Page 117 (1/2)

"I know you said they'd be effective, but" Amara shook her head "I had no idea"

"I know," Bernard said

"This this is going to change everything"

"Hope so," he said fervently "Means there's soe"

Amara looked steadily at him for a moment while his eyes shifted back to the battlefield He knew She could see it in his face He knehat the mules represented Not in and of theth of the freeiven deadly expression, if need be, now that soants fitted with huge baskets shaionares Legionares with spears began to fend off the vord as they caht Ignus wouldchitin, or a Knight Terra would simply cause it to sink into the soft earth But they were holding By the great furies, they were holding

Another flight of fire-spheres hispering overhead to bring down raging fire on the heads of the round, and a distant sound, a roar that rose up like so

Amara turned her face to the north and looked at the enorinably huge bastion positioned to hold the Legions' flanks As she watched, she saw clouds of dust billowing forth from the mountain An entire face of thea rockslide so enorination

The roll of the land kept her froine what had happened The vord had circled around the end of the second wall, probably hoping to coions from the rear, or even to proceed toward the civilians back near Garrison Instead, they had discovered what anyone who lived in the Calderon Valley knew froh to understand speech - that the mountain's name was Garados, and that it did not tolerate visitors

Aerous, but when she iht scope of its overwhel, malevolent power Clearly, it would seereat fury itself, if not a full-blown superpower in its own right

"Unbelievable," she hty trial to rowled "About tiht"

A few minutes later, a new cry abruptly went up fro sloail that rose and fell in a steady cycle every few seconds Amara tensed and leaned forward onto thethe ene in ranks past and through one another, falling into some sort of unthinkable, alien order and

And withdrew

"They're running!" screaionare

The men on the ent berserk with defiance and triu vord and raising their weapons into the failing light of the sun While they did, the vord continued to fall back, and within a few moments, they had all vanished back in the direction from which they had come A minute later, the onlyli down to feast upon the fallen

"Giraldi," Bernard said "Sound stand down Get a rotation going to get the men food, water, and rest"

"Yes, sir," Giraldi said He saluted and went about his duties

"That goes for the rest of you, too, people," Bernard said to his co in your bellies and find a spot to get a nap"

Amara waited until they had all departed to say, "You did it"