With a war-cry, Kahiri and her party charged at their Yugdab foes with weapons outstretched. Chris, Jeng, and a number of their fellow squad members lunged headfirst into their ranks, slashing vigorously as they went. While Chris planted his shield and feet in the ground and attacked from there, Jeng remained constantly in motion, beheading Yugdab warriors right and left. When another attacker attempted to sneak in for a cheap hit, Jeng swung the hammerhead of his battle axe upwards and smashed his skull. 

Meanwhile, Kahiri, Qwarten, Meg, and a handful of their comrades hung back, so as to stay out of the range of swords, spears, and the like. Kahiri widened her eyes at a ripe opportunity and snatched a pair of arrows from her quiver. She fitted them to the bowstring simultaneously and launched them into the enemy line, instantly hitting two warriors in their eye sockets just as she had intended. She finished both men off with shurikens aimed right at the jugular veins in their necks. 

Qwarten hurled stones into the Yugdab ranks with a determined gaze planted in his eyes. Several of their archers finally got around to returning fire, but the major easily predicted their moves and remained one step ahead. A moment later, he snapped an archer's bowstring and shattered his ribcage with one masterful stone throw. 

Kahiri flinched as an enemy arrow grazed her shoulder and drew blood. She moved to aim a return shot, only to realize her attacker had taken cover behind a group of his comrades. With a huff, she leaned near Meg's ear. "Hey, that scruffy-bearded archer is giving me trouble. Would you mind slipping in there and stabbing him for me?" 

Meg nodded. "Sure thing." 

Meg unsheathed two daggers and held one in each hand as she charged into the Yugdab ranks. With a flying kick and a swift slash, she disabled two swordsmen who hadn't moved quickly enough to strike back. As a trio of spearmen moved to stab at her, she ducked and slid out of harm's way, soon finding herself close to her target. A brawny brawler moved in to attack the redheaded bounty hunter, but she merely punched into his fist with her own gauntlet and broke several of his bones in the process. Finally, she leapt forward, found herself before the pestilent archer, and stabbed into his neck. 

Jeng raised his battle axe over his head and swung it at a Yugdab swordsman. He growled as his nimble foe evaded the blow and moved in to stab while he raised the weapon back up to attack position. Despite Jeng's quick sidestep, the blade still poked a couple inches into his ribs and reddened his shirt with blood. 

The bloodthirsty attacker stepped forward to stab Jeng again, but one of his squad mates slid into the middle and parried the Yugdab's blade with his own longsword. The man's eyes transformed into terrified saucers at the sight of the mighty Kaborian swordsman, and his knees began knocking together a moment later. With two quick strokes, Jeng's comrade removed his foe's arm and left a huge gash in his chest before leaving him to die. Jeng gave his companion a grateful nod before the two men split ways and picked new targets. 

Chris gritted his teeth and shoved an attacker's blade away with his shield. Taking advantage of the man's vulnerable position, he lunged forward and slashed into his opponent's midsection. The Yugdab collapsed into a puddle of his own blood a few short seconds later. 

"Chris and Bartlomei," Kahiri called from behind, "go and give Meg a hand!" 

Chris and the bald-headed man Kahiri identified immediately nodded and rushed into the enemy ranks with shields held up and weapons held at the ready. After slitting several throats and warding off many attacks, they reached Meg and realized why Kahiri had ordered them to back her up. A massive brute with a war hammer in his meaty hands towered over their redheaded ally with his weapon raised to strike again. Meg herself lay in the grass, her face covered in hardening blood and mud. 

Bartlomei rushed in first and blocked the attack with his shield. He flinched at the heavy vibration on impact, but remained otherwise unharmed. While the brute raised his weapon for another blow, Bartlomei lunged forward with his spear outstretched. The Yugdab merely rotated his body to avoid injury while he swung his hammer again. Again, Bartlomei blocked, but this time, the shield shattered in his hand, leaving the man defenseless against the brute's next attack. 

Chris leapt in between the two just in time to ward off the brawny Yugdab's heavy swing. He took a slash at his opponent's legs, but soon realized that his sword's reach wasn't long enough to make impact. He raised his shield again to block the next hit and grinned as Bartlomei hurled his own spear at their opponent. The weapon sunk deep into his flesh and poked out the other end of his body. With a dazed expression, the Yugdab brute plopped to the ground, reddening the ground as he did so. 

While Bartlomei went to retrieve his spear, Chris stepped over to Meg and helped her to her feet. "Hey, Meg, are you okay?" 

Meg huffed. "Does it look like I'm okay?" 

Chris smiled shyly. "I guess not. What I mean to ask is, do you need to be escorted back for medical attention?" 

"No need. Thanks for the help, guys." 

"No problem." 

******************** 

Minutes later, Kahiri fired off yet another shot and sighed. Her arrows were dwindling and the Yugdabs' numbers continually grew, despite the great effort exerted by Kahiri and all her comrades. She tightened her lip and fired off her last unscathed arrow at the head of a Yugdab shieldsman whose attention was fixated on the well-built female warrior at his side. 

As she slid a badly-damaged arrow out of the quiver, Kahiri cast a rueful glance at the city behind, only to gasp at the sight of a massive fire in the west quarter. She threw her hand to her mouth and stared into the flames for a second before she turned and dashed to Qwarten's side. 

"Qwarten, we've gotta head back! Now!" 

Qwarten raised an eyebrow. "Why?" 

Without saying another word, Kahiri pointed at the burning capitol behind them. 

Qwarten finally shifted his gaze and widened his eyes when he spotted the calamity. "Oh, no! Let's move!" 

Kahiri hastily called out after her comrades to order a retreat, and then she broke into a mad dash for the city, with Qwarten right alongside her. With more or less opposition, Chris, Meg, Jeng, and their companions broke out of enemy lines and hurried back with them. Soon enough, the Yugdabs themselves took advantage of their enemies' retreat and marched forward once more. 

******************** 

Kahiri gasped as she led the squad up to the western gate of Camborne, only to realize that the horde of soldiers crowded around the open entryway was comprised primarily by Yugdabs, and that hardly any Kaborians remained in sight. She swiftly snatched an arrow from off the ground and fired it off into the crowd, sighing later as the projectile merely bounced off a Yugdab's armor after leaving a small dent. 

Kahiri jumped as one of her squad mates let out a bloodcurdling scream in her ear and tumbled to the ground with a crossbow bolt riveted into his sternum. Her eyes widened even more as her gaze landed on General Davinte, who perched atop the wall beside the gate, with his crossbow aimed at her squad. She turned to inform Qwarten of the treachery, but he had already begun moving to hurl a stone at the general's head. He very nearly succeeded, but the rock descended sooner than he'd anticipated, and it merely dropped into the branches of a withered apple tree. 

"I never liked that guy." Qwarten commented as he watched the general reload his crossbow. 

"Me either." Kahiri replied with seriousness on her face. "Thankfully, all those Yugdabs are faced away from us." 

"Yeah, they're more focused on entering the city. What's the plan, Oriann?" 

"We're gonna charge at the Yugdabs, and be literal backstabbers. And for all intents and purposes, we're the only ones on our side now." 

"Agreed. Anybody inside the city has to prove their loyalty before we trust them." 

Kahiri nodded. "Alright, squad, let's move it!" 

As the squad moved to charge forward, Kahiri snatched her last shuriken from her coat pocket and flung it at Davinte. She growled as the wind swept the spinning blade off its course and it merely sliced into the general's shoulder. Then she smirked as it fell back out of the wound and snapped his bowstring. 

While Davinte fumed about the loss of his weapon's functionality, Qwarten flung another stone in his direction. This time, with his closer range, he nailed the general in the middle of his forehead and caused him to fall off the wall. Without pause, he set to pelting Yugdab soldiers from behind. 

Meanwhile, Jeng and Chris entered the fray ahead of their comrades and immediately commenced slashing and smashing at their enemies, occasionally including a rogue Kaborian soldier in the wide sweeping movements of their weapons. As their squad mates joined them, the Yugdab forces' numbers slowly began to decrease through their mighty efforts. 

With powerful punches and an occasional kick, Qwarten cleared a path for Kahiri and himself to slip through the enemy ranks and find the fallen general inside the city gates. Sure enough, they found Davinte lying on the stony ground with a bleeding gash in his head and an unnatural curve to his spine. A weak stream of groans from the general served as the only sign that life remained in his body. 

Qwarten stooped down at Davinte's side and gave him a hard stare. "Well, General, look where your treachery has gotten you." 

"I ... know nothing of what you speak, traitor!" Davinte shouted with as much strength as he could muster. 

"Is that so?" Kahiri questioned. "In that case, how come these gates are wide open, when the city is on lockdown?" 

"They broke through with their catapults!" 

Qwarten glared. "Those catapults broke some pretty clean edges. Are you sure about that?" 

"And," Kahiri added, "why'd you start firing at us? We didn't do anything!" 

"From that distance, I couldn't tell friend from foe. Better safe ... than sorry." 

Kahiri narrowed her eyes. "Unless you were foolish enough to leave your spectacles at home, that lie made absolutely no sense." 

"Just be glad," Qwarten began as he stood to his feet, "that you won't live to suffer for your treason." 

With that, Qwarten stomped his foot down on the stone imbedded in the general's forehead, burying it to a deadly depth as he did so. 

Kahiri immediately darted her eyes away from the gory spectacle. "Look, Qwarten, Yugdabs have already overrun this entire quarter of the city! We need to spread out and get to work." 

"Agreed. I'll defend you while you refill that quiver, and then we can split ways." 

The two warriors rushed off to fulfill their new task, fighting violent Yugdabs off their backs as they did so. 

******************** 

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. We got a lot of action in that one, so if you liked that, please remember to give it a vote and some comments. :) 

So, on another note, I saw Avengers: Endgame last night, and not to spoil anything, but it was amazing! I liked it a tad bit less than Infinity War, but in my opinion, it's kinda unfair to judge Endgame as an standalone movie. Loosely speaking, Infinity War is like acts one and two of a story, while almost the entirety of Endgame is finale. I'd definitely recommend it. It's glorious. :D 

If you've already seen Endgame, give me some of your thoughts on it here. (Keep it spoiler-free, though, please.) 

Have a great day! I hope to see you in the comments and next week's update. (Remember, there's only two left!)