Verdan nodded jerkily as Vanarr stepped away, staggered by the trust and responsibility that the Elder was placing on him.

  “Defenders of Gerann!” Vanarr’s voice boomed throughout the warehouse, drawing cheers from those not fighting as they saw the Elder among them. “This is our moment to drive the Cyth away. Hold your ground, fight hard and we will cleanse this city! For Gerann! Steel and fury!”

  A rousing cheer came from the defenders as they surged against the Cyth with renewed hope. They may not have all cheered the same words, but they were unified in purpose.

  Ada and the other Steel Custodians holding the front line reacted the strongest, their Essence surging as they crushed the Cyth before them with powerful blows.

  For a moment, Verdan wondered how Vanarr would reach the Scerrd, and then the Elder burst into motion, sprinting forward.

  The two bodyguards matched the Elder’s movement, and a handful of other Steel Custodians that were nearby joined in as they sprinted to the edge of the closest platform and leapt into the air.

  Essence enhanced speed and power sent them high into the air before crashing down amid the Cyth like an avalanche of steel.

  Realising the Elder’s intent, Verdan rushed to get a better angle before pulling deeply on his Aether. “Aer tymest torr!”

  A howling wind swept down from Verdan, one that was made up of countless blades of air, each shrieking as they swept down and through the Cyth.

  Black ichor sprayed far and wide as the deadly wind cut through a large section of the Cyth, giving the Sorcerers room to move.

  Elder Vanarr led the way, moving in a blur as he demonstrated the height of what a metal Sorcerer could achieve.

  The Elder’s halberd would flick out with incredibly speed, hewing a Cyth in two before shifting into a different weapon as he pulled it close to attack a nearby enemy.

  The Elder’s control over his weapon was inspiring to watch, and from the moment he landed, it was never completely in any one form.

  Roaring defiantly, the Elder was cutting his way steadily toward the Cyth Scerrd, his companions guarding his flanks.

  The steel armour of the Sorcerer was strong and impressive, but even the basest of the Cyth had abyssal energy in their claws and weapons.

  Wounds caused by the Cyth would fester and corrupt if left untreated, and that same effect allowed them to wear down the armour and defences of their foes.

  The walls and fortifications they’d built throughout the pass to stop the Cyth had fallen so quickly in part due to this effect.

  Currently, it was slowly happening to the platform Verdan was stood on, but it was also happening to the armour the Sorcerers wore.

  Claws screeched on armour as the Cyth threw themselves at the Sorcerer, drenching them with black ichor as they died.

  The stronger Sorcerers kept their armour infused with Essence, repelling the corruption, but the weaker of their comrades either couldn’t, or were too tired.

  The first Sorcerer fell twenty paces from where they’d landed, his vambrace shattering beneath the teeth of a Cyth Lai. The exposed flesh was quickly seized by another of the monsters, and the man was dragged away to be ripped apart.

  Another fell a few paces later, her Essence failing her as a Cyth Laisera caved in her breastplate with a Wyrchwood club.

  One by one, they fell, and Verdan watched, bearing witness to their sacrifice as he gathered his Aether.

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  They were dying to make this opening, and he silently vowed that he would not waste it.

  Thunder rumbled overhead and lightning streaked with gold tore down from the sky above, annihilating swathes of the Cyth and striking the Scerrd’s shield repeatedly.

  The monstrous spellcaster staggered beneath the weight of Gwen’s attack, but its shield held. Thankfully, the attacks kept it from focusing on the approaching Elder, leaving him only the Host to worry about.

  Every Cyth in the city must have been present now, all thronging together in a swarm that would slaughter every last human in the tunnels below.

  Struggling against Gwen’s relentless assault, the Scerrd let out a frustrated scream and pointed at Elder Vanarr.

  As one, every Cyth present hurled themselves at the Elder, with even the blind Cyth Baynes doing their best to strike him with their magic.

  They all failed.

  Vanarr’s armour was black with the sheer volume of ichor, and he was down to just a handful of allies, but he was through it all.

  Verdan could feel the Essence burst from the old Sorcerer as he leapt forward, his weapon shaping itself into a huge axe that began to glow with power.

  Verdan drew his Aether up, holding it as a dense ball, ready to empower a spell.

  The shining edge of the Elder’s axe struck the Cyth’s shield, and for a brief moment, Verdan thought it would rebuff the attack and knock Vanarr back.

  Then, with a scream of pain from the Cyth Scerrd, the shield shattered to pieces and the vulnerable caster began to flee towards cover.

  “Grym theriad drae ceis,” Verdan intoned the spell, recreating a brutal battle magic that he’d once seen in the Imperium.

  A dozen tight spikes of flame shot out from Verdan’s staff, cutting through the air swiftly as they flew toward the fleeing Cyth.

  The monster went to dodge aside, but the spikes curved through the air and struck it before it could act further.

  The Cyth erupted into flames as each spike bored into its flesh, burning brightly all the while.

  A final vengeful blast of Malfease came from the creature’s hands as it died, aimed directly at Elder Vanarr.

  The Elder was on one knee and breathing heavily, unable to dodge, but one of his companions was able to lunge between the two and catch the blast on their shield.

  The Sorcerer rocked back from the hit, but kept their feet, robbing the Scerrd of its vengeance as the creature was immolated and destroyed.

  As much as Verdan wanted to consider the battle won, the Cyth still numbered in the hundreds, and Elder Vanarr was far from safety.

  Gripping his staff firmly, Verdan called out fresh Words of power as he unleashed a series of fireballs into the Cyth.

  Right now, they were disorganised and reeling from the death of their leader. This was their chance to do as much damage as possible.

  Their casualties were mounting, though, and Ada had abandoned their more defensive position to lead a counter-attack and push the Cyth back.

  No doubt she was eager to reach the Elder, but Verdan wasn’t sure they had enough people left to do it.

  Light glinted off of several flying objects as they fell among the Cyth, and Verdan had only a moment to realise they were glass bottles before they struck the ground.

  As each bottle shattered, whether from striking a Cyth or the ground, it exploded with flame and force. Any nearby Cyth were badly burnt and thrown back by the shockwave the explosion caused, spreading further injury and chaos.

  In the wake of the explosions there was a loud cracking sound as the ground split beneath a group of Cyth, dropping them into a small hole. A moment later, the ground returned to its previous position, burying the Cyth in the blink of an eye.

  “For the Clans!” A familiar battlecry rang out from the street as Ciaran and the rest of the Kranjir charged into the Cyth, Vaijon and the other Disciples of Adamar right alongside them.

  Each of the odd Sorcerers was individually powerful, even if it was expressed in an odd way, and the small group swiftly cut their way to Elder Vanarr.

  The sight of reinforcements, even as few as these, was enough to galvanise the defenders, and they took the fight to the Cyth with fresh energy.

  Macha’s crows had finished off the remaining Cyth Bayne, and Gwen’s lightning was striking at any large concentrations of the monsters.

  Leaderless and beset from all sides, the Cyth were slowly destroyed. It wasn’t a bloodless affair, despite their best efforts. Even with the loss of their magical support, the Cyth were brutal fighters.

  Eventually, though, the last of the Cyth was cut down by one of the surviving city guards, and the battle was over.

  Hundreds of Cyth had died assaulting their position, filling both the street and warehouse with their bodies and covering what seemed to be every surface with their black ichor.

  Verdan’s work was far from done, however, and as soon as the last monster fell he made for the Elder. There were others who were wounded and needed healing, but potions and healers were being summoned for them.

  He was the only one who could try to help the Elder, and from how pallid Vanarr was looking, he needed that help. Badly.

  “What are you feeling?” Verdan asked, thankful that Vanarr had already removed his helmet as he placed a finger against the Elder’s neck.

  It wasn’t as good as putting a hand on or next to the wound, but it was close enough.

  Letting his magic flow into the Elder as best it could, Verdan directed it down toward the wound, only to find traces of Malfease far earlier than expected.

  The Elder’s exertion had weakened him enough that the corruption was spreading.