ash enelory, his every sith his large red-bladed sword cutting those nearest zealots apart The strength of his blows overwhelh skin and bone with ease, and he left a line of severed bodies in his bloody wake

The lich hissed and turned her attention one last ti to the base of the wall, the warrior her minions had named the Netherese champion At least in this, she would claihtning serpent Then Valindra, acting so , clever Valindra Shadowmantle, Overwizard of the Hosttower of the Arcane, turned and fled the field

The energy of the missiles took his breath away and nearly knocked Barrabus from his feet as he scrambled for the city wall All around him, the Ashmadai closed in, and he knew he needed to either find an easy way to cliht be, or have so from the sounds of battle behind the wall, that seemed evenhi slick beneath his feet He held his footing but he could barely walk

He turned to consider his dileht, perhaps

Sounds of battle to his right brought hini had at last entered the field, but before he could savor that hope, Barrabus saw the lightning serpent flying across the field

He flipped over sideways and landed right back on his feet, his hair dancing wildly, but just dodging thebite

And then the first of his pursuers caot close Another held her footing and slid toward hirass She held out her scepter to parry Barrabus’s swinging sword

Barrabus neatly sidestepped and the sent high above her In the sa at the crook of the wo her scepter into position for an offensive strike But as her hand went behind her, he brought it up hard and swung it back over He turned sidelong to the woman and over she went, unable to resist the throw

She landed on her feet and even h in ood Barrabus’s dagger ar the blade deep into her chest

At the same time, Barrabus aimed his sword down at the second attacker The sword slipped into the Ashh to consider whether he’d finished either of those opponents He leaped away in another sidelong so wide to obscure his forain in the same direction then a third ti

Another pair of Ash their weapons, just as the woman he’d stabbed cliusted look, Barrabus brought his sword down and around in front of hi, tossed it into the air so that his hand could grasp and activate his belt buckle dagger

He flicked his wrist, launching the knife, and caught his sword so fluidly that neither of the two battling him even realized that he’d tossed the sword free of his hand, let alone thrown a knife

Until the blade stuck deep into the wo, praying to her beloved arch-devil with every ed with the other pair, didn’t find her zealotry ad Just stupid

He worked his new opponents into just the right angle When the crawling zealot reached hi a heavy sword chop on the back of her head

She fell to the ground as surely as if a large rock had fallen on her fro and slashing at the other two

The woroaned, pulled herself back to all fours, and started crawling again

One of the zealots battling Barrabus cried out in ecstasy, "Asmodeus!"

He should have concentrated on Barrabus instead, for his distraction gave the agile assassin all the opening he needed He darted in between the pair, turned, and shoved out, sending the fool stu woht his ar back to hit the other opponent under the ribs, lifting him up on his toes Barrabus dropped to one knee as the er hand up over thehim down

Barrabus hopped back to his feet and stabbed his sword into the hollow of thewoger fleard hiasping