Dax hit the ground hard, gasping as pain exploded through his ribs. His vision blurred, but he could just make out the massive form of a brute t above him, energy mace humming with lethal power. The crag energy of the on cast an eerie glow around the battlefield, its strike meant to finish him.
Before the brute could deliver the final blow, a fsh of red light seared through the air.
Ethan, moving swiftly, fired his ser pistol, the shot hitting the brute's shoulder. The hulking bandit staggered, his deadly swing faltering just long enough for Ethan to step iween him and Dax, his psma knife glowing in his other hand.
"You alright, Dax?" Ethan called out, his eyes never leaving the brute.
Dax groaned, f himself to sit up. "I'll live. Thanks for the save."
The brute snarled, enraged by the interruption, and charged at Ethan, swinging his energy ma a wide, reckless arc. Ethan ducked uhe swing, rolled to the side, and fired another shot, aiming for the brute's legs. The ser beam sizzled against the brute's thick armor, not enough t him down but enough to slow him.
Ethan couldn't let him recover. He dashed forward, psma knife in hand, and sshed at the brute's side. The bde cut through armor and flesh, sending a spray of blood into the dirt. The brute roared in pain, swinging his mace wildly, catg Ethan's arm with a grazing blow. The energy stung, but Ethan pushed through the pain, dodging backward.
Before the brute could react, Ethan hurled a fsh gre his feet. The explosion of light and sound disoriehe giant bandit, causing him to stumble back, clutg his head in agony. Without hesitatiohan rushed forward and drove his psma knife deep into the brute's chest, twisting the bde with precision. The brute gasped, his massive frame shuddering before colpsing to the ground in a heap.
Ethan pulled Dax to his feet, sing the chaotic battlefield. "We roup with the others."
Around them, the skirmish raged on. Kara, Rourke, and Leena were ihick of it, moving with calcuted precision. Kara fired her psma rifle, its blue bolts lighting up the shadows as they struck bandits oer another. Rourke, with his heavy energy shotgun, bsted through the opposition, each shot sending bandits flying. Leena darted in and out of cover, her dual energy pistols firing in quick succession, pig off stragglers with deadly accuracy.
The merary team was holding their ground, but the bandits were closing in, pressing their advah sheer numbers.
"Dax! Ethan!" Kara shouted as she caught sight of them. "We're getting surrounded! We o push back!"
"On it!" Ethan replied, determination flooding through him.
As they moved to joieammates, a low, rumbling sound echoed across the battlefield.
Dax felt a chill run down his spine. He knew what was i.
Emerging from the haze of smoke aru, a massive figure strode forward. The bandit leader had arrived.
T over the battlefield, the leader was a terrifying sight, his armor thid reinforced with sged parts. His helmet obscured his face, but the glowing red eyes beh it gleamed with cold fury. In his hands, he wielded a massive warhammer, its head crag with potent energy. This on was definitely far more dangerous than anything the brute had carried.
The leader's voied across the battlefield, cold and anding. "You think this is over? You think you stop me?"
At his words, the remaining bandits rallied, bolstered by the sight of their leader. They regrouped around him, ung a vicious terattack. Dax's heart sank as he realized the meraries were now at a disadvantage.
"Fall back! We roup!" Kara shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos.
Ethan gritted his teeth. They were fighting fiercely, but they were outnumbered, and the bandit leader's presence sent a wave of dread through the merary ranks. They o find a solution, and they fast.
Just as they began to retreat, a rallying cry broke through the cmor of battle.
"The militia is here!"
Ethan turoward the sound. Out of the smoke and dust, a group tag fighters emerged, armed with makeshift ons. Their old rifles were modified with glowing energy coils that pulsed along the barrels, and some even sported crude holographic sights.
The militia charged into the fray, their eyes burning with the spirit of defiahey weren't anized soldiers, but that didn't matter. These were people fighting for their homes and their lives, and that desperation made them dangerous.
In the midst of the chaos, Leena rushed to Dax's side. "Let me take a look at you!" she urged, kneeling beside him.
Dax winced as she examined his side. "I'm fine, Leena. We o focus on the fight..."
"Shut up, Dax!" she snapped, pulling a sleek, portable med-synth from her utility belt. The device hummed to life, projeg a holographiterface above it.
"Just hold still," Leena instructed, pg the med-synth against his injury. A series of blue lights sed the wound, dispying a readout of Dax's vitals. With a flick of her wrist, she activated the healing gel, which sprayed a ist over the injury, sealing the wound and alleviating the pain almost instantly.
Dax could feel the pressure of the bandit advance pressing in, but Leena's calm determination gave him a moment of crity. "Thanks," he managed, astonished by how quickly he felt better.
"Just hang in there," Leena replied, gng up at the battle. The militia fighters had pushed forward, driving back the bandits with renewed vigor.
With Dax's wound treated, Leena nodded. "We're almost there. Let's get ba this fight!"
Ethan tightened his grip on his psma knife, ready to front the looming threat. The tide of the battle was turning, but they o keep pushing.
As the militia fought alongside the meraries, energy bolts lit up the battlefield, and the bandit leader's fidence faltered as he witnessed his ranks thinning.
"Stay together!" Ethan shouted, rallying his team and the militia fighters. "Push forward!"
With the bined forces of the meraries and militia, they surged toward the bandit leader. The air crackled with energy, and the sounds of battle filled their ears as they fought back, refusing to back down.
They would not let this battle end i.
