Clang!
A tower shield slammed into Alex's chest. Even through the cushioning layer of his Living Graft Armor, the tremendous impact left his lungs burning with pain.
Blood rose in Alex's throat, and he staggered backward.
Before he could regain his footing, two halberds thrust through the gaps between the shields, hooking his shoulder plates on either side and trying to drag him into that forest of steel.
"Get off me!"
Alex roared and twisted his waist. The vines inside his Augmentation tensed, lending him greater explosive strength. With a violent wrench, he hauled the two Heavy Infantry trying to pin him down straight out of their formation.
His sword flashed.
Two helmeted heads rolled to the ground.
But Alex felt no joy. He panted heavily, sweat trickling from his forehead into his eyes and making them sting.
He looked up and saw, with despair, that fresh shields were already filling the gap he had opened.
Before him stood a full five thousand heavily armored soldiers wielding tower shields-the Ironwall Guard.
Behind him lay the crucial passage into the heart of the Inner Fortress: the open mithril gates.
Alex and his men were holding the Inner Fortress's gateway, preventing this line of defense from closing.
The enemy's intention was clear. They meant to force the squad into the Inner Fortress. Once the obstructions around the gate hinges were cleared, the Dragonfall Stone, weighing tens of thousands of pounds, could crash down and shut out Veylin's main force.
They advanced in perfect lockstep, like a moving wall of steel, pressing toward the Inner Fortress gates one step at a time.
This was the inner yard of Sighing Fortress, an open gravel expanse five hundred meters long and two hundred meters wide.
Inside this death trap without a scrap of cover, the