Chapter 153
"Get to the flanks!" Dron yelled out.
Dron didn’t know what was going on, all he knew was that there was fire and projectiles all around him.
The chaos seemed to take hold in a fraction of a moment.
"Where is it coming from?" Kraznek called out. He was crouched only a few paces away from Dron.
"I don’t know!" Dron answered honestly. It seemed like the attack was coming from all around.
"Moonbound" Verux called back.
Dron turned his head to the east and could see a large group of people charging in their direction. He wasn’t sure if it was the main ones in the attack but there was enough of them there that it was a problem.
"Forward!" Dron shouted.
"We can’t. The locals... they are in the way." Krex grunted as he fought to get to his feet. Another loud boom rattled the ground.
Dron looked around. There were plenty of people still running but the few so called soldiers that were there weren’t doing anything to help.
They just weren’t trained enough to handle this.
"Get them in line." Dron ordered. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, there was no way that he would have any time to train anyone right now. Not when they were in the middle of a battle.
"To do what?" Kraznek grunted.
"Push them back."
Dron had to hope that what the soldiers lacked in training they made up for in bravery.
Quickly, everyone that was in his crew rounded up the settlement’s guards and got them in what looked like some semblance of military lines.
"Arm yourselves." Dron yelled out. In unison, the people around pulled out their weapons. Some of them were expertly crafted while others were primitive. It didn’t matter. All Dron needed was for them to beat back the opposition.
The large group of enemies made their way into the area, and Dron commanded everyone to charge.
The battle wasn’t very lengthy, and based on what Dron could see, they were even when it came to skill level.
It was only Dron’s crew who were making any real dent. Soon though, the enemies became less and less.
The screaming quieted, and there weren’t any more explosions or projectiles.
"They’re retreating!" Kraznek shouted, and the rest of Dron’s crew hooted in victory.
Dron was breathing hard. His alpha instincts had taken over in the middle of the battle. He looked around and realized he was surrounded by bodies. Before it all had started, he hadn’t even had the chance to really see who was attacking them. Now that it was calm, he realized that none of them were very big. They were alphas, but they seemed as if they hadn’t eaten in a long time.
"Who are these people?" Dron questioned.
"I don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone like this in my journeys." Krex was next to him, he was breathing hard, but he wasn’t harmed.
"It’s the Utex clan." One of the guards from the community said from where he was sitting near the edge of the small clearing. The man stood and dusted off his clothing. There was a cut over his eye but from what Dron could see the man didn’t have any fatal wounds.
"Utex?" Krex questioned.
"Yes, they live in the wilderness. They are probably the ones your high royals have created all their stories about.
Kraznek grunted, "You mean these are supposed to be the scary savages that have kept us from visiting these lands? The cannibals?"
The guard shrugged his shoulders. "They may not seem like much on their own, but when it’s hundreds of them, it can be a problem."
Dron looked around, it was over. Just as quickly as it started, no one else was fighting.
Now all that was left was the injured. They were all over the place. No one was prepared for this.
"You need to get your wounded to the doctors. I’m sure there are a lot of people who need assistance." Dron said, looking around.
"More if you hadn’t been here." The guard shrugged.
Dron didn’t want to seem too proud, but the guard wasn’t lying. If Dron and the rest of his men weren’t here, the intruders from the Utex clan would have decimated this town.
"I’m happy we were here to help. Now go get your wounded." Dron jerked his chin at the guard.
"Mark Chief, you need to see this." Verux called out. There was an element of impatience in the man’s voice.
Dron sighed. He didn’t know what else could happen but he just didn’t want to have to deal with it. Unfortunately, as the leader of this mission, ignoring things isn’t something that he could do.
"What is it?" Dron questioned as he walked over to where Verux was. He was kneeling in the dirt. Right next to Tine.
"This is going to be a problem." Dron said out loud. He ground his teeth hard.
"Maybe not." Verux gently moved her head from side to side.
"How can you say that? She was the only link between us and this community. Their leader. We needed her to find out more information...."
Verux looked up with an amazed look on his face, "She’s still alive. Barely, but still alive."
Dron quickly dropped down to the ground and examined the woman on the ground. He wasn’t sure how it was possible. Based on the injuries that he could see, she should have been killed.
"I think she’s been using life nectar. It’s the only reason I can come up with." Verux shrugged.
"We need to get her in to see the doctors. Right now!" Dron leaned forward and gently picked the woman up.
Everyone else around stared at him with their leader in his hands. The fires still raged around them, but the rest of the people from the community were doing what they could to get them extinguished.
Dron looked over to the Verux and the rest of his crew that were surrounding him. "Help them. We have to save this town."
The last thing Dron wanted was for him to be responsible for yet another class destroyed because he was there. And that’s what was happening here.
It was the only reason that he could think of. It didn’t make any sense for the Utex clan to suddenly attack unless they were here because Dron and his people were here.
If Tine died, it would be his fault. He couldn’t deal with that.
Slowly, Dron walked in the direction of the main area of the town. Everyone looked at him, but no one stopped him. The purpose of the meeting was to get people to trust him.
With him holding a badly injured and unconscious Tine in his arms and no one rushing over to stop him was a clear indication that trust had bloomed.
Now Dron only hoped that it wasn’t for nothing.
"Where is the doctor?" Dron called out, and to his surprise, it wasn’t one of the older members of the community who came forward to tell him where the doctors were. It was Mikael.
"They are all in there. They holed up when the attack started." Mikael pointed in the direction of another hut. Dron quickly made his way there.
To his surprise, there were already quite a few people there being worked on.
"Oh moon goddess, it’s Tine." A man said from the side when he saw Dron carrying her in.
"Yes, she’s still alive, but she needs help right away."
"Yes. Of course." The man gestured for Dron to follow him to an empty bed.
Dron placed Tine down and took a few steps back. There was nothing more that he could do but hope that Tine made it through. He needed her more than he wanted to admit.
"What can I do to help?" Dron asked suddenly, feeling more than just a little helpless.
"Just let us work." There were several doctors around Tine now. Dron had to trust that they would do their very best to make sure the woman made it through.
"Mark Chief, a moment of your time." Krazek poked his head into the small hut.
Dron turned in his direction and realized that there was no animosity in the man’s voice. Somehow, in the time that they’d been here, Kraznek had turned from someone who didn’t respect Dron to someone who understood his place in the mission.
Dron looked back to Tine. She wouldn’t be up for a long while, if ever. There was nothing he could do here. "Yeah, on my way."
Dron walked out of the hut and followed behind Kraznek. There at the very edge, near the burned down brush, were Verux, Krex, and the rest of his crew. Kneeling in the center of all of them was someone else that he didn’t recognize.
It was one of the Utex clan. They’d captured one alive.
Dron was shocked, but in that very moment, he knew exactly why Kraznek had called him out there.
This captive would have answers. He would know exactly why Tine and her people were attacked and if it had anything to do with this so-called mission that Dron was on.
Dron had a feeling that his knowledge of what was happening was quickly about to change.
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⏸ PAUSE■ STOP