Harry Harrison Cykl Stalowy Szczur (06) Stalowy Szczur i piÄ ta kolumna
Honor 06 Honor Under Siege Radclyffe
Anne McCaffrey Ship 06 The Ship Errant
Baum, L Frank Oz 06 The Emerald City of Oz
Cabot Meg PamiÄtnik KsiÄĹźniczki 06 KsiÄĹźniczka uczy siÄ rzÄ dziÄ
Child_Mauren_ _Klub_bogatych_kobiet_06_ _Zona_tajnego_agenta
Harrison, Harry Stahlratte Zyklus 06 Jim Digriz Die Edelstahlratte
Godeng Gert Krew i Wino 06 Trumna numer 5
James Alan Gardner [League Of Peoples 06] Trapped
Brenden Laila Hannah 06 Jad
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wondered if that happened to the men. The world saw them as battalions of
heartless torturers . . . They were men. Mere men, superbly trained and
superbly in command of themselves. They had pride . . .
I have to be as strong as that centurion Mo-Jo, he told himself. I am the
leader. I have to be the toughest and best.
Finished, Lord, Pan ku said.
Let s go.
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Grim work, eh?
Indeed. I had less stomach for it than I expected.
This will be a grisly campaign, won t it, Lord?
We ve never seen its like, Pan ku.
As they entered the map room from one end, a doorway at the other exploded.
The planks of it flew about like autumn leaves in a gale. A dozen dead
warriors burst through, spearheaded by three skullfaces.
Tasi-feng met them with a burst of power which flung the smaller warriors
round like ragdolls in the jaws of mastiffs. The skullfaces were unaffected.
The other Tervola hit them with as many killing spells as there were
spellcasters. Noxious clouds boiled off the collapsing bodies. For a time it
was difficult to breathe.
Shih-ka i joined Chang Sheng over a map of the fortress and its environs.
Sheng said, They re attacking here and here, into the joints between the
encampments and the fortress.
The palisades and trenches surrounding the camps were puny compared to the
defenses of the fortress itself. Sheng continued, Their assault hasn t
developed sufficiently to betray their intent. Their logical course would be
to encircle and reduce the encampments. But they re concentrating their
dragons and wizardry on us.
Trying to keep us pinned down.
A Tervola approached. Shih-ka i remembered him from the deep probe into the
desert. Yes, Ou-yan?
Message from Lord Shih-mihn, Lord. They ve launched human wave assaults.
They ve broken through in three places. He thinks they want to force a melee.
There s your main thrust, Lord Chang. North camp. Melee. We can t permit
that.
The price would be defeat. Should the enemy break Shih-ka i s formations and
force his men to fightindividually , few would have time to salvage legion
dead or destroy enemy fallen. Those would keep coming back into the fray. They
would grow more numerous, rather than fewer.
Lord Chang?
Doesn t sound good, Lord. But I suggest we wait before we jump. The men
won t fold.
Sheng was right. The defense stiffened under pressure, Shih-ka i mounted an
observation tower to study the north camp.
Huge, stinking fires burned there. His soldiers flung ever more bodies upon
them.
The dragons continued to drop warriors into the fortress. The garrison was
dealing with them now. Many flyers never left. Their riders were cut down as
their feet touched the ground.
Shih-ka i was pleased.
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Lord. Pan ku pointed. Squinting, Shih-ka i found the two dragons circling
high overhead.
The white one is their sorceress. Lord Lun-yu says the other commands the
dead.
The woman suddenly glowed a brilliant blue. A blue egg formed between her
outstretched hands. It tumbled toward the earth. It was a yard thick when it
ploughed into the roof of a barracks.
That roof caught fire, though it was made of clay tile.
More eggs fell. Soon there were a dozen witchfires burning. How long would
their witchery keep them going?
That didn t matter. The woman could drop more.
She threw a score into the northern camp, where they did more damage.
His Tervola had to stop her. He rushed to the map room . . . The place was a
shambles. Fighting continued in one corner, where a pair of skullfaces
exchanged minor sorceries with Tasi-feng s underlings.
What happened? Shih-ka i demanded. Never mind. I can see. Get some men in
to clean up before these bodies reanimate.
Tasi-feng said, Lord, some of our dead weren t properly disposed. They re
roaming the fortress. The men can t tell friend from foe.
You can, can t you?
Yes, Lord.
We all can. Shih-ka i clipped a quick series of orders. Let s get out
there. We re useless here now, anyway. Give the witch all the attention you
can. Throw up a shaft barrage. That southern attack looks like a feint.
Two hours passed. They left Shih-ka i perplexed. The witch had been driven
from the sky, yet the situation had worsened. A stream of blue balls sailed
out of the desert, into the north camp. The camp s defenses had been breached
in a dozen places. The dreaded melee threatened.
At least the flyers and skullfaces had been beaten away from the fortress.
Shih-ka i assembled his officers. We re going to lose the north camp, he
told them. They re reanimating too many of their men, and we haven t provided
an adequate defense against the woman s witchery. Let s review their
dispositions.
Shih-ka i was convinced the enemy was concentrating on the one camp, betting
the defense would collapse suddenly, giving him an opportunity to recoup his
losses. He would then aim the tireless dead at the south camp, then the
fortress.
We ll give them a surprise, Shih-ka i said. Tell Lord Shih-mihn he has to
hold till dawn.
In the bloody, smoky dawn troops from the south camp cut through the screen [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
