The sky seemed to fall toward the squad.

  Tybalt, who had two vantage points on the event, one from above provided by Hieron and one from the ground, recognized that the beastfolk the squad were pursuing had just destroyed a chunk of the mountainside with some sort of explosive alchemic reaction. It was not something unheard of, but he’d never been on the wrong side of it like this.

  Now the boulders from the resultant destruction were falling in such numbers that they blotted out the narrow overhead sky.

  Everyone but himself seemed to be paralyzed for a moment as they held shields overhead, hoping the turtle formation would save them. Tybalt could sense otherwise. The power of the concoction the beastfolk employed had sent the attackers running for cover and produced a cloud of smoke. Without putting his thought process into words or making an exact estimate, he guessed that a ton or more of rubble was about to hit in a fairly small area.

  He had barely a moment to think about what to do. His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings. He took in the cliff’s structure around him and the individuals present with him at the front of the formation, and he made a snap decision.

  Mariella almost folded in half as he tackled her at the waist. Tybalt had lowered his center of gravity to be sure of taking her backward rather than meeting some physical resistance. He knew the Lieutenant was stronger than him.

  But he didn’t sense her resisting him actively, at least. Her stomach muscles felt strong but relaxed as he slammed into her, instead of stopping him in his tracks like he had tackled a tree trunk or something.

  The two of them flew backward until they struck the hard stone of the cliffside. They landed in a slight hollow, so that the rock above their heads blocked out the sky.

  Less than a second later, over a ton of stone landed right behind them. Tybalt only heard the sound of crashing rock, but he saw the look on Mariella’s face as the chunks of mountain struck. Her eyes flew open wide, and her jaw dropped.

  She shook herself, looked him in the eyes, and spoke some words, but Tybalt couldn’t make out the sound over the din of more rocks falling behind them.

  She swallowed and repeated herself, her face taking on an expression of dismay. This time, he managed to interpret what she’d said through a combination of partially hearing and partially reading her lips.

  “Those rocks landed right where I was standing…” There was something else, too. Some words about what was happening to “the others,” but her voice was too low, and he couldn’t see her mouth quite as well through the dust the falling boulders were creating.

  From her face, Tybalt guessed that the rest of the squad wasn’t doing so well.

  Make sure you leave some for me to kill, guys, Tybalt thought. Although I guess if the beastfolk slaughter my squad, I still clear the quest that angel gave me…

  After another few seconds, the last of the debris seemed to have settled.

  “You—um, thank you for saving me, Tybalt,” Mariella said, not looking him directly in the eye, face pale. “The place where I was standing—I couldn’t have survived that. I’m tough, but I’m not that tough. I wasn’t even looking up until it was too late to react. I don’t know how you moved so fast.”

  Benefits of having two vantage points, Tybalt thought. He turned his head to look back slightly, and he saw a large slab of fallen stone, close behind them, blocking much of his view. It looked like a big chunk of mountain had collapsed right near where Mariella had been standing before he tackled her. More of the falling rocks had landed so that they formed a wall that separated them from the side of the valley they had come from. She really would have died just then. Fuck, I hope I’m not going to regret this…

  His body had moved almost entirely without thinking. If she later got it into her head to kill him, he wouldn’t stand a chance unless his undead could do something to help.

  Speaking of which…

  Hieron, Baldwin, report, he sent to both of them at once. What happened? I can’t see much from where I am.

  Most of your squad survived, master, Hieron replied instantly. Some were crushed to death, robbing us of the experience points, but the shields and grouping together helped, and some were able to take shelter close to the cliff face, like you and the woman with you.

  You’re with Sperry, master? Baldwin sent, sounding slightly frustrated. There was no way you could kill her in the chaos?

  That’s not my goal, Baldwin, Tybalt sent. Thank you for the report, Hieron. Resume picking off members of the squad if you have the chance. Not me, and not the woman with me, obviously. Also, stop if the beastfolk stop, and take your forces somewhere on the mountain where they won’t be seen or heard. I don’t want the squad to know there’s another group attacking them yet. Baldwin, your report?

  Right. Master, the rockslide separated the squad into a few pockets of people, Baldwin transmitted. Some of the beastfolk look like they’re preparing to descend to fight the smaller groups of us. I expect they’ll be down in a minute or two.

  Who are you with? Tybalt asked.

  Just Dickon and Ismail. Instructions?

  The necromancer didn’t need much time to think. He knew what Baldwin wanted to hear, and he was happy to finally give the revenant the instructions he craved.

  Kill everyone near you that you can, Baldwin, Tybalt sent. As long as you can do it without dying. Then just play dead. You’re a walking corpse. You might as well use it. Lie down and open your gambeson so that the open wound you still have is visible. Maybe smear some blood on it to make it look fresh. Or smear blood in other places, to simulate a head injury. Whatever you can do believably. I trust your situational judgment. The goal is to fool the beastfolk or the squad, whoever wins, into thinking you’re dead. As for Ismail, pass on a message to him…

  With pleasure, master, Baldwin replied with relish.

  “Uh, Tybalt?” Mariella asked.

  “Yes?” he asked. His face was still near her waist, just below her bust, as he hadn’t straightened up yet. His body had been frozen the last thirty seconds or so as he pressed her against the wall and kept them out of danger.

  “Could—could you let me go now?”

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  “Right.” He pulled back, released his arms from around her waist, and stood up straight, smiling sheepishly. Mariella returned the smile for a fraction of a second before her eyes returned to the situation behind Tybalt. The slight amusement dried up as the situation reasserted itself.

  “Let’s just see if anyone survived,” she said.

  Mariella took a step forward, and Tybalt placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “You don’t really want to get a good look at what happened,” he said. He hadn’t taken a good look himself, yet, but he understood well enough what crush damage looked like.

  The Lieutenant paled slightly and then shook his hand off.

  “I know I don’t want to look, but it’s my job!” she said in a tone of slight irritation. “I’m an officer. I’m responsible for these people. Will you come with me?”

  She’s not giving orders. She knows she can order me, and I’m supposed to comply, right? Most officers would try that.

  Tybalt sighed and nodded. “I don’t know if I’m even rooting for these people to survive, to be honest,” he said in a low voice. “But I’ve served with them for long enough that I at least want to know.”

  He turned, peered around the slab of stone, and finally saw the scene directly. Hunks of fallen rock were strewn everywhere. Much of his view was still blocked by boulders that had fallen near himself and Mariella, but he could see a slowly growing puddle of blood just around the closest rock.

  That’s not healthy for whoever that is. Whatever they were about to see, it would be a gory mess.

  Mariella took a step forward, but Tybalt grabbed her arm again.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Hey, when we step around, don’t look,” he said quietly. “Really.”

  “That’s my—”

  “I know, I know,” he said hurriedly. “Your job. Whatever. Fuck. I’m telling you don’t look. Volusia kept you away from most of the bloody stuff, right? So don’t look right now. No point in this being the first time you see significant human carnage. If there’s something you need to know about, I’ll tell you what I see, all right?”

  She stared at him for a long moment, her expression inscrutable. Then her look shifted to one of slightly guilty relief. She nodded slowly and raised one hand to shield her eyes.

  She probably thinks she’s not doing her job. But given how little experience she has in the field, she’d become a lot less effective if she saw someone whose name she knew splattered all over the ground. She’d slow down, turn into a sitting duck for the beastfolk. Whereas for me, all it means is a waste of a viable corpse.

  And that was all he was doing. Preserving Mariella’s effectiveness.

  “Let me just check something real quick,” he said. He stuck his hand into his pocket, quickly pushed a small amount of mana into his storage ring, and withdrew a single health elixir. In case he needed to be at full health in a pinch. He also took a quick mental inventory of his and Mariella’s equipment.

  When he tackled her, she had dropped her spear out of surprise but kept her shield. He, on the other hand, had lost his shield but retained his spear.

  Together, we’re a complete soldier, he thought dryly.

  Except that Mariella was slightly better off than him. She and Volusia were the only ones on the squad who carried swords as well as spear, shield, and dagger. Metal was too expensive to equip everyone on the squad with long, high quality swords. Significantly cheaper to only give them spears with wooden shafts—which were, of course, good weapons in their own right.

  Hopefully no one attacks us.

  “Be prepared to defend us with your shield,” Tybalt said in a quiet, firm tone.

  Mariella stiffened slightly, and Tybalt realized he still had her by the upper arm—and remembered again that she was his superior. She seemed to be thinking the same thing for a moment as she turned and met Tybalt’s eyes. He returned her gaze with a firm look of his own.

  Ranks don’t matter so much right now, he thought. I’m telling you what to do because I’m more experienced. So just do what I say, please.

  At last, she nodded again and resumed partially covering her eyes with one hand while tightly clutching her shield with the other.

  To avoid restricting her movements any more than necessary, Tybalt let go of her arm and put his arm around her waist. Then he led her around the boulder, carefully avoiding stepping into the slowly growing pool of blood.

  He saw the source of the mess immediately after stepping around the rock. Taun, who had been leading them, had been near the front, so his body was close to Tybalt and Mariella’s position. Almost to a safe spot.

  But that “almost” had cost him. His entire upper body was crushed to paste. Tybalt only knew it was probably Taun because of his position in the formation. His head was entirely gone. Most of the red matter was on the opposite side of the boulder from where Tybalt and Mariella had started out. The slowly spreading puddle was just what was still left, slowly leaking out around the edges of the rock.

  “There’s no helping him,” Tybalt whispered. “Taun will have died instantly, though. Painless. That’s something. Let’s just keep moving.”

  Mariella let out a deep breath and nodded quickly, still shielding her eyes.

  Tybalt stepped around another boulder and saw the other scout who had been leading them. That confirmed the first body had been Taun’s. Derren gasped as he saw Tybalt. Derren attempted to say something, but blood spurted from his mouth instead. The man lay partially crushed between two great rocks, his abdomen broken, his body slowly deflating with each breath he took.

  “Please.” The man silently mouthed the word through red lips and teeth. “Please.”

  Tybalt drew his dagger and slashed Derren’s throat wide open with the arm he didn’t have linked with Mariella’s.

  That ought to do it.

  “You found someone else?” she asked. She clearly knew the answer, and the man’s quiet sputtering noises only confirmed it.

  “He couldn’t be saved,” Tybalt replied. “I… hastened the end of his pain.”

  “Is there anyone else left alive?” Her voice caught.

  I don’t know why I’m surprised she’s emotional, but I am. Even after all she knows these people did. I guess it’s a good thing that guy wasn’t in good enough shape to beg for a health elixir. Would have been awkward to explain that I killed him rather than waste medicine on a doomed man.

  Tybalt opened his mouth to tell her that there was not, and a sudden impact struck him on the side of the head.

  This was the beginning of a hail of projectiles falling all around the two soldiers and in other areas of the valley that were blocked off by the falling stones.

  The beastfolk were trying to finish the job they’d started.

  Mariella turned to face him, eyes wild, and then she quickly pulled Tybalt in close to her, raising her shield with her other hand. Tybalt heard a couple of small rocks bounce off of the wood, but mostly his head was ringing from the blow, preventing him from focusing on much of anything. He knew that they were under fire and that there were little missiles falling all around—and that he was protected. He put a hand to his temple and felt hot, sticky moisture there.

  They got me pretty good. I wasn’t looking at all, but not a bad shot.

  He tried to look up and see who might have thrown the stone, but his head swam. All he could see was shapes of beastfolk at the edge of the cliff, their arms in motion as they used slings, bows, or pure muscle force to hurl objects down the mountainside.

  He felt a gentle pull on the arm he had around Mariella’s waist, and he went with it. She guided him back to their cover in that indentation in the cliff, protecting them both with her shield as she did so. For Tybalt’s part, all he could manage to do was stay upright and hold tight to his spear.

  Against the cliff, he uncorked his health elixir, drank down a few sips of it, then paused.

  “Do you have any injuries?” he asked. He wasn’t quite healed yet, but he wanted to show some consideration for her.

  She shook her head.

  Behind them, the rain of stones, arrows, and sticks continued, focusing entirely now on the soldiers who must now be on the other side of the rock wall the rockslide had created.

  “What do we do?” Mariella wondered out loud. Her fingers tapped idly on the guard of her sword. “How do we deal with this…?”

  Tybalt was about to answer when he got the alert.

  Patreon is now at least a full 26 chapters ahead of Royal Road, plus occasional bonus content, polls, etc. For instance, I recently had my patrons vote on the name of a new type of monster that Tybalt may create in the future.

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