399 An Unwelcome Guest

"They come again! Brace yourselves!"

Arran fastened his grip on his sword at the familiar words. Master Zhao had spoken them many times already, and if his voice held a hint of despair that had been absent before, that was to be expected.

Briefly, Arran's eyes darted to the bodies that littered the ground around him. There were thousands, too many of them to count. Most belonged to strangers, but there were many that he recognized.

Kaleesh lay a mere fifty paces ahead, eyes wide and pointed at the crimson sky in an empty stare. Around him lay the remains of the last of the Wolfsblood Army, starmetal armor soaked in the blood of those it had failed to protect.

Closer still lay Snowcloud and Jiang Fei, side by side, their figures unmoving amid the mass of bodies. The charred remains of their enemies still smoldered around them, a reminder of the ferocity with which they had fought. Yet even that had not been enough.