The arms of two Fryce bodyguards had been badly burned by the shadows, their armor charred black. Combined with the impact of the earlier magical explosion, this left them unable even to bear the weight of their heavy armor. They struggled several times but failed to get up from the ground.
Renato did not hesitate. He stepped forward and slipped his blade through the gaps in their neck armor, finishing them off cleanly.
As he delivered the killing blows, a flurry of footsteps sounded from the corridors on either side. The Nightwind soldiers had finally reached the battlefield.
The remaining Fryce bodyguards who staggered out of the rubble had too few fighters to form a battle line and were soon forced onto the defensive.
Often, no sooner had a heavy adamantine halberd smashed a shield than three or four Nightwind soldiers seized its shaft and dragged its wielder to the ground. Countless scimitars hacked at the gaps between the joints of their plate armor, sending sparks flying. The scrape of metal mingled with a rising chorus of crude curses.
But swords and blades were decidedly inefficient at killing the heavily armored halberdiers.
One female Drow pinned to the ground twisted frantically, trying to break free. Several times, she nearly threw off the soldiers holding her down.
Someone tried to remove her helmet, but the instant his fingers hooked beneath the edge of her visor, she jerked her head and broke his grip. After one assault trooper failed to dodge in time and sprained his wrist, the Nightwind soldiers decided on a more efficient method of execution.
The soldiers lifted the Fryce bodyguard's fauld, pinned the female Drow's legs, and pressed a hand crossbow against the chainmail beneath it.
Realizing what was about to happen, the Fryce bodyguard pinned to the