Another warrior seized the opening and closed in, driving a knee straight toward Sparta's ribs.
Sparta advanced instead of retreating. He pressed down with his left hand to deflect the knee, then caught the warrior's shoulder with his right. With a twist, he swung the warrior off his feet and hurled him into the ground, blasting out a deep crater.
Before the dust settled, Sparta raised his right foot to deliver the finishing blow.
His foot hung in midair as his gaze shifted slightly. Tardis had launched himself forward again, his fist wreathed in terrifying energy and bearing down on the side of Sparta's face.
Sparta snapped up his arm and blocked the strike with his forearm. The howling force of the punch pulverized the rock beneath his feet.
When the blow failed to land, Tardis raised his left arm and drove a punch from the side into Sparta's ribs.
Sparta staggered. He slammed his right foot into the ground to steady himself, cracking the earth beneath him.
At the same time, his arm folded almost of its own accord, and a swift elbow strike slammed into Tardis's cheekbone.
Tardis's head snapped sideways. Teeth and blood sprayed from his mouth as he spun twice through the air, then crashed to the ground. He gouged a trench hundreds of meters long before he finally stopped.
Sparta had no time to deal with Tardis. The two Alien Warriors were already attacking again.
One leaped into the air, drew back his right leg, and drove his knee toward Sparta head-on.
Sparta bent backward at the waist, letting the knee pass over his head.
The other warrior pressed his fingers together into a sharp blade-hand strike. It sliced through Sparta's clothes and left a bloody line across his skin, cutting half a centimeter into