196 Swift Sword (1/2)

”Follow the Commander!” I heard Thor howl into the night.

My shadowblade came down on the back of the elf who'd just run away from me.

”Fool, you never show your back to your enemy!” I yelled as I cut him down.

In hindsight, I would have preferred it if they'd all just drop their weapons, turn their back on us, and run away. But, sadly, that wasn't going to happen and this coward I just felled was as rare as the rising of a blue moon in the Fayne.

Two more enemy soldiers arrived to block my path, and I had to parry the sword strike of one with my falchion while simultaneously gutting the other with my dagger.

Yeah, I'd gone dual-weapon fighting in this battle just because there were so many bodies around me, and a double slash seemed more expedient than a single one.

”Edo!” I yelled. ”Clear us some room to breathe!”

Edo came charging forward, barrelling past me with a shoulder rush that smashed into a number of enemy defenders ahead of us. Then, continuing with his destructive momentum, the half-ogre slammed the butt of his glaive down on the sand, and the force it generated exploded outward in a circle around him.

I watched from behind him as enemy soldiers were thrown back by his assault, and asked, ”What do you call that?”

”Earthshattering blow,” Edo answered while his back was to me.

”Man, Azuma's starting to influence you,” I said. ”Since when did you name your moves?”

Edo laughed, which, in the middle of a battlefield would either make him sound crazy or insensitive. My guess was both.

”Watch this, Dean,” he called. ”This next move, I call Cyclone.”

”Alright, let me see it,” I encouraged.

Edo raised his glaive to the side, and, as I expected — because who wouldn't if you name your move the cyclone — he began to turn in a three-hundred-sixty degree arc while swinging his glaive forward.

The fierceness of his swing was so great that I could feel the very air around me get pulled into his attack.

”Sweet,” I said.

Like a top, Edo rotated a total of three times, and each rotation brought with it blood and death for all who were unlucky enough to be within his range. And when he'd finally stopped, the space I'd asked for was now available.

”You know, I think Cyclone doesn't do that move justice at all… Death Cyclone sounds better,” I suggested.

Edo slammed the butt of his glaive down on the ground once more, but softer this time, with zero of his aura accompanying it. ”I'll take that under advisement.”

I looked over my shoulder to the men who'd watched the same show I did.

”What are you all waiting for?” I pointed my falchion past Edo. ”Charge into that space already!”

Looking at them now, I was glad they'd decided to join us. They'd grown much since that time we stole Hoodwink Tower from their band of merry thieves.

”Azuma!” I called.

Azuma was at my side in an instant with his spear in hand.

”You called, Dean?” he asked.

”I need you to cover me for a few minutes. Gotta see what's going on out there,” I said.

”Is this really the appropriate time?” he asked.

”We've been at this for more than fifteen minutes and we're still swamped by enemies…” I said. ”There's has to be a reason for it. Give me five minutes.”

”You've got three,” he said, and then with a wave of his hand, he called some of his Immortals over. ”Get to it, Commander.”

Immortals encircled me on all sides, and satisfied that I wasn't about to get stabbed in the back, I knelt on the sand and closed my eyes.

”Oh, great fool, let me see the unseen that I might know the unknowable,” I called.