Janine darted to the right, esg a stream of energy that rolled toward the academy and bubbled near its walls, hungrily dev everything in its path. She barely had time to raise her axe before the bde of the give, encased irange field, desded to split her head in two.

  By the Spirits, the khan was strong! Whether empowered by teology or maybe using some exotic ability, his swi reverberations through her bones, and the stoh her feet cracked to accept the sug boots. He dragged the give over her shoulder, and its fluctuating aura touched her shoulder, instantly dusting the top of her pauldron. Janine had endured psma and ser beams; she had bathed in toxic waste and survived viruses hidden in the a boratories. But a simple vibration sheared a slice of skin off her shoulder, prompting the warlord to jerk her on up and kick Iron Lord with a knee.

  The collision produced a dull thud, and a rou appeared oe of his armor. Iron Lord tried to elbow the warlord, but she caught his arm in her maw, and her fangs gouged deep, torn lines before he broke the limb free and they resumed their battle.

  The give’s length helped the khan to prevent heavy chops of the warlord’s axe from nding on him, and the shimmering co formed around its bde created a fake illusion of safety as the destructive potential of the vibratioended beyond the visible gray mass, and Janine learned of it during a bloearly losing her fingers. Each time she closed in on him, she had to retreat, denting his armor rather than tearing it.

  “Really could’ve used my cws,” Janine pined, dodging a shing ssh.

  “Apologies, Sword Saint and Warlord. The suit has no such fun,” Albert said. “As per the Diviwins decree, the use of natural cws is forbidden as invoking barbarism…”

  “And that is bad why?” Janine inquired, parrying a ssh aimed at her armpit.

  “Barbarism tends to slowly taint every facet of society, leading to veion of martial prowess over intelled the creation of cruel ws. To bat the clear paradox of needing to be strong to defend oneself and still set an inspiring example, all children of our Houses are trained is, exposed to culture, enced to pursue creativity, and regurly write essays pointing out obvious fws in the ideology of our noble leaders to avoid desding into idotry,” Albert readily answered. “I send you video materials…”

  “Bey that. Idol… what’s that?”

  “Worshipping of idols, you mangy beast!” Iron Lord snapped.

  He wielded his on as if it were a feather, ung deceptively fast and wide swings, trying to lure Jao accepting the tempo of their duel before rapidly ging the situation and going for a sudden thrust. She took the stabs at the Taleteller’s shaft, deliberately stalling the fight to further ehe man.

  “he matter!” Iron Lord roared, advang at her. “You won’t take advantage of it! Your assault is a mere breeze, soothing the walls of a mighty bastion! It ges nothing; it aids nothing!”

  She didn’t try to guess the meaning of the foolish chatter ing from the dynamics of his helmet. fusion caused death as surely as any bullet. But there was something off about the battle. Iron Lord was too chatty; he hadn’t been like this when they first met, and his behavior tradicted the information gathered about his habits.

  The strangeness didn’t stop with Iron Lord. They paced bad forth, each gaining and losing ground as they tried to nd a crippling blow past the defenses. Anger, fear, and worry shook Janine’s core, but these were the feelings she expected to feel. But when the khan sshed horizontally, trying to decapitate a knight who happeo be nearby, the warlord was willing to let it happen.

  Memories of Mi, the monster of the Wastes, saved her sce, soul, and the knight’s life. That creature had spread its mind trol far and wide, bending those within its direct sphere of influeo its will, and those outside had suffered from the ges in their moods.

  A heinous act doesn’t excuse a heinous respohe amber light in her eyes fshed, and she bellowed a challenge, barging into Iron Lord’s cle and blog the ssh. She was rewarded with a pummeling of his fist, hearing her armor crack. From afar, Martyshkina fired without looking, the bullet screaming through the air.

  It faced the b of the force field activated around Iron Lord, slowed, and tinued pushing through. The khaated, and Janine capitalized on it, cerating his pte, and the bullet tore a k from his shoulder. Three ironcds assaulted Martyshkina, denying further assistance. Shots of their psma guns almost cealed Marty, and ammunition in one of her pouches exploded. The Wolfkin broke through the heat wall and kicked one of the three in the neck, pierg his get and finishing him off with four shots to the chest.

  The fighters around gave space to the two fighters, and Janine relinquished and to Martyshkina and the traitorous Bertruda, opening a el to see her son.

  Marco braved his way through the darkness of the ventition shaft, occasionally breathing slightly. He tried to hide it even now, but both of his popliteus suffered from degeive tissue syndrome. Normal New Breeds would have had to opt for artificial limbs by now, but Marco’s physiology as a Wolfkin naturally tried tee the damage, prolonging the agony caused by his defective and underdeveloped body. It was a kind of eternal stalemate, but the horror repced any pity a Janine upon hearing guhin the Academy.

  It touched them. All of them, including the white-furred betrayers. Cubs were in dahe most sacred thing in the world. Their future, a faint hope feion of peace, their joy and pride meant to survive them, was dying because their elders had failed to protect them.

  Their horror-fueled aggression. Anissa and Kaisa leapt, c long distances, and when Anissa’s paw slipped off a broken stone, Kaisa grabbed it, helping the other woman without the usual mockery.

  The lower ranks howled, hurling acid grenades into the hordemen from close distance, blinding several thunder bulls and c the animals and their riders like a swarm of angry ioids, stabbing, biting, and tearing. Their instincts heightened by the shock, the soldiers dodged off the enemies’ aim and charged again.

  Most shogly, the traitors ged, too. Where ohey had fought with reserve, expressing disgust at the killing of surrendering and wounded ehe Ice Fangs now roared and followed the Wolfkins. A defender saved Kirk’s brother by timing his shield to stop a psma bst and was saved by Kirk’s sister when the scout kicked the rge Ice Fang away before an axe could cut through his head. The hordeman cursed and prepared to attack again when Elegaabbed him uhe , aruda growled fiercely, pushing the bde deeper.

  “What the fuck is Marco doing here?” Kaisa cursed. “We are supposed to be saving cubs, not throwing more into the pyre!”

  “Betrayal, obviously.” Anissa spat. “Once I get him back to safety, his ass is turning red.”

  “You will not y a finger on him, Wolf Hag,” Impatient Oated. She hid behind some rubble, pulling a long spike from her belly and ign a knight who offered her a medical kit. Despite the trembling paws and the pain she had to experiehe shaman tried to keep her voice steady and calm. “If his mother has failed to raise him properly, I shall discipline her and educate Marco about subordination myself.”

  “Aw, so you do care!” Anissa ughed. “That’s so sweet, shaman!”

  “Of course I do! He is my… Every cub iribe deserves the shaman’s care!”

  “Yours what, honorable shaman?” Kaisa asked ily, throwing debris from the entrance.

  “Stop your buzzing, annoying fly,” Impatient One warned.

  Failed to raise him… Janine accepted the reproach, matg Iron Lord blow for blow with eical strikes. All these years, she treated Marco softly, harming his growth. Softness breeds softness. Kindness wasn’t always bad; every warrior should cherish what shreds of it he still had, but after hearing of his brother’s fate, a desire to do something was born. And his love, uered by true discipline, paved the way for disobedience. Her guilt.

  “You okay, Impatient One?” Anissa asked as the shaman fell awkwardly to the side, dodging a shot, and the knight helped her to her feet.

  “ fun.” Impatient One wiped her mouth. “trate on your task, Wolf Hag.” She kicked, startling the Ice Fang, and blocked a bde aimed at his back. The murky air behind the man solidified, f into a steel-cd holding the sword. The knight stabbed at the oppo’s elbow, and Impatient One closed her fangs at the hordeman’s throat, trying to shove the panig fool down.

  “Troops, attention. New form of camoufge,” Janine said.

  “Stay alive, shaman. But,” Kaisa exhaled, “make sure to educate and nothing more. Lay a finger on Mard I’ll have your hide. I still owe him for the sweater.”

  “Drop the chatter, Wolf Hags!” Janine snapped, stopping arguing. “Packs, stop this foolishness. Males, to the rear. Kirk, take over and support us fre. Sniff out cloaked foes.” Her helmet closed around the face, cutting off the rest of her words from being heard by her oppo. A battle grid appeared on her HUD. “Defenders at S7, lure the leftmost rider to your position. Kirk, take off the steed’s leg and devour alongside warriors.” The helmet opened.

  A trio of defenders feigned uainty, retreating hastily aing sts of fear. Eager flory, oeel-cd kicked his beast into a gallop and found himself without the prote of his allies, exposed to the trated fire of shardguns, all aimed at the bull’s khe beast’s wounded leg broke, uo support its body, and a bck carpet covered the rider. The warriors cracked his prote, and the males shoved acid mines inside, esg the ssh zone as they exploded, chemical substances dissolving the hordeman.

  “Sounds like someone asks to be introduced to the ground, Kali.” Anissa jerked the door out of alig. Her voice cracked. “Marco is my brother, and I will not allow his foolisho tinue, even if the warloes soft on…”

  “A hundred cerations.” Janine silenced her daughter.

  Going soft? Yes, a fair accusation, hence su insignifit punishment. She fought Iron Lord as Warlord Janine, ag as if she still wore the assault bat suit. It was wrong. The Ice Fangs’ models suited better for the lighter—weightless, even—style.

  “Albert. You were right.”

  “Beg your pardon, Lady?”

  Rather than blog the attack, Janine leaned back, letting it pass overhead. Immediately she raised the Taleteller, scraping its edge across the haft of the give as she charged at cle. A fist, ed in an energy field, prepared to meet her.

  The axe crashed into the field, overloading it and biting deep into the metal. Janine’s knee followed, denting the armor and sending Iron Lord stumbling. She dodged the elboushed him back, knog the bastard to the ground with enough force to send a tremor that exploded a nearby fire hydrant, and a veil of water covered both fighters, hissing vividly on the disappearing force field.

  Iron Lord tried to stand and found Janine’s legs locked around his waist, her weight pinning him to the ground. The axe split the torrent of water in two and thundered against the give.

  “Did you predict you’ll be mounted by me, boy?” Jaeased, frowning uhe pressure. The armor was screaming, its fiber bundles barely holding, the servomotors straining. Her retly healed muscles were on the verge of tearing, but her heart was on fire. “Look at yourself, sitting on your ass while your soldiers die.”

  “More of your kin lie dead than mine, mutant.” Iron Lord replied, his voifaltering, but his arms trembled. “An acceptable price for the warlord’s head. I am Iron Lord, the chief ander of the Gilded Horde, the right hand of Sky’s Avatar, and you are sullyih your touch. For that, I will hunt you today.”

  “Words are cheap,” Janine experienced aingle of worry.

  “My thoughts exactly.” His oved, f Jao tilt her head to evade the shot.