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Chapter 36

The Legions screamed their defiance of the vord, and Ehren couldn't keep hi but raw reflex and naked terror On some level, he was fairly sure that not many of the vord would be intih he could control that Fearhim, precisely, but it had apparently caused his throat to revert to puberty

So that went coionares knew their ell enough without any such command As the eneround before the wall, and more spears than a body could count in a week flew out to co down into the front ranks of the vord The spears weren't particularly deadly, in and of theht have scored one kill in fifty, by Ehren's estimation, one kill in thirty, tops - but every vord struck by one of the heavy weapons staggered in pain Even if the wound was not fatal, the vord's pace faltered, and it iftly tra behind

The volley was devastating to eneion tactic

But, this being a battle plan Tavi had a hand in, it didn't stop there

The artisans of the Calderon Valley hadn't been able to provide every single legionare on the ith one of the modified javelins - only the iven the new designs More often than not, the spears that had killed a vord outright had been thrown by those le one of the new spears contained a slass, nestled into the cup of the javelin's iron head, where the wooden shaft joined it Whether the javelins lass spheres shattered, unleashing the furies that had been bound within

Ehren himself had field-tested the firestones, furycrafted devices developed from the coldstones used to keep food chilled in restaurants and wealthy households around the Real frolass spheres could contain even eneration of stones could, and they were far easier to e than so useful, Ehren reflected

The fire-javelins exploded together in a roar, each bursting into a sudden sphere of flaon It wasn't the white-hot fire of a Knight Ignus's attack, but it didn't have to be The fire engulfed the front two ranks of the enemy and sucked so much air in to feed its short-lived flas, snapping as if he stood with his back to a strong wind Greasy black smoke billowed out, the smell indescribably foul, and for a few instants, the vord line was thrown into complete disarray

Ehren cried out and slapped Lord Antillus on the shoulder There was no need for the signal The large, athleticwith the Placidas and Phrygius

The ether in a sudden coluh the black cloud and out over the ene almost too quickly to be seen, and vanished behind a windcrafted veil as they went Ehren clenched his hands into fists and stared after theionares in front of him Their mission had been his idea He bore a measure of responsibility for its outcome

The vord recovered theirbehind the first wave leaping over the slain and wounded Their scythes gouged the stone of the wall, creating pitted spots that their insectlike legs could use to climb, and they swarions

Men and vord shrieked and howled Swords flashed in the sun Vord scythes plunged Blood, both red and dirty green, spattered the wall, whichfor all the attention the vord paid to it - but it did prevent the scythes to the best effect They caht on, withwith shield and sword, their coer spears The vord would gain the wall, in places, only to be pushed back savagely by the Legions

More andtide, rushing in over the ground to wash against the wall Wave after wave broke upon the low siege wall, upon Legion steel and Aleran blood And, like an onco over one another in their eagerness to reach the legionares, and the growing nu ra point was near Within a few ain a foothold on the wall, so over it in the thousands The enemy sensed it as well More and more of the vord pressed closer to the wall Ehren could have stepped off the wall and walked a round

It was time

He turned and nodded to the armored old Citizen on his left "Now?"

Lord Gra the attack with his helht red in his youth, but was nowa ruddy hue He nodded and took his helmet from beneath his arm and settled it onto his head "Aye Pack them in any closer, and they'll overflow the wall"

"Should we send up the signal?" he said Once a signal went up, it would propagate along the wall fro "Wait for the order, boy All we're looking at is what's right in front of us That's our job Bernard is looking at the whole picture That's his job He'll give the order when it's tiained the wall not twenty feet away, a screaionare skewered on one of its scythes It batted away a second legionare like a toy, then died under thethe breach - but three of its companions had reached the top of the wall in the time that took to happen and drove outward More vord would join them in a few seconds

"Lord Graain

"Wait!" Granal the next phase of the plan until as many of the enemy as possible were in position Ehren knew that He also knew that as a co to sacrifice the lives of some of the defenders if necessary He had to be That was the entire reason to have battle commanders in the first place - so that one ainst the emotional, insane demands of close battle