Hajin held the knee's turning line while Seret drove the reserve sword deep into the sternum seam.
The current beneath the puncture reversed instead of draining through the blade, and Hajin's stomach dropped through his heels.
"Out—get out!"
The Dread King's chest flared around the sword, blasting the old captain backward before either hand could leave the hilt. Seret flew twenty paces into an overturned wagon, and the spare blade snapped against the wreckage beneath his falling arm.
Hajin ripped the chain off the knee before the returning weight could drag him into the same burst.
Brand scrambled toward the wreck while the nearest shields swung across his exposed back, "Captain down!"
"Keep the litters covered!" Helen rasped.
She forced the order out from the cloak beneath Vella's hands, her breath coming shallow and wet in her throat. Her bandaged forearms stayed on their supports, with no staff or blade left anywhere for either hand to reach toward.
