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as the Empire garrison was alerted and rallied to defend.
    “SPEARS!” Erec
cried.
    Strom was first
to stand and hurl his spear, a beautiful silver spear, whistling through the
air as it flew with tremendous speed then found a place in the stunned Empire
commander’s heart.
    Erec hurled his
on his heels, joining in as he threw his golden spear and took out an Empire
commander on the far side of the fort. All up and down his fleet his ranks of
men joined in, hurling their spears and taking out startled Empire soldiers who
barely had time to rally.
    Dozens of them
fell, and Erec knew his first volley had been a success; yet still hundreds of soldiers
remained, and as Erec’s ship came to a stop, roughly touching down on shore, he
knew the time had come for hand-to-hand battle.
    “CHARGE!” he
yelled.
    Erec drew his
sword, leapt up onto the rail, and jumped through the air, falling a good
fifteen feet before landing on the sandy shores of the Empire. All around him
his men followed, hundreds strong, all charging across the beach, dodging
Empire arrows and spears as they burst out of the mist and across the open sand
for the Empire fort. The Empire soldiers rallied, too, rushing out to meet
them.
    Erec braced
himself as a hulking Empire soldier came charging right for him, shrieking,
lifting his ax and swinging it sideways for Erec’s head. Erec ducked, stabbed
him in the gut, and hurried on. Erec, his battle reflexes kicking in, stabbed
another soldier in the heart, sidestepped an ax blow from another, then spun
around and slashed him across the chest. Another charged him from behind, and
without turning, he elbowed him in the kidney, dropping him to his knees.
    Erec ran through
the ranks of soldiers, quicker and faster and stronger than anyone on the
field, leading his men as one at a time, they cut down the Empire soldiers,
making their way toward the fort. The fighting grew thick, hand-to-hand, and
these Empire soldiers, nearly twice their size, were fierce opponents. Erec was
heartbroken to see many of his men fall around him.
    But Erec,
determined, moved like lightning, Strom beside him, and he outmaneuvered them
left and right. He tore through the beach like a demon released from hell.
    Soon enough, the
business was done. All was still on the sand, as the beach, turned to red, was
filled with corpses, most of them the bodies of Empire soldiers. Too many of
them, though, were the bodies of his own men.
    Erec, filled
with fury, charged the fort, still teeming with soldiers. He took the stone
steps along its edge, all his men following, and met a soldier who came running
down for him. He stabbed him in the heart, right before he could lower a
double-handed hammer on his head. Erec stepped aside and the soldier, dead,
came tumbling down the steps beside him. Another soldier appeared, slashing at
Erec before he could react—and Strom stepped forward, and with a great clang
and a shower of sparks, blocked the blow before it could reach his brother and
elbowed the soldier with the hilt of his sword, knocking him off the edge and
sending him shrieking to his death.
    Erec continued
charging, taking four steps at a time until he reached the upper level of the
stone fort. The dozens of Empire soldiers who remained on the upper level were
now terrified, seeing all their brothers dead—and at the sight of Erec and his
men reaching the upper levels, they turned and began to flee. They raced down
the far side of the fort, into the village streets—and as they did, they were
met by a surprise: the villagers were now emboldened. Their fearful expressions
morphed to one of rage, and as one, they rose up. They turned on their Empire
captors, snatching whips from their hands, and began to lash the fleeing
soldiers as they ran the other way.
    The Empire
soldiers were not expecting it, and one by one, they fell under the whips of
the slaves. The slaves continued to whip them as they lay on the ground, again
and again and again, until