Then, like the toll of a funeral bell, it came... the high, crystalline shriek of shattering mirrors. The barrier exploded inward in a glittering hail, and the warbeast's snarling maw filled his vision.
"Push them back while we retreat to the second defensive line! Prepare the explosives NOW!"
The mercenary captain's voice roared over the cacophony of battle, his laser sword humming as it cleaved through the air, splitting the skull of a smaller warbeast in two with a searing hiss.
The creature's bisected head fell to the ground, its lifeless eyes still twitching with residual instinct. But his momentary triumph was met with brutal retribution.
Before he could react, the warbeast's clawed limb, a grotesque, sinewy appendage lined with serrated talons, lashed out in a death spasm.
