lie equally as fragmented as the shield they carried, their remains now some distance away from the plate in a steaming heap of metal and meat.

The blast, focused into one direction by the metal shell the sticky mine was attached to, had been bigger than expected. Even the beast was pushed further into the treeline by it. It seems it was an effective weapon against the lieutenants, something he’d need to remember, but maybe dial it down a little.

He climbs to his feet and stumbles forward slowly, but falls to his knees again where he convulses and coughs up another mouthful of blood.

He knew he was badly injured and hoped he could ignore it, but the metal shard piercing his kidney and now poking out through his side